(Read Psalm 23)
At the grocery store yesterday, I was rushing to grab a few items on my list and get home before an evening meeting. In my way was a large fellow and his wife or girlfriend arm-in-arm, giggling, googling, and weaving down each aisle. I couldn’t get past them. No matter where I went, they were ahead of me in each aisle. My “Yankee” brain went into rage mode. How oblivious are you people, I thought to myself. Then, another voice crept into my head. First of all, you idiot, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and maybe they’re buying dinner for the occasion. My other thought was that I was insensitive to God’s children. They’re obviously in love; give them this moment.
I finally walked around them, got to my car, and was home in plenty of time. Over and over, I find that the Holy Spirit works on me like that. Don’t ask me about stories of “talking” to my computer or driving. It’s a human condition—a fallen one. I remember President Trump attending a church service in Florida during his first term, and there was outrage about it. He’s a polarizing figure, and his church appearances were not regular, so many thought it was showboating and hypocritical. My sister (K) couldn’t believe the church would open its doors for him. She said, “Why would any church let a man like that inside?” Rather than using the opportunity to learn more about her beliefs, I replied with a churchy comment, like “We’re all sinners – there’s always room for one more.”
While (K) is 7 years older than me, I felt very close to her during my high school and college years. Her husband essentially wrote my college application essay and taught me how to drive. We spent a lot of time together then, and she kept me sane when our parents’ toxic relationship was overtaking every moment of our existence. One Christmas Eve, we drove a half-hour to a friend’s church just to escape. After the sermon, a man from the choir stepped to the front of the altar and sang “Oh Holy Night” alone. It was incredible! It was a great moment that I will always be thankful for.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi
(One of my sister’s favorite prayers)
My grandmother on my Mom’s side was a wonderful, somewhat quiet woman. As my nephew describes, she’s “the cookie-baking kind of grandma.” Nana grew up in Paris, Texas. She was a D.A.R. (Daughter of the American Revolution) because her 3x great-grandfather fought in the Continental Army. Nana and I actually have his last name as our middle names – as a nod to our family history. As a young girl, Nana was traumatized by witnessing a public lynching. She told all of us that that “barbaric” experience had stuck with her for her entire life.
Nana attended Methodist churches in Texas and New Jersey. I wish I had talked with her more about her faith. We can learn so much from people when we ask, but most of the time, we don’t.
After my Mom died, my siblings and I grew distant. Our communication and relationships chilled—especially between (K) and me. We went weeks and months without talking. The ebbs and flows of relationships don’t rely on one person alone. Both my sister and I let this happen. It was heart-wrenching. Finally, a year or so ago, we had a frank conversation on the phone and began to chip away the ice on the water’s surface. We mended more gaps last November when I spent five days with her and my oldest brother at their home. There were no big conversations, just doing life together, bonding, and sharing of aches and pains.
The other day, I asked (K) if she would answer a few questions for a devotional I write. Not only was she willing, but her reply was immediate. She was more open in her responses than I expected. “The first time I heard about Jesus was probably when I was about three or four in Sunday school,” she said. For most of us who grew up exposed to church as a child, I imagine this is a pretty common answer. “Me too,” I wrote back — after all, we had the same teachers. “I couldn’t recall the exact context, but I remember holding Jesus’ hand.” It was probably a flashback to Sunday School, or I could have been pulling an imaginary scene from “Jesus Loves Me.” Then, an olive branch was extended. She added, “I also love the song, Oh Holy Night; it reminds me of going to church on Christmas Eve.” Yes, it sure does, I thought.
She answered the next question, “I don’t think it’s in the Bible, but St. Francis’ Prayer (posted above) means a lot to me. So does 1 Corinthians 13.” I wasn’t surprised by Corinthians because it was read at both of her sons’ weddings. It brought out smiles and tears. There’s a reason why it’s a part of so many weddings: frankly, it’s better and more appropriate than anything you can scrape off the web.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:1, 4-8, 13
Before becoming Paul, the apostle who wrote Corinthians and thirteen other books in the Bible, he was known as Saul. Saul was an obstinate rule follower of Jewish law. He knew the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. Pastor Joby Martin said of Saul, “If anyone would break the rules, he would break them (the rulebreaker).” He did. In his dogmatic adherence to his interpretation of the Torah, Saul was a terrorist, persecutor, and murderer. After Jesus, Saul—who became Paul—emerged as the most influential writer of the New Testament and one of the most pivotal figures in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. His transformation from a fierce persecutor of Christians to a devoted apostle shaped the early Church and left a lasting impact on Christian theology.
If I had remained calm and engaged in an open, honest conversation during the “bad people” attending church discussion, I might have learned more about her understanding and used Paul’s example to explain the grace of God. I might have shown more love.
In Corinthians, Paul used “Agape” for love. Agape is a very special kind of love. It’s different from the other Greek words for love, like eros (romantic love) or philia (brotherly love). Agape is a deep, selfless, and unconditional love that is undeserved. It’s the kind of love that God has for us, and it’s the kind of love that Paul encourages us to have for one another. If someone can perform incredible feats but lacks love, they are nothing. 1 Corinthians shows that love is the foundation upon which all other gifts and actions should be built. Without love, even good deeds become self-serving and empty. Love reflects God’s character, and our love for one another reflects His love for us.
(K) continued, “I also love the song He Leadeth Me. When I was taking piano lessons, that was one of the songs, and Nana would sit and sing whenever I played it. She loved it!” He Leadeth Me is a Christian hymn that speaks to the guidance and providence of God in the lives of believers through times of uncertainty and trial. It was written by Joseph H. Gilmore, a Baptist minister, in 1862 during the Civil War, a period of great national turmoil. While preaching Psalm 23:2 (“He leadeth me beside the still waters”), Gilmore was struck by the idea that God’s leadership is constant, even when life’s path is unclear. That evening, he wrote down the words that would later become the hymn.
Perhaps both my grandmother’s scars and whatever turmoil my sister encounters are soothed and guided by the assurance of the lyrics to this song. No matter their challenges, there is trust that God will lead them to their ultimate good and His glory. “He leadeth me beside the still waters” and “He restoreth my soul” are directly echoed in the hymn’s theme.
“I do pray,” (K) said. “I pray the serenity prayer, and I want to believe in heaven, but it doesn’t make sense to me.” This time, instead of blasting her with church answers and pieces of Scripture, she may not understand out of context, I listened. I asked questions. We dialoged.
She continued, “What doesn’t make sense to me is the idea that you go to heaven if you meet certain criteria, which, many believe, is outlined in the Bible. I don’t understand the concept of heaven. Is it a place? Do we see people that we know? If you believe in heaven, do you need to believe in hell? That sort of thing.” Over time, (K) has always been curious about faith and has asked me a lot of questions. All of them are great questions! It’s easy to shrug off these queries with rote answers, but why not do as Jesus did with those He encountered? Learn more. Talk, listen, and teach. Jesus met people where they were. He met some in the temples, some at a wedding, some in the streets, some in the fields, and some on the beach.
(K) and I are still having a compassionate conversation, and if I have the opportunity, I aim to point her to the single requisite for getting into heaven. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).’” We don’t earn our way there, but is only received through belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
I pray for her health, our relationship, and her heart to welcome Jesus in. Together, we’re taking one step forward toward what only the Holy Spirit knows.
The Bible is packed with verses about God guiding his people. From Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt to Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit as a guide, the concept of divine leading is woven throughout Scripture. He Leadeth Me taps into this broader theme of trust in God’s direction for our lives.
He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.Sometimes ‘mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s flowers bloom;
By waters still, o’er troubled sea,
Still ‘tis His hand that leadeth me.Lord, I would clasp Thy hand in mine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since ‘tis Thy hand that leadeth me.He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.
Joseph H. Gilmore
Key Application:
- Acknowledge God as your Shepherd. Recognize that God is not a distant, uncaring being but a loving Shepherd actively involved in your life. As a shepherd cares for his sheep, God cares for you.