Polar Opposites
Good Morning Friends,
The Bible promised it in Job 14:1, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.” Jesus promised it! John 16:33, “In the world you will have tribulation…” Friends we are going to have trouble in our lives that is just the way it is. How we react is the story, for in the words of Carl Sandburg combined with scripture, either we will embrace the sister of justice that ravisher of the wayward, nursing grief and wrong… feeding on rancor and then rising on the tide of inner chaos, submit to the frenzied flow of vengeance or we will realize that vengeance is not ours to claim but God’s, if he wills, for God desires for us the better way of pity.
While anger and resentment may still ride the heart I pause and read and in reading know that hate is hell. Friends in eating the word we are pressed into a healing of the heart by the magnetism of Polar Opposites.
Scripture: We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)
Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy. No harm overtakes the righteous, but the wicked have their fill of trouble. The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves, but a fool’s heart blurts out folly. Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor. Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.
Proverbs 12:20-25 (NIV)
The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.
Proverbs 20:5 (NIV)
Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
Jeremiah 15:16 (KJV)
Message: Yesterday three scientist won the Noble Prize for Chemistry. They developed a series of simple questions into a computer model that can predict ways to “outsmart” a virus that mutates in response to drugs. We too need to outsmart those things that attack us when it comes to matters of the dangers of heart disease. The answer is incarnational. You see, we have the interface of opposites when I comes to sin: humility against pride, kindness against envy, abstinence against gluttony, chastity against lust, patience against anger, liberality against greed, and diligence against sloth. In the introduction I write about patience against anger. The experience can be double-minded and schizophrenic but if outsmarted can turn into something wonderful. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he is describing this process up close and the phrases he uses do not seem like opposites at all. Here is where we get to the goal at hand…that of having a heart healthy diet…of realizing that we are not polar opposites with God. Friends, there are symptoms of a faulty ticker and we need to recognize the warning signs of heart trouble in our inner being. Eat the word as part of a heart healthy diet. Friends everyone knows that heart problems are directly related to stress. Anxiety can press in on a man and even crush him. But not all stress is bad. The real problem is separation from God. You see heart problems in the inner man are manifested in the seven deadly sins. Our choosing God to be part of the solution presses us into service in a healthy way. It is here we learn to love. It is here we learn that if it makes us more like Jesus, it is good for us. Friends, experience the press of the incarnational love of Christ and eat of the Word made flesh. Learn about Jesus in the actions of faithful good works. Experience trouble but also the joy of truth combined with love in the Incarnational Christ.
Pray we realize that haughty hearts, deceitful hearts, angry hearts and anxious hearts can kill the spirit and the body as well. Pray we find the Word and eat it. Pray we digest and assimilate it for our health and strength and joy. Pray we hold the word in our mind like holding food in our mouth…keeping it, chewing on it until its nourishment is taken in.Pray we are changed as wefeed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, give shelter to strangers, clothe the naked, visit the sick, minister to prisoners, and bury the dead. Pray we experience the Incarnational Christ and understand that Jesus was not crazy at all.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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