Month: August 2021

Comedy vs Tragedy

My oldest daughter has a keen interested in literature and books and authors and all things writing. And I love this! She often asks my opinion about authors or their books. We get into the most interesting discussions (for us, not the rest of the family – they hate it).

Last night I was describing the difference between a comedy and tragedy, in their classic usage. As I struggled to described it, I finally came up with a very simple explanation. All kinds of problems and complications happen in life. In a comedy these complications have a humorous spin and culminate in a marriage – they lived happily ever after. When reading or watching a tragedy, complications happen and they have devastating results and then people die. We were laughing at the over simplicity of my explanation.

Life is neither a comedy or a tragedy – it is both. We have moments of devastating events, we have lighter funny complications, we may live happily and we all die in the end.

Maybe we need to accept the end of our life, the inevitability of death, in order to live full productive and meaningful lives? In this way we can make the most of the moments now. We can care more, give more, love more, forgive more…

Luke 12: 25-26 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 
Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

The time is now

I have been watching the developments in our world for the last few years. Our politics is nastier, our culture more extreme, our values nebulous and ever-changing. It is hard to get a sense of our footing.

But as all this madness around us swirls I am more convinced than ever that God is the answer. What we are seeing is a world with no stability, nothing to cling to.

What can we do? Can we change the direction of the world? No. Can we affect great change? No. But we can believe in something meaningful. We can set an example. We can have a small influence in the world right around us.

Now is the time. Now we need to step forward. Now we claim the territory. Now we say, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” Do it now. Don’t wait. The world needs people of faith. Desperately.

Ephesians 6: 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day
of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Tap has run dry

I’m hoping it’s temporary, but I have had nothing to write the last few days. A bit frightening as I usually have lots of thoughts swirling in my head. I still do, but none of them have solidified into something concrete enough to write about.

I’ve perused my Bible, looking for ideas to jump off the page. That too has failed. Again lots jumped out but nothing I understood enough to write about. Like the bit in Genesis about Melchizedek. Who is he? Where did he come from? If he was a priest of God, why don’t we know more about him?

So many questions!! Maybe you have answers. Comment if you do.

Genesis 14: 18-20 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said:
“Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
And he gave him a tithe of all.

Turning a page

I am fifty today. I’m half way to one hundred. I always intended to have a big party today to celebrate this great achievement. But, frankly it doesn’t feel any different than any other day and I actually have no interest in celebrating. Why? Oh who knows. These days are so strange that, well, it’s hard to think of celebrating over something so arbitrary as a date!

It has caused me to reflect on my life. I’m shocked at how little I have accomplished. I’m dismayed by the mistakes I have made and the people I’ve hurt. My list of sins is pretty long.

Why do we remember the negative things so clearly?

Maybe it’s because the “good” things we do are often cumulative. We get up every day and slog out the house and provide for our families. We work every moment to teach and help our children to grow and learn. There is nothing glamorous in this. And yet, when taken at a distance it can be truly heroic. The bad stuff tends to happen in capsules, moments of time that we can quickly pull out and remember.

So today, I’m determined to continue to show my husband respect. I will continue to try give my children wise council. I hope to find a way to love my neighbour. And most of all I will remember whom I serve.

Colossians 3: 23-24  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working
for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Look to God

These are strange days. You know it. I know it. Something has gone wrong and everything that was chugging along nicely, now seems disconnected and broken. Relationships that used to be easy are now strained. Ideas that used to be commonly held are now questioned. Beliefs that were once respected are now considered immoral.

No matter where you come from the world is out of step. We no longer stand on firm ground. This uncertainty is making people angry and frustrated. We want to force our view on others, we want to fix the problems as we see them. This urge is visible everywhere.

As God’s people, what do we do?

First, we remember who is the great foundation of our life. We look to the rock on which we built our house. Focus on God.

Second, we emulate God. We “walk in the way of love.” By doing this we serve those around us, but we can also create a sense of stability. In the same way a flotation device offers safety to a drowning man. We can be that ‘something’ that people hang onto.

Third, we look to God for strength. We are not strong enough to tackle this world and its trials, but God is. Lean on him. Lean into His love and His salvation.

None of these actions are easy. It will take firmness of character.

What I am suggesting is radical. Stop listening to the world and its directions. Focus on God.

Ephesians 5: 15-16 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Learning from hardship

My firstborn girlie turns fifteen this weekend. Fifteen years ago we were in the midst of a whirlwind of crisis and activity. This little baby was arriving with a half a heart. We were facing the largest hurdle and challenge life had thrown at us. We didn’t know what to expect, and we were anxious and afraid. But calm. There was nothing we could do but hope and hang on.

As I look at this event in the rear view mirror, much of the pain is hidden. I see the outlines, like a city fading into the distance. I don’t see the raw, ugly streets that were traversed. Just the fading emerald city.

Life is like that. We can’t hold onto the pain. It must subside, or we couldn’t manage to keep moving forward. We carry the scars and the lessons of the past, but we move onward. Sometime onto better days, sometimes into other struggles. But we must keep moving.

If we are wise, we let the trauma teach us without embittering our hearts. This is tricky, but essential. If we see our suffering as a lesson that we can share with others, then we are less prone to envy. In this way we can find benefit in the hard fought experience, not just pain. This is how we can avoid bitterness.

Ephesians 4: 31-32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Divided attention

Sometimes our attentions are divided. We call it multitasking. We try to accomplish one thing while attending to another. If you have ever tried to write an email while listening to a child, you know how hard this can be.

But sometimes, it is unavoidable. Driving in busy traffic for example. We need to be keenly aware of the surroundings, while still doing the functional job of driving.

I like the story of Nehemiah. The Israelites return from Babylon to rebuild the city walls. At this time a city without a wall was a sitting duck. Raiders, invaders and other threats had no obstacle between their intentions and the city of Jerusalem.

The surrounding people mocked Nehemiah, they didn’t respect the Israelites or their God. These men had to split their focus. They needed to be alert to danger, while they put in the hard work of repairing the wall. A brick in one hand and a sword in the other.

Maybe we as a people have let go of our swords. We have been so busy building and being productive that we have forgotten to protect ourselves and our families. We have let down our guard.

Nehemiah 4: 16-18 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

Noah built more than an ark

Noah built an ark. Noah who had never seen rain and had no idea what he was building, built an ark. He did it because God asked him to do it.

He endured scorn and ridicule. No one could figure out what crazy old Noah was doing. Even Noah couldn’t truly understand what he was doing. God asked him to do it, so he did it.

Astounding obedience and trust.

What Noah built, ended up being the salvation of his whole family. This ark was the vessel that saved his family from the coming flood. His obedience and trust had ramifications beyond his own life.

How often do we consider the impact of our choices on our own family? Are we building a better life for our children? A life of material wealth, comfort, success? Or are we building a life that will lead to their salvation?

Genesis 6: 17-18 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.

An update

I am planning to start a virtual bible study this fall. I emailed my list but some of the folks following the blog are WordPress users. If you are interested in more information please email me at roberta.davis@silverwords.ca – I’ll get you more information.

God’s wisdom

I matured in the era of the self-help book. I was a young adult, learning and charting my course, surrounded by a culture of instruction. It was everywhere, daytime television, books, classes, businesses… everywhere you ran into a basic formula. Do A,B,C and you will have a happy marriage. Do A,B,C and you will be successful in business. Do A,B,C your children will turn out and be wondeful. Do A,B,C and you will find inner peace.

Even churches did this. They abandoned generations of culture and learning to adopt the new step by step guide to getting to your desired destination. Correct doctrine – check. Appropriate levels of faith – check. Trust God – check. Be as prefect as you can be – check. Attend all the right services – check. Offer the right services in the community – check. Of course not every church was like this, but many were.

I am not suggesting for even a moment, that any of these ideas on their own are bad. It is the concept that we can live our lives by rote, by list, by ticking off all the boxes, that I strongly object to. As a young adult I stressed over every single decision, sure that every move I made would propel me on the right path or would take me off onto the wrong path. This belief was in the air I breathed.

Life is far more complex than that. Wisdom can’t be distilled into a list of dos and donts. No amount of planning can predict the future or prevent the chaos caused by our past. Life is messy. Humans are messy.

The best I can do is build my foundation on belief in God. When I do that I am anchoring myself to the Creator. I am drawing on His wisdom. I lean on His strength and guidance.

1 Corinthians 3: 18-19 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”