God’s Eyes

"Behold, the Lord's eyes are on those...who trust in His love." —Psalm 33:18

God finds you fascinating! His eyes find and follow you all day long—like one of those paintings in which the subject’s eyes seem to follow you around the room.

That’s because you, by faith in Jesus, have been adopted into His Father’s family, and like all good fathers, He dotes on His children.

Such devotion would be worrying if you had to do something to deserve it, or earn it, or keep it, but all that God asks of you is that you "trust in His love." Believe it: You are his belovéd. "He loves, though all hate; He delights, though all abhor; He remains, though all forsake."

David Roper

2.10.18

Behind Closed Doors

“What should I do then, mem?” 

“Go your way, laddie … and say your prayers.”

—The Fisherman's Lady, by George MacDonald

There was “a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets,” one anonymous, unremarkable woman who became the victim of circumstances beyond her control (2 Kings 4:1-7). 

The woman’s story is one of accumulated grief: her husband died and left her destitute and deeply in debt; then her creditors came knocking at her door, demanding that she pay up, or sell her two sons into slavery to compensate them. 

Immediately, and with sound wisdom, she went to Elisha, the embodiment of God’s presence in the land. She cried out, “Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”

Elisha said to the woman, “Go outside, borrow vessels of all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in, and shut the door upon yourself and your sons, and pour into all these vessels; and when one is full, set it aside.” 

When I first read the prophet’s words, “shut the door” I thought of Jesus’ words, “When you pray, go into your room, shut the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). [This room is not a “closet,” but “a room in the interior of a house, normally without doors and windows opening to the outside.” 

Nothing is said about prayer in the Old Testament account, but it’s significant to me that Jesus’ phrase, translated “shut the door,” corresponds roughly to the Greek translation of this Old Testament text, the version Jesus himself read and frequently quoted. [The only difference is that the Septuagint (Greek) translation of 2 Kings 4:4 uses an intensified form of the verb and puts it in the future tense: apokleiseis tân thuran (You shall shut the door tight!). Jesus’ uses the simple form of the same verb and states the action as participle, kleisas tân thuran (“having shut the door…”). ] Could it be that Jesus had this story in mind? 

And so, as the story goes, Elisha directed the widow to “shut the door upon herself and her sons; and as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another vessel.’ And he said to her, ‘There is not another.’ And the oil stopped flowing.” Then the widow sold the oil, paid off her debts, and lived on the remainder. 

Elisha could have met this woman’s need directly, perhaps through a miracle. Instead he gave her a greater gift: he taught her to bring every need to the One who gives “grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). He gave her the gift of a lifetime: he taught her to pray. There is no greater service to others.

That’s why I pray with people. I pray with parents who grieve over their children. I pray with couples whose marriages are disintegrating. I’m powerless to “fix” things, but I can pray. 

In so doing I accomplish two purposes: I pray for them, thereby bringing them to the only source of help I know. 

And I have taught them to pray. 

David Roper

The Tree

"When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them…” (Exodus 15:3).

Carolyn was her mother's caregiver and now she is mine. As my neurological issues have worsened she has had to devote more time to home care and less to her own work and the women she loves so dearly.

But, as she reminded me this morning, caregiving now is her "vocation," in the original sense of that word—her call. For this season God has ask her to be a caregiver and she has accepted that call. Put another way, Carolyn cast a "tree" into the water and made it sweet.

What is that "tree" but the Cross, the tree on which we die to our own agenda and accept God's will for our lives. It is our imitation of Christ. "For he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it'" (Luke 23,24).

The Cross, of course, is at odds with everything our culture tells us about self-care, but acceptance of that cross, whatever it may be, is the key to peace and joy, what Jesus called “saving” oneself. In acceptance, each bitter experience becomes sweet.  

David Roper

2.3.18

Awesome Grace

"Na, na, I’ll never preach again!” whispered James to the soutar (shoemaker), as they  rose from their knees.  

"I winna be a’tegither sure o’ that!” returned the soutar."

—George MacDonald in Salted with Fire

"David mustered the army and went to Rabbah and captured it" (2 Samuel 12: 29). A brief report, a throw-away line…that celebrates God's awesome grace. 

Joab, David's commander, sent word to David that Rabbah, the royal city of the Ammonites, was about to fall. Joab had seized control of the outskirts of the city, but the acropolis was still standing and David was given the honor of capturing it. Accordingly, he gathered his army, besieged the stronghold and seized it. But here is the grace note: This conquest occurred very soon after David’s horrendous  fall (cf., 2 Samuel 11:1-27).

Treacherous, adulterous, murderous David! You would think that God would turn away from him, but this is not his way. God forgives, restores and reinstates repentant sinners. Thus Jesus met the apostle who denied him and gave him this commission: "Go feed my sheep." 

As soon as David said, “I have sinned,” Nathan said, ”The Lord has put away your sin," and David was given the task of conquering Rabbah, the principle city of the Ammonites, Israel’s archenemy.

Perhaps you think that God is through with you, can’t stand you any longer, will never use you again, but a broken and contrite heart brings full pardon, even if you have been very wicked (Psalm 51:17). In his everlasting love, God will have mercy on you and in his own time he will use you again. Awful sins are fully forgiven for his grace is equally “awful.” (His nature is forgiveness.) Where sin abounds, grace much more abounds!

David Roper
1.29.18

Fluff and Other Impairments

"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear" (Winnie the Pooh).

I read this today: "'I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’ Moses spoke to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their hard lives" (Exodus 6:8,9).

"There are some people who, if they don't know, you can't tell them, Yogi Berra alleged. I don't know if Berra actually turned that phrase—I suspect that most of his so-called sayings are apocryphal—but even if he didn't say it the saying is true. There are some people who won't listen no matter what you do, even when listening and heeding your counsel would be to their advantage. 

It may be that their reticence is nothing more than a small piece of fluff in their ear, or there may be another dynamic at work: some people don't listen because they don't want to listen, but some people don't listen because they are broken.

The phrase, "broken in spirit" in Hebrew is literally "short of breath," and is an idiom for weary discouragement. That being the case, intransigence calls for compassion not censure. How can we write off a wrecked and ravaged soul? 

What then should we do? Winnie the Pooh's words enshrine wisdom: "be patient.” God is not finished; He is working through their sorrow, our love and our prayers to get their attention. Perhaps, in His time, He will open their ears to hear. 

Be patient.

David Roper

1.23.18

Nobody Knows My Name

“As unknown, and yet well known…” (2Corinthians 6:9).

Are you worried that no one knows your name? Consider the nameless individuals whose stories appear on the pages of scripture: the woman at the well; the boy who offered his loaves and fishes to Jesus; the widow who gave her last mite; the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus; the repentant thief on the cross. All these folks live in anonymity; nobody knows their names.

Perhaps you too are unknown. You toiled for years in obscurity, in some small place, overlooked and unrewarded by church or community, while others made a name for themselves.

Rejoice! Your name is written in heaven!

God knows who you are and what you’ve done for his sake. You may have received little or no recognition in this life, but on the day when you stand in our Lord’s presence you will receive unqualified praise (1Corinthians 4:5). He will say to you as he will say to all who have loved and served him, “Well done my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 5:21).

Unknown? No, you are well known in the highest circles! 

David Roper

1.27.18

Loaves and Fishes

"Toward evening the disciples approached him. 'We're out in the country and it's getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.' But Jesus said to them, 'They need not go away; you give them something to eat'" (Matthew 14:15,16).

Jesus’ disciples were flummoxed by this request. A little boy gave his lunch to Jesus and by it fed the crowd (Matthew 14:13-21).

One school of progressive thought contends that the little boy's generosity simply moved others in the crowd to share their lunches, but Matthew clearly intends us to understand that it was a miracle and an important miracle at that, in that the story appears in all four Gospels.

What can we learn?

Family members, neighbors, friends, colleagues and others stand around me in various stages of need. Should I send them away to someone more capable than I.

Certainly some people’s needs exceed our ability to help them, but not always. "They need not go away," Jesus would say. "You give them something to eat.” Whatever you have—a hug, a kind word, a listening ear, a brief prayer, some wisdom you've gathered over the years— give it away and see what I can do."

Little is much when God is in it. Give what you have to Him and see what He will do (Ephesians 3:20)

David Roper

1.22.18