“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3:15)

[markdohle]

 

 

 “Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
(Hebrews 3:15)

 

We live in a world that is not for those who fear pain and suffering.  Though many of us do in fact run from this reality; it will come to us all.  It is part of every stage of life, though I believe that the very young and the very old suffer much from powerlessness and being at the mercy of others.  Each year I experience this growing in myself.  Health issues, not being able to do the jobs that when young were easy, are now a challenge and may even be dangerous.  So I have to step back and let younger and stronger men do what needs to be done.  Like fixing a flat tire, I can’t do that anymore.  So I have to learn to let go, I guess this is suffering, but the intensity of it depends on how hard I fight it. 

From working in the Infirmary here in the community I saw that first hand.  Now as I age I am slowly starting to experience what so many of my charges went through….most gracefully, a few not so much.  I don’t mind really, since it is just as much a part of life, as growing in strength and ability to ‘do’, is part of being young. 

Today the ‘unborn’ have no right to life and many believe that the mother has the choice to cut short the life in her womb; in fact it is of course legal to do so.   In the future I believe our descendants will look back in horror on how we treated the life in the womb as well as our elderly  Of course the real shame will be in how we allow greed to take over one’s reason for living and how that shaped our values and life’s choices as well as cultural ones. 

Another scandal for those in the future will be the crisis in the family, where so many men seem to think that sex is a simple sport, fun, with no consequences or sense of responsibility.  Women are left alone, and many are very young and do not have the means to support their child.  Then families may turn on their ‘disgraced’ daughter and force her to get an abortion.  Many such parents are Christians who are afraid of the scorn they will be visited on them from their church.  So in some instances, Christian’s may be part of the fuel that keeps abortion going. 

Of course, I may be naive in believing that there will be such a culture, where life is respected to the extent that all will be treated with the dignity that they deserve as human beings no matter their stage of life.  It has never happened in the past, so why would it happen in the future. 

When there is tragedy, and abortion is a true tragedy, the reasons for the abortion can have many influences that lead to that choice.  A law will not stop abortion; it is a symptom of something much deeper and destructive.  A law will only create a whole new class of criminals….is that really a solution?  I think about prohibition, the law only made it more lucrative for the criminals. 

In the very young and the very old we do see the face of Christ Jesus, who became flesh and took upon himself our death and suffering and in doing that has allowed the gates of mercy to open on all.  Yet if Christians don’t show mercy and love, how can change happen?  I doubt we can point to any one source for our problems today, but I believe we all play a role in it.  How you may ask.  By not living out what we say we believe.  If we are pro-life, do we show that in how we treat others?  Many do, others try and fail, yet get up and continue, and then apathy is also very strong.

To pray, love, help and speak truth in a manner that will not make things worse is what we are called to do.  We do not see into the hearts of anyone.  In fact, I can barely understand my own heart.  I am not better than anyone, for I do not know how I would react under certain circumstance.  However while there is still today, we can all begin again. A new beginning because of mercy and that mercy is passed on to others.  When we understand the Love that Christ Jesus has for us and the mercy we have received, how can we not pass it on to others.  For mercy is freely given for those who ask, so just as we received freely, so we must pass it on, for to harden ones heart is easy, to keep a fleshy human heart touched deeply by Christ Jesus is a death to old ways of being and not easy at all, but is a choice that comes from deep within, its roots watered by the Blood of Christ and the Fire of the Holy Spirit.



 

 

[Guest Teditis]

Very well written, Mark!

I struggled to understand the link to the opening verse but you wrapped it up nicely there at the end.

I struggle a lot with forgiveness and Mercy, I'm a "Once burned, Twice shy" sorta' man. But you're

absolutely correct when you ask how can we not pass it on when it was so freely given to us?

I really need to mend my ways... thanks for showing me this...

[Marilyn C]

Hi markdohle,

I also appreciated your timely thoughts. Mankind has an incurable disease, but as you said, thanks be to the Lord for His precious, priceless blood shed for us. Now I believe, after God`s dealing with the Gentile`s government of the world that He will set up a righteous rule from Israel. The nations will learn of His ways & thus I see that there will be a time on earth where life is valued and the young are cared for.

regards, Marilyn.

[markdohle]

1 hour ago, Teditis said:

Very well written, Mark!

I struggled to understand the link to the opening verse but you wrapped it up nicely there at the end.

I struggle a lot with forgiveness and Mercy, I'm a "Once burned, Twice shy" sorta' man. But you're

absolutely correct when you ask how can we not pass it on when it was so freely given to us?

I really need to mend my ways... thanks for showing me this...

Thank you my friend.  When I write I am really dealing with my own struggles. I have enough to not worry about others too much, except to slowly allow God's grace to heal me deeper and in that it makes me more understanding of others.  I do believe that the mystery of God's love shown to each of us is still not understood, for Infinite Love is outside human experience.  When I ponder the story of the "Prodigal Son" I get frustrated because the love the 'Father' portrayed is so outside human experience, it is of a deeper nature and I can't grasp it except to the level that I am able.  Yet I still struggle, perhaps that is needed so that can again choose to follow the path that I believe we are called to;  "To Love God with out whole souls and our neighbor as ourselves".  For me the last part is the hardest, yet as I age and healing is deeper and my nakedness before God is made manifest to me, so does my trust and my fear drops away.  

Peace
Mark

[markdohle]

5 minutes ago, Marilyn C said:

Hi markdohle,

I also appreciated your timely thoughts. Mankind has an incurable disease, but as you said, thanks be to the Lord for His precious, priceless blood shed for us. Now I believe, after God`s dealing with the Gentile`s government of the world that He will set up a righteous rule from Israel. The nations will learn of His ways & thus I see that there will be a time on earth where life is valued and the young are cared for.

regards, Marilyn.

Yes thank you Marilyn, every time I say the Our Father I think of the day when "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven", is said by me.  As well as when we pray as a community.

Peace
Mark

[markdohle]

9 hours ago, Yowm said:

An abortion is a human induced miscarriage...

...hearts changed by the power of the Gospel can save the slaughter.

Yes I agree.

Peace
Mark