September 20-26

Daniel Henderson, The Deeper Life, was the one who did the devotions for Men of Integrity Magazine this week. He refers to the longing that some people have that their lives matter or make a difference. How will the world be different because I was here? It made me think of the apostle Paul, for I have been preaching from his writings for a few months. He dedicated himself to Christ, of course, but also to the growth of the church in Gentile communities. The church never became very large until well after his death. Yet, his passion that we also find in his writings continue to inspire and nourish. In that way, as the devotional stressed, he outlived his life.

This week, my focus has been sketching March Sermons. I have also been revising the sketch I made for November and December sermons. I had a good time with the youth group last Sunday. We discussed the theme that Christ needs to define who we are in all the roles we play. I had some good meetings this week, including Staff meeting and Nominations. Good study with Triple S on John 2. We had some persons at Woodbridge Nursing Home and Memorial Hospital, and some good talks with them. The Acts study, on Chapter 13, was good, as always. Nice to have a new member of the study. A member of the church is working on the lights in the parking lot that are not working. Making some needed changes. I was able to make two of the Upward Soccer practices. I was on my way to the Choir, but ended up talking with two people and a little more with Upward. Had a good meeting with the Logansport Cluster group: Tom Henderson is new, Dean Fager, Damon Soper, all at BWW. 

In other news, Suzanne and I went to McAlisters in Kokomo. We also saw the movie, Maze Runner. I liked it. Sci-fi, to some degree, envisioning a dark future for humanity. It set itself for a sequel.

Physical exercise has continued, at least, as much as my injuries have allowed. Mostly, I have been doing yoga and total gym. I have gone to Anytime Fitness for some cardio. I tried running, which I have not done since the mini-marathon in May. Plantar flacitis is the problem. I went five miles yesterday, and hurt today. Running may be a thing of the past. I may need to learn to fast walk.

Vacation Story

So, we were about three days into a two-week vacation. We were staying at a hotel on the north side of Indianapolis. I had a brief tennis date with a clergy colleague, Jerry Rairdon. We had discussed our love for tennis before, but this was the first time we were to play. We were just warming up on the court. I went back to hit the ball, planted my right foot, and suddenly, my feet went straight backward out from under me, to the point where I landed face first on the court. [This was how I discovered the court had unnoticed dampness.] I had no sensation of falling. One moment, planting my right foot to hit the ball, and next moment on my face. In addition, I heard a crunch. I lifted up my head and saw the blood on the court. The first thought I had was, “OK, so this is how my life ends.” However, after getting up, Jerry got a concerned look on his face as he looked at my forehead. [I would be getting many concerned looks at my forehead over the next couple weeks.] He said I would need stitches. I drove back to his house. He would drive to IU North emergency room.

            It had been a while since I played tennis seriously. When I am in that mode, I go around the court to check for stones and other objects that might affect us having a true bounce. Had I done this, I would have noticed the dampness.

            In any case, I want to say that I experienced much love that day. Jerry was wonderful, getting my wife to get my car. The personnel at the emergency room seemed to have a sense of humor. I am not sure if that is part of the training, but if so, it worked. Dr. Rose was so young, looking like he was just out of college. He was also on crutches. I do not recall most of the humor. Of course, I had an MRI, the first I have had in my life. An hour later, he came back to let me know that contrary to what any else might say, I do have a brain. Of course, his joke let me know that everything was OK. No cracked bones anywhere. He said that given what I described, it could have been so much worse. “I would take what you have any day.” I received twelve stitches on my forehead and one at the top of my nose. I had no injuries below the waste. I landed in a way that hurt both arms and my right shoulder. I continued with as much of my yoga as I could. When I got home, I have worked on my total gym as much as my injuries allow. It is all getting better. It still hurts. Sometimes, I still have a sharp pain.

            The next day, Suzanne and I were on our way to Shelbyville, TN. She wanted me to go with her for many years. I had no resistance. We simply had other priorities. However, this was the year. The reason was that for a week and a half before Labor Day the Celebration occurs, a Walking Horse competition that crowns the national grand champion. For those who know Suzanne, she has a general love of horses, and especially the Tennessee Walker. I learned the Roy Rogers horse, trigger, as well the first horse of the Lone Ranger, Silver, and the horse of Gene Autry, champ. In any case, we had wonderful time. It was less attended than she remembers, mostly due to what the locals referred to as interference from the FDA, but I will not get into that. Apparently, there were some issues with how people trained their walkers. Most admit that. However, it has now gotten into some corruption, paying off federal officials to disqualify competing horses, and so on. At least, that was the story on the ground. In any case, we met some wonderful people. I have gone on trail rides before and enjoyed them. I have admired horses. Of course, not as devoted as Suzanne, but I find myself impressed with their beauty and strength. I rode some while at Vincennes Community United Methodist Church. Some people who knew this part of our vacation wondered if I would enjoy it. I love to learn, and learned much about Tennessee Walking Horses. Their uniqueness is that their gate involves three feet on the ground at all times. It makes the legs look very busy, while the rider hardly moves. We had a thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing time. I had a chance to tell my tennis story several times. I would say that I experienced much love and care.

            The next part of our vacation involved the north side of Indy. Thankfully, it was less eventful than was the first part. I was able to do some study, which I enjoy doing at any time. I focused on a study I have done that involves a chronological study of the Bible. I also continued my reading a biography of James Monroe by Harry Ammon. Suzanne rested. Together, we found several places that had live entertainment. In particular, we enjoyed Daddy Jacks.

            I know it may seem a little strange, but this was one of the most relaxing vacations I have had in a long time. Suzanne and I needed the time away. It gave us much time to discuss matters going on now and some hopes and dreams for the future.

Bridges, Humanity, and God

To most people, bridges are beautiful. If we visit San Francisco, we will probably want to see the Golden Gate Bridge. We will want a digital picture of it.

            The newest and biggest suspension bridge, opening to traffic in 1998, is in Japan, the Akashi-Kaikyo bridge. It boasts a main span of 6,532 feet, almost four times the length of the Brooklyn Bridge, for example. It stretches 12,828 feet across the Akashi Strait to link the city of Kobe with Awaji-shima Island. Each cable is composed of 290 strands, each strand containing 127 wires. The length of the wire used totals 300,000 kilometers, enough to circle the earth 7.5 times. Its two towers, at 928 feet, soar higher than any other bridge towers in the world.

            But not all attempts to push the limits are successful. In 1940, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington State was hit by strong winds and collapsed, sending a 600-foot section of the bridge into Puget Sound. The roadway had been open to traffic for only a few months, and it took 10 years to redesign and reopen the bridge.

            Because people love to reach across water and establish a link, there will always be a human hunger to build immense bridges around the world. One current dream is to construct an intercontinental connection across the Strait of Gibraltar. Europe to Africa, by bridge. Planners are calling for a structure that would stand 3,000 feet tall and dwarf any existing bridge in height and length. Driving from Spain to Morocco, you would cross a full seven miles of water.

            We like to establish links, to fill in the gaps, and reach out. Yes, economics plays a part. Another part is communication. However, I think we like to explore. The bridge helps us explore a little more easily than we could without them.

            The suspension bridge is a metaphor for the oldest question in human history: How are we related, or linked, to God and what can we do to bridge the chasm between the human and the divine?

            The history of religion shows that humanity feels a need for connection with what it senses is above and beyond it. We sense we have missed the mark, we have fallen short of what we could be, and this feeling leads to some sense of estrangement from God. We may work hard at it. We may construct idols. We offer sacrifices, burn incense, and offer prayers. Yet, the chasm remains.

In Romans 8:31-39, Paul wants us to know that the chasm we feel is one God has chosen to cross. We could not build a bridge across the chasm between God and us. In Jesus Christ, we know that God is for us. The grace and love of God are already there. We need to receive it. God has built the bridge. We need to have the faith or trust, and the hope, to take the step onto the bridge.

Teachers, Destiny, and Helping

            Elizabeth Ballard, published a story in Home Life magazine in 1976. The story is fiction, but it rings so true because many people could relate such a story of how one person influences another, of how people can rise from such humble beginnings, and even the matter of human destiny.

According to the fictional, yet so true, story, Jean Thompson was a teacher who had a fifth grade boy in her classroom, Teddy Stallard:

On the first day of school, Jean Thompson told her students, "Boys and girls, I love you all the same."  Teachers lie.  Little Teddy Stallard was a boy Jean Thompson did not like.  He slouched in his chair, did not pay attention, his mouth hung open in a stupor, his eyes were always unfocused, his clothes were mussed, his hair unkempt, and he smelled.  He was an unattractive boy and Jean Thompson did not like him. Through school records, the teacher learned that Teddy's mother had died a year ago and his father showed no interest.  A previous teacher's note had read: "Teddy is in deep waters; he's totally withdrawn."

Christmas came, and the boys and girls brought their presents and piled them on her desk.  They were all in brightly colored paper except for Teddy's.  He wrapped his present in brown paper and held it together with a string.  Scribbled on it were the words, "For Miss Thompson from Teddy."  She tore open the paper and out fell a rhinestone bracelet with most of the stones missing and a bottle of cheap perfume, almost empty.  When the other boys and girls started to giggle, she had enough sense to put some of the perfume on her wrist, put on the bracelet, hold her wrist up to the class and say, "Doesn't it smell lovely?  Isn't the bracelet pretty?"  Taking their cue from the teacher, they all agreed.  

At the end of the day, when all the children had left, Teddy lingered, came over to her desk and said, "Miss Thompson, all day long you smelled just like my mother.  Her bracelet, that is her bracelet, it looks real nice on you, too.  I'm really glad you like my presents."  When he left, she got down on her knees and buried her head in her chair, and she begged God to forgive her.  From then on, she was a different teacher.  She tutored Teddy and put herself out for him.  By the end of the year, Teddy had caught up with some of the children. He was even ahead of some. 

Several years later, Jean Thompson got this note:    Dear Miss Thompson:  I'm graduating and I'm second in my high school class.  I wanted you to be the first to know.  Love, Teddy.   

Four years later she got another note:  Dear Miss Thompson:  I wanted you to be the first to know.  The university has not been easy, but I like it.  Love, Teddy Stallard.    

Four years later, another note:  Dear Miss Thompson:  As of today, I am Theodore J. Stallard, M.D.  How about that?  I wanted you to be the first to know.  I am going to be married in July.  I want you to come and sit where my mother would have sat, because you're the only family I have.  Dad died last year.  She went and she sat where his mother should have sat because she deserved to be there.

Was Teddy predestined to become a doctor?  Was it his destiny? Who can say?  We do know that he would not have without an assist from a teacher who, through her, became a decent human being.

Maybe we need to pay attention to those in our lives who may seem hopeless. It just might be that we will have in us the gifts needed to turn the life of that person around.

I know, it would be wonderful if this story actually happened. Yet, good fiction is true in deep ways. This type of fiction speaks to our hopes and dreams of what humanity can be, maybe even ought to be.

Peggy Noonan, writing for The Wall Street Journal, comments on a scene in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down. The movie is about the Battle of the Bakara Market in Mogadishu, Somalia, in October 1993. In this particular scene, the actor Tom Sizemore, in the role of a hard-bitten, hard-core U.S. Army Ranger colonel, is in command of a small convoy of Humvees trying to get back to base with mortar and rocket fire exploding all round. In this violent vortex, the colonel guy stops the convoy, brings some wounded on board, throws a dead driver out of the driver's seat and yells at a bleeding sergeant who's standing in shock nearby:  

Colonel: Get into that truck and drive.

            Sergeant: But I'm shot, Colonel.

Colonel: Everybody's shot, get in and drive. 

The words, “Everybody’s shot,” struck Noonan. They suggest a metaphor for life. Everyone has taken a hit; everyone has been hurt. We are all walking wounded.

A statement by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow gives me pause. 

If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.

She goes on to cite the case of Rosie O'Donnell, who more often than not is likely to be referring again to the fact that she lost her mother when she was a child.  

"This of course is very sad, and Rosie has spoken of its sadness very often, and with a great whoosh of self-regard. Her sympathy for her loss made me think the other day: She doesn't really know that other people lost their mothers when they were young. She doesn't really know that some people never even had mothers. She doesn't know everybody's been shot." 

The apostle Paul affirms the same truth. Everyone suffers, but, he adds, the sufferings "of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us" (8:18). He even argues that inanimate creation "groans," waiting that day of future redemption.

For Norman Sleep, a professor of geophysics at Stanford, who has presented his theory to the American Geophysical Union, the travail of creation is very real. The Stanford University scientist says that the Earth may have been repeatedly pummeled by asteroids between 3.5 and 4.5 billion years ago, snuffing out all early life. He argues that there may have been long periods during which life repeatedly spread across the globe, only to be nearly annihilated by the impact of large asteroids.

Just when your life-form is beginning to make some progress -- BAM! -- an asteroid knocks you back to the first chapter of Genesis.

The early Earth, Sleep says, may have been "an interrupted Eden" -- a planet where life repeatedly evolved and diversified, only to be sent back to square one by asteroids 10 or 20 times wider than the one that hastened the dinosaurs' demise. When the surface of the Earth finally became inhabitable again, thousands of years after each asteroid impact, the survivors would have emerged from their hiding places and spread across the planet --- until another asteroid struck and the whole cycle was repeated.

Bummer.

It is just a theory, granted. Nevertheless, it is a reminder that it is tough to live a meaningful life when you are shot, or when you live in an interrupted Eden -- that is, a place where you know that at any time a catastrophic event might knock you back to square one.

No Pain No Gain

So you finally get it together and decide to begin an exercise program. It almost does not matter whether it is walking, jogging, swimming, practicing yoga or step aerobics, weight-training or following some other plan. As long as it has gotten you off the couch and onto your feet in some active way, it is a good thing.

Perhaps this time, you really get into the program and stay with it for a while. Your muscle tone and overall fitness improve, your cholesterol numbers head in the right direction, your pulse slows, your weight goes down while your energy goes up, your self-image improves and your sense of well-being becomes cheerful. You may even feel as though you can keep going like that for years to come.

Then something happens that, at least temporarily, derails your plan. It could be an injury that forces you to put your program aside for a while. It could be a death or crisis in the family that not only disrupts your routine but also so demoralizes you that you have no heart for the physical activity. It could be the arrival of the Thanksgiving-to-New Year's holiday season, with all the parties and the abundance of rich food in the house. If your exercise program is an outdoor one - such as cross-country skiing - the arrival of warmer weather can force a halt. If you are like me, I am a fair weather runner. When the cold starts, I stop. It could even be a happy family event, such as a wedding, that requires a lot of your time and causes you to set aside your fitness plan for a while.

Whatever the case, in a very short time, all those physiological and fitness gains start to reverse. A cyclist says he finds regular cycling good for his body, mind and spirit. He also says it takes only about two weeks off the bike before he starts turning back into a "slug." That is why, during the cold months, most serious cyclists either switch to a winter activity such as skiing or spinning, head south and keep riding, or learn how to dress for the weather and ride through the winter. 

What the biker calls "turning into a slug," can also be described as the process of decay, which is a natural phenomenon. Most things, it seems, do not stay the same; if they are not improving, they are decaying. In the vocabulary of sports and fitness training, that is often expressed as "no pain/no gain," but the truth is, it is also no pain/no maintain. As bodybuilder Tom Venuto puts it, "The ultimate truth is, you are either moving forward or moving backward; growing or dying. There's no such thing as comfortably maintaining."

In fact, Venuto also applies the no pain/no gain philosophy to endeavors beyond physical. He says,  

"To grow, you must step above past achievements; beyond your perceived boundaries and limits. That means stepping out of the known, into the unknown; out of the familiar and into the unfamiliar; out of the comfortable into the uncomfortable. You must get out of your comfort zone." 

Do you think such a statement is true? 

If there is no pain, is there really no gain? 

Yeah, it really is. Of course, you can find studies online proclaiming the contrary, saying that the no pain/no gain idea is a "myth." Usually, however, the people making this claim also want you to buy their program that supposedly will make you fit with little or no effort - all for only three easy payments of $59.99.

The life-journey of every human being involves pain. We may wonder why. We may rebel against it. However, the harsh reality is that living things struggle and suffer to maintain life. Often, such pain deepens the experience and appreciation of life.

A statement by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow gives me pause. 

If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility. 

Paul, beginning in Romans 8:17, says that we are heirs of God, joint-heirs with Christ, but only if we suffer with him so that God might bring us glory with Christ. He will stress that what we suffer now is not worth comparing to the glory that shall be. In fact, creation suffers and groans, awaiting the redemption of humanity. Every part of the created order experiences decay. The destiny of creation is life with God and fellowship with God. Paul challenges his readers to expand their conceptual horizons and place chronological time and personal experience within the context of eternity. Paul invites his readers to catch a glimpse of the "big picture." God, through the Spirit of Jesus Christ, has freed humanity. God, through the Spirit of Jesus Christ, is also effecting the liberation and redemption of the entire created order. Not only are persons enslaved, but the whole creation. Suffering unites all of creation. Human beings are to have dominion, yes, but they are to do so recognizing this bond they have all creation.

I am not trying to explain suffering. I am saying that suffering and pain in life is part of the training we experience that will reveal who we are. Does pain deepen our character, help us appreciate life, and even go deeper with God?

Lesson from tennis

When I was around twenty years old, while attending college at Indiana Wesleyan, someone introduced me to tennis. I fell in love with the game immediately. However, I struggled because I did not immediately hit the ball with top spin. One day, after some instruction, it happened. I hit the ball with top spin, and experienced what it was like to do so. From then on, my game improved. I needed to take another major step with the serve, of course, but it was all much fun.

            Among the aspects of the game to which I had to become used to were unforced errors. By that, tennis players mean points your opponent receives, not because he or she made a good play, but because you missed a relatively easy shot. The unforced error in tennis admits that the opponent does not always make a good shot in winning the point. Sometimes, the reason for failure to make the point is in us. When I play tennis, I have to accept that I will make plenty of errors like that.

            Of course, tennis professionals do not make many such errors. They make so few unforced errors that they can count them.

            Jana Novotna, of the Czech Republic, a player who at one time was ranked second in the world and who would — before her career was over — earn more than $11 million on the circuit, was just five points away from history. Leading 4-1 in the final set of the 1993 Wimbledon women’s championship, she was about to upset the legendary Steffi Graf.

            Novotna seemed confident — playing smart and aggressive in front of the center court crowd with members of the British royal family looking on. She had just hit a wicked backhand that skimmed the top of the net and fell short on Graf’s side, catching Steffi flat-footed. 40-30. Leading in the third and decisive set, 4-1, and one point away from taking the game, one game away from taking the set, one point from taking the match — thereby capturing the holy grail of tennis.

            Then it happened.

            Her serve for game point went straight into the net. The next toss and strangely halfhearted serve had the same result. Double fault.

            On the next point, she reacted slowly to a high shot from Graf and shanked the return. The next shot again went straight into the net. Suddenly, the set was at 4-3. Then 4-4. Then 4-5. Novotna began to crumble. Minutes before, she was a world-beater, and now she was playing more and more like a beginner with every shot. At match point for Graf, Novotna hit a low, cautious, shallow lob that Graf smashed for the winner. Game, set, match.

            At the awards ceremony, Novotna leaned over to the Duchess of Kent to receive the runner-up trophy and the white-haired royal whispered something into the devastated tennis player’s ear. Then, in a moment of compassion, the Duchess pulled Novotna’s head down on to her delicate shoulder and the young player began to sob.

            What happened? Officially, Novotna’s collapse had to do with what tennis statisticians officially deem as “unforced errors.” Throughout sports, we have the phenomenon of the choke. Something happens mentally, and the mind takes the body down the path toward failure.

            Greg Norman, “The Shark,” had a seemingly insurmountable six-stroke lead over Nick Faldo going into the final round of the 1996 Masters Golf tournament. A short shot on the unforgiving ninth hole at Augusta caused something in Norman to snap. He began to hit shots into the water, missed short putts, and shot bogey golf for the rest of the round. By the time he and Faldo walked up to the 18th hole, Nick had a four-stroke lead. When it was over, mercifully, the victorious Faldo embraced Norman in a gesture of compassion. “I don’t know what to say ... I feel horrible about what happened. I’m so sorry — I just want to give you a hug.” With that, both men began to cry.

            The 2004 New York Yankees: Up three games to none in the AL Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox and going home for game number 4. However, they lose. Boston wins, and then goes on to win the series against St. Louis for their first World Series title in over 80 years.

            Consider an industry where perfection is critical. None of us would want to be on the receiving end of an unforced error by a pharmacist. Many companies pay the same bill twice. Insurance companies often misrate drivers. Companies lose customers all the time because of little mistakes.

            In the sports world, examples abound where good players suddenly go bad. The stakes might be high on the court or on the field; however, unforced errors can have even more serious consequences in business and in other areas of life.

            The unforced error in tennis is a way of saying something like, “My bad.” It was my fault. We need that type of instinct in us spiritually as well. Of course, we can always find reasons we have done something wrong. Yet, spiritually, we need to take responsibility for who we are and the decisions we have made. Romans 8:1-11 uses the language of responsibility, where we set our minds on the things of the flesh, which leads to death, or the Spirit, which leads to life and peace. Paul refuses to let us off the hook when it comes to the fruit of our lives.

            I still love tennis, even if I do not play as much as I did when younger. I love tennis, even when I often have unforced errors. Even the unforced errors are part of the process of learning to play tennis well. We need to have enough insight, however, to know if our choices in the game of life are leading to death or to life. What fruit is coming into your life as a result of the decisions you have made?