Category Archives: Life

C.S. Lewis on Rats

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A few words from C.S. Lewis…

“Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover before you switch on the light.”

A reading like that is good for the soul every so often. It reminds me that the big deal is not how I appear to be; the big deal is how I am. Even if one desires deeply to be genuine and sincere and real, the tendency to gloss over and dress up realities that should not exist runs oh-so-deep in each one of us.

And at moments like that, a good shot of truth stated boldly can be just what the doctor ordered.

Jump On

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I am SO on the Warriors’ band-wagon.

Heck, I’m driving the wagon!

Even while the season was going on, I was eyeing the Warriors as they made their push towards FINALLY making the playoffs (13 years since their last visit). I’d noticed this odd trend that no one in the league matched up so well against the mighty Mavs. Who knew why? But I’m no Mavs-lover, so I was intrigued by the idea that they might get a feisty #8 seed in the first round.

Feisty?

Yeah, you could say that!

The Warriors play basketball like the Spartans fight in “300”… no retreat, no surrender.

Enough blabbing.

I’m off to see if the Warriors can finish the Mavs off with one last quarter.

And then I’m going to see Dirk cry.

PS: Dallas DID get beat.  “Destroyed” is a better word.  Dirk did NOT cry, at least not on camera.  And the feel-good story of the playoffs so far continues.  Now if only my Raptors could muster up some guts and force a Game 7… not so sure.

Chew on Gifts?

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I’ve been chewing on something for a while.  Now it’s sharing time.

Spiritual gifts…

What do you think of when you hear that phrase?  Maybe a hundred images. But its core is easy enough to find.  We are each created differently, no two of us alike, and that is a good thing.

4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.  (Romans 12)

Simple enough.  And what is the point of all these gifts?

 4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

 7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
(1 Corinthians 12)

Okay, beautiful but easy stuff here.  God gifts people, each one uniquely, and this is done “for the common good” (NIV).

So what have I been chewing on?

In a recent read, an author named Lynn Anderson made this comment on the topic…

“The specific work of each part is DETERMINED PRIMARILY by the specific spiritual gift God has given to that part (person).  We all have the same spirit, and we all have gifts.  But we do not all have the same gift.  And God has given these gifts for the ‘common good’ or ‘to serve’.”

Here’s the concern that I’m feeling.

I agree with  Anderson’s comment.  The Spirit’s gift-providing should primarily determine the works of service that a given individual might give themselves to, the role which he or she might play within a congregation, even within the world.

But I fear that for many the works of God’s people are actually being determined primarily by the current structures and forms of their given congregation.  In many churches, if one is not obviously gifted in public speaking, music/singing, or teaching some age group of people, then it’s silently assumed that your gift is to hold down a seat faithfully each week, thus equating your Spirit-of-God-given gift to the gifting of an anvil.

In such a church, frustration may mount because a few are “carrying the load” of the many.  Why won’t people get involved?  Could it be that they have no idea what their gift is?  Or that they have a sense of what their gift might be but they never considered that this would be significant alongside the task of simply fitting into what the congregation is already doing?  And they’ve concluded that they don’t really fit.

One clarification: I am familiar with small churches.  That’s all I’ve ever been a part of.  So I am not suggesting that people need to switch churches to find their niches elsewhere.  And I am not saying that churches need to develop more programs so that there are more potential slots for people to fit into.  Anyone who knows me knows that I’m no major program fan.  Nor is this a plug that we should all attend mega-churches where we can find the longest possible list of options on the church program menu.

So what’s my point?!

Sigh.

I’m just wondering how much Spirit-given creative, redemptive power we might be squandering because of an innocent inability or a stubborn refusal to look outside the box.

I’m simply questioning why it seems like a novel idea that gifts should be looked at first BEFORE programs are set up, as opposed to the opposite, which seems to be a route destined for dryness.

I guess I’m asking how one goes about assessing things like spiritual gifts apart from any open-the-box-then-fill-in-the-blanks-then-add-up-your-score-and-see-how-God-made-you-to-be tests.

I just want to use my imagination.  I just want to ask people I know to use theirs too…

If church as we knew it didn’t exist, if you were just a God-loving, Scripture-searching, prayer-offering, “man-I-want-to-follow-Jesus” man or woman who slept in and ate pancakes every Sunday because there was no such thing as church to go to…

  • How would you believe that God wanted you to touch your world?
  • What would you feel as though you should do to serve?

The way I see it, answering questions like that might serve us well.  Our answers might even teach us how to serve our world in a way “primarily determined” by what the Spirit has placed within us, as opposed to being “primarily determined” by any forms or structures (great or otherwise) that just happen to already be in place within a given congregation.

Sigh.

Okay.

Now I’ve been sharing something for a while.

Who wants to chew this with me?

Federer VS Nadal

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Tennis fans arise!

I never even heard about this until today.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal undoubtedly have the greatest rivalry in men’s tennis these days.  Interest in the fact that grass courts seems to favour Federer while clay courts seem to “work” for Nadal has led to a wild match.  They’ve designed a custom-made court to give each man his best surface.

It looks like this…

Want the story, go HERE.

Cecil Bailey (1913-2007)

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On April 3, I attended the funeral of my 94-year-old friend Cecil. He was a man of faith and a man of character. I considered myself blessed to know him and to actually have chances to bounce ideas around with him. He once called me “my boy” in a passing sentence; I wasn’t related to him through any family tree, but I took the phrase as a badge that I was happy to wear. He was a man to aspire after; besides that high praise, closer-to-earth comments fit Cecil too, like this one: He was a wonderfully easy man to enjoy.

At his funeral, his son-in-law read this eulogy. I found it quite beautiful and have finally found a copy to post.

Whether or not you knew a man named Cecil Bailey is irrelevant. The words below testify to a life well lived. I’ve bolded parts that I found especially touching.

It is a shame that eulogies are reserved for funerals; life I’m sure would be so much more enjoyable if our positive characteristics were those which others chose to see.

However you know my father-in-law; Mr. Bailey, Brother Bailey, Cecil Bailey, uncle, dad or grandpa, you know him as a man of honour and integrity.

He did not fear death, but looked forward to it; in life and death he was an example and encouragement to those around him.

We do not mourn his passing as one fading into oblivion, but rejoice in his passage into the heavenly home.

A verse from the Prologue of the book “Paul”, written by Brother Bailey reflects his admiration of the apostle and in some ways speaks to his own life.

The impact of his life’s beyond ‘renown’;
Because of him the world is richer far.
His foes declared he ‘turned it upside down!’
Not so. To all mankind he is a guiding star.


Paul told the Corinthians; “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” I think my father-in-law took that recommendation to heart.

While it may be said of him that, what you saw is what you got; the sometimes unpolished exterior belied the true nature of the inner man. Mr. Bailey achieved excellence in his roles as teacher and as principal in the secular educational system, but his real passion was teaching the truths contained in scripture.

My father-in-law had what it takes to be a great teacher – he was a consummate learner.

In his study he was fastidious; always searching; always learning. I don’t believe I’ve met a younger thinking old man. Brother Bailey did more than keep up with current thought; he was himself a forward thinker.

As to his religious leaning; he was a conservative liberal fundamentalist.

Mr. Bailey held a deep loyalty to Christ and to the church; he was persistent in belief, and, in his commitment to God he was totally loyal. He loved God’s word and derived pleasure and strength from it.

In honesty dad was above reproach; he was tireless in promoting justice. He stood up for those unable to stand up for themselves. He was uncompromising in ethics and highly principled in life.

He learned to forgive and love those who wronged him; and developed patience toward those who misunderstood him.

If I were asked what kind of man my father-in-law was, I would think back to a bleak cold winter’s day; he had traveled from Winnipeg to Regina in minus 40o temperatures, as he often did he picked up a hitch-hiker; when he dropped the guy of on the outskirts of Regina he gave him $10 and his winter coat. The $10 was likely all he had on him and he didn’t have another coat.

Cecil would literally give the shirt off his back; he generously practiced true religion which Jesus described in a pictorial scene of the judgment.

“I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat;
I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink;
I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me;
I was sick, and you visited Me;
I was in prison, and you came to Me.”


Cecil Bailey did all of those things; and I expect that in this gathering some of us were recipients in one or more ways of his generosity.

Cecil Bailey was a stabilizing influence in the brotherhood of Christians; a stalwart of the faith; a champion of love; he will be missed.