Poems, Personals, and Commentary

Archive for the ‘Commentary’ Category

All the Difference

One life, Jesus’ life … has made all the difference.  Because of Him, we can have light instead of darkness, hope instead of despair, forgiveness instead of condemnation.

He was born in poverty, not riches. He was born without fame or popularity.  He was born to teach us how to give, not grab.

You, too, can make a difference by loving your neighbor and forgiving your enemies.

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The Good Thief

One of the criminals, a thief, who was crucified with Jesus, said to him, “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom (Luke 23:42)”.  Somehow he knew Jesus’ name and that Jesus had a kingdom!

Was Jesus that famous?  Did everyone in Jerusalem know about him?  Perhaps it was because of the sign above Jesus that Pilot had ordered placed there.  The sign declared, “Jesus, King of the Jews”.

In another gospel, it states that, “And the robbers who were crucified with [Jesus] also reviled him … (Matthew 27:44).”  Either the two gospels are inconsistent, or there was a transformation in one of the thieves.  He went from reviling Jesus, to, in effect, asking his forgiveness.  He realized his sin and that he deserved punishment, whereas Jesus was innocent (Luke 23:39-41).

It is interesting to imagine how “the good thief” came to this conclusion.  He may have known something about Jesus before the time of execution.  Or, perhaps observing how Jesus bore his own suffering, he realized that Jesus was not just a man, but God also.

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It Hurts to Love

The cross of Christ is a paradox.  How can something so painful be good, and even holy?  Perhaps the more you love others, the more you will suffer.  Yes, there will be times of joy, but let’s face it:  often, it hurts to love.

Because you cared about others, but often they misunderstood you, or they felt threatened by your love, you suffered.  Or, you suffered when you saw your loved one suffering.  Or, you see their bad choices, but cannot make them change.  Then you must wait and pray and trust that God may change their hearts.

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Selfless Love

Jesus, Mary and Joseph are amazing examples of selfless love  Even in the midst of great joy, grief, pain, or challenges, they thought of the welfare of others.

Mary, upon learning that she would conceive Jesus the Messiah, the son of God, went off to help her cousin Elizabeth, who was also with child, though further along in her pregnancy.  At the wedding in Cana, Mary thought of the distress of a married couple running out of wine.  Mary also stood at the cross of Jesus when many had deserted Him.

We never hear Joseph, Mary’s husband, speak a word in the Bible.  But his actions speak loudly.  Like his namesake in the Old Testament, he was a dreamer, and as far as we know, he always obeyed God’s leading, which often came through dreams.  No matter the embarrassment (of Mary’s pregnancy), or inconvenience (having to travel long distances or pull up roots), he obeyed God and fulfilled his role as protector of Mary and Jesus.

Jesus, when he heard of his cousin John the Baptist’s beheading, went off to grieve privately, but when the crowds discovered His location, he had compassion on them and healed their diseases.  Later that day, he multiplied loaves and fishes to feed the crowd.  How often in our grief do we want to just curl up in a ball and pull the covers over our head?

While Jesus suffered excruciating pain on the cross, he still thought of us.  He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

When we have a vision of how God wants us to cooperate in His plan, we, too, can be selfless, through His grace!

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Gifts and Talents

If I don’t have a realistic view of my gifts and talents, I won’t be able to develop them appropriately, and will fall short of the best I could be.  Perhaps I will have missed God’s best plan for me.

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It’s Not About Me

Life is not about me.  It’s about God’s plan and my part in it.  I may not understand God’s plan, I may be dimly aware of it, but I need to trust in it, or more precisely, to trust in the One who has a plan for me.  And not only for me, but for every person on this planet.

Lord, may I be in harmony with your plan.

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God Sees the Best in You

No matter who you are, God loves you.

No matter what mistakes you’ve made, God loves you.

No matter what you’ve failed in, God still believes in you.

If you think you’re a mess, if others think you’re a mess,

God sees the best in you; He see what you can become.

Never give up; turn to God.

Become His child and let Him love you.

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Transformation of hurt and suffering

Someday, we might be able to see all our hurts, sufferings, and traumas

as TRANSFORMED miraculously into good,

if by God’s grace we’ve allowed Him to use these to bring us closer to Him.

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This Just In!

This just in:

Many of us are scared little children running around in adult bodies.  The sooner we can recognize this, the better.

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Book Review: Vikings at Dino’s

My friend Will Duquette has written a fun, frolicking, time-travel fantasy novel entitled Vikings at Dino’s: A Novel of Lunch and Mayhem. The hero, a small man for his age, endures encounters with Vikings, ancient Romans, and Mongols, all within his own little American town of Corey’s End. Or are these invaders really who they seem to be? And the poor man never seems to be able to eat his lunch in peace.

There’s danger, adventure, romance, and a thread of humor throughout the hero’s first person narrative. What more could you ask for? The violence, barely hinted at (no gory details), is of the comic-book type, mainly there to create the conflict and challenges for the hero.

Did I mention that the hero is a software engineer? Computer geeks and other assorted nerds should have no trouble relating to this story. This includes my husband and 23-year-old son, who both enjoyed the novel.  (They might object to my classification of them, though.)

Perhaps my only quibble with the book is that the author makes the Roman types seem nicer than what I know of ancient Romans; for example, they perfected the practice of crucifixion (although it seems to have begun with the ancient Persians).

At any rate, when you’re small for your age … anything can happen.  Well worth the read.

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