Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday November 18, 2010

It is supposed by a multitude of Christians that one of the most hopeful verses in the entirety of God's Word is the old standby, Romans 8:28:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

The verse is commented on extensively and I don't know that I can add to the commentary other than to say that we must learn that life's bitter and sweet is all part of the package God is putting together a wonderful life. All, means all and therefore each part of our life is designed by the Lord, put into the mix and many fiery trials bake it all together for good. Baking Powder or plain flour does not taste all that good, but leave either out of the mix, and you will get a product that is not all that hot either. Some unpleasant ingredients are necessary for a cake and for life.

A few days ago I wrote about how a series on little things all coming together to make our life heroic. We seldom have the opportunity for the flashing moment of greatness, such as diving into icy water to rescue a drowning child. But we do have the opportunity to choose to live each often boring day within the boundaries marked out by the Word of God.

A man whose life was lived in relative obscurity and poverty said it with an understanding of life beyond his observable experience. Vincent van Gogh said:

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."

Consider this episode from January 13, 1982 Air Florida crash:

"Just two weeks ago, in the midst of a terrible tragedy on the Potomac, we saw again the spirit of American heroism at its finest the heroism of dedicated rescue workers saving crash victims from icy waters. And we saw the heroism of one of our young Government employees, Lenny Skutnik, who, when he saw a woman lose her grip on the helicopter line, dived into the water and dragged her to safety." President Ronald Reagan State of The Union Address.

I remember watching the drama unfold on TV and actually weeping. Lenny flashed on the scene and all these years later I have no idea as to his whereabouts. A series of "togethers" brought about his well earned 15 minutes of fame.

But I wonder of the millions of men and women who on that day faced "ordinary" mountains in their life, and reaching up to heaven gathered the courage to go on one more miserable day, week or year and finally successfully raised a family? How many lives were saved, by this willingness to stay together? The seeming moment of impulse is really the coming together of a series of small things.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2010 Use with credit

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