Tolstoy’s Three Questions – Reflections (2)

 

The king’s first question is, “When is the right time to begin everything?”

 

The hermit’s answer is, “There is only one time that is important— Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power.”

 

What do you think of the answer? Are there elements that are true, and others perhaps not true?

 

Is it true that we have power? What do you think about that?

 

Jesus asks us, “Who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” (Mt. 6:27).

 

Jesus tells us, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Mt. 28:18). If this is true, do we really have any power?

 

To say that we have power, or possess power, is to say that we operate independently of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we claim to follow Jesus, this is a problem, for without Jesus, the Vine, we can do nothing – and nothing means nothing (John 15:5). If we have not yet met Jesus and we claim to have autonomous power, we are deceiving ourselves and others.

 

Christians who operate independently of Jesus Christ build with wood, hay, and straw (1 Cor. 3:12), the foolishness of their independent lives will be manifested on that Day.

 

On the other hand, Jesus does gives us power and authority to be His ambassadors and His Presence, the Holy Spirit clothes us with power to witness to Jesus Christ and to be a blessing, in His Name, to the world and to the Body of Christ. However, this is not our power to do with as we please, it is His power and His authority to be exercised under His Lordship; we are stewards, we are not owners.

 

Jesus, as we especially see in Gospel of John, did nothing on His own initiative, all that He did was “out of” the Father. This is, in some measure, part of the Great Mystery of kenosis that we read of in Philippians 2:7, Jesus “emptied Himself” in the Incarnation. As we abide in Him, the Vine (John 15:1ff), He teaches us to allow His life to live in us and flow through us, so that we learn to do nothing out of ourselves, but rather live by His life, “doing” as we see Him do within us and through us. This is a learning process that unfolds in our relationship with Him.

 

One thing we do have “now,” always “now,” is opportunity to listen to Jesus, see Jesus, respond to Jesus, and be a blessing to others according to the grace given to us, a grace that typically has a pattern of moving us onward and upward into Jesus, leading us out of ourselves, our comfort zones, and into Him.

 

This opportunity includes the marriage of word and deed; we must speak as Jesus and act as Jesus. Paul writes to Timothy that “in season and out of season” Timothy is to be sharing the Word in its many facets (2 Tim. 4:2). So it is with us, for we are commissioned to make disciples of all peoples, “teaching them.” Those who constantly wait for the “right time” to live and speak as Jesus spend all their lives waiting. Those who wait for the right time to do the right thing will die having never done the right thing.

 

I had a friend, Harvey, who used to say, “There are two thieves always trying to steal the “now” from us, the past and the future.” He meant that if we are always looking backwards or always looking forwards – often fretting about the past or worrying about the future – that we will miss what is right in front of us, we will miss the people who are with us, who need us, and who we may very well need.

Yes, as Christians we look ahead to that City, we seek growth in ourselves and others, we desire (hopefully) to alleviate the suffering of the world; we desire that tomorrow be a better day than today for others and ourselves. However, such desire and hope can only be fulfilled by living today, by living right now, in the I AM THAT I AM, in Jesus Christ.

 

Paul writes, “Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13b – 14).

 

Perhaps we could substitute the Hermit’s word “power” with the word “opportunity.” Now is the only time we have opportunity. Opportunity to know Christ, opportunity to be a blessing to those whom we are with, opportunity to pray and intercede for others, opportunity to touch others.

 

Learning to recognize the nature and form of opportunity takes time and practice, and it also takes desire and love and compassion, and a willingness to obey our Lord Jesus by offering ourselves to Him without reservation, in surrender – and surrender means unconditional surrender, we reserve nothing for ourselves, we give all to Jesus and for Jesus, laying down our lives for Him and others.

 

There will be times when we could have done things differently, there will be times when it seems as if we’ve made mistakes, but this is part of life. And let me please suggest, that if we love people and desire to serve them, that our love will be the thing that they remember – our imperfections are what they are, but our love for others will remain.

 

“We have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves” (2 Cor. 4:7).  God’s greatness dwarfs our imperfections! As one of my professors used to say, “Be yourself and forget about yourself.”

 

As I wrote about surrender above, I realized how foreign that word is today among Christians. How can this be? The nature of our life in Christ includes surrender to Him, a continuing offering of ourselves to Him on the altar of sacrificial living (Rom. 12:1 – 2). Yet today we hear little if anything of surrender in our teaching and preaching. We are inundated with self-centered messages, self-improvement messages, “how to” messages – but we hear nothing of surrendering our lives, our hearts, our minds, our souls, our bodies, to Jesus Christ.

 

“Now” is the most important time because “now” is when we are to surrender to Jesus Christ.

 

A life of sacrificial “nows” in Jesus, a life of intimate “nows” in Jesus, a life of “nows” in which we give our lives to others and for others, this is our calling as sons and daughters of the Living God.

 

What other Bible passages speak to us of “now”?

 

What other thoughts do you have on “now”?

 

Most importantly, how am I living now?

 

How are our congregations living now?

 

O yes, and how are you living now?

Tolstoy’s Three Questions – Reflections (1)

  

“It once occurred to a certain king, that if he always knew the right time to begin everything; if he knew who were the right people to listen to, and whom to avoid; and, above all, if he always knew what was the most important thing to do, he would never fail in anything he might undertake.”

 

Thus begins Tolstoy’s short story, Three Questions. What do you think of the three questions? What do you think of the king’s motive for wanting to know the answers to the three questions?

 

If you’ve read the story, which I hope you have, what do you think of its ending?

 

“Remember then: there is only one time that is important— Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power. The most necessary man is he with whom you are, for no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with anyone else: and the most important affair is, to do him good, because for that purpose alone was man sent into this life!”

 

I enjoyed this little story. I admire good short story writers and tellers, to be able to draw a listener into a succinct and tight storyline, to take the reader on a journey, and to leave an impression, with no wasted words or actions, this is masterful. Let us note that not only did Tolstoy write short stories, but he also wrote War and Peace!

 

As with many others, I can think of no greater short stories than The Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. The Master is indeed the Master of the short story.

 

What of the first paragraph? What do you think?

 

What was the king’s motive in wanting the answers to the three questions? Is the motive realistic? Is it desirable?

 

If Tolstoy had written, “The king sought the answers to the three questions so that he might be a better king, serving his people,” then I’d have a different take on the king’s motive, and while that may indeed have been the motive underlying the stated motive of never failing, we’ll simply consider the motive of never failing because we don’t know anything for sure beyond what is written.

 

I’m reminded of Solomon asking God for wisdom so that he might better serve God’s people; but I’m also reminded that, having received great wisdom from God, Solomon led his people into idolatry. When we fail to hold the gifts of God in trust as stewards, when we start to think that we are owners of God’s gifts and may do with them as we please, then we have embarked on a slippery slope and both we and others will pay a price.

 

Isn’t failure one of the building blocks of life and learning? Don’t we, or at least shouldn’t we, learn when things go awry? Is not character forged in both suffering and failure?

 

Furthermore, perhaps there is a complexity to failure that we fail to appreciate. Perhaps there are times when failure is not failure, but a prelude to victory, to overcoming, to attaining a goal.

 

If I am a leader who never fails, then I am missing opportunities to teach my people how to work through failure. If I am a parent who hides his failures from his children, then I am forfeiting opportunities for my children to learn how to handle disappointment and setbacks. When is the last time you heard a politician, church leader, academic leader, business leader, or other prominent figure admit failure and mistakes (not to mention wrongdoing!) and ask forgiveness if appropriate (before they are called to account – which is seldom)?

 

Lincoln saved the Union, but not before a resume of failure after failure.

 

Churchill saved Britian, and in saving Britian likely saved democracy, but not before failures in the Admiralty in WWI, early WWII, and in his political life, living in what is known as his Wilderness Years in which he was blackballed from the BBC. Not all of Winston’s failures turned out to be failures, for example, while his warnings about Hitler resulted in ostracization from those in power, and therefore were considered political failure, they later made him one of the few politicians with credibility when his warnings proved to be all too true.

 

When we think we see failure, we may very well be looking at a prelude to victory. Our eyesight is often not very good.

 

The Apostle Paul had a long resume of apparent failure, just review 2 Corinthians 6:4 – 10 and 11:23 – 29, and let’s not forget 2 Timothy 1:15; this is hardly a recitation of success. How many people, Christian or otherwise, thought that this man, executed by Rome, would still be leading and guiding the People of Christ 2,000 years later through his divinely inspired writing and the example of his life?

 

I recall, in my business career, spending about $35,000.00 of a client’s funds, with his approval, in an attempt to find a solution to a complex mechanical problem. Had we been successful it would have been “a game changer,” to use the client’s own words. However, not only was the attempt unsuccessful, it was a logistical mess and took longer to complete than we had anticipated. I looked at the attempt as a failure.

 

A few months after the project, I said to the client, “Looking back, I’m sorry we made the attempt.”

 

With a surprised look he said to me, “O no Bob, don’t think like that. It wasn’t a failure. Look at everything we learned, and it cleared the way for us to make better decisions.”

 

No wonder this man was a leader in not only business, but also in the philanthropic and political communities of our region and nation. To him, the only possible failure was a failure to learn.

 

While most of us don’t associate C. S. Lewis with failure, we may be surprised to learn that while he held the position of Fellow, and tutored at Oxford University from 1925 – 1954, that he was never elected to a full professorship. He only became a full professor when Cambridge University created a special position just for him. As with Paul, this is a reminder that failure is not necessarily a matter of fault, it may be the result of unrighteous opposition or of other elements.

 

From time to time I’ll use baseball as an illustration, so here we go again. The best batters in baseball make more outs than they get hits and walks. They fail to get on base more times than they get on base. Every player in the Hall of Fame made more outs than they got hits. Yet, in the Hall of Fame they are enshrined as the best of the best.

 

For the man or women who follows Jesus Christ, life is not a matter of success or failure, it is a matter of loving God and others, a matter of living in Christ and doing His will (Mark 12:29 – 31; John 15:12 – 14; 1 John 3:16).  When we love God and others and obey Christ there will be times when apparent failure will be the outcome, for our guide is Christ and not the idol of success or even of self-preservation.

 

I lost the best job I ever had because I told the truth about a situation. But could it have really been the “best job” if, in order to keep it, I had to keep my mouth shut? Was my inability to keep my job a failure?

 

Is it better to fail doing the right thing, or to succeed doing the wrong thing?

 

These are just some thoughts, some ponderings; they are meant to stimulate thinking and exploration.

 

Perhaps the only real failure is the failure to learn and grow in character.

 

What lessons have you learned from failure?

Three Questions by Tolstoy: PART II

 Good morning,

Here is Part II of Three Questions. I will follow this up with some reflections. What do you think of this story? What is it teaching us? Can you think of Biblical teachings that speak to the story? If you were to present this to a small group, would you provide supplemental thoughts? That is, would you add anything to it?

Much love,

Bob 

 “You are tired,” said the King, “let me take the spade and work awhile for you.”

 

 “Thanks!” said the hermit, and, giving the spade to the King, he sat down on the ground.

 

When he had dug two beds, the King stopped and repeated his questions. The hermit again gave no answer, but rose, stretched out his hand for the spade, and said: “Now rest awhile—and let me work a bit.”

 

 But the King did not give him the spade, and continued to dig. One hour passed, and another. The sun began to sink behind the trees, and the King at last stuck the spade into the ground, and said: “I came to you, wise man, for an answer to my questions. If you can give me none, tell me so, and I will return home.”

 

 “Here comes someone running,” said the hermit, “let us see who it is.”

 

 The King turned round and saw a bearded man come running out of the wood. The man held his hands pressed against his stomach, and blood was flowing from under them. When he reached the King, he fell fainting on the ground moaning feebly.

 

The King and the hermit unfastened the man’s clothing. There was a large wound in his stomach. The King washed it as best he could and bandaged it with his handkerchief and with a towel the hermit had. But the blood would not stop flowing, and the King again and again removed the bandage soaked with warm blood and washed and rebandaged the wound. When at last the blood ceased flowing, the man revived and asked for something to drink.

 

The King brought fresh water and gave it to him. Meanwhile the sun had set, and it had become cool. So the King, with the hermit’s help, carried the wounded man into the hut and laid him on the bed. Lying on the bed the man closed his eyes and was quiet; but the King was so tired with his walk and with the work he had done, that he crouched down on the threshold, and also fell asleep — so soundly that he slept all through the short summer night.

 

When he awoke in the morning, it was long before he could remember where he was, or who was the strange bearded man lying on the bed and gazing intently at him with shining eyes.

 

 “Forgive me!” said the bearded man in a weak voice, when he saw that the King was awake and was looking at him.

 

 “I do not know you, and have nothing to forgive you for,” said the King.

 

 “You do not know me, but I know you. I am that enemy of yours who swore to revenge himself on you, because you executed his brother and seized his property. I knew you had gone alone to see the hermit, and I resolved to kill you on your way back. But the day passed and you did not return. 

So I came out from my ambush to find you, and I came upon your bodyguard, and they recognized me, and wounded me. I escaped from them but should have bled to death had you not dressed my wound. I wished to kill you, and you have saved my life. Now, if I live, and if you wish it, I will serve you as your most faithful slave and will bid my sons do the same. Forgive me!”

 

The King was very glad to have made peace with his enemy so easily, and to have gained him for a friend, and he not only forgave him, but said he would send his servants and his own physician to attend him and promised to restore his property.

 

Having taken leave of the wounded man, the King went out into the porch and looked around for the hermit. Before going away he wished once more to beg an answer to the questions he had put. The hermit was outside, on his knees, sowing seeds in the beds that had been dug the day before.

 

 The King approached him, and said: “For the last time, I pray you to answer my questions, wise man.”

 

 “You have already been answered!” said the hermit, still crouching on his thin legs, and looking up at the King, who stood before him.

 

“How answered? What do you mean?” asked the King.

 

“Do you not see,” replied the hermit. “If you had not pitied my weakness yesterday, and had not dug those beds for me, but had gone your way, that man would have attacked you, and you would have repented of not having stayed with me. So the most important time was when you were digging the beds; and I was the most important man; and to do me good was your most important business.

 

“Afterwards when that man ran to us, the most important time was when you were attending to him, for if you had not bound up his wounds he would have died without having made peace with you. So he was the most important man, and what you did for him was your most important business.

 

“Remember then: there is only one time that is important— Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power. The most necessary man is he with whom you are, for no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with anyone else: and the most important affair is, to do him good, because for that purpose alone was man sent into this life!”