October 17, 2006

Number 42

 VIEWPOINT

When you watch TV these days – especially when you watch a sport event – you see more and more commercials for High Definition TV.  We’ve seen several that include a simulated picture showing how clear, how crisp, how amazing this new technology is. The problem is that the simulated picture is still being broadcast through our old 27 inch TV. (Our set wasn't even “cable-ready.”)  There's no way we’ll ever have a clear idea of what HDTV is if our only point of reference is the old box.  But if I ever visit a friend who has it, I just might get hooked.

The same thing can be said about salvation.  Those who have never experienced a personal relationship with Christ have a hard time understanding us sometimes.  We talk of experiencing God's peace, having assurance of his love, feeling his presence, knowing his will – this is “new technology” to many outside the faith.

For believers, our challenge is to model the High Definition lifestyle of a personal relationship with Christ so that others can see beyond what they think religion is – so they see past what looks like mere rules and regulations and rituals to discover what is, in reality, the source of life.

An example of this can be found in Acts 16.  You remember the story.  Paul and Silas were in prison, in shackles, singing hymns late into the night.  An earthquake came along,  shaking  the foundations of the prison, opening the prison doors and breaking everyone's chains.  The distraught jailer, thinking he’d lost his prisoners and would face certain punishment, decided to end his own life.  Before he could, Paul – free of chains yet remaining behind – said, “Don't harm yourself!  We are all here.”

The jailer was so impressed he could only say, “What must I do to be saved?” That night he and his family were baptized into Christ.

This is high definition living.  Non-believers will never understand the Christian life if all they have to go on is what they read in the news or what they see sensationalized on network TV.  They need to see it modeled before their eyes.  They need to see us living a life of “High Definition Christianity.”

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The Duke of Wellington, the British military leader who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo , was not an easy man to serve under. He was brilliant, demanding, and not one to shower his subordinates with compliments.  Yet even Wellington realized that his methods left something to be desired. In his old age a young lady asked him what, if anything, he would do differently if he had his life to live over again. Wellington thought for a moment, and then replied. “I'd give more praise,” he said.

I like this quotation:  “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.”

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I look forward to seeing you Sunday with a Bible, a smile, and a positive word!                                                                                    RA

OCTOBER 29, 2006