At the end of a very long life, a much-beloved man was carried back and forth to his friends when they got together.  He was rather feeble in body, but his heart was ever-strong.  He loved these young people who combined friends, family and faith-group.  He loved them extraordinarily.

So, when it was time for him to speak to them, he didn’t go on and on and on about erudite topics. Instead, knowing that his own time was drawing to a close, he kept his remarks short. Simple.  To the point.

I can see him in my mind’s eye.  An old man, possibly missing some of his teeth.  Palsied movements.  Age spots on his skin.  Carried on a stretcher.  Gnarled joints, sagging jowls, maybe.  Sparse hair, whiter than snow on his head.  Maybe even a little sad looking.

Until one saw his eyes and the love and concern that burned brightly in them.  He knew that the younger people with him would have many trials and temptations set before them and, unlike him, they did not have the memory of a certain extraordinary example to follow.  They had only reports of this example.  Letters.

Only this last living man, John, had walked with Jesus of Nazareth personally, in these meetings.  Had seen him. Talked with him.  Laughed with him.  Been asked to pray with him.  And now, John, too, would be taken away.  He dearly wished to go, I’m sure.

But to these young people who gathered around him, out of respect and courtesy if not avid thirst for learning, there was no such vibrant reminder such as John had had.  So John kept his messages in these waning months and years simple.

Little children, love one another, he said often.  Over and again.  Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

Then, perhaps, with a voice weak from nearly a century of use, perhaps, he would stop, cough a little, and lay  heavily back on the stretcher upon which he had been carried.

Love one another, he said.  Do not follow false promises.

Guard yourselves from thinking that anything or anyone is more powerful than the Lord God Almighty.  Hold nothing more dear than you hold HIM.  Do not be deceived. Do not stray.

Did he know how far the people would fall?  Or was John granted a gift of extraordinary hope?

Love one another.  Little children, dear one, my beloved children, guard yourselves from false promises.  Worship the Lord God only.

When one nears the end of life, the truth is actually quite simple.  Theology is complex, but at the end, there are only the basics.  I think it’s kind of sad that we have tossed up so much to get in the way of them.

Tags: God, hope, love, theology

“I’m a good person.”

“I know a lot of Christians who aren’t as kind/loving/fair/good as this other person.”

“I think Heaven will be open to anyone who does their best.”

Nice sentiments, surely, but that is not what is taught in the word of God.

“What does he expect?  I go to church, I give, I volunteer…  Why do I feel it’s not enough?”

Jesus was pretty explicit regarding what is expected of someone.  Some folks feel that their actions are what matters. And actions are very important! They are not, however, of first importance.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind,” Jesus said in the gospel of Matthew.

Of first importance is not what we do. Not how we treat others. Not how much we have given, given, given.  Because actions can be deceptive.  I know that I have done things many times for the wrong reasons.  Out of a sense of guilt or obligation, perhaps, or a wish for self-aggrandizement, maybe.  The deeds might have looked good, but God knew my heart.  Those deeds – any deeds alone – do not make up for a heart that does not follow that first priority.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.”

What does he expect?  What does God, who made all that there is and enjoys showing us his handiwork as we see pictures from a NASA website or marvel at the persistence of a spider digging a hole in the sand, want from us first?

Our love. Our devotion.  A relationship that is real.

One day, we will all meet him. Scripture says that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Some, I think, will do so out of heartbreak, knowing they have been wrong, all of their lives.

But some will do so out of sheer joy and amazement and wonder.

And love.

Tags: Bible, expectations, God, Jesus, love