By Johnnie Godwin
Contributing Columnist, B&R
Someone supposedly asked Daniel Boone if he ever got lost. As I remember it, he replied, “No, but I did get bewildered in the woods for four days one time.” I identify with the answer to the question.
At age 82, I know where I’ve been and where I’m going; but often I don’t have a clue where I am in the midst of life. Oh, I’ve still got all my marbles and don’t need a compass or a GPS. Well, that’s only partially true. When I lived in West Texas, I could drive to whatever point I could see. But east of the Mississippi for the last 50 years has caused me to feel bewildered in a world that is cocksure of most everything without realizing the world is cockeyed.
About being cocksure in a cockeyed world. More simply, people don’t seem to be reevaluating their values as much as they seem to be failing to live by them. The bottom line for Christians is God’s command for us to be humble (James 4:10; I Peter 5:6-7). The word used for humility or gentleness is used twice of Jesus (Matthew 11:29; 21:5).
William Barclay said the classical Greek word used had a caress built into it and was gentle and gracious. The essence of this kind of humility (referred to as meekness in the KJV) is “strength under control.” But it is not self-control so much as being God-controlled with the right self-image (see Romans 12:3). The apostle Paul listed this gentle discipline among the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23, CSB).
To be cocksure is to be certain whether the certainty has any basis or not. To be cockeyed is to be topsy-turvy or crazy. Whether the subject is religion, politics or something else, I often feel caught up in a world that has lost its civility, its manners and any spirit of graciousness. I’m not talking about heathens here; rather, it’s what you read on Facebook, the newspapers, movies or just about any media out there.
God’s amazing maze of grace. My age and stage in life’s journey has little to do with my concern about folks seemingly thinking they’re as omniscient as the apostle Peter professed to be in his following of Jesus — or the other extreme of being a “doubting Thomas.”
So why am I even bringing up the subject of humility and the current state of society? I tend to think a lot. In fact, I think and share so much that wife Phyllis often says to me with a smile, “You’ve got a lot of stuff up there.” She’s right. Providentially, I was born into a Christian home. The Christian values I was taught and saw modeled affected all of my life from birth to the present. At age 7, I became a Christian by realizing I just hadn’t publicly said yes to God. At age 15 — against my own desires — I felt God calling me to preach; and I said yes. I’ve written that to you before, so let me abbreviate it.
After I got called to preach and said yes, I started a journey that seemed 100 percent certain at each door or turn — well, besides the pauses to reevaluate and consider what I felt God was telling me even more clearly.
The maze led me to prepare to preach, marry my wife who also felt called to missions, having three sons, going to seminary, pastoring churches and getting rejected by our mission board because I had messed up my health pursuing what I understood to be my calling.
After the mission board turned us down, I started pastoring again. And wouldn’t you know it, this grammar-less West Texan was led to write Bible study materials for the Baptist Sunday School Board. For 22-and-half years I couldn’t keep a single job there; I was promoted over six different positions.
At prime-time age 55, I got downsized. Well, they called it retirement; but as a friend said about his similar retirement — it felt a lot like getting fired. However, we were blessed and able to take a brief sabbatical and ask God what He wanted to write in our next chapters of life. That worked out fine into three or four mini-careers that were rich in all the things I had prepared to do.
But now, at 82, it’s 27 years later. I’m not worried about anything, but sometimes I’m still finding myself a bit bewildered. I feel like I got downsized from 10 talents to five to one; but I’m hanging on to use that one talent until the Lord takes me home or comes down here to wrap it up for all of us.
So, what’s my counsel to you? Here ‘tis! Get God’s view of you and where you are in life, and enter another part of the maze with grace, humility, civility, joy, encouragingly and having faith in God.
Quit acting like a pagan on Facebook or whatever, if that applies; and be kind and forgiving to others if the shoe is on the other foot.
I’ve put my weight down where it’s been before I really got into the maze: That means, I’m trying to humble myself, be loving, and not give up on God’s calling even if I live to be as old as Methuselah. I’m still answering the call (Ephesians 4:1-3); and I’m still focusing on the mark or the bulls-eye of God in Christ (Philipians 3:12-15). And in my getting older and more decrepit, I feel like I may know more, be wiser and care less about my personal recognition than ever before — except for God recognizing me and leading on.
May you do the same wherever you are right now in the journey of life. Stay the course; finish the race; and do it with God’s grace! B&R — Copyright 2019 by Johnnie C Godwin. Write me: johnniegodwin@aol.com.
