Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Greetings, dear ones.

The morning fog is burning off here to reveal a pretty nice day so far. And speaking of nice days, we had an incredible beauty yesterday. I mentioned yesterday that it was looking to be an unusual one. We did a trip to the coast and met Andy and his family at Winema Beach just below Pacific City. We brought Hondo dog with us. And we called in at a little community church for their morning service along the way. Near the coast we broke out of the fog and it was about as nice a day as you could ever find at the beach—even in summer—warm, sunny, with no wind. We had a terrific time. And Hondo had an absolute blast, running on the beach, chasing the ball into the surf, and playing with Bella, their family dog. Very seldom have we called in to Pheasant Pointe to cancel our afternoon Gospel Sing sessions, but we did this time—and don’t regret it.

On with a new day and it new challenges. First on my list is to test my pressure washer and make sure she’s functional. I’ll use it to do a final touch on the church sign at Brooks.

Oh oh—fog has blocked the sun again. Hope it doesn’t last. Even so, have a great day.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Is it possible to possess a HEART AFTER GOD simultaneous with a heart of bitterness or unforgiveness toward another person? According to my Biblical overview, my best answer is, NO—IT’S NOT POSSIBLE. A heart of unforgiveness toward another person annuls or overturns a HEART AFTER GOD.

Have you noticed how normal and natural it is to be bitter, unforgiving, and vengeful toward someone who has done you dirty, or owes you for what you deserve, or what they have promised? Jesus presents that condition as a major disqualifier for heaven—which becomes a major qualifier for the exact opposite. Normal and natural hearts (NATURAL SIN NATURE) are simply not allowed passage to God’s heaven. We established that fact yesterday. From the words of Jesus, a major heart CHANGE is required. No change, no gain. To help underscore this truth, I wish to quote some of yesterday’s reading from THE MESSAGE translation: “I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me. But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you'll soon wish you hadn't. You'd be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time! Hard times are inevitable, but you don't have to make it worse — and it's doomsday to you if you do. If your hand or your foot gets in the way of God, chop it off and throw it away. You're better off maimed or lame and alive than the proud owners of two hands and two feet, godless in a furnace of eternal fire. And if your eye distracts you from God, pull it out and throw it away. You're better off one-eyed and alive than exercising your twenty-twenty vision from inside the fire of hell” (Matthew 18:3-9, from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

The other day I had occasion to meet a fellow who was selling a car. We ended up conversing mostly on the topic of our mutual Biblical faith. However, while there is much on which we agree, he revealed that he chokes with aversion on the Biblical description of hell. Well, so do I—but not in the same way. It is so horrific to him that he leans toward rejecting its reality—like, how could God do that? It’s horrible to me too, but how can I reject it and still claim a Biblical worldview? Even Jesus’ words in today’s reading gives a strong indication of hell’s reality. Concerning the “Unmerciful Servant” He said, “In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed” (v. 34). In the margin of my Bible I wrote, “Which is never!” A key word in that sentence is “tortured.” To be sure, however we formulate a concept of hell, we have to agree that it is definitely NOT FUN—so much so that we wouldn’t want anyone to go there. The best prevention still looms big and tall before me—a HEART AFTER GOD—which is partly confirmed by forgiving others.