Responses from Readers

 

My denomination publishes a quarterly devotional magazine called Portals of Prayer. In every issue, three individuals each write a month’s worth of daily devotions.

Mine appeared in February.

I received a number of comments on the devotions. Only one was negative, but that one and one of the positive ones were unexpected.

Portals of Prayer includes a brief biography of each writer that includes the individual’s church but no other contact information. Although it also didn’t include my website, that is easy enough to find with an internet search and I received several comments through its contact page. That’s how I received the sole negative comment.

I had done several devotions on God’s command to obey governing authorities. I followed them up with one on obeying God rather than the governing authority when the governing authority asks us to do something contrary to God’s Law (Acts 5:29), and I used Hitler as an example.

Here is a quote from the email I received in response to that devotion.

You had to bring up Hitler, what an easy way to be brave! Sorry Miss, but you are either a coward, and/or a lazy researcher or a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Hitler actually was a devout Catholic, and during his era, thousands of new churches were actually built, and none were taken down.

I haven’t researched whether new churches were built during Hitler’s era, and that statement may be true. Hitler may also have claimed to be a devout Catholic, but his actions prove otherwise.

The email went on to say that the real villainy (my word, not his) occurred in the Soviet Union, where, according to the writer, Jews were behind Bolshevism and created it specifically to murder as many Christians as possible. Finally, the writer denied the existence of the Holocaust and ended by saying, “As Christians, we are not allowed to lie about other people or countries, simply because everyone believes it to be factual.”

In many ways, that was an easy comment to respond to. Although I consider research to be one of my strengths and calling me a lazy researcher would normally have upset me, the entire email made it clear that the writer was misguided. Arguing would accomplish nothing since the unknown author of the email is as unlikely to change his or her mind as I am to change mine. So I simply said, “Thank you for sharing your opinion with me,” and left it at that.

One of the positive responses to the devotions was harder to handle.

Several people contacted me through my church, and one note complimenting the devotions included a check for $125.

It wouldn’t be quite true to say I didn’t do it for the money. I consider myself a professional writer who is worthy of my hire, and I gladly accepted the stipend that Portals of Prayer paid me for my work. Still, my primary goal is to write to the glory of God, not for worldly reward. While I appreciate all the positive comments, I don’t feel right accepting money from a reader. So I voided the check and returned it with some suggestions for where they could donate the money if they so chose.

Writers never know what type of responses they will get from readers. Many times readers’ opinions are unexpressed, and the writer doesn’t know what they are. I can live with that.

But it’s always nice to hear from readers.

___________

The picture at the beginning of the post was painted in 1896 by Arthur Netherwood and is titled “Portrait of an Old Woman Reading the Bible by Candlelight.” It is in the public domain because of its age.

God Looks at the Heart

This is the second of the two devotions I mentioned last week.

* * *

The first meeting between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy breeds instant contempt. When Elizabeth sits on the sidelines for want of a partner, their host suggests that Darcy dance with her. Apparently not caring whether Elizabeth overhears him, Darcy replies, "'She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me, and I am in no humor at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.'"

In Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice, both main characters display each of the traits that make up the title. Darcy thinks himself above Elizabeth in station and breeding, and he judges her by her often foolish family. When he finds he cannot ignore his feelings for her, he proposes, but he tells her that he is doing it against his better judgment. His words and actions show that he still believes himself superior to her.

Elizabeth, in turn, prides herself on her discernment of other people's characters, yet she judges Darcy by his unflattering comments and haughty demeanor. The prejudice that begins with first impressions grows when she meets Lieutenant Wickham, who tells her that Darcy refused to give him the living promised by Darcy's father before the older man died.

As the novel progresses, the reader realizes that Elizabeth and Darcy have misjudged each other. Elizabeth has reversed the roles of hero and villain, and she discovers Darcy's generous and kind heart only after Wickham elopes with her younger sister.

In the meantime, Darcy meets Elizabeth touring his estate. Her foolish mother and younger sisters are not with her, which gives him a chance to get to know her for herself. As he does, he realizes that her breeding and intelligence are as good as or better than those of his own friends and relatives.

The two main characters learn a valuable lesson: don't judge people by outward appearances. This is the same lesson that Samuel learned when God told him to anoint one of Jesse's sons as Israel's second king. The oldest son, Eliab, looked the part, so Samuel thought he was the one. But God rejected each of Jesse's sons until he came to the youngest, David.

You may think you are too young or too ordinary or too sinful to serve God, but you are wrong. What the world thinks of you doesn't matter to Him. He looks straight into your heart.


The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. I Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

No Longer an Orphan

About a year and a half ago, I responded to a call for submissions for a book of devotions based on well-known works of fiction. I submitted my samples approximately a week before the deadline and received a response saying that the publisher had already filled all its slots.

Barbour Publishing just released the book. Book Lovers Devotional contains sixty readings, and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for short devotions and loves books. Two of the devotions are based on the same novels I chose for my two samples: not surprising considering the types of fiction Barbour wanted to cover. The devotion about Anne of Green Gables uses the same theme I used, while the devotion for Pride and Prejudice takes a very different approach.*

Since my sample devotions were written to meet Barbour's particular requirements and are unlikely to be suited to a different paying project, I have decided to use them here. I'll start with Anne of Green Gables and save Pride and Prejudice for another day.

* * *

Anne Shirley longs for a home, and she believes she will find it at Green Gables. But it is all a mistake. Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert want a boy to help around the farm, not a girl to help around the house. When Anne realizes they are going to send her back to the orphanage, she is devastated. "'I might have expected it,'" she says. "'Nobody ever did want me.'"

At the beginning of Anne of Green Gables, the reader meets an eleven-year-old girl who has spent the last few years as an unpaid nanny. Then she comes to live with the Cuthberts, and everything changes.

Fortunately for Anne, shy Matthew is enchanted with her from the beginning. Aided by Marilla's own compassionate nature, he persuades his sister to let Anne stay and share their home. But it takes much longer for straight-laced Marilla to let the orphan into her heart.

Anne's quick temper and lack of common sense do not endear her to Marilla. The girl's many exploits range from breaking her slate over a fellow student's head to taking a dare that ends with a fall off a roof and a broken ankle.

But Anne also has a generous and forgiving nature. She will do anything for those she loves, from sharing her favorite candies to giving up her dream of going to college. Early in the book, Marilla asks Anne if the women she lived with before were kind to her. Anne replies, "'Oh, they meant to be--I know they meant to be just as good and kind as possible.'" Even though they had treated her as a slave, she looked for the good in them. These traits eventually win Marilla over.

By the time tragedy strikes, Anne's and Marilla's love for each other helps them deal with their loss. Anne of Green Gables shows us the value of belonging to a family where we are loved.

Unlike Marilla's love for Anne, God loved us from the beginning. We don't have to win Him over. If we know His Son, we are part of His family. When we get ourselves into trouble, God forgives us. And when trials come, Christ holds us up, comforting and strengthening us. We are not orphans but children of God, and that makes us members of the best family of all.

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. Galatians 3:26-27 (NIV)

_____

* In case anyone gets the wrong impression, I am NOT suggesting that the writer borrowed material (or even uncopyrightable ideas) from the devotions I submitted. The nature of the project made it inevitable that several people would independently use the same works of fiction and select the same themes from those works.