Mortality and Eternity

 Much of last week was spent eulogizing and laying to rest President Jimmy Carter.  Some of us remember when he was elected during the bi-centennial celebration of our nation, a crucial moment when we were trying to find our way past Watergate.  Our nation was searching for someone who could restore our confidence in the honesty and character of our highest office. Jimmy Carter stepped forward to give us hope.

 He lived to see his 100^th birthday, the oldest surviving President in our nation’s history. He had embraced his own mortality long ago, submitting to hospice care almost two years before his death, facing the inevitable with confident faith and peace.

 We are all mortal.  We will all die.  The Bible says, “For the Lord God himself knows our estate, that we are but dust.  For man is like the grass of the field that flourishes as a flower.  After the wind passes, it is no more, and its place remembers it no longer, but the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him.” (Psalm 103).  We all want to be remembered.  I suppose that is part of the reason we engage in funerals and obituaries.  But obituaries soon fade and funerals are soon forgotten.  For some, like former Presidents, we engage in lengthy ceremonies.  For a few decades, maybe even a few centuries, historical records and books will bear testimony to their lives.  But eventually.  They will all be forgotten.

 There is something better than being remembered.  According to the Bible we can actually live after our mortal bodies cease. The eulogies for Jimmy Carter were filled with references to his faith.  His grandson read extensively from the Scripture regarding God’s promises.  There is a place where we are never forgotten, a place where we can live, another dimension that Jesus reference repeatedly as “life into the age,”   (eis aionos).   

 The Bible’s promises are clear.  “He will swallow up death for all time. And the Lord will wipe tears away from all faces. And He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth.  For the Lord has spoken.  And it will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us.  This is the Lord for whom we have waited.  Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation,” (Isaiah 25:8-9). 

 Daniel wrote, “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever,” (Daniel 12:1-3).

Raising Children Celebrating Family

 We just returned from a 4-day Bahama cruise with all our children and grandchildren, seventeen of us, a gift from our children on my wife’s 75^th birthday. The joy of multiple generations who treasure and value one another is inexpressible. In all generations and cultures, it is the family that forms the foundation for fulfillment. My wife and I were overwhelmed, not just that our children wanted to express their love for us, but that they love each other and want to be together.

 Over the years we learned that nothing is as challenging as being a parent.  Children have no off button.  They cannot be put in the closet like clothes, turned off and parked like cars or placed in a kennel like pets.  They are on a constant quest: poking, prodding, pushing, pulling and climbing. 

 When our children were little, we didn’t know you could strap them down in the back seat. No one told us about car seats. As soon as they got in the car, they looked for buttons to push and knobs to twist.  When I turned on the key the blinkers blinked, windshield wipers wiped, and the radio blared.

 They grew up to be responsible adults.  But the path wasn’t easy.  Every passage brought new challenges: the first day of school, a move from familiar neighborhoods to a new city, puberty, a driver’s license, dating, computer games, technology, college and a career.  Parenting requires a constant learning curve that never stops, even after children are grown and on their own.  Relationships constantly change and adjust. As a parent, you are always entering new and unfamiliar territory.

 I found across the years that there is no “fix it” book for parenting, no “cure-all,” “read this,” or “do this” simple solution.  Every child is different, and every parenting situation has its unique challenges.  But there are some essential tools that make the difference: patience, consistency, authenticity, trust, love, faith, and a listening ear.  Most of us don’t come naturally equipped with these essential tools.  Most of us must learn them and acquire them while we are on the job. And all of us have room for improvement.

 The Bible says that John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the world by “turning the hearts of the fathers to their children,” (Luke 1:17).  Every generation must struggle against the natural desires of the flesh: envy, jealousy, resentment, anger and self indulgence. These attitudes destroy the family. The fruits of the spirit, on the other hand, establish the family: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,” (Galatians 5:22-23).

 When our hearts are right with God so that we are producing these fruits, we will be good parents.  Then we will be able to fulfill the Scripture’s instruction, “Do not exasperate your children, instead, bring them up in the teaching and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4).

Time and Eternity

More than any other occasion, the New Year marks the passage of time.  We celebrate it with the dropping ball in Times Square, fireworks that ignite the night sky, flower covered floats in the Rose Parade, stadiums that vibrate with energy as the best college teams face off against each other.  2024 is history and 2025 has come.

 On New Year’s Eve, as I do every year, I write down my reflections on the year past: the goals I achieved, and the ones I failed to meet, the major events that surprised me along the way.  On New Year’s Day, I write down expectations for the year to come: what I hope to accomplish, my goals and dreams. The process reminds me how swiftly the time has flown.  

Time waits for no one.  We live it, and we measure it. We try to capture the moments with videos and photos, but the time continues to fly.  By the time I write this sentence, and by the time you read it, the moment of the writing, and the moment of the reading is gone, never to return. Every moment of every day, week, month and year flies away.

 We can remember what was and we suspect that somewhere in the universe the past still exists, just as we experienced it. We can imagine the future, but have no way of knowing what it holds. Only the present is ours, and it slips quickly through our grasp to join the memories of our past. It bears witness to our mortality. We are prisoners and servants of time.  No measure of wealth can restrain it.  No power on earth can contain it.

 Our mad dash to get ahead, to climb the ladder of success, to add to our possessions, to get to our destination faster are symptoms of our mortality.  We know that our time is limited.  There are only so many hours in the day, and so many days in a lifetime.

 The Bible agrees with this sense of mortality.  Ecclesiastes says, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens, a time to be born and a time to die.”  (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).  And again, “It is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27)

 Only God is beyond time.  He is the great “I AM.”  He has no beginning and no end.  Past, present and future are alike to Him.  John wrote of Jesus, saying, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” (John 1:1-3). Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8:58).

 God invites us to transcend time and enter into His immortality. Jesus said, “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish,” (John 10:28).  “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die,” (John 11:25-26).

Bill Tinsley's Novel, We Beheld His Glory is FREE on Amazon Dec. 30--Jan 1.

The Day After Christmas

 It is the day after Christmas.  The house is littered with boxes, scraps of wrapping paper and strands of ribbon, evidence left from the gathering of family and the giving of gifts.  With kisses and hugs, children and grandchildren have started their long journeys home not to be seen for many months or another year.  Life will return to the challenges of work and school while the memories of laughter and loved ones remain.

 For some, of course, Christmas can be a painful season. A few years ago, I preached the funeral for my wife’s favorite aunt during the holidays. On another occasion, many years ago, I officiated a funeral on Christmas Eve for one of our best friends who was barely twenty-nine. The Holidays are not always joyous.  But the meaning of the day when God sent His Son to save us from our sins becomes even more meaningful.

 We all know the stories that led up to the birth: Joseph and Mary on their long journey to Bethlehem, turned away from every inn until they found a stall where the child was born;  the hovering star that led the Magi from the east bearing their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The shepherds shocked from their sleep on the hillside by the angels of heaven proclaiming a Savior.  But we pay little attention to what happened “the day after.”

 Like most of us, Mary and Joseph had little time to enjoy the Christmas events that surrounded them.  They were immediately faced with Herod’s efforts to hunt down their son.  The soldiers fell upon Bethlehem with a vengeance, slaughtering every male child two years old and younger. (Matthew 2:16).  Warned in a dream, Joseph fled with his little family to Egypt where they spent eight years hiding as refugees from Herod’s wrath. 

 Thousands today are living in exile, refugees from war.  In some places believers are spending these days in prison for their faith. Some are facing death because they have embraced Jesus as Son of God and Savior.  Many others have heavy hearts from the loss of loved ones. 

 The full story of Jesus’ birth embraces both the heights of joy and the depths of sorrow.  Whether we are filled with celebration and happiness or thrown into heartache and despair, God is sufficient.  He has been there. He knows our joy and our sorrow, and He has given His Son that we might know Him. 

 Anticipating the Messiah, Isaiah wrote, “He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces. And He will remove the reproach of his people from all the earth, For the Lord has spoken, And it will be said in that day, ‘Behold this is our God for whom we waited that He might save us.  This is the Lord for whom we have waited.  Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation,” (Isaiah 25:8-9).  

Mary

 I was pleased when I saw that Netflix was offering a new movie about Mary for the Christmas season.  Her story is one of the most beautiful, best known, and most celebrated in all of history. 

 Both Luke (chapters 1-2) and Matthew (chapters 1-2) record the extraordinary events surrounding the birth of Jesus.  Mary is the most likely source for this information.  Most scholars are agreed that Mary was a young woman when she gave birth to Jesus, perhaps no more than a teenager.  All evidence indicates that she lived a number of years after Jesus’ death. 

 Matthew, as one of the 12, would have been well acquainted with Mary. Luke tells us that he conducted careful research and personal interviews with eyewitnesses. (Luke 1:1-4).  Mary would have been an essential eyewitness. When we read Luke 2, the words reflect the personal touch and feel of one who was there, one who experienced what no one else has ever seen or felt:  the announcement by the angel Gabriel, the visit with her mother’s cousin, Elizabeth; the misunderstanding and confusion concerning her pregnancy; Joseph’s courageous decision to marry her;  the long journey to Bethlehem in obedience to Roman law; the birth in a stable followed by extraordinary visitors: shepherds from the nearby fields and astronomers from the East.  Afterward the couple present an offering in the temple, all they can afford, a simple pair of doves.  They are astounded by the prophecies of Simeon and Anna who recognize the child as the Messiah.  Joseph is warned in a dream to depart for Egypt before Herod unleashes his rage on the infants of Bethlehem in response to the Magi’s message.

 So, we sat down the other night, signed in, and watched Mary with anticipation.  But the writers of the Netflix version went beyond elaboration into the realm of fantasy.  They created an entire prequel regarding Mary’s parents including multiple appearances of the angel Gabriel and Lucifer.  They invented a story about Anna the prophetess and Mary’s childhood in the temple. Some elements of the movie left me shaking my head.  Mary and Joseph riding to Bethlehem in a horse-drawn wagon? Galloping across the desert on a stallion?  And Joseph, a common worker in a stone quarry fighting his way through a fiery battle against Roman soldiers?  What happened to the carpenter from Nazareth?

 I am afraid that our theatrical fantasies have caused us to lose touch with reality.  We have a tendency to confuse historically authenticated records with Marvel super-heroes and imaginary worlds. 

 I am all for using imagination to try to grasp the reality of the incarnation.  I thought The Chosen did a good job of helping us see the 12 disciples as real people living in an extraordinary moment.  I even attempted to do the same in my novel, We Beheld His Glory.  But our understanding of what occurred on the earth 2100 years ago must remain true to the documents produced by those who were there.

 This coming week we will remember that one life that changed the world.  We will celebrate with lights and singing and gift-giving.  The reality of God’s intervention into our world through His Son is the most important event in human history.  Jesus’ birth, His sinless life, sacrificial death and resurrection from the dead changed everything! 

Making Life Meaningful

 Ever since 1988 when Tom Hanks starred in Big, we have enjoyed his acting career.  Forest Gump, Castaway, Saving Private Ryan, A Man Called Otto.  To name a few.   Whenever a new Tom Hanks movie is released, we want to see it, or at least, check it out. So, we went to see Here, his newest movie released in October starring Hanks and Robin Wright who played Jenny in Forest Gump.

 As usual, we were late comers.  The movie had been out several weeks before we found a day and time that worked for us.  When we arrived, the fact that there were only 7 people in the theater should have been a clue.   Despite impressive technical effects, Here has apparently been a Box Office bomb.

 The story line focuses on a particular spot on the earth, “Here,” and all that happened on that spot including a Native American couple who fell in love, had children, grew old and died.  The same can be said for other families that occupied the house built on that spot. Each of them, falling in love in their youth, having children, settling for jobs to make a living, growing old and dying. The stories are told in a non-linear script, with constant flashbacks, and flash-forwards. But in the end the stories are all the same.  When I left the theater, I felt depressed.

 Is this all there is to life? Disappointment, misunderstandings, unrealized dreams, constant struggle to make ends meet, old age, illness and death?  Perhaps this is the way most people live.  I hope not.

 Six years ago, for our 50^th anniversary, I wrote “Our Story” for our children and grandchildren.  We realized that our children and grandchildren know their stories that intersect with ours, but, by and large, they did not know “our story.”  It was a good exercise in reflection.  At the conclusion, after 50 years of marriage and more than 70 years of life, we wrote, “God has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams and imaginings. We have loved and enjoyed one another every step of the way. He has blessed us with beautiful children and grandchildren of character and faith. They are kind, thoughtful, honest and generous.” Other friends with whom we started our journey more than fifty years ago could say the same.

 Jesus teaches us all how to make something special out of our lives by forgiving, encouraging and believing in one another.  He teaches us to live our lives with a focus on something more than “getting by” or “making a living.”  Just as Peter wrote,  ^“For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, ‘all flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’” (1 Peter 1:23-25).

 Jesus’ promise is ever true. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you,” (Matthew 6:33).  “The Lord is good. His lovingkindness is everlasting and his faithfulness to all generations,” (Psalm 100:5).

White Space

 Life starts out fairly simple.  When my wife and I married we could, quite literally, pack all our possessions in the back seat of our car.  But along the way, we picked up clutter.  The closets and attic overflow. Once, I rented a storage unit so she could get her car in the garage.   “Stuff” seemed to multiply.  It filled every nook and cranny.  It is hard to throw it away.  Worn out baby shoes, broken toys and scribbled scraps of paper represent my life.

 The calendar is the same.  Business, or “busy-ness,” claims every minute. Millions start the day with a swig of coffee while they maneuver onto the freeway munching a breakfast burrito.  Memos, phone calls, meetings and long hours on our feet are followed by a weary commute home to pick up kids for practice sessions.  No wonder we are exhausted. 

 Christians are especially vulnerable. Richard Foster wrote, “We are trapped in a rat race, not just of acquiring money, but also of meeting family and business obligations. We pant through an endless series of appointments and duties. This problem is especially acute for those who want to do what is right. With frantic fidelity we respond to all calls to service, distressingly unable to distinguish the voice of Christ from that of human manipulators."

 We need white space!

 Look at Google’s homepage.  Google keeps it simple.  We need to learn how to live Google lives, with plenty of white space, space in our lives that gives us freedom.  We need deliverance from crammed calendars and cluttered closets. 

 It takes discipline to create white space, room for flexibility and freedom, margins in which to breathe.  Jesus knew how to order life with “white space.”  He took time to listen to children, to help a desperate woman who risked touching his garment, to heal a paralytic passed over by the crowd.  He had time for people.   When he died, his robe was his only possession.  He never punched a time clock.  He did not wear a watch. He was never rushed or in a hurry. 

 It is entirely possible that, with our breakneck race to “get somewhere” that we might end up “nowhere.”  Jesus said, “… you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” (Luke 10:41-42). 

 And again, ““For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ... And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” (Luke 12:22-30).