Observations From Hadleyville: 2017

Thursday, June 1, 2017

THE PARABLE OF THE MINESHAFT

Hearken unto the parable of the Mine shaft. A man once toured a western ghost town. As he walked the streets littered with boards and debris the ground beneath him suddenly gave way. He found himself tumbling down an abandoned mine shaft. In fear he cried out to the Lord; "God, if you spare me I'll serve you all the rest of my life."

He thudded into the bottom with a dusty WHUMP. Dazed, he sat up and realized that not only was he alive, not a single bone was broken. He climbed back to the surface.

In undying gratitude he spent the rest of his life shoving people down that mine shaft.

NOTE: For the humor impaired, this was a joke.

A Parable has a single, simple point. Here it is; God doesn't work the same way with everybody. Simply because God did an amazing work in your life does not make that normative for everyone.

As you interact with others you will discover that you must find ways to relate to them. Paul is our example. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 NIV "¹⁹For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. ²⁰To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; ²¹to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. ²²To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. ²³I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it."

Are you looking to see people discover the reality of Jesus Christ in their lives, or just looking to add another notch in your Bible?

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WORDS OF WISDOM FOR WRITERS

The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write. You have to write a lot. You also have to finish what you write, even though no one wants it yet. If you don't learn to finish your work, no one will ever want to see it. The biggest mistake new writers make is carrying around copies of unfinished work to inflict on their friends.

I am sure it has been done with less, but you should be prepared to write and throw away a million words of finished material. By finished, I mean completed, done, ready to submit, and written as well as you know how at the time you wrote it.
-Jerry Pournelle

WHAT'S THIS HADLEYVILLE THING?

Those of you familiar with Mark Twain’s works might recognize my blog title. As Samuel Clemons grew older, he became increasingly disillusioned with humanity. Towards the end he began referring to the Damned Human Race; employing the secular and religious epithet at one stroke.

I find I’ve not reached that level of despair myself. I still believe in redemption and I still see signs of nobility even among we fallen, damned creatures. So, I could not bring myself to call this blog “On the Damned Human Race.” I do however, resonate with another of Clemmons stories; “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” And viola, there you have it. “Observations From Hadleyville.”