Praise the Lord for the First Friday of September. It was 40 years ago today that I arrived in the USA, traveling via Air France. It was a sunny and beautiful day. The weather channel is forecasting that the temperature around here will reach into the nineties. (It was 92 in 1999 in Binghamton.) It is still summer here. My wife started her school on Wednesday. Our granddaughter Micah, who has previously been home schooled, had her first day in public school in Boston yesterday. Colleges and schools are open for another year. The students are back in the halls of learning. Sunita, Andy, and Gabe flew to Cypress, Greece yesterday.
We had
a service of death and resurrection for my mother-in-law Cora Maynard on
the second of September. In India they do things a little differently. My mom
was buried the same day that she died. They will have a day of mourning and
celebration on the 8th of September. They are planning for over two thousand
people to attend this event. Thank you all for your prayerful thoughts and
signs of love and grace. Thank you for cards, prayers, visits at the calling
hours, and presence at the service. We are loved and blessed. We cannot
respond individually, so please accept our gratitude and thanks through this
correspondence. As my mom and my mother-in-law entered into the Lord's presence
I am reflecting about the world and heaven. John Wesley said, "Our people die
well". Indeed, those who live in Jesus and die in Jesus die well". Our moms
died well to go on to live for ever in the presence of Jesus. J. S. Bach
composed an amazing peace titled, "Come, Sweet Death". Our moms lived and left
behind a legacy of love and sacrifice and devotion.
The
world seems to be going through some turbulent times. Jesus is the Christ in
every crisis. He is our anchor. He is our refuge and strength and a very
present help in the time of trouble.
For
our worship times we will be starting our Fall Schedule the Sunday, September 7.
We will meet at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM for worship at Union Center and at 9:30 AM
at Wesley UMC. The Sunday school will meet at 9:50 AM at Union
Center.
I have
been reading from 1 John this week. It is written 1 John 2: 17: "The world and its
desires pass away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever." The
problem with pleasure, possessions, and pride isn't so much that they are wrong;
it's that they're not enough. They don't last, for one thing. Pleasure is
fleeting. Possessions lose value. Earthly accomplishments are soon forgotten or
surpassed. They don't last. For another thing, they're too
shallow. They cannot satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts. it's not
just pleasure we're looking for; it's joy. We don't need more
stuff; we need joy. It's not achievement we're
after; it's significance. These things can only be found, ultimately
and eternally, in relationship with Jesus, which is why John says, "The one who
does the will of God lives forever."
According to C. S. Lewis, these desires—to do,
to have, to be—are merely the rumblings of a much deeper desire. It's one so
deep, so profound, that even Lewis couldn't find a word for it. He talks about
it in his writings, this inconsolable longing for something more. Sometimes he
describes it as beauty, other times as joy, but by his own admission, none of
those words quite gets at it.
In his
book "The Weight of Glory", Lewis describes
it as "the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not
heard, news from a country we have never visited." It's the longing for every good
and perfect thing all at once. It's the longing for God and his kingdom. Until
that deepest of all desires is satisfied, nothing else will ever be enough,
because no earthly pleasure, possession, or achievement can ever satisfy the
deep longing of our souls.
"The
human heart was made for God," Augustine said, "and our hearts are restless till
we find rest in him." Yet, once that desire is satisfied, once we have turned
to God and aligned ourselves with his good and eternal purpose for our lives, we
can experience earthly things as they were meant to be experienced—in
relationship with him.
According to John, "The world and its desires are
passing away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever." If you think
this world has things to enjoy, you can't even imagine what's waiting for us in
the life to come, in that country we haven't visited yet but know to be true!
Both our moms loved the Lord and served Him. Their desires were to serve honor
Him. They loved the Lord. They lived because of Him and on account of Him.
They died well. They had served Jesus without ever seeing Him, but now they see
Him face to face. Both our moms could say and did say, "I'd rather have Jesus, than
silver or gold". The old gospel song says. "I'd rather have Jesus. . . than
houses or lands. . . than anything."
In
Christ
Brown
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