In the Morning of My Life

 In the morning of my life

 I will look to the Sunrise

At a moment in my life 

When the world is new.

And the Question

I shall ask only God can answer.

Will I be brave and strong and true,

Will I fill the world with love my whole life through?

Will I fill the world with love my whole life through?

In the evening of my life

I will look to the sunset

At a moment in my life 

When my life is through.

And the question I shall ask only I can answer 

Was I brave and strong and true.

 Did I fill the world with love my whole life through?

 Did I fill the world with love my whole life through?

                                                                                                  By Leslie Bricusse
                                                                             From the Musical Good by Mr Chips
I seen the Musical Good by Mr. Chips in the late sixties just after its release. For some reason the words of the song written above have lingered with me all of my life.
The questions posed in the song seem to me worth answering.
I am now approaching my fifty-ninth year on this earth. I have seen massive technical advances from the first satellite in space to man on the moon, to robotic ships sending pictures form the surface of Mars and around the various planet, to the establishment of the internet and the massive social media complex we now have.
I watched from my perch here in Canada as a teen the horrors of the Viet Nam war.
I watched as the Americans turned the dogs and fire hoses on black demonstrators who were peacefully demonstrating for their basic human rights.
I grew up in a household in which my parents were not Christians as I would define them but they but never the less were active in trying to make the individual person better.
All of his life my father was an active trade unionist and did manage to get better wages and benefits for those he worked with.
He taught me that it was the individual that mattered and should be lifted above all other things.
When I became a Christian in my late teens I could see through the teachings of Jesus that my father was correct.
Jesus always catered to the needs of the individual.
Although I was saved through a Baptist church I became involved in what some called the Jesus movement. I was frequently called a ‘Jesus freak’.
It’s a movement that crossed denominational lines and sought to return to the roots of Christianity.
In the case of those I associated with we were searching for our  Jewish roots.

Jesus was Jewish He lived by Jewish ethics
One principle of Judaism that I firmly believe needs to be a mainstay of the Christian faith is ‘Tzedakah’.
Tzedakah is a duty that all Jews are called to perform.
In English it is translated Charity. In Judaism however giving to the poor in not viewed as a generous or magnanimous act, it is considered an act of justice and righteousness. The performance of one’s duty giving the poor their due
Philip Bernstein said of Tzedakah,
"If there is one area that identifies and unites Jews, no matter what their personal beliefs and practices, it is Tzedakah.  Tzedakah is more that charity or philanthropy, noble as they are, more than man’s humanity to man, exalted as that is, more truly it is righteousness and justice.  Without these qualities civilization would perish.
It is the highest ideal in Jewish teaching—for it is the highest application of Jewish ethical values.  It is Judaism in action—and Judaism is inherently and deeply a religion of action, a way of life, a way of living.”
I believe the ideal of Tzedakah is an ideal of Jesus. One only has to look throughout the New Testament to see Jesus and His disciples putting this into effect.
The apostle Paul wrote.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.... And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
        1 Corinthians 13:1-8a,13 
True Love is the ideal of Christianity it is this love I believe I and all Christians must live by.
It is something I believe I need to strive for everyday of my life so that I can answer the questions posed in the song lyrics quoted above with one word, ‘yes’.
As this new year begins it is something I believe all within the church needs to look at.
Are you filling the world with love? Because love as corny as it may sound can and does change the world.

A post script.
I got the following list from a web sight written by Tracy R. Rich on tzedakah. It lists the ways to give from the least to the best.
I place it here for all Christians to think about.
1. Giving begrudgingly
2. Giving less that you should, but giving it cheerfully.
3. Giving after being asked
4. Giving before being asked
5. Giving when you do not know the recipient's identity, but the recipient knows your identity
6. Giving when you know the recipient's identity, but the recipient doesn't know your identity
7. Giving when neither party knows the other's identity
8. Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant