Despite all the negative things that can be said about the holiday season, there is still a wonderful opportunity for encouragement, healing, and renewal whenever families gather together. Sadly, this potential generally goes untapped in favor of opening old wounds, indulging our appetites, and maxing out our credit cards. It reminds me of something C.S. Lewis observed, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.”
Posted in Christmas, Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged C.S. Lewis, family gatherings, holiday season, opening old wounds | Leave a Comment »
There is a significant difference between getting the win and attaining victory. If the price of the win is our character, integrity and maybe even a bit of our humanity, I would suggest that we’ve missed “victory” all together. At the end of our lives, our winning percentage, or the number of trophies on our shelf, will not be the ultimate measure of our success. While we can rationalize that the ends somehow justify the means, the means we chose to gain those ends says everything about who we really are.
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged character, integrity, success in life, trophies, victory, winning, winning percentage | Leave a Comment »
I’ve noticed that it is on the mornings when I wake up with a little energy that I try to power through the day in my own strength, and that it is in those times when I feel like I have nothing in the tank that I reach out for God’s hand. So this morning, as I consider the meagerness of what I’ve found in my basket, I bring it before the Lord and pray that He would multiply these few loaves and fishes into whatever this day requires. Indeed, when I am weak, He is strong.
Posted in Thought for the Day / Quotes | 1 Comment »
There was once a generous father, who yearned to create a wonderful life for his son. So when the boy came of age, the father gave him a beautiful house to live in, which sat on many acres of prime land. He told his son that he could live there all the days of his life and that the only cost would be that of caring for the place. Though the son was excited, he reminded his father that he knew nothing of caring for land, or a house, or even for himself. His father let him know that he could call on him at any time, and that he would always make himself available. But he also assured the son that he would not intrude on his new life, and that he would only come when he was invited. To help him, he gave his son a large book that contained guidance on many of the questions that he anticipated he might have. The son was greatly encouraged by these things and was quick to embrace his new life.
In those first days, the son called on his father frequently, sometimes on multiple occasions within the same day. But as time passed the increment between those calls grew longer. Soon after moving into the house, the son took a wife, and they started a family. But within a short time weeds began sprouting in the fields, and the house began to fall into disrepair. Whenever the son called, his father would come quickly; but the younger man’s wife was not comfortable having her father-in-law around. Though he’d never said anything disparaging, she felt sure that he was judging her and them. She shared this suspicion with her husband, and he soon felt the same. On occasion the son would refer to the book his father had left for him, and though it was sometimes helpful, he soon decided that it was too big and cumbersome to deal with.
As more time passed, the land was overrun with brush, and there was no lush grass for the animals to eat. Parts of the once beautiful house were collapsing and no longer inhabitable. The children were sick from the unsanitary conditions, and his wife complained bitterly about the low quality of their lives. Most days, the man sat idly on the porch, wondering how things had turned out this way.
One day, a traveler came down the road and approached the son. He said that he’d heard a grand tale about a generous father, who had bestowed a great and extravagant gift upon his son. He said that he wanted to see these things for himself. But the son said, that he didn’t know such a man, and that all his father had given him was this rundown shack, which sits on this unfruitful soil. When the traveler suggested that at least his father had given him something of an inheritance, the son harshly replied that if his father was indeed the kind and generous man that he sought, he would have never allowed his son’s life to deteriorate to this point. At that, the traveler bid the son good day and moved on.
I would like to suggest that this is a metaphor for the Creator, and His creation. He created the earth, and gave it to mankind to do with it as they pleased. He made a covenant with them, and promised that He would make Himself available to anyone who called. He even authored a book to help us. But as time has passed, this beautiful gift has deteriorated significantly and for the most part we stubbornly refuse to call on Him. Within the story, the wife represents the earthly things which hold our affection, and the children symbolize the natural outcome of those affinities. While we can generally accept the notion of a God who will provide for us, we struggle to receive One who might also judge us. As a result, we’ve tossed out His book, or at least stuck it on a shelf, and we blame Him for the poor condition of our world. We say things like, “If He’s really such a loving God, why is there so much evil, and sickness, and death in the world?” I would suggest that it is simply the result of reaping what we as the human race have sown. Like the son in the story, we have not because we ask not. In the book of Proverbs it says that there is a way that seems right to a man, but that it ultimately leads to death.
Posted in Commentaries, Heart of "The Father", Opinions, Word Pictures | Tagged blaming God, condition of the world, evil in the world, God's covenant, mankind | Leave a Comment »
If the mission is to help people forge a connection to the person of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps nothing more damaging to that cause than to misrepresent His heart and character to them.
Posted in Commentaries, Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged character of Jesus, heart of Jesus, personal connection to Jesus | Leave a Comment »
Jesus did not publicly shame, threaten, or otherwise coerce people to come to repentance, which is why our efforts to do so “in Jesus name” only serve to drive them away from Him. The good news of the gospel is not the judgement to come, it is that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, and that this amazing grace is still available today.
Posted in Commentaries, Heart of "The Father", Thought for the Day / Quotes | Tagged amazing grace, good news, judgement to come, repentance, sinners | Leave a Comment »
Last Friday evening was Senior Night for the football team, and we parents were encouraged to write a letter to our Senior player. I’ve pasted a copy of that letter below. Though his mother is just as proud of him (and he knows it), we agreed that some things need to be said in a father’s voice, and so I wrote it from that perspective.
Dear Son
Well, here we are closing another chapter from your childhood. I feel like we’re going to do a lot of that this year. It seems like you’ve been playing football forever, but I remember the beginning as though it were yesterday. As much as I was surprised by your brother sticking with the game, it was a no-brainer that this would be a part of your journey. From your first day on this earth, you were long on passion and short on fear.
I remember you playing on the line during Pee-Wee ball. You were really undersized for your position, but that never stopped you from taking on the biggest guys on the opposing team. I specifically recall a Unioto scrimmage, where you got low and lifted a kid, who outweighed you by at least 50 pounds, off the ground. It was just one of those pictures that will forever be etched in my memory, because it helped me to understand who you are.
I remember the year when you decided not to play because some of your teammates made you feel like you didn’t belong; but when Coach Bonner called and said the team needed you, you stepped right up. I remember the year, when the team only had 13 players, and everyone had to play both ways. Somehow you guys still managed to have a winning season. And I remember last year, when your arm was shattered in the Clinton-Massie game. Though people on the sidelines and in the stands were horrified at the sight of it, you never made a sound, and wanted to stay until the game was over.
As much as I love football, your participation in the sport has never really been about the game itself. It was about getting stronger and pushing yourself beyond what you thought you could do. It was about sticking to a commitment, even when it was hard, and overcoming adversity. It was about being a part of a team, and making sacrifices for something bigger than yourself. Ultimately, it was about preparing you for life, and from that standpoint it has been an unmitigated success.
Even though we place a huge emphasis on education, life isn’t much like a classroom. In truth, it’s a lot more like a football field. The classroom is a controlled environment, with a set script and a seat for every student. But life is not something we can control, and it cannot be scripted. It comes with bad field conditions, and injuries, and adversaries who hope to stand in the way of our victory. It comes with dropped passes, and interceptions, and blindside hits. In the end, it is our ability to deal with these hardships that sets the stage for our victory.
I know that in some ways the final chapter of your football career has been a disappointment. I know that you never envisioned spending your senior season on the sideline in a cast, but as I’ve watched you cheer on your teammates, and lift your younger brother up, I want you to know that I’m not disappointed. It takes a far bigger man to celebrate other people having the success they hoped would be their own than it does to make tackles or to catch passes. I can’t help but admire a man who can set aside his own disappointment and lift up the people around him. From where I sit, that is the sort of man that you’re becoming.
Tonight, as your mother and I walk across the field with you, I will surely shed a few tears (because that’s how I am), but I won’t be sad. I will be grateful for the years you’ve played, and the teammates and coaches you’ve played with, and the things you’ve learned, and the strength you’ve gained. I will be thankful for the injuries that never happened, for the care you received for the ones that did; for all the wins, and even for some of the losses. But most of all, I will be humbled by the privilege of being your dad, and for the man God made you to be. I love you son, and I couldn’t be more proud of you.
Love Always – Dad
Posted in Entertainment/Music/Sports, Heart of "The Father", Parenting / Family, Personal, Tributes | Tagged letter to son, senior night tribute | Leave a Comment »
Bjcorbin's Blog 
Thought for the Day – Denting the Doorway
December 30, 2016 by bjcorbin
Trying to convince someone of something they refuse to believe is akin to throwing rocks at a closed door. All it does is damage the doorway.
Rate this:
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes, Word Pictures | Tagged convince, refuse to believe | Leave a Comment »