30th May 2020

Our Dear Brethren,

As I sat in the waiting room I could hear the clock ticking on its typical steady beat. At first I paid no attention to it since that's one thing that clocks do. Of course these days fewer people rely on a clock on the wall or even one on their wrist. People rush from one place to the other, navigating the world through their phones and tablets, constantly distracted by a steady stream of information. But that day there was no sound other than the steady movement of time in the nearly empty room. The quiet allowed the tick...tick...tick... of the second hand on the clock to ring out. For a moment it was all that I heard even if someone else moved or the door opened to let another person into the room. The simple and precise sound seemed to slow down at moments, almost as if time itself was beginning to stand still.

This week has been quite a week from many standpoints. Here in the US there have been deaths caused by the hands of authorities. There have been protests that have resulted in destruction of neighborhoods. Fake news and arguments over freedom of speech have continued at every level from the president all the way down to individuals on a cell phone, reading as they walk or sit in the comfort of their home. Details about the virus that has plagued the world for months changes on a daily basis, emboldening some to go outside while others continue to stay inside. In other countries political debates continue to bring tensions and protests while some people are on the brink of starvation, out of work and out of crops. In times like this I miss the quiet ticking of a clock on the wall, when time slowed down and there was space in my mind to stop and think more clearly.

There is a certain simplicity that mankind has removed from life, but we saw this coming. There is a certain level of quiet that we have pushed aside in our striving to improve life, but that is to be expected in the timeline of history. Even within the ranks of the peoples of God there is a certain unsettling, disagreement on what is fact and what is fiction, a certain judging of one another over thoughts and feelings and even the interpretation of the ways of God. This, too, we should have known would happen.

Daniel was instructed to "shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end," a time described by the movement of peoples around the world, a time when "knowledge shall increase" (Daniel 12:4). Too often we confuse knowledge with wisdom and try and fill ourselves with all sorts of knowledge so we may be prepared for any and all situations that may come. Knowledge becomes noise when it comes at us from all different directions. We pick up bits and pieces here and there and are now tasked with deciphering what is fact and what is fiction, what is useful and what is useless, what is just nice to know and what will make us wise for salvation. It is times like these when I miss the simplicity of quiet, as the clock continues to tick through time, steadily moving us forward, but not rushing us along.

While there is a certain urgency that we should have in preparing our spiritual lives for the return of Jesus Christ, we should also recall the simplicity of the truth that our minds have been opened to understand.

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)

There is so much in this one simple verse. There is a sense of calm, a sense of security. There is a sense of peace and honesty. There is a sense of a loving God who is in complete control of this world. There is also a sense of honesty and respect that is expected from God's people. There is a sense of humility which is shown in the way a person lives on a daily basis. There is an understanding that we are not the ones who turn the world or cause the hands of the clock to move forward. There is an understanding that we aren't the ones who create truth and dictate the consequences for the sins of the world. We have a Creator who has set the world on its foundations which we cannot even see. We have a Savior who has taken it upon Himself to be punished for the sins of the world.

Our role compared to that of our God is very minor. Our role in the eyes of this world is very minor. But it is in this simplicity of the requirements from our God that brings His focus on us. Even as the world turns and the clock ticks by; even as wars, pestilence, and famine swarm whole continents; even as truth and lies combine together to confuse many into thinking there is wisdom to be seen; the eyes of our God are focused on those who put self and confusion aside and look to Him.

"The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit" (Psalm 34:18).

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart--these, O God, You will not despise" (Psalm 51:17).

"For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" (Isaiah 57:15).

The hands of the clock seem to tick..tick..tick ever faster as this age draws near a close. We should not be surprised at the happenings around us. These things are revealed in the pages of the Bible. We cannot let these massive distractions get in the way of what we have been called to do and the kind of people we are called to be. Let's remain focused on the simplicity of our duty as the saints of God.

Our love is with you,

Lewis VanAusdle

Pastor, United Church of God

NYC, NJ, CT, Malawi, Zimbabwe