Costly, priceless, precious beyond measure ... is the church of the Living God

In a previous post I described a picture of a rich man's son. What to all others was valueless, because it was the amateur workmanship of a friend, was priceless to the father. So priceless was the son, that the gardener who successfully bid for the auctioned picture, secured the rich man's vast estate. In a nutshell, the rich man's will had said, "whoever takes the son, gets everything else."

My friend Jerry Hobbs, triggered a deeper set of thoughts about this illustration, when he argued that to many believers, value or pricelessness relates to the financial cost of the Christian institution, its buildings and other assets. No I am not having a go at Catholicism, because materialism is widespread in Christendom. It blurs all perspective for unbelievers, but many believers have been equally beguiled by its power.

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The simple sketch of a priceless life, became the priceless heirloom of a simple soul

My friend Arnold de Wet, a gifted musician, launched his latest CD last night. It was a great moment, but one of the highlights for me was the poignant story that Arnold shared.

He told of a very wealthy art collector, who first lost his wife and then subsequently lost his only son to war. As he tried to reassemble his broken world, he received a visitor. Before him stood a young man who had known the rich man's son and had also done a pencilled sketch of the boy before he died. He showed the drawing to the father, who saw beyond the amateur drawing to the heart behind it. It moved him enough to take the picture and frame it as a personal and moving tribute to his beloved son.

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Old and young 10: We will have to go a long way to have such fun

Old:

Sally, a difficult independent 75 year old, liked sitting by the park feeding the pigeons. One day she brought with her a whole bun of fresh bread just to feed her daily company. Little by little, pinch-by-pinch, she fed each pigeon with joy. She sat there without being noticed by anyone in our rich suburban neighborhood.

Then suddenly a man in his early 40's rained on my mom's parade by telling her that she shouldn't throw away good food on a bunch of pigeons that can find food anywhere... when there are a lot of people starving in Africa, says the stranger.

Then my mother said in crazed anger and without hesitation, "Well, sorry for you but I can't throw that far!"

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Old and young 9: We quote what we learn in school and we live what we learn from life

Old (some quotes):

- Age is a pretty high price to pay for maturity

- Ageing seems to be the only available way to live a long life

- At my age, I'm entitled to be grumpy!

- Don't let aging get you down - it's too hard to get back up!
- Don't worry about age - it's ugly you have to watch out for
- Don't worry about avoiding temptation - as you age it avoids you
- Don't worry about wrinkles, they're just antique smiles
- Few women admit their age. Few men act theirs
- Fortunately I'm too poor to have a mid-life crises
- Funny, I don't remember being absent minded
- For all the advances in modern medicine, there is still no cure for the common birthday.

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Old and young 8: Move closer and tell me your name

Old:

Sometimes a picture simply does account for a thousand words.

In the continuing  series of old and young we have read some rather humorous stories about old people and some weird answers from kids who say the craziest things in their exams. At both ends of life, there is enough reality and down-to-earthness to bring every aspect of life down with a bump and so restore perspective.

Yet it is never about laughing at people. Rather its about being real and learning to laugh at ourselves through whatever reality faces us. This is a tough life, made the more bearable by the humorous realities that cross our paths everyday, for which I so thank God. Without humor I am sure I would have crumbled years ago, but the funny things we say at home, overhear in our children or see in everyday life, keep us in touch with the ground and remind us of how small we are and how little we know. Thank you Lord for that.

Young (Exam answers):

Sources of exam answers: Unknown

Old and young 7: By day or night, their love ne'er grew cold

Old:

An elderly couple, still living in the same home after more than fifty years of marriage, were at the breakfast table one morning when she remarked, "My dear, do you remember the time when as newly weds we naughtily stripped off and ate our breakfast with no clothes on." She giggled delightfully at the memory, but he, the drier of the two, just softly chuckled and carried on eating his food. "Can't we do it again?" Reluctantly he agreed and so the two old, wrinkled souls sat in the morning sun enjoying sweet nothingness.

He was content to humor her, whilst enjoying his breakfast. She had other ideas. In a moment of passion she said, "My breasts are still hot for you my love".

At that, the old man finished a mouth full of coffee, slowly lowered his cup and then looked her in the eye to say, "Maybe my dear its because one of them is in the porridge and the other is in your coffee."

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