“Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
Our littlest graduated from preschool last year and is all geared up for big school this fall. One of the things he always looked forward to most in his preschool program was show and tell. He loved picking out just the right toy to show all his buddies. He would even occasionally stress over it like a teenager choosing his outfit for a first date. Telling about what we have is okay, but there’s just something extra special about showing it. James agrees.
“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God — who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly — and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
In the first couple of verses of James’ letter, he tells his audience to consider it great joy when they experience trials of various kinds. We talked about some of the whys and hows of this on Wednesday. Such considerations strengthen our faith and produce endurance in us for when even harder times comes. The question this raises is how do we know how to proceed in this journey?
This past Sunday was Father’s Day. As a dad myself, it was a chance to get a bit reflective. What would I tell my three boys if I had the chance? Here’s what I said.
A Letter to My Sons
There are occasions in our lives
that prompt us to do some deep thinking.
For me at least, days like today are one of those times. As I was preparing for this morning, I began
thinking about what I would like to say to my sons if I had the chance. You know, one of those deep, parental wisdom
speeches that they won’t want to sit and listen to until I’m lying on my death
bed and they’re hanging on my every word.
As I grow in my experience as a parent and Noah and Josiah and Micah
grow up some of what I have to say to them will probably change, but hopefully
not much. As it turns out, there isn’t
children’s church scheduled for today which means they’re stuck in here and
have to listen to this. Well…I can’t
make them listen—when I figure that out I’ll let you know just after I patent
it and retire—but they’re at least going to be in the room while I’m saying
it. Anyway, as something a bit different
this morning, I’ll let you in my head and heart for a few minutes and then
we’ll all go out and celebrate Father’s Day together.
Having a life of meaning available to us is one thing. Living a life of meaning is something else. One can lead to the other, but the connection is not automatic. In this final installment in our series, Finding Meaning, we talk about the secret of not just having, but living a life filled with meaning and purpose. Keep reading to find out as we wrap up this thought-provoking journey.
Full Contentment
One of the
things I have actively encouraged you guys to be doing is spending daily time
in the Scriptures. This is something
I’ll keep encouraging and keep encouraging and keep encouraging because of how
utterly transformational this practice is to the life of faith. You simply cannot be a consistent, faithful
follower of Jesus without regularly engaging with the Word of God. It’s just not how it was designed to work. And so you know that I’m not just saying you
should be doing this without actually doing it myself, this past week I was
working my way through Genesis 2-3 and I read something there that when I sat
down to start working on this message came rushing to the front of my
brain. It was one of those cool times
when God makes a connection between two different ideas in the Scriptures
written by different authors living in different cultures separated by
centuries of time that you just wouldn’t have made without Him. The original thought struck me enough that
you may have seen it on my blog this past week if you follow me there. All of those entries, by the way, come out of
my own quiet time. If you ever want to
know what I’m reading at the moment, it’s all right there for you. I just want you to know that I’m in this with
you.
After a couple of weeks off, this week brings us to part four of our series, Finding Meaning. One of the places we turn to for meaning in our lives is often our work. And that makes a lot of sense at first blush. After all, by the nature of the beast, we invest a lot of our lives there. We might as well try to get as much out of it as we can. But as with pleasure and wisdom, seeking meaning in our work is a trap and when it springs, it will leave us empty and searching. Keep reading to find out how we can get the most out of the work we do.
The Problem with Work
Have you ever done something that
you knew, even while doing it, was a waste of your time? I worked at OfficeMax in the print department
while I was in seminary. I really enjoyed
the job and had a great boss. My
favorite part was working in production. That kind of detailed and precise work was
right up my alley and a nice break from school work. We produced thousands of different documents
while I was there from large format posters to bound workbooks to single
copies. If you wanted a document of any
kind created, we could probably do it for you.
The Nexus 