July
13
Proverbs
1:5–Proverbs 3:34
KEEP
CLOSE TO JESUS
Proverbs 1:10
"My son, if
sinners entice thee, consent thou not."
Proverbs 1:10 is a verse that I have
known all my life. I didn’t really memorize it. It was a
verse that I was told about. You see, I had an Uncle.
His name was Richard Charles Barker. I do not remember
him, but I have seen pictures of him. My mother told me
about my Uncle. She loved him very much. He called her "Gerch."
Her name was Gertrude. I have many post cards from him.
He sent them to me when I was a little child in the
hospital. He was in the Navy. That would have been in
the late 1920's or the early 1930's. He was a Navy
pilot.
My grandmother had many concerns for
her son. He was a lady’s man. He dabbled in worldly
pursuits. She would whisper in his ear, "Keep close to
Jesus!" I had forgotten all about that admonition until
this morning when I read today’s Scripture verse. "KEEP
CLOSE TO JESUS!" What better advice could a mother give
her son?
Grandma gave my Uncle another
counsel. It was our verse today. "MY SON, IF SINNERS
ENTICE THEE, CONSENT THOU NOT!" I wonder as he mingled
with the world and its people and pleasures, if
Grandma’s words rang in his ears.
The reason I do not remember him is
that he died when he was either twenty-four or
five-years of age. I have seen pictures of him. His
memory to me is a precious one. He died of the terrible
tuberculosis that many people died from in those days.
That was before the wonderful medicines that we have
today to help that disease.
As the disease took over his body, he
could no longer pilot the planes. Perhaps you have seen
pictures of those bi-planes. They are nothing like the
big airplanes of today or even the small private ones we
see by private homes. Because he was ill, he could not
fly the planes, but he had to work. He was still in the
military. He was one of the men who would hold on to the
plane wings and run with the plane to help the plane get
off the ground. Then one day, he could no longer "run"
with the planes. He began to cough up blood.
He found himself in bed, ill, and
dying. It was a sad time. Grandma would visit Uncle
Dick. (He signed his cards to me that way.) As she
always did, she would whisper in his ear. "KEEP CLOSE TO
JESUS!" Often she would quote Proverbs 1:10 to him. With
tears in her voice she would say, "My son, if sinners
entice thee, consent thou not."
To see your child suffer pain and
struggling to breathe is horrible for a mother. To lose
a son in death is shocking. A mother does not expect to
have her child die. Grandma knew this pain. My mother
loved her brother and the loss of him stayed with her
all her life. He was buried in a cemetery in Cleveland,
Ohio. His body was lowered down deep in the ground
waiting the resurrection day. Above the ground--reaching
for the sun--was the most beautiful tree. It was a
weeping willow tree. Day and night it stood over my
uncle’s grave "weeping" at the loss of my grandmother’s
son. His last words echoed in her ears. He had whispered
her words back to her. From his parched lips she could
hear the admonition she often gave to him, "Mom, Keep
Close to Jesus!" (ysw)
"MY
CANDLE, MY DARKNESS"
(Psalm 18:28)
HOW GREAT IS OUR
DARKNESS!
Some times in
great distress and trial, it seems we can see no way
out.
The way looks
dark ahead,
but here He
promises to "light my candle"
or give me
spiritual illumination for my darkness.
THE LORD WILL
ENLIGHTEN ME.
THAT IS A
PROMISE!
(ggs)
