DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- CREATURE COMFORT

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – CREATURE COMFORTS

"Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come – and the books, especially the parchments." (II Timothy 4:13)

This letter is one of what are called the Prison Epistles that Paul wrote while he was awaiting trial in Rome. Prison was not a place of ease and comfort. It was cold during the winter so Paul asked Timothy to bring his cloak. But he also wanted to have the parchments which would probably have been the Old Testament Scriptures. Paul was a student of the Old Testament and much of his theology is rooted in the Pentateuch, the Poetry and the prophets. He desired to be as comfortable as possible so he needed his coat, but he also need the comfort of God's written word.

Creature comfort and Spirit comfort sometimes go hand in hand. There is no virtue to be uncomfortable and suffer while feeding on God's Word. Many churches have padded pews to make the congregants comfortable, rather than wooden pews to make them suffer. Cushioned pews are okay as long as they don't make us so comfortable that we go to sleep, but hard wooden pews can make us so uncomfortable that we are concentrating on the pain rather than on what God's servant is sharing as he preaches from God's Word.

A pastor once told me that he didn't mind when people went to sleep during his sermons, since that may be the only comfort they have. I don't know that I would go that far, but I have certainly put many people to sleep with my sermons. It is probably an apocryphal story, but it is told of a man who had the habit of going to sleep every Sunday Morning as soon as the preacher began his sermon. His wife had tried may tricks to keep him awake, but was unsuccessful. One morning, she took a container of limburger cheese to church, and when her husband began to snore, she opened the container and stuck it under his nose. His response: "Gertrude, get your feet off my pillow!"

In comfortable settings, it is sometimes easy to lose our concentration.  It takes an intentional effort to stay engaged in the message God is speaking. That's why I often take notes during the sermon and personal Bible study.  

Creature comfort is important. How about spirit comfort?  God's Word brings comfort to the soul.

Love, Dad