Birds Have Nests

All I need is a place to lay my head—and my old Martin guitar.

I’ve known of folk like him all my life. Granted, not all of them choose the life they live, as he has.  The man speaking is dressed in clothes he obviously purchased from the Goodwill store.  He probably even slept in them last night—in his car, it would appear.

He has no family to speak of.  No children.  No wife.  There is no one who depends on him—except himself.  He doesn’t want it any other way.  He is satisfied with the way things are going.

I stood and thought one day recently, as I said goodbye once again to my footloose friend.  What would make a man want to live like that?

I still have no answer.

Most of us want nests—homes to which we can retreat—safe places for our children and spouses.  We want warmth and comfort, along with protection and safety.  In our homes, we feel all these things.

Mothers-to-be—most of them—feel the nesting instinct.  They want to clean and paint, and sometimes to add on a nursery.  (Just ask any father-to-be.)  Our Creator made them so, building the nesting instinct into their psyche.

In nesting, we find our first fulfillment as a parent.  There will be many more satisfying moments in the years to come, but before they arrive, we first have the need to ensure our offspring will be safe.  We want them to have the best chance to arrive in one piece to the age at which we can push them out—of the nest—to fly on their own.  It is what we are made for.

And still, the question nags at me: Why would someone choose to live without a nest—a home?

As I contemplate the question, a scene wavers on the edge of my consciousness.  I push it away.  It is not what I want to consider.

The scene will not be ignored.  Against my better judgment, in my mind’s eye, I let it play out.

A crowd of people is moving through a dry and dusty landscape.  There is a lake nearby, and it is clear that many of the men are carrying their belongings, everything they own, on their backs.  One of them doesn’t belong in the scene at all.

A well-dressed man—obviously a learned fellow—he is addressing the leader of the group.  He makes the claim, with much bravado, but not much conviction, that he will follow the Teacher wherever He goes.

The Teacher replies, telling the religious man that, unlike the foxes (who have dens) and the birds (who have their nests), he had no place even to lay His head.  (Matthew 8:18-20)

I don’t know if the man followed Him or not. but I wonder—I can’t help it—I wonder why there is no place for the Teacher to call home.  

How did the Baby—whose mother wrapped Him gently and laid Him in a manger, whose earthly father taught him in the arts of carpentry, whose parents were so concerned about Him wandering off into the temple at the age of twelve—how did He turn into a man who had no place to sleep?

How is it that this Son of God is homeless?

The answer hits me like an avalanche and knocks me down, breathless.

He chose this!  

Do you suppose He could not have had the finest palace if He had desired it?  Do you think a life of ease was beyond His power?

There was nothing—no power on earth—that could have denied Him any comfort He wanted.

And, just as quickly as that, I have my answer.  He chose.  He chose to leave the comfort of His home and its protection so He could bring mankind to a place of protection and rest!

His invitation to the people of His day was that they come to Him, as chicks run to the mother hen and shelter under her wings, safe in the nest.  (Luke 13:34)  

They would not.  It didn’t stop Him.

Do you see the picture?  He left the nest to bring us to the nest!  

It was always about gathering us to safety—always that we might be protected.

Even as He died in our place, the assurance was of a nest being prepared.  If I go and prepare a place, I will bring you to safety there. (John 14:3)

He wandered, homeless, so we wouldn’t have to.

Why would we make any other choice?  Why would we still wander, homeless?

stork-931864_1280It is safe in the nest.

I could use that reassurance today.  Maybe you could too.

Time for rest.

Nestle down and abide.

Under His wings.

 

 

Under His wings, under His wings,
Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide forever.
(William Cushing ~American pastor/poet ~ 1823-1902)

© Paul Phillips. He’s Taken Leave. 2016. All Rights Reserved.

It Rubs Off On Us

Be sure to bring an extra pair of coveralls tomorrow.  We’re going to the wheel factory.

The electrician made the suggestion to his apprentice as they parked the service van and headed home for the night.  The young man’s heart sank.

Wheel factory?  Tomorrow?  What a disaster! 

He had hoped for a day of residential service calls instead.  Those, he liked.  They kept your brain active, trying to crack the mystery of where a certain circuit ran, or why the washing machine shocked the owner when she touched it. 

He might even get to wait patiently by an outlet, watching a test meter as the electrician flipped breakers and clipped wires, trying to bring a dead circuit to life once again.  That was simple, clean work which gave you a good feeling when you left the house with a satisfied customer waving from the doorway. 

The wheel factory?  There was nothing worse!

I’ll attempt to paint you a picture, shall I? 

The factory looked like any other ordinary industrial facility.  Stacks of iron wheels and brake drums stood round, strapped to pallets and awaiting their turn to be moved—the finished ones by semi-truck to the distant factories which had ordered them—the unprocessed ones by forklift into the plant nearby.  There, they would be machined and drilled to the specifications which the tractor, automobile, and truck designers had determined. 

Before the men headed in, our apprentice and his boss pulled on their coveralls and changed shoes.  You’ll understand this a little better in a few moments.  Walking toward the plant, with a tool belt on his waist and a fiberglass ladder over his shoulder, the full effect of the nightmare which was about to begin was still not clear, and the young apprentice thought, perhaps this won’t be so bad after all. 

Ah! But, when the doorway was breached, and the vista of the huge building stretched out before him, the panic struck anew.

The first thing he noticed was the screech of the metal lathes pulsating and rising in pitch as each cut was made.  The noise was not only deafening, but to his ears (he liked to think, sensitive musician’s ears) it was horrific, jarring him to the core.  The din was almost painful—the perpetual squeal altering and dulling his other senses. 

After the initial shock of the noise, he noticed the thick ever-present smog hanging in the air.  Blue, oily smoke wafted up from every machine that cut and shaped and drilled, aided by the heat of the process and the liberal use of the viscous fluid to cool the cutting edges.  The huge fans at the end of the building dragged the thickening atmosphere across the length of the entire building before pulling it, square foot by sooty square foot, from the building.

He shuddered to think what the air would be like in this horrible place if the fans were not functioning, but still it seemed they only sucked the nasty stuff in never-ending  waves across anyone who was between the machines and the giant rotating fan blades.  He would soon be breathing in that vile mixture…and the eerie place was only to get worse.

The plant maintenance man saw them come in and motioned them over.  They followed him along rows of raw materials and machinery until he stopped beside one mammoth drill press.  Pointing to the oily, slimy monster, he shouted over the shriek of the nearby lathes and the high-pitched whine of the drill presses;

“This one!  It’s got to be rewired!” 

With that, he was gone.  As he disappeared into the maze of iron and machines, the apprentice looked down at his own hands.  He would swear that he hadn’t touched anything, but they were black with grime already.  He coughed with the stench of iron shavings mixed with oil and realized that his nightmare had already begun. 

Hours later, when he and the master electrician picked up their tools and ladders and headed out to the blessed quiet and clean air of the world outside, they were both covered from head to toe with the filth.  Their coveralls would take several cycles through the wash to come reasonably clean and they couldn’t wear their shoes anywhere until the soles were cleaned with de-greaser and solvents. 

The young man coughed up black junk from his chest for hours.  The headache would last longer than that.

Is the picture horrible enough for you?  Is there a point to this horror story? 

You know there is. 

What I’d like to be able to do is to draw the parallel between the filthy factory and the dirty places in the world we can get into.  We can’t rub shoulders with filthy people without some of it rubbing off on us.  The transfer of polluted substances is almost instantaneous. 

I’d like to be able to tell you that the moral of the story is that we should stay out of those places.  I want to suggest that we should never associate with those dirty people and places. 

What a simple solution!  To avoid getting dirty, stay away from filthy locations and grimy humans.

I’d like to be able to tell you that, but I would be wrong.  For too long though, it is just what we have done. 

We don’t drink, smoke, or chew; and we don’t go with girls that do

Our pride and our arrogance have led us to believe that if we can keep our clothes and our hands clean, nothing more is required of us. 

We live upright and impeccable lives and think we have achieved the goal. 

We couldn’t be further from the truth.

homeless-845752_1280Several times in my writing, I’ve mentioned the hugs I get from some of those dirty people.  My clothes stink until they are washed.  A customer who walked in my store immediately after one such episode actually wrinkled up her nose as I waited on her. 

Dirty rubs off on us.  It sticks and leaves evidence. 

The religious leaders in Jesus’ time thought so too, as they accused him of being a drunkard and a sinner.  He spent His time with people who needed baths and who needed medicine and who needed a Priest. 

The stench sticks to everyone in the vicinity.  

Mother Teresa ministered among the diseased and poor of Calcutta, India for decades.  I believe the love of Jesus shone through her life.  I wonder, do you imagine this little woman smelled good?  Do you think she was always spotless and clean?  You don’t live and minister in the filth of one of the poorest, dirtiest cities in the world and stay clean and fresh. 

Dirty rubs off on us.

Have you been in the vicinity of someone who is dirty recently?  I’m including the spiritually dirty, as well as the physically unclean.  It’s not necessarily a nice feeling, is it?  There was residue left on you—on your person and on your soul—was there not? 

Dirty rubs off on us.  

But, here’s the other thing we need to know. 

When we spend time with, and give of ourselves to, the kinds of people who need our attention—the poor, the lost ones, the souls who are wandering—we infect them too. 

This infection, you can’t smell and you can’t see. But we are promised there is a payoff. Promised.

God says that, without fail, His Word achieves its purpose (Isaiah 55:10-11), and also that as we give, we receive. (Luke 6:38

If we’re stingy and keep what we’ve been blessed with for ourselves, we’ll lose even that. (Luke 19:24)

Like the young electrical apprentice, we may hate the process.  It will involve pain, and filth, and discomfort.

We’ll also have the uninhibited joy, as we walk away, of knowing that we’ve accomplished exactly what you went for. 

The dirt—the stench—that ringing in our ears?  They will go away, but the joy will remain.

Dirty does indeed, rub off on us. 

But, the original cleanser still washes whiter than snow.

 

 

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full–pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
(Luke 6:38~NLT)

 

“If my baseball uniform doesn’t get dirty, I haven’t done anything in the baseball game.”
(Ricky Henderson~Former Major League Baseball left fielder)

 

 

 

© Paul Phillips. He’s Taken Leave. 2016. All Rights Reserved.

Shaken Together, Running Over

I’ve told the story before.  Stop me if you’ve already heard it.

It is the story of a Yankee spinster who left her family behind in Pennsylvania and made her way to the southern hills of Oklahoma and Arkansas, with a detour through Chicago.  

I suppose the road to the hills actually was the detour.  Chicago was in the master-plan.  But, the road should have led from there to China instead of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma and Arkansas are a long way from China. When one is aiming for the Orient, the back roads of the central U.S. might seem like a disappointment.

Failure even.

Perhaps I should just tell the story.  I’ll try to keep it short—or not.  Probably not.  

Miss Peggy was called to be a missionary to China.  She just knew it.  She even knew what to do about it.  In Chicago, a little Bible school called Moody Bible Institute had been started about thirty years before by the great evangelist, Dwight L. Moody.  They would give her the training she needed.  

She started there.  China would be the next stop.  

Only it wasn’t.

Political unrest had already begun in that country, with the result being that no mission organization would allow a single woman to go there by herself.  She didn’t know what to do.  She was called to go to China.  Called.

A young man in her class at the Bible Institute heard of her dilemma and asked to meet with her.  In that fateful meeting, he explained that he had been called to minister to the rural communities in Northwest Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma.  But, having heard that she was being forced to abandon her plans, he wondered if there might not be another solution.

The mission boards were still sending single men to China.  Perhaps, he could go in her place.  There was one stipulation though.  She would have to take his place in rural Oklahoma and Arkansas.

It wasn’t what she wanted, but it made sense.  She agreed and headed for the hills when her classes at the institute were completed.  For sixty years, she faithfully taught Bible classes to the children in rural schools throughout the region.  

Sixty years.  She was allowed to travel to the schools and given a classroom to teach children who wanted to learn Bible verses and listen to her stories.  Flannelgraphs were manipulated, and mimeographed papers were handed out to the eager students.  The ones who memorized the most Scripture verses were the envy of the other kids, because Miss Peggy awarded them little New Testaments of their very own.

Sixty years, she was faithful to her task.  Can you imagine the number of children who heard the Gospel story from her lips.  Can you imagine the spiritual legacy?

I said she was faithful for sixty years.  And, so she was.  But, for every one of those sixty years, she mourned for her beloved China and her calling.  

She was called to China!  

Because of her great love for the Chinese people, she made an effort to meet and befriend all of the Chinese folks who came within her reach over the years.  To that end, she contacted the local university in our little town regularly to inquire of new students from that great country.  They were happy to arrange for the sweet old lady to meet the newcomers, whenever there were any.

Sam and his wife had left China under a cloud, his father having been arrested for preaching the gospel in a land where it was forbidden.  His father died in prison and there was a fear that Sam might suffer the same fate.  So, they came to the United States under a student visa and made their way to this little town of ten thousand and the Christian university here.

Miss Peggy wasn’t long in befriending Sam and his family.  When I say befriending, I mean they spent hours together, talking of China and the secret Church, along with many mealtimes spent discussing the Lord they all loved, and His great care for all His children.  

By this time, Miss Peggy was nearly blind from the disease of macular degeneration, and had lost much of her hearing.  Still, her love for China, and this Chinese family in particular, drove her to ignore any hardships caused by the additional activity.

It would be an understatement of huge proportion to say she was not prepared for what happened one Sunday afternoon after they had shared a meal at Sam’s house.  

Somehow, as they sat drinking tea and relaxing, the discussion turned to his family in China and he took out the family Bible, written in Chinese.  Reading the names from the front of the big book, he spoke with love and respect of several who had already gone to be with the Lord.

Suddenly, Miss Peggy jumped as if an electrical current had gone through her.

“Stop!  Go back and read that again!”

Sam looked up with a quizzical expression, but did as he was bid.  Reading the name and Scripture verse the person had inserted into the record on the page, he explained that this American missionary had been instrumental in bringing his father to faith in God and also had encouraged him to enter the ministry.  Then he stopped speaking and looked at the little elderly lady again.

The look of shock on Miss Peggy’s face was almost comical.  Mouth open and unseeing eyes like saucers, she raised her hands to her face and the tears began to fall.

It was the very man who had traded places with her!  The very man.  And here, right in front of her, were the products of that transaction.

As the impact of their discovery hit them, there were more folks than the old missionary crying.  Imagine!  Out of the millions of people in China—out of the multiple countries this family could have fled to—out of the thousands of schools they could have attended—they came to the one place they needed to be.

William-Adolphe_Bouguereau_(1825-1905)_-_Thirst_(1886)I can’t imagine a more fulfilling moment in the ninety-four years the dear saint lived on this earth.  In that moment, she realized that her life’s ambition, the one thing she had ever desired more than anything else, had been achieved.

She had given it up to take a detour to the backwoods of Oklahoma and Arkansas.  Sixty years, she had served faithfully, keeping a bargain she had made under duress.  Thousands already, had benefited from her service.  Now, in her last days on earth, she realized that her deepest desires had been fulfilled.  

She was called to China!

Talk about a pay off!

And the Teacher told His followers, give and you will receive it back—more than your cup can hold—sifted and blended, it will run over into your lap and onto the floor.  (Luke 6:38)

Life doesn’t always go the way we’ve planned.  Oddly enough, it seldom goes the way we’ve planned.

The road leads to places we never dreamed of.  

We walk it anyway.

The years take away our physical strength and abilities.  We keep moving ahead.

The pay-off lies up there.  Ahead.  Beyond the hills, past the valleys, through the flooded streams.

And, after all the toil and hardship, we find that God gives good gifts.  

Always.

Even after sixty years of waiting.

 

 

 

Winners never quit and quitters never win.
(Vince Lombardi ~ American football coach ~ 1913-1970) 

 

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him…Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
(James 1: 12, 17 ~ NIV)

 

 

 

 
© Paul Phillips. He’s Taken Leave. 2016. All Rights Reserved.

Already Safe

There are two black labs in my backyard. 

They’re not all that smart.

I would like to believe I’m much more intelligent than they.  Some days (or nights), I think I could even prove the point.

Somehow though, that assumption is not always accurate.  Oh, it’s not as if they are as intelligent as I; just that I am as ignorant as they are.  Yes, I realize it might be a fine line, but there is a difference.  I think.  Or is it, I hope?

It was a dark and stormy night—no, really—a dark and stormy night.  I was heading to bed after a frustrating non-writing session at the computer when I noticed a noise from the backyard.  

The two large dogs, brother and sister, were out in the gale, staring up into the huge mulberry tree.  I’ve seen that stance before.  They have chased a critter up the tree.  

This could take awhile.

There are a few things you should know about this situation.  The first is these dogs are stubborn—tenacious—adamant, even.  

Bull-headed, the red haired lady who raised me would call it.

I shone my light into the branches of the tree and found the object of their attentiveness.  The critter was hiding his face, but as I moved around the storage building in my way, I was rewarded with a glance at his black robber’s mask.

The black monsters had treed a raccoon.  The little fellow was lodged in the fork of the branch.  He wasn’t budging.

Down on the ground, the black beasts weren’t going anywhere, either.

Stalemate.

This didn’t look encouraging.  

I asked myself a couple of questions:

The dogs have a really nice, heated dog house in which to pass cold windy nights.  Do you suppose they might just get cold and retire to their comfy home?

The trunk of the tree up which the raccoon had clambered is actually outside the fenced yard in which the big black dogs run.  Is it possible he would just shinny down the rough bole and scamper across the ground to his lair?

Neither was likely.  I did the only thing that made any sense.

I locked the dogs in the storage building.  There is a carpet on the floor, laid there for just such eventualities, and I had the foresight to put their water bowl in with them—in case they had worked up a thirst in the commotion.

I locked them in and went to bed.  Slept like a baby.

Very early in the morning, I did go outside again. Just for a few seconds.  I shone the flashlight up into the tree to be sure, but I knew what I would find.  There was no raccoon to be seen.

I opened the door to the storage building.  My two best friends lay side by side on the carpet, asleep.  It took them a moment to realize I was at the door, but they slowly got to their feet and stretching, ambled outside.  It was as if none of the frenetic activity in the wee hours of the morning had happened at all.

As if nothing had happened.

They slept as well as I did.  Five feet above the roof of the building in which alsatian-344065_1280they slept, the raccoon was lodged in the crook of the tree branch. Yet, they slept as if the critter were ten miles away.

As for the raccoon, his situation was not much different either.  Ten feet below him, the great hunters were as close as they had ever been.  Maybe closer.  

When he could see them, he wasn’t budging.  Not an inch.  I didn’t stay out to watch, but I don’t imagine it was long after the door closed on the shed that he began his trek down to safety.

May I point out something?  It may come as a surprise to you, but the raccoon was never in any danger.  

Never.

Dogs don’t climb trees.  Can’t.  Won’t.  They weren’t coming up to get him.  So, the little fella just waited.  Once they were gone, he would move, but not one second before.

But, he could have left the tree at any time he wanted!  The tree in which he cowered was planted in a safe place.  He never had to cower.  Not one moment.

He was always safe.  

I wonder.  How many days—weeks—years have we cowered here when all we needed to do was walk to freedom?

While we eye the terrifying circumstances circling around us, safety lies as close as a few steps in the right direction.

But first, we have to tear our eyes away from the dreadful creatures below.

Perhaps, we have the need for a loving Creator to make the creatures get out of our sight.  But, I’m not sure He needs to make them go away—not even sure if He will make them go away while we live in this world.

What if all that is necessary is for us to see that safety is already ours?

The prophet Elisha’s servant certainly needed that.  It was one of my favorite stories in Sunday School many years ago.  It still is.  The servant rose up early in the morning and saw a terrifying enemy surrounding them.  It was all he could see.  Chariots and soldiers.  Spears and clubs.  Arrows and swords.  Just imagine the terror.  Imagine.

Surely, the prophet could have prayed for escape.  A chariot from heaven perhaps?  He had seen that chariot before.  But no—he prayed that his servant would be able to see.  That’s it.  Open his eyes, Lord.  He needs to see.  (2 Kings 6:15-17)

Personally, I still find it hard to say the words.  I want the easy escape.  I want the miracle rescue.

Open my eyes.

Do the miracles come?  They do.  But, why pray for a miracle when He’s already made the way?

Sometimes the snarling savage beasts below just close their eyes and go to sleep.

Sometimes, we just need to get up and walk right out of the prison we’ve made for ourselves.

Open our eyes, Lord.  We need to see.

You.  We need to see You.

 

 

Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.
(from The Silver Chair ~ C.S. Lewis ~ English author/educator ~ 1898-1963)

 

 

For I am the Lord your God
    who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
    I will help you.
(Isaiah 41:13 ~ NIV)

 

 
© Paul Phillips. He’s Taken Leave. 2016. All Rights Reserved.

Got the Tee Shirt

The man was honest.  You’ve got to give him that.  Come to think of it, it was really his tee-shirt that was honest.

He started talking almost as he walked in the front door.

“I’m looking for a job.  Are you hiring?”

I was pretty blunt with him.  We are a Mom and Pop store in the truest sense of the term.  The Lovely Lady and I, with the help of my sister, run the business.

We’re not hiring.

I wouldn’t have hired him anyway.  One look at what he was wearing, and anyone considering him for a job would have made the same determination. It would be nice if all decisions were that easy.

Honesty.  What a concept!

The man’s tee shirt had the words emblazoned across his chest in all caps.

I”M REALLY LAZY.

There were other words printed below.  I’m sure they were supposed to be funny, but all I could see were those three.

I’m really lazy.  Talk about truth in advertising!

The mind jumps immediately to the possibilities for this type of labeling.  

I gamble compulsively.  Casinos could avoid a world of problems.

I’m a mean drunk.  Bartenders would know when to shut off the flow of liquor. 

And, just like that I’m seeing a new line of clothing for the Sunday morning wardrobe.

I’m a horrible gossip—I can’t control my appetite—I curse like a sailor—I’m addicted to Internet pornography—I’m full of pride.

The potential for this is fantastic!  

James said we should confess our sins to each other.  (James 5:16)  We’re not doing so well at that anyway.  This could really change our Sunday morning services.

As my imagination runs wild, I suddenly recall another fellow who came into the music store that very same day.  Not more than an hour after the hapless young job seeker walked out my door, the next victim of my labeling system walked in.

The elderly lady and I were just completing our transaction when the door was pushed open.  She had asked for an old Southern Gospel song and we found it in a songbook.  I was giving her the change from her purchase and nodded to the fellow in my best I’ll-be-with-you-in-a-minute manner.  

The young man was easy for me to read—nearly as easy as the lady had been.  In his twenties, the Hispanic man was wearing a cap with the bill flattened and turned at a slight angle.  He returned my nod with an abrupt one of his own and began to look at the guitars.  

We wouldn’t have anything to talk about.  This one would want sound equipment for his band, equipment I was sure not to have.  He wouldn’t hang around long.

There was no tee shirt, but the label I saw read, We have nothing in common.

Just as the lady put her hand on the knob to exit, the young man called out to her.

“Are you in a hurry, Ma’am?”

When she answered that she wasn’t, he turned to me and asked another question.

“Do you mind if we worship the Lord together for a minute?”

We have nothing in common.  Really?  Boy, did I misread that label!

We prayed together and then we sang, his tone clear and strong, mine somewhat less clear.  It could have been the tears that came as I tried to sing harmony to his pure melody.  

It wasn’t only the song that brought tears.

This is the air I breathe—Your Holy presence, living in me.

I repent.  

Labels would never work.  They never have.  I’m not that good at judging character.  

We’re not that good at judging character.

label-381246_1280Besides that, the labels that fit yesterday may not be appropriate tomorrow.

I found a phrase in my notes the other day.  I like to jot down thoughts as they come to me.  I might be able to make sense of them some day.  Today this one makes sense to me.

“Knowing a man’s past doesn’t make you privy to his future.”

People change.  Not on their own.  On our own, it is impossible to be anyone but who we are and have been.  But, God reminds us that He still makes new.  Somehow, His creation isn’t complete yet.  He changes the labels.

He changes the labels.

The Apostle who loved to write letters ran through a list of horrendous labels, the worst you could imagine, applying them to his readers in the past tense.

Such were some of you.  But God gave you different labels.  

Okay—so he didn’t word it quite like that, but if you’ll read it for yourself, I promise it’s almost the same.  (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

The elderly lady and the young man are part of the same family.  

Me too.

I kind of like not having to wear the tee shirt.  It doesn’t mean we don’t need to share our struggles with each other.  But, they don’t describe who we are anymore.

We have a new label.  I’m pretty sure He’d like for us to treat each other as if it was true of every person in His family.

Because it is.  Always.

I’ll wear this tee shirt.  One word emblazoned across the chest in all caps.

One word.

FORGIVEN.

 

 

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
(2 Corinthians 5:17 ~ NASB)

 

This is the air I breathe,
This is the air I breathe,
Your holy presence living in me.

This is my daily bread,
This is my daily bread,
Your very word spoken to me.

And I—I’m desperate for you;
And I—I’m lost without you.
(from Breathe ~ Marie Barnett ~ American songwriter)

 

 
© Paul Phillips. He’s Taken Leave. 2016. All Rights Reserved.