Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, folks.

Becki only recently returned from her dental appointment. I had her read the first draft of the composition below. She did so, at my request, out loud. Her numb mouth gave her some difficulty. But we made it through, and discussed some details further. She approved its release, so here you go.

I can hardly believe what a challenge it is to screen the available pet lists for acquiring another dog. I think nearly every dog in the Portland community is a spoiled pampered city dog…managed by owners who judge that the most appropriate way to demonstrate their love and care for a dog is to treat him like a people…sleeping on sofas, on beds with people, and only go out of doors to potty or get some exercise. The idea of a primarily outdoor country dog is offensive to these owners. I’ve talked with some who regard me as coming from a different planet. Very interesting.

Anyway…time for lunch. Bye.

Love, Dad/Ray.

“How are you?” That has become a very common social greeting in our culture. Most typically, because it is so commonplace and expected, and because most people are in too much of a hurry to want to hear any facts, it is reduced to near-meaningless superficial tradition. I won’t suggest that you avoid the tradition, but I want to suggest that you take time to decisively aim this question in one very important direction—to YOU! That’s right. Take some specific time to ask, “How am I really doing?” Take time to measure your present performance against original plans, purposes, and objectives. I’m tempted to believe that many people, if not most, don’t really invest much effort in this vital exercise of personal evaluation.

Why am I beginning on this note? Consider the number of years that have passed since Egypt—forty. Consider the fact that Moses is now surrounded with a vast number of Israelite baby boomers who never saw the plagues of Egypt, didn’t experience the miracle passing through the Red Sea, and never knew anything different than a nomadic lifestyle. Consider the fact that the LORD had already announced to Moses, “Sorry, but your time is about up” (Numbers 27:13; 31:2). So Moses is pumped with motivation to groom his replacement, Joshua, and to impart to this generation of Israelites the realities of their history and mandates for their future. He knows too well that if they don’t embrace these truths as foundational, they’ll wander off course and botch up the whole deal. He puts a lot of effort into composing this “Second Law” (meaning of Deuteronomy) for the sake of posterity. It will assist them in reviewing who they are, where they’ve come from, where they’re going, and why. It will help them in answering that important question along the way, “How are we really doing?”

May I suggest that this could be part of the intended reason for the Sabbath?—to stop, rest, reflect, review, and evaluate what you’ve been doing. That’s what God did. “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

After all this, would you be made nervous if I asked, “How are you doing?”