At the End of the Day. James W. Moore
taking the final that instead of studying, they partied the weekend before the final exam, which was scheduled for 8:00 A.M. on Monday. However, they partied so much that they overslept Monday morning and missed their exam.
They went to the professor to explain, and they made up quite a story. They told him that they were out of town for the weekend and planned to come back in plenty of time to study, but they had had a flat tire on the way back and did not have a spare tire. They were stranded on the highway and only just now got back to campus; could they take the final exam at another time? The professor thought this over for a moment and then agreed to let them take the final exam at 8:00 the next morning. The two guys were elated, and they studied organic chemistry all night long.
The next morning, the professor placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet and told them to begin. On the first page was written: "Question One (value 5 points): Describe and give a specific illustration of free radical formation."
"Great," they thought, "we know this. This is going to be easy." Each completed that problem and turned to the next page. They were unprepared, however, for what they saw on the page. It said: "Question Two (value 95 points): WHICH TIRE?" (Homiletics [July 1998]: 24-25).
They had been caught—"done in." They were brought down by their high-sounding but false words. Like a boomerang, their lie came back to haunt them. There's a lesson there somewhere, and I think it is this: Christianity is not just a creed we profess; it is a lifestyle we live. It's not enough to say the words. We must live our faith in the day-to-day world. One of the things that is so beautiful in this story in Acts 3 is that we see Peter and John living their faith out in the world and sharing their faith with this man in need, giving to him the love of Jesus and the healing that only Christ can bring.
The great artist Rembrandt did a fascinating thing in one of his paintings. Instead of painting a halo over the head of Jesus in one work of art, he painted a halo around his hands. Not over his head, but around his hands! Why? Over the years, art critics have debated why Rembrandt did this. It seems to me that he was reminding us of all the ways Christ used his hands to do his ministry. With his holy and sacred hands, he healed the sick, fed the hungry, blessed the children, and raised the dead. With his hands, he showed us how to live faith and how to put our faith to work. With the sacred touch of his hands, he gives us a self we can live with and a faith we can live by.
Third and Finally, Christ's Healing Love Gives Us a Love We Can Live Out
A little boy in his Sunday school class was asked this question: "Johnny, what do you think the Bible is trying to teach us?" I love Johnny's answer. He said, "The Bible is telling us to love God and to love people 365 days each year, and to be sure not to take too many days off."
In Keith Miller's book A Second Touch ([Waco, Tex.: Word Books, 1967], 63-64), there is a story about a busy executive living in an eastern city, who was rushing to catch a train. He had been so caught up in the pressures and hassles and stresses of the business world that he was worn to a frazzle. There were so many demands, so many deadlines. So this day, he rebelled. On this particular morning, he decided really to try to be a Christian instead of just talking about it. This day, no matter what, he was going to live in the spirit of Jesus Christ's love.
Just as he was boarding the train, he accidentally bumped into a little boy who was carrying a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces scattered everywhere. Normally, the man would have jumped on the train and rushed to the office without offering to help the boy, but he remembered his decision to live in the spirit of Christ's love. So he stopped and helped the boy pick up the puzzle pieces. The train started to pull out slowly.
The little boy watched him closely, realizing the sacrifice the man had made and realizing the man had missed his train in order to help. When all the puzzle pieces were found and safely back in the box, the little boy said, "Mister, are you Jesus?"
That's probably what that man at the Temple wanted to ask Peter that day: "Hey, Mister, are you Jesus?"
Now, let me ask you something. Has anyone ever seen the love of Jesus that powerfully in you? My prayer is that God, through the power of the risen Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit, will enable us to live each day in such a way that when we come to the end of our days on this earth, we will be remembered as persons, who by the healing love of Christ, had a self we could live with, a faith we could live by, and a love we could live out.
As One Who Celebrated the Joy of the Journey?
Scripture: Deuteronomy 34:1-8
Some years ago, Robert J. Hastings wrote a classic essay called "The Station." In it, he shows us that it is not enough to long for a happy ending somewhere in the distant future, but rather, he reminds us that there is great joy in the journey through life. In powerful and colorful words, Hastings invites us to imagine that our life is like a long, long trip on a passenger train. There is beautiful scenery to see and savor, fascinating people to meet and appreciate. But instead we give our energy to focusing on our final destination. We can't enjoy the trip because we can't wait to make it to the station. Restless, impatient, we pace the aisles and count the minutes and resent the waste of time it takes to make the journey. We long to hurry and make it to the station. All this traveling is so much drudgery. When we finally reach the station, real life will begin.
Hastings translates that to mean that real life will begin when I get that new car, when I finish putting my kids through college, when I get that new job, or when I reach retirement. Then I can really live.
Hastings points out that it doesn't work that way. When we arrive at that destination, we don't find the fulfillment we had so longed for and wanted. Then Hastings says this: "The true joy of life is in the journey! So relish the moment!"
He urges us to stop counting the miles and pacing the aisles and instead to begin seeing each day as a precious gift from God. Rejoice in it and be thankful for it. Celebrate life and see the miracles of God all around us. Live life to the full as we go along. The station will come soon enough.
Is Robert J. Hastings right? What do you think? Is it possible that we get so caught up in our dream of a "happy ending" that we miss the joy of the journey? Could it be that we sometimes look so intently for some "promised land" tucked away in the distant future that we become amazingly blind to what we already have at our fingertips? Let's think about this together for a few moments. Very simply, I want to lay a few ideas before you. Here is idea number one.
First, the Truth Is That We All Have Known Some Disappointment, Some Frustration, Some Uncompleted Task, Some Unhappy Ending
All of us have known the experience of wanting some promised land and yet never quite getting there. Let me show you what I mean.
Remember Abraham Lincoln. He led the nation through terrible conflict. He brought the American Civil War to an end. He was ready to lead our nation in peace, "with malice toward none and charity for all." But it did not turn out that way. He went to Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. one night and was assassinated. So quickly, so harshly, so abruptly, so tragically, it was over for him. He was so near the promised land, but he only "glimpsed it from afar."
Some years ago, a young left-handed pitcher broke into the major leagues of professional baseball. He was so talented that he quickly made headlines with his scorching fastball. He became an all-star in his rookie season and was destined to become one of the greatest pitchers of all time. However, early in his career, during the off-season, he slipped while mowing his lawn, barefooted. His foot went under the mower and was severely cut. He underwent surgery, and his foot healed. Somehow, the accident affected his stride, and Herb Score's fastball was never the same. In a few short months, he realized that he could not make a comeback, and he dropped out of baseball while still in his early twenties. He was so near the promised land, but he only glimpsed it from afar.