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Coffee And... White Hats and Pruning Trees
by Louise Bergmann DuMont (Louise's bio)
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Meeting the Caped Defender for a cup of coffee at a virtual café is always a treat. As I sip my coffee and tap away at the keyboard my mind is boggled by the awesome responsibility this young guardian of all that is good and right holds upon his strong (albeit strangely outfitted) shoulders. (To read the Caped Defender's latest column, go to: http://www.crosshome.com/humor.shtml)
Today it is increasingly difficult to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Both sport identical white hats and both wear masks to disguise their soiled human nature. The only difference it seems is that the Christian's hat may appear more firmly blocked and their mask may be a bit more polished.
Church friends gossip in the name of shared prayer, youth leaders distort the truth to build their own ego and church elders expound on their long periods of fasting and prayer in the name of teaching the less experienced. Humility, honesty and Godly character may seem almost as far from the church as they are from the general populous. In truth, Christians are all too human and have trouble with a multitude of vices that have plagued humanity since Eve bit the apple. Does this mean that a Christian is no different from the unbeliever? Not at all… So how do we tell them apart?
The Caped Defender and others who are champions of The One True God have found a place to anchor themselves. Church leaders, fellow believers and Christian organizations can all be blown apart in a weak moment. Captains of Truth like the Caped Defender do not put their trust in things of this world and they don't put all their stock in their super powers either. In order to remain upright and focused on good, they must keep their eyes on the only true thing in the universe – Christ Jesus. Now don't get me wrong, darting around town in leotards and a bathrobe-cape is not my idea God's perfect will for MY life… but this advocate of goodness has been called to a most unique ministry… and God does bless even the most unusual talents when turned over to Him.
The truth is, anyone should be able to tell who the Christians are they look close enough. The Bible tells us that we will know Christ's followers by their fruit. Just like a bad tree bears bad fruit, a good tree will deliver good fruit. The book of Galatians tells us that the fruit of the spirit (God) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Now that is g-o-o-d stuff! This would mean that Christians will love the unlovable, give even when they have little of their own, have peace through the worst of circumstances, look past the petty faults of others, and hold back hurting words, even if they are the true. Hum… One would almost have to be a super hero to be that good.
You have to admit that there are few humans who come close to hitting the mark on all of those accounts. We all sin – yes, Christians too. Remember, even the best fruit trees may need some pruning.
As I took the last sip of my coffee and the last bite of my homemade coffeecake, something began to bother me.
"Old friend of mine," I tapped on the keyboard, "if you know anything about our editor's missing coffeecakes, it might be time to do a bit of self-pruning!"
"And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."
Mark 4:20
This column is dedicated to a gifted new writer and good friend, Don Smith – Oops – I mean The Caped Defender!!! Ah… um… sorry about that, Don… I mean Defender… Oh, whatever!!!
Copyright 2002, Louise Bergmann DuMont. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
| About Louise Bergmann DuMont: Louise Bergmann DuMont is the facilitator of the North Jersey Christian Writer's Group and a recent winner of CWG's 2001 conference scholarship. She has written for numerous local periodicals, journals and newspapers and recently began expanding her horizons to include more widely circulated publications. Louise's interests include gifted/learning-disabled children and fiction/fantasy writing. She is married and has three sons. E-mail Louise |
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