Tolstoy’s Three Questions – Reflections (8)

 

 

Now we come to the king’s final question, “What is the most important thing to do?”

 

The hermit replies:

 

“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!”

 

Since we’ve already considered the first part of the reply, we’ll now consider the second, “The most important affair is, to do him good, because for that purpose alone was man sent into this life!”

 

Now it should go without saying that the idea that “for that purpose alone was man sent into this life” is amiss. It is amiss because it is but one wing of an airplane in one sense, in another sense it is amiss because while it is important (as I hope we will see) it must be rooted in another purpose, that of loving and worshipping and belonging to God.

 

We ought not to dismiss what the Hermit says, we ought rather to place it in its proper place. We cannot love God without also loving our fellow man.

 

Jesus says that we are to love God with all that we are, and that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Then He says, “There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29 – 31).

 

The apostle John teaches us that, “The one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20). We want to deny this truth, we want to make exceptions to it, we want to justify our unloving attitudes and behavior, we want to exalt what we profess to believe over our unloving actions toward others – thereby exempting us (we think) from truly loving – but the fact remains that “He who does not love abides in death” (1 John 3:14).

 

“The most necessary man is he with whom you are… and the most important affair is, to do him good.”

 

“But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:17 – 18).

 

“What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?” (James 2:14 – 16).

 

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,” when you have it with you” (Proverbs 3:27 – 28).

 

The time is always now, and the person before us is always the most important, for as the hermit says, “No man knows whether he will ever have dealings with anyone else.”

 

Jesus alleviated pain and suffering wherever He went and whenever He could. There is no recorded instance of Jesus refusing to heal or refusing to deliver people from Satan – think about that – Jesus was always alleviating pain and suffering whenever He was allowed to do so. Yes, there were times when the unbelief of people limited what He could do, as we read in Mark 6:5 – 6:

 

“And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief.”

 

Are we about our Father’s business? A business which includes not only making disciples of all peoples, but of accompanying our Message with serving others in tangible ways, serving the whole person.

 

“That you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the people of the world do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:45 – 48).

 

In other words, we are to be a witness to Jesus and the Gospel and be a blessing to others wherever we are, with whomever we are.

 

“So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10).

 

We must not prequalify people in order to determine if they are worthy of our love and service – for Jesus did not prequalify us, and for sure none of us are worthy outside of Christ. Furthermore, we learn to be the sons and daughters of our Father as we learn to love and serve others – whether others understand what we are doing or not, whether others are thankful for what we are doing or not.

 

After all, how many times has our dear Father in heaven blessed us without us seeing His love in our lives and without us giving thanks to Him? Can we even begin to understand how ungrateful we have been over the years?

 

I’ll close this series of meditations with a quote from The Valley of Vision (Banner of Truth, pages 212 – 213):

 

“May I live by thee, live for thee, never be satisfied with my Christian progress but as I resemble Christ…

 

As I pursue my heavenly journey by thy grace let me be known as a man with no aim but that of a burning desire for thee, and the good and salvation of my fellow men.”

AMEN

Tolstoy’s Three Questions – Reflections (7)

  

Let’s read the king’s questions and the hermit’s answers once again. Did the Hermit answer all the questions?

 

“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.”

 

 

“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!”

 

The hermit did not tell the king whom to avoid.  How might we think about this question?

 

There are times we are with people, or have the opportunity to be with people, who we either ought to avoid or at least be careful with. Yes, we ought to endeavor to serve all men, to do good to all men, to share Jesus with all men (Mt. 5:43 – 48; Gal. 6:10), but there are times when we need to be careful lest we drink from cups of poison for our souls.  Jesus counsels us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

 

“Do not associate with a man given to anger; or go with a hot – tempered man, or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself” (Proverbs 22:24 – 25; please also see James 3:13 – 18 and Psalm 1).

 

In a society fueled by anger and fear and anxiety, do we endeavor to respond to Christ’s calling to be peacemakers (Mt. 5:9)? Do we keep in mind James’s distinction between demonic wisdom and the gentleness of godly wisdom? Are we careful not to align ourselves with people and movements whose spirit is contrary to the Spirit of the Lamb who gives His life all the people of the earth?  

 

Psalm 1 (which ought to be our Way of Life in Christ, for Jesus is “the Way of the Righteous” (Ps. 1:6), warns us that we ought not to “walk in the counsel of the wicked…nor sit in the seat of scoffers.” Scoffing and sarcasm and vitriol, poison our souls, and when we associate with people who promote this way of life that is contrary to Jesus, it will affect us. This includes “electronic and social media association,” that which our eyes and ears invite into our temples.

 

We ought to avoid such people.

 

On the other side of the spectrum are those who seek to seduce us as “apostles of Christ and angels of light” (2 Cor. 11:13 – 14). These people want us to feel good, to think positive thoughts, to get better and better, to never make a judgment call about sin or righteousness, and above all else, they want us to avoid the Cross.

 

These folks are every bit as dangerous as the angry people because their teaching is so positive and non-threatening, they are like Peter telling Jesus that He ought not to go to the Cross (Matthew 16:21 – 23).

 

I once lived in a city in which there was an annual event at the convention center featuring a traveling group of positive-thinking speakers, some of whom were professing Christians. I always cringed when this group came to town because friends and acquaintances would get excited about the event, attend, and invite others. These men and women were very good speakers, they were witty, they were funny, and they had good moral and ethical and motivational stories and lessons. However, what they were presenting was not the Gospel, it was cotton candy coated with Christian jargon and allusion. I have seen this phenomenon many times in many places throughout the years. The idea seems to be that if it has Christian overtones, or if it has an overt Christian tag, and if it feels good and is motivational, then it must be Biblical.

 

This is dangerous, anything that is not centered in the Christ of the Cross and the Cross of Christ is dangerous – for in Christ alone is our source of Light and Life, in the Cross alone is our hope and our Way of Life.  

 

The Scriptures teach us that our minds are renewed as we present ourselves to God as living and holy sacrifices, not as we seek self-preservation or pursue a form of positive thinking (Rom. 12:1 – 2).

 

Consider Paul’s words to the Philippians, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Phil. 4:8).

 

If we didn’t know any better we’d think Paul was preaching positive thinking, but since we do know better we recognize that the context of his exhortation is the Christ of the Cross, for in 3:3 he writes that we worship God in Spirit, glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh. In 3:10 he writes of knowing Christ in the koinonia of His sufferings. The theme of Philippians can be expressed as joyfully knowing Jesus Christ as we share in His sufferings for His glory and the blessing of others.

 

Our thought lives are to glorify God and be a blessing to others, not to make us feel better for the sake of feeling better.

 

Perhaps another way of putting the above, is that we look for Jesus Christ, always Jesus Christ and His Cross. We focus on Him and on others knowing Him. We avoid those who are not centered in the Cross, on the Cross, and living through the Cross.

 

As Paul wrote, “May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14).

 

Can you think of other people and ways of thinking that ought to be avoided?

Tolstoy’s Three Questions – Reflections (6)

 

 

In thinking about the king’s question, “Who is the right person to listen to?” we’ve considered the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and trusted men and women who have been given wisdom.

 

The hermit’s answer was, “The most necessary man is he with whom you are, for no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with anyone else.”

 

How might we understand the Hermit’s answer? Certainly, what people tell us is not always true or righteous or good, so we must not accept everything we listen to, and yet how might we understand “the most necessary man is he with whom you are”? What about the thought that “no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with anyone else”?

 

There are few lines in the prayer, Morning Dedication, in the Valley of Vision (page 221) that may help us with this:

 

Order this day all my communications according to thy wisdom, and to the gain of mutual good. Forbid that I should not be profited or made profitable. May I speak each word as if my last word, and walk each step as my final one. If my life should end today, let this be my best day.

 

Every interaction with others matters, every encounter with another person is important. I believe this because I cannot envision Jesus meeting someone, speaking to someone, hearing someone, and thinking that the person is not important. Since Jesus sends us as the Father sends Him, I believe we are to be His Presence in all of our interactions with others, just as Jesus was the Father’s Presence in the Incarnation.

 

This means, among other things, that the hermit has a point when he says, “the most necessary man is he with whom you are.” We will never meet a person who does not have the image of God; granted the image can be hidden, defaced, desecrated, and even intentionally mutilated, but nevertheless, the image of God is there, somewhere, somehow.

 

A few months ago I did a series of reflections on Theo of Golden. One of the beauties of Theo is that all faces matter, all people matter, whatever their size or shape or background or the present condition of their lives, they all matter. Theo could look into the eyes of a portrait and see the soul.

 

But…we must pay attention to others if we are to begin to “see” others. Paying attention means listening and watching, watching the eyes, the face, the body language. I don’t want to pass anyone and not pay attention to them, I know that I do miss people, but I don’t want to. We can speak to others as we are able, and we can always pray for others, yes, we can always pray. I have learned to look for opportunities to speak to others, to share Jesus with others, to pray with others, to pray for others. I don’t always get it “right,” I don’t always recognize the opportunities, I can be so very self-centered at times, so intent on my own agenda, that I miss others, I miss the faces.

 

I do really want to get it right, at least I think I do.

 

The hermit says, “no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with anyone else.” There is a date on a calendar which is our last day of this life, this pilgrimage. On this particular date, whether it is today or tomorrow or many years from now, there is also an appointment for us to keep, and for sure we will keep it. The appointment is with the last person we will ever be with, the last person we will ever speak to, the last person who will ever speak to us.

 

What will that appointment look like?

 

Will we be attentive listeners? Will we be encouraging to that person? Will we look upon that man or woman or child as Jesus looks upon him or her? Will that person be glad that he or she met us and that they were with us?

 

What a tragedy to leave this earth in a moment of rudeness, or hatred, or vitriol, or selfishness! What a tragedy to leave as a taker and not a giver.

 

What would life look like if we desired to be a blessing to all who we meet? If we would “speak each word as if my last word”? If all of our actions were done in the awareness that they might be the final thing we did in our lives?

 

What would our lives look like if we lived each day so that it would be our “best day”?

 

We are to be a neighbor to all, to love others, and to remember that “The one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20).

 

We never really just meet one person, for there is always another Person with the two of us, always Another. To know Jesus, is to know Him as we love others, serve others, pray for others, be available for others, listen to others. Jesus comes to us again and again as we live in the light of the hermit’s answer that, “The most necessary man is he with whom you are, for no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with anyone else.”

 

Will we live in the light of this knowledge today?

Tolstoy’s Three Questions – Reflections (5)

 

 In thinking about the king’s question, “Who is the right person to listen to?” we’re considering the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and trusted men and women who have been given wisdom.

 

“Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory” (Proverbs 11:14; see also 15:22, 24:6).

 

There are different textures and genres of wisdom, understanding, and counsel that we need throughout life. Sometimes what we need is intensely practical in nature (how to do something), sometimes it is ethical, moral, and spiritual in nature. It can often be both.

 

Seeking and receiving counsel is not a substitute for making our own decisions and being responsible for them. A wise counsellor will not make decisions for us.  We have all probably known people who perpetually seek counsel for two reasons, one is that they want someone else to tell them what to do (and thereby abdicate responsibility), the other is that they want someone to tell them what they’ve already decided they are going to do.

 

For the follower of Jesus, wise counsel must include the Cross, for we must not look for the easy way out, we must look for Jesus, for the Christ of the Cross. The default posture of most of the world is self-preservation, our default posture is to be loving God and others – no matter what the results and consequences to ourselves. If we follow the Lamb, we can trust the Lamb. Yes?

 

Let’s recall that Peter’s counsel to Jesus was to avoid the Cross. Where would we be now if Jesus had listened to Peter? Where would Peter be now?

 

My sense is that wise counsel is not so much about dealing with specific situations, though it certainly can be, but is more about growing into the image of Christ as our Way of Life. In other words, if we learn the way of wisdom as our way of life, then wisdom and understanding will permeate our lives, they will become natural to us in Christ. We learn “not to lean on our own understanding” but rather to trust in God and acknowledge Him in all of life (Pro. 3:5 – 6).

 

Learning the Way of Wisdom is knowing Jesus (Proverbs 8, 1 Cor. 1:30 – 31; Col. 2:3). While it is vital that we know Jesus personally, it is also vital that we know Jesus as members of His Body; we really can’t have one without the other, for we are members of one another in Him.  I am, of course, speaking of relationships within the Body, koinonia, not simply membership in a congregation and not simply church attendance.

 

Wise counsellors can take many forms. They can be men and women we know (and we need these for many reasons, not the least of which is to keep us honest, what we may call “accountability”.) They may also be those we have never met but who are living today and speak to us through writing and public ministry. They may also be those who have lived before us and continue to speak to us through their writing.

 

I think we need all three.

 

There is so much that could be written about who we should listen to, but this is a blog and not War and Peace, so I’ll close for now. 

Tolstoy’s Three Questions – Reflections (4)

  

In thinking about the king’s question, “Who is the right person to listen to?” we’re considering the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and trusted men and women who have been given wisdom.

 

Jesus teaches us that the Holy Spirit is our Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counsellor (all of these are shades of meaning in the Greek word “paracletos”).

 

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper [paracletos] that He may be with you forever…He abides with you and will be in you” (John 14:16 – 17; see also 14:26; 15:26; 16:7, 12 – 15).

 

Being led by the Holy Spirit, receiving the Holy Spirit’s counsel, listening to the Holy Spirit, is relational; it is something we learn through relationship, though spending conscious time with Him, with speaking and listening and asking and questioning throughout the day. There is no one experience that makes us mature listeners, nor is there a course we can take, a degree we can obtain, a measured process we can go through, which somehow makes us mature listeners – for we are (hopefully) ever learning and ever growing and our ears are ever being tuned to the Voice of the Father, the Voice of the Lamb, and the Voice of the Holy Spirit.

 

This is not to say that we don’t have experiences, life ought to be an experience in the Trinity. We can have mountain top experiences, just as we can experience the Valley of the Shadow of Death; we can experience the Mount of Transfiguration just as we can experience Gethsemane and Golgotha – and we ought not to teach the one without the other. Let us recall that the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the Wilderness to be temped by the devil (Mark 1:12). Why don’t the “feel good” preachers teach this when they teach about the Holy Spirit?

 

Being led by the Spirit of God is a mark of the Christian and an element of our sonship in the Father and our inheritance in Christ (Romans 8:14 – 17). This leading is, at its foundation, twofold; it has to do with our doing and our becoming – with our becoming and our doing. Our Father’s desire is that we are conformed “to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29). This is worked out in our daily lives, at home, at work, in recreation and entertainment and the arts, in the social and civic arenas – this communion with God and engagement with humanity is all encompassing – it is to be our Way of Life in Christ.

 

There are times we “know” we are to do things, and as we respond in obedience to the Holy Spirit we learn and grow into the image of Christ, we become.

 

Then there are times that the Holy Spirit speaks to us about who Jesus is within us, and who we are in Jesus; God’s Word is revealed to us in ever unfolding glory and freshness, both in convicting us and in building us up, and our transformation is marked by the things we do – by the way we are among those around us, by our actions and our prayers and intercessions and words. The more we see Jesus the more we are transformed into His image (2 Cor. 3:17 – 18).

 

We “do” so that we may become, and we become so that we may “do.” We become so that we may “do,” and we “do” so that we may become.

 

As my friend Joe likes to say, “We are becoming who we are in Christ.”

 

Is there any doubt in our minds that we will hear God speaking in eternity future? Well then, if we will hear Him in eternity future, why not learn to hear Him in eternity present? Why not listen to the Holy Spirit today?

Tolstoy’s Three Questions – Reflections (3)

 

The king’s second question was, “Who are the right people to listen to, and who should he avoid?” The hermit’s answer was, “The most necessary man is he with whom you are, for no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with anyone else.”

 

It doesn’t appear that the hermit answers the king’s question. What do you think? Is the king asking, “As I live my life, who should I listen to, pay attention to, receive counsel from, and who should I avoid?” Or is he asking, “In a given moment who should I listen to?”

 

The hermit seems to be saying, “The most necessary man to listen to is he with whom you are.” Again, what do you think? Is the hermit answering the king’s question?

 

Let’s look at it both ways, for both ways are important.

Who should we be listening to as a way of life? The answer is a threefold cord, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and trusted and wise men and women. To be sure we can learn from many types of people, and we ought to always be learning, but in terms of listening, that is something else. When we listen we receive, we allow into our souls what we are hearing as we allow food into our bodies – at least in our present context. (There are different levels of listening.)

 

While we must not separate the Holy Spirit from the Word of God, because we are human we will first consider one and then the Other – but let us keep in mind that they are a unity, just as Jesus Christ and the Word are One – divine mysteries!

 

“Your testimonies also are my delight; they are my counselors” (Psalm 119:24). The NASB marginal reading for “my” is, “the men of my counsel.” In other words, the author of Psalm 119 has formed a relationship with God’s Word, or we might say that he has been formed into that relationship by the Holy Spirit. The testimonies of the Lord are personal to the man who wrote Psalm 119, so personal that they speak to him and he listens to them.

 

Looking at Scripture this way, we can say that the woman or man who meditates on Scripture and learns the Word of God has a council of sixty-six members who can always be trusted, who will always point her or him to Jesus Christ.

 

Paul writes to Timothy that Scripture is able to “give us wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus,” and that in Scripture we may find “teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness” (see 2 Tim. 3:14 – 17).

 

No matter who or what else may be speaking to us at any given time, we want to hear Scripture, we want our hearts to be tuned to the Word of God. All of life ought to be heard and seen and responded to through the Word of God, through Jesus Christ. Only in Jesus can we see and hear things are they really are.  

 

It is one thing to look at music on a page, it is another thing to play the music. Too many professing Christians carry the Book of divine music but have never played the sixty-six scores they carry. We could also say that God has given us sixty-six instruments to play, some small like the piccolo, others large and weighty; are we learning to play them? Whether it is Obadiah or Isaiah, the Holy Spirit will teach us to play both the instrument and the music.

 

Looking at it another way, in the Bible I have sixty-six friends, trusted counsellors, who all speak to me of our Great Friend, our Lord Jesus Christ, our Friend who demonstrated His “no greater love” by laying down His life for us (John 15:12-13).

 

All of the foregoing is why I believe it is essential to begin each day with the Bible, in the counsel of our dear Lord Jesus. The world throws too much at us. A little thought for the day or a devotional is not enough, deep engagement with Jesus Christ is what we must seek. Yes, devotionals can be helpful, but in and of themselves they are no substitute for a deep and abiding relationship with the Word of God. We will either be formed by the world, including the religious world, or by Jesus Christ and His Word. Which will it be?

 

Who, or what, are we listening to today?

 

For many of us the answer is a particular news outlet, a political leader, an economic leader or economic indicators, entertainment or sports stars (as much as we might deny this), or even religious headliners. This is just as true of professing Christians as of the world. To know the truth of this just listen to what we talk about, we do not speak of Jesus and His Word, we speak of other things, other people, but seldom of Jesus.

 

Perhaps there will be two types of people who arrive at the New Jerusalem, those who have to learn how to see Jesus and listen to Him for the first time, and those for whom the conversation will simply continue.

 

Which of these two people am I?

 

What about our congregations?

 

What about you?

 

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!”

Three Questions by Tolstoy - Part I

 Here is a shorty story by Leo Tolstoy, I'm presenting it in two parts. I will post the second part tomorrow, the Lord willing. Then, I'll do a follow up post to share some thoughts.

As you read and ponder Three Questions, how might the Bible inform our perspective on the story? How can the story challenge us? 

Much love,

Bob  

 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.

 

And this thought having occurred to him, he had it proclaimed throughout his kingdom that he would give a great reward to anyone who would teach him what was the right time for every action, and who were the most necessary people, and how he might know what was the most important thing to do.

 

And learned men came to the King, but they all answered his questions differently.

 

In reply to the first question, some said that to know the right time for every action, one must draw up in advance, a table of days, months and years, and must live strictly according to it. Only thus, said they, could everything be done at its proper time. Others declared that it was impossible to decide beforehand the right time for every action; but that, not letting oneself be absorbed in idle pastimes, one should always attend to all that was going on, and then do what was most needful. 

Others, again, said that however attentive the King might be to what was going on, it was impossible for one man to decide correctly the right time for every action, but that he should have a Council of wise men, who would help him to fix the proper time for everything.

 

But then again others said there were some things which could not wait to be laid before a Council, but about which one had at once to decide whether to undertake them or not. But in order to decide that, one must know beforehand what was going to happen. It is only magicians who know that; and, therefore, in order to know the right time for every action, one must consult magicians.

 

Equally various were the answers to the second question. Some said, the people the King most needed were his councilors; others, the priests; others, the doctors; while some said the warriors were the most necessary.

 

To the third question, as to what was the most important occupation: some replied that the most important thing in the world was science. Others said it was skill in warfare; and others, again, that it was religious worship.

 

All the answers being different, the King agreed with none of them, and gave the reward to none. But still wishing to find the right answers to his questions, he decided to consult a hermit, widely renowned for his wisdom.

 

 The hermit lived in a wood which he never quitted, and he received none but common folk. So the King put on simple clothes, and before reaching the hermit’s cell dismounted from his horse, and, leaving his bodyguard behind, went on alone. 

 

When the King approached, the hermit was digging the ground in front of his hut. Seeing the King, he greeted him and went on digging. The hermit was frail and weak, and each time he stuck his spade into the ground and turned a little earth, he breathed heavily.

 

 The King went up to him and said: “I have come to you, wise hermit, to ask you to answer three questions: How can I learn to do the right thing at the right time? Who are the people I most need, and to whom should I, therefore, pay more attention than to the rest? And, what affairs are the most important, and need my first attention?”

 

The hermit listened to the King but answered nothing. He just spat on his hand and recommenced digging.

To be continued....