Minister's Message

 

From the Well Within . . .

By Pamela Holt

 

And Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself . . .”

 

This is the Lenten season, the 40 days that we turn fromBethlehem toward Jerusalem with Jesus.  It is the 40 days of preparation that we intentionally posture ourselves to be ready to hear a word from God.  It is the season of repentance and transformation.  We traditionally enter these 40 days by imagining we are walking with Jesus on the road to Jerusalem, by taking on a new discipline such as reading a daily devotional specific to Lent, or taking better care of our body with exercise and right eating.  Or we might choose to practice a discipline of giving something up such as chocolate, soft drinks, internet time or whining!  While we might be intentional about what we want to do for our preparation, sometimes God has other lessons in mind for us to learn.  Remember, this is the season of repentance and transformation.  Usually, that means change, challenge, and struggle.   

 

This season of Lent is particularly challenging for me.  I agreed with God to read every day.  But, I believe God is demanding more of me.  We live northwest of town in Peaster on a 5 acre piece of land which is surrounded by 68 acres to the south and 30 to the north.  We cherish the wildlife and the peace of the country.  Our solitude has been interrupted though.  Our neighbors to the south are building a home very near our fence line.  We thought it would be a one-story home, so we planted evergreens which would eventually grow and shield our view.  But just as we got them planted, the second story went on, and last week the roof went up.  Now that home is above the tree line and towers over our home.  From almost every window, we can see this home which looks similar to a hotel from the Monopoly game.    

 

Yes, it is disappointing to us to have this home so near ours, but what I am more concerned about is the journey I’ve been on.  Jesus says we should love our neighbors as ourselves.  I’ve always prided myself on loving my neighbors, those near me and my “worldly neighbors.”  My confession is that I am struggling to love these neighbors!  You laugh, or you may say, “Get over it!”  But remember, sometimes God challenges us and calls us to learn something all over again, something as simple as “loving our neighbors.”  And sometimes these lessons are not “out there” somewhere, but are right in our backyard, literally. 

 

The good news is -- the season of Lent is not over.  We are just half way.  I still have some more time to struggle with the darkness of vulnerability and humility that has overshadowed Jesus’ command to love my neighbor.

 

I’m not sure where I’ll come out, but I’m hopeful -- because this is the season of preparation and repentance, and I believe in waiting for the joy that Christ offers on the other side of transformation.

 

As we continue the Lenten journey together with Jesus, where is God challenging you?  And why?  See you at the Lord’s Table on Sunday . . . 

 

 

 

 

Wrestling With Love

John Paul Carter

 

Writing about her beloved Dakota homeland, Kathleen Norris confesses: “Like Jacob’s angel, the region requires that you wrestle with it before it bestows a blessing.” Like the Dakotas, the region in which we live – westTexas – necessitates a certain amount of struggle to acquire its blessing. Our scorching hot summers and lack of regular, adequate rainfall presents us with a daunting challenge almost every year.

But the arid region in which we live isn’t the only place in my life where I must put forth great effort in order to be blessed. Often I’m required to wrestle with my love relationships before I can receive the blessings that I long for.

 

This love with which I grapple is more than a warm feeling of attraction, which can vanish as quickly as it appeared. It calls me to covenant relationships modeled after God’s unconditional love for us and our world. Those relationships include my marriage, my family, my friends, my foes, those in need, our church, our community, our nation, and our world.

 

Even though faith, hope, and love are gifts of the Spirit of God, Paul does not paint an easy picture of “the greatest of these.” Our familiarity with the beauty of 1 Corinthians 13 can insulate us from the toil inherent in covenantal love. “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” Anyone who’s attempted to love like that knows the heavy price of securing love’s blessings.

When we attempt to love others like God loves us, we’ll sometimes find ourselves, like Jacob, wrestling, struggling, and stubbornly refusing to give up on our relationships until we’re blessed – even when we’re not sure in the darkness whether our adversary is a devil or the angel of the Lord. But the blessings are well worth the price – even if we emerge from the struggle walking with a limp!

 

Last week, with these sobering thoughts in mind, I sent a Valentine’s message to my son Rush and his lovely fiancée Vanessa: “Finding someone to love is only the first step. The second step is learning to love the one you’ve found.”

 

It’s good advice for newlyweds and even better advice for the aging father of the groom…and, maybe, for all of us, too!