Work, Toil and Rest (Day 7)

Gen 2:2 By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing.
Gen 3:17b ... cursed is the ground thanks to you;
in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
Heb 4: 9-11 Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. 10 For the one who enters Godʼs rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works. 11 Thus we must make every effort to enter that rest, ...
NET Bible

God rested from His work on the seventh day. Then he curse the ground and sentenced man to toil all the days of his life. But finally, in the new covenant, there is a Sabbath rest available, but it takes effort to enter that rest.  There is a mystery here.

The first point is that work is good. God worked six days to create the world. Every meaningful accomplishment requires work. In the technical sense, work is force applied over a distance, which means that effort is required to move forward. From various accounts of heaven we also understand that there will be work for us to do in heaven. I'm not exactly sure what it will be, but there will be something useful for us to accomplish there. So work, in itself, is good.

Second, after the fall, man was sentence to a life of toil and labor. There is something about having to scratch an existence from the ground that reminds us of original sin and the fall of man. So toil is difficult and is not intended to be pleasant. Even Saint Paul admonished that "If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.” (2 Th 3:10). So if we are to eat, we must work.

Lastly, the Lord provided a sabbath for us to experience rest. Every seven days, we are to rest from our labors and worship the Lord. The writer of Hebrews also indicated that there is an additional sabbath rest that is related to redemption. Jesus was crucified, died, and rose on the third day to redeem us from the curse of the law. This is a mystery in the sense that it was hidden until the time that Jesus rose from the dead. But an additional mystery here is that the writer of Hebrews also indicates that it takes effort to enter that rest.  What are we to make of that?

Perhaps retirement is in some way a representation of this process. We must work to provide for our families, and it is toil and labor. But after a suitable period of faithful work, it is permitted to us to rest and enjoy the fruits of our labor, a sabbath rest, as it were. Even so, it requires some effort to dedicate that time of rest to the glory and worship of God.  I'm new to this retirement business, but I'm learning as I go along. So work, toil and rest... and we will understand the mystery of it by and by.

Wisdom and Boasting- 1 Cor 1 (Day 6)

1 Cor 1:30 He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written,“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

One of the advantages of being of retirement age is that you have accumulated a certain amount of wisdom. By living and working and experiencing life for over six decades, one accumulates things.  Some of those things are like the barnacles on the bottom of a ship that only serve to slow us down. Others are things that we have learned that have served useful over the years. Wisdom is actually formed by combining some of both. It is often said that knowledge is the learning of facts but that wisdom is learning how to apply that knowledge. It is on life's long journey, where we accumulate some barnacles, that we learn patience and understanding.  Without storms, we would not learn how to sail into the wind, and without resistance, we would never come to have strength. We learn from both the good times and the hard times.

I like to think that I have learned a little wisdom over the years.  I certainly have picked up lots of facts, both useful and useless. Maybe it's just wisdom to know which is which! Anyway, true wisdom comes from God, as Paul points out in his epistle to the Corinthians. To attain real righteousness, sanctification and redemption, we need to acknowledge that all wisdom comes from God. We have our accomplishments in life, but “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” True wisdom comes when we  develop a relationship with Christ Jesus.

Psalm 93- Testimony (Day 5)

Psalm 93:1 The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;The Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength;Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.2 Your throne is established from of old;You are from everlasting.3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord,The floods have lifted up their voice,The floods lift up their pounding waves.4 More than the sounds of many waters,Than the mighty breakers of the sea,The Lord on high is mighty.5 Your testimonies are fully confirmed;Holiness befits Your house,O Lord, forevermore.NASB

Sunday afternoon is testimony time at the Outback camp. It's always encouraging to hear the testimonies of the campers. All of the work that goes into putting on the camp is worthwhile when you hear the stories of what God has been doing in the lives of the campers. There are always many relationships healed, lives changed, souls saved and fears released.Though we were working hard, the Lord was working harder to save and change lives.

Which brings to mind my own testimony. We have been talking about retirement, so let me share a little of what God has done for me through my work experiences. The first point, the most important point, is that I have always faithfully given my tithes and offerings, and the Lord has always provided for us. Since my first job teaching at Triangle Tech in Pittsburgh, there has never been I time that I was without a job except for the couple of months that we took to move to Mobile in 1978. Even then, when we moved without having secured a new job, the Lord provided an excellent position for me at Scott Paper within two months of our move. Ten years later, when that company was just starting to have difficulties, a former boss offered my a better position at International Paper. The next year Scott Paper completely collapsed.  The Lord had rescued us before we even knew we needed to be rescued!  Through all of these years, we have been blessed both financially and with interesting work.

 Another aspect of my career that has been a great blessing is that I have had many opportunities to learn and to serve. I have participated in interesting projects, that were both intellectually challenging and produced a positive benefit to both the company and to individual employees. To me the most rewarding part of my career has been the many opportunity to help people solve problems. It was very gratifying in these last weeks to receive the thanks from many coworkers who were appreciative of the help that I provided to them over the years. It's tempting to get a big head over being the company expert in certain issues, but I give God all the glory for giving me the ability to understand complex issues and to solve problems that are perplexing to other folks.

A third blessing is that throughout my career, I have worked for companies and supervisors that have respected my beliefs and given me time to pursue ministry opportunities. The many mission trips to Central America would not have been possible without the  finances and time off provided my my employers. I have heard that some people have been criticized in their work place for their faith, but I have always been supported and encouraged by my supervisors and coworkers. That is indeed a blessing. In particular, International Paper has traditionally forced employees to move from mill to mill to advance in their career. For whatever reason, IP allowed me to remain in Mobile for 28 years, where I not only could participate in the ministry in the Gulf Coast area, but could also continue to advance in my career. God is good.

I'm sure that there are many other blessing that I could include in my testimony, but this is enough to demonstrate to you that God is good and He provides for His servants. If you are faithful to serve the Lord He will never let you down.  As the Psalmist says, 

I have been young and now I am old,Yet I have not seen the righteous forsakenOr his descendants begging bread. Ps 37:25

Gratitude - 1 Thessalonians 5 (Day 4)

1 Thes 5:16-18 Always rejoice, constantly pray, in everything give thanks. For this is Godʼs will for you in Christ Jesus.NET Bible

This morning I was listening to my friend Bill give the Gratitude talk at the Outback camp. I was reminded of the importance of an attitude of gratitude. He told several stories of people who went through hard times; found God in those dark places, but were grateful none the less. Most importantly, he told the story of our friend Mike who gave the Gratitude talk last year, even in the midst of a battle against cancer. 

Mike had a wonderful attitude, and was always careful to be thankful to God in the midst of his struggles. Mike would say that he was grateful for cancer because it brought him closer to God. Not that he was glad to be sick, but through the struggle, he was able to come closer to God and his family than he ever was before. Mike was grateful and encouraging, even though he was in great pain, and indeed went directly to the hospital a few days later, and passed on shortly thereafter.

The next week, hundreds of people gathered at the same camp ground to celebrate Mike’s life and to share the encouragement that he had been.  His attitude of gratitude, even in the midst of terminal cancer, affected hundreds of people for the good.  His infectious attitude drew many hundreds of people to a closer walk with Jesus. What a testimony of a life lived for God, a life lived in gratitude.

What does that have to do with retirement you may ask? Well, retirement is just one of those important events in life; one in which there are gains and losses.  But even where there are losses and maybe even pain, it is important to be grateful to God the Father who leads us and guides us through all of life’s trials. We are grateful for the changes (and “all people regard all change as loss”, to quote a former pastor of mine) and are thankful for the changes that are worked in our life. We remember that all things work together for good for those who love Him, and are grateful. There are things about working at IP that I will miss, and people that I won’t be as close to, but I’m looking forward to the changes the the Lord will work in my life as I strive to face this transition with an attitude of gratitude.

Psalm 92- Retirement and Music (Day 3)

Ps 92:1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning,and thy faithfulness every night,3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery;upon the harp with a solemn sound. KJV

Retirement is about time. You're not on the clock for "the man", but have time to get in sync with eternity. Time and eternity; which brings me to worship. We talked yesterday about art reflecting the glory of heaven. Music and worship also reflects a bit of heaven, but in a different way. In my mind, true worship is opening your ear to the sounds of heaven and singing in harmony with the angels. We can't truly appreciate the heavenly worship though, since we are trapped in space and time, but Psalm 92 gives us a way to blend time and eternity; to show forth his love in the morning and his faithfulness at night, first one, then the other. For just as our earthy music is bound by rhythm, tempo and measure, our worship can be timed to alternate between the eternal aspects of heavenly praise: love, joy, peace, faithfulness, glory and awe. While the angels sing all the glorious attributes of God continually and eternally, we can sing one, then play another in it's turn, and in harmony. The ten stringed instrument is ten sounds in one, but is only music if all ten strings are in tune with one another. Thus we can blend the worship of all the magnificent attributes of God in harmony and in time.

It may seem like a small thing, but to me, the time to spend in praise and worship is a great blessing. In many ways, this life is just choir practice, and the more we get in tune with the heavenly choir now, the more easily we will slip across the great divide into heaven, when that time comes. The American way is for retirement to be a time to enjoy yourself, but in the Kingdom of Heaven, retirement is time to enjoy the Lord and to prepare to spend eternity with Him. Singing and playing Psalm 92 is a great way to give glory to the Lord. Can you sing along with me?

Psalm 92 has been much beloved through the years and has been set to music in various styles.  You can find many versions on YouTube.  Some examples:

70's Charismatic: Maranatha Singers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLUk7LwKaLk

Israeli: Micha'el Eliyahu BenDavid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gayuWirxkY

Gospel: Wanda Barnes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9dwAzfQ-bI

Art in Retirement- Ex 31 (Day 2)

Ex 31:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God in skill, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, 4 to make artistic designs for work with gold, with silver, and with bronze, 5 and with cutting and setting stone, and with cutting wood, to work in all kinds of craftsmanship.The NET Bible

The Scripture of the day is Exodus 31. In that passage, the Lord is explaining how to construct the ark and the tabernacle, and He begins by saying that he given certain individuals certain gifts to be able to create the beautiful fixtures. These artisans would be given the task of creating the tabernacle and all of its fixtures and implements which would, all together, form a representation of the great throne room in heaven.

This reminded my of a passage from C.S. Lewis’s, The Great Divorce. In this wonderful book, C.S. Lewis portrays a series of conversations between some recently departed spirits and their heavenly guides as they decide whether they would prefer to go to heaven or hell. One particular spirit had been a famous artist on earth. He was inspired by the sights he first say as he gazed into heaven and exclaimed “I should like to paint this.” His heavenly guide then explained to him that there was really no need for painting in heaven. 

The Spirit shook his head, scattering light from his hair as he did so. "That sort of thing's no good here," he said. "What do you mean?" said the Ghost. "When you painted on earth-at least in your earlier days-it was because you caught glimpses of Heaven in the earthly landscape. The success of your painting was that it enabled others to see the glimpses too. But here you are having the thing itself. It is from here that the messages came. There is no good telling us about this country, for we see it already. In fact we see it better than you do."  

C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, Chapter 9

In my case, I will be doing a photo shoot for the Outback camp here in Mobile this weekend. In photography, as with working in gold and silver or in painting, these passages remind me that the goal to to represent heavenly beauty in an earthly form.  If we can catch a snap shot of the beauty of the earth in such a way that people get a glimpse of the true beauty of heaven, then we can inspire them to contemplate the goodness of God and the beauty of His creation. Just as the ancient artisans in Exodus were able to create a tabernacle the gave the people a place to worship that was a representation of heaven, so should we strive to create works of beauty that inspire worship of our heavenly Father. So there you have it.  Being retired for the second day now, I don’t have any work objectives, but I do have a task laid out for me.

Psalm 92- Thoughts on Retirement (Day 1)

Ps 92:12 The godly grow like a palm tree;

they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon.

13 Planted in the Lordʼs house,

they grow in the courts of our God.

14 They bear fruit even when they are old;

they are filled with vitality and have many leaves.

15 So they proclaim that the Lord, my protector,

is just and never unfair.

NET Bible

I retired today, after 40 years, give or take, working in the paper mills... That sounds like a Biblical trial. But what are we to make of retirement? It's the American way, but what does the Bible have to say about retirement and old age? Consider Moses. He spent 40 years herding sheep in Midian until he "retired" and was called to be the deliver of Israel, and was the leader of the people for another 40 years. Or Joshua who spent 40 years following Moses around, until he "retired" from being an assistant and became the leader that led Israel into battle to take the promised land. So what to make of my 40 year journey and this transition?

In Psalm 92, the psalmist likens a godly old man to a tree. Given enough years, a palm tree can grow strong and lush in the desert, and a cedar can grow into a mighty and magnificent tree. Planted in the courts of the Lord, they grow true and strong. The promise here is that such a one will bear fruit and be filled with vitality even after growing old. I once had an older pastor friend who would often say "I'm not retired, I'm re-fired!”, and "the best is yet to come". Of course, I was young then and didn't pay enough attention to what he was saying. So now that I'm at that point, what is my story?

My sincere hope is that I will be one that bears fruit and has vitality in this season, and that I too will be able to proclaim that the Lord, my protector, is just and righteous. My life's calling has always been threefold: minister, musician and scientist, so I don't think that my purpose will be different, just a different balance. These last 40 years I've spent most of my time in the scientific arena dealing with computers, but in this next period, I will be able to focus more on ministry and music. If I'm able to abide in the courts of our God, like that palm, perhaps I'll see some of that abundant fruit.