giving up

May 30, 2018

The young man walked away (Mt 19:22-19:22)

“When the young man

Heard this word,

He went away grieving.

He had many possessions.”

 

ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ νεανίσκος τὸν λόγον ἀπῆλθεν λυπούμενος· ἦν γὰρ ἔχων κτήματα πολλά.

 

This story about the young man walking away can be found in Mark, chapter 10:22, and Luke, chapter 18:23, but slightly different.  When the young man heard this saying of Jesus (ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ νεανίσκος τὸν λόγον), he went away pained or grieving (ἀπῆλθεν λυπούμενος), because he had many possessions or a lot of property (ἦν γὰρ ἔχων κτήματα πολλά).  This rich young man was willing to listen to Jesus but could not bring himself to totally commit his life, by giving up his worldly possessions.  Thus, he went away very sad because he realized his own situation.

February 20, 2018

The despair of nothingness

The great sin of our life is giving up.  Despair with suicide is the decisive act of giving up, the ultimate sin against trust.  The final act of despair is suicide.  Without a belief in a forgiving caring God, life may seem more troublesome than the permanent sleep of death.  There are always people willing to help.  The worst answer to any problem is suicide.  You do not get any second chances after suicide.  The game is over.  You are dead.  Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary life problem.

November 10, 2016

The great drought (Jer 14:2-14:6)

“Judah mourns.

Her gates languish.

Her people lie in gloom

On the ground.

The cry of Jerusalem goes up.

Her nobles send their servants

For water.

They come to the cisterns.

They find no water.

They return

With their vessels empty.

They are ashamed.

They are dismayed.

They cover their heads.

Because the ground is cracked.

Because there has been no rain

On the land.

The farmers are dismayed.

They cover their heads.

Even the doe in the field

Forsakes her newborn fawn.

Because there is no grass.

The wild asses stand

On the bare heights.

They pant for air

Like jackals.

Their eyes fail.

Because there is no herbage.”

This drought had Judah in mourning. Gloom was all around. The nobles sent their servants for water, but the well cisterns had no water. Thus they returned empty handed, being ashamed and dismayed. They too went into mourning by covering their heads. The dry ground was cracking because there had been no rain in the land. The farmers were dismayed and went into mourning by covering their heads. Even the deer were giving up their young fawns since they could not find any grass. The wild asses on the bare heights had breathing difficulties. Their eyes were failing because they could not find any wild green plants to eat. Everyone was having difficulty in this drought.