SICKNESS, SNOW, AND SMOKE

I have the beginning of a bad cold and my progress is often interrupted by the rather unpleasant necessity of snorting and sniffling some rather nasty stuff. Of course, this is more information than anybody really needs to know about the eccentric editor of THE CHURCHWARDEN-of this I am fully aware- but I mention the matter only to emphasize something very important: we're all going to die.Illness and its rather gross symptoms are reminders of our mortality. Rightly understood, sickness can be appreciated as a warning from God- a divinely ordained means of sobering us up to the fact that nobody gets out of this life alive. Everything from a cold to cancer gives us an opportunity to examine the reality of our faith. Illness naturally inclines us towards introspection and provides a ripe time for asking the right questions: am I really trusting Christ Jesus- exclusively- to save me from my sinfulness, and does my life evidence the fact that He is doing so? Eternal happiness or eternal horror rests upon our response to these questions. Feeling crappy is a good context in which to ask them earnestly and answer them honestly.

The snow, also, keeps getting in the way of writing, editing and reediting THE CHURCHWARDEN. Last night Springfield, Massachusetts was blessed with four, maybe five, inches of truly beautiful snow. It is virtually impossible not to glance out the window and admire God's handiwork. The trees are laced with white and for a little while, at least, the ugliness of the city is covered up, hidden from sight. Clich� as it may be, the snow reminds me of how the pure white righteousness of Christ hides the believing sinner's black vileness from the just wrath of a holy God.

Finally, I am distracted by plumes of pipe smoke rising from the bowl of my Peterson. The Peterson was last year's Christmas present from my best friend, the Reverend William D. Brown of Longville, Minnesota. The phantom curls of a custom blend carry my thoughts towards him today. I am a putrid pile of pond scum- no doubt about it- and, yet, this gentleman accepts me unconditionally as a buddy and a brother in the Lord. A friendship this close shines beyond itself, illuminating the even greater relationship between God and his people. Pastor Brown has often stuck with me when I certainly deserved to be cast aside and forgotten. A friend like that is gift from God, reminding me that He will never leave me, nor forsake me.

Sickness, snow and smoke are unlikely tokens of God's nearness only if we associate God with religion. Then we are forced to search for Him in the barren wilderness of religiosity. Once we realize that God invades every aspect of human existence, then and only then will we learn to detect His presence in every area of our intricate lives.