LEAST!

Nope, that’s not Dallas as in “DFW,” in Texas. This Dallas is a tiny rural hamlet in Morayshire, Scotland, close to Elgin, where I happened to be on a preaching assignment. This Dallas (pop. 200) was what apparently—and indirectly—gave rise to the name of our fair city—Dallas, TX (“where the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average,” and where these men, women, and children account for a pop. of 5,700,000). Quite a far cry from this other little known locality that bears the same name. From little things ….

(When you folks in DFW suffer under watering restrictions this summer with the temps in the scorching and searing 100s, it might help to remember that “Dallas” comes from the Gaelic Dalais, which means “valley of water”!)

George Mifflin Dallas (1792–1864), for whom the 5th largest metropolitan region in the U.S. was actually named, had roots in the bonnie Dallas across the Atlantic; his ancestors hailed from Scotland. Mr. Dallas, by the way, was the 11th Vice President of the U.S., serving under James Polk. From little things ….

Dallas to DFW. From little things, great things can arise. From the humblest beginnings, glorious trajectories may be traced.

You might remember David’s choice by God to be king over Israel. Samuel, the prophet, preparing to anoint the next regent is surveying the sons of Jesse for potential candidates to the throne. Seven eminent and exemplary youths, full of vim and vigour, parade before the seer. Samuel is hopeful. But God is not.

"… God sees
not as a man sees,
for man looks
at the outward appearance,
but the LORD
looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7

The youngest, the shepherd-boy, the least, David, who described himself as “a dead dog, a single flea” (1 Sam 24:14), becomes the next monarch. The least becomes the great. There is hope for the rest of us!

This same God who looks at the heart told us through His Son that …

“… the one who is
the greatest among you
must become
like the youngest,
and the leader
like the servant."
Luke 22:26

A true recognition of self-worth, is what God is talking about. That’s what He looks for—humility. The knowledge that we wouldn’t be what we are but for the grace of God. Without God, never! With Christ, nobody! Without the Spirit, nothing! The greatest is the least!

For who regards
you as superior?
And what do you have
that you did not receive?
1 Corinthians 4:7

The greatest is the least! What an odd principle, but Biblical.

"Whoever then
humbles himself
as this child,
he is the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 18:4

And the least becomes the greatest!

... humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you
at the proper time….
1 Peter 5:5–6

Humility! Of all the self-characterizations of our Lord Jesus Christ, this one stands out—His meekness, gentleness, humility. That, then, is surely part of what it means to be Christlike.

"… I am gentle
and humble in heart …."
Matthew 11:29

Being the “least” in heart and attitude, being gentle and humble, is reckoned as part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

… the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control ….
Galatians 5:22–23

The greatest is the least and the least becomes the greatest. Let’s be great! For the glory of God!

APPROPRIATE!

There’s me. Am I dressed appropriately for the beach, or what? Appearing in the appropriate attitude of repose? Applying the appropriate appurtenance to my aural appendage?

I confess I was ill-prepared. Not that I’m much of beach-person anyway. My goal was to keep the sun off my skin, saltwater off my body, and sand off my belongings. That’s why I go to the beach!

But I did kinda stand out amidst the solar ray-soaking and skin cancer-incubating swarms on the shore. Yup, it was hard to beat my garb and gear and gadget for gross inappropriateness. Especially considering it was close to 90° F that day.

Appropriate clothing! Believe it or not, that’s quite an important topic in the Scriptures. Firstly, the Bible makes it clear what sort of birthday suits we come in. Depraved in sin as we are, having nothing on/in us with which to find favor with God, we literally stand disgraced before Him from the start.

For all of us have become
like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds
are like a filthy garment ….
Isaiah 64:6

But the Good News is that while our own (self-)righteousness was tainted and tattered and torn and threadbare, when we placed our trust in Christ as our Savior, we “appropriated” His perfect righteousness.

God made the one
who did not know sin
to be sin for us, so that in Him
we would become
the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21

The great exchange. My sin for His righteousness. So much so, when God looks at the believer He sees Christ, because now—wonder of wonders!—we wear Him!

For all of you
who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Galatians 3:27

And that’s not all. In the last days, at the final reckoning, at the consummation of our earthly existence, we get the most appropriate clothing of all.

Let us rejoice and be glad
and give the glory to Him,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come
and His bride has made herself ready.
It was given to her
to clothe herself in fine linen,
bright and clean ….
Revelation 19:7–8

(Hmm … I wonder if they’ll have cell phones over there. Oh, well, I’ll just be glad and rejoice that there’s no beach in heaven—Rev 21:1, for the curious!)

But between now and then, between our outfitting of Christ in the past and the donning of fine linen in the future, we have a clothier’s task to perform in the present. Haute couture of the hour. The trend of today. The mode of the moment. The style of Scripture.

So, as those who have been
chosen of God, holy and beloved,
put on a heart of compassion,
kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience;
bearing with one another,
and forgiving each other, …
just as the Lord forgave you,
so also should you.
Beyond all these things
put on love,
which is the perfect bond of unity.
Colossians 3:12–14

Which is simply to say, we must depict the virtues of Christ, for we have put on Christ.

Oh, and lest we forget, this costumer’s responsibility is not just focused on our own bodies. We have to return the “favor” to Christ; then, one day He’ll tell us …

[I was] naked,
and you clothed Me ….
Truly I say to you,
to the extent that you did it
to one of these brothers of Mine,
even the least of them,
you did it to Me.
Matthew 25:36, 40

Let’s be clothed with Christ. Now that’s appropriate clothing!

And let’s go and clothe one another, brothers and sisters in Christ!

COMMUNION!

It was special. Perhaps one of the most special ever for me.

Quite easy, it is, to get blasé about Communion. After all, it is a pretty commonplace affair. Some wafers, some wine. A hymn, a prayer. Perfunctory, unimpressive. It shouldn’t be.

It wasn’t. Not last weekend. That was special. As special as it ever gets.

There we were, six guys—a pastor, a couple of elders, and a few others—gathered in a hospital room, in Houston. At the bedside of one we all loved dearly and had loved for decades. The ravages of cancer were taking its toll. A shell of his former self, but his spirits were still bright, his mind alert, his faith strong, his trust in God unshaken. I, on the other hand, found it hard not to cry.

And we shared the Lord’s Supper together. Powerful! Face to face with our mortality, the meaning of that sliver of bread and that sip of wine hit home.

For as often as you eat this bread
and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death
until He comes.
1 Corinthians 11:26

The Lord’s death! Oh, the bliss of this glorious thought. For because of His death, I don’t need to die eternally. My sin—not in part, but the whole—has been nailed to the cross with Christ. I bear it no more. Death detoxified. Devil defeated. Sin substituted. Burden banished. Sinner saved. Eternity entered.

And so we proclaimed the Lord’s death. All six of us dying men in that hospital room. But—this is incredible—all of us dying men would live, and we would live eternally!

All because of the Lord’s death. And that truth we proudly declared that day as we partook of the bread and the cup. “Hallelujah!” we cried, through the sting of tears, the pain of disease, and the grief of parting. There at the bedside of one I might never see again, this side of life.

The next time I enjoy the cup and the bread with my dear friend, I realized, might very well be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb—that glorious time of celebration with Christians of all ages, when the Lord takes us home.

Blessed are those
who are invited
to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Revelation 19:9

Blessed, indeed! And all because of the Lord’s death. To look at the six of us that day, one would see grieving men, afflicted men, mortal men, seemingly defeated. But, no, we were the victors, not the vanquished! More than conquerors through Christ who loved us. Men with one foot in heaven. Waiting to go. All of us in that room—sick and healthy, bedridden and standing. Ready to enter the fullness of life eternal. All made possible by the Lord’s death.

O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?
… but thanks be to God,
who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:55, 57

All because of the Lord’s death. If you get a chance to participate in Communion this week, would you do so with your brothers and sisters in Christ, praising God for His Son through whom we live and will live forever? Thanks be to God! Through the Lord’s Supper, let’s continue to proclaim that atoning sacrifice, until He comes. And come, He will … soon!

And then one day
I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain.
And then as death
gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory
and I'll know He lives.
William and Gloria Gaither, 1971

LIVING!

The last time I’d seen him was about a decade ago. A strapping young man, full of vim, and brimming with vigor. He used to write songs. We used to sing together. We went to church together. I was fixture in his folks’ house. (Free food—especially the banana pudding!) Many are the fond memories of Sunday afternoons well-spent, with laughter, song, and God. Mr. and Mrs. C in Houston have been—and still are—a blessing to me.

I had a chance to spend a night at their home a few days ago. Vic was there, back from East Coast where he now lives.

He is still strapping, vigorous, and vimmed out to the max. And still given over to God and His work. But not so young anymore … like me! A devoted husband, and a proud father. (Unlike me!!) A few—just a few—less keratinous appendages on his scalp. (Unlike me, again!!! These aforementioned fixtures on my dome are still plentiful, though I confess they are developing a distressing tendency to blanch from the shock of transatlantic travel. Or perhaps it is my JIF diet?)

Appendages disappear (or whiten). Life and limb weaken. Recollection and remembrance fade. It is downhill after the first breath outside the womb. C’est la vie. Things change. Cycles circle. Phases pass. And life goeth on.

One wonders at the bewildering pace of it all. Where has all the time gone? Kids are born and they’re off to college. We commence work and its time to retire. It’s all a blur.

Moses pondered out aloud about that long ago in a psalm he wrote.

As for the days of our life,
they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;
For soon it is gone and we fly away.
Psalm 90:10

That venerable leader was clear that the “emptiness” of life is the consequence of the Fall and the resultant judgment upon mankind by God. This was not the way it was supposed to be. The yearning for what might have been, and ought to have been (and, praise God, what will be) is palpable in his words.

Do return, O Lord; how long will it be?
O satisfy us in the morning
with Your lovingkindness,
That we may sing for joy
and be glad all our days.
Psalm 90:12–14

There is an emptiness of soul, a thirst for the inexpressible, a desire in our hearts—that only God can fill, satisfy, and grant. And fill and satisfy and grant, He certainly will. One day. Soon. We shall enjoy the very presence of God.

But Moses is equally clear that that soon-coming day of Lord should prompt us to live our lives here on earth for God—wisely.

So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You
a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12

A heart of wisdom. To live wisely. For God. For His glory. In all that we say, do, and think. As Vic is doing. And his folks. May we all.

Therefore be careful how you walk,
not as unwise men but as wise,
making the most of your time,
because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15–16

And how shall we walk? Even in these trying days, troubling days, tiring days, Peter urges us to live as Christ did, even through suffering.

… so as to live
the rest of the time
in the flesh [on earth]
no longer for the lusts of men,
but for the will of God.
1 Peter 4:2

Serving him. Wisely. Because the days are short. Thank God!