♪A Note of Thanks ♪
“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by God.”
I Corinthians 8:1-3
For me, one of the ways I can relax is to take a brisk walk at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and observe all of the lush vegetation and various plantings. There are many walking trails and various type garden settings as well as benches and swings along the way. One can take a leisurely stroll or a power walk to let go of the stress of life and help rejuvenate the body and mind. In Romans 12:2 Paul challenges us to “be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”
Recently, my good friend and college roommate, Keith Cardwell, was in Birmingham with his wife Lisa. Keith is the pastor of Swift Memorial Presbyterian Church in Foley, Alabama. While Lisa was attending a conference for her work, Keith and I met during lunchtime, grabbed some Sneaky Pete’s hotdogs, chips and drinks and headed to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. After eating on a side bench in the heart of the gardens, we started a leisurely stroll towards the upper gardens that have native Southern plants, a running brook and simple trails. Incidentally, this part of the garden was originally the quarry where the stone for the pedestal of Vulcan was cut, chiseled and carried to the top of Red Mountain.
Keith and I talked about our children, looked at recent pictures of this Summer’s activities and then gradually moved on to talk about our churches; how God works through ordinary people, calling and equipping them for ministries that reach others for Christ. We both agreed that many times God works through lay people for new fresh ideas and methods to bring others to the Savior. We both shared from our journeys the recent experiences we’ve had to see how God is alive and working through His people. Many times we don’t have all the answers to some of life’s difficulties, whether it is through losing a close loved one and/or friend, disease and distress that comes our way, decisions that have to be made, heart-aches and pains, getting older and many other things we have to face in life. We really don’t have all the answers.
It seems that sometimes we take on a posture of “having all the answers, “knowing for certain that we are right,” or believing that “our way is the only way,” we often discover that we are confronted by lessons of life. We may use the old adage, “what goes around comes around,” or even the Biblical instruction that “you reap what you sow.” When we take on this attitude, we become as the scripture says, “puffed up,” which is just a nice way of saying “full of hot air.” Is this true for you?
St. Paul invites us to “love God and be known by God.” Paul invites us to use love as the answer: love of God and love of neighbor.
I can’t help but wonder what my life, your life, what our day to day living would be like if we practiced the teaching that “love builds up.” How might we interact with our families? What about our children? How might our relationships with our colleagues change? Paul in writing to the church at Corinth, a church that seemed to have had their fair share of problems getting along yet not quite understanding that “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” He would go on later in this same letter, in perhaps one of the most poetic and brilliant moments of his writings to say, “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2)
Why not choose love? Better to be known by God than to be nothing at all, don’t you think?
Holy God, for today, just for today, help me examine my heart, confront me with the ways in which I have tried my way instead of Your way; remind me that what you desire from me is that I build up others with love. In Jesus’ Precious and Holy Name. Amen.
Joyfully serving alongside you,
I remain…
Your friend,
Mark David Jackson
“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by God.”
I Corinthians 8:1-3
For me, one of the ways I can relax is to take a brisk walk at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and observe all of the lush vegetation and various plantings. There are many walking trails and various type garden settings as well as benches and swings along the way. One can take a leisurely stroll or a power walk to let go of the stress of life and help rejuvenate the body and mind. In Romans 12:2 Paul challenges us to “be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”
Recently, my good friend and college roommate, Keith Cardwell, was in Birmingham with his wife Lisa. Keith is the pastor of Swift Memorial Presbyterian Church in Foley, Alabama. While Lisa was attending a conference for her work, Keith and I met during lunchtime, grabbed some Sneaky Pete’s hotdogs, chips and drinks and headed to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. After eating on a side bench in the heart of the gardens, we started a leisurely stroll towards the upper gardens that have native Southern plants, a running brook and simple trails. Incidentally, this part of the garden was originally the quarry where the stone for the pedestal of Vulcan was cut, chiseled and carried to the top of Red Mountain.
Keith and I talked about our children, looked at recent pictures of this Summer’s activities and then gradually moved on to talk about our churches; how God works through ordinary people, calling and equipping them for ministries that reach others for Christ. We both agreed that many times God works through lay people for new fresh ideas and methods to bring others to the Savior. We both shared from our journeys the recent experiences we’ve had to see how God is alive and working through His people. Many times we don’t have all the answers to some of life’s difficulties, whether it is through losing a close loved one and/or friend, disease and distress that comes our way, decisions that have to be made, heart-aches and pains, getting older and many other things we have to face in life. We really don’t have all the answers.
It seems that sometimes we take on a posture of “having all the answers, “knowing for certain that we are right,” or believing that “our way is the only way,” we often discover that we are confronted by lessons of life. We may use the old adage, “what goes around comes around,” or even the Biblical instruction that “you reap what you sow.” When we take on this attitude, we become as the scripture says, “puffed up,” which is just a nice way of saying “full of hot air.” Is this true for you?
St. Paul invites us to “love God and be known by God.” Paul invites us to use love as the answer: love of God and love of neighbor.
I can’t help but wonder what my life, your life, what our day to day living would be like if we practiced the teaching that “love builds up.” How might we interact with our families? What about our children? How might our relationships with our colleagues change? Paul in writing to the church at Corinth, a church that seemed to have had their fair share of problems getting along yet not quite understanding that “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” He would go on later in this same letter, in perhaps one of the most poetic and brilliant moments of his writings to say, “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2)
Why not choose love? Better to be known by God than to be nothing at all, don’t you think?
Holy God, for today, just for today, help me examine my heart, confront me with the ways in which I have tried my way instead of Your way; remind me that what you desire from me is that I build up others with love. In Jesus’ Precious and Holy Name. Amen.
Joyfully serving alongside you,
I remain…
Your friend,
Mark David Jackson
