Too Close for Comfort - Part 2
As we continue our discussion on Too Close for Comfort, it is important to note that extreme anxiety about separateness or closeness is often fear-driven. The man who needed the constant companionship of his wife revealed that the root problem was fear. Where there is fear, there is an absence of genuine love. We are created as individuals with unique giftedness, and though we need others for love and support, we equally need our separateness. To arrive at a healthy balance of closeness and separateness, we must learn from a Son who took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him…(Phil. 2:8-9).
Both Father and Son are intimately connected, yet both have their distinct and separate roles to fulfill. The beauty of their connectedness is revealed in their separateness as they serve and honor each other.
Thirty-two years ago, I left family and friends to follow my separate and distinct calling to go to seminary, which laid the foundation for me to start Lamplighter Ministries. This separateness broke my dad’s heart. I later learned that he cried for two years after we left with their grandchildren. Little did I know that God’s call of separation would bring a new sense of closeness. Two years ago, after reading two of our Lamplighter books, Christie’s Old Organ and Buried in the Snow, my dad came to know Jesus as his Savior. I will never forget the day when I heard him say, “Son, I know Jesus as my Savior, and I’m going to ‘Home Sweet Home.'”
When we hold on too closely, we will lose; when we follow God’s call to develop our unique giftedness (separateness), there is gain for all.
Mark’s Favorite Book of the Day!
A heartwarming story about a young boy who is on a quest to find out how his dear old friend Treffy can get to “home, sweet home.” One of the most famous children’s novels of the Victorian era, Christie’s Old Organ continues to gently draw tender young hearts to the saving knowledge of Jesus. Filled with emotion, this heartwarming story tells of the unique friendship between a poor, homeless boy and a sick old organ grinder. It is in the melodious tunes of that old organ that Christie discovers how his dear friend Treffy can find his “home, sweet home.”
—Buried in the Snow
A boy and his grandfather come face to face with their own mortality within a tomb of snow. Reliance upon God is their only option as escape is impossible. But the story does not hinge upon the question of their rescue; what captivates is the response that each has to the circumstances that God has placed them in. When death is a constant companion, how does one view life? The ebb and flow of emotions are captivating as the boy and his grandfather fight off predators and the terror produced by the uncertainties of their snowy grave. I know of no other book that so delicately prepares children to face the death of a loved one than Buried in the Snow.
