Friday
Sep082006
The Rest of the Story
Friday, September 8, 2006 at 10:29PM
Disclaimer: this is a long blog. If you haven’t read my previous blog, you should read it first.
I shared in my previous blog the verse the Lord put before me on the morning of August 25th. Now, let me share with you the devotional readings from the previous two days. These readings are from “Whispers of His Power� by Amy Carmichael.
August 23
Luke 14:26: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
If any man come to Me, and hate not…That is the point that halts us. We must remember that here we have the Oriental idiom of sharp contrasts, and the word hate is used as the opposite of love. Our Lord was not claiming that we should have a malicious attitude of heart towards our loved ones, in order to be His disciples. He was facing the possibility of competition in loyalty with the things that He names.
He did not name a low thing, an ignoble thing. He was facing the possibility, which often occurs, of a conflict between that which is beautiful in itself and loyalty to Him. Nothing is fairer, finer, more beautiful in human life than love of father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers and sisters. Yet these fair things may, and often do, challenge our loyalty to our Lord.
Thus He was declaring that, if ever an hour strikes when there is a conflict between the call of the highest earthly love and the call of Christ, then there is only one thing to be done. We must trample across our own hearts and go after Him, without any compromise and any questionings.
August 24
Luke 14:27: And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple.
The taking up of the cross always means the emptying of the life of everything that is merely selfish in motive, and high things may become that. If there shall come a moment when a man has to choose between the call of Christ to sacrificial life and service, and the appeal of high and beautiful earthly affection, there is only one thing to be done according to the terms of Jesus. That is to follow Him.
He calls for much; He calls for everything. He calls for the march that may have no return and can have no compromise. He demands this loyalty because His enterprise is a crusade. Its method is that of the cross, and there is no other way. Because He goes that way, His disciple also must go that way.
So, for three days, the Lord is speaking to me of competing affections, of taking up a cross, of certain affliction. I had to trample across my own heart to leave friends and family behind in the US. Actually, it seemed more like a stampede.
On the evening of August 25th, after writing my previous blog, I received an email from my father telling me that they had taken my grandfather to the hospital. Tests revealed that he had a heart attack. He lingered for almost a week, with my parents, my brother’s family and many friends at his side. They were able to hold his hand and tell him they loved him. I knew when I told him goodbye when leaving for Mongolia in July that this time was coming and I would not be there. My secret hopes to be able to attend his funeral were not realized.
The beautiful love between a grandfather and granddaughter was not sacrificed. But the physical expression of it was not realized in this hour because Christ’s crusade for us at this time is in Mongolia. Every day in Mongolia a grandfather dies without ever having heard of the love of God.
Yes, I realize I have written another Kleenex blog – I have my own box at hand. Indulge me another moment, because there is a little more to this story. As I write this blog, there is a beautiful 17 year old Mongolian girl named Narah cleaning my home. While she cleans, she is singing along with Chris Tomlin, “Holy is the Lord, God Almighty� even though she doesn’t speak English. This is the song the Lord gave Bernie and I for Mongolia when we were here in 2003. I wish you could see her face when she sings with the praise team on Sundays. It is for Narah, it is for her grandfather, her family that we are here.
When I think of missing my grandfather’s funeral, it is still incredibly painful. In addition to that, we have received more painful news that our beloved dog, Chipper has cancer and is going to die soon (editor's note: Chipper died this week. We are greiving with our friends, the Parnell's - two families that Chipper had become such a part of) . But our God prepared my heart, has kept me and comforted me, and I know that this pain doesn’t begin to compare with the glory that will be revealed to us, to you, to Narah, to the Mongolians.
And now you know the rest of the story… at least what we know for now….
I shared in my previous blog the verse the Lord put before me on the morning of August 25th. Now, let me share with you the devotional readings from the previous two days. These readings are from “Whispers of His Power� by Amy Carmichael.
August 23
Luke 14:26: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
If any man come to Me, and hate not…That is the point that halts us. We must remember that here we have the Oriental idiom of sharp contrasts, and the word hate is used as the opposite of love. Our Lord was not claiming that we should have a malicious attitude of heart towards our loved ones, in order to be His disciples. He was facing the possibility of competition in loyalty with the things that He names.
He did not name a low thing, an ignoble thing. He was facing the possibility, which often occurs, of a conflict between that which is beautiful in itself and loyalty to Him. Nothing is fairer, finer, more beautiful in human life than love of father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers and sisters. Yet these fair things may, and often do, challenge our loyalty to our Lord.
Thus He was declaring that, if ever an hour strikes when there is a conflict between the call of the highest earthly love and the call of Christ, then there is only one thing to be done. We must trample across our own hearts and go after Him, without any compromise and any questionings.
August 24
Luke 14:27: And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple.
The taking up of the cross always means the emptying of the life of everything that is merely selfish in motive, and high things may become that. If there shall come a moment when a man has to choose between the call of Christ to sacrificial life and service, and the appeal of high and beautiful earthly affection, there is only one thing to be done according to the terms of Jesus. That is to follow Him.
He calls for much; He calls for everything. He calls for the march that may have no return and can have no compromise. He demands this loyalty because His enterprise is a crusade. Its method is that of the cross, and there is no other way. Because He goes that way, His disciple also must go that way.
So, for three days, the Lord is speaking to me of competing affections, of taking up a cross, of certain affliction. I had to trample across my own heart to leave friends and family behind in the US. Actually, it seemed more like a stampede.
On the evening of August 25th, after writing my previous blog, I received an email from my father telling me that they had taken my grandfather to the hospital. Tests revealed that he had a heart attack. He lingered for almost a week, with my parents, my brother’s family and many friends at his side. They were able to hold his hand and tell him they loved him. I knew when I told him goodbye when leaving for Mongolia in July that this time was coming and I would not be there. My secret hopes to be able to attend his funeral were not realized.
The beautiful love between a grandfather and granddaughter was not sacrificed. But the physical expression of it was not realized in this hour because Christ’s crusade for us at this time is in Mongolia. Every day in Mongolia a grandfather dies without ever having heard of the love of God.
Yes, I realize I have written another Kleenex blog – I have my own box at hand. Indulge me another moment, because there is a little more to this story. As I write this blog, there is a beautiful 17 year old Mongolian girl named Narah cleaning my home. While she cleans, she is singing along with Chris Tomlin, “Holy is the Lord, God Almighty� even though she doesn’t speak English. This is the song the Lord gave Bernie and I for Mongolia when we were here in 2003. I wish you could see her face when she sings with the praise team on Sundays. It is for Narah, it is for her grandfather, her family that we are here.
When I think of missing my grandfather’s funeral, it is still incredibly painful. In addition to that, we have received more painful news that our beloved dog, Chipper has cancer and is going to die soon (editor's note: Chipper died this week. We are greiving with our friends, the Parnell's - two families that Chipper had become such a part of) . But our God prepared my heart, has kept me and comforted me, and I know that this pain doesn’t begin to compare with the glory that will be revealed to us, to you, to Narah, to the Mongolians.
And now you know the rest of the story… at least what we know for now….
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