Christian Living

The average price for a gallon of gasoline was $1.19. The President of the United States was Bill Clinton. The twin towers of the World Trade Center stood above the New York City skyline. A new Internet search engine company founded by two college students celebrated its first birthday by moving the headquarters of the business, Google Inc., from the garage to an actual office building.

Go with me for a few minutes back to our childhoods—to the games we played as children. Remember those games of hide and seek? In the brief time the “it” was counting with his eyes closed, I’d frantically look for a good place to hide, a place where the “it” wouldn’t find me. Then at the right moment I would be able to go free! The times that were so much fun were when I was concealed and yet could see when the “it” walked past. I’d dart out of my hiding place and dash for base. If I got there before “it,” I would shout, “Free!” Oh, how exhilarating!

Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” is a question that has echoed through the corridors of time from the Garden of Eden to the present day. Although perhaps not verbalized, certainly that question was in Eve’s mind when the Serpent said, “Ye shall not surely die.” Today, where the world is made aware of events within mere seconds of the happening, we are bombarded with so much information, much of it conflicting, we are still asking, “What is truth?”

If you were to drive to New York City, you would need to cross the Hudson River to get there. The Hudson River separates islands that make up some of New York City from the mainland. Manhattan, for example, is isolated by natural “motes” on each side. The Hudson River separates it from New Jersey, while the Harlem River and East River separate it on the east side from the rest of the city boroughs. You can cross this barrier by passing through a tunnel or crossing over a bridge. Without these, you would need to pass through the waters to complete the journey.

Maybe we think times are not so prosperous. But if we open our eyes a little and see our standard of living, and if we look around at other countries, we will see that we are living in prosperous times. God is very interested that we maintain a simple lifestyle even in times of prosperity, and that we are examples of the believers in our lifestyle.

Recently I saw a sign that boldly proclaimed that America is a Christian nation. I was not able to figure out the thinking behind that statement. I felt more kinship with Isaiah in chapter 1 verse 4, where he said, “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.”

What shall I do? We all find ourselves either asking that question or at least pondering it at times. Recently as I was driving down the interstate I saw a sign that read, “West bound lanes closed ahead. All traffic must exit.” I was faced with the question, “What shall I do?” Since there was no convenient alternate route, I made the mental decision to stay as long as I possibly could, then find a detour. Travelling went fine for a while, but before I knew it there were brake lights ahead of me, and travelling came to a stop. Things had not gone as planned!

One of the greatest resources that God has given to the Christian church is old people. Blessed is the congregation that has many of them! The proverb writer tells us that “the hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness” (Pro 16:31).

The wearing of a plain suit coat for men has been a blessing to the Mennonite church for many years. It represents one effort to keep the world’s fashion out of the church and maintain a degree of uniformity. We consider this subject occasionally and understand what relevance this practice holds for us today.

I recently remarked, after a particularly beautiful rain, that it was just what my raspberries needed. One individual who heard my comment asked me a simple question, “Do your raspberries have seeds?” I assume that his question meant that he did not appreciate seeds in his raspberries. I thought about Genesis 1:11, where God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself...” From the beginning, before the fall, God planned that fruit would have seeds.