This is a sometimes annual thing of reflection I do around my birthday. It's basically a bit of reminiscing and some lamenting about choices made and consequences that come with them. I have said before that sometimes I regret not being as open to some friendships at younger ages or willing to further pursue possible romantic relationships- but in the end, I have to trust that God allowed things to happen as they did for a reason and He's still worked out His good plan for me moment by moment. This is also a "what if?" musing about spiritual choices, eternity, sin and righteousness.
"Missed Moments"
(Poem copyright by Nathan Ludwick 5/4/2020)
(Philippians 2:14-16, Hebrews 3:7-14, 2 Corinthians 6:2, Philippians 3:7-20, Ecclesiastes 9:11-12, Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 25:11, Proverbs 27:1, Romans 9, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Ecclesiastes 7:10-14, Romans 8:28, 1 Corinthians 3, James 3, Psalms 90 (Especially v. 12), Ecclesiastes 12:11-14)
A word aptly spoken makes golden moments
How quickly a word ineptly spoken turns them to dross
How many scenes of life could have been so different
If only a different door had been chosen?
The road not taken makes all the difference in the world
Memories meander through time and linger longer than we'd ever expect
Except the good ones seem far too fleeting and the bad ones far too abundant
Why did I say that stupid thing then instead of something else?
Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut?
Words have a deadly power of permanence no matter how much
we might want to retract
The scorpion's sting still burns like fire every time the scab's reopened
Why did I do that back then? Why was I so dumb?
Apologies can be made but consequences must always be faced
What if I could slide down Alice's rabbit hole to another world?
What kind of person would I be if I had studied another subject?
What if I had taken up another career instead?
What if I had been more outgoing and taken more chances on friends?
What if I had kissed that girl and she had become my wife?
So many things replay in my mind that a time machine might fix
But lightning never strikes twice and thunder continues to roil in my soul
Sometimes the pain and sadness are so intense when sitting in quiet loneliness
Regrets haunt dreams and reveries with a parasite's tenacity
There's a desperation in lament that yearns to put right what once went wrong
The sins of commission resound like a gong in time with the sins of omission
Why didn't I take action when I knew what to do then?
Why didn't I speak up and say what needed to be said?
Time relentlessly passes and the moments are lost
Are they gone beyond all hope of recovery?
When the corner is turned and opportunities missed
They never come in exactly the same way again
And when eternal choices are made things are bound that can never be unbound.
Though tears flow like Esau's, the blessing is lost and
The time of God's favour comes to an end.
The past is gone and can't be changed but it can pass on its lessons.
The future still looms with possibilities of whatever we make it.
May The Spirit teach me His lessons in the present
so I can live in the light of each tense like Scrooge on Christmas morning.
The joy only found in Christ somehow sifts through
The wreckage of my life to find a rainbow in the silver lining.
The pangs of past pains hurt my heart but also mold it
to be shaped more like the Saviour's heart.
As He still works to work all these things together for good
according to His master plan,
may He use the missed moments to make my life
both now and in the future what He wants it to be.
His cross and empty tomb redeemed my life-
May He use all that I am in the time that is left
to share His truth and love with all around me.
With past faults behind me, the bad memories make me all the more
thankful for the good memories and they all spur me to
live every day for The One who loves me
and make choices of righteousness to redeem the time so
that His light shines- because Jesus makes the only golden moments in my life.
.......................................................................
Friday, June 5, 2020
We Just Disagree
(Note: This was written as a response to some heated comments I saw online over something that should not have been controversial for Christ followers, but sometimes that happens anyway when emotions get revved up. The exact nature of that is not my main focus here; this is more just on how we talk yo one another and treat each other. Let God's Love and mercy lead always.)
It is always interesting reading responses to Scriptures posted online and to ideas in general. There can be a lot of good ideas expressed here. There are usually some I would not agree with but even if I don't, I want to listen and try to understand and learn from them. As I noted with my nephews the other day, I am incredibly stupid quite often so I need to grab whatever learning I can. ;-)
Much of what I would say in response might be said already, though clearly I would likely have befuddled people with esoteric '80s references for no reason and made more poop jokes and such. (Remember that I have already established my capacity for depths of incredible stupidity. ;-) By the way, speaking of befuddlement, if Bugs Bunny's oft hunter became a supervillain, I would definitely want to call Elmer Fudd the Fuddler and write statements like, "The Fuddler finally utterly befuddled that wascally wabbit!")
If I seem to be going out of my way to make dumb jokes, that's because I'm goofy! (Not Goofy- that's trademarked.) And it's also because I wanted to highlight a point made earlier here. We need to slow down, stop, pause and pray before we jump into everything with guns blazing. Sometimes lightening the mood a little can dissipate some tension and defuse some anger. And here we can make sure our anger is directed where it should be in a righteous way.
Let me be very clear that while I don't take myself very seriously, I take Jesus and The Bible extremely seriously. As Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision desired, I want my heart to be broken by the things that break the heart of God.
God's heart is certainly shattered over the injustice and murder and racial hatred that has gone on in our world. He's equally shattered over retaliatory acts that also disregard His commands in the form of vandalism and further violence.
I in no way would ever make light of either.
I think my brothers and sisters in Christ have already said some great statements on a Christian response to all this and I echo their comments. Out of the park six runs! :-) (Now those comments will get a cricket response instead of a crickets response.)
Here is the main observation I want to make about the way we often respond to each other, both in person but especially on social media behind the safe reach of keyboards. If you feel that what someone is saying is dotishness (to use a Trini term- i.e. stupidness), then that's something you can address. In addressing it though, let's remember to make sure our words are comporting to Ephesians 4:29 and that we are only saying what's useful to lifting folks up. We already have the world there to beat us down- we don't need more of the same from those who are our friends and especially those who claim the Name of Christ. We must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).
And please remember that behind every statement is a real life person- a human being made in the image of Almighty God, infinitely important, eternally valuable and loved and worthy of love and respect. Remember that what you say to them is akin to saying it to Jesus. (Matthew 25:40) And we will give an account for every single word we say and thought we think to Jesus. (Matthew 12:36) And Jesus says the world will know we are Christians by our love for one another. (John 13:35) Philippians 2 says I am to think of others as better than myself. That is the attitude of humility I should be bringing, taking my example from Jesus Himself.
With that in mind, here are a few things I would plead. Make sure what you're saying is true, kind and helpful and loving. There is a place for bringing rebuke in love- and believe me, I need to hear it. But let's always be gracious in those rebukes as well.
And when we see other's posts that we disagree with, let's always give them the benefit of the doubt. Before lashing out on gut emotion, let's pause to think and catch our mind's breath and and consider who we are dealing with here. Let's make every effort to read those statements in the absolute best light possible, rather than the absolute worst light possible as we often tend to do. Let's assume the best about others rather than assume the worst.
Then in giving our reply, I would encourage leading off with the good stuff. Accentuate the positive first. What are the points of agreement where I can say, "Whoa! You totally rock, dude! (Or dudette, as the case may be.) Thanks for being way awesome and saying that. I LOVE how said that part that is absolutely spot on!"? After saying that, then I'll gently and gingerly get into the points where I have to respectfully disagree.
But let's remember that the likelihood of my stupidity seeping through is high so I may be wrong in my opinion too. But I want you to know I respect your right to your opinion and whether we agree or not- I totally respect you! I always love regardless of where we stand on issues. I don't care what you say that I disagree with- you're still awesome and you're still my friend and brother and sister in The Lord!
Those are the things I often see lacking and I am grieved to see how we tear each other down so much. This is not to say I'm not all jacked up too- I've got plenty of failings too! (Me and Paul keep have WCW/WWF wrestling matches over the "chief of sinners" title weight belt. :-( )
We can all stand to do better.
May our love and righteous anger be like those of Jesus and may He heal us and use us to bring His love to others. And may He bless you all.
It is always interesting reading responses to Scriptures posted online and to ideas in general. There can be a lot of good ideas expressed here. There are usually some I would not agree with but even if I don't, I want to listen and try to understand and learn from them. As I noted with my nephews the other day, I am incredibly stupid quite often so I need to grab whatever learning I can. ;-)
Much of what I would say in response might be said already, though clearly I would likely have befuddled people with esoteric '80s references for no reason and made more poop jokes and such. (Remember that I have already established my capacity for depths of incredible stupidity. ;-) By the way, speaking of befuddlement, if Bugs Bunny's oft hunter became a supervillain, I would definitely want to call Elmer Fudd the Fuddler and write statements like, "The Fuddler finally utterly befuddled that wascally wabbit!")
If I seem to be going out of my way to make dumb jokes, that's because I'm goofy! (Not Goofy- that's trademarked.) And it's also because I wanted to highlight a point made earlier here. We need to slow down, stop, pause and pray before we jump into everything with guns blazing. Sometimes lightening the mood a little can dissipate some tension and defuse some anger. And here we can make sure our anger is directed where it should be in a righteous way.
Let me be very clear that while I don't take myself very seriously, I take Jesus and The Bible extremely seriously. As Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision desired, I want my heart to be broken by the things that break the heart of God.
God's heart is certainly shattered over the injustice and murder and racial hatred that has gone on in our world. He's equally shattered over retaliatory acts that also disregard His commands in the form of vandalism and further violence.
I in no way would ever make light of either.
I think my brothers and sisters in Christ have already said some great statements on a Christian response to all this and I echo their comments. Out of the park six runs! :-) (Now those comments will get a cricket response instead of a crickets response.)
Here is the main observation I want to make about the way we often respond to each other, both in person but especially on social media behind the safe reach of keyboards. If you feel that what someone is saying is dotishness (to use a Trini term- i.e. stupidness), then that's something you can address. In addressing it though, let's remember to make sure our words are comporting to Ephesians 4:29 and that we are only saying what's useful to lifting folks up. We already have the world there to beat us down- we don't need more of the same from those who are our friends and especially those who claim the Name of Christ. We must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).
And please remember that behind every statement is a real life person- a human being made in the image of Almighty God, infinitely important, eternally valuable and loved and worthy of love and respect. Remember that what you say to them is akin to saying it to Jesus. (Matthew 25:40) And we will give an account for every single word we say and thought we think to Jesus. (Matthew 12:36) And Jesus says the world will know we are Christians by our love for one another. (John 13:35) Philippians 2 says I am to think of others as better than myself. That is the attitude of humility I should be bringing, taking my example from Jesus Himself.
With that in mind, here are a few things I would plead. Make sure what you're saying is true, kind and helpful and loving. There is a place for bringing rebuke in love- and believe me, I need to hear it. But let's always be gracious in those rebukes as well.
And when we see other's posts that we disagree with, let's always give them the benefit of the doubt. Before lashing out on gut emotion, let's pause to think and catch our mind's breath and and consider who we are dealing with here. Let's make every effort to read those statements in the absolute best light possible, rather than the absolute worst light possible as we often tend to do. Let's assume the best about others rather than assume the worst.
Then in giving our reply, I would encourage leading off with the good stuff. Accentuate the positive first. What are the points of agreement where I can say, "Whoa! You totally rock, dude! (Or dudette, as the case may be.) Thanks for being way awesome and saying that. I LOVE how said that part that is absolutely spot on!"? After saying that, then I'll gently and gingerly get into the points where I have to respectfully disagree.
But let's remember that the likelihood of my stupidity seeping through is high so I may be wrong in my opinion too. But I want you to know I respect your right to your opinion and whether we agree or not- I totally respect you! I always love regardless of where we stand on issues. I don't care what you say that I disagree with- you're still awesome and you're still my friend and brother and sister in The Lord!
Those are the things I often see lacking and I am grieved to see how we tear each other down so much. This is not to say I'm not all jacked up too- I've got plenty of failings too! (Me and Paul keep have WCW/WWF wrestling matches over the "chief of sinners" title weight belt. :-( )
We can all stand to do better.
May our love and righteous anger be like those of Jesus and may He heal us and use us to bring His love to others. And may He bless you all.
What Not to Flare Up About- and Righteous Anger
Ephesians 4:26 "Don't become so angry that you sin." Interesting translation. I wonder if that's the NLT maybe? Other translations render it as "In your anger do not sin." Great Bible verse to remember (As they all are. ;-))
I suppose either way though there is an implication that there is an acceptable level of anger to have at times. It is entirely possible to be rightfully angry and not sin. Surely Jesus demonstrated that when He turned over the moneychangers' tables, made a whip and chased them out of the temple. He was angry that God's temple was being defiled, which was a righteous anger.
By comparison, we also read about Jonah's anger at God's choice to have mercy upon Nineveh and relent from the calamity He had promised to send. Jonah is also angry and frustrated about the death of the plant that had provided him shade from the sun. God questions him about this in chapter 4 and asks him if he has any right to be angry. Jonah says he does and that he's angry enough to die. God then points out his sinful anger and selfishness at mourning the death of a plant that sprung up overnight and then died but having such indifference about 120,000 people who don't know their left from their right who were perishing in their sin. Surely God should be concerned about them as should Jonah!
We should not get angry out of selfishness based on our own prejudices. Instead, we should be angry at injustice and sin.
And as this same passage in Ephesians 4 says, when we are angry with others, we need to find a good way to resolve it while it is still called today. Don't let it fester into a root of bitterness and don't let the sun go down on our anger.
Reconciliation is reflective of God's heart and it's what we should strive towards as well.
I suppose either way though there is an implication that there is an acceptable level of anger to have at times. It is entirely possible to be rightfully angry and not sin. Surely Jesus demonstrated that when He turned over the moneychangers' tables, made a whip and chased them out of the temple. He was angry that God's temple was being defiled, which was a righteous anger.
By comparison, we also read about Jonah's anger at God's choice to have mercy upon Nineveh and relent from the calamity He had promised to send. Jonah is also angry and frustrated about the death of the plant that had provided him shade from the sun. God questions him about this in chapter 4 and asks him if he has any right to be angry. Jonah says he does and that he's angry enough to die. God then points out his sinful anger and selfishness at mourning the death of a plant that sprung up overnight and then died but having such indifference about 120,000 people who don't know their left from their right who were perishing in their sin. Surely God should be concerned about them as should Jonah!
We should not get angry out of selfishness based on our own prejudices. Instead, we should be angry at injustice and sin.
And as this same passage in Ephesians 4 says, when we are angry with others, we need to find a good way to resolve it while it is still called today. Don't let it fester into a root of bitterness and don't let the sun go down on our anger.
Reconciliation is reflective of God's heart and it's what we should strive towards as well.
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