Give the Dog a Bone

Jake hunkered down. This invasion had him on edge. In addition to the gentle elderly couple he adored, there were two youngish couples, a teen and a couple of children. His eyes followed them all warily from his kitchen corner.

And the activity! Where was the quiet routine he normally enjoyed? Particularly today, mother was bustling around the kitchen as if possessed, helped occasionally by the other females. If there was any virtue in all this, it was the delightful aromas resulting from their efforts.

Jake rose and slowly padded around the other rooms. The men and children were chatting and playing in the living room, while the teen had a strange crown around her ears and quietly nodded in a corner. The dining room table had grown, and, putting his front paws on a chair, he saw a brightly decorated surface with too many place settings.

He returned to the sanctuary of his basket in the kitchen. Mother pulled the turkey from the oven and placed it on the kitchen table. ”Dad wants us all in the living room,” she said to the other women. “A short prayer of thanks together before we eat.” The three women disappeared.

Jake looked at the table. A plastic chequered cloth hung around the table edge with alternate squares sporting pictures of succulent pieces of turkey. Jake equated the smell with those inviting pictures, sauntered over and took a bite.

The next few moments were action packed, if hazy. The plastic cloth hooked itself around his canine teeth, and he pulled back sharply, trying to dislodge this foul tasting morsel by shaking his head furiously. He was conscious of a heavy object falling on his head, together with a shower of assorted vegetables liberally sprinkled with hot gravy falling around him.

The commotion brought the family running. They stood briefly in disbelief. Dad looked at Jake. A quiver of guilt shook Jake. Within seconds, a rolled up newspaper descended forcefully on his tender snout, and he found himself on the porch.

He barked at the door; no response. He whimpered—usually effective; not this time. He lay down for a while, guilt ridden, not sure why, his paws over his nose. Being shut out was worse than the family invasion. He licked the gravy off where he could reach.

He heard voices from an open window, padded over, and put his paws on the sill. They were all seated around the dining table, its centre piece a leftover joint, some burger buns, and a huge salad—mercifully stored in the ’frig.

The teen was holding forth, the children watching dolefully. “Couldn’t possibly eat that stuff now. Besides, it’s probably got rabies or something!”

“That beast deserves a whipping,” adjudicated a younger man.

“Damn right,” agreed the other.

Jake sunk to the deck, uncertain guilt washing over him again.

 “Now, now boys,” Mother sighed. “We still have more than enough to be thankful for and I doubt Jake knows what he’s done wrong. Probably won’t try it again.”

Dad nodded, Jake agreed. The window above him opened wider, and a bone dropped in front of him. He lurched forward and grabbed it between his teeth.

Suddenly, Jake was content; guilt suddenly replaced with thankfulness. A bone, forgiveness, a home, family . . . .

News Report: Mexico mulls 2-Year Marriage Licence

This was the moment he’d been waiting for, the ideal time to pop the question.

He hesitated. “Er . . . I want to ask you a question. . . . Would . . .”

“Yes, go on,” she encouraged.

“Well, Would you . . . marry me?” He hesitated, trying to gauge her response.

“Possibly.” Now she hesitated. “For how long?” Marriage licences were available for one, two or five years with renewable options; some even had no expiry date.

“I thought five years; give us time to make a real effort.” His reply showed he had given this some meaningful thought.

“Hmmm. I don’t think that’s going to work for me. At my age, I don’t have that many child-bearing years left. One year would suit me better. After all, I can’t have children if we are possibly planning our break-up as well.”

He hadn’t thought about children. He didn’t want to wait five years before having children either. On that point, one year seemed the best choice.

“OK,” he responded, “I agree on one year. So, that’s settled. I’ve already done some thinking. I will buy the house—it’s the most expensive item—and you can buy the car.” He was feeling magnanimous.

“Hold it, you’re going too fast. I still haven’t said yes. We need to think about the break-up arrangements. For instance, I’m not happy about you buying the house. That will appreciate, the car won’t. You get the best part of the deal.” 

This proposal was proving more complicated than he had thought. Where had the simple: ‘will you marry me,’ and, ‘yes, yes, I will,’ gone to? 

She continued. “I want half partnership in the house, and you buy the car. And when we move in we must label everything ‘his’ and ‘hers’ to avoid misunderstanding later.” 

“You mean you want a pre-nup agreement?” He asked, becoming ruffled.

“Well, some have one even if they’re not breaking up,” she countered, “and we are planning to!”

“Look, I’m not planning to break up. I really do want to marry you for life. It’s just that if things don’t work out, a limited time licence avoids the hassle of a divorce.” It all seemed so logical to him.

She softened a little. “OK, on these conditions I’ll marry you, and we’ll see what a year will bring.” It appeared she really did love him.

“And will you stay married to me if things do work out?” He asked.

“That’s like asking a girl her age,” she replied. “Your not knowing will spice up our marriage. And you can keep that guessing game going in your head for a while longer: ‘will she or won’t she?’”

“That doesn’t appeal to me at all; I need more assurance than that.”

“All right.” She seemed tired of the game. After all, what girl doesn’t want security also? “Perhaps the best answer is just to live together—and let’s make it for life. If you’re worried about the hassle of divorce, why go through the hassle of marriage in the first place, temporary or not? And the door is still open if we don’t make it.”

Confrontation at the United Nations

World leaders would like to consider the conflict between Israel and Palestine a political issue, resolved by negotiation. But it is more fundamentally a religious issue. Religious beliefs run deeper in the human heart than any other issue, and are liable to create the greatest conflicts.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—the world’s monotheistic religions—all have the same heritage in Abraham. Judaism and Christianity trace their spiritual heritage through Isaac and Islam through Ishmael. Each has Jerusalem as the centre of their spiritual world.

For Christians, Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection took place in Jerusalem. Jews consider the holy City of David their traditional capital, and for Muslims it is the place where they believe Mohammed rose to heaven. In particular, the temple mount is the most sacred to both Jews and Muslims.

The Dome of the rock is built on the platform that was originally home to previous Jewish temples. Those temples were the centre of worship for the Jews, and they still worship at the western “Wailing Wall” that supports the temple platform.

The name “Dome of the Rock” comes from the sacred place enshrined with in it. Surrounded by a colonnade supporting the dome, is an area of exposed rock from where Mohammed is claimed to have ascended.

The rock also has direct physical attachment for the Jews, as they believe the rock is the place on Mount Moriah where Abraham attempted to sacrifice Isaac. So for Jews and Muslims, the temple area is a focal confrontational point. For Christians, the halted sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah is a symbol of salvation and resurrection (Genesis 22:13 and Hebrews 11:19).

But even beyond the religious attachments, this confrontation is a symptom of a higher spiritual battle. It is true for nations as well as individuals that the world’s struggles are not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces in the heavenly realms.

The destruction of Israel has been on Satan’s agenda since the time of Abraham, for which persecution of the Jews for millennia, and Hitler’s intention to eradicate them are evidence. As Israel is the centrepiece of the Bible’s history and end time prophecies, the destruction of Israel would discredit the Bible, and make God both a liar and impotent.

Events in the Middle East continue to be the centre of the world stage. Eventually, all other world events will be seen as simply sideshows. Friday’s events in the United Nations confirm the antagonism of most of the world’s nations toward Israel. This may well be setting the stage for the final confrontations, symbolised in Revelation 12:13–17.

The devil’s final onslaught, through his earthly pawns, may conquer, but will not destroy Israel. Consequently, his rage will turn against Christianity, the remaining testimony to the truth about God. This will finally usher in the return of Jesus Christ, the only source of real and lasting peace.

Life is Like an Interchange

If you have trouble following directions, then these marvels of engineering called interchanges will give you trouble. That five cent gas coupon from Safeways is swallowed up in the five mile drive to return to the same spot if you miss your turning!

But it’s not just finding the right exit, it’s knowing which lane to be in to take it. And even if you know, crossing multiple lanes of fast moving traffic to get there can be hazardous to your health.

I recall a number of occasions driving the M25, a ring road around London; four or five lanes in each direction filled with traffic pushing the 110 kph speed limit. 

 

My brother-in-law called it “The wall of deaf” (like many English he couldn’t pronounce th), recalling the circular cage where trick motorcyclists ride horizontally. 

The only time the traffic slows down is for the frequent accidents that close some lanes. On one occasion, I was held up thirty miles from the M25 because of an accident on it, with a couple of daughters racing to catch a plane. They just made it!

These interchanges are like life, confusing and dangerous. What makes it worse is the lack of proper signs, or worse, the absence of them. And just imagine the confusion if all exits pointed to the same destination—like the fatuous statement that all beliefs lead to God!

I must admit to sympathy with those trying to find the exit to Truth, especially when all the exits point that way. Postmodernists are half-right when they say truth is relative. All “truths” derived from earthly sources are temporary; often in conflict, misleading, or deliberately false.

It is only the eternal transcendent Truth, existing before time began and continuing beyond time, which can take us through the interchanges of life to our desired destination. All earthly truth is only a shadow or attempted subversion of that Truth, and is destined to perish at the end of time.

Jesus Christ is the Way and that eternal Truth. He alone can provides the right exists in life. All other ways are a dead end.

9.11

It’s too easy to compare 9/11 with Pearl Harbour. The parallels are obvious: an unprovoked surprise attack, destruction and loss of life on an enormous scale, and a scar left on the American psyche forever. But there is one significant difference.

Pearl Harbour was an attack on a military target that Japan may have considered a threat to their homeland. The targeting of the towers on 9/11 was a direct attack on civilian personal that were no threat to the attackers.

This puts Al Qaida and its cronies in the same league as Saddam Hussein, Gadhafi, Stalin, Hitler, and other notorious leaders who slaughter and maim millions simply to obtain or retain power.

If ever there was an obvious face of evil and its intractable perversion of humankind, these instances are plain evidence. They defy liberal thinking that assumes the goodness of humankind with some correctable faults.

This incurable disease of evil infects us all to lesser or greater degree, that, at its least destructive, subverts our best intentions, or at its worst, reduces individual humans to its puppets. History, if nothing else, shows that human endeavour may alleviate, but will never eradicate evil.

In the face of this, Christianity is the one belief system that makes sense of this world, recognizing the presence and force of systemic evil in humanity and the need to deal with it in every individual. A change of heart is needed, not a change of attitude.

Furthermore, Christianity confirms the suspicion that our addiction to evil has root beyond ourselves. Our human battle is a reflection of spiritual warfare with the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Jesus Christ came to bring freedom from this chaos and entry into His rest. God’s offer of forgiveness, given in repentance for our contribution to evil, He purchased at infinite cost as His Son bore the penalty for our evil on the cross.

Whether we destroy human life on a grand scale, or simply devalue another’s dignity, the seizure of status or power at human cost will always be in league with the forces of evil and in conflict with the love of God for all humanity.