Preparations For Things To Come

I’m still painting.

Actually, I’m getting ready to paint.

Most of my work for the past two weeks has been preparing the walls of our house rather than actually applying paint to them.

The preparations to work consume more time than the actual work.

For instance, I’ve removed the rain gutters so I’ll be able to paint the wood behind them. And, I’ve uprooted plants growing against the foundations so I can paint the tier of cinderblock at ground level; yesterday alone this last project generated eight garbage cans overflowing with old leaves and mulch and plant clippings.

As part of our home security system, years ago I planted vicious thorn bushes under each window. That’s a great deterrent for would-be burglars — and for housepainters.

To prove it, scores of gnashes and slashes puncture my hands and forearms.

As I’ve worked, it occurs to me that before I lay hands on a paintbrush, most of the work of house painting involves preparation. And I look at my spiritual life of which I so often despair because I’m so shallow and waffle in my dedication to Christ.

I wonder if I expect too much of myself.

Maybe most of my life is preparation too.

No wonder God has spent the past 68 years preparing John Cowart.

Look at the raw material He has to work with!

His hands got scared too.

During off moments, for pleasure I’ve been reading a 696-page book, a survey of the complete Old Testament. The authors come across as mealy-mouthed about many things but they capture my attention with the scope and grandeur of God’s actions in history.

The Lord God is not distant.

In Him we live and move and have our very being.

The authors’ evaluation of Samson particularly touched me the other day:

The story of Samson has been told and retold both in expurgated form and in lurid detail. What is to be made of a man who cavorted with Philistine women… The story becomes somewhat bizarre… By Samson’s folly of stupidity, the secret of his great strength is discovered….The Philistines are able to bind him, put out his eyes, and imprison him… In a final burst of strength accompanied by a cry to Yahweh, Samson collapses a Philistine temple by pulling away the pillars that support the roof, killing a large number of Philistines.

The story of Samson certainly illustrates no New Testament ethic!

He was selfish and showed little or no control of his passions… a negative religious hero—an example of what God’s charismatic individual should NOT be…

Yet, Samson trusts in Yahweh and is put in situations precisely for the purpose of punishing Philistines. In Hebrews, Samson is named as one of the great herons of faith (Heb.11:32ff).

The lesson of the Judges is, above all, that those who are dedicated to Yahweh can be used by Yahweh.

Elements in their lives may not be in keeping with the Lord’s will.

Their methods may not stand up as exemplary…

Again and again God’s servants fall short in their private and public thoughts and acts… Nonetheless, because of their dedication, Yahweh could use them to deliver Israel from its oppressors and to keep the tribal federation alive until Israel was ready for the next stage in His great redemptive purpose.

I find that statement comforting.

In spite of folly, stupidity, negatives, unrestrained passions, lack of control…

Samson didn’t do anything right.

In every situation he goofed and had to bully his way out.

Yet, God found him usable and he’s numbered as a hero of faith.

Yes indeed, I find that comforting.

A Historic Note For The Kid In The Attic:

Last night’s tv news mentioned off hand an upturn in the number of flu cases in Jacksonville.

I find this intriguing because back in the 70s when I dug graves at Evergreen Cemetery, I stumbled across row upon row graves where whole families died within a day or two of each other during the Spanish Lady flu epidemic which swept the world at the end of World War I.

Then this morning I read a New York Times report that schools in Hong Kong, with out prior notice, abruptly closed yesterday because of a flu outbreak.

Over 500,000 students were dismissed.

“The abrupt closing of the schools, announced late Wednesday night, prompted considerable alarm,” the Times said.

“As the closing of the schools reminded investors of the last lengthy school closing during the SARS outbreak, the Hong Kong stock market plunged 4.79 percent on Thursday, performing worse than any other Asian stock market except India’s as stock markets across Asia declined…”

In all 184 cases of flu have been reported in recent days.

The Hong Kong government assures everyone that this outbreak is seasonal flu — not Bird Flu.

The Times said, “Avian influenza is flu infection in birds. The disease is of concern to humans, who have no immunity against it. The virus that causes this infection in birds can mutate (change) to easily infect humans. Such mutation can start a deadly worldwide epidemic”.

Some officials object to the sudden school closing saying there is no need. “The government is telling people not to panic, but on the other hand is acting in panic,” one said.

“School systems in the United States sometimes close during seasonal influenza outbreaks, but typically wait until so many children and teachers have fallen ill that absenteeism is chronic and every child has already been exposed to the virus”, said Dr. Arnold S. Monto, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan.

Hong Kong may be acting responsibly in closing schools earlier, he said. Malik Peiris, a Hong Kong University microbiologist, said that three common strains of influenza viruses are now circulating in Hong Kong: A(H1N1), A(H3N2) and influenza B. But he said there was no sign of bird flu, which is A(H5N1).

“Is it H5N1? Definitely not,” Mr. Peiris said.