UCGIA

United Church of God, an International Association
P.O. Box 541069, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1069
Phone: (513) 576-9796 Fax: (513) 576-9795

Clyde Kilough          
Chairman

Roy Holladay
President

Letter from the Chairman

February 6, 2003

Greetings everyone, on behalf of the Council of Elders,

On Sunday, January 27, I had the sobering experience of standing quietly with my wife, Dee, at her mother’s bedside as we watched her mother stubbornly succumb to cancer. Other than her stepfather, his two children and the hospice nurse, no one else was aware of what had happened, and a passerby on the street would have never suspected what was transpiring in that little house on the corner.

A few days later on Sabbath, February 1, I was riding quietly with Dee on the way to services when, along with the whole world, we were jolted with the news that seven astronauts, all in the prime of health and fitness, had suddenly, unexpectedly and tragically lost their lives in the space shuttle disaster.

Sometimes in life we walk through “the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm:23:4), but it’s not our personal valley—it is our loved ones’. We are just accompanying them, holding their hands as they go on their last journey. Whether figuratively as a nation or literally as a family, the rest of that verse, the parts about not fearing evil and being comforted, become extremely meaningful. When you are in “the valley” with someone, especially a loved one, the personal value of the truth tends to increase. But when you have opportunity to share that truth with others, and you see it unlock their chains of fear and sorrow and give them courage to face the shadow of death, the truth becomes priceless!

Jesus declared, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John:8:32). The more we experience life, the more we learn that not only is the truth priceless, but also the freedom that it brings has many dimensions. Please consider with me, as you read this, one particular dimension of truth—the freedom to set our houses in order. The world desperately needs to get its house in order and so do Christians! It is in the truth that we find not only the godly order of life, but in the truth of the resurrection we also find a tremendous source of motivation.

Two days before my mother-in-law died I had a long phone conversation with an old friend, a member in Illinois named Helen Watts. Mrs. Watts attended the Poplar Bluff, Missouri, congregation in the 1980s when I pastored there, and in the course of catching up on passed time she quoted to me Psalm:90:10. “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow.” “I’m 81 now,” she said, “and that verse is right! Those extra 10 years haven’t been easy. However, I’m still making it along.”

Maybe Moses was 81 when he wrote this psalm—who knows—but if he was, he had yet another 39 years to go! So was he a moaning pessimist? Not at all. He was simply leading up to a great lesson about life. Verse 12 reads: “So”—that is, with the understanding of the consequences of the speed of life and the wasting nature of sin (verses 3-10)—“teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (emphasis mine throughout).

At what age do you think Moses would have recommended one begin numbering his or her years and start gaining a heart of wisdom? Most people wait far too long. Human nature being what it is, we easily tend to become preoccupied with the insignificant. It is usually only when we have to deal with death that we ponder what is really meaningful—questions like: What is life about? What is our reason for being? What is our destiny? Is this life a means to something greater? Have I gained a heart of wisdom? As early as possible is the best age to begin numbering our years, and anyone, at any age, who listens to Moses and sets his (or her) heart to make the most of his time on this earth has already begun to gain a heart of wisdom.

Moses also added, “Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands” (verses 16-17). Psalm:96:9 explains this “beauty of the Lord”—“Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!” Oh, we humans sure value beauty according to physical appearance, but God uses a very different scale. Only those who value the beauty of holiness as God does will be numbering their days and will be motivated to pursue godly wisdom and establish godly works in their lives.

This is what Moses was saying and Mrs. Watts was affirming—time is precious, it flies by, and we have no guarantee of how much we have, so make the most of it! Later on God told King Hezekiah, in essence, the same thing: “Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live” (2 Kings:20:1). Even though Hezekiah asked for, and received, a few extra years, God’s statement still came to pass as it will for everyone. If my life suddenly ceased tonight I think my physical house is pretty well in order—the insurance is adequate, important papers are in the safe, all the finances are in organized files and the will is up to date. My family would find it not too disorderly to move on physically. But that’s really the lesser of my concerns—there is another house that I’m more concerned about whether it is in order: my spiritual house. How about you and your spiritual house?

We all rejoice in the truth of God assuring us that loved ones who did not have His Holy Spirit will someday be able to put their spiritual houses in order. They will rise, the books will be opened to their understanding (Revelation:20:12) and they will have their opportunity to repent and find complete reconciliation with God. But for us, now, “the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God” (1 Peter:4:17). We must all be striving daily to put, and keep, our spiritual houses in order. Peter wrote those words to motivate us and stir us up, not to live in terror, but to live in zeal!

The apostle Paul serves as a great example of how this worked in his life. When hauled unjustly before the Roman governor, Felix (read all of Acts 24 for the context), he gave this powerful testimony: “But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect [have you ever heard that before?], so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men” (Acts:24:14-16).

In other words, Paul made the connection between the future resurrection and his daily behavior, and that truth stood so powerfully in the forefront of his mind that he committed his life daily to keeping his spiritual house in order.

In later conversations with Felix and his wife, Drusilla, we read that Paul “reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come” (verse 25). Simply put, righteousness is God’s way; self-control is living it; and the importance of the judgment to come has to do with understanding the impact that righteousness and self-control have on our future.

Interestingly, “Felix was afraid.” Why would someone as powerful as Felix be afraid of the same truth that had set Paul free? A clue is found in his command to send Paul away until “I have a convenient time [when] I will call for you.” Confronting the truth is difficult because it demands a decision of whether or not we will set our spiritual houses in order by conforming to that truth. For Felix, as with so many people, this was not a “convenient” time. He obviously had other worldly values—money and image (verses 26-27)—determining how he would order his house.

What about us? Do we ever wait for a more “convenient time” to set our houses in order? Or do we, like Paul, believe so strongly in God’s plan for the future that we “always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men”? Do we consciously live in the shadow of the future, “the judgment to come,” so that we strive daily for righteousness and self-control?

You see, Paul the prisoner was not the one who was really in chains. Paul had taken Felix and Drusilla on a collision course with the truth. What we see in their lives, though, is the fact that the truth will only set you free if you accept it, are motivated by it and conform to it. Paul had; Felix and Drusilla had not.

There was another collision with the truth that occurred in Christ’s time, but with quite a different ending. Luke:7:11-12 describes two “large crowds,” one a mourning burial party going out of the city of Nain, the other a marveling group following Christ in. One group surrounded a man who had been defeated by death; the other group surrounded the Man who would defeat death. This was a particularly sad occasion due to an untimely death. The deceased was the only son of a widow who, “when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her” (verse 13).

Only the cold-hearted could have this week observed without compassion the families of the seven astronauts killed in such a dreadful and untimely way. My mother-in-law’s death was deeply saddening to the entire family, but it wasn’t unexpected nor was she tragically cut off prematurely in the prime of life. The natural order of life for us wasn’t turned upside down as it was for the astronauts’ families and, in fact, people around the world. Considering how much these seven lives touched the world, think about the sorrow of death that will suddenly intensify, perhaps in many nations, if the looming war in Iraq breaks out.

Regardless of where anyone in this world stands politically or religiously, any time we deal with death, questions begin to churn: When will death come to me? What will happen when I die? What will happen to my loved ones when they die? I suspect such questions were on the minds of the people going out of Nain, when suddenly they witnessed the unthinkable—Jesus commanded the young man to rise up out of his coffin, and the power of death was reversed through a resurrection.

Unlike Felix’s reaction, in this case, “Fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen up among us’; and, ‘God has visited His people’” (verse 16). While this was wonderful for those people, it is not just a great story of a young man. It is the story of humanity and the future—God has visited, and He will visit again, and through the power of the resurrection will destroy death!

It was wonderful to stand in the memorial service and assure the friends and family that a resurrection lies ahead. How much is that truth worth to us? For those in “the house of God,” it is not only worth comfort and security for the future, it is also a real-life reminder to keep our minds on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, so that we will be motivated to keep our spiritual house in order.

Let’s continue to do all we can to spread the good news of the Kingdom of God, especially during times of confusion and uncertainty. Above all, let’s diligently strive to live as Christ’s ambassadors of that coming Kingdom. Thank you, as always, for your prayers, encouragement and support.

 In Christ’s service, on behalf of the Council,
 

Clyde Kilough
Chairman   

© 2003 United Church of God, an International Association