A Mother’s Voice

Sully, our yellow Lab puppy, is 5 months old. He is 95% wonderful – affectionate, obedient, funny, etc. But his love for other dogs causes trouble. If he sees another dog and I don’t have a good hold on his leash, off he goes. His passion for four-legged friends makes him ignore the danger of crossing the street as well as my urgent commands and pleas. This drives me crazy.

Mothers know something about that feeling of desperation. After years of prayer and training, mothers ultimately watch their children run off according to their own passions.

Today I honor three mothers – Sarah Davis Loftin, Carolyn Covington Loftin and Ashley Loftin Gilland. God used and is using their faith, knowledge, life experience, prayerful sensitivity and undying love to provide guidance for their children. Like other children, I listened at times, but sometimes my passions made me run headlong, foolishly. Sorry Mom.

Although only God is characterized by perfect love, these mothers have shown their children unfailing love. Their love has involved patience, forgiveness, pain, joy, celebration, prayer and hope. Their love has honored Christ.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers and potential mothers! May all your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and beyond remember your voice and the voice of the One you follow.

Faithful Lovers

Weddings are full of emotion. As I stood by Jonathan (my son) last Saturday, tears came flooding in at several points. I could feel the eyes of Ashley and Meme (my daughters), but I knew better than to look in their direction. With Herculean effort, I stayed somewhat composed.

There were many intense moments in the service for this “best man.” When beautiful Mary Ashton stepped out from the rear lobby and made her way down the aisle to stand with her groom. The tender exchange of vows. The music. And there was an unexpected exhilaration as Pastor David read the Scripture.

I have attended and performed about two hundred weddings, and many of them included a reading of I Corinthians 13, “The Love Chapter.” But this time was different.

Yes, the chapter pertains to the love of husband and wife. And, yes, it is a challenge for all our relationships. But I had missed a broader and perhaps more profound application.

We all know that love is not primarily an emotion. It is an unconditional commitment characterized by tangible actions on behalf of others. But when we connect I Corinthians 13 with the parable of the Great Commandment (Mt. 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19-20), the Love Chapter becomes far more than a wedding text.

If I am not finding ways to use the resources God has entrusted to me (energy, time, finances, prayer, influence, etc.) to communicate and demonstrate God’s love to those who are not aware of God’s grace, then all my religious activities are in vain. They may be well intended, but if my prayers, worship, stewardship, and Bible study are not accompanied and flavored by a participation in God’s mission in the world, I am not faithfully loving Jesus.

Pray that we will all be “faithful lovers” for the glory of God and the good of the world.

Listen to this song, People of God by Michael Gungor; I think its lyrics relate well to these thoughts.

Hasta Luego vs. Goodbye

Life is full of farewells. A child goes off to college, gets married, heads off to a new job, joins the military or goes to the mission field. Friends move to another church or relocate to another city. A spiritual mentor takes a different position. Or a loved one passes away.

Next Monday my sweet mother will have surgery for colon cancer. The prognosis is actually great. As long as she survives the shock of surgery itself, she should not have to face chemo or radiation. Sarah Loftin is 85 years old.

I fully expect Mama to survive the ordeal of surgery, by the grace of God. So my ramblings here are not about death, but rather about the farewells of life.

Consider two phrases used for farewell. Goodbye is a rather dismal although well-intentioned parting. A few months ago our daughter Meme was packing up her car in order to head back to Mississippi State. In a moment of fatherly tenderness, I whispered to her, “Goodbye, baby.” To which Meme responded, “Daddy! Don’t be so….. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.” She had the right perspective.

That’s why I like the Spanish farewell. Hasta luego is full of hope and faith - “I will see you later.” Hasta luego reminds me of the certainty of sunrise no matter how dark the night. I think of the new heaven and new earth made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rev. 21:1-4).

No matter what shakes our world – earthquakes or surgery – Christians never have to say goodbye. On Monday January 18 I will kiss my mother and tell her, “See you later.” And I will.

Thank you for praying for Sarah Loftin, and her four children, Beverly, Pat, Kathy and James. God is faithful.

How can I be praying for you?

Vampire Confessions

As of today Twilight New Moon made history by becoming the third biggest grosser in box office sales worldwide = $259 million in three days. This success and the current cultural fascination with all things vampire got me thinking.

I have a confession to make. I WAS A VAMPIRE… and sometimes I relapse into my old blood-sucking ways.

Dallas Willard has defined vampire Christians this way. One in effect says to Jesus: “I’d like a little of your blood, please. But I don’t care to be your student or have your character. In fact, won’t you just excuse me while I get on with my life, and I’ll see you in heaven.”

The gracious blood of Christ on Calvary cleansed me of all sin, wiped away my shame, and launched me on a journey of faith. But I sometimes fall back into the self-centered thoughts, words and actions that dominated my pre-Christian days. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about the type behaviors that make headlines. I’m talking about a preoccupation with all things “mine” – family, friends, work, etc. These are all good things in and of themselves. But my preoccupation with them can easily distort the biblical priorities for Christ followers.

One example. Almost all prayer requests deal with issues directly related to the life of the person making the request. There is nothing wrong with asking for prayer for my job, my health, my mother’s care, my friend’s wife or even my dog. But if this type need dominates my life and prayers, what does that tell me about my faithfulness to Jesus’ core calling to follow Him in service to others? My prayers have sometimes sounded like, “Jesus bless me, my family and my friends. Thanks. Bye.”

This kind of “discipleship” does not honor Christ or further His mission in the world. This lifestyle is a vampirist caricature in which religious people try to suck blessings out of the Savior while continuing to live by their own interests. God help us.

Pray for me. I want to be a man that allows the blood of Christ to move me beyond selfishness to servanthood. I want to be faithful to my family and friends, but also join God’s mission to lost and hurting people beyond my circle of intimacy and comfort. I don’t want to be a vampire.

Carolyn and I will celebrate Thanksgiving with all our clan in Mississippi this week. We have a lot for which to give thanks. God is good.

Speak

I read through the Book of Job this week. The issue of suffering (and the little piece of global suffering that I experience) was not the primary message I received in my current reading of this heavy book.

Most of this portion of God’s inspired Word is full of talking heads and wagging tongues. There is a lot of discussing, correcting and challenging. But there is little listening. Job talks. His three friends talk. Finally young Elihu talks. Talk, talk, talk.

By the time I began chapter 37, I was weary of the “talk” of mere mortals, Job and his four counselors. I know how the Book of Job ends, and I was anxious to get to the good part – “Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm…” (38:1ff).

Honestly, I sometimes grow weary of my own wagging tongue and the flapping lips of others. Don’t get me wrong. Like some of the words of Job’s four friends, many of the words I hear are helpful, godly, wise and accurate. But deep in my soul, there is a longing. Perhaps you have felt it… or feel it now.

I want to hear from God.

“God, I want and need to hear from You today. Quiet my wagging tongue. Speak to me, holy and loving LORD.”

Travel Update – I hit the road again tomorrow (November 11) and look forward to visiting with friends and church leaders in Tallahassee, Niceville, Fort Walton Beach, Mobile, Jackson, Starkville, Birmingham and Atlanta. I’ll be flying pretty low – returning home on November 16. Thanks for praying.