A Closer Walk
A CLOSER WALK
Greg Worthen
Ever seen the bumper sticker, "Jesus is coming back. Look busy!” Kinda misses the point of the Christ-led life doesn't it? In that vein here is a quote. "I read in a book that a man named Christ went about doing good. It is very disconcerting to me that I am so easily satisfied by just going about," Toyohiko Kagawa, 1888-1960. Mr. Kagawa was a Protestant Christian Pacifist. He worked on ways to implement Christian principles in ordering society and cooperatives in his native Japan. He was a Christian reformer and labor activist and he advocated for women's suffrage as well as a peaceful foreign policy. His avocation to help the poor caused him to live among them. Look him up on Wikipedia or Britannica Online. He has an interesting story.
Just going about, as Mr. Kagawa put it, doesn't really further the Kingdom of God. Nor does it benefit us, or enrich us, or help us to further the Kingdom. But we can invest quite a lot of time in doing the going about. In his 13 Virtues, Benjamin Franklin listed things to practice for his own personal development and he included, “Industry: loose no time, be always employ'd in something useful, cut off all unnecessary actions.” Necessary actions would include sleep, for God created us to sleep. Rest, sometimes it is good to stop what we are doing and just pause and think about something else for a bit; and doing that offers us a quick recharge. Eating, our bodies were created to need fuel and food is exactly that for us. Drinking water or some other type of liquid beverage is necessary to the proper functioning of our bodies. Dehydration anyone? Work, even people who have retired from their careers need something to do; a reason to get out of bed in the morning and somewhere to go. There are other necessary things for each of us that should be included on our own lists of necessary actions.
Unnecessary actions? That is much more subjective. Most of us likely could come up with two or three things or more we view as unnecessary. Spending time reflecting on the various things we do could inspire us to pick out one or two which we could adapt into doing good, and not just going about. Volunteering somewhere. Picking up a part-time job so we would have a little more to give (we get to keep the rest).
It is good to do good with and for our families, and our friends. Take a family member or friend out for supper. Treat them to an ice cream cone. If a new person or family comes to church offer to take them out for lunch. Both we and the person or persons we are treating will get to know each other a little better. And it will make them feel welcome. If we give it some thought we could come up with all kinds of ways to go about doing good, rather than just going about.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another,” John 13:34-35 NKJV. How do WE practice loving one another?
“Loving God, loving each other, Making music with my friends; Loving God, loving each other, And the story never ends. They pushed back from the table To listen to His words, His secret plan before He had to go. It's not complicated; Don't need a lot of rules, This is all you'll need to know. Loving God, loving each other, Making music with my friends; Loving God, loving each other, And the story never ends.” Song writers: Alejandro Martinez, David Thomas, Ivan Martin.
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Dear readers: I also looked at using the Elvis Presley song “Where No One Stands Alone,” to end this column but finally decided that “Loving God, Loving Each Other,” fit this particular column better. But if you want a treat go to Youtube and search for “Where No One Stands Alone.” There is a version where Lisa Marie sings a duet with her dad on this. Brought tears to my eyes. Enjoy.