March 13, 2009

READ: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

We were burdened beyond measure, . . . so that we despaired even of life. —2 Corinthians 1:8

When I was a child, kids on the playground jokingly quoted Shakespeare’s famous line: “To be or not to be—that is the question!” But we really didn’t understand what it meant. Later I learned that Shakespeare’s character Hamlet, who speaks these lines, is a melancholy prince who learns that his uncle has killed his father and married his mother. The horror of this realization is so disturbing that he contemplates suicide. The question for him was: “to be” (to go on living) or “not to be” (to take his own life).

At times, life’s pain can become so overwhelming that we are tempted to despair. The apostle Paul told the church at Corinth that his persecution in Asia was so intense he “despaired even of life” (2 Cor. 1:8). Yet by shifting his focus to his life-sustaining God, he became resilient instead of overwhelmed, and learned “that we should not trust in ourselves but in God” (v.9).

Trials can make life seem not worth living. Focusing on ourselves can lead to despair. But putting our trust in God gives us an entirely different perspective. As long as we live in this world, we can be certain that our all-sufficient God will sustain us. And as His followers, we will always have a divine purpose “to be.”  — Dennis Fisher

September 12, 2008

READ: 1 Timothy 5:1-8

If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. —1 Timothy 5:8

Some of our friends have chosen to curtail or leave their ministries this year. They did so in order to care for family members—for aging parents, ill spouses, siblings, or children with special needs. All were involved in fruitful works for which they were uniquely gifted. All believed that there was much to be done.

Some have chosen to reduce the time and energy they spend on those ministries; others have left their work completely. These adjustments have been difficult because ministry has been their lifework—a work for which they spent years in preparation and had many years yet to serve.

It occurs to me, however, that they have not given up their lifework but rather have assumed another. Loving and caring for others is our life’s work, and caring for those of our “own house” is the highest and holiest work of all. To deny love is to align ourselves with a cold, uncaring world.

Not everyone can leave a career or calling to care for others. Financial realities and obligations may dictate otherwise. But is not such love the mark of one who does the work of God? Did not Jesus promise that one who gives a cup of cold water to one of His children “shall by no means lose his reward”? (Matt. 10:42).  — David H. Roper