"Tight lines" is a blessing fishermen offer each other, a wish for lines taut with the weight of good fish. May God grant that the lines written here be taut with His blessings.
Wednesday, 01 July 2009 | |||
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Thrills and Thorns | |||
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Yesterday was our thirtieth anniversary. Beth and I were
deeply grateful to be celebrating three decades of good marriage. Much of
our joy revolves around two grown daughters who are becoming strong and
faithful Christian young women. It might be easy to be a little smug about our family happiness. In fact, yesterday I filled out yet again an annual report for a sociological study in which we and our youngest daughter have been participating since she was a baby. It seems to center around life success in relation to family relations and the presence or absence of some destructive behaviors. So once again I sat and marked "No" to a long list of questions about smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and use of illegal drugs. I also indicated, as usual, that our family regularly eats meals together, talks about what is happening in our daughters' lives, and enjoys a pretty peaceful atmosphere. Working through the study questionnaire and recalling all the ways families can go wrong might contribute to some smugness. It might be easy to think that our good behavior is the reason we've been able to stick together and raise two good kids. We might very well fall into thinking about married life the way Paul carefully avoided thinking about spiritual life in II Corinthians 12:2-10. Just as Paul made sure to refrain from boasting about his own deep spiritual experience, Beth and I must make sure to give God all the credit for any marital success we've enjoyed. Just for myself, I know that my own flaws make me far from the ideal husband or father. In our text for this week, even Paul recalls an ecstatic spiritual experience far beyond any of which his Corinthian critics might boast. Yet he refuses to boast and also recalls that God gave him a constant reminder of his spiritual and bodily weakness, a "thorn in my flesh." So all that Paul cares to boast about is his weakness, because God's power is made perfect in Paul's weakness. That is what we all ought to say about our own successes, whether marital or financial or athletic or spiritual. God displays His power in our weakness and the glory is all His. One of the perennial questions of Scripture is the nature of Paul's "thorn." Suggestions include epilepsy, poor eyesight, some physical pain, or difficult temptations. One commentator suggests that we're not told the exact nature of the affliction so that more of us might readily identify with the apostle, seeing our own trials in his. That means each of us could well discern our own "thorns," painful gifts from God to keep us humble, even when enjoying worldly or spiritual blessings for a season. | |||
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I am the pastor of Valley Covenant Church in Eugene, Oregon. I love to flyfish and hike along the beautiful rivers in our area. I welcome your comments as I share sermon work in progress and occasional other thoughts.
Thank you for visiting this blog. I invite you also to visit my web page.
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