COME BEFORE WINTER
A Sermon by Dr. James R. Bousman, 1934-2006
Edited and Assembled by Rev. Harvey M. Clayton
17 February 2007
Winter is often a dangerous time of the year – even for us.
Bitter cold, especially for homeless and those unable to afford to heat their homes.
Accidental fires (and deaths) from improper heating sources
Travel difficulties, both by air and on the roads
Damaging accumulations of snow in some areas
For some, it is a dreaded and depressing time.
Lack of sunshine leads to depression for some folks
All the world seems dead – empty trees, animals hibernating, drab colors, long shadows
A time of the year that reflects the sometimes rapidly changing seasons in our lifetimes.
Spring – a time of youthfulness, life just beginning to flower
Summer – a time of maturing, reaching the fullness of life
Autumn – a time when what has been planted is now harvested
(often not too many years here, but they can be the happiest, most fruitful)
Winter – a time when the end of life approaches
Whatever the season in our lives, there are things to be done “before winter comes” — opportunities we need to take advantage of before the time passes.
Scripture
The Scripture deals with a time of opportunity for Timothy.
Paul wrote to Timothy, his son in the faith (I Corinthians 1:2), from jail (in Rome).
Paul realized that his life might soon be coming to an end:
[Read here 2 Timothy 4:6-8.]
EXPRESS HERE appreciation for the life of Dr. B, and how these verses reflect his character and his achievements.
Paul appealed to Timothy to “9do your best to come to me soon” (2 Timothy 4:9), and to bring with him the cloak he had left behind, and his books and papers.
[Read here 2 Timothy 4:9-13.)
Paul went on to express how isolated and lonely he felt being imprisoned away from friends.
[Read here 2 Timothy 4:14-18.]
Paul concluded his letter to Timothy with personal greetings:
[Read here 2 Timothy 4:19-21.]
and adds a final benediction:
[Read here 2 Timothy 4:22.]
And we note here Paul’s one last plea to Timothy:
“21Do your best to come before winter.” (2 Timothy 4:21).
Exposition
Why “before winter”?
In biblical times, navigation by sea was always risky, but in winter it was especially dangerous.
If Timothy didn’t get there before winter, he would have to wait until spring.
And spring might be to late – Paul might be dead before then.
What response did Timothy make to this request?
Did he receive the letter too late to act on it?
Or was he too busy to get away, and hoped someone else would take care of Paul?
Or did he drop what he was doing, and possibly risk his own life, to bring Paul the things he needed, and to be with him at the end of his life?
These questions have application in our own lives also: there are opportunities we must act upon before winter comes.
There is an old saying that “Opportunity knocks but once.”
That statement is NOT TRUE.
For most people, opportunity knocks many times.
But one day, opportunity will knock for the last time.
Every decision we make in life, for good or for bad, makes it easier to make a similar decision, also for good or for bad, the next time an opportunity arises, and eventually there comes a time when it becomes essentially impossible to make a different choice.
Samuel Johnson, the famous 18th century English writer and journalist, wrote, “The chains of habit are too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”1
The nation of Israel experienced a similar moment in its life.
God had dealt bountifully with the people.
But they had abused their privileges and squandered opportunities.
And God spoke to them through the prophet Jeremiah, saying “20The harvest is passed, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” (Jeremiah 8:20).
For Israel in that moment, opportunity had knocked for the last time.
Such moments of decision come to every person every day, and those moments of decision, once passed, are then gone forever.
What decisions, what voices, are crying out to us today?
FRIENDS have a way of saying, “COME BEFORE WINTER.”
All too often the busy pace of today’s living makes it difficult to establish strong intimate friendships.
We still have friends, and still love them.
But somehow we neglect to stay in touch.
Or perhaps a misunderstanding, or a few words exchanged under stress or in a bad mood, have caused a disruption in the friendship.
Life is much too short for that: we need to make things right before winter comes.
Read here Charles Hansen Towne’s poem “Around the Corner.”
Around the corner I have a friend, In this great city that has no end; Yet days go by, and weeks rush on, And before I know it yet a year has gone, And I never see my old friend’s face, For life is a swift and terrible race. He knows I like him just as well As in the days when I rang his bell and he rang mine. We were younger then, And now we are busy, tired men: Tired with playing a foolish game, Tired with trying to make a name. “Tomorrow,” I say, “I will call on Jim, Just to show that I am thinking of him.” But tomorrow comes—and tomorrow goes, And the distance between us grows and grows. Around the corner! — yet miles away... “Here’s a telegram, sir...” “Jim died today.” And that’s what we get, and deserve in the end: Around the corner, a vanished friend.
AGEING PARENTS AND FAMILY have a way of saying “COME BEFORE WINTER.”
The nearly universal experience of grieving for a deceased parent or relative or close friend is to regret having done more for the deceased during his or her lifetime.
It is never inappropriate to express our feelings of love and appreciation to those who are close to us — and someday, it may be too late.
I am especially grateful that Dr. B was able to deliver the benediction at my ordination in July 2006 – being able to spend a few minutes with him on that day was a great blessing to me.
And before the following winter had fully come, Dr. B had gone home to be with the Lord.
And so there is a special poignancy, and a special blessing, in being able to share his words with you today.
OUR CHILDREN have a way of saying, “COME BEFORE WINTER.”
Every parent wants to be a good father or mother to his or her children.
And perhaps that is nowhere more true than with ministers.
In fact, there is often no one in the church who is more neglected by the minister or pastor than the minister’s own wife and children.
But it seems that everyone’s schedule is full these days.
Linda has a little plaque that hangs in the window over the kitchen sink that says “Raising Children — the days are long, but the years are short.”
At home, Linda and I have a wall full of pictures of our parents and our children, especially the children as they have grown from babies into grown adults, and lots of pictures of Beth’s wedding. But I often look at those pictures and wonder, “Where has all that time gone?”
Mike Douglas captured this feeling well in a poem called “The Men in My Little Girl’s Life.”
[Read the poem (on the last page of these notes).]
And finally, OUR LORD is saying, “COME BEFORE WINTER.”
Have you heard the voice of Jesus calling you to “Follow Me?”
Have you, like Peter and James and John, left everything you have to follow Christ’s call in your life?
Or have you neglected to respond to His call, like perhaps we all sometimes neglect to call or visit a friend, or fail to pay enough attention to our ageing parents, or our children as they grow up to become adults in front of us?
God is calling each of us to spend time alone with God every day, reading God’s message to us, and talking with God about everything that is going on in our lives.
And what about that friend or neighbor who needs to know Christ? Do you know that God may want you to be a part of God’s calling for him or her?
God is calling each of us to “COME BEFORE WINTER.” Will you respond now, before it’s too late?
THE MEN IN MY LITTLE GIRL'S LIFE
Mike Douglas
The men in my little girl's life.
The men in my little girl's life.
It seems like only yesterday when I heard my little girl say,
"Daddy, there's a boy outside, his name is Rod.
He wants to play in our backyard
Can he daddy? Can he daddy? Oh please daddy."
Is it really so long ago she'd come to me and want to know,
"Dad, there's a boy outside, his name is Lee.
He wants to carry my books for me.
Can he daddy? Is it all right, dad? He's got freckles, dad."
The men in my little girl's life.
The men in my little girl's life.
Then came ponytails and jeans and my little girl was in her teens.
"Popsie, there's a boy outside, his name is Tom.
He wants to take me to the prom.
OK, popsie? He's cute, popsie. We'll be home early, popsie."
Before I knew it time had flown and how my little girl had grown.
Now it was "Father, there's a boy outside, his name is Eddie.
He wants to know if we can go steady.
Can we, father? Yes, father. Oh, can we borrow the car, pop?"
Yes it seems only yesterday I heard my lovely daughter say,
"Dad, there's a boy outside, his name is Jim.
He asked me if I'd marry him. I said yes, dad.
Got something in your eye, dad? I love him, dad."
The men in my little girl's life.
The men in my little girl's life.
A child, an adolescent, a young lady, a wife,
And oh yes, now there's another man in my little girl's life.
"Hi dad, there's a boy outside, his name is Tim.
I told him Grampa was gonna babysit him.
Thanks, dad. Bless you, dad. Good night, dad."
The men in my little girl's life.
The men in my little girl's life.
COME BEFORE WINTER
A Sermon By
Dr. James Robert Bousman
1934 — 2006
*Edited and Assembled
In His Memory
by
Rev. Harvey M. Clayton
17 February 2007
1 Robert J. Morgan, Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, & Quotes (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc., 2000), 400.