Gravitating to the Needy

Story of the Day for Monday June 2, 2014

Gravitating to the Needy

 

                           The Lord is good to all; he has mercy on all he has made.

Psalm 145:9

This past year, one of Ireland’s greatest authors, Christopher Nolan, died at the age of 43. Throughout his life he was showered with awards, including: the Honorary Doctor of Letters in the UK, the medal of excellence form the United Nations Society of Writers, and the Person of the Year award in Ireland.

I want to contrast this writing genius with another Irishman who died last year. He went to the same school as the members of the rock band, U2. The band wrote a song, “Miracle Drug,” about this classmate who was born a paraplegic. Doctors gave him a drug which allowed him to control one muscle in his neck. They attached a pointer on his forehead. And then his mother, Bernadette, would patiently hold his head in her cupped hands while her paralyzed son would painstakingly attempt to point to a letter of the alphabet. At his normal rate of about 15 minutes to point to one letter, it would take him about 24 hours to write this sentence.

 

Who is more precious in the eyes of God: an author of dazzling genius or an invalid who takes 2 ½ hours to describe his condition – paraplegic? Sometimes we tend to determine a person’s worth by how much they contribute to society; how much they give to us.  But what about those who have nothing to give to us?  Have you considered how much we gain by what we give to them?  I am humbled by the patience and love that this mother could bring to her paralyzed son. This paralyzed young man inspired Bono to sing his life into our hearts as well.

And, you may be interested to know that Ireland’s heralded author, Christopher Nolan, and the paraplegic child are the same person.

George Gallup Jr. and Timothy Jones wrote a book, The Saints Among Us.  They looked at religious commitment among Americans and isolated those factors that indicated happiness in a person’s life.   The results were surprising.  The happiest people in America tended to be poor, and a member of a racial minority.  But they also discovered that families with a severely handicapped child tended to be happier than those families lacking such a special child to love and care for.

We can see clearly in the gospels that Jesus loves all people.  Yet, how his heart gravitated to the needy!  He showed special care for the very people who were shunted off to the edges of society.

Christopher Nolan has given a great gift to the world.  But his gift is more than the genius of his writings.  His gift is being there, that the healthy may learn to care for the weak.  And that all may learn the compassion of Christ’s heart for us.

(copyright 2011 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)  (image:https://kaarre.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/994a4-1224241576645_1.jpg)

Read Full Post »

Beneath the Dignity of a College Dean

Story of the Day for Wednesday April 30, 2014 

 

Beneath the Dignity of a College Dean

 

                   The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience of spirit is better than pride.

Ecclesiastes 7:8

 

A young man, eagerly wanting to be a missionary, applied as a candidate to a mission society.  The examiner told the candidate to meet him at three o’clock in the morning.  On a cold, winter morning the candidate was ushered into the study, where he waited until 9:00 a.m. for his interview.

The examiner was an old pastor.  He sat down before the candidate and said, “Spell FARMER.”  Then asked, “What is three times three?”

After the young man answered these asinine questions, the old pastor was pleased.  “That’s excellent,” he said, “I believe you have passed the examination.  I will recommend you to the board tomorrow.”

At the board meeting the pastor enthusiastically recommended the candidate: “He has all the qualifications of a missionary.  First, I tested him on self-denial by telling him to meet me at three in the morning.  He came without complaint.”

The pastor continued, “Second, he arrived on time. He is prompt.”

“And, third,” he added, “I examined him for patience.  I made him wait in my study for six hours, and he did so without complaint.”

The pastor beamed, “And, finally, I tested his humility by asking him simple questions a little child could answer, and he showed no indignation.”

“I believe,” he concluded, “that this young man is the kind of missionary we need.”

The Bible links patience with hope, love, and trust.  But, sometimes, patience flows from humility.  The writer of Ecclesiastes contrasts “a spirit of patience” with “pride.”

Once, mischief broke out in a men’s dormitory at a small college in Pennsylvania.  The free-for-all in the hallway involved shaving cream, peanut butter, and jelly.

The college dean was summoned.  He went from room to room to ask what happened and who was responsible for the disaster.  Oddly enough, not a single student seemed aware of any raucous behavior in the hallway.

The dean could have demanded that everyone in the dorm be responsible to clean up the mess.  He also knew that he could have summoned the custodian to clean things up.

Instead, the dean left without a word.  He returned shortly with a bucket and brush.  Removing his coat and tie, he set to work cleaning up the mess.

One by one, heads peeped out of doorways.  As students saw what the dean was doing, they soon joined in and offered to help in scrubbing up.

To patiently clean up the aftermath of a hallway free-for-all is, of course, beneath the dignity of a college dean.

That’s the point.

(copyright 2012 by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(image:https://kaarre.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/465c7-p1090971.jpg)

Read Full Post »

“Long Suffering” is Not Only Long, It’s…

Story of the Day Tuesday April 29, 2014 

 

“Long Suffering” is Not Only Long, It’s…

 

 

Walk worthy of your calling, with complete humility and gentleness.  Be patient – bearing with each other in love. 

Ephesians 4:1-2

 

“Patience” is more than the ability to wait. Fishermen are patient and can stare at a bobber for boundless stretches of time. They are relaxed, comfortable, content.

The biblical virtue of patience, however, involves pain. The King James Version often translated the word for “patience” as “long-suffering” – suffering for a long time.

By the way, what do we call a person who suffers health problems requiring hospitalization?

Here in Ephesians, Paul speaks of patience in the context of our relationships with each other. Love means that we willingly put up with the annoying behavior of others (and hope they will put up with our faults as well.) This kind of patience is more than simply waiting. We are choosing to allow love to transform our attitude toward other people.

John used to be a missionary in western Africa. He needed to fly to the country’s capitol, but the country was so poor, and at war, that they did not have commercial flights available.  His only option was to fly in a military transport plane.

The plane had been gutted. All the seats had been removed so they could cram more soldiers into it. As John boarded the plane he saw it was filled with wounded soldiers who were moaning in pain.  Finding a place to sit, he leaned up against the wall of the plane.

In the sizzling tropical heat, John was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. However, once the plane gained in altitude he began to shiver from the cold. The sweat from his back froze and nailed him to the wall of the plane.

John was acquainted with flying and knew the pilot did not need to fly at such a high altitude. Upset, he demanded that someone come and bring him an explanation.

Soon, a doctor returned.

“This is my fault,” he said. “Many of these soldiers are badly wounded and I have no more medicine to ease their pain. I asked the pilot to increase the altitude of the plane, so that the cold might numb their agony just a little.”

The doctor was apologetic. “I’m sorry for any discomfort this is causing you.”

Well. That changed everything. For the rest of the flight John gladly offered up his suffering for the sake of the injured soldiers.

The cold did not change.  But John’s heart did.

(copyright by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(image: http://cdn.lightgalleries.net/4bd5ebf721640/images/42-15133330-2.jpg)

 

Read Full Post »

“Long Suffering” is Not Only Long, It’s…

Story of the Day Thursday November 1, 2012 

“Long Suffering” is Not Only Long, It’s…

 

                Walk worthy of your calling, with complete humility and gentleness.  Be patient – bearing with each other in love. 

                                                                                          Ephesians 4:1-2

 

“Patience” is more than the ability to wait. Fishermen are patient and can stare at a bobber for boundless stretches of time. They are relaxed, comfortable, content.

The biblical virtue of patience, however, involves pain. The King James Version often translated the word for “patience” as “long-suffering” – suffering for a long time.

By the way, what do we call a person who suffers health problems requiring hospitalization?

 

Here in Ephesians, Paul speaks of patience in the context of our relationships with each other. Love means that we willingly put up with the annoying behavior of others (and hope they will put up with our faults as well.) This kind of patience is more than simply waiting. We are choosing to allow love to transform our attitude toward other people.

 

John used to be a missionary in western Africa. He needed to fly to the country’s capitol, but the country was so poor, and at war, that they did not have commercial flights available.  His only option was to fly in a military transport plane.

The plane had been gutted. All the seats had been removed so they could cram more soldiers into it. As John boarded the plane he saw it was filled with wounded soldiers who were moaning in pain.  Finding a place to sit, he leaned up against the wall of the plane.

 

In the sizzling tropical heat, John was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. However, once the plane gained in altitude he began to shiver from the cold. The sweat from his back froze and nailed him to the wall of the plane.

John was acquainted with flying and knew the pilot did not need to fly at such a high altitude. Upset, he demanded that someone come and bring him an explanation.

Soon, a doctor returned.

“This is my fault,” he said. “Many of these soldiers are badly wounded and I have no more medicine to ease their pain. I asked the pilot to increase the altitude of the plane, so that the cold might numb their agony just a little.”

The doctor was apologetic. “I’m sorry for any discomfort this is causing you.”

 

Well. That changed everything. For the rest of the flight John gladly offered up his suffering for the sake of the injured soldiers.

The cold did not change.  But John’s heart did.

(copyright by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre) 

 

Read Full Post »

Beneath the Dignity of a College Dean

Story of the Day for Tuesday November 1, 2011

Beneath the Dignity of a College Dean

                    The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience of spirit is better than pride. 

                                                                       Ecclesiastes 7:8

A young man, eagerly wanting to be a missionary, applied as a candidate to a mission society.  The examiner told the candidate to meet him at three o’clock in the morning.  On a cold, winter morning the candidate was ushered into the study, where he waited until 9:00 a.m. for his interview.

The examiner was an old pastor.  He sat down before the candidate and said, “Spell FARMER.”  Then asked, “What is three times three?”

After the young man answered these asinine questions, the old pastor was pleased.  “That’s excellent,” he said, “I believe you have passed the examination.  I will recommend you to the board tomorrow.”

 

At the board meeting the pastor enthusiastically recommended the candidate: “He has all the qualifications of a missionary.  First, I tested him on self-denial by telling him to meet me at three in the morning.  He came without complaint.”

The pastor continued, “Second, he arrived on time. He is prompt.”

“And, third,” he added, “I examined him for patience.  I made him wait in my study for six hours, and he did so without complaint.”

The pastor beamed, “And, finally, I tested his humility by asking him simple questions a little child could answer, and he showed no indignation.”

“I believe,” he concluded, “that this young man is the kind of missionary we need.”

 

The Bible links patience with hope, love, and trust.  But, sometimes, patience flows from humility.  The writer of Ecclesiastes contrasts “a spirit of patience” with “pride.”

 

Once, mischief broke out in a men’s dormitory at a small college in Pennsylvania.  The free-for-all in the hallway involved shaving cream, peanut butter, and jelly.

The college dean was summoned.  He went from room to room to ask what happened and who was responsible for the disaster.  Oddly enough, not a single student seemed aware of any raucous behavior in the hallway.

The dean could have demanded that everyone in the dorm be responsible to clean up the mess.  He also knew that he could have summoned the custodian to clean things up.

Instead, the dean left without a word.  He returned shortly with a bucket and brush.  Removing his coat and tie, he set to work cleaning up the mess.

One by one, heads peeped out of doorways.  As students saw what the dean was doing, they soon joined in and offered to help in scrubbing up.

 

To patiently clean up the aftermath of a hallway free-for-all is, of course, beneath the dignity of a college dean.

That’s the point.

                                                             (copyright by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

Read Full Post »