Write Yourself a Letter!

It has been a minute since I have written a blog. Actually, it has been since September of '23. The hiking season kicked into full flow and I was driving over five hundred miles a day shuttling hikers between the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon. Mally was running back and forth in the lodge helping people to check in, get their room assignments, order their meals, reporting maintenance requests; not to mention, taking care of me. Her days were filled much more than mine. Life has gotten really busy and challenging over the last eight months. We finished the season at the North Rim and said goodbye to those we had come to enjoy. Larry, our boss, is a super guy and I really wanted to stay another season. He has invited us to return this year, but I believe that ship has sailed; at least for the near future. Upon our return to the east, we landed in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was great to be back with family. The hard part about the return was seeing my brother who was near the end of his life while fighting cancer. My father died in 1998, my mother in 2021, and now my brother on December 9, 2023. It was my honor to preach my mother's funeral. I have to say, it broke my heart to preach Nick's. I prayed about his battle and against his death, but in the end, the Lord called him home and I still give Jesus all my praise. With Nick's passing, a little bit of light left my life that day, yet because of my faith in and love for Christ, coupled with Nick's, I am certain I'll see that light again. Since we have moved to Chatty, (I'm not sure if I have a right to say that since we've just moved here), my own oncologist has discovered some more cancer in me. Wow, that is hard to say. It is a real kick in the gut! Currently, I am getting a PET scan, biopsies, and face future treatments. This is where I must reflect back on why I began this 'Wear Jesus Well' blog. It is my firm belief we as Christians have a responsibility, a mandate, and a great privilege to represent Jesus regardless of the challenging circumstances we find ourselves facing. You recall Paul's letter to the church at Philippi when he wrote,

Philippians 4:10-13, ...I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret to being filled and going hungry, having abundance or suffering need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me."

"All things" to me means I must wear Jesus well in all things, including my physical ailments.

Ok, let's get to it!

The Christian band, "Mercy Me," released a song a few years back. It's in the form of a letter the lead singer, Bart Millard, wrote to himself based on his past. It is entitled, "Dear Younger Me." I have to admit at first hearing, I was moved to reflect on my life. The question raised is "if you had to write yourself a letter, what would you say?" Millard wrote from his abusive past experiences at the hands of his father. He reflected on it with concern for having taken the blame for all that had occurred during his early years, including his parents’ divorce. What a difficult thing to do! Dredging up the past, re-living the hatred toward his father and his father's hatred toward him, and resurrecting the feelings of guilt, was and is a tough row to hoe for him as it would be for anybody. The idea of writing a letter to myself is a bit of a mind binder. That said, I set here thinking about what I would write to myself in my current health situation. It could be advice, reflection of my past experiences, or my salvation story; oh, I suppose the list could go on for quite a while. One thing is certain and I am thankful for: I had no abusive parents or terrible living situations to write about. It was quite the opposite.

I am writing in the style of the Apostle Paul and many of his contemporaries by starting with my name followed by the addressee.

Steve (that's me), a servant of my Lord Jesus Christ, who is King of kings and Lord of lords, by the power of the Holy Spirit in me: am writing this letter to you Steve (myself) a faithful saint, servant, and brother in Christ. This isn't a tongue in cheek salutation I am writing to you. I consider you to be just that: a (faithful) servant, saint, brother, and follower of Jesus Christ (although still a work in progress). I am not calling you these things based on the grounds of your performance or good works in life, but rather on what the Bible says about any true follower of Christ. 

Ephesians 2:1-10: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Don't get a big head; just humbly receive it and keep reading. 

Brother, you have circled the sun seventy times with each evolution bringing about hundreds of situations for you to deal with; both earlier in life, on your own, without a saving relationship with Jesus, and now in your later years, having the power, guidance, and comfort of the Holy Spirit with which to help you cope. None of these situations are unique to you. Every person who has ever drawn a breath has faced the same situations only tailored to each individual. The Old Testament writings detail at length the failures and successes of the people of the past. The New Testament is no different. The Apostle Peter, one of your favorites, is a prime example for you to remember. Recall how he was an ordinary fisherman along with his brother Andrew and his father. They worked together every day; tending nets, hauling in and cleaning fish, taking them to market, cleaning the boats and repairing the nets at nauseum. It was a continual cycle. Do you see the similarities between you and Peter? You painted houses with your father, brother, uncle, and cousin. You prepared the surfaces, mixed the paint, put out the drop cloths, and applied gallons and gallons of paint (by hand I might add) while climbing up and down ladders at nauseum. Oh, and by the way, Peter used to say stupid stuff as well! That hits home, doesn't it? Yours is a good family with its' Christian background and values. But with that, do you remember how you seemed to always have this pull from the world for you to have it your way? I'm sure you remember church in your youth. You and your co-conspirators would plan and execute the theft of the extra communion bread the older ladies in the church baked. I know you can still taste it even as you read this letter. Those were the best tasting little wafers; kind-of-like short-bread without the sugar. Yeah, you remember. Those ladies did their very best to hide those wafers, but you and your pals would ferret them out in a New York minute. Ok, admittedly, that isn't the worst sin you have committed, but it helped lay the groundwork for all future accounts. It was a minor offense, but in reality, many, if not most, sins have an appearance of being minor in nature while still having terrible consequences. In the Garden of Eden, Eve's eating the forbidden fruit and giving it to Adam bears witness to that truth, see Genesis 3:4-7. Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence of God after the very first bite because for the first time, they became aware of the consequence of the sin of pride and disobedience. I mean really; why hide yourself unless you know you had done something wrong?

Brother, I am not going to make you dredge up all the shortcomings of your past. You know what, I am sugar coating it. Shortcomings is just a soft word for what it really is: SIN! Go ahead Steve. Say it out loud. Sssssssssin. It has the sound a snake makes in the grass as it slips up on you. That's why the churches around the country are exploding with people sitting in the pews (no chairs), listening to the band. Sin isn't talked about from the pulpit. So, I won't make you recall all the sins of your past; it serves no purpose because they are forgiven. You know them all. Your conscious brings them up even though they no longer have the ability to stain your life. The important thing for you to remember is each and every failure; i.e. sins you have committed are no longer germane to your life. You have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ via the sacrifice He made for you on the cross.

Scripture has a little something to say about this.

Daniel 9:9 "The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him."

The "Christian" band Casting Crowns recorded a song talking about the extreme level of forgiveness God applies to his repentant children. It is called "East to West." I don't adhere to some of the lyrics, but the message of God's forgiveness is clear: Your sins, when forgiven, are as far as the East to the West, because of the outstretched arms of Jesus on the cross. The message is taken from Psalm 103:12, "...as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us."

God puts it another way in His Word as well;

Isaiah 43:25 records the intention of God toward the nation of Israel, “I am He who blots out your transgressions for My Own sake, and I will not remember your sins,” or

Hebrews 8:12 where many scholars believe it is written to the Jews living in Jerusalem, “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

The truth is, just as God forgives the sins of His children in the past, He also forgives, and no longer remembers, the sins of His children now, yes Steve, even yours.

You are probably asking why I am writing you this letter. Can I simply tell you it is for your assurance. Assurance that no matter what you are going through, there is hope in Jesus Christ. No matter what your family is going through, there is hope in Jesus Christ. No matter what this nation and the world is going through, there is hope in Jesus Christ.

Steve, my message is "There is ALWAYS HOPE, in NONE OTHER than Jesus Christ! So, tell your friends, your family, your co-workers (oops, I forgot you're retired), and whoever will listen why they can have assurance of their relationship with Jesus. Trust me, they will thank you for it!

Readers, I encourage you to write yourself a letter. You never know what you will say!

Blessings,

Wear Jesus Well!