Editorial

They are putting a new roof on our home. It was necessary to first remove the old one and when it was removed it laid bare the attic and all that is stored there. It is amazing how much a thin coat of shingles hides from view and as we looked through the slats into the attic we thought about how bare we must all appear to our heavenly Father. We all have a coat of shingles to cover what we are really like so that those who see us do not see the real us. With the new shingles all nailed firmly in place the house looks good again but we keep remembering how it looked while it was laid bare. God sees us as we really are and we need to always remember this fact.

Sometimes we may not even see ourselves as we really are, but we should. Paul tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. He asks the question, “Know ye not your own selves?” Do we? Have we tried to nail a layer of shingles between us and our own faults so that we won’t even see what we know is really there?

Edgar A. Guest wrote a lovely poem entitled “Myself” in which he says, “I have to live with myself, and so, I want to be fit for myself to know; I want to be able as days go by always to look myself straight in the eye; I don’t want to stand with the setting sun and hate myself for the things I’ve done.”

It is a fact that many people literally do hate themselves for the things they have done. These people are to be pitied for they do not understand the joy of forgiveness as it is in Jesus. Many of the ills of the world are caused by their inner feelings of guilt which they have successfully hidden from the public by a thin coat of shingles. Behind this veneer there is rottenness for the heart of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: Jeremiah asks, “who can know it?” The answer of course is, God knows. As David pointed out, God knows our down-sitting and our uprising, He understands our thoughts afar off.

We can never hide from God as Jonah learned the hard way. Edgar A. Guest continues his poem saying “I never can hide myself from me, I see what others may never see, I know what others may never know, I never can fool myself — and so, Whatever happens, I want to be Self-respecting and conscience free.”

Without Christ we can never accomplish this but when we surrender our life to God, then we can do “all things through Christ who strengthens us and one of the most important things we can do is to be cleansed from all our sins, for as John consoles us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” It is only through Christ that we can have the answer of a good conscience toward God.” Paul talks about those who have “their conscience seared with a hot iron” and this no more solves the rottenness inside than our new roof cleans up the mess that is in our attic. It is still there.

Through Christ we can have our sins forgiven and “though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Let us take heart knowing that the Lord exercises loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth and that if we seek forgiveness then God will have mercy upon us and will blot out our transgressions, He will wash us thoroughly from our iniquities and cleanse us from our sins.

“Growing old isn’t so bad when one considers the alternative.” This saying is credited to Maurice Chevalier who has since taken the alternative, not of his own free will, but due to the fact that death is the lot of all men in due time.

There are a lot of things that are easier to accept when we consider the alternative. We may not always like the food we eat but it is a lot better than starving. We may not like the old car we drive but it is a lot better than walking. We may feel that our living quarters leave something to be desired but they are a lot better than living in a tent.

We may complain about many things but if we would stop for a moment and consider the alternative, we may find that we should be thankful indeed for what we have. Things do not bring happiness. Happiness is a state of mind. We can be happy having little and we can be miserable with all the worldly luxuries that money can buy surrounding us.

As members of God’s royal family, we ought to be the happiest people on earth. Just think what we have. We have God as our Heavenly Father who knows our every need and will provide. We have Jesus Christ is our elder brother who died so that we could live forever. Growing old isn’t had for us for we have that much more opportunity to serve the Lord we love so dearly and death holds no fear for us, for blessed are they that die in the Lord for “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Therefore whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. ‘While I live I will praise the Lord,” exclaimed David.

There are happy brethren and sisters in poor health living in one little room in places like Panama and there are miserable brethren and sisters Living in what could be relatively termed the lap of luxury in man} places in the United States and Canada. Why? They are thinking differently When we say miserable brethren and sisters we mean those who with their own lips admit that they are miserable. In fact some seem to actually enjoy being miserable and evidently think that miserableness is next to godliness.

Paul said we should follow him even as he followed Christ and he declared that ^“I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” He also told Timothy that “‘godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us he therewith content.”

There are no people on earth today who have so much to rejoice about. Let us stop a minute and count our blessings. Consider the alternative e. What if we were aliens from the common wealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise. what if we were without Christ and God in the world? Would we trade our exalted position with anyone that is without hope? No matter what else a person may have, they are truly miserable if they are without God. Others may have material possessions we think we would like to have but certainly we would not trade anything they have for the hope we have. Jesus did not even have a place to lay his head yet he will soon be king of the world. If we carefully consider the alternatives we will rejoice in the hope that soon we shall if faithful be kings and priests and reign on earth with him.

Our parakeet has bronchitis and the veterinarian has prescribed an antibiotic which we have to give him three times a day. The doctor really knows what is best for him but he certainly doesn’t think so. He resists taking his medicine with every fiber of his being and cries out in protest while we hold him with one hand. open his beek with the other and my wife squeezes the medicine into his little mouth. After it is all over he acts as if we have done him a great injustice. No sooner are we perhaps forgiven for the ill treatment he feels we have done him than it is time to do it again and once more bring his ire upon our head,

If he had his own way our bird would certainly refuse the medicine but then he would be dead by now instead of getting better because we are doing what is best for him in spite of his protests.

How often do we protest taking and doing that which is best for us? We are told that our Heavenly Father’s thoughts are as high above ours as the heavens are above the earth. We feel that we have quite a bit more brain power than our parakeet, but in comparison with our Creator we are closer to the bird than we are to God. If we know what is best for our bird how much more does our heavenly Father know what is best for us. We should be filled with awe when we consider that the smallest details of our lives are all known to God and that not even a sparrow can fall to the ground without the Father knowing it. This is the same Father who created the heavens and the earth with His fingers. When we realize that He knows us, knows what is best for us, and is chastening us and correcting us so that we can become rulers with His son in His Kingdom we should accept the trials He sends our way with grace. If our parakeet only had more sense he would thank us for what we are doing for him. If we only had more wisdom we too would thank God for the trials that come our way.

The apostles reacted this way for we are told in the Acts how they felt after being beaten. We read that they departed “rejoicing that they they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” After being stoned Paul exhorted the brethren “to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”

It is one thing to believe and accept this academically but quite a different thing to accept trouble cheerfully when it happens to us. It is very easy to advise the other fellow to smile at the storm when we are in smooth waters, but then when we are in it ourselves our smile can change very quickly.

The key’ to accepting our troubles gracefully is prayer. This is where we have the advantage not only over the birds but over fellow human beings who do not communicate with God. Our prayers will see us through all our troubles for “God is our refuge and strength and a very present help in trouble.” When we feel in our hearts that He knows, cares and hears, then we can take heart for “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

It would seem that few of us today are being tried as severely as they were in the first century yet we know that God will always send us the right kind and amount of trouble to prepare us for glory and so with Paul we can say “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

There are many interesting sayings about the eating habits of the average American. One such saying is that we dig our graves with our teeth and another is that we are what we eat.

No doubt there is much truth in both of these sayings and it is unfortunate that in the land of plenty we eat so poorly. When we say poorly we do not mean inexpensively because everyone who buys food knows it is anything but cheap. It seems that much of the food value is lost by the time the food we eat gets to us. One doctor recently told us that there is as much food value in the cardboard box that some of our breakfast cereals come in as in the cereal itself. This is another example of good money being spent for poor nutrition. If it is true that we are what we eat then we should be careful what we eat because it matters what we are. “Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be.” says John. Daniel recognized his responsibility to God and therefore “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank.” It took a great deal of courage to speak up and refuse to eat the meat of the king when Daniel was a slave but it was so important that he did assert himself.

Do we assert ourselves to stand up for what we believe? We certainly do not have the same trial Daniel had but we need wisdom to “know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.” This applies to many more things than the food we eat but if good nutrition is necessary for good health then we should make every effort to eat good so that we can live good. When one is in poor health their service to God is certainly impaired. Of course we can serve God wherever we are and we know of several who were taught the truth by a Christadelphian in the next bed in the hospital. If we are sick then we serve God as best we can but the point is we should do our utmost to he well so we can serve Him with vigor.

As important as our physical health is. our spiritual health is even more vital to our service of the Lord. Here again it is our diet that determines our health. If we are what we eat physically we arc certainly what we eat spiritually. What are we feeding the spiritual man? Jesus said that his “meat was to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” This must be our meat also if we are a follower of Jesus. Where do we get the meat the world is missing? It is there for those who are willing to partake of it, for the word of God which is able to make us wise unto salvation, is available to everyone. How few choose to digest it. Jeremiah found the word of God to be delicious. He says “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, 0 LORD God of hosts.”

There is food all around us but most of it is as nourishing as a cardboard box. If we are wise we can choose those foods that give us real nutrition. There are books all around us that feed the mind garbage. If we are wise we will choose God’s word and meditate in His law day and night. Let us be wise and follow Jesus. He knew what to eat and Isaiah speaking of him said “Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.”