Category Archives: Morning Thoughts

Morning Thoughts (I Corinthians 13:11)

Morning Thoughts,

I Corinthians 13:11, "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

This morning, there are benefits and drawbacks to each stage of life. One of the benefits of youth is the vitality and energy that accompanies it. Yet, far too often that energy is "wasted on the young" since they do not have a good knowledge base to draw from when using it. On the other hand, the aged many times have the wisdom that comes from years of experience but very little energy left to accompany the increased knowledge and temperance. Yet, one difference between the young and aged is undeniable from Scripture: they do think differently. When you were young, did you ever say you would not end up like your parents? As you grew older, they seemed to get smarter until you might consider it an honour to be even half of what they were. What changed? Some cases might have the parents changing with age (becoming more mature themselves), but so many times, the change comes when the children grow into adults to see just "why" their parents did most of the things that they did.

As Paul comes to our study verse in the midst of the "love chapter" of the Bible, we could draw many different points out from it, but there is really only one that we desire to investigate this morning. Considering the context of this passage, what is the subject under consideration? The entire division is devoted to a discussion of charity (love in action), and as Paul winds the discussion down, he points to a day when charity will be all that remains world without end. To illustrate that point, Paul shows the difference between childish and manly thinking. While some of the thoughts from childhood carry over, many do not make it into adulthood. Likewise, we know some things now about the world to come, but many things will not carry over when our change comes.

As the years pass by and I grow increasingly older (though still not old by many people's estimation), the more I see our culture being overrun by "overgrown children." While their chronology indicates adulthood, their thinking indicates childishness. Even though some aspects of childhood should be kept as we grow older – such as not holding grudges (I Corinthians 14:20) – there are many things that our thinking should change about when developing into adults. As the maturing process takes place, we need to see things in a more developed and thoughtful way, rather than taking the rash and impulsive knee-jerk that seems to be the child's way of rationalizing and deducing things.

Yet, in keeping with the subject of the passage, what about charity needs development in our minds as we grow older? Whether in speaking, thinking, or understanding (Paul lists all three), we need to put away what a child thinks about love in action. How does a child view the subject of love? How do they act on it? While there are cases and examples of children that showed great love and were more the "exception than the rule," we will confine these thoughts to the general principle of the matter. Most children fall into the "puppy dog love" syndrome. Their idea of love equates to the feeling one gets when they hold their first puppy or pet.

While those emotions and feelings are certainly special, that is still a childish understanding of love. Most marriages today seem to fail because people just "don't feel like they did before." Since the feeling is gone, the marriage dissolves. Friends, love – and more especially charity – equates to more than a feeling that is similar to puppy love, yet so many adults today have not put away childish things in that matter. If the feeling departs for a season, a man should understand that love is more than some feeling but a deep-rooted commitment that demands sacrifices in our lives.

Another aspect of childish love is the short-term nature of it. Everything with children seems to be short-term. They get sick quickly. They get well quickly. They get mad in a hurry, but they can make up in a hurry. Sometimes, those "lovey feelings" are the same. How often does a child become bored with a new toy or go from one thing to the next? Childish romances at school sometimes last a day or a week. Someone they could not live without yesterday, they will totally forget about tomorrow. Should our love and charity be such in our homes, marriages, churches, communities, etc? Perish the thought!

One last aspect of childish love before we talk about manly things is that children sometimes sacrifice their morals for "love or affection." How quickly will a child lie to fit in with the crowd? How often will they do something they know to be wrong just to please the girl of their affection? Too many times, childish thinking about affection takes a turn for bad judgment, particularly in the discernment between right and wrong. Again, should this kind of behaviour affect us as adults in the world in which we live?

There is a great danger in thinking that love is a feeling, when that could best be described as being "in love." One thing that I tell couples before I perform a wedding ceremony is that there will be days when they do not feel "in love" with one another. Yet, the vows taken in marriage mean more than the "in love" feeling. The commitment to sacrifice for each other (charity) should mean more than how they feel today. That is manly or grownup thinking that comes with wisdom, seasoning, and maturity. As the marriage pillars seem to crumble in the world today, too many times the reason is that "adult children" are treating their marriage like childish crushes on the playground. Charity demands more deep and grounded commitment than that.

Likewise, there is a great danger when every little problem in a marriage, family, church, etc leads to such an offense that ties are severed. When couples in a marriage fight, that should not immediately signal the end of the marriage, nor should a disagreement in the church fellowship immediately signal severance of fellowship ties. Marriages should be till death do us part, and even heretical thinking deserves two admonitions. Yet, the childish way is to immediately get mad at one another and not talk to one another. The adult thing to do is come together, reason with one another, and seek to arrive at the truth of the situation.

And, as seems so rampant today, childish adults are allowing their immature thinking to cloud the "right vs. wrong" line much like children trying to please each other. Love cannot be shown in a relationship that the Lord calls abominable (homosexuality); love cannot be the reason that marriages fall apart (even though someone may claim to have found their soulmate in someone else). Love cannot be shown by allowing error through the door of churches in the name of "love and peace." Rather, love can be shown in how we deal with any of these situations, but love cannot be shown in those actions themselves. The first is a clear-cut case of unnatural affection, the second is a case of excuse for lustful desire outside of the marriage, and the last is a case of tender cowardice. Love is neither harsh nor cowardly, but in action (charity) is bold to withstand iniquity, but also patient to avoid trouble.

Considering the ultimate example of Charity in our Lord Jesus Christ, He never condoned or excused sin or error, yet He was merciful to those so undeserving of it. While the childish way likes to excuse wrong, He never did. While the childish way does not hold on to things very long, He holds us eternally in His arms. While the childish way acts upon feeling, He acted upon the good pleasure of His will and purpose to fulfill all that He intended to, even when the arrows of pain and death were upon Him. Certainly, the feeling of "puppy dog love" was not apparent on Calvary, particularly with Him feeling what we should have felt, but that never dampened His love for us in the slightest. Therefore, may our thoughts of love, acts of charity, and understanding on the subject be rooted in the commitment and constancy of it, the true source of it, and the moral discernment that comes with it.

In Hope,

Bro Philip

Morning Thoughts (Mark 14:9)

Morning Thoughts,

Mark 14:9, "Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her."

Man spends much time raising monuments and other such things to commemorate his existence and cement his "legacy" for years to come. Natural man decidedly desires to have some portion of him live on even when his natural existence is over. Kings in days gone by wanted more than anything to have a male heir to carry on the family throne but also that a portion of them would be carrying on in that position of power. God's children should devote decidedly more time looking to serve God today rather than be concerned about being remembered tomorrow. Yet, on some occasions, men and women of faith will be remembered in days to come after their lives are past and gone: Hebrews 11 is a good example of such testimonies after people are dead. Yet, one thing that usually confounds man is this point: people are more apt to remember the legacy of those that did not strive for it. Those that spend a lot of time and energy so that others will remember them, what they did, and how they did it will often be less remembered than those who simply lived their lives and did the best that they could.

Our study verse presents some very interesting language. The setting for the verse is that Christ is dining in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper. He is a mere days away from His great suffering and ultimate victory at Calvary. While eating, a woman enters with precious ointment to anoint the head of Jesus Christ. Since this ointment is presented as being great and costly, there is an immediate uproar among those that sat at meat. Their thought was that the ointment was wasted when the money spent on it could have been given to the poor. Now, let us consider that thought a moment. Noble intent is it not? Giving to the poor of this world is certainly a selfless act of charity. Yet, when put side-by-side with the Master, the poor fade from the picture rather fast.

Christ immediately rebukes those that would trouble this woman and makes the obvious point that is not obvious to many today. Christ plainly states that the poor will ALWAYS be in this world. He hearkens their attention to an Old Testament principle (Deuteronomy 15:11) that poor people will always exist. It would do well for us today to consider that no matter the effort put in poverty will never be extinct from this earth. Poverty will always plague this sin-cursed world, and while we should do good to those less fortunate, we cannot hope to eliminate it completely. The greater point that Christ makes is that since they are ever present, the ability to give to their need will be available in the future. What about this woman's ability to give of herself to the Saviour? In the way that she has shown her love and devotion to Him, that time was drawing close to an end, and therefore her work on Him met with His approval.

Christ further bolsters the point and importance of her work in that she anointed His body to the burying. By doing what she did, she showed forth what great things He would suffer for His own in that He would die (hence be buried). Finally, one last point before we get to our verse. While what she did was quite costly by worldly standards and met with the disapproval of the disciples and others, her work was quite small in comparison to being put to death for the sins of God's family and going to the grave. Yet, Christ commended her noble work by saying is was what "she could." She did not have the ability to do Christ's work, but she did what she could. We do well to heed to that principle today. We may not be able to do what Christ did or even rise to the level of doing what others may do (such as not being called to preach), but our purpose in serving Christ is to do what we are able to do.

Getting to our study verse, we see that Christ declares that this situation would be spoken of often whenever the gospel went forth. What this woman did would be a testimony to her efforts. Now, let us ask a simple question. In all the years you may have been in the church, listening to the gospel proclaimed, and hearing brethren discuss the Bible, just how often is this account brought up? Christ says that wheresoever the gospel is preached, this would be spoken of. What she did would be remembered for generations to come. Have men failed through the centuries to speak of this account often? While there is certainly no harm in preaching from this passage as there are many rich nuggets in it, Christ's point is somewhat bigger than that.

I remember as a young boy reading I Corinthians 2:2 thinking that every sermon had to talk about the crucifixion. When I realized that was not the case, I came to realize that every sermon should have Christ contained therein with the understanding that without Him, nothing else matters or is worthwhile. This passage contains something very similar to that. While we may not necessarily preach from this passage all that often, the heart of the passage is preached on a regular basis. This woman, Christ declared, wrought a good work upon Him. Her anointing of His body showed her love and devotion to Him and a willingness to part with natural things to show it.

Today, we do not have the physical body of Christ to go to, but by His Spirit, we assemble together, meet with Him in spirit and in truth, and as an assembly, represent or typify the body of Christ. Each of us are members in particular of a local assembly or body, and each congregation comes together to crown her Head and King Jesus. When this woman broke that box of ointment all over His head, we see an action that shows an understanding of His kingship. Old Testament kings were anointed with oil on their head as a sign to the right to the throne. Christ did not need this action from her to make Him King, but it shows an act of faith that she worshipped Him as King.

As our voices raise in song, prayers ascend on high, and preaching sounds forth in our courts, we attempt in our efforts to crown Him Lord of all. In so crowning Him in our efforts, the body of Christ is benefited and anointed as well. This ointment that she used was identified as being worth three hundred pence. That fiscal amount equated to much more than the amount the apostles mentioned to feed the 5,000 with a crumb or two apiece. (John 6:7) Depending on one's occupation, three hundred pence could equate to a whole year's wages. Therefore, knowing the magnitude of the monetary things that she sacrificed, how much ointment was there? That much ointment probably had the same effect that Aaron's did, in that it ran down from his head to the bottom of his skirts. (Psalm 133) As the body of Christ had ointment running down everywhere, so the blessings today in His service run down from the Head to every member that is there united.

As this woman, our efforts may seem small in comparison to His. To many today, giving up a year's worth of wages would be mighty indeed, but it is still small in comparison to the Master. Our hearts may say, "I cannot do the things that others do such as preach." Yet, God has given each member of the body honour and uses that benefit the entire body. As the ointment ran down, the whole body was benefited, and as we serve Christ and one another today, the whole body is benefited.

Now to the last two points, which are the testimony and the primary focus. Christ said that what this woman did would be a memorial of her, and she did it aforehand specifically for His burying. Today, people who see the saints of God gathered in His courts selflessly serving their Master with love, devotion, and care one to another it is a testimony that the same care this woman had for the Master's physical body, we have today for the body of the Lord's bride. She did it looking forward to the burying of that body in death, and we do it today commemorating that death, burial, and resurrection that was the only thing to bring us unto God. Truly, as the ages of time have rolled on, the truth of this majestic work has been faithfully honoured and proclaimed, and the people that gloriously worship and crown that effort have been some of the most loving and selfless people the world has ever known. Their efforts seem strange to others, wasted by more, and foolish to most. Yet, no matter what anyone standing by thinks, the peace which passeth understanding in our heart and soul, "Well done, you did what you could" from His still, small voice makes the effort worthwhile.