Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, dear people.

Oh, yes…I need to get the garbage and recycle bins out by the road for pick up.

We received the two little boys earlier. I’ve already made some simple little grass knives for them out of steel strapping…emphasizing GRASS ONLY. Hopefully it will be instructional. In the islands, little kids who could hardly walk were allowed to handle knives. They were integral to the lifestyle there. I guess they have to begin somewhere. We’ve been around some little kids here in the USA that seem to be products of the opposite extreme—taught to think that knives are absolutely forbidden for them to touch—as though they risk their hands being mysteriously cut off just by looking at a knife.

I need to get cracking on some signwork…some for a new floor covering shop, and some for Teen Challenge.

Blessings on your day.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Objective reasoning is a powerful tool of faith in my view. Without it, my own life and faith would be a good deal more unstable than it is. Without it, we are tossed and driven by every wind and wave of emotion, opinion, and circumstance that comes along. And, to be sure, they keep coming along! That’s life.

David injects a very good piece of advice into Psalm 62 that I present as the FOCUS VERSE. I think he sings that line with urgency and passion that flow from personal trial-and-error experience. There will be many, however, who treat that advice with self-centered arrogance and/or indifference. Their real response could rephrase the advice something like this: “It’s OK for some people to trust in their idea of God at times, if it helps them to cope with difficult situations. It can be a helpful form of psychological therapy to identify and verbalize one’s hurts, fears, and worries. It’s better to let it all hang out than keep it all bottled up. With it all out, one is now able to clean, select, reorganize, put things back together, and get on with life.”

Here’s where some Bible-based objective reasoning can enhance this advice and turn it into an effective all-inclusive formula for positive living that renders well-being and peace both here, now, and forevermore. Let me begin at the beginning, building on the following foundational premise: The Sovereign God designed and created all things—including me. It stands to reason, therefore, that He would best know how to make my life work properly. And since He knows everything about everything, and I don’t, it also makes a lot of sense to trust Him, seek Him, pour out my heart to Him, and allow that constant trust relationship to be a refuge of protection from the debilitating alternatives of fear and anxiety.

Even the exclusivity that David assigns to the LORD is consistent with objective reasoning. “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken” (62:1-2). Once again, based on the above-mentioned foundational premise, it makes perfect sense that He ALONE would be the best resource for its guidance and protection. I would only wish to qualify the last phrase—“I will never be shaken.” I would caution, “Oh yes you will—IF you allow anything to impair this perspective!”

Upon this foundational premise, David sets up two corner stones—

1. “You, O God are strong” (62:11), and
2. “You, O Lord, are loving.” As “God’s fellow workers” (1 Corinthians 3:9), we form a vital partnership and face the opportunity to utilize the same foundational materials to build a life of strength and love that will outlast storms and time (Matthew 7:24-27).
   
   
   “People who don’t know whether they are coming or going are usually in the biggest hurry to get there.”