Think tank: "lovely"

Part of a series on Philippians 4:8.
What can be lovelier than a rose? I write this from my recliner within sight of a “get-well” bouquet of orange roses my husband gave me.  He watched me cough and struggle for breath for more than week, and finally took me to the clinic where I was diagnosed with pneumonia  and given a powerful prescription to fight it. How grateful I am for the hope of a “cure” in modern medicine. 

I never tire of watching roses as they unfold in sublime beauty. We have more than a dozen bushes ablaze with single-stem roses in our front yard.  Plus we have a rose hedge dotted with dozens of pink blooms.  Our rose garden, besides bringing beauty to our home, allows us to pick bouquets to communicate “congratulations” or “we care” to people in our lives.  This grace of “sharing” reminds me of an etched-in-stone message in the arboretum at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho.  Amidst the splattered shadows of its pathways is a stone bench with this carved message: “The fragrance remains in the hand that gave the rose.”  In poetic brevity it reminds me of the truth that whenever I touch or serve someone in the name of Christ, I am blessed, too.

So whenever I am reminded through Philippians 4:8 to think about things that are “lovely,” I once again am taken to the life of Christ.  Someday I will see His face, and I am sure it will be so pure, compassionate and lovely that I can barely contain myself with amazement and appreciation.

Our culture defines loveliness as a composite of features considered beautiful, painted, poufed or cut into culturally pleasing combinations. The beauty industry is huge.  Little girls watch the “Miss America” pageant wanting to look like those young women.  (Hey, I did!) Or they adore the doe-eyed Disney cartoon princesses. But the Bible’s definition of “lovely” looks at character.  Here are definitions I found for the original Greek for “lovely”:

*”That which is admirable or agreeable to behold or consider.”

*”Pleasing, agreeable, lovely.”
*”Lovely and lovable.”
*”Gracious.”

Men can be lovely when the character and wisdom of Christ comes forth through their demeanor.

Women can be lovely...”paint or no paint”...when the character and wisdom of Christ comes forth through their demeanor.  One of the loveliest women of my life was a squat, gray-haired woman who wore a little lipstick “for Sundays.” But I most remember her for spreading the fragrance of Christ’s love in my life. She was part of my young adult life for less than a decade, but I will never forget her diligence in studying scripture and encouraging me with her prayers.

Think about whatever is lovely?  I can do that in savoring the beauties of God’s creation.  I can also do it in remembering those who “gave the rose” to my life.

 

Next: "of good report"

Possessed by possessions

Among local annual yard sales, this one has to be the biggest. The ad, in fact, bragged that it was the family’s 17^th annual sale.  Extended family, obviously. I found a partial bag of quilt batting.  My husband found a fishing pole. But as we pulled away from the piles (much of it soggy from the previous night’s rain), I found myself asking, “Why so much?” That view of foothills in the background reminded me to “look higher” than the motley collection of used stuff below.

Disclaimer: we have our own “piles,” but we’re working at paring them down.  “Stuff” collects via my husband’s hobby of restoring broken bikes and mowers to usefulness, and recycling quality used children’s books to local schools. I turn fabric scraps into baby blankets for the local hospital to give the homeless or impoverished who deliver there. But there comes a point of too much stuff. When I’m in the home of a hoarder (now classified as an obsessive compulsive behavior), I feel so “closed in” that I can hardly wait to get out.

The Bible says a lot about our possessions:

*Stuff breeds greed.  One day a man came to Jesus wanting His help in an inheritance dispute. Jesus declined, saying, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Paul put greed in the same list with sexual immorality and impurity, as “not proper for God’s holy people” (Eph. 5:3).

*Too much “stuff” masks the real “us.” When Paul planned a return ministry trip to Corinth, he said he didn’t want to be a burden to them.  He was a low-maintenance missionary, anyway.  He didn’t require a luxury suite with a hot tub. “What I want,” he said, “is not your possessions but you” (2 Cor. 12:14).

*Having less leads to more that truly lasts. When the writer of Hebrews talked about those who were persecuted, even to having their possessions taken away, he remarked, “You...joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions” (Hebrews 10:34). Sadly, this wasn’t a First Century incident. It still rings true today for believers in lands hostile to Christians. For a powerful fiction treatment of this, get into Randy Alcorn’s novel, Safely Home.

*Abundance enables sharing. The apostle John lived long enough to see a lot of inequity among the rich and poor. To better-off believers he gave this advice: “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need, but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (1 John 3:17). My husband is part of a ministry that receives still-useful furniture (from upgrading, downsizing, or estates) to distribute to the very needy (like women fleeing domestic abuse). I’ve been given boxes of fabric by people who learn of my “needy-babies” blanket project.

*Sharing gives back. Someone with a giving heart once remarked to me, “I don’t miss what I gave away.” There’s so much truth in this proverb: “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty” (Proverbs 11:24).

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go through some things I don’t use...like those white dressy heels I wore for my daughter’s wedding.  My once-broken ankle is too weak for heels any more.  And then....