Grace and Truth through Billy Graham

For I know what I have planned for you,’
  says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you.
  I have plans to give you a future filled with hope. - Jeremiah 29:11  

I have loved you with an everlasting love;
  Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. – Jeremiah  31: 3

As I grow older, I am becoming more and more aware of some major facts of life—God is our Creator, God is the essence of true love, God gives us meaning and purpose, and finally, I am prone to wander away from God.  It doesn’t make sense, does it?  Yet, long before I realized it, God was at work, scrubbing away at my pride and rebellion.  He worked on me in our home, at church, and at school.   
I have written elsewhere about how God used my father, my mother, and several of my teachers.   Through generous applications of discipline in love, these people and others gradually made me more aware that my own pride was at odds with God’s love and purposes for me.  Although discipline sometimes literally hurt me, I was learning through human authority the truth expressed several millennia ago by wise King Solomon, For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights (Proverbs 3: 12).

During my elementary years, God was also drawing me to Himself through my reading, and even through our black-and-white TV.  I remember being inspired by Billy Graham as I watched him preach to thousands gathered at his crusades.  Billy’s piercing eyes seemed to be looking right though me as he spoke forcefully about the holiness and righteousness of Almighty God.  Yet, I could sense an unusual warmth and compassion as he spoke of how God so loved a fallen world that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to take away sin, the root cause of human emptiness, loneliness, and fear.  I was very moved when I saw people in tears whose hearts were convicted of their sin by God through Billy Graham’s loving invitation to repent and turn to God.  I was amazed that thousands came forward to “accept Christ as Savior” as the hymn, “Just as I Am” was sung. 

But, I didn’t respond to God there in our living room.  I knew there was something right about Billy Graham’s Gospel message, but it didn’t seem right to me that a God of love would condemn millions, and perhaps billions to eternal hell.  Why wasn’t it possible to enter heaven by just being decent people—people like I was trying to be?  I remember questioning my mother and my Methodist pastor about “salvation by faith, and not by works” (Ephesians 2: 8-9; Titus 3: 5).  Their answers weren’t satisfying, but God continued to soften my prideful heart. 

It wasn’t until graduate school at West Virginia University that God’s Spirit removed the veil that was covering my heart (2 Corinthians 4: 3-6) and blocking the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  God used two visitors to our home there in Morgantown to convince me from the Scriptures that the Gospel is true—that God loves me, but He is Holy and hates sin because it is counter to His nature and because of what it does to His creation, including humankind—including me!  I realized that when I died and stood in God’s judgment, there was no reason God should allow me into heaven except that I had accepted Christ’s death to atone for my sins and cover me in His righteousness.  I asked God to forgive my pride and rebellion and to make me His child (John 1: 11-13).

Now, years later, as a Christ-follower, I am still His workmanship in progress (Ephesians 2: 10).  I pause today to marvel at the life of Billy Graham; a life that has consistently demonstrated his unique ability to walk daily in God’s holy presence.  All the while, he demonstrated the pure love of God through his warm, gentle, gracious spirit toward all people regardless of religion, ethnic background, wealth, or politics.  Many of us wonder how such a holy man could be so loving and gracious toward sinners.

Billy Graham sought to emulate God—i.e. hate sin, but love the sinner.  When their son, Franklin, and their daughter, Ruth, struggled with their spiritual lives, Billy and his wife Ruth prayed for them and nurtured them back to God.  Likewise, Billy was able to talk humbly, humorously, and yet frankly with personalities in every walk of life.  His used every opportunity to speak of the cross of Christ and the Gospel of salvation, yet did so with the very love and tenderness of God.  This quality of Billy Graham was captured in this 1969 interview with Woody Allen.

"My father was not God, but he showed us what God is like."

At her father’s memorial service last week, Ruth Graham testified of how her father demonstrated the love and mercy of God years ago as he opened his arms to welcome her back home after she had made several bad choices in her life.  Ruth had heard her father preach on the holiness and justice of Almighty God.  She knew that God hated sin because of what it does to mankind—what it had done to her.  That is why she, like the prodigal son, did not take lightly the return to her father’s home.  But when Ruth walked toward her father, Billy Graham’s arms were open wide to receive his dear daughter with all the grace and mercy he knew God had extended to him.  God still waits to extend forgiveness out of His great love and mercy to any repentant sinner who “comes home.”

As the world mourns the death of Billy Graham, many try to comprehend the breadth of the spiritual impact that was made by this humble servant of God.  I believe the words of his daughter, Ruth, summarize best the influence of Rev. Graham on my life: “My father was not God but he showed me what God was like…”   Billy Graham was (and still is) not God, but he showed us what God is like.

For the Law was given through Moses;
grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.  - John 1:17

 

How About You? 
You may have just read my article but it left you, not encouraged, but discouraged.  Like I once was, you may now be more confused than ever about the nature of God and what He expects of you.  God knows just what you are thinking right now.  May I invite you to examine further the claims of the “Good News” or “the Gospel?”  Let me share a short reading that may help you.  It just happens to be from the Billy Graham Association, and presents the “Good News” summarized in an outline called “Steps to Peace with God.” The outline explains God’s love, our predicament (sin and separation from God), what Jesus has done to address our predicament, and what you can do by faith to receive God’s righteousness (right standing with a Holy God).  If you have additional questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.  Just post a “Comment” below or e-mail me at silviusj@cedarville.edu

Where Are You God? -- “I AM”

Sixty years ago, the era of television arrived in our home.  This magic box introduced us to larger-than-life personalities like Wyatt Earp, Matt Dillon, Walter Cronkite, and Fulton J. Sheen.  I was especially impacted by “Deacon Earp” whose deadly aim wounded the bad guys but didn’t kill them.  If that were not enough, Earp’s choice of beverage was milk.

Our TV antenna was supported on a metal tower anchored to our chimney.  When our TV produced a snowy picture, we knew the problem was in our reception, not the broadcast signal from Cleveland.  The problem usually cleared up when we rotated the antenna in the right direction or adjusted the TV.

Broadcast and receiver must work together, hand-in-glove.  The same is true of communication between our modern TV’s.  Each has an internal receiver that is responsive to an accompanying “remote.”  Therefore, both the TV broadcast station and the remote send out signals to the TV, but unless the TV receiver detects these signals, there will be no response.

The relationship between a broadcast signal and a receiver illustrates the relationship between our Creator God and us as His creatures.  Why is it that some men and women, or boys and girls, have a relationship with God, and seek to please Him according to His Word given in the Bible; whereas, others are not responsive to God?  According to the Scriptures, a person can only have a living, dynamic relationship with their Creator if their spirit is attuned to God’s Spirit.  When we yield our will to God through faith in Christ, God’s Spirit assumes residence in our lives and gives us the ability to respond to the “broadcast signal” from God’s Word or from other people.  Also, through God’s Spirit, we can commune with God though prayer and with others of like faith.

In Genesis (meaning “origin”), the first book of the Bible, we have the account of God’s creation of Adam, and the intimate relationship that God established with Adam:

Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground.  He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and the man became a living person (NLT). – Genesis 2: 7

The Bible gives no record of the first conversation between God and the human He created according to His own image (Genesis 1: 26).  Instead, we learn that God breathed His very own “breath of life” into Adam’s nostrils.  The man’s first “life breath” through his nostrils was through an inspiration—that is, an entry of air into Adam’s lungs--“God-breathed” air from the very breath of God—“and the man became a living person(Genesis 2: 7).”  Although many generations separate us from our father Adam, we should be in awe of the fact God gives us every breath.  In so doing, God sustains each minute of our very lives. 

Can you imagine? God’s Spirit is as near to you as your next breath.  You and I are unique from all other air-breathing animals.  Only humans as God’s image-bearers received the very life-breath of God when He created them.  Imagine that for awhile.  Indeed, the ability to imagine and perform other kinds of abstract thinking and creativity are all expressions of the fact that we bear God’s image.

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers considers God’s creative work as recorded in Genesis, Chapter 2 as an expression of His wisdom and love:  Here [God] forms, and builds, and plants, and breathes into His work, and [He] is the companion and friend of the creature He has made. It thus sets before us the love and tenderness of Jehovah, who provides for man a home, fashions for him a wife to be his partner and helpmate, rejoices in…[the] intellect [of man, His image-bearer, and then shows honor and respect to Adam’s intellect by bringing]…the lower world to him to see what he will call them….

Adam was given richly and abundantly all that he would need to live and flourish. On top of that, he was commanded to exercise dominion over creation by caring for creation as a steward of all God created and possessed as Owner.

Because we cannot see God, we wonder at times if He is really REAL. To Adam and Eve, there was no doubt.  Genesis 3: 8 records that Adam and Eve were familiar with the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.  They evidently enjoyed regular opportunities to “walk with God” in the Garden of Eden.  We have no record of their conversation before Eve was tempted by Satan.  However, I would like to suggest one early conversation that Adam might have had with God (in some language other than English):

ADAM: “God, what is Your Name?”
GOD:  “I AM”
ADAM: “I know you exist, but what is Your Name?”
GOD:   “I AM WHO I AM”
ADAM: “I am Adam.”
GOD:   “Indeed, you are.  And notice, you used a similar action word (a verb), “I am” with your name.  Adam, you live and you exist; but, unlike Me, you need a point of reference.  I AM that reference.   When you say “I am Adam,” it means you exist only because I AM created you.”
ADAM: “Do you mean that ‘I am’ because of You, the ultimate ‘I AM?’”
GOD:   “Yes, it is as you say.  You exist because of Me—only in reference to Me.  But, I AM the God Who is.”  I AM Who I AM without any reference to any other--or to time or space.  My Name is an action word (verb) because I AM eternally “being” and “acting” sustaining My creation from the tiniest atom to the expanse of My heavens; allowing your every breath and beat of your heart; and before a word is on your tongue, I know it.”
ADAM: “My soul is warmed within me as I walk with You.  I am filled with Joy when I commune with You.”
GOD:   “That is as it should be.  I love you, Adam, with an everlasting love.  I AM love, joy, and peace.  These are yours when you walk with Me.  And My Spirit communes with the spirit I formed within you.”
ADAM:   “Bless You, I AM!   Bless You, Lord O my soul, and all that is within me, bless Your Holy Name.”

My soul is inspired by composing this conversation as it might have been had I been walking with God.  But, unlike Adam and Eve, I have never walked with God in the garden in the cool of the day.  What’s more, I am a corrupted son of Adam.

According to Genesis 3, Adam and Eve gave in to the temptation of Satan based on the cunning serpent’s distortion of God’s character.  As a son of Adam, …I was born a sinner--yes, from the moment my mother conceived me (Psalm 51: 5 NLT).  But, I am saved through faith in Christ the Great High Priest Who can “sympathize with our weaknesses” because He has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4: 15-16).

As a sinner, saved by God’s grace, I can now have fellowship with my Heavenly Father through God’s Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised to send to us just before He was betrayed and crucified.  When His disciples were fearful and confused, Jesus spoke these calming words:

These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.  Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. – John 14: 25-27

My access to daily fellowship with God’s Holy Spirit is made possible as I read and meditate upon God’s Word, the Scriptures.  Just as God breathed into Adam the breath of Life, so the Scriptures say that All Scripture is inspired (God-breathed) and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3: 16-17).

So, I must ask myself; and ask you as well.  How receptive am I to the broadcast of God’s love and truth through His Holy Spirit to my “signal receiver”—my spirit.  If you have never surrendered to the claims of Christ and asked Him to forgive you and be your Savior, I refer you to Steps to Peace with God which will explain how you can become a Christ-follower.  Without Christ, you are dead in sin and are facing eternal separation from God.  Romans 8: 6-7 states that without making peace with God, you remain hostile toward God [and your mind is not "tuned" to the Spirit of God].  In fact, according to Romans 8: 7-8, you are not even able to do so...  

Maybe you have received Christ but your spirit (your "receiver" or "antenna") needs to be tuned again to the voice of God's Spirit speaking to you through His Word, or friends, or circumstances.  Just as I used to turn our old antenna to get a TV signal, perhaps you need to turn again to Christ for forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1: 9).  Then, as a Christ-follower, when you open your Bible and read, God’s Spirit will go to work to make your spirit and mind receptive to the Scriptures, and to give you understanding of the truth you are reading.  Then, as you are receptive to that truth, God’s Spirit empowers you to respond to the Scripture for reproof, for correction, [and] for training in righteousness.  

How is your spiritual receiver?  Are you receptive to God’s presence through His Holy Spirit who loves you and wants to commune with you each day along your challenging path of life?  If you have questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.  Just post a “Comment” below or e-mail me at silviusj@cedarville.edu

God's Not Fixin', He's Transformin'

In the 1960’s, rapid societal transformations, assassinations, race riots, and other factors caused many people to ask, “Is God Dead?”  Some answered, “Yes.”  Others reacted defensively in ways that showed little Christian gentleness toward their neighbor and little reverence for God.  Still others did nothing to defend their faith, nor did they encourage those who were seeking meaning and purpose in life.  Meanwhile, on April 15, 1965, the song by Jackie DeShannon, "What the World Needs Now Is Love," was released with music composed by Burt Bacharach.  The lyrics by Hal David resembled the message of many in the 1960’s who perhaps could not voice their need as well:

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of…

As time passed, what some called the "moral majority" was replaced by a "secular majority."  Today, America appears to be moving toward an "immoral" or "agnostic/atheistic majority." More and more Americans support the removal of prayer and all vestiges of God and Jesus Christ from our schools, colleges, and communities.  After all, why pray to a God Who either doesn’t care or doesn’t even exist?  Or why turn to a God that would allow so many to experience personal and environmental tragedies?

This morning, following the tragic attack on the social services center in San Bernardino, CA, the NY Daily News used its front cover to mock presidential candidates who encouraged Americans to pray for loved ones of those killed or injured by the attackers.  The headline, “God Isn’t Fixing This,” allows that God may still be alive, but implies He should be blamed for “not fixing the problem.”  I suggest that another headline might be more appropriate—“Americans Are Not Listening to God.”

Many Christians have been quick to point fingers at those we deem responsible for the moral decline in America.   Our standard lines have been much like the ones I used above-- lines like: “Well what do you expect? They’ve taken God and prayer out of our schools.”  Christians also point to the courts of our land which have disregarded the sanctity of human life and the institution of marriage as defined in the Bible.  Throw in our access to social media, and some, including this writer at times, can be anything but “gentle and reverent” when we enter into “discussions” about political and social issues.  Pointing our fingers or trying to win arguments may give our conscience a sense of relief, but it does little to solve the problems.  Nor does it encourage those who wonder if God exists, and if so, what their responsibility is toward Him.

Lately, I have been thinking much about my own spiritual life, my values and priorities, and my responsibilities toward my wife, family, neighbor, church, and community.   Some of this thinking has been reflected in Oikonimia and is included in the following blog articles:

Individual Accountability and Spiritual Awakening
Local Churches and Spiritual Awakening
Christianity Shines in Dark Places
Do You Reckon God Is Real?
Learning How to Respect and Exercise Authority
How Do You P-R-A-Y This Thanksgiving?

Besides thinking and writing, I have been “listening” to what God is saying in His Word.  Rather than be surprised to read a headline like “God Isn’t Fixing This” or condemning those who think it is true, I’ve been learning more about how God has already done His part to “fix it.”  The Apostle John tells us how much God has done, sending His only Son to do more than “fix it.”  Jesus came so that anyone, by faith in His death, burial, and resurrection, could have the gift of new Life—to be “born again” as  a“new creature” so that the old passes away, and all things are new in us (John 3; 2 Corinthians 5: 17). 

As God’s children, we have the privilege of daily communion with our Heavenly Father, and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit to walk along side us as our Helper (John 14: 26).  If we are reborn spiritually and walking in communion with God, His Spirit speaks to our souls,“Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4: 6).  And in response to the Spirit within us, we join Him in exclaiming with warm, endearing affection and worship, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8: 15).  In this loving resonance between the Father God and His child, love, faith, and eternal hope are affirmed.

Having God’s nearness to us; yes, even His presence within our hearts ought to encourage us to praise and thank Him for not only “fixing us,” but transforming us.  We are, or can, by faith (see Romans 10: 8-11), be new creatures in Christ.  We can have a new internal disposition toward our neighbor and the world around us.   Living such transformed lives anytime, especially during this season of Advent and Christmas ought to be such that Peter’s words in 1 Peter 3:14-15 describe what God can do through us:

But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness,
you are blessed.
And do not fear their intimidation,
and do not be troubled,
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts,
always being ready to give an answer
to everyone who asks you to give an account
for the hope that is in you,
yet with gentleness and reverence…

God is not dead.  Nor is He hard of hearing.  He has done His part to “fix it” and then some!  Now it’s our turn as God’s children by faith, and as members of God’s Church, the “body of Christ,” to live so that Peter’s command applies to us--being ready to suffer fearlessly when God’s righteousness is offensive; and yet, being ready to answer others who ask why we are hopeful when so many people are hopeless, yet with “gentleness and reverence.”

But how can we give an answer for the hope that is within us in a culture that is increasingly dark, defensive, and even dangerous as many fellow Christians can testify if they haven’t been martyred already?  I like the example provided in Acts 17 by the Apostle Paul when he addressed the Greek philosophers and teachers of his day.  When Paul observed stone statues in Athens erected in honor of many different Greek gods but not to the God of Christianity, He chose not to insult them.  Instead, he acknowledged that they were very religious because they worshipped many gods in hopes of appeasing all the gods that exist.  But Paul then said to them while pointing to the statue erected “'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD:'

The Apostle Paul introduces Greeks to the "Unknown God"

Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.  The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;  nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;  for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, “For we also are His children.” Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.  Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17: 23-31).

In response to this oration from Paul, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this (Acts 17: 32)." Later, Paul’s epistles to the churches referenced many among the Greeks who had put their faith in God and had become leaders in the movement that would soon  sweep across the Roman Empire and northern Europe, and lay the foundation for the positive influence of Christianity in the Western Hemisphere.  

If God could “turn the world upside down” through the lives of the few followers of Christ in the first century, can he not bring revival to our whole troubled world?  Maybe it is already beginning.  Jesus has already given the call (Luke 9: 23):  If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

The world may ask, “Is God, ‘fixing this,’ or isn’t He?”  We who know Christ should ask, “Am I a faithful steward where God has placed me, or not?”

Comment if you please:  What do you find most difficult to bear in today’s world?  How have you found help through your faith?   What particular helps or suggestions can you offer to those of us who want to grow in faith and stewardship of time, material resources, and abilities?

Creation Conscious Christmas Cleanup

Once again, our celebration of Christmas has become part of family history recorded in our memories and photos.  This year I’ve been trying to glean some lessons by reflecting upon our preparation and celebration of Christmas.  It all started when I was preparing our so-called garbage for weekly pick-up at the curb.
Thanks to our attempts at recycling, our weekly output of “waste” is less than one average-size garbage bag per week.  As a result, the company who serves us discounts our quarterly rate—a nice economic incentive over and above our calling to do what is right as stewards of creation.   So, I became quite reflective as I sorted the “Christmas waste” from our collective unwrapping and “un-packaging” of gifts.

Christmas wrappings, packaging, and reusable boxes

While I was gleaning and separating the metal, plastic, cardboard, and recyclable paper, I began to reflect on how we handle the material side of Christmas.  I’ve recorded my thoughts here in hopes that they will give additional life and usefulness beyond our regular ritual of handling the “stuff” of Christmas celebration.

While pawing through the pile of crumpled, colorful wrappings, I had to consider the relative importance of my gleaning and sorting in the first place.  After all, considering the mountains of garbage generated at Christmas, what difference can my separation and recycling make?  Besides, isn’t it likely that my ‘garbage company’ can do an even better job of sorting and recycling than I can?  Aren’t there more constructive ways for me to use my?   But then, my pawing and pondering began to yield some unexpected treasures.

First, I realized that the “what difference can I make” argument extends far beyond whether or not we choose to exercise stewardship of our material blessings.  It is also at the heart of God’s call to evangelism and discipleship.  After all, if we are to be faithful as witnesses of the “Good News” toward a spiritually needy world, we must believe that our individual and often seemingly unnoticed efforts can make a big difference in God’s harvest.  That includes a “word fitly spoken” (Proverbs 25:11) as well as proper acts of stewardship of the material gifts of God.

Second, my sorting gave new meaning to the torn and shredded wrapping paper and packaging.  This pile of colorful, cast-off, coverings of the treasures we had only recently purchased and wrapped as Christmas gifts now served as a reminder of our love for our family.  A torn-open, cardboard package that had held a doll (“Made in China”), anchored securely with some flexible wire that is great for “twist-tying,” was also a reminder of the smiles and joy of our granddaughter when she first opened the package.  Other torn wrappings and packaging had been removed with anticipation by me, and I was reminded of the joy I saw on the faces of givers who were delighted at my excitement. Wonderfully, my stewardship of the cast-off wrapping paper and packaging seemed to provide a fitting closure to our time of giving and celebration.  Our love and kindness toward each other was being revived and extended by my responsible care in disposing of the materials that had once enclosed the treasures inside.

Third, and somewhat related to the previous point, I began to realize that my investment of time to properly sort and recycle our wrappings and packaging provided additional time to reflect thankfully on what we had just done in giving and receiving gifts.  So often, we hurry through activities that are only possible because of the gracious hand of our Creator God.  For example, the discipline of offering a prayer of thanks at mealtime allows us the blessing of pausing and considering God’s gracious provision of nutritious food and the ecological, agricultural, and economic system that makes it so readily available.  As I handled the wrappings and packaging, I realized that the “cost” of these materials went far beyond our monetary expenses in purchasing them.  There is also the “ecological cost” or “impact” on God’s creation through the refining, manufacturing, packaging, marketing, and shipping of the products and wrappings.  In light of these costs, it is only proper that we take time to recognize the ecological and stewardship mandates that define our responsibility and that of our children toward material resources.  

In summary, I was encouraged not to omit even small efforts to “make a difference” through words or actions of good will toward God, my neighbor, and creation.  Also, my attention to the stewardship of Christmas wrappings and packaging enhanced the benefit of these material resources by providing a few moments of reflection and closure on our time of giving and receiving.  Although their color and beauty is temporal, the eternal value of these wrappings was assured by acknowledging their role as vehicles of love and good will in our Christmas celebration.

I close with a few practical suggestions for applying stewardship of material resources to the Christmas (or any birthday) celebration:

1.    How am I doing in providing an example of good stewardship both of material resources, including what may be called ‘waste,’ and the Good News of Christ’s coming and soon return.   After all, shouldn’t my actions toward material creation, the Creator’s footstool (Isaiah 66:1), be a pleasing part of my worship and service to God?

2.    How can I be more conscious of the environmental impact of packaging?   What distinctions can I make in choosing products that are packaged with environmental stewardship in mind?

3.    I’m challenged to research my ‘garbage company’s’ role in the waste stream – what happens to our garbage?   Is it sorted and reclaimed?  What is my part in stewarding these resources?

4.    Are there lessons for both the givers and the receivers of gifts with respect to how we handle the treasured contents of a package AND the packaging and wrappings?   Have we lost the distinction between the means and the ends of gift giving?  Means as well as ends?

5.    I’m challenged to expand our use of reusable gift boxes.  Although young children enjoy tearing open packages with reckless abandon and joy, at least some gifts can be given in reusable boxes.  Indeed, we’ve begun to circulate some sturdy boxes covered with colorful paper among our homes, and which reappear the following year with a new gift inside (see examples in photo, upper right).  We also use other packages such as used cereal boxes.

Please “Comment” to add your thoughts, questions, or practical suggestions.

Prayer:   Father in Heaven, thank you for sending your Beloved Son to be the Savior of the world; especially, to be the Savior of all who accept His sacrifice to provide atonement for their sin.  Thank you that this Son of love Who entered this world and humbly took on flesh, wrapped in cloths in a manger; all within the busy, distracted, commercial world of His time.  Help us (help me) not to be so distracted by all the wrappings and trappings that I miss Your purposes for me.  After all, my own works—even my efforts to be more “green” environmentally-- are only filthy rags if I forget my desperate need for daily spiritual renewal through confession and regeneration.  Amen.