As a believer in a Supreme Creator, the author of all life (“the world and they that dwell therein”), I am constrained to try to comply with that Creator’s expectations. If He made me and the world in which I live, He surely has the right to establish rules for my behavior and stewardship of everything created for my use.
Our
culture struggles with this principle, even in the Bible Belt of the southern
United States. Paul Greenburg, editor
of the ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT/GAZETTE,
included the following in his March 20, 2002 column:
“’I
think it is safe to say,’ Flannery O’Connor wrote at some point in her brief –
no, her abbreviated – life, ‘that while the South is hardly Christ-centered, it
is most certainly Christ-haunted. The
Southerner, who isn’t convinced of it, is very much afraid that he may have
been formed in the image and likeness of God.’
We have largely grown out of that irrational fear, but now and then we
digress and are saved.”
The Apostle Paul, inspired by God’s Holy Spirit, described (in verse 22 of the first chapter of his letter to the Romans) those who refuse to acknowledge/obey God as “Professing to be wise, they became fools.” I don’t want to be foolish.
While acknowledging the Creator’s place in our lives, I don’t want to
inappropriately attribute activities or happenings to Him, with consequent
incorrect assumptions; I call such attributions “Omen Theology.” I’ve often heard folks say, when things
seemed to be going their way, that God’s will and blessing on what they are
doing is evident; that may be the case, but not necessarily so. Nor, of course, do I consider all
unfortunate happenings to be bad omens, indicative of the Lord’s displeasure
with us; bad things sometimes happen to good people. Jesus Himself, in His “Sermon on the Mount,” said, “…He (the
Father) causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous.”
I was
always amused on Nailbender jobs when one of our men would say that weather
favorable to our work was evidence of God’s special blessing on our
construction project, an answer to our prayers. I sometimes asked, “But what about Farmer Brown, just a quarter
of a mile down the road, who has been praying for rain to save his crops? Does the dry weather so welcome to us mean
the Lord will favorably answer our prayers, but not those of the farmer?”
Although I eschew omen theology, I don’t want to leave the
wrong impression – that our Lord never rewards or punishes believers materially
or through events. Scripture clearly
teaches that He chastens/disciplines us, but it doesn’t teach that every event
constitutes His direct response to our activities.
Another common saying I eschew is “God is in control, so…(select your
sentence ending).” While I agree that
He is omnipotent, and could control everything if He so chose, that is not what
He has chosen for mankind. The Apostle
Paul, in the fourth verse of the fourth chapter of his second letter to the
church at Corinth notes that the Creator, in spite of His omnipotence, has
relinquished control, for “…the god of this world (or age) has blinded the
minds of the unbelieving…”
Our Lord’s desire is that men accept and walk in His way, but we would
be nothing more than automatons if He had created a world always under His
control. Instead, He created us as free
moral agents with the right to either accept or reject His Lordship over us and
our possessions, with concomitant rewards and penalties.
As a principle for living, I go along with the words of a popular song
from the ‘40s, “You gotta accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative,
don’t mess with Mr. In-Between.” My
reason for ignoring negatives, or, at least, forgetting them as soon as
possible, is that I’m firmly convinced that the only things of real
importance, thus worth real concern, are those which have eternal consequences.
Although I’ve hit bumps and potholes along my way, for life is life,
and unpleasant (even painful) things sometimes happen, I’ve had a most
fortunate existence for over three quarters of a century, and hope this record
of my memories reflects that fact.
The power of positive thinking, as extolled by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
in his book so titled, is a valid concept.
I would probably disagree with Dr. Peale on some of his theology, but I
agree with his promotion of positive thinking.
A good reason for positive thinking is that we don’t have to “go it
alone.” Our Lord promises His abiding
presence (if we abide in Him), which may manifest itself through His Word, His
Holy Spirit, or His ministering angels.
The 91st Psalm (in my New American Standard translation of
the Bible) is captioned, “Security of the one who trusts in the Lord.” The psalmist wrote (in verses 11-12)), “For
He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, lest
you strike your foot against a stone.”
I’ve been conscious of the concept of guardian angels since early
childhood, when we sang “All Through the Night” at Acton school; the words of
that song assured us we were protected by angels as we slept. The psalmist,
however, promised angelic ministries beyond our sleeping hours.
Dr. J. Vernon McGee, a respected preacher/theologian/writer of the
twentieth century, taught (if I understood him correctly) that God’s Holy
Spirit has taken the place of angels in the New Testament era – that angels
were an Old Testament phenomenon. Dr.
Billy Graham, the most notable evangelist of the last half of that century,
would probably disagree with Dr. McGee, and I’m inclined to agree with Dr.
Graham, for I’m certain I’ve been a beneficiary of angelic care.
I won’t claim that misfortune can’t happen to me, for unpleasant events
have indeed occurred, but I believe I’ve been shielded in potentially bad
situations. As an example, I was
driving homeward toward Fort Worth on US 377 late one Friday night in 1949, and
remember seeing the familiar lights of Tolar a mile or two ahead. However, the next thing I remember seeing after
that first view from well west of town was the far side of an underpass well
east of town; I had driven into, through and past town, curved right, and gone
through a railroad underpass, all without consciously seeing any of it.
I could list other instances where it appeared that “someone was
looking out for me,” often in situations where I wasn’t properly looking out
for myself.
I believe
angels are here to protect us, not to help make us something we aren’t,
so I wonder if my guardian angel(s) would have gone with me into life’s fast
lane had I chosen that route.
Inasmuch as maps aren’t provided for life’s turnpike, none of us can
foresee all the turns ahead, the sights along the roadway, or when and where we
will exit. That off-ramp at our exit
leads to eternity, and decisions we’ve made will determine its nature (i.e., we
choose the highway we travel toward eternity, thus must choose the proper
access road to enter our chosen highway.)
As I think of the roadway leading to an eternity in the presence of our
Lord, I am reminded of a popular series of gospel songbooks called “Heavenly
Highways;” that title implies an
ability to travel “heavenly highways” while still on earth. Most of the songs in those books are written
about, or in tribute to, our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who described Himself
as the Way – thus, the prescribed road.
I mentioned, in
an earlier chapter, that I was in a quartet that sang “Going Down the Valley” and “Nearer Home” at a Sunday School banquet during my days
at Howard Payne, and that the words of those songs weren’t really approprate
for the college group before which we performed. They are, however, most fitting as one considers the ultimate
destination of, and off-ramp from, life’s highway, so it seems appropraite to
print them here (the words are taken from “Coleman’s Songs for Men,” not from
the “Heavenly Highways” series, but they are comparable in
message):
We are going down the valley one
by one,
With our faces t’ward the setting
of the sun.
Down the valley where the
mournful cypress grows,
Where the stream of death in
silence onward flows.
We are going down the valley one
by one,
When the labors of the weary day
are done.
One by one the cares of earth
forever past,
We shall stand upon the river
bank at last.
We are going down the valley one
by one,
Human comrade you or I will there
have none.
But a tender hand will guide us
lest we fall,
Christ is going down the valley
with us all.
We are going down the valley,
Going down the valley,
Going toward the setting of the
sun.
We are going down the valley,
Going down the valley,
Going down the valley one by one.
Nearer Home
O’er the hills the sun is
setting, And the eve is drawing nigh.
Slowly drops the gentle twilight,
For another day is gone.
Gone for aye, the race is over,
Soon the dark’ning shades will come.
Still ‘tis sweet to know at
evening, We are one day nearer home.
One day nearer sings the sailor,
As he glides the waters o’er.
While the light is softly dying,
On the distant, native shore.
Thus the Christian, on life’s
ocean, As his lightboat cuts the foam,
In the evening cries with
rapture, I am one day nearer home.
Nearer home, yes, one day nearer,
To our home beyond the sky.
To the green fields and the
fountains, In our Father’s home on high.
For the heav’ns are growing
brighter, And the lamps hang in the dome.
And our hearts are growing
lighter, For we’re one day nearer home.
Nearer home, Nearer home, Nearer
to our home on high.
To the green fields and the
fountains, Of a land beyond the sky.
So –
choosing “heavenly highways” for “going down the valley” is life’s most important decision if one
wants to enjoy getting ever “nearer home.”