New Testament era, saw in his travels one day an old man planting olive trees. Knowing that olives are one of the slowest growing trees, the Emperor said to the bent and frail man, “Those trees you plant will not bear olives for years to come. Do you expect to live long enough to enjoy the rewards of your labor?”
The toiling man looked up and replied, “If deity will, I shall, and if not, my sons will eat of the fruit of my labor. My father and his father before him planted olive trees that I might have their fruit. It is now my duty to help provide for those who will come after I have gone.”7
God’s Word points on a number of occasions to the very special status we can secure as Christians. Jesus Himself said: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man [or woman] remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5a). The Apostle Paul in Romans 8:17a writes: “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co–heirs with Christ.” Indeed, as the Apostle Peter points out in 1 Peter 3:7b, we are “. . . heirs . . . of the gracious gift of life.” Not only the gift of life, but also the gift of new life.
Should we not then plant some olive trees with olive branches so that those who follow may know the same peace . . . the peace that passes all understanding?
What About Tomorrow?
January 22
In an interview broadcast on the CBC national news soon after the devastating earthquake that rocked southern California in January of 1994, a CBC reporter was vividly describing some of the damage around the Los Angeles area. She mentioned the loss of life and said that residents were very uneasy in their homes, some of them arranging to sleep outside for fear of aftershocks.
Then the host newscaster asked her reporter, “What about tomorrow?” The response was, “That’s the question on everyone’s lips.”
To be truthful, that’s a question on the lips of more than a few people. And usually it is asked against a background of fear or uncertainty . . . for various kinds of earth–shattering events are happening as well as “natural” earthquakes.
“What about tomorrow?” is a very natural question to ask at this juncture in history.
Jesus had something to say about it in the solid pages of teaching in Matthew 5, 6, and 7—part of what is called the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus had just made reference to very simple things like food and clothing and the fact that God cares for the plants and the animals.
“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
Then He made this incisive statement:
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).
It is our privilege to trust God for tomorrow.
An Honest Servant
January 23
Many years before his martyrdom, Hugh Latimer had preached rather forthrightly before Henry VIII. The king was offended, ordered Latimer to preach the next Sunday and to make an apology for the offence he had given. Latimer searched his soul but truly believed he needed to remain faithful to his message. Then he repeated the sermon he had preached to the king the Sunday before. The king asked him how he could be so bold as to preach to the king in that way. Latimer replied that he merely discharged his duty and followed his conscience. The king embraced him and reportedly said, “Blessed be God, I have so honest a servant.”
Not many preachers, nor any other Christians, find themselves in such a situation of personal danger in this day and age—at least not in the Western world. It certainly happened in the former Soviet Union, in China, and in other repressive areas of our world . . . and is still happening.
Ask the question: “What is the cost of being a real Christian?” The answer is simple—
“Everything.” Didn’t Jesus Himself open the possibility? He said to His followers: “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me” (John 15:20–21).
Two among the followers who tested the principle were Peter and John. After the resurrection, they were involved in the healing of a crippled beggar and soon found themselves before the Jewish authorities. Boldly, Peter explained the situation, stating that the miracle had been performed in the name of Jesus. Acts 4:13 tells us: “When they [that is the authorities] saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
Just as they took note of Hugh Latimer and even of you and me as we stand firm.
Favorites
January 24
Do you try to treat others with complete fairness, or do you find yourself treating people according to who they are? From time to time, all of us, as much as we hate to admit it, treat people according to who they are. And we likely feel fully justified in doing so. We prefer some folk to others, and the ones we prefer, we usually favor. If we decide to have guests over for dinner, we certainly favor the ones we like and would likely invite them to come. Perhaps we favor some people in life because they are wealthy, others because they are famous, still others because they are successful, or even because they are super intelligent; maybe they are people who could help us out along the way.
Jesus went to eat one Sabbath at the home of a prominent Pharisee, and as He nearly always did, He drew a number of lessons from the occasion. One lesson had to do with showing favors to important people. Jesus said to his host:
When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous (Luke 14:12–14).
I don’t think that Jesus is using this principle for every occasion, saying that you can’t have your friends, relatives, and neighbors for lunch. He is stressing, I believe, that the poor and the disadvantaged should not be left out of your planning. “God does not show favoritism,” Paul writes in his letter to the Romans. We would be wise to follow the example of our Lord in this area.
Every Christian Has a Cross
January 25
In his book Storm Warning, Billy Graham tells of an incident that occurred while he was traveling in an Eastern European country, then under Communist domination.
Traveling with him was an Orthodox priest. One day while the usual swarm of media representatives surrounded them, the Orthodox priest said to Dr. Graham, “Every believer has a cross. I know what ours is. But I wondered what yours was.” Then looking out over the crowd of reporters standing before Dr. Graham, the priest said simply, “Now I know.”8
“Every believer has a cross.” That seems to fly in the face of the idea that when one becomes a Christian, all difficulties are over. Not so. Jesus Himself said—to his followers—“In
