A new year
"Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion." (Psalm 84:5-7)
January 3, 2025
Dear friends,
We are in a brand new year, and who knows what things will unfold?
One thing is, I'm very thankful for God's kind providence along the way. As believers we are pilgrims on the road to the Father's house. Our journey in this world is appointed by the Lord, and that includes the "valley of Baca" (Ps 84:6). This may refer to an actual place, like an arid Judean valley, or perhaps figuratively to a valley of weeping. Nevertheless, the Lord provides refreshment along the way, and we find renewed strength to arrive at the Father's house. God's grace gives us strength again and again, and he writes the highway home upon our hearts. Like the mystery of bird migration, we too are given a heavenly GPS, directing us to the courts of the Lord. God will guide us home. We will appear before him at last. We needed strength for 2024, and I'm sure we will need it for 2025.
FIFTY YEARS ON. This year also marked our (my wife and I) fiftieth anniversary -- Jan Lu and I were married in December 1974, a half century ago, and were but two kids with our Bibles, the Holy Spirit, good people around us, wise mentors, supportive family, good Christian fellowship, and God's grace which gave us joy for the journey and a strength that was renewed many, many times over. We marvel that we have arrived at this milestone.
EARLY ON, we committed to follow God's pattern for marriage as found in the Bible. God's word would be authoritative for us. It was not two of us -- her and me -- but three, and the Lord stood over us. We believed that Covenant means "all-in", and that we would be together until death parted us. Every day we needed to say, "I'm sorry. I was wrong. Will you forgive me?" We had people holding us accountable. We prayed together daily, and we served in ministry together. We were blessed with children, and there's nothing like having children to break up the illusion that you are in control of your life. We found that marriage and child-rearing were God's way of shaping us. And yet, ultimately, we know it was not our best efforts and intentions that we lasted fifty years. It was the Lord's mercy and kindness. It was not our goodness or willpower.
BUT WHY DO MARRIAGES FAIL? There are many reasons that marriages fail. It takes two to make it work, and only one to destroy it. There are many problems and contingencies which face a married couple. There is a myriad of physical, emotional, and economic challenges beyond a couple's control. Why does one marriage work and another fail? Why do people give up? Why do some couples have children, and others not? (It's a mystery, and we can ask the Lord about this later, but even then, we may not be able to know.) Yet, we will find that God is good and that God is sovereign. One thing for sure: we are weak and fallible, and we need the Lord's strength every day to be the person he's called us to be, whether we are a spouse or not. And he's promised to us the strength we need.
A NEW YEAR. So, we enter a new year, and we are still on the highway to Zion. There may be valleys of weeping. And there will be springs of refreshment. But each child of God will make it safely home: "...each one appears before God in Zion." As I read the next psalm (Ps 85) I found a prayer to the Lord that we can make at this time: "Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation." (Psalm 85:6-7) Lord, revive us -- yet again!
READING AND WRITING. Currently, I'm reading in the Psalms, Proverbs, and the Gospel of Luke. Devotionally, I'm still enjoying To Be Near Unto God, by Abraham Kuyper, and the poems of George Herbert. I've finished studying Christian Apologetics and Nature and Scripture by Cornelius Van Til, and currently reading On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature, by C. S. Lewis. As to fiction, I’m reading the short stories of Ray Bradbury.
At this point I'm not sure what direction my writing will take, or if this newsletter, Afterwords, will continue too much longer. (It's been three years now.) It will probably be more sporadic. My collection of Bible Reading Guides, as well as the previous Afterwords newsletters, collected by year, can be found here. (Newly uploaded: Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, and the collected 2024 Afterwords.) Two years of daily Bible reading guides, following the M'Cheyne reading plan, can be found beginning here and here. Also, I plan to continue posting occasionally at My Burg and the Biblical Studies Group sites.
IN OTHER READING
-- Here are some of my favorite marriage quotes.
-- "What does nonconformity even mean in the Internet age?" Samuel D. James reflects on the recent movie about Bob Dylan.
-- Do you notice fonts? What do you think are the most readable fonts?
FINAL QUOTE (one of my favorites from CSL).
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” (C. S. Lewis)
Happy new year! That's it for this week!
Sandy
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.