Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, dear ones.

Becki and I did a walk/jog earlier. Felt good. It was so warm, our sweatshirts were nearly too much.

It would be nice if I could find some time today to do some stuff around our place. It seems we allow God to do the landscaping and yard maintenance. We really should contibute some help. I’d like to line out a garden space. I need to cut grass and do some repairs to the creekside deck…since its season of use is here again. I also need to create a new table for the deck. Our old picnic table has fallen apart. That’s what age does to people and stuff.

Want to hear an ugly story? Yesterday, my coffee cup was left half full on the desk for several hours. Returning to it I decided to take a sip. It was cold, but good. Another sip. I felt something a little more solid in my mouth than just the coffee. I knew immediately what it was. I spit it out in my waste basket. Sure enough—a fly. Yuk! I’m not a very good gecko. He apparently landed in there while I was away. No one was around to hear his cries for help—and he drowned. Poor little fellow. You can be sure I’ll be more pensive about sipping from a long-standing coffee cup after this.

Try to have a great day. But it’s a dangerous world out there.

Love, Dad/Ray.

You’ve probably never heard anyone expound on a yoyo. Consider this question as a start: What is the nature of a yoyo? Is it designed to be up? Or is it designed to be down? Actually, it’s both. A yoyo is designed to go up and down. That’s what makes it a yoyo. And that’s why some unstable people can be appropriately described as “yoyos.” You can never really be sure of what emotional or spiritual state you will find them upon your next meeting. They tend to live their lives by subjective impulse rather than by objective principle. They can perform quite well when overseen by the close guidance of parental or godly authority, but given too much freedom, without personally embracing a HEART AFTER GOD, they will conform to their natural default settings of sin and stupid. Unfortunately, Joash proves to be a “yoyo.” Under godly supervision, he started well, but ended terrible.

Zechariah, like his father Jehoida, was a prophet and priest. He was inspired to confront backslidden Joash and his officials for their abandoning the CONSTITUTION and return to heathenism. “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the LORD’S commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you’” (24:20). Once again, we are reminded that speaking God’s truth is dangerous business. Joash and gang were not in good listening mode. They wanted to hear stuff that supported their sin—not stuff that triggered conviction. They were mad. This had to be HATE SPEECH. “How dare this young kid presume to tell us truth!—when we are so clearly the elite of our society!” So, in typical corrupt fashion, they killed him. What better way to eliminate their guilt?! Problem solved—for a few minutes. But there remains a Sovereign God Who judges in the affairs of men—One Who is not intimidated by public opinion or rebellious elitists. He used an invasion by the Arameans as a tool of judgment, and Joash was murdered in his bed while suffering from battle wounds.

Amaziah, son of Joash, was another yoyo. He starts out good—and ends lousy. Bummer! So which is better—to start well, or to end well? I’m inclined to conclude that ending well is far better. After all, the bad news is that we all start out lousy due to the NATURAL SIN NATURE. It is that fallen fact that redesigns us to be natural yoyos. But by the awesome grace of a loving God, we can all be subjected to reconstructive restoration—become edifying instruments in the hand of God—and end well. That’s the good news of the Biblical Gospel!