Healing Rays of Righteousness

Longing for Community Freedoms

In her book, Bring Us Together, Marjorie Holmes prays, “Oh, God, we go through life so lonely, needing what other people can give us, yet ashamed to show that need.  And other people go through life so lonely, hungering for what it would be such a joy for us to give.  Dear God, please bring us together, the people who need each other, who can help each other, and would so enjoy each other.”

That is the prayer of the human heart for community and the securities, freedoms, love and joy it provides.  God created every human heart with the need to belong, i.e., to be accepted, included, and cared for in community with other human beings.

When I reflect on my younger years, I fondly remember many enriching experiences of community in my church and neighborhood.  But today in America such experiences of community have diminished, giving fertile soil to the seeds of distrust, disrespect, and disregard for the others around us, which leads to fears and violence.

One of the most contagious problems in Western society is our individualism, which diminishes the value or need for community.  This individualism is characteristic of a human heart that is going away from God and His intent for every human being.  In addition to losing perspective on life and fearing intimacy, individualism builds isolation from others, and isolation breeds selfishness.

The biblical record clearly states that God purposefully created us to be in community with others.  When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is, he answered by saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and first commandment.  And the second is like it; You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

And in obedience to Jesus’ command, His followers will use the biblical language of community rather than the cultural language of individuality.  His followers will use the language of mutuality, caring for one another, providing for one another, and being accountable to one another.  Love for neighbor will identify a Christian more than any “religious” rituals or behaviors.

The first Christian community, following the Pentecost event, caught this vision and became a fellowship of sharing at all levels of life – spiritual, social, and economic (shelter, clothing and food).

Myron Augsburger defines the biblical understanding of love in community with these three statements on page 227 of his book The Robe of God.

“First, love personalizes relationships rather than institutionalizing them.  We are to look at people as ends in themselves and never as a means to some other end.  Second, love energizes relationships rather than legalizing them.  Jesus moves us beyond codes to compassion.  As we care for people, we regard the law only as a means for treating others with justice and mercy.  Third, love immortalizes relationships rather than temporalizing them.  We have been called to always look beyond the need of the immediate, to share the quality and the extension of the eternal.  We are not to make our decisions solely on the basis of the needs of the moment.  With eternity in view, we share to invest in a life.”

These definitions help us to “walk our talk,” in acting out our beliefs regarding community.  The core value of loving God is vividly displayed in our outer clothing of loving others as ourselves, of giving a sincere and generous “I care for you” concern toward those around us.  This is the one and only true identity of “Christian.”

It is also the single most important value of freedom.  “Freedom” may be the most slippery word spoken by us today in our nation.  I say this because for many Americans, and for many who call themselves Christian, the idea of responsibility and concern for the other, be it family, co-worker, or neighbor is sadly divorced from the concept of freedom.  The consequence of this selfish right to freedom is evident all around us every day.

We need to be reminded that the true foundation to Christian freedom is love, and it is evidenced in “serving” others in family, church, neighborhood, and nation.  Paul’s thesis in Galatians 5 is that true freedom is to be found in a lifestyle of self-giving servitude toward others.  That is certainly not the way we usually define freedom in our world.  But it is the way of Jesus who came to serve and obey the will of his Father.

The freedom we have in Christ is not a lawless, irresponsible anarchy, but a trustworthy, self-disciplined, responsible freedom of loving and serving others.  This was and is God’s intention and purpose in breathing his Spirit and physical life into us at our birth.  This was Jesus’ intention and purpose in going to the cross for us.  “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”  And this is the Holy Spirit’s intention and purpose in taking up residence and abiding within us.  “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Yes, becoming a person in Christ is an authentic, liberating freedom of living in community where love, joy, and peace; that is, where caring/sharing, thankfulness/generosity, and respect/security are equally experienced.  Let us give serious thought to this as we celebrate our national freedoms this weekend.

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – June 29, 2022

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

Hey Dad, Eyes Are Watching You

When our children are small, they look up to us because we are taller in height than they.  But when they get older, they look up to us because we have been real, responsive, reliable, and not some phony, indifferent, shadowy phantom who has time for them only when our agenda is clear.

From us they learn what a man is, how to treat a woman, what a parent does, and what is a Christian lifestyle.  Whether we like it or not, our children see and feel God through us, and their eyes are searching for an understanding of God that they can live with and live for.  They are watching and learning to know God through our conversations and behaviors.

Throughout biblical history humankind has thought of God and His people in a number of diverse ways, as a shepherd, potter, creator, king, and a judge.  But Jesus teaches us to think of God as heavenly Father.  This is a new and important truth for us. 

Jesus teaches that as heavenly Father, God loves us with a perfect love, is wise and consistent, is a gracious provider of our needs, and gives us many good gifts.  And in the story of the prodigal son, Jesus portrays God as a suffering father who limits Himself to give us freedom even to make wrong choices and is also a father who quickly forgives when we return to him, confessing our wrong behavior.

It deeply saddens me that for many people It is difficult for them to fully trust and love God because they have been deprived of an earthly father whom they could trust and love.  For example, John Stuart Mill wrote that he could not pray the Lord’s Prayer because of the cruel, unreasonable discipline of a tyrannical father.  For him to think of God as Father, like his father, was not complimentary of God.

In contrast, Jesus gratefully reflects on His own remembrances of Joseph’s gracious generosity to his children when He said,  “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” (Matthew 7:11, NLT).

Our children’s eyes are watching us and learning how to make a house a home.  Children should frequently see their dad loving others and, most importantly, their mother.  Children should always feel that home is a place of consistent, abundant love, acceptance, and encouraging affirmation.  They should see their home as being a place of genuine concern for others.  This is how they best learn and experience God’s love for themselves.

An old man who had managed to get through several decades without attending a football game, at last gave in after the sustained insistence of a well-meaning nephew and went along to a game.  “Now then,” said the young nephew, “you are going to see more excitement than you have ever seen for two dollars.”  “I doubt that” the oldster replied.  “That was the price of my marriage license.”

Dad, do your children see your marriage to be that exciting and full of joyous expectancy?  Many years ago, Oscar Wilde gave this bit of wisdom, “Best way to make children good is to make them happy.”

Yes, Dad, discipline is important in a home, but it needs to be exercised in ways that mirrors and teaches the child about how God lovingly disciplines us.  Many children have a concept of God, not as a loving Father, but as an angry hard taskmaster, just waiting for them to do something wrong so that He can lower the boom of painful discipline, because this was frequently the only kind of discipline they experienced from their earthly father.  I suggest we refresh our understanding of “loving discipline” by reading God’s perspective as recorded in Hebrews 12:5-11.

Our children’s eyes are watching us and learning how to live a Christian lifestyle.  Children need to see and experience from us what it means to love another, to be forgiving, to be kind, caring, and generous toward others, that is, to be like Jesus.

Our children are watching and testing our response to questionable requests, activities, and behaviors.  They are learning from us how to react and respond in times of difficulty and crisis, times of sorrow and loss, and when threatened or treated unjustly.

Our children are watching and learning from our conversations and behaviors, answers to their questions regarding God, that is, is He really Lord, is the church important, is the Bible to be read and believed, is prayer of value, is tithing and giving to other’s need an obligation or generously done as act of serving God.

Yes, Dad, being a father is not always easy and we daily need God’s Spirit of love and wisdom.  I also know that visible, lived-out teachings are more indelible than vocal teachings.  And so, I pray for you a daily fill-up of God’s love to inform and inspire your love for spouse, children, and neighbors.

I pass on to you this nugget of encouragement from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“Successful is the person who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has gained the respect of children, who leaves the world better than they found it, who has never lacked appreciation for the earth’s beauty, who never fails to look for the best in others or give the best of themselves.”

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – June 22, 2022

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

The Three “Learned” Senses – Part 2

2.  Sense of Self-Worth

Closely related to the question of self-identity is the question of self-worth.  Dr. James Dobson said, “A child can learn to doubt his worth at home even when he/she is deeply loved by their parents.  Destructive ideas find their way into the thinking process, leading them to conclude that they are ugly or incredibly stupid or that they have already proven themselves to be a hopeless failure in life.”

The positive sense of self-worth is best nurtured in a home environment of love that daily wraps the child with full acceptance, secure belonging, and affirmation of their individual uniqueness.  In every way possible parents need to surround them with love and tell them they have great potential in blessing others with their abilities.  In every way possible parents need to be encouraging them to feel competent in achieving worthy achievements. 

Seventeen-year-old Steve was in trouble.  His parents came to the police station to pick him up.  On the way home, his father said, “Whatever happens, I want you to know that I love you.”  Absolutely stunned, Steve broke into tears.  “Why do you say that now?  You never told me that before, Dad.”

It is not always the case, but far too often “not feeling loved” is the back-story of teenagers in trouble with the law or suffering severe depression. 

A story by an unknown author tells of a well-known speaker who began his seminar presentation by holding up a new twenty-dollar bill.  In the room of two hundred persons, he asked, “Who would like this twenty-dollar bill?”  Hands were slowly raised up.  He continued, “I am going to give this twenty-dollar bill to one of you, but first let me do this.” 

He then crumpled up the bill and asked, “Who still wants it?”  Again, the hands went up in the air.  “Well,” he asked, “what if I do this?”  Dropping the crumpled bill to the floor, he ground it beneath the heel of his shoe, until the bill was not only crumpled but also dirty and torn.  “Now who still wants it?” he asked.  And again the hands went up. 

Then he said, “My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson.  No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value.  It was still worth twenty dollars.  Many times in our lives we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.  We feel as though we are worthless.  But no matter what happened or will happen, you will never lose your value in the eyes of those who love you.  You are special, and never forget it!”

3.  A Sense of Life Values

It is in the home that a child’s sense of life values is shaped and nurtured.  It is in the home that they learn what things, (attitudes, activities, beliefs, and goals) really matter in life.  By what their parents say and do, children learn what is to be considered vitally important in life?  What has lasting good and are of ultimate value?  In summary, it is in the home that children learn what living is all about, what is its primary business, “for what do you labor?” in every aspect of life.

Maybe the first and most important life relational value to be learned is that all persons have worth and are special from God’s perspective, and that we need to relate and respond to them as such.  Remember the story of the twenty-dollar bill.  Although crumbled, dirty, and torn, it never lost its value.

Another important life value that parents should demonstrate is the ability to admit mistakes and to ask forgiveness from the other.  Children, especially in our current social environment, need to see this ability as a desired strength rather than a weakness.  This life value takes root in a child when their parent does so with them. 

I assure you that parents who focus on nurturing and deepening a love relationship with their children will construct a sense of security that cannot be shattered by disciplinary mistakes they make.  Instead, it is an opportunity to show our children that even though we are not perfect parents, our love for them compels us to admit our mistake and ask for their forgiveness.  Yes, “Love covers a multitude of sins.”   And yes, I regret that I did not always give priority to this opportunity in my early parenting years. 

There are many more important life-values that I could list but let me conclude with this story that I think illustrates a relational value that I wish for every family.

Two teen-aged boys were talking about doing something that they knew was wrong and would be disapproved by their dads.  One of the boys decided he could not go along with the plan.  The other boy asked sarcastically, “Are you afraid your dad will find out and hurt you?”  Quietly the boy responded, “No, I’m afraid he will find out and it will hurt him.”

There is something very positive and formative about that response.  Every child and teen needs to know that their parents are not perfect. But also need to know that their parent’s lives are centered and grounded in being the very best parents they are capable of being.  This is my prayer for you. 

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – June 15, 2022

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

The Three “Learned” Senses – 1

God created mankind in his own image, … male and female he created them.  God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” (Genesis 1:27-28). 

In doing so God created and constructed the male and female in such a way that intimacy, caring, and togetherness would be a necessary part of their carrying out His command.  And it is out of the intimacy, caring, and togetherness of our family life, that we can expect certain lasting results in the lives of our children. 

I wish to share with you some of what I have learned from others and personally experienced in regard to being “better” parents to our children.

Within each created human being, God placed these five “senses” to which our body responds:  hearing, smelling, tasting, seeing, and touch.  We are aware and deeply grateful for each of these God-given gifts. 

However, we have learned that there are three additional “senses” that are equally vital for our fullest enjoyment of life and relationships.  These three senses are not given us at birth but must be learned by experiencing them from our parents.  These three “learned” senses are: self-identity, self-worth, and life values. 

1. Sense of Self-Identity

It is in the home that our sense of “identity” (who we are) is first shaped and affirmed.  “Self-identity” plays a significant and critical part in the development of a healthy young human being.  This is best illustrated in a personal story that Dr. Fred Craddock shared in a lecture at Yale University.

He and his wife were on a short vacation trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where they found a quiet little restaurant which they hoped would provide them space to enjoy a private meal.  While they were waiting for their meal, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting the guests.  Fred whispered to his wife, “I hope he doesn’t come over here.”

But the man did come by their table and amicably asked, “Where you folks from?”  Fred answered, “Oklahoma.”  The man continued, “Splendid state, I hear, although I’ve never been there.  What do you do for a living?”  Fred politely responded, “I teach homiletics at the graduate seminary of Phillips University.”  The man said, “Oh, so you teach preachers, do you.  Well, I’ve got a story I want to tell you.”  And with that he pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Fred and his wife.

Dr. Craddock said that he groaned inwardly, thinking he was about to hear another preacher story.  It seemed everyone had one to tell.

The man stuck out his hand.  “I’m Ben Hooper.  I was born not far from here across the mountains.  My mother wasn’t married when I was born, so I had a hard time.  When I started to school my classmates had a name for me, and it wasn’t a very nice name.  I used to go off by myself at recess and during lunchtime because the taunts of my playmates cut so deeply.”

“What was worse was going downtown on Saturday afternoon and feeling every eye burning a hole through you.  They were all wondering just who my real father was.”

“When I was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to our church.  I would always go in late and slip out early.  But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd.  I could feel every eye in the church on me.  Just about the time I got to the door, I felt a big hand on my shoulder.  I looked up and the preacher was looking right at me.”

“Who are you, son?  Whose boy are you?”  “I felt the old weight come on me.  It was like a big, black cloud.  Even the preacher was putting me down.”

“But as he looked at me, studying my face, he began to smile a big smile of recognition.  “Wait a minute,” he said,  “I know who you are.  I see the family resemblance.  You are a son of God.”  With that he slapped me across the rump and said, “Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance.  Go and claim it.”

The old man looked across the table at Dr. Fred Craddock and said, “That was the most important single sentence ever said to me.”  With that he smiled, shook the hands of Fred and his wife, and moved to another table to greet old friends.

Suddenly,  Dr. Fred Craddock remembered.  On two occasions the people of Tennessee had elected an “illegitimate” to be their governor.  His name was Ben Hooper.

That story rightly illustrates just how significantly critical and important a sense of self-identity is in the mature development of a healthy young person.  And it is in the home of loving parents that this sense is first experienced and learned. 

I am so grateful that I can say that I always felt loved, important, and appreciated by my parents and grandparents during my childhood and teen years.  They consistently nurtured in me a sense of belonging and security.  I do not remember them ever calling me “dumb, ignorant, stupid, useless” or some other negative characterization.  They were a positive influence in shaping my self-identity, and I hope I was the same to my own children.     

I will continue with the other two “learned” senses in next week’s blog.  In the meantime, ask yourself, “Where, when, and how did I rightly learn to highly value who I am.”

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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – June 8, 2022

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley

PENTECOST – God’s Kingdom Come Down

Among all the miracles contained in the books of the New Testament, the most astounding miracle is the birth of the Church.  From a small group of discouraged, confused, fearful, and hesitant believers in Jesus emerges the enduring foundations of the Christian church.  How did this happen?  What enabled this tattered remnant of disciples to be reenergized with new vision, purpose, and power, in becoming the continuing presence of Jesus Christ on earth? 

Before Jesus was taken up to heaven, He had given clear instructions to His disciples.  “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  … in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5).  And in prayer and anticipation they waited, not knowing what to expect. 

Then on the fiftieth day following the Feast of Passover,  “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.”  It was as if the door to heaven had been left open and all the energy and power of God’s presence filled the room.  “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”  (Acts 2:2-4).

From that moment on, everything had changed, and life became different for all of them.  The people gathered in that prayer room became the first evidence of the awesome power of God’s transforming Spirit.  The circumstances and challenges outside the room were not changed, but the people in the room were forever changed.    

What happens next was then and remains even today, the sure evidence of God’s kingdom and reign breaking into the world.  This group of transformed people began talking to one another with a new language of understanding, forgiveness, and love.  What they now hear and speak is the Jesus language of “agape” love, with which they can finally deeply listen and lovingly speak with a new understanding of the other.  This was a miracle, for they, like us, had for many generations been prone to selfishly talk over, past, and about one another.

But now, overwhelmed with the Jesus-love that had suffered and died for all of them, they discovered a new way of hearing one another, which in turn, birthed and strengthened their relationships.  This new language of Jesus-love caused all of the false boundaries and barriers that separated them to be swept away, enabling them to be joined together as One People of God.  This momentous miracle event gave proof that LOVE is the one reality that is understood and appreciated in every language of humanity.

From that day forward, these early Christian believers devoted themselves wholeheartedly and sacrificially toward building a distinctive community of faith, love, and peace, which would be unique in a world wrapped in the evil darkness of fear, hate, and selfish motives.

The miracle of Pentecost was that the followers of Jesus were set free from the pride-filled, selfish need to control or dominate others, and became capable of warm, inclusive love (agape).  They were set free to love each other and were filled with a sincere and sacrificial love for all people in the world.

It is worthy to note that nowhere in the Gospels do we read that the disciples expressed love for Jesus or each other.  At no point do they say, “We love you, Lord.”  And yet Jesus constantly told them of His and the Father’s love for them.

The closest we have is Peter’s verbal expression of friendship (phileo love), and he had to be asked outright for that.  Even when pressed with the direct question in John 21, “Simon, son of John, do you truly love (agape) me?” Peter sidestepped Jesus’ use of the word “love” and responded that the Lord knew he was His friend. Twice Jesus asked the same question and each time Peter responded with an affirmation of his friendship.  And finally, the third time Jesus used Peter’s word for friendship and once again Peter defended his friendship. 

This leads me to believe that prior to the experience of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit’s fire of love burning within them, the disciples were incapable of profound “agape” love.  It took the miracle of Pentecost’s Holy Spirit baptism to produce this ability in the disciples to “truly love” the Lord and others. This remains as operational truth, even today, for all of us who claim to be Jesus’ disciples.

Dear friends, the small group of believers that gave birth to God’s kingdom community on earth are our spiritual ancestors.  We too are the recipients of that Holy Spirit.  We are the present inhabitants of the God’s kingdom community that was established on earth that day. 

It is amazing what God can do and does in the midst of His earthly community.  God calls us to be a community of prayer, worship, praise, love and caring for others.  And when we children of God gather, who knows what God might do among us.  But know, that when the Spirit of God moves in our midst, everything is changed in us; especially our seeing, hearing, and feeling about others.

Stuart Briscoe – “All that Christ is, he is in us, and all that he is in us, he wants to be through us.  The invitation of the New Testament is simply, Let him.”       

>>> Let him, … Let him, … Let him. <<<

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – June 1, 2022

www.geigler13.wordpress.com

Ray M. Geigley