Grains of Sand

Google Images Do we detect a little bit of “something” in the Lord’s voice as He looks at a multitude who refused to be satisfied? The Lord likens them to children: “T o what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn ’” (Matthew 11:16, 17). Do it our way, they say. The problem was (one that Jesus recognized easily) that these “children” would not be satisfied, would not respond to the message of reconciliation, no matter what the “packaging” looked like. Cosmetics wouldn’t cut it. Band-aids wouldn’t cover the wound. Jesus’ statement came on the heels of answering a question sent to Him by John the Baptist, who was then in prison. John was a rare character. He had appeared out of the desert. He wore strange clothes, ate weird food, and was in attack mode from the get-go. He was not “politically correct.” But he was doing what G...

Google Images They are familiar images to anyone who has spent time studying the Scriptures. Paul reminds Timothy, his son in the faith, that there are three examples he needs to follow, that of a:     1.    soldier (2 Timothy 2:3)     2.    athlete (2 Timothy 2:5)     3.    farmer (2 Timothy 2:6) A good soldier is focused on the task, obedient to his commanding officer. The battle is not easy—or safe. An athlete obeys the rules of the competition. He can’t expect to win if he cheats and looks for an easier road to victory. A farmer is rewarded according to how hard he works. And even then the harvest is not guaranteed, as any farmer knows. All of the three examples, as diverse as they are in life, carry a common theme. They picture people who persevere in difficulty: through war, through pain, through uncertainty. In the end Paul pushes Timothy to do the same, to endure: “ Theref...