The Twenty-Fifth Epistle
Shaped and Fashioned
To Become Righteous.
DATELINE: Sunday, April 22, 2001.
By Rev. James R. Bingham
Special to corndancer.com
Posted from Memphis, Tennessee
Ephesians
3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
Children are dying, mothers are crying. Cities are under attack from within at the hands of their children. The stock market is way out of control and the national debt is paid on paper. Diseases have assumed victory over medicine and science, and the pursuit of happiness has become a miscegenation of greed and religious zealousness. Therein lies a mystery.
Who will carry the torch for the Olympic games? Who will run the last mile of the race, enduring until the end? We compete for glory, bragging rights, and big purses. We are urged onward in the name of love.
Men are men by standards and traditions. Their civil liberties are counted on the books that preface life in prison. Who said that all men are created equal? When was it said? To whom was the promise spoken? Alas, is a man who is three-fifths of a man equal to a man who is made whole by the standards and traditions of society? Therein lies a mystery.
The Holy War has never ended. The Cold War has come and gone — and is back on again. We crusade for justice; justice for the downtrodden, the broken hearted, and the poor in spirit. My God is the same as your God, but we don't get the same message. Praise be to God — and pass the ammunition!
Who really won the Thirty Years War? When Israel has been established as a nation for fifty years, then the year of Jubilee will be at hand. Jesus came to preach the year of the Lord, the year of Jubilee. Is Israel fifty years old yet? Therein lies a mystery.
A New Minority,
A Promised Euphoria,
Havoc and Chaos.
A new minority has arrived on the scene. It competes with the old minority for the wealth of the dominant society. Affirmative Action has superseded its quotas. Will Affirmative Action and Equal Employment be replaced by Reformation?
The clock-punching-stressed-out-blue-collar man sits next to the field hand, while the man of God resounds their yearnings in rhythmic phrases that beckon and lead to a promised euphoria. Do you hear what I hear? Forgive us our debts, I mean trespasses. Therein lies a mystery.
The sweet little spiritual virgin committed suicide. She was found to be with child, fathered by the Bishop. He's a deadbeat dad, nowhere to be found.
While we consider the state of the union, the state of the state, and the state of our cities, it appears that the modus operandi for peaceful co-existence among men is havoc and chaos. Do we experience the travails of a woman about to give birth?
Everyone is looking for answers. The perplexities of life, however, leave us wondering just what questions to ask.
A Story of Struggle,
The Promise of Perfection.
While taking a break from some unusually hard labor, a man asked me, "Ain't you a preacher?"
"Yes, I am," I replied.
"Well, how come God makes it hard for the good folks. How come the bad folks got everything?"
My spirit heard more questions from the character of his face than my ears could ever hear from his voice. He was asking me in the spirit why was he so tired and broken, when all he had ever done was try to live right, live the best that he could. That's what I heard from his face. That's right. His face spoke to me.
I looked at him. His skin was leathery and scarred. His wrinkles told a story of ceaseless struggle to survive, year after year. There was a kindness in his face that suggested he was a good man. His eyes were weary. Red veins danced across his pupils into each corner like little artistic strokes of psychic lightening.
I told him, "We are all made of the same stuff, but we were made in different places. You were born into a life that only you can deal with. It's the same for me. Each one of us is being shaped and fashioned to become what is perfect for the life that follows this one."
Then I said, "Sir, once we have learned to overcome the obstacles that are a part of the life into which we are born, then we are no longer overwhelmed by the struggle."
Submit to Righteousness
And Make Justice Real.
The answer to the why's and the when's lies in the scriptures penned by Saul of Tarsus, better known to Christendom as Paul. Paul explained that the work we do is not the governing factor for our entrance into peace and love. He explained that by submitting to righteousness, we make justice a reality. The reality of justice is faith in the ever-nurturing teachings of Christ.
The old man said, "My daughter died from food poisoning. The food was from a church picnic. Who do I suppose to forgive?"
I thought to myself, Is there any such thing as an easy question? Then I told the gentleman, "Sir you've answered that question yourself. Because you want to forgive, your faith in God reaches out before you. You need not worry about who to forgive. Ask God to forgive them. He will sort it out, and He will bless you."
On the day of Pentecost, a period of dispensational grace began, which places great responsibility on the hearts of men. The law no longer binds us. Instead, we are charged to make the righteousness of God real in our hearts.
How are we doing in this regard?
What Is the Nature
Of Your Spirit of Love?
Ask yourself this question: Do I love every man because love is in my heart, or do I show love because I know love is the Spirit of God acting through my life?
Here, my friend, is a thought. The war of man versus man has begun. Man is mind. Contained in the mind are the forces of good and evil. The final war is the war between the forces of good and evil, Armageddon.
Faith says good has already won. Peace!
My dear friends, this Christian effort must, once again, become a movement. Not a movement from locale to locale, but from heart to heart. Clean hearts, that's the ticket! We must have and demonstrate real love, not bunji love; e.g., "I love you head over hills, but not really." We must love and mean it. We must forgive and mean it.
Therein lies the possibility for a transformation from seeking the Holy Grail to acknowledging its existence in our hearts. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is within.
Rest in your hearts. Because you were born at the place and the moment where only you were born, and because you were born to become who you now are, know this: What's for you is uniquely for you. Dream it in your heart and speak it with your mouths. As John points out in I John 3:22, "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight."
Ask Him. He will give it to you. I know because He gives everything to me, daily. His gifts are sufficient unto my needs. How about you?
Give God Some Praise!!!
EDITOR'S NOTE: Rev. Bingham
can be reached by E-mail at
jamesrbingham@juno.com.
His phone number in Memphis is
901.785.5691.