My father was a good man. From a long line of good men.
I would also say to those who had a negative, abusive, or missing-father experience, there have been other men and women in your life who have stood in the gap for you when you needed them, and there is a source of Love to bless you, too.
Remember and honor them, all of them, today and every day.
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are!" 1 John 3: 1-3
Yes, in private schools that don't get government (taxpayer) money or tuition vouchers.
But public schools? That is a religious liberty issue that was drilled into us in religious (Adventist) schools in the 1960s and 70s. No way!
A government that promotes religion (which is unconstitutional in the United States, see First Amendment) and funds it will never respect your rights and specific beliefs, and it will bulldoze right over whoyou worship, when you worship (problematic for several denominations and religions), and how you worship. It will determine the curriculum and how the school operates. It will spill past schools and into your private life.
Besides, ANY student can pray privately and/or silently. That isn't against the law.
Requiring all, regardless of family choices or ethnicity (like Jews), to pray to Jesus or venerate the Bible or the Quran, or cause your kid to pray to a Hindu god or Satan or Cthulhu is blatantly immoral and unconstitutional.
Unless religious liberty is applied to all, equally, it's not religious liberty. It's elitism. It's Christian nationalism.
And it's plain to see that that kind of Christianity is winning precisely (checking my notes) no one to Jesus Christ. It's alienating and divisive, and has caused non-believers to hate Christians and mock God. Pay attention: you are not doing Christians any good, and not advocating a lifestyle or belief system based on the God you claim to serve.
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”John 18:36
Serve God with all your might and all your heart. Live humbly, justly, and mercifully, and be kind to foreigners and the helpless among you. Love one another. Pray in private, as Jesus instructed (Matthew 6:5,6). Just don't force others to be like you. God establishes his purposes, his salvation, and his kingdom on his time.
There are many ways to give, though we usually only hear about money. Of course, money is needed to pay for expenses. But consider:
Those who are there to be willingly used for their time, talent, and enthusiasm are also givers.
Those who donate blood or platelets are givers.
Those who make food or repair teddy bears for refugee children are givers.
Those who take people to medical appointments and stay to hold their hand are givers.
Those who clean out their closets and donate "fat clothes" or "skinny clothes" are givers.
Those who are kind and uplifting are givers.
Those who enable others to give are themselves participants in giving.
Those who make chicken soup for a sick friend are givers.
Those who volunteer their professional or organizational skills are givers.
And yes, money counts. But it's not love. Doing and Being are Love.
They are CHEERFUL givers — no one is pressuring them, because it's the state of their hearts.
Governor Katie Hobbs, Christy K Robinson
Recently, I was helping at a Thanksgiving meal cooked and served to indigent seniors. People had donated money toward groceries, and some had brought whole roasted turkeys or hams, and huge pans of mashed potatoes or dressing or vegetables. One man brought large pies from the Costco bakery where he works. All brought their gifts of hospitality and service to others. And into our midst walked the Arizona's governor, Katie Hobbs, without a press team or video cameras or even letting our team know she'd be coming to help. She was dressed in a black shirt and khaki slacks, with her hair up in a ponytail, there to help serve the food, and to talk with the people who came to enjoy a delicious feast. Gov. Hobbs has a Master of Social Work degree and worked in that field for years before she served in the state legislature, as Secretary of State, and then Governor. She's a cheerful giver!
Why does God love a cheerful giver? Because God is Love, he is compassionate and merciful, and gives and forgives (Exodus 34:6). When we do similar acts (the Golden Rule), we show that we are his children and we look like our Abba. Yes, God loves all people, when they're naughty and when they're nice. But I believe that we can give him joy, and we can expand his heart when we make him proud.
It's a circle. God loves us, and we make others feel loved, which turns our faces back to the source of love. But it's not a closed circle. Givers are all about inviting you to share your presence and your love in the circle.
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Christy K Robinson is author of these books (click the colored title):
1. 🤣 Yes, it's a meme. Yes, I have a sense of humor. But...
2. We all have "those" kind of people trying to steal our joy. I'm not saying to sever the relationship, but shaking the dust from your sandals and stepping back a bit is one way to live more healthfully in every way. Enjoy your accomplishment! And...
3. If we're the sardonic (grimly mocking or cynical) person who makes that sort of comment, just biting our tongues allows us to celebrate and uplift others -- and leave the moment happy, before we say something toxic, even if unintentionally. There's so much dysfunction and disease and horror in this world already. Let's buck that trend and step up!
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Christy K Robinson is author of these books (click the colored title):
Twelve generations ago, there was an English minister who was educated at Cambridge University, which is to say that he graduated from an institution with a Church of England (Anglican) faculty, about 60 years after the split with Catholicism.
But John Robinson began to preach a Separatist message, similar to what the Puritan sect taught, that the Anglicans hadn’t purified the church enough of its rituals, liturgy, pomp, and “distracting” music and art in churches. Separatists and Puritans wanted highly educated clergy, not social appointments of unqualified priests and bishops.
Robinson (my direct ancestor) associated with other Separatists during the early years of his ministry, and by 1608 was one of the leaders of people who called themselves Pilgrims. The Mayflower Pilgrims. He and the Pilgrims moved first to Amsterdam, then Leiden, and in 1621, scores of them took ship for “Virginia,” but ended up at Massachusetts Bay. John Robinson and his wife Bridget had intended to join the Pilgrims, but between shepherding the remainder of the English flock in Leiden, and then John’s death at age 49, it was left to his children to emigrate to New England.
Below is a paragraph I’ve copied from one of John Robinson’s numerous tracts, booklets, and correspondence, collected into three dense volumes. For those who weren’t raised on King James’ English dialect, I’ll give you a simplified, American-English version first.
John Robinson’s ninth great-granddaughter translates: God has made humans to be in community with others and has allowed us to form families and organizations (religious, political, or community, whether for-profit or nonprofit) where we can unite for the betterment of ourselves and others. But no one is so devoid of abilities or finances that you have nothing with which to help others, or to be helped by others. Like limbs of the body, or the head of the body, we can’t say, “I have no need of a foot or hand or head—I can do this on my own.” If you have health and strength and abilities, and need nothing from others, the more need others have of you and what you possess in abundance.
John Robinson originally wrote:
‘God hath made man a sociable creature; and hath not only ordained several societies, in whichpersons are to unite themselves for their mutual welfare; but withal so dispensed his blessings, as that no man is so barren, but hath something wherewith to profit others: nor any so furnished, but that he stands need of others to supply his wants. "The head cannot say to the foot," much less the foot to the head, "I have no need of thee." And the less need thou, by reason of thine abundance of bodily or spiritual endowments, hast of others, the more need they have of thee and thy plenty.’
How does Robinson’s advice look in the 21st century? We can all find ways to be of service to others.
☑️ Collect new clothes and food for your church or community to distribute ☑️ Cooking and baking for a homeless shelter or refugee center ☑️ Some can donate blood or platelets to save lives or improve quality of life for cancer, dialysis, or surgical patients ☑️ Volunteer at your child’s school, to help teachers or read aloud ☑️ Donate money to your church’s benevolence fund, to help with dental or medical bills, rent, utilities, or groceries ☑️ Help a food bank with distribution (filling bags and boxes, taking the groceries to the waiting cars, etc.) ☑️ Drive people to appointments for chemotherapy or surgery
☑️ Play a musical instrument at a senior center ☑️ Volunteer at a hospital or children’s hospital (this may require a little training, but probably not certification) ☑️ If you know a friend who volunteers, ask if you can come along to observe or help
☑️ Quilt, knit, or crochet an item to be auctioned for charity
☑️ Clean the beach, rescue animals, recycle, or plant trees for a lovelier environment
For 40 years, I’ve been a volunteer in some of the roles listed above. For a good portion of that time, I was a state leader for an organization that had a different purpose, but which participated in volunteering as a social activity where we could serve others but also become closer friends. Even our school-age children helped. I saw people who had been sad or depressed about their own circumstances turn into enthusiastic, fulfilled helpers because they stopped gazing at their own navels and started looking into the eyes of fellow human beings. I saw kindergarten-age children learn foreign words for food so they could serve refugees at the buffet line. I saw bored retirees take on projects that gave them new hope and a new social life. I saw a friend in a power wheelchair become a valued member of a kitchen team that supplied three community feeding programs.
Personally, I think that what God gave me as an unearned gift, I can share with others, be it donating my healthy blood, baking humble corn muffins 16 dozen at a time, or cutting vegetables and buttering bread for a charity that has religious beliefs quite different from my own. When someone is hurting, I can listen. I’ve witnessed miracles that cannot be explained. I’ve seen little children grow up to be kind, compassionate young adults.
On Jan. 4-5, 1993, I spent the entire night in my mom's ICU room, holding her hand and reading the Bible to her as she lay in a coma. My dad had kissed her goodbye and gone home, and my brother was living two hours away, with a young family and a driving route that took him out of town. So it was down to me.
She'd nearly died 10 months before, and recovered. She said she'd heard me reading the Bible to her then, even in her coma, and it was precious to her, so I brought my Bible with me this time and did the same thing.
It was a very intimate time, just mother and daughter at the end of one life before she began another. She saw me take my first breath, and I saw her take her last. I won't describe my thoughts then, but it wasn't the same sort of grief as when my dad died, far away, 19 years later. I still miss my mother, 30 years later, but there's so much of her in me, both in my DNA, and in who I am at my core, that there's been a reconciliation of what was and what is.
There's so much of her in me, both in my DNA,
and in who I am at my core,
that there's been a reconciliation
of what was and what is
Though she still breathed another six hours, I believe her spirit left her a little after 4:00am. Something so profound took place then, that I looked up at her monitors to see if she'd awakened. But nothing had changed physically. Though I continued to hold her hand and watched her take breaths, she was no longer with me. And I was comforted anyway because I knew she was no longer in pain, and was where she wanted to be.
I thought I was alone there, waiting for all signs to cease before I went home and called my dad and brother. But about 7:30, my friend, Dr. Keith Mack, came on duty and learned I was there. He came into the room and wrapped me in his arms. What a dear thing to do. It was no coincidence. God knew what I needed and his timing was flawless.
I remember with love, Judith Anson Robinson, 1937-1993.
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Christy K Robinson is author of these books (click the colored title):
It was my second Sunday as pianist at a Baptist church.
I was wished a Happy Mothers Day several times, and presented with a carnation, which I accepted as the mother of rescue pets, the teacher of hundreds, the aunt of three, the cook and server to refugees and their precious children, the supporter of the abused, and various other roles. Some mother's child (young or adult) has my plasma and platelets strengthening them this week.
My point is, men and women who haven't given birth can at times take on needed roles to support others in love.
I've loved James Taylor's music for--yikes--more than 50 years now, and every performance is still fresh. Many of the songs he's written are wise and kind and humorous, and I imagine that they come from the heart of a human who both believes his lyrics, and practices them.
That we live in a world of
have and have-not,
respectful and rude,
those working for justice and those laughing because they have Teflon impunity,
kindness and greed,
mercy and vindictiveness,
desperate people escaping their ancestral homes because of war or narcotics cartels but being met with hatred, violence--and indifference,
selfishness about the "right" not to take the easiest and cost-free vaccines so all people can go back to relative health and safety or even attend religious services,
means that we who identify with being godly (no matter what our religion or denomination is) must not only speak our words of love, justice, hospitality, kindness and mercy, we must put them into action.
If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. James 2:16-18
"Thoughts and prayers" has become a cliche' because those saying it are substituting a meaningless phrase for meaningful action. Does this 🙏 emoji, repeated numerous times, have meaning?
From ancient prophets, and Buddha, and Jesus, we have learned that doing our beliefs is what's important, not thinking them or discussing them endlessly.
Look at all the action verbs here! Do to others what you would have them do to you. Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God. Love your neighbor as yourself. Visit the imprisoned and sick (care for them, in other words). Feed the hungry and give them a drink. Take care of widows and orphans. Don't disrespect, kill, steal, lie, or cheat others. Treat the alien better than your own family. Work, so you can help others instead of stealing from them. Whoever believes will do the work Jesus is doing.
This is not a religion of works of trying to be perfect, that denies grace. This is "work" that sometimes breaks rules or societal expectations, but brings healing, comfort, joy, relief, safety, and uplift to strangers, along with the unexpected grace of friendship and fun with the other people in your service, outreach, or ministry.
A few days ago, I found a post on social media that was composed to match the tone of the Prayer of St Francis of Assisi ("Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace..."). This one takes a different, parallel path.
Lord, make me a channel of disturbance.
Where there is apathy, let me provoke;
Where there is compliance, let me bring questioning;
Where there is silence, let me be a voice;
Where there is too much comfort and too little action, grant disruption;
Where there are doors closed and hearts locked, grant the willingness to listen;
When laws dictate and pain is overlooked...
When tradition speaks louder than need...
Grant that I may seek rather to do justice than to talk about it;
Disturb us, o Lord.
To be with, as well as for, the alienated;
To love the unloveable as well as the unlovely;
Lord, make me a channel of disturbance. (author unknown)
Why did I start this article with a James Taylor reference? So you can be reminded of this part of the song:
Just shower the people you love with love Show them the way that you feel Things are gonna work out fine If you only will Do as I say Shower the people you love with love Show them the way that you feel Things are gonna be much better
If you only will
Don't only shower the people you love (though it's a worthy start), but shower people you don't even know. Shower the hungry. Shower the unloveable or the people who have hurt you. Shower the "other." Shower the helpless or the people living out of a shopping cart. Shower the refugee.
Let it rain. Make love reign.
It will come back to you, I promise.
Shower the People (lyrics embedded on video)
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Christy K Robinson is author of these books (click a highlighted title):
For hundreds of years, religious art has portrayed the manger, an animal feeding trough, as a wooden structure, a piece of furniture in a stable. They showed the stable as a ramshackle building or a cave. But the place where Mary laid her newborn baby may have been the ground floor of a two-story house, and the manger would probably have been a hollowed-out dip in the ground where animal feed was served. The New Testament uses the word katalouma, or family guest quarters, as opposed to the word for a hotel accommodation, pandocheion, where the Good Samaritan took the beat-up traveler to recuperate.
Excavation team at Tall al-Umayri, Jordan, in 2002, perched on the ancient walls of a four-room house.
When I worked as a volunteer on an archaeological site near Amman, Jordan in 2002, one of the buildings our team had excavated and rebuilt over several seasons was a house. The occupants of the house would have slept on the upper floor. Below them, there was storage for food, and a hearth for cooking. The other part of the ground floor was a stable that opened out to a yard with a fence to keep a few sheep or goats safely inside the enclosure.
When Joseph and Mary entered the town of Bethlehem to take part in the census, Joseph would probably have gone to ask cousins who could house them for the nights and days they had to be there to register--and for Mary to give birth in the township Joseph's clan had lived in for a thousand years. But other cousins had arrived earlier, and the homes were bursting at the seams. It's likely that one of Joseph's relatives told him he could camp in the guest quarters also used as an animals' dwelling under a house. The Middle Eastern hospitality ethic would never have turned away a stranger or a family member. They'd have offered housing and food. Mary would have had women to help her give birth.
Was the house located within the walls of the town of Bethlehem, or was it a farm nearby? If the latter, it would be more accessible to the shepherds who had been told to look for the newborn baby.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields
nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the
Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be
afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the
people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he
is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a
baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host
appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth
peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven,
the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see
this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and
the baby, who was lying in the manger.
Shepherds were the bluest of blue collar workers in the Middle East. The humble. The lowly. The people least likely to be invited to the nursery of the Messiah that had been promised for two thousand years. They were not required to crawl into a palace in the presence of King Herod or the Emperor Augustus. They were told to look in or near the small town of Bethlehem for a newborn baby in the feeding trough of the animals they herded and watched over: sheep and goats. That would have been a relief, after seeing a large group of bright, other-worldly beings! Seeing a helpless baby in a manger would have been an immediate slice of "peace on earth" to the shepherds.
Run, Shepherds, run where Bethl’em blest appears,
We bring the best of news, be not dismayed:
A Saviour there is born, more old than years
Amidst Heaven’s rolling heights this earth who stayed;
In a poor cottage inned, a Virgin Maid,
A weakling did Him bear, who all upbears,
There is He poorly swaddled, in a manger laid
To whom too narrow swaddlings are our spheres:
Run, Shepherds, run, and solemnize His birth.
This is that night−no, day, grown great with bliss,
In which the power of Satan broken is;
In Heaven be glory, peace unto the Earth,
Thus singing through the air the angels swam,
A cope of stars re-echoed the same.
William Drummond
from Flowres of Sion
William Drummond(13 December 1585 – 4 December 1649), called "of Hawthornden", was a Scottish poet.
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Christy K Robinson is author of these books (click the colored title):
