A while ago, I asked a Christian who was the president of a large and complex organization, “How do you keep it all together?  How do you stay on top of all that’s happening?”  His response was, “The weight is actually too much for me to carry on my own.  That’s why I have to give it to Him.  If I take my eyes off the Lord, I would be crushed by the load.”

That’s a sobering reminder that God doesn’t give us just difficult tasks.  He sometimes gives us impossible tasks, ones that we can’t do in our own energy and ingenuity.  God sometimes gives us stuff that is more than we can handle.  Every assignment that comes from God is a requirement for us to come crying out to Him and to crawl into His lap and say, “God, if you don’t provide what I need, I’m not going to be able to do what You’ve called me to do.”  It often takes much more than what we have to lead God’s people and to implement what He wants done.

Solomon was very much aware of that when he became king after his father’s death.  Can you imagine taking over the throne from his dad David – a legend?  David was called the greatest king that Israel ever had.  So poor Solomon is going to sit on that throne and implement what God has placed His hand on him to do.

In 1 Kings 3:7-9, Solomon realizes the enormity of his situation and prays to God, “O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.  Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.  So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (NIV)

In his prayer, Solomon expresses four things. First, he says, “God, I’m not as experienced as my father. I don’t know what I’m doing.” That’s also the second observation. Solomon basically says in his prayer, “I really don’t know what to do. God, I need help.” Third, there is a general expression of the enormity of the responsibility: “This is a great people, with a great heritage and a great background, and I’m out of my element.” The fourth thing is really the essence of his cry to God: “I need wisdom. Will you give me what I need to do the work that you’ve given me?”

God loves it when we are completely dependent on Him.  What makes us competent to lead others and get the job done is the realization that we desperately need God and His wisdom.

Nathan Wong, Vancouver 

For those who are not familiar with C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, Puddleglum is a brave but glum creature. He is always expecting the worst.

Calling someone Puddleglum is not exactly a compliment, yet this was the nickname Billy Graham’s family gave him. Of course, they did so with affection and humour.

When we speak of Billy Graham who has been called “American’s pastor”, we think of him as a world famous evangelist, a caring leader and a loving husband. We would never dream of him being nicknamed Puddleglum. Obviously his family and closest friends saw a side in him that the public did not — a dubious, pessimistic tendency that Billy had to fight constantly. (1)

It is truly an irony that year after year Billy Graham has appeared in Good Housekeeping as one of the most admired leaders. All these leaders have one characteristic in common: they were all positive people.

The Bible is full of such ironies. An adulterous king David is called “a man after God’s heart”. A timid Abraham who asked his wife to pretend to be his sister later became the father of faith. An apostle who denied Christ three times later became the pillar of the New Testament church. A Pharisee named Saul who threatened to abort the Christian church later became Paul, the apostle to the gentiles.

The reason the Bible records the stories of so many people is not to tell us to shape up and imitate them. None of them deserves our unreserved modelling. Their stories reveal to us what raw materials God has to work with. However, when they are willing to yield their lives to God, God used them in ways that they never dreamt of.

As the Contempo story continues to unfold, there will be many similar ironies: timid employees opening the spiritual eyes of their supervisors, patients in the depth of sickness showing care to their physicians, students revealing the power of prayer to their professors, established professionals learning from the young career people, the scattered church strengthening the gathered church, working well during the weekdays enabling us to worship better on Sundays …..

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. For when I am weak, I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:9-10)  That is the message of Puddleglum.

(1) H. Myra & M. Shelley, The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham for Graduates (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2006) p.59.

Clement Yeung

One of the central themes in the Bible is that God is the Creator of the world. “The earth is the Lord’s, and every in it, the world, and all who live in it, for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” (Psalm 24:1-2)  Creation implies God’s authority over and possession of the world.  The doctrine of creation has important implications for our understanding of the everyday world and our place in it.  There is a growing realization today that past and present generations have seriously abused that trust by exploiting creation and its resources.  There is also a real danger that the harm done to creation may be irreversible.
 
So how should marketplace Christians react to the issues of pollution, global warming, deforestation, holes in the ozone layer, and so on?  The problem is most Christians are divided about how to react.  I can think of at least three main reactions. Some say that the whole Green Movement is closely tied to the New Age and the occult, and Christians should stay well clear.  A second view is that such concerns are irrelevant; they don’t really concern Christians and are distractions from the central issues of evangelism, revival, church planting, etc.  A third view says environmental concerns are legitimate and some Christians are called to work in that area, but it’s not something that we all need to be concerned about; it’s incidental but important enough that somebody (as long as it’s not me) does something about it.  Many Christians in the marketplace, including myself, tend to go along with this view because we are just too busy with our daily activities.  Unless our work is specifically in the environmental fields, many do not see themselves as being active participants.
 
My visit to the A Rocha (www.arocha.org) field study centre near Vancouver affirmed a fourth view - that care about the environment is integral to the Christian faith and not merely an optional extra.  Because “the earth is the Lord’s,” creation is not ours; instead we hold it in trust for God.  We are meant to be stewards of God’s creation and therefore are responsible for the manner in which we exercise that stewardship. This insight has important consequences for our everyday behaviour.  We may be superior to the rest of creation and exercise authority over it, but we remain under God’s authority and so are responsible to the Creator for the way in which we treat the creation.
 
Christians are deeply involved in caring for the poor, in seeking justice for the oppressed, in trying to save unborn children, so why not also the Kingdom work of caring for creation?  What is the ultimate pro-life issue if it isn’t the survival of the planet we live on?

In terms of practical action, I believe the Spirit is calling us first to repent of our misuse of creation, of our destruction of God’s handiwork.  Secondly, we need to rejoice in God’s good creation.  Spend time in nature.  Have times with God in listening to Him speak through His creation.  Finally, get involved with renewal and restoration by examining our lifestyle and our use of resources.

About a year ago, I bought a hybrid Toyota Camry.  It’s the greatest thing since sliced bread.  Even though I do the same amount of driving, I now fill up only twice a month compared to once a week with my other car.  I feel good being able to save on my monthly fuel bill, but more importantly, I’m reducing harmful emissions to the environment.

Enjoy the rest of summer!

Blessings,

Bill Wong on the West Coast