A Reply to Art, My Old Friend

Dear Art,
Thank you so much for your reply to my Open Letter to you. Isn’t this amazing?!? Most people don’t write letters much now, but here we are sending off these missives to each other!

Hearing from you again felt like old times! We surely have taken diverse paths in many ways, but I still have a warmth in my heart for you, an old and dear friend. I am interested in you, your family, and your prospects for the future. I hope you can sense my sincerity in saying that, – I wouldn’t kid you in something like this.

To comment on your assertion that Earth is an amazing place, I heartily agree. And it takes us a good part of our lives to fully appreciate that, doesn’t it, if indeed, we can ever FULLY do! To me, Planet Earth is part of the rich, harmonious, multi-faceted provision of our great Creator God, for the use of mankind for as long as it pleases Him.

It sustains life in part because of the precision of its size, shape, distance from the sun, and its tilt and rotation, as well as the abundance of natural resources and the variety and complexity of plant and animal life, marine life, etc. But one of the most amazing aspects is the high degree to which it is suited for the habitation of mankind!

Art, my work in the ministry involves helping people in all the ways envisioned in the love that God has for mankind, as expressed so beautifully in John 3:16. Do you remember that Scripture verse? It has often been called “The Gospel in a Nutshell,” and it reads, “For God so loved the world [men, women, boys, and girls everywhere] that He gave His only [i.e. His Uniquely-begotten] Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have [now] everlasting life.”

You congratulated me in the work I’ve been able to do, and I thank you for that. What matters most to me every day is this, -- I want to know and do the will of Almighty God more and more perfectly in the few short years that I may have left here on earth. And I aim to help others find that kind of meaning in their lives, too, as much as possible.

Art, I don’t mean to boast in any way about the value of the work that I’ve been able to do, in comparison to your business career. In reply to your comment that perhaps my work has been more valuable in life than what you have done, I wouldn’t make that kind of a comparison.

The work of the Pastor, Bible teacher, and Missionary, i.e. those involved in the so-called “full-time” ministry of the Gospel is very important in the eternal scheme of things. But all types of work that are wholesome, above-board and ethical in every way are also of great importance and value. Where would we be without manufacturers, distributors, medical people, inventors, accountants, retail personnel, musicians, and a host of others? As I like to think of it (in the words of Scripture), “whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God!”

So I applaud you in the business role that you have played in your working career. I would like to think that you have aimed day by day, in the office, or in the client’s place of commerce, to seek for God’s plan, and to carry on your business as a trustee of God’s provisions. All that we are and have has come from Him. And it seems to me that it ought to be handled in ways that please Him, and further His plan for our lives. Is that your idea, too, my friend?

Now you wrote some of your thoughts and feelings about getting older and losing strength and mental sharpness perhaps, and all the downside aspects that any one may experience due to aging. And you said that you don’t like to think about that more than necessary. Then your question to me was, “Do you?”

No, I’d have to admit that I don’t relish that thought at all. On the other hand, I think I’m a realist about this, too. We were all born as babies, perfect but completely immature, so that everything has to be done for us at first. It seems reasonable that toward the end of life here on earth, much might have to be done for us also, since we are losing the strength and skills we were “building up” as we grew from infancy.

Perhaps you may think, “Oh I just want to keep a good healthy walk throughout life, and then expire peacefully in my sleep.” But, Art, my friend, we all know that no one can consider that to be a guaranteed prospect! What will make our last days on earth more tolerable is, -- if we know where we are going at death, and that we will be part of a Grand Re-union someday. That fills my heart with joy, in the face of all the heartaches and sorrows to which we can be subject here on Planet Earth.

And yes, the sort of “solid hope” that you asked about IS possible, Art. I wouldn’t lead you astray about that, for the world! My basis for writing as I do is not wishful thinking. It goes to the heart of the one and only Book that our great Creator God has given us as His “Divine Owner’s Manual,” the Bible.

Friend Art, I’m going to risk doing a little probing at this point: Have you spent some time in your own life with this Book, looking for answers to life’s most important questions? Personally, I have found answers in it that are truly satisfying. And I believe that you could find them there, too. Please know that I don’t speak with any sense of superior attainment on my part, but only with the desire to depend humbly on the Lord my God for wisdom as to how I can be of the greatest encouragement to you. I have received so-o-o much from the Lord throughout my years, and now I want to pass it on to you, if you are willing!

Well, it’s now time to “sign off.” I look forward to your return thoughts.
Sincerely, -- PapaPops

Art Replies!

Dear PapaPops,

It was good to hear from you, to receive your recent letter. It surely has been a long time, hasn’t it? Yes, I agree that those “old times” to which you refer are good to remember. I’m glad for your encouragement in this way, and I surely want to be an encouragement to you, too.

It is true that I have been successful in my chosen field of business, and have therefore been able to accomplish a lot of the things you have spelled out. It has been gratifying to help my children get a good start on their own careers in life. And the traveling that my wife and I have done has taken us to some very beautiful spots here on Planet Earth. Isn’t this an amazing place? It’s inhabitable, complex, and has tremendous variety which is available to us every day.

I can’t help but congratulate you on the work you have done in the Gospel ministry. It must be a very good feeling to help bring about positive changes at the “deep places” of people’s lives. Your work, compared to mine through the years, seems to have had the greater impact in the things that matter most. Do you think so?

Now I’ll admit that I feel a little uneasy, PapaPops, when I consider the question of “What next?” after I’ve done all that I can do. Certainly, as with everybody else, I’m on the road to that place in life where my health and natural abilities will have greatly diminished. I really don’t like to contemplate that. Do you? I wish for the best, both here and hereafter, but I’m concerned that I don’t have much solid hope, as you seem to have. Is hope of that nature and magnitude really possible for people like you and me?

How can you say that you know, yes, actually know, that you will be “at home with our Lord and Savior,” to use your words, when your earthly journey is done? It seems too good to be true, doesn’t it? How can anyone know what is ahead for us beyond the grave? Shouldn’t we be responsible for ourselves, rather than rely on a payment from somebody else, on our behalf, as your “Gospel” maintains?

PapaPops, I’m a little mystified in your writing about “our Savior” as someone who is alive today, and personal. And who can know that he or she will be somehow “saved” forever?!? How can the death of any person that occurred some two thousand years ago make a real difference in your life or mine today? Isn’t this wishful thinking, -- perhaps an expression of a religious sentiment long-ago described as the “opiate of the people?”

As for reading the Gospel of John, in pursuing your suggestion, is it really worth the time that would take, do you think? After all, the Bible is an old book (very old), and how can it anticipate today’s problems? How can it suggest workable, high-value answers to those problems? Can it really put forward a satisfying solution for people like you and me? I don’t mean to suggest that what you say is superfluous, but tell me -- what is an “honest doubter” to think?

With great appreciation for your willingness to help me find true meaning and a lasting purpose, I am –

Sincerely yours, -- Art

An Open Letter to My Old Friend, Arthur Zee –

Dear Art,
As I sit here thinking about you today, I am very appreciative of your friendship early in life. We had some mighty good times talking together over a cup of coffee, didn’t we, Art? You often cheered me up, and I look back on those days with fondness. Now we’ve advanced a good deal through life, from those “good old days.” But we can still remember them, and we can still find a way to encourage each other. At least, I hope that I can be an encouragement to you, my “old friend Art.”

As I think about the different paths that you and I took in life, I remember how you entered business, and became very successful. You just seemed to have the talent, and one might say, the expertise, for that. And besides your natural suitability, you got a business education in the very best schools, and I congratulate you on that. Business seemed to fit your personality, and your individual interests, to a “T.” Now you are no doubt reaping the earthly rewards from such a brilliant career in business. You’ve been able to have an expensive home, and a great car. You’ve educated your children well. And I believe that you’ve traveled a lot on vacation with your wife, and seen many parts of the world.

On the other hand, I chose the way of the ministry. When we were young, you and I talked about what we wanted to do with our lives. Do you remember that, Art? My thought was, and is to this day, that there’s nothing wrong with business, or with the professions, or farming, etc., and I could probably take an interest in several of them. But, -- my desire was to be a servant of the Lord, “full time.” So I went to college and graduate school, to learn to be the best pastor that I could be. Over the years since that time, I’ve been able to preach the Word of God, pray with many people, and participate in the growth of the work of the Lord, worldwide.

Art, now that you’ve retired and seen the world in large part, what will you do next? You’ve helped your children get established in their own homes and families. You and your wife still seem to be in good health. So what is “over the next hill,” or “over the horizon” for you now? Will you travel even more? Will you start a new career? Will you take up singing, or photography, or learn to be a mountain-climbing guide, or what? Have any ideas? Then if you do, what about after that – after you retire for the last time? Do you have an eternal home to go to when your earthly journey is done?

That is my own firm and steadfast hope, and I wish it were yours, too. I actually know, not that I’m wishing so or hoping so, but actually know that I will be at home with our Lord and Savior when my earthly journey is done. Now I say that, not based on anything I have ever done, or could ever do, to deserve such a future. No, indeed! It is only because of what was done for me (and for you, too, Art, my friend) when our Savior gave His life on the “Old Rugged Cross,” i.e. the Cross at Calvary, so long ago. That most terrible death of His took place because of the love that the Father in Heaven has for you and me, and for everyone.

Art, my hope for you now is that you will hear the love from God that I have in my heart for you as a dear friend, and that you will consider the claims that our Savior has on your life. There is a day coming, for both of us, and for everyone else, when all that we’ve known, and done, and loved here, in this world, will be gone. On that day, all that will matter is what we have done with our Savior in this life. Have we trusted Him thoroughly for our past, present, and future? Or have we neglected Him, and pursued only the pleasures of this life?

May I ask one more thing, my friend – would you please take some time soon, to read and carefully study the Gospel of John in the New Testament (often called the “Fourth Gospel”)? It will answer many of your questions about the highest meaning and purpose that anyone can have in life. And then, when you have read, and re-read it several times, would you let me how it affects you? And I want you to know for sure, that if you have any questions about what you read in the Gospel of John, I would like to know them, and have the privilege of talking with (or writing to you) about them. It is such a wonderful life, and it is meant for you as well as for me!

Sincerely, from your old and dear friend,
“PapaPops”