To Christ my Savior King
In Spring My Christ went out to plant
His seed within my heart
Then bud to leaf and bloom to fruit
Each played their Summer’s part
Till Autumn’s frost one morning spoke
Of Winter’s gathering wings
And I in joy the harvest gave
To Christ my Savior King
To Christ My Savior King by Peter Caligiuri © 2020 All rights reserved
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9:22 ESV
A friend of ours told us a story about how his elderly father asked him to put a ladder into his tool shed. The problem was not that they didn’t want to help but that the shed was just too small. Â No matter how they turned and twisted the ladder it wouldn’t go all the way in. But all through the struggle dad kept insisting that they keep trying! The message of about Jesus is a lot like that ladder. It is long enough to reach all the way to heaven but we need to present it in a way that fits into the shed.
Between the Coronavirus, cancelled church services and protest marches, people have a lot of stuff going on in their lives. We need to catch their attention in a hurry. A lot can be said about the shallowness of comments on Twitter but I love that it forces us to get to the point. In the same way if the gospel is going to be heard then we need to cut out unnecessary words; make a clear point and do it creatively. We have the best news in the universe – the love of God in Jesus Christ. There is nothing even remotely boring about His forgiveness or gift of salvation and eternal life. We just need to ask God for a way to share it that will be like a ladder short enough to fit into every heart!
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Ruth 1:16 ESV
In this small Old Testament book, we meet a woman named Naomi, for whom all natural hope seemed to be lost. She had followed her husband to a foreign land where he and both of their sons died. Naomi was alone in that strange place, a woman with no resources, no hope, future and no idea where to turn. Her only choice was to return to her home village.
But Naomi found hope in the unexpected kindness of her faithful daughter-in-law Ruth. Ruth shows all of us how holding on to God in desperate times gives hope both to us and to those around us. Even at the lowest point of Naomi’s life, God had already begun to work to restore hope. That hope began in the form of Ruth. Though no one else would go with Naomi and no one else would help, Ruth chose to remain. Ruth chose to walk with Naomi through that darkest time of her life. Ruth had no answers to give and no special abilities to offer. Ruth simply stood by her friend.
God has also begun a work in every one of our lives. Even when we find ourselves in unexpected sorrow God is in control. We don’t need to know all the answers to be kind. God Himself will bring us Hope and He can use us to bring hope to someone else. What does hope look like? With God’s help it just might look like you or me!
What Does Hope Look Like? by Peter Caligiuri © 2020 All rights reserved
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