The Shepherd Calls

Some time ago I answered a knock on our door and looked straight into the face of a friend. He said, “I was just passing by and thought I would stop and see you.” It turned out he was there on purpose, not “just passing by.”

God seldom gives us a roadmap for the future. Instead, God instructs us to put our hand in his hand and walk into the “newness.”

Chaos! Boxes everywhere. We wind our way through stacks of boxes to every destination in the house. We are moving. Land-wise the move is not distant, only about 100 miles. Work-wise however, the distance might as well be across the ocean.

Much of today’s news is about immigration. Perhaps we should focus on the immigrants rather than rules and regulations. I must admit I am biased, since two of our four children came from Korea.

No doubt, you have noticed we humans are not designed like Janus, the Roman mythological god. Perhaps there is a lesson in that bit of anatomy.

In the July 15, 2018, Kansas City Star, Darryl Levings tells the story of William Thomas, who built a sail wagon in 1853. It was 25 feet long with wheels 12 feet in diameter. It sported a large sail, complete with a “handler” high above. He proposed to use this vehicle to transport goods over the Santa Fe Trail and to find Spanish silver.

It was the thirteenth time I preached the “May Meeting” at this lovely church. I’ve watched as their membership shrinks each year. I want to be of help to them, but I live nearly 500 miles away. It is unlikely my preaching there three or four times a year will bring much change.

I sent word I could not attend. There was an important meeting. Attending the reunion would mean traveling for three consecutive weekends. That would mean driving thousands of miles; and, like me, my car was aging.

The arrival of radio as mass media in the early twentieth century was heralded by many sincere Christians as a gift of God for propagating the gospel. Suddenly, there was a means of communicating God’s message of redemption with large audiences.

It was 40 years ago, but I remember it like yesterday. My sister called, “We took Mom to the hospital today. It’s her heart. Doesn’t sound good.”