The Clothesline . . .

There was something to be said about the clothesline of yesteryear. It was an incentive to making sure one had bleached and cleaned wash loads as well as possible – because your laundry was on display and you were too! It whipped in the wind like flags in a stiff breeze. Sheets and large items were hung on the outside lines, the inner lines were reserved for personal items. Your neighbors and even passers-by could and would form a positive or negative opinion based on the things you hung out and the way you hung them on the line.

The internet provides a place for aired laundry of a different sort... it has become a modern day Mars Hill or Speakers Corner. As it was back then, so it is today. Many don’t care what they hang out for all to see. That's why you see and hear so much of the snivel and the whine and the bitter vetch aired there.

Many seek a voice and the internet provides a platform without parameters or governance – anything goes. Each man does what’s right in his own eyes. It’s a whole new world out there. Caution and discretion can be flung to the four winds. What once was only done in secret is now hung out like so much dirty laundry for public display. Vicious arguments, language that reveals a mindset steeped in the gutter, photos and video clips displaying a penchant for notoriety in milder forms, and real and implied depravity at worst, fictitious "biographical" material, and a willingness to hold any and everything sacred up for ridicule – this kind of laundry is readily available on the internet – MySpace, FaceBook, and YouTube are just some of the purveyors.

From the outset, it seemed wise to stay away from chat rooms and such. The amount of time they consume was unconscionable. Subsequent revelations have made them seem even less appealing and often downright sinister. They sing a siren's song... "Come – your notions are as good as anyone else’s – spread them abroad – I'll make it easy for you to see and be seen, hear and be heard. Tell your story like you'd like it to be. Don't fret about negative opinions and old-fogey logic. What do they know? Besides, what harm can it do? It’s your life!"

Funny that we, (the human race,) never seem to learn from the past. (Those who do are blessed indeed.) The traps are the same old tricks. But dressed in modern clothes, they intrigue us all over again with heady suggestive thoughts. Like our forebears, we succumb and make the same mistakes all over again, thus proving generation after generation, millennia after millennia, that the Word of God is right and true and applicable to all generations.

One of the good things about hanging out your laundry is the sun. Something about the sun and the wind work together in synergy. Soap, bleach, scrubbing and lots of water both for washing and rinsing do their part. But the sun and the wind together not only dry the laundry but they also purify and refresh the fabric. What’s more, the smell of line dried, sun-bleached clean linen is unforgettable!

Is the internet all bad? Of course not. There are many good uses for technology of all sorts. But to maintain a savor of the grace that brought us out of darkness into His marvelous light, one must embrace the need for His Light to permeate everything, action and deed. We are washed, we are cleansed and we are on display for all to see – trophies of His grace. His desire is for us to share the good news of His goodness and mercy wherever we go. He said we’re salt and light. As such we cannot be hid. But we do not draw men to ourselves, we point them to the One who can save them just as He saved us. With that mindset, the internet is just one more place that needs to be filled with the knowledge of the Lord!

Blogging... A Beginning

This blog's intent is to be an encouragement and strength to those whose desires are inclined toward good. It is being launched into the vast unknown - casting your "bread on the waters" so to speak. The wise man, Solomon, spoke these words thousands of years ago, yet they are still worthy of study today.

The entire passage is interesting... "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight: for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child; even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good." (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6)

So much of life is fraught with unknowns. We do not understand how life begins, no matter how much we learn about the mechanics of it. Physicians, pharmacists and researchers often say, "we don't know how this medicine works or what long term effects it will have." All they know is that it seems to bring about a desired result, i.e. the relief of symptoms, or suppressing some response. But because mankind wants relief, they forge on; tests, trials, experiments and research - ever learning, striving, struggling.

If you were to fret over how you will be received or what the reactions will be - you might never start. The timid soul rarely ventures forth into risky waters, Some would say that is wisdom. Others accept the challenge and boldly head off into the unknown. If you've done your homework, you know that the world is not flat and you won't fall off the edge. The important thing is having a sure foundation from which to proceed and then proceed - cautiously, not in haste or in gullibility. Keep checking, maintain course, correct what has to be corrected so you can stay on course.

Contrary to popular opinion, there are absolutes. Here's one... You will reap what you sow. The law of sowing and reaping has never been rescinded. What you plant is what will grow. Planting onions will bear onions, not pole beans. And if you want a good harvest, you must sow abundantly. Note that when one plants a kernal of corn in the ground, he does not receive one kernal at harvest time - Oh no! That kernal springs forth into a stalk of corn on which two or three ears of corn will emerge. Each ear can contain as much as a thousand kernals. Simple math says your return may be 3,000 kernals from the one kernal you planted!

This added law of reaping more than you sow has great bearing on life. When you sow evil things, when you sow things which are self-centered and self-gratifying, what you will reap is far greater than the original planting. Hosea said, "For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind..." (Hosea 8:7) A disobedient child may live long enough to see even more disobedience in his own children.

You can no more avoid the absolutes than you can stop the sun from rising in the morning. God's Word is the absolute absolute. We will all be judged by it. Its teachings and tenets are measuring tools and we either measure up or we fall short. God's Word is clear on the consequences of falling short. Obedience and faithfulness are key factors in measuring up. Sowing seeds of obedience and faithfulness ensures an eternal harvest beyond your fondest dreams.

Some argue, contradict and deny but they cannot escape the inevitable. They may wax vigorous in their learned discourses, but in the end, their arguments won't matter. Their logic is as a soap bubble in the hands of a toddler.

So, with this first blog comes the first casting out of "bread." May it find good soil in which to grow.