Dale Cresap's blog

Do you like ice cream? This favorite desert is famous for coming in many flavors. Do you think love comes in flavors too? You know what sacrificial generosity and kindness look like when you see them. Is there a Baptist way to take in a stranger? A Presbyterian way to feed the hungry? A Muslim way to visit those who are sick or in prison? These acts of kindness are not related to doctrine or dogma. Perhaps this is the moral of the story of the Good Samaritan. Does it bother you when people who believe the wrong things do the right things? It shouldn’t. There is only one flavor of love.

Can you afford to be generous? The Biblical pattern of the same percentage for all whether rich or poor recognizes that different people have different amounts of money, and is an expression of equal sacrifice rather than equal giving. I made an observation about a widow who gave the smallest amount of money possible but I said that she had given more than the rich who had given out of their excess, where she had given out of her necessity. In doing so I suggested that even equal percentage giving did not tell the whole story.

Are you concerned about contagious diseases? It is appropriate to practice good hygiene, but diseases are not the only thing that can be spread. Have you ever been in a group in which someone suddenly expresses anxiety or fear and the entire group becomes ‘infected’ with the same attitude? Such attitudes can spread faster than diseases. Do you have immunity to diseases of this type? It is good if you can avoid such an infection. It is better still if you can be a carrier of the antidote. Are you a carrier of infectious calmness and peace?

Do you see me everywhere you look? Have you ever moved forward into an uncertain future and had things work out better than you expected? Could you see looking back that I was present and involved in ways that were not obvious to you looking forward? If this happens consistently then you should learn to trust the concept that I am with you and watching over you even if you are not aware of it at the time. Moses asked to see me and for his own sake I had him hide in the rocks so he could only see my back and not my front.

Do you prefer things that are new or things that are old? Few people want to drive an old car, but in matters of faith practice and beliefs, things that are old are accepted as having more credibility because of their longer history. It is true that time is a revealer, so the concept of having stood the test of time is valid, but can you discern the difference between things that are old and things that are eternal? Eternal things are not merely old, they are timeless.

I told a story about sheep and goats that was really a redemption story, and you wanted to be a sheep. They did several things, including feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the stranger, and visiting those sick and in prison. How many of these things have you done? Is visiting those in prison the least-practiced activity on the list? Why is this? Is it because you think those in prison are there for a good reason? But this story is an invitation to benevolent action rather than judgment. Why not do everything on the list. How hard could it be to find those in prison?

Do you believe? Belief is a strong theme in the Bible. What do you believe? Do you think this is limited only to doctrinal matters? Belief is more than a list of items to consent to. Is there such a thing as a general faith? I promised that if you would seek you would find. This implies that the Kingdom of God is available to all. You have no certainty about tomorrow, but do you still put forth effort today on the premise that there is value in doing so? Do you see yourself as a part of a world that is good and then live with confidence and peace?

Do you watch television? Do you prefer new episodes or reruns? Most people prefer new programming because it is fresh and they don’t know in advance how it will end. Did you know that you don’t have to watch television to encounter reruns? What about the thoughts in your head? Do you have consistent thought patterns that run in an endless loop in your head? These may be scenarios from your past that did not turn out the way you wanted. Once one of these narratives is started do you know how it will end? Then why do you keep telling the story? Is it hard to write new episodes?

What is the purpose of your life? I came for the redemption of the world, and you view this in the ultimate sense at the end of my life. Yet my life consisted of more than this, and if you look closely you will see that redemptive purpose was present in everything I did, for this was the purpose of my life. If you follow me it is the purpose of yours too. You are not able to duplicate my final act of redemption, but that is not necessary. Yet you can still look for redemptive purpose in everything you do.

Have you ever encountered evil at such an extreme level that it filled you with outrage? Did this seem to be the only possible reaction? Was it helpful in dealing with the situation? So is rage a motivator or inhibitor of response? Rage is a destruction reaction, not a helpful action. Do you see other people who are at peace and wonder how they could not be as furious as you? Yet they are in a better position to address the injustice than you are. Did  my own life seem to be driven more by outrage or peaceful action? I am the source of peace and will provide it for you.