Reverence

(I wrote this poem ten years ago for brothers Shaun and Brandon Lowenthal, both serving in our nation's military and sons of lifelong friends Frank and Sandy Lowenthal. This is in their honor.)

Out in the desert the brave soldier’s serving;

His life’s on the line every day.

He’s searching for landmines or guarding the post

Or keeping the enemy at bay.

Back home in white buildings are leaders discussing

The pros and the cons of the deal.

The goals in white buildings are in the abstract;

But out in the desert, they’re real.

The aim may be worthy, the plans may be right,

There may be good reasons for strife;

But leaders must ask if the cause for the war

Is as valued as this soldier’s life.

Politicians make choices and risk disapproval

When making their calls from the bench.

They’re praised or condemned for the way that they vote,

But the Hero is out in the trench.

 

Remember the Soldier when 

     judging the merits

Of waging the vigilant fight.

His is the life that should be 

     in the balance when

Weighing if this war was right.

                                   

Streams of Mercy

Come Thou fount of ev'ry blessing.

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace.

Streams of mercy never ceasing

Call for songs of highest praise.

This is the first verse of a well-known hymn penned by Robert Robinson in the 1700's when he was only twenty-two years old. It has been sung for years in the church and has been recorded many times by Christian artists, including the David Crowder Band, Jars of Clay, and Michael W. Smith. The words ring true so it has endured the test of time.

If you've ever seen a guitarist tune a guitar, you know that it's a fairly simple process. She'll usually start by tuning the lowest string, an E,  to a particular point of reference, maybe a nearby piano or perhaps an app on a smartphone. From there, the other five strings are tuned to be in sync with that lowest string. After a couple of minutes, a guitarist with a good ear and a steady hand will have her instrument in tune.


Tuning a piano is much more complicated. A professional piano tuner must be called in to do the job. He'll usually bring with him a tuning fork that, when struck against a hard surface and then held firmly, base down, will resonate a pitch-perfect A. He'll begin the painstaking process of tuning all of the piano's internal strings to align from that perfect pitch...all eighty-eight keys, some with two strings each, some with three. The process may take up to two hours and requires great skill and patience. But when it's done correctly, the instrument is ready to produce amazing musical pieces of great beauty and expression.

I wonder what inspired Robinson to use the phrase "tune my heart to sing thy grace"? Had he just seen a musical instrument tuned? Did this remind him of the work that the Holy Spirit alone can do in our hearts to produce true songs of grace?

I don't know what inspired the imagery of heart tuning, but I am so thankful that Robinson also gave us the phrase "streams of mercy never ceasing." I carry that image in my mind and it comes to the front of my thoughts over and over again.

In the beginning of the Sermon of the Mount, in the section we call "The Beatitudes," Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" (Matt. 5:7). As we extend mercy--compassion, care, giving, empathy--we increase our capacity to receive it in our lives. And as we receive it, we increase our capacity to extend it to others.

However, if we just receive God's gift of mercy--which He has poured out on us so freely and graciously--and do not pass that along to the world around us, we become like a stagnant pond. Have you ever seen a pond that has just become so still and lifeless that it begins to stink and becomes a hazard? Compare that image to a mountain stream with a source flowing endless amounts of crystal pure water into it as the water flows down, pouring onto other rivulets and streams below. "Streams of mercy never ceasing"..."Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."

So what do we do when we have received all this mercy and grace in our lives? What do we do when God's blessings have tuned our hearts to sing out to the world the story of His grace? We seek out opportunities to show mercy. We look for ways to show compassion to those who need...well, to those who need. We live our lives in grace. 

No wonder all of this "calls for songs of highest praise." With our hearts tuned to sing His grace, we're ready to create beautiful music in our world!

Encourage One Another

I love the movie "Hancock." Will Smith plays the title role of an atypical, flying superhero who doesn't understand the rules of being a card-carrying, admirable, respectable hero that people will actually like. So Jason Bateman's character, Ray, takes on the task of educating him as to what that's all about.

The first step toward becoming a true superhero that Hancock needs to learn is how to tell the people around him when they have done a good thing. He literally can't say the words "Good job." So Ray works with him on just those two words..."Good." "Job." And eventually Hancock learns to incorporate the phrase into his life and begins to understand what a difference it makes in his entire world.

We don't have to be superheroes in our world, but we should all learn to be encouragers. Sometimes we dismiss that responsibility by saying it's not our particular "spiritual gift." To borrow a wonderful old Southern term...hogwash! We are all called to encourage the people around us.

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone" (5:11-14, emphasis added).

Notice that Paul didn't say, "If you're good at encouraging..." or "If it's your spiritual gift..." No, he was writing this to everyone in the church at Thessalonica. And he wasn't saying to just encourage the ones who were doing a great job, but also the ones who were worn out and feeling down...the "disheartened."

Look around you. Do you see anyone who could use some encouragement? Do you know someone who would benefit from a kind word or a reminder of how much they mean to you? 

Take a few moments this week to reach out to the people around you and lift up those who are needing some encouragement. Take a lesson from "Hancock" and actually tell the people around you "Good job!" when you see their efforts to do something right.

Who knows...you might just be the hero your world is needing right about now.