Our gracious God has given to the world our beloved Savior and our beautiful mothers; all else is either dross or, if lovely, derivative of the One or the other.  It is an assertion devoutly to be proposed, devoutly to be considered and ardently to be embraced. 

God blessed me with an exquisitely beautiful mother.  I loved her dearly, and always knew implicitly and explicitly how dearly she loved me.  How blessed I was!  The hand that rocked my cradle was as lovely as was ever made.

I wish to live my life in such a way that would in no way dishonor to her; more positively, I wish to conduct myself in such a way that proves worthy of her.  God’s Word tells me to honor her, an instruction by no means difficult to fulfill.

  Americans have this notion that things have to be bigger in order to be better.  One can hypothesize as to why this is; let it suffice here to say that it simply is.  We like bigger cars, grander homes, larger companies - that is, if you own one; not if you don’t!

This conceptual vein has begun to play out within evangelical Christianity.  The advent and rise of the so-called mega-church carries with it the implicit assumption that such churches are inherently blessed by God, their expanse being indicative of divine favor.

I asked God for it in 1975.  I was a troubled youth, very much in need of several commodities, one of which was wisdom.  I knew that wisdom would be the means by which I would transcend, or at least manage, my problems.

The Bible is quite specific in its promise of such provision:  “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given him” (James 1:5).

I am not even sure that I was aware of that particular verse at the time, but I was certain that I could trust my God and that He would provide.  He did and over time I was given the wisdom to reckon with the things that beset me.

  I ordered three crown of palms for Palm Sunday service.  That’s 75 palms for anyone who’s counting.  We always have a handful left over, but that’s alright, especially as someone is always looking for extra.  It’s a sweet tradition, no more and no less.

Sweetness had nothing to do with the original Palm Sunday, if we may so describe it; truthfully, we don’t even know whether it took place on a Sunday, but it’s as good a day as any to offer annual commemoration, especially as so many gather weekly for God’s purpose.