Insightful Musings on theScriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Greetings on this rainy windy morning, dear ones.

Even before I read my 2010 entry, that phrase stood out to me in the reading—“She did what she could.” So rather than try to re-invent another devotional wheel for April 24, I’ll just resend it.

I remember now—I was about to send the composition for yesterday…and decided to add one little sentence…but before I completed it, I had a phone call that pulled me away from that thought trail…so that when I returned to sending it, I did so without completing that sentence. I don’t know if you caught it. The complete sentence was intended to be an exclamation—“Talk about popping a kid’s balloon!” Oh well.

Laying in bed this morning, thinking about some difficult stuff that we face—stuff that calls for special care and wisdom, I was inspired again by pondering the great foundational advice of Proverbs 3:5-6. It seems that the first line implies a percentage option in regards to living to please and trust God. The advice there stresses that 100% is what makes the principle work right and yield the maximum benefit. And it only stands to reason that some other fraction of 100% will render fractional benefits. Duh!

OK—with that trust ratio reset, I think I’m ready to take on the day. Blessings on yours.

Love, Dad/Ray.

It seems to me that this line could be an appropriate epitaph on her tombstone. “She did what she could.” She may not have been extremely talented, famous, or influential, but she did what she could. She made use of the resources she had. She took advantage of opportunities to serve.

Sooner or later this old body I temporarily live in is going to end up in some cold dark grave (…but, of course, not my eternal soul!). When that happens, I cannot imagine an epitaph more attractive to me than that one. I would hope that such a statement could appropriately characterize the few short years of my plodding on this planet. “He did what he could.” Not very fancy. No flash. No frills. Not famous. Mistakes here and there. A few little achievements. Soon forgotten. But, “HE DID WHAT HE COULD.” I’ll accept that.

It really is good to remember that the standard God uses to determine your success is, in fact, you yourself. That is, He will never expect you to perform outside the parameters of your individual potential. You will be measured against the standard of what you could have been and done. And through Christ you CAN come the closest to living up to your potential toward becoming all you should be—and doing all you should do. “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13).