Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this new day. It is going to be brilliant and beautiful. The Lord blessed us with a wonderful weekend. Alice and I traveled to Altamont, NY, near Albany where I conducted an outdoor wedding for a young woman that I have known since she was born. Her mother died at a very young age of 35. This young girl has grown to be a beautiful young woman. The wedding was held in a beautiful spot surrounded by an apple orchard. It is always a joyous occasion to celebrated the gift of Christian marriage and the gift of Christian family and the gift the Church, the Body of Christ.
Yesterday being Mothers' Day Three moms( Jane, Linda, and Alice) preached during our morning worship services. One Scripture reference was taken from Psalm 127. The focus of Psalm 127 is on people, not things. Our relationships, how we touch the lives of others, are infinitely more significant that the possessions we accumulate. Solomon shifts from building a house to the people in that house, verses 3-5. He presents a principle, that if the family prospers the nation will prosper.
Not everyone is married with children, but we are all part of families. How we touch the lives of others is more important than any other accomplishments. What will we be known for? What legacy will we leave? Our legacies will hopefully be seen in the personal relationships we’ve formed and developed. Our faith transforms us from consumers who use work to get things, into people who find in their work a means of investing their lives in others.
Sometime ago I read about Jack Welch, retired CEO of General Electric, one of the most admired business leaders in the world. What was the secret of his success? He attributed his success to the people who shaped his life. The most influential person in his life was his mother, who showed him that learning from losses teaches us how to be winners. Effective leaders want to get the best out of their workers. Jack Welch learned this principle from his church-going parents, not from a business textbook or seminar. The son of Irish immigrants, he gained his confidence and a competitive edge within his home. Of growing up in Salem, Mass he said, “I wasn’t born with a silver spoon. I had something better—tons of love.”
Solomon concluded by pointing out the blessing of children. He taught that children are a “heritage from the Lord…a reward from Him”. (Psalm 127:3). He went on to compare children to arrows. As a soldier needs weapons, so we need our children as protection from alienation in our later years. Every child is a blessing and gift from God. The simple fact of life exceeds anything we can engineer, control, or explain. We simply trust the design of God’s providence.
It has been said that being a parent is like being a “good host to a stranger” (Peterson). We may think our children are like us, but they are their own persons. We are their caretakers, entrusted with the task of leading them to wisdom by giving them roots and wings. We should not blame ourselves for their problems, nor claim for their successes as our own. James Dobson advises parents to give children the time and freedom to discover themselves, even if they appear not to be searching. Children come into our lives to receive our hospitality, become friends, and then depart to continue their journeys. We may be tempted to be possessive of them, and it’s hard to give them freedom in a harsh world; we want to shield them from danger and evil. Yet, our children do not belong to us; they belong to God, and the growth of a family is God’s work. His blessing on society begins with His blessing on the family, the basic unit of society. If families are neglected and decline, society will decline.
We are a success-driven society. Sadly, some people climb up the ladder of success only to discover that they have wasted their time climbing the wrong ladder. We should heed this “Song of Solomon.” Things fall into place when we have the right priorities. If we try to “build the house” we will fail. When the Lord does the building, we will find that we are able to “contend” with anything and everything.
In Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/07ewI4BS9ag
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday, May 14, 2011
6 PM Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music: Aric Phinney and the worship team
Speaker: Craig Sabin.
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