No, you have not mistakenly opened a random Wisconsin Dairyland post or The Hindu Daily blog; you have opened yet another insightful Christian post in The Back Pew. Let me start by clearly stating conflicts and misunderstandings of ideas and purpose between the Christian faith and this secular world are as old as Genesis and continue today. <-- random Genesis COW cartoon You don't need to be an Atheist, Muslim, Jihadist, or New Ager to pick a fight. It's as easy as creating your own pronouns or becoming an activist on any college campus. All you have to do is disagree with Biblical Christianity. You know, things like denying the resurrection of Jesus or His claim to be the only way to the Father. Stuff like that. And so more is true of the harsh words, indignant anger, and pious pouting, both sincere and 'intentional' misunderstandings between the 'brethren.' We Christians sure know how to NOT get along. Like I said, sometimes sincere disagreements, and other times, we just make stuff up. For example, there was... The Great Real Estate Scandal of Ananias and Sapphira is recorded in Acts 5:1-11. In Acts 15:36-41 Paul and Barnabas parted ways over a ministry staffing issue regarding John Mark. Then, outside of our Bibles, we find the history of the Christian Church (the good, the bad, and the ugly) from Constantine to the birth of Catholicism, that little reformation issue raised by Martin Luther in 1517, Calvinism was predestined to show up in the 16th Century. Everyone was 'up in arms' over the Charismatic movement in the 1960s. Topics like indulgences, the prosperity gospel, and those get-rich-quick faith 'healers' all have earned well-deserved bullseyes as we war with each other on social media with the brethren. Some are amusing, and many are unnecessary, while others clearly relish declaring heresy as quickly as ordering from Amazon Prime. Okay, the above misunderstandings can get heavy. Many are painful to talk about and painful to the TRUE MESSAGE of the Gospel, which declares Jesus Christ is the one way to Heaven. We are commanded to Love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and then to love others as ourselves. The rest is trivia by comparison. There, the last paragraph is this post's one serious summary message, but now... let me clarify the 'PRAYER for cows?' title. As I have shared many times, I was blessed with Christian parents and attended a gospel-preaching church in my hometown of Cable, Wisconsin. The congregation of this church included people of all ages, including my Grandpa Ross. I remember the years after I graduated from high school when I still lived in the area. I would attend church on a Sunday morning sitting in the appropriate Back Pew while my Grandpa Ross, now in his early 80s, would sit next to the patriarch of Cable Church, Clarence Karow, up towards the front left of the center aisle. They were both widowers now, and both had their hearing aids turned up high enough to make the neighboring dogs bark from their squeals. And, after years of running a chainsaw as a logger, my grandpa was especially hard of hearing. Anyways, when they spoke, it was never a whisper, so each service would end; my grandpa would say to Clarence ... "Well, I guess we made it through another one." Okay, it may not be as funny to you as it is to me, but it is a sweet memory of that old man, my grandpa Ross. Now, fast forward a lot of life between this story of my Grandpa Ross and a couple of Sundays ago and a story about my wife and I, who now hold the titles of Grandma and Grandpa Larson. About 45 years after the Grandpa Ross story, my wife and I are the grandparents with, at times, hearing issues. Anyway, we now attend a Gospel-preaching church in Ramsey, Minnesota. Like my home church in Cable, Wisconsin, it is well attended by people of all ages. So, the other week, we were sitting with another couple that sat between us. The stage is set for our church to PRAY for our COWS. During the service, there was a time when people could share praise or prayer requests. A woman sitting with her family stood up and asked for a prayer for her cow. I was unsure I was hearing her right, so I continued listening. I learned that she has asked for prayer before as her COW as there is an infection that is not easily treated. It may take even years of specialized antibiotics to get this infection under control. So I am thinking, ok, so she must live on a small farm, and the well-being of her COW has some significance that I don't understand since I only have a dog. Meanwhile, my wife, sitting three chairs away, has the same understanding as me and is equally puzzled ( I learned this later in the car on the drive home). Well, I figured out as she touched her son, and people gathered that they would pray for her son... CAL? Around the same time, my wife Mary whispers to her friend, sitting beside her, "Are we praying for her COW? Her friend told her no, her son CAL. So, while I loved to tell the story about my Grandpa Ross, I think someday in Heaven, he will greet me with a high-five and say, " He has never laughed so hard as when I prayed for a COW."
There, I am done. May your day be free of misunderstandings or meaningless conflicts. I pray we tolerate those we disagree with while always standing strong for God's Loving Truths in His Word. May we all find humor in our days and be blessed with the ability to laugh at ourselves and with others. Jeff (hearing aides loaded) Larson
April Van New Kirk
6/10/2024 02:06:23 pm
When I was ten years old there was a commercial for Cal Worthington. To my young ears the jingle sure sounded like 🎶”Go see cow...” I like this story a lot.
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Jeffrey Larson
6/10/2024 06:38:22 pm
Life is funnier than the jokes we make up
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AuthorThe mutterings on life and faith by cartoonist Jeff Larson Archives
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Back Pew - Draw Close to God
My Book- 116 pages of cartoons of 'Clean Humor & God's Truth' CRITICS ARE SAYING.
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LAUGHTER is just a click away
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6/10/2024
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