Caring for One Another
Galatians 6: 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
I cannot speak for the veracity of the quotation, below. It was found on Instagram. Whether accurate or inaccurate I appreciate the point being made.
"Years ago, anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones.
But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal.
A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said."
We have been on the receiving end of God’s limitless help, care, and love, especially in passion, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Let us follow in His path as we care for one another.
Romans 12: 9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
A point of view
Fifty years after his death, C. S. Lewis was memorialized with a stone in the floor of Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey. Chiseled into the stone is one his most quoted sentences: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.” [C. S. Lewis, “Is Theology Poetry,” They Asked for a Paper (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1962), 165].
I have long admired Lewis’ communication and his wonderful skill with language. What a concise way of capturing St. Paul’s encouragement for the renewal of one’s mind (Romans 12:2) or having the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5), or quite simply being a new creation because you are in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17).
Having been redeemed by the blood of Christ Jesus shed on the cross we are called to a different understanding or vision of the creation. It is not simply a place to stand with various entities to be used or consumed. This is our Father’s world over which He has called us to stewardship. Likewise, the people around us are no mere mortals. They are the children God would redeem to Himself and love throughout eternity.
Upon returning home...
I’ve been out on a trail ride this week through the beautiful mountain of southern Colorado. My dad did not get to make the trip this year. Hopefully, Padre will rejoin the group next September.
On this ride I get to talk with men whom I consider to have become good friends of mine. Most of them call Colorado home, but they are from all walks of life. As we ride, eat, and talk each day we share what is going on in our families. We also talk about the joys and concerns we have with respect to our work, our nation, and our world.
While this ride astride good mounts takes us through fields and forest with awesome vistas, we know there are challenges in this world as well as challenges with our mounts. It’s a “slice of heaven”, some might say, but it’s only a slice. Horses get riled up, they’re irritated with one another from time to time and they are irritated by the girth. This can happen with the Roof Top Riders, too.
That’s what brought to mind a quote from C. S. Lewis: “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” We definitely are made for another world - a world which our sin has not tainted as it has this one. Thankfully, we have been remade for that world in our baptism - a world which our Savior, Christ Jesus, purchased with His blood shed on the cross. A world He will usher in upon His triumphant return.
Until then, a ride on the “Roof Top” of the world, a return to a loving family, and gathering with God’s people on the Lord’s Day will have to do. And it most certainly will!