Jesus said, “If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also” (Luke 6:29a).

This advice seems absolutely meaningless. Who of us would offer to an enemy to do it to us again? Someone’s got to stop the bad guys, right? Making it easy for them to get away with something bad just isn’t the way we westerners think. We want Law & Order. But, Jesus was teaching His people how to abolish evil, not how to get back in charge again. The way to overcome evil is to love it to death.

As we watched unfairness unfold in Ferguson and Baltimore, no one felt sorry for the victims. We became frustrated with thoughtless people destroying their own society. But, we haven’t seen that in Charleston. We empathize with the victims, because the victims aren’t striking back. Even white supremacists can see the unfairness in what happened. Turning the other cheek moves everyone to come to our defense.

When Christians surrender our “rights”, we actually put our lives in God’s hands. And if God is for us, who can be against us? Let’s take Jesus’ advice and stand up for the victims in life.

One year in High School I received an A on my report card in Art Class. A’s were highly unusual for me. One project I developed was a clay figure. I began with a hunk of clay and began shaping and forming it into a farmer with a hat. After the clay was formed, I painted it with ceramic paint. The paint was invisible when painted on, but would turn into the desired color when baked in the kiln. This miniature farmer was tall and lanky, complete with bib overalls and straw hat. I was really proud of him.

Over a weekend the kiln was fired up and baked all our ceramic projects. When we went to pick them up the next week, my tall and lanky farmer was short and stout with a pot belly. Something happened to him in the fire. He was completely changed. But, the teacher loved my fat farmer and gave me an A on the project. I hated him, but she loved him. And the grade was based on the teacher’s judgment, not mine.

Always remember that: Your grade on Judgment Day will be based on the Teacher’s judgment, not yours.

“As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand” (Jeremiah 18:16).

“They hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but…went backwards, and not forward” (Jeremiah 7:24).

Now that Anita is watching 4 grandkids two days a week (two of them infants), we’re seeing more use out of the rocking chair in our living room. Rocking chairs represent movement, when there really isn’t much. The chair just moves back and forth, forward and backward. Do you know people like that?

Someone commented to a 90-year old man on his birthday that he must have seen lots of changes in his lifetime. “Yes,” he said, “and I’ve been against every one of them.”

Remaining in the same place is deadly to spiritual growth. If you are not going forward, you are having a struggle to keep from going backward. The pattern of your life never changes. That’s the Rocking Chair life.

Constructive changes in this world are brought about by the positive thinkers, not negative ones, those who are not content with their lives and who fearlessly go forward with Christ.

“They hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but…went backwards, and not forward” (Jeremiah 7:24).

Tony Smith went home to be with Jesus Monday night. He was kind of a lost soul when we first met him, attending church with Denice, who later became his wife. Tony had a rough past, having served in combat roles in the military during the war in Iraq. He declared himself to be a Mormon, but clearly didn’t know what that meant. The more we talked about Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, the more interested He became.

His attendance became more and more regular until he even came by himself when Denice couldn’t. He said to me that he had found peace within himself, and that only comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Although Tony tended to be on the quiet side, I’m sure he’s a little more expressive today when worshiping His Savior in Father’s House. We’ll miss your presence, Tony.

What will you remember about Tony Smith?

Anita noticed a brightly colored bird fluttering just outside our picture window. It had a lot of orange. We have a paperback bird identification book which she searched through until she identified the bird she had seen. It was a Northern Oriole. She showed me the image in the book, but I don’t recall ever having seen a real live Oriole. They must be an illusive bird.

There are a lot of things that are illusive in this world. Being perfectly healthy is illusive. Seeing our dreams come true can be illusive. Living happily ever after can be illusive.

And God can be illusive. He loves to hide and wait for us to seek Him out. And it thrills His heart when He finds us searching. He’s easy to find if you look for Him.

Two weeks ago I posted about transplanting two trees from the woods behind our house. One of them, the hickory, dried up immediately. When I was adjusting the depth in the new site I heard something snap. I think it was the tender tap root. The other one (the oak) is doing great.

So, this morning before the rain I made another trip to the woods and dug up another hickory tree, this one not so old (tap root about 10″), and transplanted it in my backyard. The ground there is pretty saturated so this one has a good start.

Not all of us had a good start in our spiritual walk. Some of us were carrying the load of an addiction when we started on the journey. Some of us fresh out of a messy divorce. Others in the midst of sexual abuse, and yet others in the middle of a great failure or rejection. We didn’t all have a good start.

But the Holy Spirit is the heart of God and when He moves into our lives, He stimulates root growth. It doesn’t matter how we started; what matters is how we finish. Finish well.