Tim Kreider

Many people are asking what the purpose of life is. Many cannot seem to find answers to it and commit suicide, etc. This happens among the old and young alike. A number of years ago, I became acquainted with an older man. He seemed to be a decent sort of gentleman, and he became one of my casual friends. He lived alone – his children had moved on to other parts of the country. And then one day I heard he had committed suicide! The family came and took care of his things as if they’d come home for a family reunion. “He was old enough to know his own mind,” they said.

Israel wanted a king. God told Samuel to anoint Saul to be king. 1 Samuel 9:2 tells us that he was tall and extremely handsome. He evidently had a heart of humility (1Sa 9:20,21; 10:21-23). But after two years as king, 1 Samuel 13 paints a different picture of Saul. Now Saul is taking credit for things that happened in his kingdom that he did not do. An observance of the fruit would indicate that he now had a proud heart. 1 Samuel 15:26-28 tells us that God then rejected Saul from being king and gave the kingdom to a neighbor that was better than he.

In our local science center, that we enjoy visiting from time to time, are several mirror displays. These mirrors are all different from the normal mirror we look into at home to get an understanding of our appearance. These mirrors all distort the reflected image. If you don’t like your physic, you can find mirrors that will alter it for you. Short people can see themselves as tall people. Someone who is overweight can see themselves as thin.

As I type this article, I am watching a group of children playing whisper down the lane. As they whisper something from one person to the next, sometimes the message gets to the end in the same fashion as it was originally formed, at times it doesn’t. And then I think about the many who are saying things like this year I am going to… The list of stuff people fill in is practically endless. And yet as day fades into day, the resolve begins to change.

What Does God look like? One of the few memories I’ve retained of my preschool days is standing in the kitchen and having a discussion with mom on this subject. “Is he older than Grandma?” (Grandma was fighting a cancer battle and had aged significantly.) “Did Grandma make God?” I don’t remember any of the other questions but they were probably along the line of “Is he bigger than Daddy” or “Is He stronger than Daddy”.

July 16, 1969 was an extremely special day for mankind. The excitement ran high as millions of people watched with interest as Apollo 11 left the earth. Its Saturn V rocket with an excess of 150 million horsepower was hurtling it to space with the mission to put 2 of the 3 men inside it on the moon. It was an amazing display of power. It showed what the coordinated effort of many men could do.

In Judges 17:6 we have recorded, “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” This sad commentary is again given as a summary in the last verse of Judges. As we read Judges and first Samuel we see the same was holding true among the priests as well. As we follow Israel’s history, 1 Samuel records that they opted to fix this by anointing a king. King Saul started in humility, but already in 1 Samuel 13, he too was doing that which was right in his own eyes. What happened to the standard?

My mind right now is being drawn to an incident that happened to me many years ago. It was winter and I was on a private pond with some siblings and friends doing some ice skating. The pond had an island with a bridge connecting it to the mainland. As we chased each other over the ice, we would circle the island and duck under the bridge as we glided on. All too soon it was time to go home. I had skated for quite a while already, but I decided to quick get some more skating in before we had to leave for home. I sped around the pond as fast as my skates would carry me.

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!

Young Pedro was walking on the way to high school. When he got to the railroad track, the crossing gates were down and a train approaching. He made a run for it. But he had missed his mark by 15 inches. He was struck by the train. The efforts of emergency crews were of no avail. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Fifteen inches for poor Pedro was the difference between life and death. He was probably planning on another typical school day, but it turned out so differently.