Out in the Cold

An Arkie's Faith column from the January 24, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

This past week, my hometown has seen the coldest temperatures in over twenty years. On the coldest morning, the temperature was five degrees with a wind chill of minus thirteen. Because of the unusually low temps, the working conditions at my shop were very cold. My old, drafty, uninsulated, shop building has only space heaters for heat. On the bitterly cold days, the heaters could do little more than keep the temperature above freezing. Like many other people in the area, I had water pipes that were frozen. As I worked, I longed for warmer weather.

According to an article published by the Associated Press, “a record-breaking blast of cold closed schools and government offices across the South and sent cars sliding off roads in a corner of the country ill-equipped to deal with the wintry weather. At least ten people died.” Cold weather can be deadly, and each winter many people lose there lives because of the cold.

I grew up in Colorado and experienced lots of snow and cold weather. I can still remember how frightened I was the day that I experienced a Colorado blizzard. It was a fairly nice winter day with temperatures in the forties. I was listening to the radio while I worked. It seemed like every few minutes there was a bulletin warning of a significant winter storm that was fast approaching. As I listened to the warnings on the radio, I decided that because I had a twenty-five-mile drive home, I should head home early.

By the time I headed home in my little Ford Pinto, the snow was coming down. Soon the snowfall was so heavy that visibility was almost zero. Before long I began to get worried. The snow was already so deep that the ditches were full of snow and I couldn’t tell where the edge of the road was. As I inched my way along, I frequently stopped the car and got out to find the edge of the road. I knew that if I slipped off the road in my little Pinto, I would never be able to get out. My progress was very slow, and the storm intensified as time went on. I began to regret not grabbing a coat that morning. My mind wandered to stories of people who were stranded after sliding off of the road in a blizzard.

While I was driving slowly down the road, I noticed my wheels starting to slip. I soon realized that I wasn’t making any progress. I was on a fairly steep hill, and the little Pinto couldn’t make it up the hill. I carefully backed down the hill and tried following my tracks with all of the speed that I dared. I made it a bit farther but still couldn’t get over the hill. When I got out of the car to survey my situation, I noticed a driveway just off to my left. I pulled into the driveway and sat there for a while. I didn’t know what to do. After about a half hour, I shut the car off because my gas gauge showed almost empty. In my hurry to get home I had forgotten to gas up. Before long it was quite cold in the car. I hadn’t seen one other car on this lonely stretch of county road. I began to get worried and prayed to God for a way out of my situation.

When the blizzard let up a bit, I could see a house off in the distance at the end of a long driveway. I got out of the car and walked up to the house. I knocked on the front door and got no answer. I went around to the back and knocked again. Still no answer. After standing in the snow and shivering for a bit, I checked the door to see if it was locked. The back door was unlocked. I opened it and stepped into a mudroom with boots, coats, a sink, and a couple of old metal chairs. After a few minutes, I took one of the coats of off the hook and put it on. I hoped the owners would understand.

I sat there, a bit more comfortable because of the coat, and thought about my troubles. I knew that my wife was worried about me, but I had no way to let her know about my situation. The door into the house from the mudroom had three small windows. I looked through the windows and noticed a phone hanging on the wall. I tried the doorknob, and it was unlocked. I felt terrible about going into the home of a stranger, but I didn’t know what else to do. I made a quick call to my wife to let her know that I was safe, but had no idea when I would be able to get home. Then I went back into the mudroom.

Over the next hour, I made several trips back to my car to see if the conditions had changed. The snow wasn’t coming down as hard, and visibility had improved. On one of these trips, a four wheel drive pickup drove up the hill leaving tracks to follow. I got in my little Pinto, backed down to the bottom of the hill, drove as fast as I could up the hill and made it over the top. In a few minutes, I was able to make it safely home. I’m sure that the owners of the home never knew that they had been my salvation.

Gentle Reader, that memorable scenario happened forty years ago. I don’t think I have ever been colder or more concerned about my safety. While He was talking to His disciples about signs of His coming at the end of the world, Jesus said, “because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 24:12,13 (NKJV) Don’t let your love grow cold. Jesus has promised to save those who endure to the end. “God is to us a God of deliverances; And to God the Lord belong escapes from death.” Psalms 68:20 (NASB) Whenever you feel the cold of the world surrounding you, remember the promise found in Micah 7:7 (NKJV) “I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.”

Rehabilitation

An Arkie's Faith column from the January 17, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

For the past week, my Mom has been in the inpatient rehabilitation unit of the local hospital. After spending a week in the intensive care unit, she was transferred to the rehabilitation unit where she has been given physical therapy and occupational therapy.

Rehabilitation is the process of restoring a person's ability to live and work as normally as possible after an illness. It helps the patient achieve maximum possible physical fitness and regain the ability to be independent. It offers assistance with skills needed in everyday activities. My Mom is looking forward to regaining her strength so that she can return home.

Rehabilitation is not only for the person who has suffered a serious illness. It can also be treatments designed to facilitate the process of recovery from an injury to as normal a condition as possible. Every patient in an injury rehab program has to follow a recovery plan so that they will gain strength and avoid re-injury.

Spiritually we have all been injured and are in need of rehabilitation. Every one of us at some time has been spiritually wounded. How have you been injured? Do you have relationships with other Christians that have been damaged? Have you placed your trust in a church system or a leader instead of God? Have you lost your faith in God? Because spiritual matters are complex, it can be hard to find the problem. Any of these things can injure our faith and leave us in need of healing.

When we have a physical injury, we can see the need for healing and rehabilitation. But the negative spiritual effects of painful physical events often aren’t as obvious to us. Has betrayal, rejection, loss, or abuse left you wondering where God is?

In Hebrews 12:12-14 (NASB) There is a passage that sounds a lot like rehabilitation. “Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

In a society that is obsessed with instant gratification, rehabilitation seems hard. Many of us are not willing to put in the time and effort needed. Spiritually, we want things to improve immediately. I don’t know anyone who likes to wait. Waiting can test our faith. When we have been injured, and need rehabilitation, we are often impatient and discouraged. When our rehabilitation doesn’t happen quickly, we begin to wonder if God cares.

Rehabilitation simply means working back to health. As painful as injuries are, they are only a stage. There is a future. Whatever the enemy has tried to take away from you, God wants to restore it. God wants to make it better than before. Every day we have choices to make. We can be tempted to get hurt, wounded, or depressed. We can complain and remain in the same awful condition. Or we can give our cares to God and begin our rehabilitation. “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

It isn’t unusual for people to be discouraged in times of trouble and tribulation. In the Bible, there are many examples of godly men and women who were spiritually injured and were discouraged. King David wrote many of the Psalms during the dark times in his life. The Psalms of David can encourage us when we are depressed, tired and discouraged. Even though David had experienced some dark times and had been injured by others, he wrote these beautiful words in Psalms 23:1-3 (NKJV) “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

When other people injure you, don’t be discouraged or depressed. Don’t allow what people say to control your emotions. You control your destiny. God has promised to restore you. He is painfully aware of your suffering. When you cry, He is aware. Psalms 56:8 (NLT) tells us, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” And In Psalms 34:15, 17-19 (NASB) we read, “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The righteous cry and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

Gentle Reader, if you have been injured and need rehabilitation, Jesus says, “come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV) No matter what others have done to you, no matter what spiritual wounds have been inflicted on you, Jesus says, “I will restore you to health, and I will heal you of your wounds.” Jeremiah 30:17 (NASB)

The Emergency Room

An Arkie's Faith column from the January 10, 2018, issue of The Mena Star.

Last week my Mom called my wife to let her know that she had gotten an appointment with the cardiologist. When she got off the phone, my wife immediately called me to tell me that I should take my Mom to the emergency room. “Mom was out of breath from talking on the phone. She needs help now,” my wife said. I called my Mom and told her that I would be there in 15 minutes and go with her and Daddy to the emergency room.

Daddy drove Mom, and I followed in my shop truck. When we arrived, I planned to go inside and get a wheelchair, but Daddy drove up to the emergency room door, and Mom got out and walked inside. I quickly parked and ran in to help her. When I got inside, I saw that the waiting room was full. I hurried to catch up with Mom. She was at the registration desk. They asked her what the problem was, but she was so out of breath that she couldn’t answer. I told them that she couldn’t breathe. In less than a minute, there was someone there with a wheelchair, and they whisked her away.

I finished with the registration process, and then they took Daddy and me back to see her. She was already on oxygen and able to talk with us. I was thankful for the quick response of the emergency room team, but I couldn’t help thinking about all those people in the waiting area who hadn’t been helped yet.

If you’ve ever been to the emergency room, you’ve experienced the process known as triage. Triage is a French word that means “to sort out,” and it refers to the system that doctors and nurses use to decide which patients are in dire need of help and who isn’t. I looked up triage in the dictionary, and one of the definitions given was, “the sorting of patients (as in an emergency room) according to the urgency of their need for care.” If a doctor were to treat someone with a cold while another patient with a heart attack goes unattended and dies, the doctor and the hospital would be in trouble. Some situations call for immediate attention, while others can wait. I’m thankful that the decision was made to help my Mom immediately.

Every day, each one of us has to make triage decisions in our life. We only have 24 hours. We have to decide what is most important to us. I recently read a story that illustrates what is most important. A time management teacher stood in front of his corporate overachiever students. He said, “Okay, time for a quiz.” He picked up a gallon, wide mouth jar and set it on the table. Then he took some fist-sized rocks and placed them in the jar. When the jar was filled to the top, and he could fit in no more rocks he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said “yes.” He said, “Really?”

He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in, and asked them once more, “Is this jar full?” By this time, the class was on to him. “Probably not.” one of the students said. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar, and it went into all the spaces between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?” “No,” the class shouted.

Then he took a pitcher of water and poured it in until the jar was full to the brim. The truth this illustration teaches us is that If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you will never get them in at all. What are the big rocks in your life? If you sweat the little stuff, the gravel, the sand, the water, you will fill your life with little worries that don’t matter. You will never have the real quality time that you need to spend on the big things.

What is the biggest rock of all? What matters most? In Matthew 22:36-39 (NKJV) we read, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Mother Teresa said, “It’s not what you do, but how much love you put into it that matters.” Barbara Bush said it in a slightly different way, “What matters most is how you treat others and not what you have done.” Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:2,3 (NLT) if I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”

Gentle Reader, what matters most in life is love. The Apostle John tells us in 1 John 4:16 (NLV) “We have come to know and believe the love God has for us. God is love. If you live in love, you live by the help of God and God lives in you.” Love should be your top priority, primary objective, and greatest ambition. Love is not just something good in your life; it’s the most important part. In 1 Corinthians 14:1 (NLT) Paul tells us to “let love be your highest goal!” It is not enough just to say that love is important; we must prove it by investing time in our relationships with God and people.

Geminid Meteor Shower

An Arkie's Faith column from the January 3, 2018, issue of The Mena Star

The Geminid meteor shower can be seen every year between December 4 and December 16, with its peak activity being around December 13-14. The Geminids were first observed in 1862. The meteor shower is named Geminid because the meteors seem to emerge from the constellation Gemini. The Geminids can be seen with the naked eye from the Northern Hemisphere.

Unlike most other meteor showers, the Geminids are not associated with a comet but with the asteroid, 3200 Phaethon, which approaches the Sun closer than any other named asteroid. Its nearest approach to the sun is only 13 million miles which is less than half of the planet Mercury's distance from the sun.

Phaethon was the first asteroid discovered by using images from a spacecraft. Astronomers discovered it on October 11, 1983. Shortly after its discovery, Astronomers observed that the orbital elements of the asteroid were the same as the orbital elements of 19 Geminid meteors. They determined that Phaethon is the parent body of the Geminids meteor shower of mid-December.

This year my wife and I watched the Geminid meteor shower from my cousin's house on a hilltop overlooking the valley below. The four of us sat outside visiting and drinking hot chocolate as we looked up into the sky waiting to see falling stars. Over the next hour and a half, we saw dozens of meteors streaking across the sky.

As we craned our necks to see the next falling star, I noticed something unusual. Even though we were all looking in basically the same direction and for the same thing, seldom did we all see the same streak of light. The average time that a meteor is visible to the naked eye is less than half a second. By the time someone would see a meteor and point in the direction it would no longer be visible. Scientists have studied reaction times and determined that a meteor needs to last close to a second for someone to be able to point it out to another person. There were a few falling stars that were so bright and lasted long enough that all four of us were able to see it.

Sitting out under the stars and watching the sky was a relaxing way to spend a couple of hours. I enjoyed the experience, and it left me feeling peaceful. My life has been very stressful lately and watching the meteor shower was a great way to de-stress.

Watching a meteor shower hasn’t always been a way to lessen stress. In ancient times, people were very superstitious about unusual objects in the night sky. Throughout recorded history, people have watched the night sky, and celestial phenomena like meteor showers brought about responses ranging from curiosity to hysteria. Meteor showers were something very strange and terrifying to our ancestors. There have even been times when a meteor shower scared everyone, causing people to be terrified, believing they were sent from the angry gods. They believed that meteors were signs of future wars, diseases, famines, and hardship.

Today it is easy for us to think that people in times past were crazy for worrying about such things. Modern educated people would never worry about such silly things. But we do worry. You would think that Christians would be exempt from worry, but we are not. Sometimes we wonder if the apostle Paul was out of touch with reality when he wrote in Philippians 4:6 (NCV) “do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks.”

Did Paul mean that a Christian has no worries? If he did, then every Christian knows that they don’t measure up to Paul’s standard. He wrote the phrase in the present active tense, which puts a bit of a different meaning to his statement, “do not worry about anything.” The presence of anxiety is unavoidable, but what we do about it is what matters. God doesn’t want us to be in a perpetual state of worry. Could you use some peace and calm in your life? We all could use some peace, and God is ready to give it. He says, “do not worry about anything, but pray and ask Me for everything you need, always giving thanks.”

Whenever you go outside at night and look up at the stars, remember that they are a reminder of the power and greatness of God. Isaiah 40:26 (NLT) tells us to, “look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.”

Gentle Reader, God wants to give you peace. He wants to take your anxieties and worries from you. 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) tells us to “give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” If we give our worries and cares to God, He has promised to give us peace. “God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 (GW)

Good Gifts

An Arkie's Faith column from the December 27, 2017, issue of The Mena Star

During the Christmas season, we focus on giving good gifts. We spend a lot of money and time finding the right gifts for people that are important in our life. Did you give any great gifts this year? Was there a particular gift that you were especially excited about? Sometimes we fail in our gift giving. Did you have any fails this year?

One Christmas when my son was a young boy, we nearly ruined his Christmas with one of his gifts. One of his jobs was sweeping the kitchen floor. That Christmas we bought a stick vacuum cleaner and thought it would be funny to give to him as a gift. The vacuum, wrapped in beautiful paper, was the largest gift under the tree. When my son saw that the largest gift had his name on it, he was very excited. His imagination went wild. What could that present be? His whole Christmas revolved around the largest gift under the tree and speculating on what it could be.

When Christmas morning arrived, all he could think about was that gift. When he opened it, he was so disappointed that the rest of his Christmas presents couldn't make up for the vacuum cleaner fiasco.

Have you ever been disappointed by a gift? Has someone been disappointed by the gift you gave them? What about great gifts? What is the best gift you have ever received? What made it so special? Was it the value of the gift? Was it the person who gave it to you?

What is the best gift you received this Christmas? What is the best gift you ever received? As I think about this question, I find it hard to narrow down one particular gift as the best. There is a gift that I received that is very special to me even though the dollar value of the gift is not very high. Let me tell you the story.

In February 2004, my family and I went on a mission trip to San Pedro, Belize to help build a church. While we were there, we made lots of friends. The next year we made plans to go back to San Pedro.
Our return trip to Belize was wonderful. We got reacquainted with friends that we had made the year before, and made many new friends during the ten days that we were there. Many times friends would stop by our room with gifts such as fresh coconut water, papaya, or some small trinket. On the last day that we were in San Pedro, there was a steady stream of visitors to our room. They wanted to tell us goodbye. Many of them brought a small gift.

We received one gift that was very special to me. My wife made a special friendship with a little two-year-old boy who spoke only Spanish. Whenever he would see her, his face would light up. He didn’t understand English, but he understood the language of love. The day we were leaving he and his four-year-old sister came to our door with a gift. They gave us a well worn 1941 Walking Liberty half-dollar. I have no idea how this little family had come into possession of this coin, or why they gave it to me. Even though the monetary value of the coin is only a few dollars, it is one of the most precious gifts I have ever received.

I learned an important spiritual lesson on my trip to Belize. I learned it from the people that I met. They had such a desire to do something for us. Even though they had only meager possessions, they had such a desire to please. They wanted to see us before we left. They wanted to bring us a gift. It was very important to them. I saw a great object lesson in the way they treated me. It showed me how I should relate to God. I should come to God and say, “I don’t have much, but I want to give you something.” “God let me know what I can do to please you.” “God, I want to be with you.”

Gentle Reader, I know that you gave and received some good gifts this Christmas season. Jesus knows that too. In Matthew 7:7-11 (NIV) Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

God is the ultimate giver of good gifts. No matter how awesome the best gift you opened this Christmas is, it can’t compare to the gift of Jesus that we celebrate at Christmas. In Romans 6:23 (KJV) the Bible tells us “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” God has given you the best gift ever; what will you give God?

A Shepherd's Life

An Arkie's Faith column from the December 20, 2017, issue of The Mena Star.

Growing up in Colorado, I remember occasionally seeing shepherds with their flocks of sheep when we traveled in the mountains. I thought that being a shepherd looked like fun. You got to spend your time outdoors in the beautiful Colorado mountains. Their small little trailers looked so homey and quaint.

When I got older and became an avid newspaper reader, I read some stories that showed the darker side of being a shepherd in Colorado. Most of the shepherds are foreigners who are seldom able to talk to family back home. They live without any human company for months at a time. The shepherds have no water, no toilet, no shower, no place to wash clothes. Most live in small, 6x10-foot trailers with just enough room to stretch out to sleep, a small wood-burning stove and little else. Some have an outhouse nearby. Many don’t.

Before World War II, most of Colorado’s shepherds were Americans, but by the early 1950’s, the industry couldn’t find enough American citizens to do the tedious and difficult work for very low wages. In 1952, Congress enacted a program to help farmers and ranchers secure a reliable supply of foreign workers. But shepherds were exempted from many of the protections granted by law to other foreign agricultural workers, such as an hourly wage and access to running water and a toilet.

Currently, more than 1,600 shepherds working in nine Western states participate in the program. They live in primitive tents or trailers, watching over thousands of animals on vast areas of public land. For decades, federal regulations have set their wages at $750 a month. Most shepherds work seven days a week for ten to twelve hours a day. Last year, the Department of Labor released a new rule increasing shepherd pay to $1,200 per month.

When you read or hear about shepherds, it is often a metaphor for a caregiver tending to his people, such as a leader or a pastor. But the actual shepherds, the ones who travel for miles and miles every day, tending to a large flock of sheep, lead a lonely and rugged life far away from civilization.

I want to be a shepherd. No, I don’t want to live alone with a herd of sheep in a small trailer with no bathroom or running water and work seven days a week for ten to twelve hours a day. But I have always coveted the experience of the shepherds on that first Christmas night.

God could have chosen to reveal this important announcement to anyone on earth. But instead of assigning the angels to visit some of the most important people on earth, God sent the angels to speak to humble shepherds, who most people didn't consider important. The shepherds would have been watching over their flocks while the sheep and lambs rested or grazed on grass from the hillsides. Although the shepherds were prepared to deal with any danger that threatened their animals, they were frightened by the angels' appearance. That is why the angels told them, “don’t be afraid.”

The angels reassured the terrified shepherds that they had good news for them. Since the shepherds raised the lambs that were sacrificed to atone for people's sins each spring on Passover, the shepherds would have well understood the importance of the Messiah's arrival to save the world from sin. In John 1:29 (NKJV), the Bible refers to Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

The fields around Bethlehem would have been very dark. Suddenly a bright light broke into the black night, as the sky above Bethlehem filled with a multitude of angels. The announcement of the birth of Jesus was marked by the light of many angels appearing in all of their heavenly glory. As amazing as the experience must have been, seeing angels appearing in the night sky isn’t the part of the experience that intrigues me the most. It is what happened next.

The Bible tells the story in Luke 2:15-18 (NKJV). "So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.”

Imagine what it must have been like to be one of the first people to see the baby Jesus! I can feel the excitement these humble shepherds felt. They had to tell people of their experiences. Can you imagine being a part of those conversations? Even in the days before media such as television and the internet, word traveled fast that something amazing was happening.

Gentle Reader, even though I will never be a shepherd or experience the things that the humble shepherds of Bethlehem experienced on that first Christmas, I can follow their example. I can spread the word about the baby Jesus. I can be excited about Jesus and what he means to this world. That is what Christmas is all about. Let’s all be shepherds!

Les Miserables

An Arkie's Faith column from the December 13, 2017, issue of The Mena Star.

When my wife learned that the musical theatre production of Les Miserables was coming to Little Rock, we made plans to attend. We had attended a production of the show around twenty years ago and had enjoyed it very much. We asked my Mom if she would like to go with us and she was excited to be able to attend. She had studied Les Miserables in French class when she was a girl.

The December day that we traveled to Little Rock to see the production was a warm 75-degree day. After some Christmas shopping, a great meal at Cantina Laredo, and seeing an awesome sunset, we headed to The Robinson Center in downtown Little Rock. As we were driving, we watched the dramatic supermoon rise over downtown. The state capitol was striking with Christmas lights outlining the building.

The Robinson Center was a bustle of activity as we made our way to our seats. The set with its towering buildings on either side of the stage, made us feel like we were in France in the early 1800's. The audience of the sold-out show waited in eager anticipation for the performance to begin. When the first strains of music started, a hush fell over the theater. For over three hours the performers held the audience in rapt attention. Every line of the musical is sung through, so there is no spoken dialogue. Across the board, the vocals were amazing. The vocal power displayed by every member of the cast kept the audience enthralled.

The musical Les Miserables is based on a French historical novel by Victor Hugo that was first published in 1862. It is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. The novel tells a story of broken dreams, sacrifice, and redemption. It is an examination of law and grace, and a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit.

Victor Hugo wrote in the preface; “So long as there shall exist, by reason of law and custom, a social condemnation, which, in the face of civilization, artificially creates hells on earth, and complicates a destiny that is divine with human fatality; so long as the three problems of the age—the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of women by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night—are not solved; so long as, in certain regions, social asphyxia shall be possible; in other words, and from a yet more extended point of view, so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.”

The musical revolves around the story of two men; Jean Valjean, who was imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family, and Inspector Javert who is always looking for Valjean and seeking to arrest him after he breaks his parole.

To me, the most intriguing part the story of Les Miserables is the different way the main characters deal with law and mercy. The story starts when Jean Valjean is released after 19 years in jail. Valjean is rejected in every place he seeks refuge until he finds a priest who gives him food and a place to sleep.

Jean Valjean steals all the finest silver from the priest. He is caught and brought back and made to admit his sin in front of the priest. The police are ready to put Jean Valjean in jail when the priest stops them. He explains that he did give all of the silver to the man and, in fact, the man forgot to take the most precious silver. As the priest hands over his valuable candlesticks, it is clear that his grace is greater than Jean Valjean could have ever imagined. Having experienced such forgiveness, he spends the rest of his life trying to replicate the grace that was given to him.

Javert is the legalist, and he holds strictly to the letter of the law. There is only one way to treat others, and it is by strict justice. The story leads up to a climactic scene when Jean Valjean has the opportunity to kill Javert. But instead of retribution for the lifelong struggles and pain Javert has inflicted on his life, Jean Valjean shows him mercy, cuts his bound hands loose, and sends his enemy off as a free man.

The mercy shown to him by Valjean sends Javert, the legalist, into a tailspin from which he cannot recover. For him, mercy proves to be an unsolvable problem. He sings, “I am the law, and the law is not mocked! I’ll spit his pity right back in his face!” And then continues, “my thoughts fly apart. Can this man be believed? Shall his sins be forgiven? Shall his crimes be reprieved? Does he know that granting me my life today, this man has killed me even so.” After experiencing unmerited mercy, Javert the legalist jumps off a bridge and kills himself.

The power of Les Miserables is the way it contrasts the life of the merciful with the life of the merciless. The merciful have faced their guilt and been broken. The merciless have faced their guilt and hardened themselves like steel.

Gentle Reader, Les Miserables is a story of the contrast in how sinners respond to the offer of free mercy. At a profound level, this is the story of two responses to mercy: one man is broken and lives, and one man is hardened and dies. Titus 3:5 (NIRV) tells us that “He saved us. It wasn’t because of the good things we had done. It was because of his mercy. He saved us by washing away our sins. We were born again. The Holy Spirit gave us new life.” Don’t be an Inspector Javert and refuse the mercy that is shown to you, be a Jean Valjean and live a life showing mercy to others because of the mercy you have been given.