The union and communion of God’s people in glory is foreshadowed here in this life. Here they have ‘fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ’ (1 John 1:3) and with one another. Even here on earth this fellowship of the saints is a rich and royal experience. They break their hearts to have to part from one another (Acts 20:38). Their hearts burn within them as they talk with and about their heavenly Lord (Luke 24:32). It is a constant mystery to non-Christians to see the Lord’s people always so delighted with one another’s company and appearing to have an endless appetite for spiritual conversation and fellowship. The secret lies in that they know Christ and share the wonder of his felt and personal dealings with their souls.

How much more will the redeemed in glory commune one with another in the upper world when all their present failings and imperfections are gone forever! There at long last, with the Lord himself and with angels will the ransomed of the Lord hold sublime converse. Each word will add to the comfort of heaven because there will be no ‘idle words’ there and no ‘corrupting conversations’. All eyes will be directed towards the vision of the Lord Jesus Christ and the other persons of the ever-blessed Trinity. Every thought will then be captive to him. God will be in every heart, mind and imagination. All hearts will beat in a common unison. The Almighty Jehovah will be the goal of every man’s aspiration and every desire for God will be reciprocated by him. A sacred fellowhip will be held between God and his people which no fear of sin, Satan or death will ever mar.”

Maurice Roberts, The Thought of God, pp 210 – 211

Get out of Debt!

The guide told us that olive trees generally do not die but, like apple trees, they sprout new growth from dead looking stumps. He concluded that this olive tree was quite possibly 2,000 years old and that it may have been same tree that was in the garden when Christ was in the garden.

From left to right we have my brothers Gary Eckhardt and Fred Eckhardt, my mother Alice Eckhardt, and myself.

Manual everything! Straight six motor with manual steering, manual brakes, manual shift, of course manual windows. Oh yes, the windshield wiper was vacuum driven – when you were accelerating the windshield wipers did not work and when you were de-accelerating they would flip furiously fast. The good news was that everything was easy to fix with no computers or fancy electrical system. The motor compartment was roomy and access to the various components was convienent. Water pump, generator, brake system, distributor, and radiator were easily changed with simple tools.

If you take this all on face value it is mildly amusing and I am guilty of enjoying watching groups squirm as they listen to Mr. Conversationalist. Being an old man I can claim old-himers disease and just walk away from the situation After all, in order to be friendly shouldn’t we just humor them and just ‘live and let live?’

I’m not suggesting that we hate or avoid these tiring people but shouldn’t we be moved to compassion since they are at a social disadvantage and more importantly, they are in danger of not really hearing what others are trying to say to them! For their own good we ought to teach them to enter into real “conversations.” The Bible talks about listening and hearing …

“Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!”

“A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.”

“It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.”

“From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,but a wise man listens to advice.”

“He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.”

“If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,’does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,and will he not repay man according to his work?’”

“It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.”

Another helpful source of information might surprise you … due to God’s common grace I think Mr Carnegie had some valid tips on improving our conversational skills. You may recognize some of Mr. Carnegie ideas in the heretical teachings of Robert Shuller’s Possiblity Thinking so you should understand that he writes from a humanist perspective. However, with care I think his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People might be a good read for those who are uncomfortable with initiating and sustaining a true conversation. Remember you must critically screen this material through your biblically informed intellect. If you don’t have a biblically informed intellect then you better get one! (Attend a good, sound church that provides teaching and accountability and study hard to show yourself approved!)

By the way, the book title seems to suggest that his tips are all about taking advantage, or manipulating others … but I didn’t get that sense when I read it … for example, he cites the fact that everyone enjoys a complement. Mr Carnegie suggests we complement someone who has no power to return the favor. Like a store clerk … you notice something nice and make a brief complementary comment … ‘I like the way you do your hair’ … or ‘you have such a nice smile.’ What does that cost us? In what way is that manipulative? His book does promise to make the reader ‘successful’ and clearly the author is talking about finantial success … the Christian knows that his/her treasure is in heaven and as Jesus said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”

By the way, do you treat store clerks like machines? I have noticed that many people don’t even say hi but just shove the cash (or credit card) toward the clerk. Many store employees return the favor by ‘looking through’ the customer with a totally bored expression … but does that excuse us to treat them in the same manner?