Author: Ian Bothwell

Ecclesiastes 1:18 says, “In much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”   This is part of Solomon’s dissertation on the futility of life.  The more we know about the world the more we learn of man’s inhumanity to man.  The more we know about ourselves the more knowledgeable we become of our defects and natural depravity.  If one is speaking of the end result of much education and study then Solomon is absolutely right.   With knowledge comes despair because injustice and pain just keeps on going.

However, it is imperative to say Solomon is not completely right and had he known Jesus he surely would have added an exception.  To know Jesus is to know what God is really like.  To know Jesus is to know there is hope for a better tomorrow.  Not all tomorrows will be like all our yesterdays. The sun will not always come up and go down with the same wearisome effects. To know Jesus is to know that character growth and godliness are contributive to a better eternity with God and it is not merely something that will decay in the ground with those who never bothered to better themselves.

Had Solomon known Jesus he most likely would have amended       Ecclesiastes 1:18 to read something like this.  “In most wisdom there is much grief, and he who increases worldly knowledge will increase sorrow.  But he who learns much about Jesus will grow in wisdom and joy.”   Jesus was a game changer. He took the human experience and turned it from futility to purpose.  Jesus showed us that life is full of pain but only for now because a richer, better, fuller future awaits those who grow in Him.

Written by Roger Bothwell on March 4, 2010

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She was a contradiction, a walking irony.  As she waited on me at the checkout counter I could not help but notice her lack of grooming which was accentuated by the title under her name: Beauty Consultant.   She almost hurt my eyes.  I looked around to see if I was on Candid Camera and maybe I was.  There are so many security cameras these days one cannot tell for sure.

While driving away I couldn’t help but think about my calling myself a Christian. The irony of encouraging and exhorting while failing to be that which we proclaim is often excruciatingly painful.  Almost the entire chapter of Matthew 23 is a record of Jesus attacking the religious establishment for their hypocrisy.   I chose the word “attack” because that is exactly what it is.  There is no gentle Jesus meek and mild in Matthew 23.  He pronounces seven woes upon the religious leadership for “traveling all over the world to make a convert and then making that person twice the son of hell as you are.”  Ouch.  He tells them they are like white-washed tombs, lovely on the outside and stinking rotten on the inside.

I am so thankful for Matthew 5:6 which says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be filled.”  Often the desire to be a good person is as powerful as any hunger for food.  Without Romans 1:17 I would be overwhelmed with despair but Scripture is very sure on this. “The just shall live by faith.”  Righteousness is not a matter of doing.  It is a matter of being.  And the being is a gift.  Paul assures us in Romans 5:17 that righteousness is a gift.   It is a gift God is so pleased to give.

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 27, 2010

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One of my favorite books when I was a boy was Secret of the Cave by Uncle Arthur Maxwell.  It was about some boys who used a cave as a base from which they secretly did good deeds for their community.  I used to fantasize how very neat that would be.  Now the story has been reversed on me.  My electric lawn mower ceased to do its job.  The electric motor would whir but the blade did not go around.

Unbeknownst to me my very observant engineer neighbor absconded with, repaired, cleaned, sharpened the blade and then returned my mower.  It appears to be brand new.  Now how’s that for living in a great neighborhood?

While I would like very much to do something for him as repayment, I have come to realize that would devalue his gift.  Sometimes the finest thing we can do is to allow another to help us. We do not have to respond in kind when a “Thank You” will be just fine.

And then there is the following problem.   There is a memorable line from the musical “Annie, Get Your Gun.”  It says, “Anything you can do I can do better; I can do anything better than you.”   In my situation the words would be “Anything I can do; he can do better.  He can do anything better than I.”   I’m not trying to be modest. He really can.  He is a gifted engineer.

Sometimes it is difficult for us to sit back and allow another to give.  But that is an important part of life.  If we were not gracious receivers when would the gracious givers have an opportunity to shine?   See Luke 10.

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 23, 2010

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We have some dear friends we like to diner with each Sunday morning.  This morning while sipping on a hot drink I watched our waitress top off one of my friend’s hot drink.  Immediately she had to try to conjure up the right balance of drink, cream and sugar.  The added top off upset her prior perfect mix.  As I watched I realized how much this was like our lives.  We can have the perfect balance.  We enjoy our jobs, our health is good, our children and grandchildren are doing well, the weather is great and the bills paid.   Then something happens.  The mix is changed and the balance is gone.  Life’s challenge then is to seek to regain the prior perfect mix. It’s not easy.  Often there are just too many variables and one of them might be gigantic.

It’s on these occasions we would be wise to seek divine help.  God is only a prayer away and though it might not often seem so He is eager to help.  When Jesus told us to pray “Our Father” Jesus was not using a metaphor.  God is most anxious to have us consider Him to be the best Father we could desire.  He has unlimited resources but wisely doesn’t just dump upon us our requests.   He’s much smarter than we are and knows exactly what we need to restore the balance.

Balance is not easy.  I am always impressed to see a trapeze artist walk a wire without a balance pole.  That’s a tough act.  The bigger the pole the easier the walk.  So it is with us.  God provides a pole that is just the right length.  Too long would make it too easy and we wouldn’t grow.   Too short and we would fall.   He knows exactly what we need.

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 1, 2010

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I saw some children playing outside this dusk.   How is it that such a normal activity has become rare?  How wonderful it used to be to play until dark or until someone’s mother stood on the porch and called for her children to come inside.  Hide and Seek was my favorite.  One had the option of hiding so one could not be found or hiding close to home base so you could race to the base before the person who was “it.”  If you hid really well the only way to get you to come out was the call, “Allee, allee, in free.”

“Allee, allee, in free.”  This is the message of Jesus.  People try to hide from Him and He calls out, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

“Whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die.”

“Whosever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Please note the continued use of “whosoever.”  The New Testament is filled with the use of this word.  Please note there are no gender, no racial, no educational, no age and no national restrictions.  Jesus is calling out “Allee, allee, in free.”   This is one of those cases when free wasn’t free.

Jesus paid a huge price to be able to make this offer.  He is “it.”   He is the one who hunts the hiders.  He wants to catch us and make us “it” so we can also become hunters of the hiders.   Before He left He gave the great Gospel Commission for us to go and hunt hiders.  It is our privilege to join Him in the greatest quest of all time; find the hiders.

Written by Roger Bothwell on June 9, 2010

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It was time for some tough love.  For some unknown reason Annie, our new lab puppy, decided the road was a place to explore.  Just as soon as I would carry her back and put her down she scurried back to the street.  It was time to put on the little red collar and turn on the electric fence.  Because we knew what was coming, we almost cried as she headed for the street toward the little white flags.  She never knew what hit her. I don’t think she will be very interested in the street anymore.  The little white flags have taken on new meaning.

God tells us not to do certain things.  We are curious beings and find delight in exploring forbidden things.  The forbiddenness actually increases the lure.  If we could only understand, God only wants to keep us from harm.  He withholds nothing from us that is good.  If it’s good He encourages us to go for it.  Just as we are many times smarter than a puppy so God is many times than us.  We know Annie cannot safely play in the street.  God’s commandments are His telling us not to play in the street.

Sometimes He has to decide it’s time for some tough love.  At Thanksgiving we often sing, We Gather Together to Ask the Lord’s Blessing.   There is a very meaningful line that often rings in my head.  It goes like this, “He chastens and hastens His will to make known.”   I was a father before I finally understood that line.  I think He must cry when He sees what is coming but He lets it happen because He knows it will save us from something far worse.  We are loved.

Written by Roger Bothwell on April 21, 2010

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Our ball of fire lab puppy, Annie, has adapted to us very well.  From the very first night she slept quietly, well almost quietly.  She snores. She has us trained to run for the door when she starts sniffing about the house.  She gets a treat when she waters the lawn.  The problem is she now fakes it.  She squats and then comes running for her treat.  We had a dilemma today.  It was over a stick.  It was the perfect stick.  It was much too good to put down. However, how does one eat one’s treat when one’s mouth is already full?   This produced a lot of whining.

She is so much like some humans I have known.  God offers some incredible blessings.  However, often they are conditional on our actions.   Sometimes we have to give up something to make ourselves able to prosper from what He offers.  If we want the blessing of health we have to give up some bad eating habits.  We have to get off the couch and walk around the block each day.

God wants to forgive us of our sins but we make ourselves ineligible because we continue to harbor grudges against others.  It isn’t that God doesn’t want to forgive us.  Our unforgiving spirit interferes with God’s work in our hearts.   Often just like Annie we whine about life’s misfortunes when the irony is we are the author of our misfortunes. It is easier to blame them on someone else.   My students who do not study don’t do well on exams and it is my fault when they receive a poor grade.    If we truly want all the goodness God offers there are some things we must let go.

Written by Roger Bothwell on April 19, 2010

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Six weeks ago one of my very best friends gently went to sleep in my arms. Mandy, our black lab, had been with us for over thirteen years.  Needless to say, it was a very emotional moment, so much so that I have not been able to write about it til now.  I still am not able to say much because she was to me the perfect dog. Her devotion and love were beyond description.  We spent so much time together roaming the mountains of Massachusetts.  But the years took their toll and finally she just ran out of gas.  The last few days she needed assistance just to stand up.  The vet came to our house and Mandy closed her eyes in the comfort of home.

The reason I can now speak of it is that this afternoon Annie has come to live with us.  She too is a black lab.  So here we go again.  The next few weeks we will be soaking up puddles and trying to keep the house from being chewed to pieces.  For the past few hours she has bounded about the house sniffing everything.  She climbed the stairs to the second floor but getting back down was very scary.  It’s much easier going up.  We are wondering if we will get much sleep tonight.

While I do not believe Jesus died to save dogs I do believe Jesus will do everything possible to make heaven great for us.  Therefore, I anticipate opening the door of my heavenly home to see Mandy waiting for me.  Some of my friends tell me I should anticipate about a dozen other dogs I have loved through the years.   If I add thirteen or fourteen years to my present age this will be my last dog.  Surely God smiled the day He made dogs and even though Genesis doesn’t mention it, I am sure He said, “That is very, very good.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on April 9, 2010

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On my way to work this morning I noted a gas station with the lowest price I have seen in years.  I therefore purposed to stop there on my way home.  On my way home I came to a Shell station with that same price so I stopped there.   I pulled in behind a car beside a pump and immediately another car pulled in behind me.  As I got out and went to the pump I then noticed a much smaller sign that explained the cheap price was for people paying cash. Since I was using a credit card I would have to pay ten cents more per gallon.  Since I was virtually parked in I paid the extra two dollars to fill my tank.  However I will never stop there again.

It isn’t that I don’t think they should have two prices.  I just think it should be clearly indicated up on the big sign.  I felt like I had been had. I wonder how many others felt like I did and if they also decided never to come back.  Was it worth it for Shell to get an extra two dollars from customers only to permanently lose them?  I don’t think so.

As a teacher I make a point of never trapping a student.  The class prior to every exam I tell them exactly what I will be looking for and where they can find that information.  In all of our dealings we must be transparent.  When Jesus first saw Nathaniel coming to Him, Jesus said, “Behold a guileless man.  A man with no deception.”   What a great thing to have God say about.

Written by Roger Bothwell on November 20, 2008

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If we have been hurt, but don’t know we were hurt, have we really been hurt? Many years ago I was the pastor in a small southern town.  Pastors were paid according to some sophisticated cost of living scale that pertained to where the pastor lived.  While I was there the conference office with all its officialdom left the big city and came to my small town.  To help the officials absorb moving costs the living scale for my small town was raised. When asked if the higher pay rate would pertain to the Bothwells who already lived there, the decision was made that while those who were moving would be on the higher scale the Bothwells would “stay on the lower scale because they wouldn’t know about it.”  (Did they really think we wouldn’t find out?)

If you asked me if I was hurt I would most likely say, “No. It was no big deal.”  However, it certainly did not make a favorable impression because decades later I can still remember the event.  Does that mean because I remember I haven’t forgiven?  I hope not.  A lack of forgiveness on my part will never harm anyone except me.  Perhaps that is one of life’s more difficult lessons.  When we withhold forgiveness from someone we rarely hurt that someone.  It is we who are poisoned by feelings that “we” were not treated right.  We are the ones whose sleep is made restless.

When Jesus told us to forgive as we seek forgiveness for our transgressions He struck upon a fundamental psychological law.  The quality of our lives is the fruit of decisions we make regarding what has happened to us.  Over the span of our lives we most likely have received the same amount of good and bad.  The difference at the end that determines whether life has been good or bad is what we choose to forget.

Written by Roger Bothwell on July 1, 2010

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