Good News Sense

Back 40 years ago, when I was the age of my students, I expected to be married, a father, and grandfather by now. I have always loved kids—little ones, teenagers, and anybody who keeps the best qualities of kids. I love the energy, curiosity, eagerness to understand, and minds that are working, questioning, and planning.

Instead of being a father, I’m a tutor, something I’ve done most of those 40 years. Lately I’ve been helping refugees and other immigrants and internationals, many who have few others to help. I am appalled and disgusted at what happens to most of them in school, starting with NOT teaching them English. I want my guys to succeed, and most schools do not prepare them for that. One administrator actually said, “You’d be surprised how well some of them figure it out.” Just imagine trying to learn a foreign language by “figuring it out!” That is apparently their educational strategy for ELL students (English Language Learners). Such an approach assures that many will fail, end up in crummy low-paying jobs, and not even be able to communicate with their English-speaking neighbors. This strategy is evil, far worse than mere neglect or laziness.

I fear some would like to create a pool of low paid workers. Others would change this country away from the very things that have made it the place where so many have wanted to come—freedom, opportunity, and a better life. I want to do what I can to keep people from falling into the bottom of our communities, becoming our enemies rather than our friends, and importing the problems they were trying to escape when they came here. I want them to know Jesus.

This is not something our government should do, and I wouldn’t trust government to do it well, at that. I suspect the numbers of immigrants will increase, and only we ordinary folks can assure that these new immigrants are welcomed and assimilated. As Christians, we have an even greater challenge AND an opportunity to help them appreciate who we really are—kind, loving, and generous people who love our neighbors and our God. We have the chance to show them forgiveness and grace and a salvation not only for the next life but for this one, a life Jesus called abundant.

I am not opposed to overseas missions, but they are becoming increasingly difficult. Today, the mission is coming to us; and, while mission is our spiritual obligation, loving and caring for these often young strangers is also in our own best interest. I have never opposed immigration, but I do think that any sensible country regulates the influx of people from other cultures who speak other languages. “Being nice” isn’t a strategy; it is wishful thinking and a recipe for disaster.

One of my students arrived at his foster home from overseas much later than expected. When he finally arrived, he was a difficult person to accommodate in the home although he worked well enough with me on his English. After being here several weeks, the foster parents learned, when he needed a prescription filled, that this boy had tuberculosis, in fact, had been hospitalized before leaving his country. That was the reason he was late, but the foster parents were never informed! This was a legal entry. How many illnesses enter our communities with people who come illegally?

However, these children are not mere symbols of a controversial issue. They are real people, often the victims of tragedy, separated from family, if not orphaned, who have nothing in this world. Both wisdom and compassion says we must reach out to them and bring them into our hearts, our neighborhoods, and our churches. To do that, we much teach them, starting with English. As we teach them, we must also love them. They are not hard to love although they are normal teenagers, not angels.

What is the good news in all of this? Is turning 60 good news? I wrote about that, last time, but the answer is yes. While I wouldn’t mind younger, stronger body, I would not exchange it for the knowledge and experience I have gained. I would give up the places I have gone, the people I’ve met, or the friends I have made. I would not even trade my sadness or regrets for youth, because the hard things of life teach us to understand sin, appreciate grace, know Jesus, and love God and his children. My 40 years of adult living are a treasure without price.

It is also good news to know that we can overcome the challenges we face. I have learned to cope with many diverse problems over the years I have lived. I also know we have the ability to help others, like my refugee students and other immigrants, deal with difficult circumstances and triumph over daunting obstacles. We are “able abundantly to do more than we ask or imagine through the power that works through us,” if we will. Will you?

[My ultimate goal is to start a school, but I am beginning by raising money for tutoring, teaching ESL,  and perhaps even paying tuition to Christian school.  If this interest you or you think your church might be interested, just leave me a comment and I will be in touch.  Thanks. Roger]

In another week, I begin my 60th year. Am I finally “over the hill?” Some feel over the hill at 40 or even 30! Is it only “downhill” from here on? Downhill, in my experience is easy and fast. I’ll grant that, in some ways, the years seem to be going faster; actually, it seems like the previous 59 are much less than that. As we often say, “Where has the time gone?” However, my experience with aging, so far, is neither easy nor fast.

We live in a culture that tries to deny or hide the passing years. Because people refuse to believe in eternal life and God’s provision for life after death, they fear death and aging more than anything. They want to stay young, look youthful, and conceal their actual age. I’m a baby boomer, and our generation spoke of not trusting anyone over 30. Now we’re twice that or more (and, to be honest, I don’t trust most of them!). People talk of being “39” forever; but, of course, the years continue to pass.

Christians should have a better perspective. Life is a blessing; every single day is precious. The passing of the years is a good thing. Age and, hopefully, maturity brings wisdom and respect. Many are privileged to see children and then grandchildren come and grow to adulthood: “Blessed is the man whose quiver is full!”

For many years, including most of the fifteen I spent on the radio, I have openly celebrated my birthdays and encouraged others to do the same (I wrote this blog 3 years ago, and it gets into my thoughts in much greater detail). For a big 40th year bash, I insisted that the “Over the hill” theme be banned. I know it’s meant to be a joke; but I don’t consider the root attitude to be funny, and 40 is the prime of life. Even now, at 60, I don’t consider my life over or nearly ended. Of course, the length of my earthly life is in God’s hands. I don’t expect to retire, not willingly anyway. As long as God gives me life and the ability, I intend to serve him.

One of my refugee students insists he will take care of me when I’m old. He asked, once, how old I’d be in 20 years. He said I could live with him, even if he ended up back in Guatemala, where I could “teach the little ‘childs’ English.” I asked him if he thought I’d still be doing that at 80. First, he just wanted to be clear that I didn’t have to work; he’d take care of me. Then he paused and said, “Yes!” He understands that I don’t work, just to earn an income; I carry out the task God has given me to do and will as long as he gives me breath.

I won’t deny a bit of pleasure when people express surprise at my age. I’m not eager to look decrepit or feel the weight of many years, but I’m not ashamed of them. The end of this life is the beginning of eternity in a “body like unto his glorious body.” When that day comes, I will be ready. Till then, I rejoice in every day, every year he gives me!

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Next Sunday night, April 26, I’m having a 60th birthday party at the Gone Wired Cafe, 2021 E. Michigan Avenue, just up the street from GNS, from 7 - 10 p.m.  I’m using the occasion to have a little fun but also to raise money for at tutoring fund to help students who lack the resources, are trying to learn English without much help from the schools, or may even consider Christian school.

As every year I get closer to being a senior citizen, I find greater comfort in the hope of the resurrection. As the years pass, the number of loved ones I look forward to seeing again increases—grandparents, aunts and uncles, a few friends, and my Dad, who’s been gone 40 years already. Just in the last few months, an aunt only a few years older than I, the young husband of a teacher I know, a fellow bass in our church choir, and a cute little girl name Katie Fitch passed from this life to the next.

“From this life to the next” is a common euphemism, but it speaks to the very reality of the hope Christians like me cherish. Many use odd phrases simply to avoid speaking of the reality of death, but this one is an honest reminder that, for believers in the resurrected Christ, the death of the body is a transition to another existence.

Christianity is unique, not in the promise of paradise, but in providing a rational explanation of the promise. Many dream of unending existence, but living forever under the burdens of sin and death’s corruption is no blessing. Writers have imagined the burden of life simply continuing forever, an existence that becomes a burden. They may not understand why or accept the reality of sin’s devastation, but they recognize that something is so wrong that living forever would be increasingly unpleasant…but not for those with faith in a resurrected Jesus Christ!

Just didn’t just defeat death; he defeated the cause of death. Resurrection Sunday follows Good Friday; for his resurrection from the dead completes the mission that required his atoning death on a cross. Because death came by man, Adam, so death’s defeat and true eternal life comes by this special man, and so we sing.

I don’t know what the “next life” will be like because it will be so profoundly different from this one. What will a world without sin be? Evil, pain, sorrow, abandonment, loneliness, and regret will not trouble the next life, all because of what Jesus, the “Lamb of God,” accomplished. With sin and death defeated, life will be glorious, not the least because we will spend it forever with this remarkable person who made it all possible. Worthy indeed, is he to receive honor and glory and blessing. Amen.

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and form the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.” (Psalm 22:1-2)

David, “the man after God’s own heart,” first uttered those words, later spoken by Jesus from the cross. To feel as if God has abandoned us, to feel that we are alone, and to doubt that the words of our prayers are heard is a common human experience. The presence of sin on the earth has broken relationships, starting with the first couple, and created doubt in our confidence, even in God.

When Jesus spoke those same words on Good Friday, he declared his full humanity, a complete rapport with the plight of humankind, and a total satisfaction of divine judgment upon sin. He fully understands our pain in betrayal, abandonment, and loss. He experienced every kind of temptation yet remained sinless. He bore “our sins in his body on the tree.” He has provided for our sadness and sorrow to be comforted. He has promised never to leave us alone, however we may feel. When we hurt, we may recall and claim what he has accomplished and promised.

At the same time, in our sense of forsakenness, we also gain a sense of his loss. When we review, this Holy Week, the events leading to and born out on the cross, we can understand more fully what price he has paid for our redemption. Our suffering connects us to his suffering; in bearing our sorrows, we may indeed worship the one who bore our sorrows and sin.

If you’d like to consider these thoughts in more detail, check out “Abandoned but Never Alone.”