Spiritual Assist for the Absent-Minded
December 15th, 2008Unexpected Gift
A week or so back, I received an unexpected package. It was from the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and it contained a plate. In the center of the plate was the text “My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.”
I didn’t know about these plates. They put a new one out every year. They always feature quotations from the Old Testament. And unlike a lot of religious decorations, they look very nice.
I am not a collector-plate kind of guy. Not many men are. But this one touched my heart, and I plan to put it on the wall. I have a surprising number of reasons.
For one thing, it reminds me that I was chosen to be included in something wonderful: a history-making, prophecy-fulfilling organization that is forming a remarkable bond between religious Jews and Christians. We used to be brought together by things like disputations and pogroms. Now we are confounding unbelievers by working together to build and protect the nation of Israel. Many Christians are actively seeking religious instruction from Jews, in order to understand our own faith better. American Christian support of Jewry has grown to the point where it angers some people, especially those who want to slice Israel up and feed her to her enemies as a futile peace offering. It’s exciting to be part of that. How can you not be excited, when you see yourself mentioned in the book of Isaiah?
It also reminds me that God has helped me to look outside myself and consider the needs of others. I will never publicly say what I have done for ministries and charities; I believe that is wrong. But I can tell you that the small amount of giving I have done has blessed me more than anyone who received any of it. I am not referring to God’s promises to look out for the generous; I mean that giving brings emotional healing to the giver and helps him feel a closer bond with God. It helps clear away the hard layers of cynicism which, in this modern world, can accumulate so quickly on a person’s heart. To a great degree, innocence and faith can be restored, and giving is a powerful tool to achieve that end.
Another nice thing about the plate is that it opened my eyes to the importance of surrounding yourself with reminders of your faith. I’m going to put it over my monitor. It’s easy to get away from God while you sit at a computer; the ways are too numerous to name. It can’t be anything but helpful to have an object by your screen that constantly reminds you what you are and how you are supposed to behave.
Incidentally, I have been reading about poverty in Israel, and it’s very bad. I knew it existed, but I didn’t understand the extent of it. One statistic cited by the IFCJ: 29 percent of Israeli families live in poverty, and the figures for children are worse. Capable, industrious Israelis are making the desert bloom, but it hasn’t been a picnic. And Jews in the former USSR and Ethiopia are in dire straits.
Israel’s population keeps exploding. It must be very crowded compared to the time when I was there. I guess it’s a challenge, trying to find jobs for the constant flow of immigrants.
I might pick up one or two other items to remind me of my faith. It’s surprising, how few choices there are. I just assumed there would be an endless variety, but the list isn’t that long, and a lot of the things I’ve seen aren’t very tempting. Someone should make a line of unobtrusive and tasteful plates, plaques, and dishes with Bible verses on them.
Some of the things I’ve seen aren’t too bad. One small plaque quotes Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord… plans to give you hope and a future.” Another quotes Joshua 24:15: “Choose this day whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
I’m glad they sent that plate. On my own, I would never have realized how helpful items like that can be.
December 15th, 2008 at 11:08 AM
“I am not a collector-plate kind of guy. Not many men are.”
That just cracked me up as it brought back an amusing memory. Long ago I used to do house calls for computer tech support. One client was a gay man with an impressive array of “Gone With the Wind” collector plates on display.
December 15th, 2008 at 12:10 PM
“Someone should make a line of unobtrusive and tasteful plates, plaques, and dishes with Bible verses on them.”
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This is more my wife’s department (I’m not a big collector of anything), but she has various tapestries, lintel-plaques, and shelf-figurines scattered around the house (mostly tasteful; nothing that’s cat-lady crazy).
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I’m more partial to bronze Celtic-Crosses (it helps to be of Irish Descent). We have exactly ONE.
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Anyway, my wife buys most of her decorations from a local Christian Bookstore and Chrisitan Book Distributors:
http://www.cbd.com/
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P.S. – I really appreciated Ed B.’s comment about the arch-type of Christ in the book of Job. I’m planning on re-reading Job this week with that in mind to see how well it fits.
December 15th, 2008 at 12:22 PM
Actually, Ed said that he thought that “Elihu in Job is actually the pre-incarnate Christ” (rather than an Arch-type).
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I didn’t mean to misrepresent what Ed said.
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Still, I’ll re-read Job and see what I think…
December 15th, 2008 at 1:56 PM
JeffW, I’d like to know either way. I’m thinking Elihu is along the lines of the “Angel of the Lord” that visited Abraham a few times.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:58 PM
Elihu said he was full of the Holy Spirit, more or less. That would certainly help.
December 15th, 2008 at 2:20 PM
And then there’s Judge Elihu Smails…
December 15th, 2008 at 3:18 PM
Ohhhhh, Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy, Billy…
December 15th, 2008 at 4:14 PM
Ed Says:
“JeffW, I’d like to know either way. I’m thinking Elihu is along the lines of the “Angel of the Lord” that visited Abraham a few times.”
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I’m not sure (but I could easily be wrong because I’ve only done a quick reading with this thought in mind). I think Elihu is more of an Arch-type of Christ (like Adam was) rather than Christ Himself, since Elihu had an earthly father (son of Barakel the Buzite).
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On the other hand, Elihu says (presumably) of himself (in Job 36:4) “Be assured that my words are not false; one perfect in knowledge is with you”.
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I don’t think a mere man can claim to be perfect in knowledge, but he could also be referring to God’s presence in Job’s situation, since Elihu says he is speaking on God’s behalf (36:2).
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I do agree there are strong reasons to think the “Angel of the Lord” is the pre-incarnate Christ. I also happen to think that God was referring to His Triune Nature when he says in Genesis 1:26 “let us make man in our own image” (although people I respect also believe He was referring to the heavenly-hosts; i.e. – the Angels).
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So more reading to do…thanks for bringing this up; it’s giving me a new direction in my scripture reading this week.
December 15th, 2008 at 5:01 PM
“29 percent of Israeli families live in poverty, and the figures for children are worse.”
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Financial poverty is _nothing_ compared to spiritual poverty. There is something very vibrant and alive about the Israeli culture that many places in the world no longer have.
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One thing that could be a tell-tale sign of this is your next statement:
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“Israel’s population keeps exploding.”
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…and they are a really a 1st World type culture.
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As vibrant and full of hope as the West once was? I wonder. Especially with their own armageddon always hanging over their heads.
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Maybe going to visit Israel may be fun to do. Not to see the places and the history. But to see and feel the culture and what the people are like and what they believe.
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It might do a body good. Maybe make me feel a little younger. Hmmmmm….
December 15th, 2008 at 5:32 PM
That passage is the source of my youngest child’s name, Ezra, born on December 25. I’m contacting IFCJ to join and to see if the plate is still available.
December 16th, 2008 at 8:40 AM
You could eat off the plate; then you’d be reminded at the end of the meal. And if it was spicy food, the verse would be especially meaningful.
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Why not make your own brick-a-brack? Find wood you like and carve a verse on it with your foredom tool Print out the verses first if you like. You also have fancy pens – you could calligraph some verses. Even Illuminate them. For fun, you could find pig-related verses and use your pink cow, I mean, your hog, as the figure around the illuminated letter.
December 29th, 2008 at 11:50 AM
I just have a question please. I typed in (dishes with Bible verses on them) and your site came up. A few years ago somewhere I saw dishes and glasses for the dining table. Do you have any ides where I might buy some? Thanks. God bless you.
December 29th, 2008 at 1:29 PM
No idea, but I can see why you would want those. Thanks for coming by.