daily life as life goes on . . .

This past weekend was spent at a cabin on Lake Diefenbaker. 

The morning’s were ideal for taking a walk.  Just down the pavement a mile or so, and back.

On the way, a herd of cows abides.  With plenty of fenced grassland.  And no worries that I can see.

So, being the retired preacher that I am, I decided to preach to the cows both days of my walks.  By preach, I mean, raise my voice enough they can hear me, comment on their current situation, and observe their reactions.

The first day, most were seated on the ground.  As I began to speak a few turned their faces to me.  Then, in a mass agreement, most arose and turned towards me.  Of course, there were those who did not deign to notice my presence.  There was no loud speech from them – I guess I don’t speak “cow” well enough.

The second day, the crowd was a little removed – standing in the pasture.  As I began to speak, they began to migrate to the fence.  The first to arrive was later pushed aside so that others could see me.  The row of faces was nonplussed by my rhetoric, and as I returned on my way back to the cabin, they had all disappeared into the fog on the other side of the pasture.

So, I guess I need to learn “cow”, join them in their daily life and find out what interests them.  Then I can truly preach to the cows.

Well, my plumbing days are numbered.  And the number keeps getting higher because the leaks keep occurring.

Usually I’ve been able to find a leak and fix it.  Copper pipes were easy.  PEX is easy to install as well, provided your crimper works well, the pipe is not compromised and you don’t end up routing things in such a way that you can’t reach the offending area.

I might have hit on all three things in this past project.

Not to say that I won’t do plumbing again – and not to say that I won’t finish off this current project (perhaps with a professional’s help??).  But for the moment a rest, with no dripping water, would be great!!

Have you ever started to make a point in a discussion, and soon you feel like you missed it.  “It” being whatever you really wanted to say.

Yesterday I was discussing “Limited Atonement”.

Now, this is not a common topic!  The general idea is that Jesus died to take away sin – and that taking away of sin is only for a limited few.

Of course, theologians for centuries have debated this idea.  The alternative is “Universal Atonement” which says that Jesus takes away the sin of all people.

In this case, our discussion ended up centering on the effect of believing the doctrine of “Limited Atonement”.  Prayer for sinners is negated and missions is futile.  At least in the extreme form of the doctrine.

In reflecting, I think the discussion was supposed to be about the actual doctrine – the reference points in the Bible, the logic of the idea, the truthfulness of the concept.

Two men, a few centuries ago (Calvin and Arminius) took on that task.  In the end neither of them agreed, even though they used the same Bible and worked with the same principles of logic.  For the following centuries we have been trying to figure out what they said and to trying to figure out what we believe.

I’m convinced that the words to the answer bring us somewhere in the middle.  That makes sense to me.

What do you think?

Passing on our passions is difficult.  We have an instruction system called school.   We have a personal system called mentoring.  We even have a memorization system called indoctrination. 

These are all good options to pass on what an individual feels is important.

Religion is one of the best examples I can think of. 

A first generation person encounters God.  They persist in knowing God.  Unfailingly they will talk to God, seek out more information about God, find others who know God.

The second generation sees the benefits but often lives shadow lives.  They talk to God in emergencies, seek out God when there is a benefit for them, and don’t see the need to find others who are passionate about God.

The third generation has been inoculated.  The passion for God has not been a visible, constant concern to them.  They don’t see a need to talk to God (in fact, they often call themselves atheists), they don’t need information about God (as an atheist, information about God is irrelevant), and they don’t want to be offended by being with people who persist in knowing God.

For a first generation person, wanting the generations that follow to catch the passion, we must teach and model our passion.  But we must also call the next generation to own the passion.  Not just to adopt the system and science of your passion, but to embrace the heart and the art of the passion.