Geez, I wish I could remember every person's name after meeting them for a fleeting moment. It's so much nicer not having to ask again.
Brandon, an eighth-grader, was very gracious and politely asked my name again.
What followed was a delightful, 15-minute conversation on that darkened sidewalk between the pool house and the road.
We talked about all sorts of things that an adult male and an eighth-grade boy might talk about.
Forty years ago, I had a skateboard and so we talked about skateboards. We compared "war stories" about hitting pieces of gravel and becoming airborne with the resulting loss of skin in large patches.
Six months ago, we were both living in South Florida's congested craziness and now we're in what some might consider the Mayberry of Florida's east coast.
Of course, I guided the conversation toward the topic of Christianity and I learned that Brandon and his parents go to church in Port St. Lucie, about 50 minutes south of Sebastian. I asked him to pass on to his parents my invitation to a fellowship gathering at our rented condo a block away, set for next Wednesday night.
I told him of how Lori and I have been called by God to launch a ministry in this area, most likely a new congregation in an area just north of here where very few churches exist.
I also told Brandon that I'd like to talk with him again in order to update my understanding of connecting with local kids who don't live in a big city.
I then asked Brandon to give me a call on my home phone so that I'd have his cell number and could send an e-mailed invitation to his parents, Steve and Pamela.
The phone rang three minutes after I returned to the condo.
It was Brandon.
Cool, huh?
I won't forget Brandon's name again.
I probably won't forget Colton's name, either.
Colton was with Brandon on that first night we met between the mailboxes and the pool house.
There are three other adolescent, skateboarder boys who live in this condo complex. I've talked briefly with each of them, too.
I'm looking forward to eating crow when I have to ask their names again, but it will be worth it if it means being able to do something fun with them such as taking them for a boat ride to a nearby island -- with parental approval, of course.
It's all about bridge-building, isn't it?
I'm glad that God stirred Brandon to speak up last night rather than simply rolling by me enroute to Colton's place just up the hill.
Seed-planting is always good.
Thanks, God.
As always, I love you
Martin
Live holier, live longer
Jan. 5, 2009
Reading the Bible is not boring.
In fact, one can sometimes find some very interesting tidbits that are more than 3,000 years old yet still have a rich flavor and powerful nutrition for the soul.
I was reading today in Genesis 10-11 and noticed that mankind's life span -- as indicated by genealogical listings -- had plummeted from 450 years or so down to under 250 years in one generation.
Yes, we know that people lived a lot longer early in human history. The supposition is that it took centuries and centuries before the physically polluted world prompted decay in what God had created as a perfect body.
Even Shem, Noah's son, lived more than 600 years and his life was nearly 2,400 years after the creation of man.
After the great flood, though, life span gradually declined to the mid-400s.
The huge drop came after another calamity affecting all of mankind.
You can read about in Genesis 10.
I'm talking about God's decision to divide a prideful, rebellious humanity via the destruction of a one-language world.
It is a fascinating read, actually.
When the capacity for worldwide unity dissolved in the proliferation of different languages, people decided that they couldn't live with people they couldn't understand.
So people moved away from one another like crazy.
Right after the divine confusing of languages -- however God did such -- life spans fell to nearly half what they were before the loss of a single language.
New regions. New climates. New water sources. New types of food. New types of threats -- both human and animal.
One can speculate ad nauseum for all the reasons that health/life span declines occurred in these contexts.
The fact remains that man's brief life span was not God's original intention, but instead the fruit of man's rebellion.
Adam was created to live forever, but he messed that up.
Noah was told by God that the day would come that man would have a 120-year lifespan on average.
For a time until the days of Moses, such was possible.
Then the time came, via the Proverbs, that man was promised an average life span of 70 years.
Medical care today often bumps that figure somewhat higher but only by a decade or so.
We'll never go back to the 120-year average, let alone the 240s or 450s or 600s or even the 900s as in the first generations.
So how can all this stuff apply to your life?
How you live can affect how long you live.
You can't rewrite your biological DNA to exempt your flesh from the imperfections you inherited.
You can, however, ask God to help you rewrite your spiritual DNA so that you have a hunger for that which is healthy for the soul and mind and flesh.
You can pray for the wisdom and the strength to make healthier physical choices so that you might have more energy to provide spiritual service to God via church volunteerism, via Christian compassion toward one hurting, and via a longer life of prayer and praise.
Please remember that reading daily the Bible can help you to lead a holier, longer life.
Hmmm.... sounds like the best one-a-day vitamin you could possibly have, doesn't it?
