Guidelines For Living

Harold Sala: Frank Mihalic tells the story. An old monastery fell on hard times. Few young men joined the monks whose primary tasks were to chant scriptures and to spend their days in prayer. Whereas the chapel was once filled with the praises of God ringing in their midst, only a few men blended their voices in prayer and praise.

Near the edge of the property, a rabbi built a hut where he came for prayer and meditation. There was no dialogue between the men, who didn't seem to share much in common. But one day the Abbot decided to visit the rabbi and perhaps open his heart to him, so the Abbot set out through the woods to the hut of the old rabbi. As he approached the wooden hut, the rabbi walked towards the man he had never seen, threw his arms around him, and motioned him to enter.

The hut was desolate save for a couple of benches and a rough-hewn table upon which was an open Bible. As the two looked at each other, the rabbi began to sob, and then the Abbot joined him. The two men vented their emotions and wept together unashamedly. Then the rabbi spoke, telling the Abbot that he knew he had come for a teaching, and he would say it only once. "The Messiah is among you," he said.

Nothing more was said, and then soon the Abbot left. Gathering the few men who remained at the monastery, they asked, "Well, what did the rabbi say?" Quietly he said, "He told me that one of us is the Messiah," misunderstanding what had been said. And what happened? Harsh words were no longer spoken. Acts of kindness became spontaneous. Prayers were no longer laborious and difficult. Spiritually, the men seemed to come alive.

Is there a lesson for us in this simple parable? If so, it is this: when God is in the midst of His people, their lives change radically. His touch makes a difference in your heart, your relationships, your marriage, and how you get along with your neighbor. Even dogs and cats can tell a difference.

When Israel had drifted far from God as a loving Father who missed the presence of His children, God said, "Now let them put away from me their prostitution and their lifeless idols of their kings, and I will live among them forever." God living among His people always makes a difference.

What is the parallel to life in the 21st century? Should we take a local church to be the equivalent of God's people? Or should we go beyond that to our individual families? It's interesting that the last book of the New Testament pictures God's Son at the door of a home knocking, wanting to come in.

The question is this: is God at home in your family? Does His presence make a difference in the way you treat each other? It can. It does make a difference in the lives of millions of people. And if it doesn't make a difference in your home, you're missing something very, very important. Getting to know God to understand who He is and what He asks of us is the key.

To do this, you've got to go beyond the misconceptions of God being a cosmic policeman, an old gray-haired, bearded but kind father too weak to help no matter how much He'd like to, or thinking of Him as a disinterested spectator. And how shall we find out who God really is? Good question, one which can be easily answered.

For almost 35 centuries, men and women have turned to the written pages of the Bible and there God tells us something of Himself, His nature, His character, His will and purpose for our lives. He does.

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