The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
May 11, 2003
In
This Issue:
Long
Story Short--
The
Tree of Life
By
Steve Klein
The
Meanest Mother in the World
--
author unknown
Long Story Short -- The Tree of Life
In many respects, the Bible is a long complex story. Attempts to simplify it Reader's Digest style are unsatisfying, in part because such attempts make men the editor's of God's words, and men have neither the wisdom nor the aptitude for the task. Of old, the Israelites were warned, "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." (Deuteronomy 4:2)
What follows, then, is certainly not an attempt to take anything away from the inspired record. But it is merely one way we might go about summarizing what the Bible is all about.
In the beginning God created man spiritually pure and upright - in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27). Man was granted dominion over the rest of creation and given a garden paradise as his home. Man could have lived forever in this glorious state because he had access to "the tree of live" which was in the midst of the garden (Genesis 2:9). But Adam and Eve sinned by violating God's law. "And the LORD God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.' So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken" (Genesis 3:22-23).
The Bible story thus begins with man being separated from the tree of life and losing immortality. Long story short, the remainder of the Bible contains the account of what God has done to bring man back to the tree of life so that he might once again have eternal life. Man was separated from the tree of life in the beginning. At the end of the Bible (and of the story), saved men gain access again to the tree of life. The apostle John observes that in heaven, "in the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life." (Revelation 22:2).
Will you and I be among those who have a part in the glorious end of this story? Will we partake of the tree of life and live forever? It's up to us. If, by God's grace we overcome sin in our lives, and if we dedicate ourselves to keeping His commandments, we may. Jesus promised "To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God" (Revelation 2:7). Truly, "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city" (Revelation 22:14).
By Steve Klein
I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs and toast. When others had cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess, my supper was different than the other kids also. But at least I was not alone in my suffering. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother I did.
My mother insisted upon knowing where we were all the time. You'd think we were on a chain gang. She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing. She insisted, if we said we'd be gone an hour, that we be gone an hour or less, not one hour and one minute. I am almost ashamed to admit it, but she actually struck us. Not once, but each time we did as we pleased. Can you imagine someone actually hitting a child just because he disobeyed? Now you can begin to see how mean she really was.
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and up early the next morning. We could not sleep until noon like our friends. So while they slept my mother actually had the nerve to break the child labor law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make the beds, and learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things. I believe she laid awake nights thinking up mean things to do to us.
She always insisted upon our telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth even if it nearly killed us -- and it nearly did. By the time we were teenagers, she was much worse and wiser and our lives became even more unbearable. None of this tooting the horn of a car for us to come running. She embarrassed us to no end by making our dates and friends come to the door and get us. I forgot to mention: while my friends were dating at the mature age of 12 or 13, my old fashioned mother refused to let me date until the age of 15 and 16. Fifteen, that is, if you date only to go to a school function and that was maybe twice a year.
My mother was a complete failure as a mother. None of us have ever been arrested or beaten his mate. Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country. And whom do we have to blame for the terrible way we turned out? You are right, our mean mother.
Look at all the things we missed. We never go to march in a protest parade, or to take part in a riot, burn our draft card and a million and one things that our friends did. She forced us to grow us into God-fearing, educated, honest adults.
Using this as a background I am trying to raise my three children. I stand a little taller and I am filled with pride when my children call me mean. Because you see, I thank God he gave me the MEANEST MOTHER IN THE WORLD.
Author unknown
When a boy or girl thrusts his small hand in yours, it may be smeared with chocolate ice cream or grimy from petting a dog, and there may be a wart under the right thumb and a bandage around the little finger. But the most important thing about his hands is that they are the hands of the future. These are hands that someday may hold a Bible or a Colt revolver; [hold a hymn book in worship] or spin a gambling wheel; gently dress a leper's wound or tremble wretchedly uncontrolled by an alcoholic mind.
Right now, that hand is yours. It asks for help and guidance. It represents a full-fledged personality in miniature to be respected as a separate individual whose day-to-day growth into Christian adulthood is YOUR responsibility.
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