Young@Heart

Put Young@Heart on your must-see list. You’ll love watching this documentary of a group of senior citizens singing everything from “Should I Stay or Should I Go” to “Purple Haze.” There’s not the slightest hint of mockery or condescension – chorus director Bob Cilman takes his job seriously and passionately, and it is amazing to hear these folks sing, both in rehearsals and on stage.

At times, it is as funny as Trekkies (definitely my all-time favorite documentary), but unlike that one, Young@Heart has moments of genuine poignancy, such as when more than one of the members (some of whom are in their nineties) pass away, and the survivors struggle to deal with the loss while on the tour bus. I doubt you’ll forget Dylan’s "Forever Young" performed in a prison yard. The looks of both regret and hope on their faces as the young men there listen to the words are worth the price of admission all by itself.

I have to admit that the first time I’d ever heard “Fix You” by Coldplay was while watching this film. An elderly man sits on stage, and it takes a few moments before you realize that the steady clicking sound is coming from his oxygen machine. He sings these words beautifully:

And the tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone, but it goes to waste

Could it be worse?

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, and that goes for my house, too. It’s definitely worth a look.

The God Of All Comfort

I’ve been struck by one particular New Testament phrase ever since I read it for the first time. Paul writes of “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” in 2 Corinthians 1:3. That description came to be so meaningful to me that I finally preached a sermon on it this summer. It still helps when I get depressed. This is some of what I had to say:

You may already be familiar with the story of William Cowper from 18th century England. He wrote some incredibly beautiful poetry and some great hymns. A couple of famous ones are:

GOD moves in a mysterious way,

His wonders to perform;

He plants his footsteps in the sea,

And rides upon the storm.

Olney Hymns (1779)--'Light Shining out of Darkness'

There is a fountain fill'd with blood

Drawn from EMMANUEL's veins;

And sinners, plung'd beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

Olney Hymns (1779)--'Praise for the Fountain Opened'

But Cowper was plagued by bouts of profound depression. In his journal, he wrote:

(I was struck) with such a dejection of spirits, as none but they who have felt the same, can have the least conception of. Day and night I was upon the rack, lying down in horror, and rising up in despair. I presently lost all relish for those studies, to which before I had been closely attached; the classics had no longer any charms for me; I had need of something more salutary than amusement, but I had not one to direct me where to find it.

Every ten years, Cowper would go through unbearable suffering. According to his journals, it was then that he would remember a terrible dream he had had years before. Although he never writes about the details in his journal, a "word" was spoken along the lines of "It is all over with you, you are lost."

As bad as it was (and it was about as bleak as it could be), one ray of hope in Cowper’s life was his very good friend John Newton. You probably remember Newton as the former slave ship captain who converted to Christianity, and later wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace.”

Neither Newton nor Cowper were strangers to pain and grief. In fact, one thing they had in common was that both had lost their mothers at age 6. But this may give you an insight into Newton’s approach to the Christian life:

Two heaps of human happiness and misery; now if I can take but the smallest bit from one heap and add to the other, I carry a point. If, as I go home, a child has dropped a halfpenny, and if, by giving it another, I can wipe away its tears, I feel I have done something. I should be glad to do greater things, but I will not neglect this. When I hear a knock on my study door, I hear a message from God; it may be a lesson of instruction perhaps a lesson of penitence; but, since it is his message, it must be interesting.

That may help explain why Newton was such a faithful friend to Cowper for years, even through his terrible bouts with depression. Cowper said, "A sincerer or more affectionate friend no man ever had."

John Newton was human. I have no doubt that Newton was tempted to give in to despair at times just as Cowper was, in fact, even as Paul must have been. But I believe God offered him great comfort as he turned from looking inward, avoiding self-pity, and instead looked outwardly to those around him in need, in order to help however he could. God comforts us; he lifts us up, as we seek to offer comfort others. You could be the ray of hope that makes the difference in someone else’s life!

Unforgiven

I have the privilege of teaching 11th and 12th graders in Sunday School for a few weeks, and to start with, I asked them all to write down their questions (any questions) on index cards, and I would try my best to answer them. There’s two in particular that stuck out, just because it seems as if so many people (not just teens, either) have wondered about the subject at one time or another. Here are the two questions they asked, along with my answers.

“1. If you blaspheme God, can you go to hell? First of all, define blaspheme.”

“2. Is there any sin stated in the Bible that cannot be forgiven as easily as any other?”

I’m combining these two questions, because they both revolve around the same basic idea. First of all, it is important to realize that there is no such thing as a sin too great or too serious for God to forgive. The Apostle Paul even considered himself to be the worst of sinners, and yet God was able to forgive him! This is exactly why I prefer to call it the “unforgiven sin” rather than the “unforgivable sin,” because the people Jesus was warning so severely did not seem too interested in seeking forgiveness in the first place, thus their sin would remain unforgiven.

Confusion arises concerning two passages of Scripture, in which Jesus refers to the “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit”: Matthew 12:22-37 and Mark 3:20-30. The context for both is a confrontation between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day. Basically, they seemed to know full well that Jesus was doing the work of God, but they were giving the credit to Satan instead. Blasphemy can be defined as cursing, reviling, or speaking evil about God, which is what these religious leaders were doing by saying Jesus “cast out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that if you are even concerned enough to ask the question about a so-called “unforgivable” sin, that in itself is a good indication that you have not committed it!

Theologian Dr. F.F. Bruce writes,

"…Speaking against the Son of Man might be due to a failure to recognize Him for what He is. So Paul recalls how in his pre-Christian days he thought it his duty to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. But if, having seen the light on the Damascus road, he had deliberately closed his eyes to it and kicked out against the goad which was directing him into the true path, that would have been the sin against the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit persuades and enables men to accept Christ and enjoy the saving benefits of the gospel [John 16:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12-14; acts 7:51], but if anyone refuses to submit to the Spirit's gracious constraint, preferring to call good evil and evil good, how can the gospel avail for him? The deliberate refusal of the grace of God is the one sin which by its very nature is irremediable" [F.F. Bruce, Answers to Questions (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1973), pp. 46-47.].

As to how easily it is for God to forgive sin, it was not easy in any sense for Him to offer His one and only Son to be an atoning sacrifice on our behalf. That ought to be our starting place in realizing how awful sin really is. But Jesus’ sacrifice was once for all – He died on the cross once, and the blood that He shed was enough to cover all of humanity’s sin past, present, and future, if they would choose to accept it.

The key is 1 John 1:7 – the Christian life is all about walking in the light, and having confidence that Jesus’ blood continually cleanses us from sin. In fact, John even says if we try to convince ourselves and others that we are completely sinless, we’re lying! We’re supposed to acknowledge sin for the terrible evil that it is (it cost Jesus His life, after all), repent of it, seek to walk in “newness of life,” and find joy in knowing that God promises us that constant purifying and forgiveness.

Off to College

My oldest son has made it through two weeks in the dormitory now, and needless to say, Mom and Dad are very proud. My wife tells me to resist the temptation to call him every day. Alright so far, but it hasn’t exactly been easy. One day he was still in the house, and the next he’s grown up and moved out on his own. I’m glad that a lot of his friends decided to go there, too, and it sure doesn’t bother me that he’s only about a 20 minute drive away.

A few day’s ago, I heard “Cat’s in the Cradle” on the radio. I’m sure I’m not the only parent who gets choked up hearing (again) about the little boy whose “smile never dimmed’ even though his dad had no time to play catch with him. Harry Chapin’s song has always been a tearjerker, but it takes on a somewhat different meaning now that my oldest is in college. I know the old adage about giving your children both roots and wings, and I believe it’s true, but it can still be a challenge to let go.

At least I’ve got many more happy memories than regrets. Unlike the father in that song, my wife and I made a point to at least always try to be there for our boys. One of my favorite memories? Reading them stories before going to bed, all the way through elementary school. Not one of those minutes was ever wasted, as far as I’m concerned.

I keep a beat-up copy of Sam and the Firefly on a shelf in the garage. I loved reading it as a kid, and I loved reading it to my sons even more. It’s a needed reminder at this point in my life that Solomon was right, “for everything there is a season.”