Bitter Sweet

Lord willing, it will not be many more weeks that I will reside in FoggyPitt. Thus, my posts would no longer come from personal experience, but rather from hearsay. That being the case, posts will become less frequent, as I must be more selective and very careful. It is certainly safer (and more biblical) to comment on my personal experience, rather than that of my friends and acquaintances. But there may be times that a situation arises that has universal application, with the names, of course, remaining unnamed.

Today I caught up my reading of 'Blog and Mablog'. In one of his posts, Douglas Wilson, comments on a paragraph from the end of Denis Boyles' book, 'Vile France', which Boyles made in passing on the last page: "I was once a college teacher, and as those who teach know, the politics of the English department are more ruthless and cut-throat than the politics of the real world. Once, while trying to help a friend with five kids and a pregnant wife keep his job, I was forced to realize that the guy I was trying to help was working behind my back to get me fired so he could take my job. I didn't know if I should go after the guy or what. So I turned to my own mentor, an old Joycean Jew from the Bronx, and asked him what he thought I should do. He told me to forget it. 'His punishment,' he promised, 'will be his life.' And so it has been, to this very day."

As I ponder that statement, "His punishment will be his life," I am comforted that it applies also to those who have slandered me, my family, and the others with whom I worship. Leaving FoggyPitt is both a bitter and a sweet reality. We will truly miss those who have prayed with and for us and who have stuck "closer than a brother". You know who you are, and we love you all very much.

For those of you who have accused us of heresy, dishonesty, subversion, etc., you know who you are, too. As under-shepherds in the church of Jesus Christ, you should be ashamed and, therefore, confess, repent and make restitution. But, that is not mine to coerce or command. It is to God alone. "It is before his own master that (a man) stands or falls...." As for me, and speaking for my family, I forgive you and leave it all in God's hands.