"Abra Cadabra....."

There is a mental image yet held by me of my paternal grandfather stretched out in his recliner, watching wrestling on the television set while listening to the ballgame on the radio and reading a paperback western at the same time. Take away the quart of beer on the floor beside him plus the cigar that he always enjoyed, and maybe it’s where I inherited my ability to peruse more than one book at the same time. There are three presently occupying my thoughts, one of them written by a psychiatrist and the fifteenth chapter, in particular, speaking to me in terms of possible use in ministry at both the rescue mission and the Detention Center. Surely the subject matter applies to us all, though, the truth therein certainly a part of my own life. It’s entitled “Only Bad Things Happen Quickly” and opens by stating: “One of the common fantasies entertained by those who seek change in their life is that it can be rapidly achieved. Once we think we know what to do, it appears that we ought to be able to simply do it. That these sudden transformations are rare is a source of puzzlement to many.” The author next begins to show that our addictions are not just limited to drinking, smoking, drug dependency, sexual perversion, and gambling. In his words, “What is at work here is the psychological power of habit, the characteristics that render each of us unique seldom the product of rational choice and the life-altering maladaptive behaviors that are our habitual ways of relating to others major determinants of how successful we are in forming and sustaining relationships.” He goes so far as to claim our “identity” is not a matter of conscious choice, but either inborn or formed by our history, ingrained within the very fabric of who and what we are, and he assures the reader that nothing is going to be altered overnight. In his opinion, any “sudden good news” was reduced to just four things: “a last second touchdown, an unexpected inheritance, winning the lottery, or a visitation from God”… That last statement made me smile, giving me pause as to just how much he considered each of these four events to be “life-changing”. While the latter holds more potential for transforming the inner character of a man, it yet remains without guarantee and conditional upon the relationship maintained with the addition of Christ “in” me. We, within the fellowship of faith, seldom put it in such terms, there being a better “draw” to stress the immediate more so than the journey yet ahead. Nevertheless, Paul admonishes us, as believers, to “examine” ourselves on a regular basis, perfection the goal, grace the incentive, not a blanket permission to remain as we are……