"Don't Overlook Them"

 

“Don’t Overlook Them”

 

During a college chapel service a speaker described one of his roles as “President of the National Association for the Preservation of the Second and Third Verses of Hymns”. I laughed with the rest of the student body but recognized the truth of what he had humorously pointed out. From time to time President Edman said all verses of hymns would be sung because we never knew how the words of a middle stanza might speak to someone’s need. To this I’d add another reason: skipping parts of a song can interrupt the sequence. An example is the great 1910 hymn “One Day” by J. Wilbur Chapman. It has five verses—and if the first and last are sung without the three middle stanzas we’d jump from Jesus’ birth to His second coming and leave out His death, burial and resurrection which are the heart of the gospel message (see 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). So that anonymous preacher of two generations back had a valid concern.

I consider myself a card-carrying member of the “National Association for the Remembrance of the Overlooked Parts of Scripture”. In my opinion the two most neglected portions are the Minor Prophets (twelve of them) and the five single chapter books. Their length belies their significance. And we best not forget that “All Scripture is God-breathed….” (2 Timothy 3:16, emphasis added). To certify my membership credentials in the above mentioned “organization” I’ve done several series on both of these undervalued sections. (To further polish my halo I recently led a class in a study of Philemon.)

There’s another area which we’re prone to disregard: the needs of those around us. Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want.” (Mark 14:7). But do I want to? I’m chagrined to say not always. God commands us, “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is within your power to act.” (Proverbs 3:27). And we have a special obligation to our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Apostle Paul writes, “…As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:10, emphasis added). Almost from Day One the church took this seriously (“There were no needy persons among them.”—Acts 4:34). You and I must be careful not to overlook what God says matters. “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21).

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan