Five Kernels of Corn

 

Five Kernels of Corn

Five Kernels of Corn - Audio/Visual 

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! (Psalm 103:1-5)

The Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 would have been astounded by the world we live in today. In fact, the next time you’re tempted to complain about inflation, the economy, or even the price of tea in China, you might want to check yourself and consider a few things about these remarkable pioneers. For instance, during their first long winter at Plymouth Colony, they dug seven times as many graves as they built homes for the living. In fact, of the 102 Mayflower passengers, only half were alive by spring. The ship that was later to bring food and relief, the Fortune, brought 37 more mouths to feed but not an ounce of food. William Brewster, the colony’s leader and preacher, got up from a scant Plymouth dinner of clams and a glass of cold water and thanked God “for the abundance of the sea and the treasures hid in the sand.”

Although the Pilgrims didn’t have much, they were enormously grateful. And it was this attitude, combined with their strength, devotion and sincerity, which served as the bedrock of our nation. Their gratitude is even more remarkable when you consider that, at one point in 1623, food was rationed to a few grains of corn each day. And from these dire circumstances came a tradition, started on Forefather’s Day, December 22, 1820, where five kernels of corn would be placed on each empty plate before a dinner of “thanksgiving” was served. Each member of the family would then pick up a kernel and tell about something for which they were thankful.

The following is a letter written by a college coed to her parents about this same time of year: “Dear Mom & Dad: I'm sorry I've been so long in writing. Unfortunately all my stationery was destroyed the night our dorm was set on fire by demonstrators. I'm out of the hospital now and the doctors say my eyesight should return sooner or later. The wonderful boy, Bill, who rescued me from the fire kindly offered to share his apartment with me until my dorm room is rebuilt. He comes from a grand family, so you won't be surprised when I tell you we're going to be married in a short while. In fact, since you've always wanted a grandchild, you'll be glad to know you'll be grandparents next month! P.S. Please disregard the above practice in English composition. There was no fire. I haven't been to the hospital. I'm not pregnant, and I don't even have a boyfriend. But I did get a ‘D’ in French and an ‘F’ in chemistry. I just wanted to be sure you received the news in perspective.”

Do you think her parents had a different perspective by the time they got to the end of that letter? Sure, because by the time they got to the end, they were thinking “D’s” and “F’s” never sounded so good. Motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, said, “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” But it's not always easy to be grateful. Like when you’re stuck in traffic, or late for work, or the doctor’s report isn't what you expected. It’s not easy to praise God when your spouse walks out, or your child is sick, or you’ve lost your job. 

Gratitude may not always change your circumstances, but it can change how your circumstances affect you. For instance, an elderly woman bowed her head and said, "Thank you, Lord, for these vittles." Overhearing her prayer, a young kid asked, "Lady, what are vittles?” She answered, "The blessings God gives me; my food to eat." The smart aleck kid responded, "Don't you know you’re going to have that food whether you thank God for it or not?" With the wisdom of her age, the woman responded, "Well, perhaps so, but everything tastes better when I'm thankful." And the first five verses of Psalm 103 gives us five kernels to consider this Thanksgiving.

The first kernel is that “He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.” There’s no mistaking it — God offers forgiveness. This forgiveness is the unique promise of the Father, provided through his Son. And an attempt to understand God’s grace should be our lifelong study, but a sense of gratitude should well up from the depths of our heart every day for God’s incredible gift. Here’s what I mean. The London Times publishes the prices paid for art objects in all of the salesrooms of the world. For instance, if a painting is sold in New York, or Paris, or Rome or London, the Times gives the full details of the sale and you can judge the value of the painting by the price which was paid. Wonder what you’re worth? Well, you’re priceless since, as the Bible reports, Jesus paid the ransom that sin demanded for your life.

But does God really “heal all diseases?” That’s a little tough to reconcile with the fact that God doesn’t heal everyone who has an “incurable” disease. But maybe the “disease” that David’s talking about isn’t a physical thing at all. Now there’s no doubt that all healing, in some sense, is a divine healing, and that the recovery from sickness, injury or even surgery is a direct result of the healing properties that God built into our bodies. Medicine, surgery and therapy are merely extensions of God’s healing ministry. But this verse doesn’t say that God heals everyone’s diseases. What it says is that God heals all my diseases, and there is no disease or sickness that lies beyond God’s healing power, not even the “incurable” kind. He is the Great Physician after all. (Luke 4:23)

But it seems like David is talking about his soul. “Let all that I am praise the Lord,” David says. And it’s only after that introduction that David goes on to say that God “forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.” Now, clinically speaking, the diseases of the soul emanate from a virus called sin, and Jesus, just as doctors do, identified the virus and told us about its symptoms and disorders. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ’unclean.’” (Matthew 15:19-20) Just as surely as some disorders of the body can be cured by medicines and surgery, so our souls can be cleansed, purged, purified and made whole when God is allowed to possess us – completely.

In 1925, Texas governor Pat Morris Neff spoke to a group of convicts. At the conclusion of his speech, the governor said that he would stick around if anyone wanted to speak with him. Well, as you can imagine, a large group of men remained, many of them lifers. One by one they each gave the governor their stories about how they’d been framed, or hadn’t received justice, or were the victims of some kind of judicial blunder. To a man, each asked to be freed. Finally, one man came up and said, “Governor, I just want to say that I’m guilty. I did what they sent me here for, but I believe I’ve paid for it. If I were freed, I would do everything I could to be a good citizen and prove myself worthy of your mercy.” The governor eventually pardoned this man. His name was Huddie William Ledbetter. Who?

Not necessarily a household name, he was better known as Lead Belly, an iconic folk and blues musician who was eventually inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. He’s been covered by music greats such as Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte, Van Morrison, Johnny Cash, and groups such as  Creedence Clearwater Revival, Abba, The Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin and Nirvana. But why did the governor pardon Lead Belly? Because he admitted his guilt. And we can be pardoned, too. But there’s a difference. Unlike Lead Belly, we can’t say that we’ve paid the price for any of our sins. But if we’ll plead Jesus blood, God will pardon, or redeem us.

“He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.” Satan is bent on damning our souls and destroying our lives. All you have to do is look at our jails, sanitariums, hospitals and city streets: they’re filled with people whose lives are being destroyed. But God has redeemed us from this power. David, in another psalm, put it like this: “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.” (Ps. 40:2-3)

J. Wilbur Chapman was an early 1900’s evangelist who hired “Billy” Sunday as his advance man and preached revival meetings with the likes of D.L. Moody, among others. In one of his meetings, a man gave this remarkable testimony: “I got off at the Pennsylvania depot one day as a tramp. For a year I begged on the streets for a living. One day I touched a man on the shoulder and said, ‘Mister, please give me some money so I can have something to eat.’ As soon as I saw his face, I recognized him as my father. ‘Father, don’t you know me?’ I asked. Throwing his arms around me, he cried, ‘I’ve found you! I’ve found you! All I have is yours!’ Think of it! That I, a tramp, stood begging my father for a few cents, when for 18 years he had been looking for me to give me all he was worth.” Just like the tramp’s father, God’s looking for us, too, because he’s already given all he’s worth and he wants us to claim our inheritance.

“He fills my life with good things.” When we seek God’s righteousness, he grants it. Psalm 107:9 says, “He has satisfied the thirsty soul and the hungry soul he has filled with what is good.” A famous surgeon was seldom seen on the streets without a beautiful, fresh rose in his lapel. His friends wondered how those rosebuds stayed fresh for so long. So, curious, they asked him his secret, at which point the surgeon turned back the lapel to reveal a little bottle of water into which the stem of the rose had been inserted. Viola! Fresh flowers. And so it is with us as believers. If our lives draw from God’s great resources, who is in us the Water of Life (John 4:10), we will grow more fragrant and beautiful as the days and years go by.

David writes, “My youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” The eagle is known for at least three things: (1) its size; (2) its strength; and (3) its longevity. And the result of living a fulfilled, satisfied, spiritual life is a constant renewal, a constant refreshing, a constant revival. So, it’s no wonder then that David would say, “Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.” (Ps. 103:1-2) The acclaimed American author, William Faulkner, said: “Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity – it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.” Or, as the late William Arthur Ward wrote, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” In other words, gratitude is the attitude that changes our altitude in life.

So, as we sit down at our Thanksgiving tables next week, let’s take time to thank God – the source of our blessings. And although the food may just magically appear without having said grace, my hunch is that it will taste a whole lot better with a ladle of gratitude.

Grace,

Randy