November 26, 2013
Rejoicing
My friend’s adult daughter was trying to return from
a mission trip to the Philippines at the same time the typhoon hit the islands.
Betty breathed a sigh of relief when her daughter landed safely back on US
soil, however, she also felt a pang of guilt, “It just doesn’t seem right that I’m
rejoicing when so many people in the Philippines are suffering.” It is curious
that we sometimes stifle our rejoicing out of respect for others who are
hurting. I have to wonder if our lack of rejoicing in certain circumstances
translates to withholding our praise to God. “Rejoice in the
LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” (Psalms
32:11 NIV)
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----I agree, overall. Paul said, “…the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit; he who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.” (Rom 14:17-18) That makes rejoicing not only important, but also expansive. It’s within that expansiveness where I disagree.
-----What goes forward and backwards at the same time and takes you everywhere you go? OK, ok. I’ve asked that before. It’s such a useful thought though, at least it is for me. When I was four years old, my dad was the janitor at Riverside school. Sometimes he took me with him. I would always visit that juke box in the cafeteria. The lower part of it, where I was, had two mirrors on either side of a hollow in its front. I loved to stare into those mirrors where what there was before me bent forever downward to where I could only wonder. Falling into it seemed a possibility. And that is exactly what we do into the many facets of our minds reflecting thoughts and feelings and attitudes back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. One pair of particularly important reflective facets are that forward looking, anticipatory part of the mind and its rearward looking, reminiscent library of bookshelves filled with personal history, data bits, and information with emotive streams winding between them like snakes and barely known serpents. Then forward we march into time unto here and there and yonder with the two ever reflecting back and forth upon each other making what we fear falling into if we thought too much about it. Some folks swear I fell there long ago.
-----The physiology of that goop between your ears and behind your eyes requires this continual reflecting process. As such, your past is always casting effect upon how you are mentally proceeding into the future, and visa-versa. It’s just a given. And this happening over and over and over at any particular time builds a present frame of mind out of various other mind frames, some forming, some fading, call them sub-frames, if you need a bit of techy trash-talk to grasp what I‘m saying. And all these mind frames, even the overall consciousness, are like the library of apps on the digi-gadgets everybody runs around with nowadays.
-----Now, what does all this have to do with rejoicing while others suffer? I like Paul. Paul was way cool! He said, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.” (Rom 12:15) Even Solomon says it is ok, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” (Eccl 3:1 and 4). Yet we don’t want to be taken out of His wonderfully cozy kingdom of joy, not even for others.
-----Nor do we have to be, not even for ourselves. Joy and sorrow are facets of the mind constructing apps from their reflections upon one another. The life we maneuver is a variety of effects, some joyous, some maddening, some saddening, and some Haiyan like horrific. The important thing to remember is that all which we experience becomes shelved in the library behind us. Oh, for certain we will experience all of its little snakies and serpents from time to time, along with its pixies and elves and angels. But the overwhelmingly important matter is that the infinitely greater part of what is for our minds is that actually perfect, forever abiding existence of righteousness and peace constantly coming at us straightway out of His love. And we are allowed, in fact somewhat exhorted, to construct our overall frame of mind of the joy of that. There’s room inside such a frame of mind for all the “weeping withs” even the worst of times might require.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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