I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Leaving God Out of His Own Story



In the book of Esther, it has been often noted, the name of God does not appear in any verse. None. Yet, as it has also been pointed out, God is everywhere in that book.

As I have reread portions of This Little Life of Mine an autobiographical series of articles published on my website, I have noted that sometimes I have a tendency to leave God out of the narrative, even though I have proclaimed from the beginning that I want this to be a record of the things God has done in my life. I have stated that I do not want this to be about me, but I want it to be, as it should be, about God. Each chapter should be about what God did, not about what I did.

Chalk it up to human nature, the sinful human nature that I possess. That is why I tend to focus on me and not on God. But in this article, I want to focus on God especially. Even though I have sometimes neglected Him in this narrative, the truth is, He has been everywhere in this narrative.

There really is nothing in this narrative that I decided all by myself without the influence of God through His Word or through His Spirit or both. Nothing. Most if not all of the major decisions recorded here were beyond my ability to decide.

Take, for instance, my birth in Canada in 1941. I had no say in when or where I would be born. I had no choice as to who my parents might be. These necessary decisions were not made by me, certainly. Then, who made them? My parents? Not really. Yes, they lived in Canada when I was born, but they did not know prior to my birth that it was me they were bringing into the world. They did not choose me to be their son. They did what was necessary to bring a child into the world, but they did not choose who that child might be. Who did make this choice? The only one who could make that choice is God. And I believe it was His will that I be born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada to Whelan and Edna Parsons on June 5, 1941.

The circumstances of my childhood were also not circumstances over which I had much control. The house we lived in, the food we ate, the relative safety of my Windsor home as compared to the homes of others in, say, Germany, or England, or Japan during those war years, were all circumstances neither I nor my parents could ultimately control. Who did control these various elements? God did. I believe the things I experienced as a child in Windsor during World War II were all things it was God's will that I experience. Even the unpleasant things.

Words were fascinating to me, as I revealed in my book, Windsor's Child. Why? Other children were exposed to the same lessons I had in school, read the same books I read, and learned the same words I did. Why did I develop such a love for words? No doubt my parents, especially my mother who also loved words, and some of my teachers influenced me in this, but ultimately it is God who put me in the place I needed to be to learn what I did, and who put within me the response I had to words. I believe it was God's will that I learn to love words and what could be done with them.

In 1951, my parents decided to move from Windsor to Lincoln Park, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. The move did not involve much distance. We crossed the Ambassador Bridge and drove about six or seven miles to our new home. Yet, in spite of that short distance, I had moved to a different country. Was that just my parents' choice? No, not entirely, because there were factors beyond their control that led them to make that decision. My brother's death at the age of 21 in Windsor, my dad's birth in Detroit as well as his work there, changes in economic factors that reduced the value of his American paycheck in Canadian stores; all of these influenced their decision. But who influenced all these circumstances? God did. I believe it was God's will for me to move to the United States at the age of ten.

You are not going to read in this item that I believe God brought me to this country because it was a land of greater opportunity, or because it was a free country and I was escaping tyranny. This is Canada we are talking about, a land every bit as freedom loving as the USA, and a country that provides more than ample opportunities for its citizens to succeed at whatever they choose to do. God did not bring me here to escape anything or to have a greater opportunity to do anything. The fact is, I do not really know all of why God brought me here at the age of ten. But I am firmly convinced it was His will to do so.

The Christian influences in my life - my mother, a little Baptist church at the end of our street in Windsor, some friends in high school, a girl I had a crush on in high school, things I read, including the Bible - all of these gradually worked on me to get me to the place where, in October of 1958, I established a faith relationship with Jesus Christ that changed my life more than any other decision I have ever made. Although each of the influences listed here played a part, there is no way any group of sinners could have worked together to orchestrate my coming to faith in Christ. If it were to happen, and it did, then God had to do it. I believe it was God's will that I come to faith in Christ at the age of 17 while a student at Lincoln Park High School.

It was my dad's choice that took me to a mainstream protestant church in Lincoln Park. I joined it with him before I came to Christ. After I established my faith relationship with Jesus, I found the church I attended did not preach the gospel or teach the Bible correctly. God led me to First Baptist Church of Lincoln Park where for five years I sat under the teaching of one of the godliest men I have ever known, Dr. Charles R. MacDonald. It was Dr. Mac who taught me the Word of God during those five years and it was Dr. Mac who encouraged me to consider the ministry for my life's work. But it was God who led Dr. Mac to Lincoln Park at that time, and it was God who led me to that church at that time. I believe it was God's will that I sit under Dr. Mac's ministry for those five years.

There were some very dear friends I made while at FBC. Some of them are still friends (via Internet) today. God used them to help shape me into the person He wanted me to be. I believe it was God's will for me to form those friendships with Gary, Jim, Dan, Dave, Anne, Dorothy, Helen, Barb and others whom God used greatly in my life then.

As a young man, I had a series of crushes on a series of young ladies. I really wanted to meet the girl I would spend my life with. God did not put that girl in Lincoln Park. But the girls I did date and enjoyed being with all were used of God to help me grow as a believer. I believe it was God's will that I experience those temporary relationships to help me be prepared for the real relationship when it finally came. I also am convinced it was God who kept me pure for the girl He did give me.

God took me to Grand Rapids, Michigan. God took Linda Hubble to Grand Rapids, Michigan. There He arranged for us to meet and to fall in love. There He helped us arrange our wedding. I believe it was God's will that Linda and I stand before Pastor Norm Hoag on December 28, 1968 in the First Baptist Church of Beech Grove, Indiana and establish a Christian home for His glory.

It was there in Grand Rapids that we met Pastor Jack Bowen and his wife who invited me to go to Flint to serve as his assistant prior to his retirement. I know it was Pastor Bowen's will that I succeed him as pastor there (he told me that was his desire). But I know it was not God's will. However, I believe God took Linda and me to Flint to learn, to grow, to serve and to enjoy his people there.

And, although I don't know all the reasons, I even believe it was God's will that Linda and I have a cat named Nikki and a dog named Laddie instead of children as we did in 1972. Children came later, according to His timing.

So, as you continue to read, if I get caught up in the narration of things that happened, and I forget to mention that God was the only one in full control of everything, please understand this one truth about my life and this narration, the same truth that I mentioned at the beginning, about the book of Esther.

In this narration, God is everywhere, even when He is not given His full and rightful place at the center of my life. The failure is never His, but always mine.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A Sad But Wonderful Sight


It is always sad when an era ends, especially when there is a very strong visual symbol of that ending.

Such a situation is being experienced by those of us who were students and faculty at a small Christian school in Columbus, Ohio. Maranatha Christian School taught students from Kindergarten through twelfth grade for more than 35 years, but in 2004, it closed its doors. Falling enrollment and the move to home schooling among Christian families took their toll on the school's resources.

I had the privilege of teaching English and Bible classes in the junior high and high school for nine school years. I was there during the final year. I helped close the school.

Maranatha Baptist Church, which owned and operated the school, has sought for five years to find a way to use the building, to no avail. Recently the decision was made to demolish the building.

I took my cameras to and into the building to record its final moments. It is a bit eerie to walk the hallway I walked every school day for nine years, and to stand in the classroom where I taught, and look around and see, not my students, but shards of insulation, twisted wires and steel, broken pieces of wood, and holes where once there were windows. It brought back scores of memories and a knot of sadness that it was all over. The death of the building made it all so final.

But for four of the five years since the school closed, I served the church as a deacon and thus was part of the discussions involved in the pursuit of a use for the building. We considered several suggestions, but all would have involved very expensive alterations and updates to the old building. We considered demolition, but the lowest bid we received was $50,000, which we thought was a bit high. We offered the building for free to two different prospective users, but the costs of moving and remodeling the building were excessive. The building, cut off from heat, electricity and life, deteriorated rapidly.

Then came the recession, and a demolition company hard pressed for work offered to do the job for half the bid of five years ago. The congregation voted unanimously (not usual for a Baptist church) to have the building demolished.

Yes, it is sad to stand in the debris of what was once my classroom where I had the privilege of helping young minds to grow into adulthood. But it is also wonderful to see the burden my church has carried in the form of that now useless building finally lifted.

It is a sad, but wonderful sight.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Curse Those Side Effects

I have written before on this blog about how I hate those prescription drug commercials on television; you know, the ones with the bright colors and pretty music and paid actors saying what a wonderful drug this is, oh, but it does have some unpleasant side effects, like warts, constipation, and death. Those commercials.

Well, the current Democratic Congress thinks it can wrangle $30+ billion out of those drug companies by altering the Internal Revenue Code to disallow companies deductions for advertising prescription drugs to the general public. As much as I hate those commercials, and I really do, I don't think I can agree with this proposal.

It is not that I have any love for the big drug companies. I know that for years they have been producing drugs in other countries and using creative bookkeeping to shelter the huge profits they make from the IRS. Maybe Congress should deal with that.

But every company is allowed to deduct advertising expenses. Advertising is a cost of doing business. It would not be fair to deny this deduction to one industry, even though that industry seems to be the most obnoxious in its advertising.

There are also potential free speech issues involved in this proposal. Companies do have a basic right to publicize their products. The media does have the basic right to make income from advertising products and services. This proposal may stomp on these rights.

Instead of changing the IRS code to disallow legitimate deductions, maybe Congress should start figuring out how to collect all those tax dollars drug companies have sheltered in overseas production. Some claim that about 60% of all prescription drug sales are in the United States, but the companies pay taxes on a much lower percentage.

Congress is desperate to find ways to fund President Obama's extremely expensive health care reform. But in seeking a prescription to ease their discomfort, they just might find that the side effects are worse than warts or constipation. It just might spell the death of free speech, at least to one industry.

I would rather use my channel flipper to avoid the drug commercials than to have Congress violate any one's right to free speech.