The Plumbline

It was Winston Churchill who reminded us that if we are "going through hell, keep going"! It isn't one of those places where we should stop and 'enjoy the scenery', for sure! Hell on this earth often isn't so much of a place as it is a condition or set of circumstances that make life just too doggone unbearable that we almost want to just curl up in a fetal position and languish in our misery. Churchill was also the one who said, "The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty." I think that is how I try to live my life - as one who looks for the opportunities - knowing full well the difficulties are there, but not being willing to settle into them and allow them to settle into me! 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. 4 And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more eac...

13 So don’t criticize each other anymore. Try instead to live in such a way that you will never make your brother stumble by letting him see you doing something he thinks is wrong.  (Romans 14:13 TLB) Paul has spent a great deal of time in this letter to the Roman church explaining the plan of salvation, but he has also corrected some 'bad behavior' that needed a little adjusting. In this sense, he is acting more like a father to them than we might first think. He isn't content to allow the pettiness of comparison to go on in this 'family of God' because he knows just how damaging that can be when it gets a foothold. Comparison is usually coupled with criticism - they are partners in crime. I have learned it is easier to criticize than to seek to understand. It is more convenient to point out faults than to help someone overcome them. Yet, if we are to be a cohesive family unit, we need to put both of these weapons away. In the time Paul is writing, there...