Allen Ketchersid

I took a picture of this bumper sticker with my phone while waiting at a traffic light one day last week.  It reads, “PRO-CHOICE / PRO-CHILD.   EVERY CHILD A WANTED CHILD.  That raised a few questions in my mind.

I wonder if this proud slogan is meant to impress the viewer as compassionate.  Does this pro-choice-to-kill benefit everybody?  the unwanted?  Will the “unwanted” thank us in eternity for our compassion towards them, saving them from an unwanted existence?

Perhaps it is easier to kill the unwanted than it is to force responsible behavior on parents (whose lives have been spared), but that still amounts to capital punishment for the innocent, which is hardly compassionate to them (and the cost to society, the potential of what we killed, is forever unknown).

I wonder if the advocate knows whether or not his/her parents really planned his/her conception?  Do these advocates feel wanted?  Should the alive, the “evidently wanted,” automatically be granted such superiority over the “evidently unwanted (yet alive),” so much so that they can wield the power of life or death over them?

I wonder, will giving society the permission to freely abort children really ensure realization of the ideal of every child being a wanted child?  If the drastic measures cannot do so, is the blood guilt really worth it?

Does a young person that advocates a “pro-choice-to-execute-the-unwanted” position ever think about the possibility that they themselves might become old, or handicapped, or unwanted in some way?  Do they imagine that philosophical positions have only very limited application?  Could I drive around town with a “EVERY SENIOR CITIZEN A WANTED SENIOR CITIZEN” bumper sticker?

I wonder, does it bother the advocates of this slogan that even they do not deem themselves worthy of the label “pro-life?”  They are avowedly “pro-child,” but not “pro-life.”  Yet “pro-child” is not completely accurate, for unwanted children are, well, inadmissible.

Every child should be wanted-‑ by whom?  Whose “wants” are being fulfilled?  Whose are being denied?  What does God want?

James warned Christians about making judgments that were not theirs to make:  ^“There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy” (James 4:12).  Clearly, his point to Christians was that “you don’t qualify to make that judgment, and you do not wield the power to save and destroy.”   That fact, and that admonishment, applies just as well to pro-choice humanists as it does to self-righteous Christians.  No one can garrison the mercy seat without having to answer to Him.

Most of my contemporaries (at least most of the guys) at some point in the days of their youth played “Cowboys and Indians” or “Army.”  I have become somewhat fascinated in my older years with the realization of just how the immediate history, that of the generation before me that was glorified in the media of the day, shaped my own play and the concepts and language that we used in our play.

Why did we say “Geronimo-o-o-!” when acting out a death-defying fall?  Well, I read just the other day that the very first parachute platoon in the U.S. Army, back in the 1940’s, originated that cry.  (Looks like when I said it I was really playing “Cowboys and Indians” and “Army” all at the same time!)

The 50 men known as the Parachute Test Platoon, trained out of Fort Benning, Georgia.  The night before they were to make their first deployment-style group jump they were all pretty anxious.  The movie at the base theater that night was the western, Geronimo.  As the soldiers returned to their bunkhouse, one of the guys, Private Aubrey Eberhardt, claimed that he wasn’t worried.  The others ragged on him for acting like he wasn’t scared.  They knew he was just as anxious as any of them.

Eberhardt finally shouted. “I’ll tell you jokers what I’m gonna do! To prove to you that I’m not scared out of my wits when I jump, I’m gonna yell ‘Geronimo’ when I go out that door tomorrow!” The next day, he made good on his promise. The rest of the platoon wasn’t about to let Eberhardt show them up, so on subsequent jumps the rest of the soldiers took up his battle cry and a tradition was born.  The next year, the Army’s first official parachute unit, the 501st Parachute Infantry Battalion, made “Geronimo” the motto on their unit.

Since then, a whole bunch of us have yelled “Geronimo-o-o-o!” without having any real idea why we use that particular word.  Eberhardt yelled it to cover up any hint that he might be scared, and to bolster his braggadocios claims.  The rest of the platoon yelled it to keep from being outdone.  Subsequent paratroopers yelled it to solidify their identity and to promote their motto.  I yelled it because I saw it in a cartoon or a movie, or heard someone else do it.  I never had any real idea what anybody meant by it.  Why use the name of an Apache chief?  What did he do that inspired such a practice?

Well, I played church as a kid too.  And now as an adult I have become much more informed about what has shaped many of the practices and the language that is familiar to me in my church experience.  I can see that the immediate history that preceded me understandably shaped and informed how people in my church do things and express themselves.  That’s the way it works with every generation.

If a child observed the phenomenon of “Geronimo-o-o-o!” today, would a wrong message possibly be communicated?  Should I scrutinize my church language to ensure that miscommunication is not happening?

Sports Illustrated reported this week:

The crystal football Alabama won for beating LSU in the BCS championship game in January was shattered on A-Day when it was accidentally knocked off a display by the father of a current player. Athletic department spokes-man Jeff Purinton said the Waterford Crystal trophy, valued at $30,000, was on display in the Mal Moore Athletic Facility as part of the festivities for the Crimson Tide’s spring football game Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He says the man stumbled on a rug that was under the trophy display.

Guess you can add that to the long list of stunts that we parents can perform to summarily embarrass one of our kids!  But this is not the first time a national champion has lost its trophy.  Florida had their 2006 trophy broken similarly by a potential recruit (who ended up playing for their rival, Georgia).  Florida State has had two national championship trophies stolen.

It reminds me of Paul’s reference to the temporary nature of victor’s crowns:

“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

(1 Corinthians 9:25)

In our physical pursuits, the trophies really can’t possibly match the accomplishment, they only memorialize it.  The Alabama Crimson Tide are the national champs, regardless of the condition of the crystal football.  Still, they will seek to replace the trophy.

However, in serving King Jesus, we discipline ourselves and run the race in such a way as to get the prize because the prize is immeasurably more permanent than any sacrifice or accomplishment we make in the race we run.  We do it to get a crown that will last forever!

There are no other competing sports, or leagues, or trophies.  There will not be another race.  This contest is all there is.  That is why Paul says, “Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly… No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”  We should do likewise.

Which weighs more?

You would naturally think that the answer to this question would be “neither.” A pound of either one should weigh one pound.  Yet that answer is technically incorrect.

Gold is universally weighed using a different measurement system than most other materials. It is weighed using the troy system, and troy ounces. This system is measured so that 12 troy ounces makes up 5760 grains to the pound, while the common measurement for feathers would make them equal to 7000 grains to the pound. Thus, a standard pound of feathers technically weighs more than a pound of gold!

No doubt you can see that in a certain situation, it could be very important to accurately comprehend what the standard of measurement is.

It is entirely possible to jump too quickly in making assessments about ourselves and overlook the standard of measurement that we ought to be using.  When we assess ourselves, it is always easy to get a pretty good grade because we will naturally adopt a standard of measurement that will involve a comparison of me to others, who pretty clearly (to me anyway) should get a lower grade.  Thus, “I’m not too bad a guy.”

However, I don’t usually compare myself to Jesus (Even though Ron Shields called me and told me last night that just after I pulled out of his driveway to leave, his little grandson, Eli, said to him, “Where’s Jesus going?”).  None of us would be so bold as to compare ourselves with THE Standard, when it comes righteousness.

Paul wrote, “When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise” (2 Corinthians 10:12).  He went on to say, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.  For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

The good news of the gospel is that even though there is not really anyone who is righteous by the true measurement of righteousness, there is hope for anyone through faith in Jesus.  We can all put on His righteousness.  As Paul put it, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”  He then concludes, “Where, then, is boasting?  It is excluded.”  (Romans 3)

Whose righteousness weighs more― Jesus’ or yours?

I hope they do weigh the same.

If you drive down Smith Road in our community, you may have noticed that there is a beaver reeking havoc on a neighborhood park.  I stopped by one day last week to wander around and observe the tenacious work of that beaver around the small creek that runs through the Smaltz Farm neighborhood.  All the trees have been wrapped with chicken wire to ward off the varmit.  Still, many trees have been “scarred for life” and one big one is, well, laid on the ground.  It is unbelievable the wood chips that can be made to fly just by the continuous gnawing of one furry little animal.

But you may have noticed from these pictures that the objective of the beaver was not met, even when the large tree finally succumbed.  The tree fell away from the creek!  It’s not going to dam up much water laid out in the field.  Man, what a disappointment!  That would be one of those days where you just sit back and begin to wonder if your life calling is worth it all.  Makes me wonder what I would do in that situation.  What do I do when the tree falls the wrong way?

The Bible often recommends that we look at nature around us and learn something about God, and about trusting God.  The folks in that neighborhood are wrapping trees with chicken wire because they know that this beaver is not a quitter.  He is not retiring due to one great big disappointment.  James tells us to live out our faith in much the same way:  “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  It is true that life will present you with many kinds of trials.  But trials produce perseverance. That means you will develop greater strength and ability– and better results.  Maturity enables us to avoid the disastrous results of poor choices and approaches of our past.  We learn and improve.  May God give us all a tenacious faith that enables us to maintain joy and perseverance in the face of disappointing trials– like when the tree falls the wrong way.

“God has brought me laughter,
and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.”

Genesis 21:6

Did you know that most laugh tracks for TV were recorded in the 1950’s.  I guess that means then that many of the people we laugh with daily as we watch sitcoms are, well, dead!   But that’s OK, Jews and Christians have been laughing with the dead now for thousands of years.  The Lord fulfilled his promise of a son for Abraham in the hundredth year of Abraham’s life.  His wife, Sarah, gave the baby boy the name, Isaac, which means “he laughs.”  The Bible records that she exclaimed, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.”  And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” 

Abraham and Sarah make us laugh because their joyful experience confirms to us all that God has the power to fulfill His promises.  We may not see any possible way for God to bring laughter, but He can.  In Abraham’s family, God’s family, we can laugh at life because we know that God has the power to fulfill all His great promises to us.  There is never a moment, never a day, never a time when there is no hope for God’s family.  Sarah has taught us that God does indeed bring laughter, even after we have laughed at the notion of hope, respecting the outrageous odds against us more than our Almighty God.

Who do you enjoy laughing with?  Who do you remember for their laughter?  Was there a person of faith in your life whose complete joy in the Lord continues to provide a laugh track for you as you walk on in life, after their walk on this earth has ceased?  Will your life of faith provide hope and joy for family and friends long after you have gone on to be with the Lord?  May our laughter in the Lord live on so that others laugh with us forever!

“Do to others as you would have them do to you….
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? …
Give, and it will be given to you.   A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.   For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”   (Luke 6:31-38)

On a Saturday night, Victor Giesbrecht, 61, and his wife stopped along an interstate highway in western Wisconsin to help two stranded women change a flat tire.  When he finished, the ladies thanked him and they all shook hands. Giesbrecht’s farewell to them was: “Someone up above put me in the right place at the right time.”  They all pulled back out onto the highway to go on their separate ways, but in less than a quarter mile down the road, the ladies noticed Giesbrecht’s red truck pull over and they saw his wife waving frantically and calling out: “I think he’s having a heart attack.”  One of the ladies was a certified nursing assistant trained in administering CPR.  Very few people survive an episode of cardiac arrest when it occurs out on the interstate.  Victor survived because he received immediate life-saving procedures.  Ironically, it was his own willingness to help others that placed him in a position to receive actual life-saving help.

Jesus’ command to intentionally do good for others, even beyond what is normally expected in human interaction, promises that greater returns will be laid in your own lap.  Additionally, it contends that the “measure” we use, in regard to gracious living, will determine the measure we receive, in terms of gracious acts toward ourselves.  Authentic discipleship has measurable returns!