No Room for Death?
Is there room beyond the cemetery plot for you? But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries. … Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ. But we have to wait our turn: Christ is first, then those with him at his Coming (1 Corinthians 15:20-23 MSG). Gerard Lalanne has a problem. And the ordinance he’s passed is not going to solve it. Mr. Lalanne is the mayor of the village of Sapourenx, in the southwest of France. The problem he’s facing is a lack of space. Not in City Hall, or in the retail district of town – the lack of space he’s trying to deal with is a bit more problematic than that. The cemetery of Sapourenx is full. And apparently – wait for it – people are just dying to get in. Mr. Lalanne has tried to be reasonable. He really has. But an administrative court ruled against his proposal to acquire private land adjoining the cemetery in order to increase its, uh, capacity. And so Mr. Lalanne took the only recourse open to a politician. In an ordinance posted in the city council offices, he informed the 260 residents of the town that they are no longer allowed to die. The ordinance reads, in part, “[A]ll persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish.” “Offenders will be severely punished,” it adds. Something tells me that Mr. Lalanne’s ordinance isn’t likely to be enforced. It isn’t supposed to be, of course; it’s intended as a statement to those who the mayor feels have put him in an impossible situation. “Oh, I can’t expand the cemetery? Well, then, I’ll just pass a law against dying. That should solve the problem.” Would that it were that easy, huh? Odds are that some of the people reading these words right now would love to believe that passing a law could stop death. I know, in fact, of several families touched by death recently. A mother and grandmother. A husband, father, and son-in-law. A beloved uncle and friend. Funerals seem to occur in bunches in my life, and lately I’ve just been to too many. I know the families touched most deeply by those losses would agree, and wish with all their hearts that there could be, well, a moratorium on death. And then there are those who haven’t been touched by death yet, but who are being stalked. A young man, younger than me, with cancer. An elderly lady, another mother and grandmother. All of us, eventually, feel death closing in on the people we love. And sooner or later, on us. Remember the story of the servant who came to his master, terrified because he had seen Death in the marketplace? “Death made a threatening gesture toward me,” the servant whimpers, and so the master makes arrangements to send the servant on an errand to another town, Samarra, so that Death won’t be able to get to him. Then the master goes to the marketplace and tracks down Death. “Why did you threaten my servant?” he asks. Remember Death’s response? “I didn’t threaten him,” Death answers. “I was just surprised to see him here in the marketplace, because I have an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.” The moral, even for a people with the best medical care in history and an extended life expectancy, is that Death catches up with all of us eventually. “Everybody dies in Adam.” That’s Paul’s way of saying that we’re not immortal. It’s his recognition that the Fall was real and that God’s warning was true: by going our own way, human beings would be the midwives that brought death into the world. We thought we’d be like God, but now we have a problem: Death walks in our marketplaces and takes who he wants, whenever he chooses. To the extent that we share in the same human nature as Adam, we share in his death. And, sadly, there’s nothing we can do about it. Might as well pass a law against dying, for all the good it’ll do. Happily, what we can do about it isn’t the end of the story. In the same way that we look a few days down the road toward Easter, we anticipate the fulfillment of the hope to which Jesus’ resurrection attests. “Everybody comes alive in Christ,” is the way Paul put it. In the same way that we all share in death because of Adam’s sin, we will all share in resurrection because of Jesus’ life. He identified with us by sharing in death, even though he was not guilty of the sin that brought it about. And he did this so that we can share in the victory over death that his resurrection brought about. As surely as he was raised to life, so will everyone who has trusted in him. As surely as his tomb was empty, so will be the tombs of everyone who identifies with him. In effect, Jesus did what we only wish we could do. He passed a decree against death; he prohibited death from exercising its power over human beings. “The trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable,” Scripture promises. “Then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory’” (1 Corinthians 15:53-54 NIV). We still have to die, and we still have to mourn, but because of Jesus there is hope. We grieve for those we love while celebrating their new, eternal lives. We face our eventual death with peace, not fear, trusting in the promise that “Everybody comes alive in Christ.” So while there is no hope of a moratorium on death on this side of Jesus’ return, there is a solid guarantee that on the day he comes back, death will be dealt with
Emergency?
Is this really a situation that demands a 911 call? I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:12-13). Emergency. For me, the word brings to mind catastrophes. A fire, an earthquake, a tornado. A broken dike that floods a city. A terrorist attack. A violent crime. A terrible accident. To my way of thinking, an emergency requires the intervention of police, rescue, or medical personnel. But maybe I’m too narrow in my definition. Maybe I should broaden my understanding of the word to include, say, a restaurant running out of delicious chicken products. Latreasa would apparently say so. Earlier this week, she ordered a ten-piece Chicken McNuggetsTM meal at a McDonald’s in Fort Pierce, Florida. After she had paid for the food, she was told that they were out of McNuggets. Latreasa became “irate,” especially after the cashier told her (mistakenly, as it turned out) that she couldn’t give Latreasa a refund. She offered Latreasa another choice from the menu, and that’s when Latreasa decided it was time to let the professionals handle this emergency. She called 911. Three times. Wouldn’t you love to hear those 911 recordings? You can! Recording Call 1 Recording Call 2 Recording Call 3 No, sorry, Latreasa. I can’t buy it. Being hungry and completely without food, like many people in the world actually are – that’s an emergency. But a restaurant being out of your favorite item, with a whole menu full of alternatives? Well, at best, I’d call that an inconvenience. A minor annoyance. But, aren’t we good at magnifying those minor annoyances into major catastrophes? I mean, maybe you’ve never called 911 because of anything that’s happened at the counter of a fast-food restaurant, but I imagine you’ve sat fuming in traffic, staring at your watch, thinking about all the important things that weren’t getting done while you sat there. Or if not that, maybe you’ve inflated a small setback at work into a crisis. Perhaps you can relate more to allowing a romantic reversal to send you spiraling into depression or relate to losing your temper at a relatively minor spousal misstatement or misdeed. Maybe it’s none of those things specifically, but you get the picture, right? And I’m guessing that you, like me, have been guilty of breaking the glass and pulling the “emergency” alarm just a hair too quickly. Our problem, I think, is that underneath our grown-up exteriors and our ability, when necessary, to make sacrifices, is still that cosmology we had in childhood. You know the one I mean. The one where I think the world revolves around me. And if the world revolves around me, then everything that goes wrong for me is potentially an emergency. And, thus, potentially an occasion for sulking, yelling, lashing out, or striking back. That’s why I’m intrigued when Paul says that he’s learned “the secret of being content in any and every situation.” If you know anything at all about Paul, then you know that he found himself in some fairly hair-raising situations. He was hungry sometimes – not in the sense of wishing he could get some delicious chicken products, but hungry in the sense of literal starvation. He spent some considerable time in jail. He narrowly escaped lynch mobs – or more historically accurate, mobs that wanted to stone him – more than once. He had health problems, relationship problems, and he was even shipwrecked a time or two. And that doesn’t even include the stress of travelling all the time, dealing with church problems, and putting up with people who went out of their way to sabotage everything he tried to do. So when Paul says he’s learned to be content, I tend to want to pay attention. The secret, though, is a little tough to hear. Paul says that his ability to be content whatever the situation comes out of replacing himself as the one around whom the world revolves. With his believe that Jesus had risen from the dead and his decision to let Jesus call the shots in his life, the center of gravity in Paul’s life changed. What happened to him mattered not nearly as much as whether or not he lived a life that was faithful to his new calling. And with that perspective, things that he once would likely have considered crises – emergencies – became non-events. And the serendipity of this change, for Paul, was that Jesus became not just Lord, but “him who gives me strength.” By choosing to trust the Lord and not hit the panic button when things seemed to go off the rails in his life, Paul discovered a source of strength to endure and overcome that he never would have known otherwise. He discovered that he could not only survive in difficult situations, but that he could thrive – because where his strength ended, there Jesus’ power began. That’s the problem in not learning to find contentment in Jesus regardless of circumstances. When we hit the panic button too early, we invariably lurch into crisis mode and try to come up with our own solutions to our problems. Trouble is that our own solutions are almost always about finding a quick way out, with as little personal discomfort as possible. Worst of all, when we chase our own solutions, we miss out on what the Lord would do for us. So here’s what we do, I think. First, we tell God that, with his help, we’re going to find our contentment in him. We’re going to trust in his goodness and generosity, and when times are lean we’re going to believe that in him we’ll have all the strength to endure whatever we have to endure. Secondly,
Today’s Verse – Jeremiah 17:7-8
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought. —Jeremiah 17:7-8 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Trust. Can we really trust in God? Is the LORD really faithful? While we may wish we had been alive when Jesus walked the earth or when Jeremiah spoke God’s hard truth fearlessly, we are especially blessed to be alive today. We stand at the end of an incredible stream of God’s redemptive work and faithfulness to his promises. We can look at history and know him to be profoundly faithful to his people. We see the Father honoring the Son’s trust with great power demonstrated in Jesus’ resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. This power is available to us through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8, 2:32-36); the same Holy Spirit power available to the first disciples (Ephesians 1:17-20, 3:14-21). We can launch into the future with boldness because we know God is already there, empowering us to meet him there! This spring of water is God’s living stream, Jesus promised us, bubbling up to eternal life (John 7:37-39). His promise to never leave us, abandon us, or forsake us stands, and because God is faithful (Romans 8:32-39; Hebrews 13:5-7), we can stand no matter what comes! My Prayer… Holy God, I know you are there! In the morning, in the evening, and during the long nights of temptation and trials, I know I am not alone. Thank you for knowing me and going with me through all my days. Please make your presence known to me this day as I seek to honor you in all I do and say. In the name of Jesus, my LORD, I ask this. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
The Humility of a Little Donkey
How much glory should we expect? This Sunday is called Palm Sunday. For those of us who don’t enjoy the formalism and liturgy of some churches, Palm Sunday is the day Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey to the shouts of the crowd, >”Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord – the King of Israel!” (John 12:13 NRSV) This is the day Jesus entered triumphantly into Jerusalem and marked, for some, the beginning of a new era in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9. There was incredible excitement in the city, but it was a mixed excitement. Some were glad this worker of miracles was entering the Holy City, while others were poised to end his life as a troublemaker and rebel! The events that transpired between that original Palm Sunday and the next Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, changed the world forever. However, every time I think about Palm Sunday, I think about a little Catholic nun named Sister Theresa. Years ago, she was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for the years of sacrificial love and mercy given to the poor of India. She was interviewed on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I will never forget what I heard that evening. Mr. Carson was very respectful of Theresa, but at one point he asked her if the cash money she received as a part of the prize or the notoriety of the moment would “go to her head.” Being one of the most humble people in the world, Theresa’s answer was not to be unexpected, but it did throw Mr. Carson for a loop – as well as the rest of us who happened to be watching. She reminded Mr. Carson of the day when Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on that little donkey. He remembered the story. She then asked, “Do you think, Mr. Carson, for one moment, that that little donkey thought the crowd was giving him the praise and glory instead of Jesus?” Wow! Johnny didn’t know what to say! I don’t know if the Holy Spirit put that in her mouth or if she was prepared to answer such a question, but it has always stuck in my mind. Palm Sunday, and every other Sunday for that matter, is about nothing else but Jesus Christ and him crucified, and now powerfully raised from the dead. We can shout and cheer and lay down palm branches all we want, but if we miss the fact that we do so because Jesus is God and we are simply a part of the story because of His grace, then we miss the point. It will do us well to be reminded of this truth from time to time. About the author: Joe Bagby has been preaching for thirty years. He and his wife Paula were missionaries to Thailand in the 80’s for eight years where they adopted twin girls, Hope and Joy. Joe receive his masters degree in Congregational Ministry from Abilene Christian University with a BS in Education from University of North Texas. He is now serving as Pulpit Minister for the 4th and Elm Church of Christ in Sweetwater, Texas.
How Falsehoods Diminish Truth
Why would we discredit the resurrection of Jesus by our lifestyle? The story is absolutely mesmerizing! It is a touching tale from the years of the Holocaust. A little Jewish girl from Belgium makes her way across Europe to search for her Nazi-deported parents. She is able to escape capture herself only by taking refuge with packs of friendly wolves. In the course of her incredible escape, she even kills a German soldier. This multi-layered account of Nazi cruelty, childhood innocence, and unlikely rescue was published as Misha: A Memoire of the Holocaust Years. It generated millions of dollars in revenue and was translated into 18 languages. A French movie from the book has been a hit during its current run. Then came the confession through her lawyer last Thursday that Misha Defonseca’s dramatic story is a shameful lie. Defonseca spent the war years in safety in Belgium. Despite her moving speeches about experiences that led to her bestselling book, we know now that she made up the stories about wolves and Nazis. She isn’t even Jewish. Scholars had challenged a garble of dates, events, and information in the book. But their research largely fell on deaf ears, as the public received the book with eagerness. Now the house of cards has collapsed. People who misrepresent significant realities with trumped-up, self-serving false claims actually manage to tarnish the truth. In the words of Dr. Lawrence Langer, one of the scholars who knew all along it was a hoax: “What happened to the Jews was the worst atrocity in history, and people who exploit it for profit, by posing as Jews or lying about being part of the experience, insult those who went through it. It’s as bad as saying the Holocaust never happened.” The gruesome facts of the Holocaust don’t change; a woman’s misrepresentation of her experiences related to that event minimizes it, however, and gives comfort to Holocaust-deniers and anti-Semites. Neither do the facts of Christ’s resurrection and the life-changing power of the gospel change; people who misrepresent themselves as its messengers or devotees tarnish the Christian faith, discredit Jesus of Nazareth, and decrease the likelihood that unbelievers would consider – much less embrace – it. Sleazy televangelists, gay-bashers at military funerals, priests who molest children, church-member moms and dads who betray families, Sunday school teachers who bully or curse employees at work – all are agents of betrayal. They sabotage the gospel, undermine Christ’s appeal, and make faith unattractive. Truth’s credibility is always tied to the integrity of its messengers. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed – God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from any human being, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our prerogatives. Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you (1 Thessalonians 2:3-9 TNIV). About the author: Rubel Shelly preached for decades and served as a professor of medical ethics, Bible, and philosophy at multiple universities. He was a former president of Rochester College and Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Lipscomb University. He was the author of more than 30 books and hundreds of inspirational articles. His commitment to a non-sectarian presentation of the gospel touched countless lives.
It Hurts to Breathe
Have you ever hurt this badly? Almost daily I receive notes from my readers from around the world. Most are encouraging. A few point out some flaw of mine or mistake I have made. On occasion I receive a note like the one below. If it doesn’t touch your heart, nothing will. “My name is Kim. My very precious grandson died Tuesday morning. He was only 3 months old. I know that God is in control, but it is so very hard to remember that every hour of the day. Please pray for my family. We need lifting up to the Lord. This is the most horrible thing I have ever had to go through. It hurts to breathe. I know that God will not give us more than we can handle, but this is killing me. Thank You, Kim” I don’t know Kim, but I wish I did! She is just one of many Christians scattered around the world. For many of us, the Internet is a lifeline! We are able to daily reach out and touch someone else. Sometimes we reach out to hear about some problem of our Christian brothers and sisters and sometimes to share some heartbreak of our own. I have thought about the message I would like to share with Kim and others facing similar tragedies. Sometimes we hurt so much that “it hurts to breathe”! Every breath we take is filled with sobs of anguish and tears of sorrow. As much as I would wish it were otherwise, there just is no quick fix! There is no easy way to rid us of the sorrow of a loss like this. So to Kim and to all of the rest of you who are dealing with heartbreak let me tell you that you are not alone! I love the picture given to us in Hebrews 12. Here the writer is talking about our fight against sin and our need to remain faithful to God. He gives us some reasons to hang in there and hold on to our faith! Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven. Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don’t become weary and give up. (Hebrews 12:1-3) I don’t know if we can really appreciate the picture here – of a stadium full of people who have all been through the same things we are going through. Some are in the stands cheering us on. Some are running along beside us encouraging us to hold on to our faith and finish the race. In other words, we are not alone as we endure our tragedy. Even though it may seem like little comfort to us at the moment, hang on, because things will get better! Just keep your eyes on Jesus. Don’t lose that vision! Next consider with me the story of King David and the death of his son. He had committed both adultery and murder. God was forced to show the people that he would not accept sin, even from King David. God sent a prophet to tell David that his newborn son would die. Notice what happens: David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground. The leaders of the nation pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused. Then on the seventh day the baby died. David’s advisers were afraid to tell him. “He was so broken up about the baby being sick,” they said. “What will he do to himself when we tell him the child is dead?”But when David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened. “Is the baby dead?” he asked.“Yes,” they replied.Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions, and changed his clothes. Then he went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the LORD. After that, he returned to the palace and ate. His advisers were amazed. “We don’t understand you,” they told him. “While the baby was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the baby is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again.”David replied, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the LORD will be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.” (2 Samuel 12:16-23) That is the faith we need today! That we could accept the death of a loved one, especially of a precious child with the statement of faith, “I will go to him one day,” and then get on with life. My wife and I have had to deal with the death of one of our grandchildren also. Our daughter-in-law miscarried before he was ready to be born. You might think that it wasn’t quite the same as having gotten to know a child for days, months, or years. But we had gone through the same rejoicing and celebrating with the pending birth that continues after that child is born. He was already a part of our family and already loved. It was a test of our faith, but we were able put it all in God’s hands and turn loose of the grief. I loved the
Today’s Verse – 1 Peter 2:2-3
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. —1 Peter 2:2-3 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… A newborn child is a special treasure! Messy? Loud? But a special treasure, nonetheless. However, we know something is horribly wrong when a child does not grow and mature as he or she should. Arrested development in a physical child is the cause of great concern. The Holy Spirit also reminds us that stunted growth in our spiritual lives should not occur and should be a cause of even greater concern (Hebrews 5:14; 6:1-3; 1 Corinthians 14:20). God does not want us to remain immature! He wants us to continue to grow and mature in the direction of Jesus’ righteous character, gracious compassion, and faithful lovingkindness (Colossians 1:28-29). Our Father wants us to crave what is good and what builds others up, and find ourselves growing to become like Jesus. So, what are you going to do today to satisfy your spiritual appetite and grow in the likeness of your LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ? Video Commentary… ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer… Mighty God, thank you for loving me and saving me. I really want to mature in your grace. Bless me today as I seek to pattern holy habits and fill myself spiritually with the things that will help me grow. But I know that true growth only comes from you, dear Father, so I ask you to strengthen me by your Spirit as I pursue your character, as displayed by Jesus in his life and ministry. Make me more like Jesus, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
A Coach’s Choice
Would you have given a boy with these struggles a chance? Jason McElwain was senior at Greece Athena High School in Rochester, New York. He has had some tough breaks in life. But most of the other kids at his high school treat him with respect. He tries hard. People like him. He has been pretty visible this year as manager of the varsity basketball team. He is autistic. His autism has been a major “bad break” for J-Mac, as his friends call him. Autism is a brain disorder that typically shows itself in problems with socialization and communication. Some people find it hard to be around persons with autism. J-Mac has the good fortune of attending a school that does everything possible to integrate students with developmental issues into the mainstream of life. Coach Jim Johnson even added him to the team roster for the final basketball game of the season. He hoped to get him in the game for a few minutes. He wanted J-Mac to have the experience. To get a team jersey. To cherish a memory. But he had no idea things would turn out as they did. With Greece Athena well in the lead and four minutes left on the clock, Johnson put J-Mac in the game. And the kid did the unthinkable! After missing his first two shots, he scored 20 points in three minutes – 18 by draining three-point shots from the perimeter. The team carried him on their shoulders in celebration. “This is the first moment Jason has ever succeeded and been proud of himself,” said his mother. “I look at autism as the Berlin Wall, and he cracked it.” Her greater dream for her son is that he can get a high school diploma. Hooray for Jason. Hooray for the attention this story has gotten not only in local news but in national media. And hooray for the encouragement and hope this heartwarming episode will bring to families dealing with similar challenges. But I’ve not heard many folks applauding the coach for his decision to give J-Mac a chance. So my kudos go to Jim Johnson. He paid attention to a kid who needed a break. Made him team manager. Took the chance of putting a uniform on him and putting him into a game. What a gutsy call by the coach! “I’ve had a lot of thrills in coaching and I’ve coached a lot of wonderful kids, but I’ve never experienced something like this ever in my life – you know, other than my own family things,” Johnson said. “My emotions, I couldn’t stop crying.” Thank God for people who give other people a chance! About the author: Rubel Shelly preached for decades and served as a professor of medical ethics, Bible, and philosophy at multiple universities. He was a former president of Rochester College and Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Lipscomb University. He was the author of more than 30 books and hundreds of inspirational articles. His commitment to a non-sectarian presentation of the gospel touched countless lives.
A “Lucky” Break
Sometimes when things look worst, God is working to make something good~ Sally Hampton really got a break. The amazing thing is that it didn’t look like such a good thing at first. But you need more information. Most of us are prone to envy the woman who wins the lottery with a ticket somebody threw away. The homeless fellow who finds out he is the sole surviving heir of a millionaire who just died. The person selected for one of those “makeover” jobs and gets straight teeth, a nose job, and a new wardrobe – maybe a new car too. But these folks are a tiny, tiny percentage of the population. More of us are likely to start out as Sally Hampton did. Something happens to you that doesn’t look very promising. As a matter of fact, what happened to her appeared to be an absolute disaster. Appearances sometimes deceive us. Sally was at a bar in a small Florida town last July 4. The bartender called closing time, but one of the younger patrons didn’t want to leave. Sally is in her sixties and looks rather grandmotherly. So she put her hand on the fellow’s shoulder, told him it was time to go, and started walking him toward the door. That’s when Sally got her, uh, “break.” The fellow wheeled on her and smashed her head with his beer bottle! When she fell to the ground, he kicked her in the head! He was arrested. Sally was transported to the hospital. As physicians put her through a series of tests, they found that her wounds were not serious. But a tumor they found growing in her brain definitely was! It was a life-threatening tumor that had produced no symptoms yet. As a result of the assault, though, it had been discovered in time. She has had surgery. She is recovering well. And earlier this month she testified in court against her attacker – who is now serving twelve and one-half years in prison. Sally Hampton’s story reminds the rest of us that our own good fortune often comes in disguise. Ever hear a recovering alcoholic tell you that hitting rock bottom from his drinking was the best thing that ever happened to him? Discover yourself that losing a job pushed you to learn skills you needed to do something more significant with your life? Look back to see that a failed relationship set you free from a destructive and unhealthy dependence? Sally reflects on her experience and says that God’s ways are mysterious. “But he could have let me know a little softer,” she says. “That was horrible.” If you’ve taken a tough blow, don’t despair. Your life story is still unfolding. Unlikely as it sounds, you may look back someday and see it as your big break. We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28) About the author: Rubel Shelly preached for decades and served as a professor of medical ethics, Bible, and philosophy at multiple universities. He was a former president of Rochester College and Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Lipscomb University. He was the author of more than 30 books and hundreds of inspirational articles. His commitment to a non-sectarian presentation of the gospel touched countless lives.
19 Mar 2026
The safest place is God’s presence. Whether I am certain or unsure, it is the best place to be. While rejoicing or mourning, it is a safe refuge. I may not have all the answers I need, but I’d rather be close to Him who knows all things. Psalm 73:23-28.