Sacrificial Love – A Mother and Her Children

Posted on May 10, 2020 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

As this Mother’s Day winds down, it occurs to me that there may be no love in human relationships more ferocious and personal–or more like God’s love–than the love a mother feels for her children.

I’m a dad, so I don’t mean to down-play a father’s love for his kids. I would have (and still would) give my life for my children, and I know many dads feel the same. But moms give their lives into their children better than dads do. For a mom, their kids’ problems become their problems. When a child’s heart is broken by a friend (or boy/girlfriend), or by not being selected for a team or to play a part in the school play, their mom’s heart breaks for them even more than a dad’s does. Moms seem to be quicker to forgive and more full of grace. Moms are more likely to love so much it hurts.

These all describe attributes of God’s love for us.

Jesus loved and honored his mother. Joseph would have had a significant influence on him, of course, but we don’t hear anything more about him in the Bible after he and Mary almost lose Jesus when he was 12 years old (“Oops, we lost the King of the Universe, let’s go back…”). This, of course, isn’t to say that fathers aren’t important (they are), but I’m only pointing out that God the Son clearly experienced the special bond a child has with his/her mother.

I’ve heard of situations where people have struggled with the idea that God is a loving father because their earthly fathers were horrible to them or abandoned them. And they have a hard time trusting or loving God as a result. I wonder if it would help them at all to instead think of how their mother has loved them.

Anyway, it is with all this in mind that I wish all moms, moms-to-be, and women striving to be moms a happy and blessed Mother’s Day. Thank you for painting the best picture of sacrificial love that there is this side of heaven.

In Memorium, fondly remembering my mom and mother-in-law:  Nancy Carpenter and Patricia Little.

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Why Moses Couldn’t Go Into the Promised Land

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

In (virtual) church today, we heard a great sermon today by Pastor Andrew Arndt from New Life Church (East) about the end of Moses’ life, as recounted in Deuteronomy 34 (also the end of that book, as well the Torah). Although it wasn’t central to the sermon, Andrew mentioned that Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land because of a little episode that happened many years earlier in Kadesh (as told in Numbers 20).

In a nutshell, the Israelites had been in the Desert of Zin for about a month, and there was no water to be found anywhere, so the people came after Moses and Aaron. They went to God and fell facedown before Him. God told Moses to speak to the rock and water will pour forth from it. Moses did as he was told–almost. Instead of speaking to the rock, in his anger about this rebellion, Moses struck the rock with his staff. God still produced the desired result–water did, in fact, pour from the rock–but because Moses didn’t completely obey God (he hit the rock instead of speaking to it), God told him he wouldn’t get to enter the promised land.

The apparent unfairness in this situation drew quite a visceral reaction from my wife, and rightfully so. I mean, Moses served God faithfully doing a job he didn’t even want, leading the people of Israel, for 40 years! But he makes one little mistake and then he doesn’t get to enter the promised land–where’s the justice in that? What about forgiveness?

Here is my take, or at least the first part of my answer:  God knows our hearts. If we do the right thing for the wrong reason, I think God would prefer we not do it at all. God asked Moses to speak to the rock to draw forth the water, but Moses, because he was angry with the Israelites, hit the rock instead of speaking to it. In other words, he didn’t do it out of love, but more out of frustrated obedience. The results still seemed good to us, but we can’t see the dark river flowing through Moses’ heart in that moment the way God can.

Bottom line for this part of it:  in everything we do, we need to do it out of love–for God and for others. If we serve at the food bank or soup kitchen or mission field (or write blogs!), but we don’t do it out of love, we’re better off not doing it. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13 (“the love chapter”), if I do all sorts of holy, godly things, “but do not have love, I am nothing”. No word or story is in the Bible by accident, so it’s possible this little lesson in “unfairness” from the life of Moses is meant to remind us of this.

Also, we have to remember that there are parts of every story that God sees and knows that we can’t possibly see or know. When we judge this story to be unfair, we see that God shows Moses the promised land from Mount Nebo, then Moses dies. We think, The End. Roll the credits on an unhappy ending.

But wait. We who believe in heaven have to remember that when Moses dies viewing the earthly promised land, he passes into the eternal Promised Land. Maybe God kept him out of the earthly promised land so all of us who came later can learn this lesson, but also in the same instant welcomed him into heaven with a warm embrace and a “Well done, good and faithful servant.” All is forgiven after all.

And one last quick thought–Moses was not perfect. We are told of only one “little” slip-up during 40 years of leading the Israelites, which is an outstanding track record, but let’s not forget that he had murdered someone 40 years prior to being called by God to lead the people of Israel. But none of us is perfect, so it’s really good news that Moses wasn’t either, yet God chose him to do great things for the Kingdom!

There is only one perfect person who ever lived:  Jesus. And he’s just the guy to lead us all into the Promised Land. Take His hand and come along too!

 

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Not Equipped?

Posted on April 27, 2020 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

I was recently reminded of the bleak but genius “Hunger Games” series of books by Suzanne Collins. Her writing is full of insightful observations on the human condition, and one quote that came to mind in the midst of this pandemic and looming economic crisis was, “…sometimes things happen to people and they’re not equipped to deal with them.”

How many of us or people we know are not equipped to deal with the isolation, uncertainty, or worse predicaments that accompany COVID-19 or its economic impacts?

Defining moments come into our lives when situations arise and we’re not sure we’re equipped to deal with them–or worse, maybe we’re sure we’re not equipped to deal with them. Whether we realize it or not, we often have a choice to accept defeat, to admit that the circumstances were too overwhelming for us, or we can rise up to battle the difficulties before us and achieve success.

Of course, the stories we love to be a part of or watch movies about are those where we (or the hero) overcome impossible odds to reach our goals. But no matter how determined we may be, at some point (and maybe that time is now), each of us will eventually encounter situations where we reach the end of ourselves, where all hope is lost.

Or is it?

If the end of ourselves is where we finally let God take over, then we should not lose hope–far from it! God is where problems go to get fixed! God is the giver of the strength we never knew we had! I always chuckle to myself when I’m with a group of believing friends and we reach a point in trying to solve our problems where we’re out of answers, so we say something like, “I guess there’s nothing more we can do except pray.” Nothing more we can do?? Calling on the power of the Creator of the universe, on Him who brought Jesus back from the dead, is where we should START! It’s not the consolation prize.

He can and will and does equip us to deal with anything, if we ask Him.

Here are some encouraging insights along these lines from Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (4:6-7, NIV, my emphasis added)

“I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (4:13, HCSB, my emphasis added)

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Being Resurrected by the Resurrected King

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

One week removed from Easter, how are you feeling now? How long did the Easter glow last?

For me, Holy Week 2020 was a deeper, richer experience than normal, thanks to the forced rhythm of life being slower this year than it usually is. But even still, it didn’t take long for the warmth, the feeling of confident trust in our God to get mixed into the drudgery and worries of everyday life. Maybe the glow lasted until Tuesday?

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I don’t know about you, but I’d really like to get it back. I yearn to live every moment of every day in the warm candlelight of God’s companionship. But how can we get back to that in the midst of our unprecedented and discomforting reality? That’s the challenge, the secret passage that ends up leading us to a place where we, like the Apostle Paul, could sing hymns praising God even in a dank and disgusting prison cell.

Part of the answer is in the blessed assurance that all followers of Christ should feel–that our final destination in heaven with Jesus, our loved ones, and our favorite dogs has been secured for us by our Savior. That thought should lead us to a place of joy regardless of our current earthly circumstances.

But there’s another piece to the puzzle as well. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” So if we are to think of every step we take with Him as Life, then it’s logical to think of every step we take away from Him as being death. I think about how alive I feel after an amazing church service or time of prayer and worship–and after an entire Holy Week of walking with Jesus to the cross and the empty tomb on Easter–and this is consistent with Jesus being Life. On the other side of the coin, I think about how blah I feel when I let myself forget how much smaller my problems are than my God, and that also seems consistent with my definition of death–steps taken away from Jesus.

I don’t think we get to the point of feeling rotten or sad or depressed all at once. We get there one step at a time when those steps are taken away from Jesus. Little bits of ourselves die with every fearful thought. Or every time we hate or lust or are greedy. Unfortunately, the list goes on and on. We are broken beings born into a broken world that’s ruled by one who is all too happy to grab us by the hand and lead us down any of those broken paths, smiling his oily grin the whole way.

Yikes! So how can we break out of that frightfully depressing pattern? Can these chains be broken?

YES! All we have to do is call upon our Saviour and He will save us. Again. And Again. It may seem to us like there should be a limit to how many times we can do this, but that’s one of the beautiful things about it–about Him–that His mercy knows no bounds! That’s why they call it grace. The simple prayer, “Jesus, help me” is all we need (yes, that’s a prayer–we don’t need flowery language or thousands of words to reach Him). Even though this may seem to be a small thing to us, let’s not forget our Bible stories, which clearly state that demons and other forces of darkness fear His name!

Here’s another cool thing:  it doesn’t matter how many steps we have taken away from Jesus. As soon as we ask Him for help, He’s there with us faster than any superhero! (He’s the original and ultimate superhero–oh yeah, and He’s real). We don’t have to take the same number of steps back toward Him as we took away from Him. One step, one whisper of His name is all it takes. Then we are back to Life. Our Big Brother and Great Big God are by our side.

And here’s the ultimate thing. This power of God–the same power that raised Jesus from death to life–is available to us, to bring us from death to Life every time we call upon His name, regardless of whether we’ve taken one step away from Him or a million.

How awesome is that? How great is our God?

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Ultimate Come-from-Behind Victory

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

So Good Friday wasn’t how it ends. Just when all hope was lost, actually after the final buzzer, Jesus makes the final play that wins the day, wins the week, wins eternity for us. Jesus of Nazareth, the unlikely Messiah, has risen from the dead! So this is what He meant with His references to Jonah (returned to life after 3 days in the belly of the fish) or when He said he would rise again on the third day! God has achieved the impossible.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

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So what does this mean for us? Here are some powerful implications that come to mind.

Death is defeated! But shouldn’t this mean that we no longer die? Well, since we still live in a fallen and broken world, we are going to continue to deal with the pain of loss from death. And Jesus obviously passed through death to get to eternal life, so there’s our answer. Anyone who has accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour (and no other criteria) will live forever with our loving God, but we still must pass through death to get there.

God is worthy of our trust–here is yet another confirmation that God is trustworthy. Jesus promised that He would rise again from the dead. A tough promise to keep (by our standards), but He did.

Love wins over evil–through Good Friday and Holy Saturday, it would have been natural to think that the forces of darkness of this world had won the final victory over God by orchestrating events to get Jesus executed. But in fact it was God who achieved victory in the most unexpected way. Now it’s time for the forces of darkness to realize they’ve lost. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t try to take down as many people with them as they can until Jesus returns. If you spend even a few minutes watching the news, it would be easy to forget that the ending has already been determined. But we know better.

The Power of God is resurrecting us–the same power of God that brought Jesus back from the dead is available to us, living in us, making us new if we’ll let Him. We all have brokenness and we’ll never be just like Jesus, but that shouldn’t stop us from trying to be more Christ-like. The Holy Spirit will help us with that. How would we live our daily lives if we were absolutely certain God’s power resides in us? What would we do differently? How and when and where would we take a bolder stance against evil when we encounter it?

With God, nothing is impossible–but we have to keep in mind that knowing God can do anything doesn’t mean He will do what we want in our timing, or at all. God has plans for us that are always better than what we contrive for ourselves. We may pray for a certain spouse or job or other sort of outcome, but God might have something entirely different in mind that works out better for us. Unanswered prayers–rather, our perception of unanswered prayers–is a good topic for another blog, so stay tuned for that.

No fear–knowing that God has defeated death by bringing Jesus back from the dead, what is there to be afraid of? I don’t want to downplay the very real storms happening or brewing in this world and our lives, and we should do all we can to help solve problems for our family, neighbors, communities, and the world (that may be why God put us where we are at this moment in time). However, in spite of the worries of this world, we should know beyond a doubt that our eternal destination was determined the moment we accepted Christ, and that the problems of this life will fade away once we step through death’s doorway to meet our Saviour face-to-face and spend eternity with Him. Not to mention our loved ones who have gone before us and are fellow believers. And of course, our dogs. The Apostle John wrote, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)

A happy ending gives us a new beginning–Jesus’ resurrection punctuates His earthly ministry with a happy, surprise ending. But this is really the beginning for us. Now it’s our turn to bring His love to a hurting world, to feed and care for our neighbors and people on the other side of the globe. We may face persecution for this as Jesus did, but if we do, let’s make sure it’s because we are acting like Jesus and not because we are misbehaving due to our own misguided interpretations of manmade rules (see my previous blog about not judging others).

So that’s it. I hope you had a blessed Resurrection Day. Let us go forth and live our lives remembering that He is risen. I’ll leave you with these words from Moses:  “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

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Stumbling Toward Emmaus

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

Now what?

It’s Holy Saturday, the time between. For those who had been following Jesus, who had left everything and put their faith in a carpenter from a small backwoods town, believing he was the Anointed One, their dreams had been hung on the cross with their hero yesterday at Skull Hill. Jesus had spoken of being raised on the third day, but nobody had a frame of reference for what He had meant by that. It must have seemed like just another of His confusing riddles or parables.

So nobody really knew what to do next.

There’s a funny little story that Luke is the only gospel writer to record (Luke 24). Even though it occurs after Jesus’ resurrection, it is before anyone has fully comprehended that this has happened (“the women” had discovered the empty tomb and been told by the angels that He has risen, but again, it wasn’t until they saw Him that they were able to process what had transpired). And this is just like Jesus–you’d think that with something as miraculous as coming back to life, He would want to be the one at the tomb greeting His friends, proclaiming something like, “See guys! This is what I meant!”

But instead, He does the unexpected. He appears first to two followers whose answer to the “what do we do now” question was wander over to the next village, Emmaus. Only one of these followers gets named in the story, Cleopas, and this is the only time he gets mentioned in the Bible. In other words, these aren’t Peter or John or James, or even any of the other disciples. Just Cleopas and friend. They were discussing everything that had happened over the last few days, probably disappointed and dazed, not sure how it all could have come unraveled so quickly. Just a week ago, people were waving palm branches at Him in honor, laying their coats down along the path as he rode into Jerusalem. What happened?

And then Jesus shows up, asking them this same question. Luke explains that they were kept from recognizing him, but he doesn’t say why. Maybe it was intentional by God, maybe Jesus wore a disguise, or maybe they simply weren’t expecting to encounter Him alive, so they didn’t really look very closely. In response to Jesus’s question, they look sad for a moment, then Cleopas basically says, “What are you kidding me? Are you the only person in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what’s been going on?”

Jesus baits them further with an innocent inquiry about what had been happening. So they summarized it for Him. In return, He scolds them a bit, then takes them back to Moses and the prophets, explaining how everything had pointed to Jesus being the Messiah, and everything had to happen the way it did.

After that, they invited Jesus over for dinner when they had reached Emmaus. When they sat down to eat, Jesus took the bread and broke it, handing it to them. At this instant, they recognized Him, and He disappeared!

What??

Coming back to Holy Saturday and the question of what do we do now, there are a few things we can remember from this odd little story as we ourselves stumble toward Emmaus, trying to figure out what to do next.

First off, God is never too busy to spend time with us. You would think that Jesus would have been too busy right after coming back from the dead to walk seven miles and have a detailed discussion with two minor followers, but He made it happen. God wants to be in a relationship with us in which we talk to him all throughout our days, not just in some big formal prayer in church one day a week.

Next, by appearing first to Cleopas and friend instead of the “most important people”, I think Jesus is showing us that we each have an important role in His kingdom–not just the pastors or other religious leaders. Whatever we do, let us do it well, as though we are serving God. Because we are, each in our own way.

It was also obviously important to Him that these lesser-known followers really understand the full context of who He is and why He fulfilled all the prophesies. From this, I think He is guiding us to try to understand Him, His story, and His significance as best we can. Dwell in His word, go to Bible studies, listen to sermons, or whatever helps you to unpack who He is and all that He has done for us. This doesn’t seem to be something we should take lightly. For all of our other important relationships, we generally do everything reasonable to learn what we can about them–why should we do anything less for our relationship with God? Having said that, though, it’s important that we do this eagerly out of the love we have for Him and in response to all He has done for us, and not out of obligation. We should be able to see from the distaste Jesus had for the religious leaders of His day that God has little use for people who are there out of obligation.

Finally, Jesus also shows us that it’s OK not to fully understand it all. Although He scolds them for not getting it, He then takes quite a bit of time to explain it all to them. They had their best understanding of the events, but they were off a little bit, so Jesus straightened them out. We will never fully understand God’s ways, at least not this side of the grave, but if we are earnestly trying to learn more and more, He will be patient with us and help us along the way.

What about you? How else do you think God might want you to answer the question, What do we do now?

 

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In the Midst of the Storms

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

Well, it’s Good Friday. The worst thing humanity has ever done–we killed God–happened on this day. What’s so good about that? Let’s come back to that.

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Bad things are happening. The worst of the pandemic in the U.S. may be coming in the next week or two. Nobody knows what’s going to happen to the U.S. or global economy. Meaning, people are losing their jobs or, worse, their health. How can this be happening? How can God allow this to happen? After all, some of the people losing their jobs or dying are followers of Christ.

Here’s the thing. God never promised that everything would be easy or that we would live forever, at least not until heaven comes. In fact, in John 16:33, Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.” In the immortal words of Paster Matt Herd (formerly of Woodmen Valley Chapel, now at Northland Church in Florida), “What do you think He meant by ‘will‘?” It seems to be a promise of anything but an easy life.

To explore this a bit further, let’s look at Jesus’ life. If anyone were going to have an easy life, you’d think it would be the King of kings and Lord of lords, right? But He didn’t. After He started His ministry, He was homeless. He was rejected by His own people (as the prophet Isaiah had predicted 400 years earlier). He was betrayed by one of His best friends and denied by another. He was falsely accused and subject to the worst kind of injustice–an innocent man convicted and condemned to die. And of course, Good Friday memorializes the day He was tortured to death. In Gethsemane garden, He prayed fiercely–to the point of sweating blood–that the Father would take this cup from Him. Did God the Father answer His prayer? Well, yes, because His ultimate prayer was that the Father’s will be done. But He didn’t get there easily.

Anyway, not a biography anyone would aspire to. So if Jesus had storms in His life, why in the world would any of us think we should be free from them?

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But there’s good news here as well. The complete text of John 16:33 is this:  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” So Jesus doesn’t promise that our lives will be free from storms, but He does promise to be in the boat with us during them if w let Him. He can give us comfort or strength, or even take us right out of the storm (as He did for the disciples when He walked on water to meet their boat in the midst of a storm; as soon as He got in the boat, they reached the other side of the lake).

We always want the storms to go away, or never even come, and for good reason, of course. But oftentimes, Jesus rides into our lives on the storms. And maybe even more frequently, that’s the only time we’ll let Him in. I’m not saying God causes the storms, but He can redeem them when they happen if we let Him.

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So when facing the storms that will happen, we should take comfort and strength from knowing that God is on our side, that Jesus is in the boat with us. In his letter to the Romans, Paul asks the insightful question, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Indeed. Jesus promised to be with us always, even to the end of the age. That is both comforting and strength-giving.

Sometimes I visualize it this way:  when I’m feeling small and weak and not up to tackling a problem, I picture myself as the 98-pound weakling on the playground trying to stand up to the bully (the problem). I am pleasantly surprised when the bully runs away, and for a moment, I feel tough. However, a minute later I turn around and realize that the reason he ran away was because my Big Brother was standing behind me. After a split second of frustration that I couldn’t face the bully on my own, I realize how grateful I am that my Big Brother cares about me enough to help me deal with the bully. And also, reality sets in and I realize that I probably would have gotten my butt kicked without Him!

OK, so what’s so good about Good Friday? This is when our Big Brother, Jesus, faced our ultimate foe–death–on our behalf. Because He did this, the curtain in the temple that separated us from God was torn in two from top to bottom. Meaning that God did it. By covering our sin-debt for us, Jesus gave us direct access to God.

But still, our Savior dies an agonizing death–it can’t end this way.

Oh wait, it doesn’t.

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Remembering Jesus Remembering You

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

At His last meal with His best friends, Jesus asked them, and us, to remember Him whenever we take communion. This being Maundy Thursday–the day on the Christian calendar commemorating the Last Supper–I was wondering what specifically He might have wanted us to remember about Him. At this point in Holy Week, He had yet to suffer His torturous death on the cross. He had talked about it, but I don’t think anyone really knew exactly what He was talking about. Was this another of His confusing parables? Surely this whole three-year whirlwind ministry couldn’t end with the hero dying a criminal’s death in the most horrific and humiliating form of execution ever contrived. Could it?

But wait. Jesus talked about it before it happened. He had actually been talking about it for the weeks leading up to this one. So He knew this was coming, but He went to Jerusalem anyway. He had compared what was going to happen to Him with Jonah’s misadventures getting to Nineveh (nobody knew what He meant by that either). But when Jonah was called by God for his mission to preach to the most dangerous and evil city in the known world, he tried to run the other way. Jesus, on the other hand, knew this trip to Jerusalem would end with his execution. But He went anyway.

That’s courage worth remembering.

Also, let’s think for a moment why He felt the need to do this. He was remembering me. And you. Even though we hadn’t been born yet, as part of the triune God, apart from His 33 years on this earth, Jesus exists outside of time. So from His timeless perspective, you and I have already been born, lived, and died. We were born into the sin we inherited from Adam and Eve, who were convinced by Satan that disobeying God isn’t really a sin (a lie that’s alive and thriving today, sadly).

Anyway, every person in history except Jesus has lived up (or down) to the sin we inherited. Each sin boils down to a sin against God, and since God is a just God, each sin requires an equivalent punishment, or else there is no justice and He’s not a just God. But He loves us so much that He created a plan (from the beginning) in which Jesus takes our place in the punishment. There’s the why–remembering you, remembering me. By name. I was in line to be executed as punishment for my sins, but He came up to me and said, “That’s OK, Dave. I’ve got you covered. I’ll take it from here.” He slipped off his dazzling white cloak–the dress code for heaven–and handed it to me. In return, He held out His hand for me to give him my filthy rags. He has done the same for you.

Grace. We don’t deserve it, but He did it anyway.

That also is worthy of our remembrance.  How can we not fall to our knees before Him in humble gratitude?

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Be Still and Know That I Am Dog — 10 Lessons about Following God I Learned from My Dogs

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

While the rest of the world hunkers down at least 6 feet from one another, my dogs have been enjoying our daily walks around the neighborhood. Spending so much time with them has caused me to reflect on the similarities between their relationship with me and my relationship with God. Since the next two days of Holy Week are somber and introspective, I thought I’d go with a little levity today, courtesy of my furry friends.

So in these analogous relationships, my dogs are to me as I am to God. To be clear, I have no delusions that I am God (not even to my dogs) or even like God. And actually, the chasm between my level of thinking and God’s is infinitely greater than the one that exists between my dogs and me. With that said, here are some things that I have learned from my dogs:

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They trust me

Much of the time, my dogs have no idea what I’m doing with or to them, but they follow me wherever I lead. I open the car door and they hop in. We could be going for a hike or going to the vet. They don’t know and they don’t care, they just hop in.

How I would love to have that unquestioning trust in God so that when He opened the car door, I’d just hop in without asking Him a thousand questions or more.

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They know my voice

No matter what other noise is going on, they recognize that it’s me calling them. And they usually come (in that way we’re similar–I don’t always come when God calls me!).

Throughout my journey, I have at least gotten better about knowing God’s voice, but honestly, a lot of the time it’s still hard for me to tell when it’s God’s voice or my own internal thoughts, especially when it’s something I really want to be true.

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They turn to me when they are afraid

Whether it’s loud noises, the vet, or a leaf blowing down the street, my dogs huddle in closer to me when something scares them. I like providing that safety for them.

I’ve gotten pretty good at turning to God when fear rises up in me. I find comfort in handing my problems over to Jesus. I just need to keep myself from grabbing them back out of His hands a few moments later…

Another important part of my journey has been learning to turn to God at other times, too, not just when I feel like I need Him. In reality, I need Him all the time, it just took me a long time to learn that. But anyway, it’s not really a relationship if the only time you turn to someone is when you need something from them. That includes God, and He wants nothing more than to have a real relationship with each of us.

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Sometimes they have no idea I am working for their good

If I go to the store to get them treats, a toy, or a new leash, all they know is I disappeared. They don’t know where I’ve gone or why, just that I’m not there giving them what they want. They are thrilled when I return, and even happier when it turns out I got something for them.

How easy it is for me to forget that God is always working for my good, even when I can see it.

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Sometimes they think I am hurting them, when in fact I am helping them

I try to explain to my furry friends that the shot the vet is giving them is to protect their health, but they never get it. They just look at me with their sad puppy-dog eyes, asking me how I could do this to them.

How many times have I asked God how He could do this to me, or let it happen to me, only to look back sometime later to realize how much better things are because of what happened? Although it’s never fun to endure difficult times, God can use those times to help us grow, to make us stronger, or to bring us closer to Him.

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They have no idea how I provide for them, they just know I do

Whenever I feed them, I picture them wondering, Wow, you must be a great hunter! How did you catch this so quickly? And this shelter we live in–how in the world did you dig it to be like this? I’ve tried (several times) in the backyard, but it never comes out like this!

There are some ways in which I know how God provides for me–He gave me the skills I use to make a living, plus a chance to get a good education and opportunities to get jobs. But of course there are many more aspects to the way God provides for me that I don’t understand. How was I born into the family that helped shape me into who I am and who paid for my upbringing and education? How did He orchestrate things so I would meet and marry the love of my life? Or get the jobs I’ve had? How did He knit me together in my mother’s womb?

His ways are higher than my ways, and His thoughts than my thoughts. You know how a dog tilts his head back and forth when he’s trying to figure something out? That’s me right now as I ponder these things.

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They are thankful for the smallest things

Give them a biscuit or a pat on the head and you get rewarded with a wagging tail. Take them for a walk and you have a friend for life.

A thankful posture for God’s goodness is the best way to enter into His presence. And our lives get a whole lot better the moment we take time throughout our days to thank God for the thousand little blessings He packs into each day.

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I have to clean up their messes, and they keep making them

Sometimes they can’t help it, but other times they can. Either way, they are basically incapable of cleaning up after themselves, so I have to do it. Sometimes I wish they wouldn’t make messes, but I still love them when they do, and I’ll keep on cleaning up after them.

How many times have I made a mess (whether I realized it or not), then prayer feverishly for God to clean it up?

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When they do something wrong, they know I still love them

You can tell they feel bad, like they’ve let you down, and they want to make it up to you. They nuzzle your hand until you pet them so they know you forgive them. It doesn’t look like it ever occurs to them that you don’t love them any more just because you scolded them.

How many times have we turned our backs on God when we are the ones who screwed up? We feel unworthy–“I’ve done too many bad things.” Why is it that we don’t realize that the grace God shows us is infinitely greater than that which we show our naughty dog?

Piper & Shaxx1 Lyla4

They love me unconditionally

I love the love my dogs show me. When I get home, they wag their whole body in excitement. I had one dog who would piddle all over the place, she was so excited when I got home. They love to be with me, so they follow me around. They love it when I pet them and tell them they’re a good dog.

Do I love God as much as my dogs love me? If I do (and I hope I do), do I show it as well as my dogs do? Well, maybe it wouldn’t be good to piddle all over the place, but it would be good to show my excitement in other ways…

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So that’s it. How about you? What have you learned from your pets that makes you think of your relationship with God?

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Lent and Love in the Land of 33 Million gods

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter

Around this time of year, during Lent eight years ago, I ventured to India.

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While there, I learned that Hinduism celebrates about 33 million gods, which fascinated me. 33 million? How do you pray to that many gods? I visited a variety of shrines out of curiosity, and began to feel an odd sort of pity for such a large group of people who seem so misguided.

After all, Jesus said (quoting Deuteronomy), “The Lord our God is one God.” Right?

Not so fast. After only a few moments of feeling sorry for these people, I was convicted by this response from Jesus:  “I died for them, too. You don’t get to judge them. You can only see these people–and everyone–through my eyes, and I love them enough to be crucified for them, same as you.”

Gulp. “Sorry, Jesus.” I felt forgiven immediately, but didn’t dare forget the command not to look down on anyone for what they believe or don’t believe. Or for any reason, really. In the loving eyes of my Saviour, I am no better or worse than anyone I encounter, in India or Indiana.

Here’s something else Jesus said:  “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Is this how we followers of Christ are known around the world? In the cities where we live? Because of the love we show to everyone around us? Thankfully, there are many glorious examples where this is the case. Going back to India, Mother Teresa lived God’s love into the lives of so many of the poorest people in Calcutta (and incidentally, she said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”) And during this COVID-19 pandemic, in my own community and in communities around the world, people in churches are providing groceries and words of comfort to people at risk or in need. There are plenty of good stories, thank God.

But sadly, we are also known for behavior that doesn’t model Jesus’ love to a broken world. We try to fix people who aren’t asking us to fix them. The only way to get to that point is to have judged them. Jesus warned us about this when he told us to worry about the big board in our own eye instead of trying to take the splinter out of our brother’s eye. We need to leave God’s job to Him alone.

I visited the memorial for Mahatma Gandhi, one of the great Prime Ministers of India. He famously said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike Christ.” Ouch. He also said, “If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.” It’s hard to argue with that.

Gandhi Memorial

Although I don’t believe God caused this pandemic, I’m convinced He will find many opportunities to redeem it through us. He already has. As we move through this, I pray that God will help us to show His love to this fallen and broken world, and remind us as we head toward Good Friday that He chose to die as a sacrifice for each person we meet, whether they came from India, or China, or anywhere else. Here’s another of my favorite Mother Teresa quotes:  “It’s not about how much you do, but how much love you put into what you do that counts.”

The current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, called for citizens to switch off electric lights for 9 minutes at 9 pm this past Sunday. He asked them to light candles while standing on their front doorsteps or balconies. In an address to the nation, he said, “Amid the darkness spread by the corona pandemic, we must continuously progress towards light and hope.”

This beautiful message reminded me of something Jesus said:  “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Let us follow this Light out of our current darkness to where the streets are paved with hope and each new day overflows with promise.

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