Robert Taylor

One of the cutting-edge topics of medicine is how people can live longer. The chances of reaching the century milestone have never been greater. So what’s the best way to live longer? Eat “Mediterranean?” Run three marathons a year? Sleep longer? It appears that standard answers don’t come close. The one that works best is the cheapest and simplest. Your mother knew it. When you contorted your face into a frown, she might say, “you don’t want your face to freeze like that, do you?” If you want to live longer, smile. In a 2010 study, researchers examined Major League baseball card photos from 1952. They found that the span of a player’s smile actually predicted his lifespan--unsmiling players lived 72.9 years on average. Those with wide grins outlasted their peers by 7 years. The sad truth (no pun intended) is many people don’t smile. Once grown, less than half the adult population smiles more than 20 times a day. It is children who experience joy who smile over 400 times per day. No wonder Solomon knew what it has taken us centuries to rediscover. “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22) For Christians, reasons multiply to smile. We love others, and God loves us. We have a destiny that eclipses this earth, and our lives have a grander purpose than grinding out the days. So, let me ask you. Are you smiling? Why not? -Robert G. Taylor-  

Reflections inundate life. Some come in the form of mirrors. We look into them, and we only see what shows on the outside. As author Katy Kelleher observes: We act as though what we see in the mirror is complete — a self fully formed and rendered truly. But the mirror is only capable of showing what others see. Mirrors reinforce the idea that a person’s value lies on the outside of their body, that it’s possible to learn our value by examining (and altering) our appearance. Mirrors can convey the false idea that our appearance is more important than personality and character. The part that got my attention was, “the mirror only shows us what others see.” How tragic and how limiting is that view of life. Isn’t your life more than the extra pounds or the time-carved wrinkles? Are your bags under the eyes, or even the broad, bright smile? It is hard to avoid what mirrors show us. It’s even hard for God’s prophets. Samuel went king-shopping. In his eyes' picture-window, it showed kings galore. Strong. Energetic. Handsome. Yet God kept shaking his head. Finally, he has to turn Samuel’s head away from the images in the mirror. Instead, break the mirror, he says, and see what I see. “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)  And with that, be thankful. God overlooks physical imperfections and sees into the heart, searching for compassion, faith, and love. No mirror shows you that. As much as we care for our appearance, we should care even more about our spirits. For, what does not show up in a mirror shows up in eternity. -Robert G. Taylor-  

The problem was fundamental. Researchers assigned four students to build a structure using 20 pieces of spaghetti, 1 yard of tape, 1 yard of string, and a marshmallow. The only rule was the marshmallow had to end up on top. Two groups received this assignment--kindergarteners and business students from elite universities. The study’s leader made some assumptions. The more skilled and intelligent persons would do better. Dozens of trials later, the results were surprising. The kindergarteners built structures of 26 inches tall. The business studies 10-in structures were dwarfs by comparison. What did they discover? Life is not about the intelligence of the individuals but working together. Kindergarteners came together to do the work. That made the difference, not the IQ or educational level. We sometimes rely on “experts” to solve our problems. In the church, we read the “church growth gurus.” We pour over blog posts and books crammed with the right answers…that do not work. Instead, we need to return to the image God imprinted on his church. “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” (1 Corinthians 12:11–12) The answer is not more PhDs giving ivory-tower solutions. It is for everyday Christians, fueled by faith, moving in unison. So, let’s be kindergarten kids who work together than smart people who don’t. -Robert G. Taylor-

If you watch great movies, you heard “the voice.” In 1982, Steven Spielberg made a film that captured the imagination of audiences. He told the story of a being from the universe who crashed on earth. With the help of some kids, this strange creature got home. The movie was E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. But what about the voice, the one of E.T. himself? Spielberg could not find the right voice until he went to a store. It was there he heard it. A woman talked to the shop assistant, and Spielberg knew it was what he had searched for. He walked up to the woman named Welsh, handed her his card, and invited her for an audition. Mrs. Welsh used to be a speech trainer. But decades of cigarette smoking left her with a cracked and croaky voice. So it was that an unknown American housewife, Pat Welsh became a footnote in an award-winning movie. God can’t use us, we say. We have flaws. Others, with more talent, are better. So we slink into the shadows. But God is looking for a voice for his message. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7) God wants his message, not the speaker, to stand out. So he looks for a voice that has flaws and faults. That way, God’s grace, and glory get seen through the cracks. Never disdain who you are. It is God who is looking for the right voice so use yours for God’s purposes. -Robert G. Taylor-

Humanity loves to feel in control of the world. We plumb ocean depths and soar to the heavens. But this over-confidence causes us grief. In the 4th century B.C., the ancient Phrygians were without a king. The oracle decreed that the next man who arrived in the town on an oxcart would be king. A peasant farmer named Gordias entered and was named king of the city. In his honor, Gordias' son tied an oxcart to a post with an intricate knot. As one historian described it, "it was several knots all so tightly entangled that it was impossible to see how any of them were tied.' Then Alexander the Great arrived. He had conquered the region. The same oracle that years before had proclaimed the king's identity said that the man who would untie the knot would become the ruler of all Asia. Alexander had his eye on the prize and knew nothing could stop him. But the twisted knot defied his abilities. Finally, in anger, he drew his sword and cut the knot. We all face our "Gordian knot," those things in life that confuse and confute, something impossible to untie. Yet, we can manage our own lives and make our own decisions. And we find ourselves in worse condition from our lack of knowledge. Isaiah observed, amid terrible suffering, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8–9) God knows the things that perplex us most. He can untie the knots the drive humans to distraction. When life overwhelms, remember we are tied with Gordian's knot. The only one who can untie it is someone with greater wisdom than ourselves. -Robert G. Taylor-

Would you get on a plane that took off bound for nowhere? A flight like that sold out in 10 minutes. Qantas Airlines offered the ticket for a cost of between almost $600 to $3000 per seat. The 7-hour flight would cruise at 30,000 feet, allowing a long-range sightseeing tour of the area before returning to Sydney. While it seems outlandish to board a plane without a specific destination, it is worse to have a life headed nowhere. On Athens’ Aeropagus, Paul faced the Stoics and Epicureans. The philosophers had developed strategies for life’s difficulties. But life had but one destination. The grave. So, it was shocking and perplexing when Paul finished his dissertation with: “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”” (Acts 17:31) Paul's statement caused an uproar. It told them life headed to a particular destination,…an eternity. Modern man is like the philosophers or the travelers on the airliner. They are sightseers to life, but it will be over. The gospel tells of the destination and the way to get there. Don’t buy a ticket to nowhere. Go where God wants you to go. -Robert G. Taylor-

We talk a lot about answered prayers. But sometimes we don’t consider that God answers prayers before they form. A missionary in the Congo had a desperate situation. In her hands was a premature newborn. But her mother died in childbirth. The baby was suffering. They tried to rig an incubator only to find a broken hot water bottle. The children at the orphanage prayed for the baby and her newly-orphaned sister. One of the girls responded, “Dear God, please send a hot water bottle today. Tomorrow will be too late. And dear Lord, send a doll for her sister so she won’t feel so lonely.” The next day a box arrived from an unidentified source. The children watched as the box opened its lid. In it were clothes, and under the clothes, a new hot water bottle. That sent the girl who had offered the prayer into a frantic search into the bottom of the box.  At the bottom was a doll. Jesus reminds us of something we forget. “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:8) Our prayers come to a God who already knows the need before words can be crafted. The faith to pray must include the faith to believe God can give even when our prayers are lacking. Believe in a loving God. He gives more than we can ask or even know to ask. A baby is alive because of God’s grace, while prayers started to form. Answered prayer comes in mysterious ways. -Robert G. Taylor-

Maria Stenvinkel asked a question many sidestep in life. What is your greatest fear? Answers came from around the globe. Many answered with predictable answers, which are top-of-mind right now. Fear of dying alone. Losing a job. Yet, 20% of the respondents went deeper. Their fear was “living without a purpose.” “My greatest fear is to go through life living small but not realizing it until it’s too late.” “My greatest fear would be missing out on my purpose here on earth. … I know I have a purpose that I am not yet serving.” “To go through life without leaving a positive mark.” “My greatest fear is regretting all that I didn’t do, as I lay in my hospital bed as an elderly man.” Such fear is born of a spiritual void in life. They know more is out there, but they don’t know how to find it. Jesus reminded people that their emptiness had a remedy. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) The tragedy is people who spend their lives and still feel they have nothing. It is a bad bargain. The gospel is not about going through the motions, but finding why God made you, your purpose in life, and where your life is headed. All are questions to which our age is dying to have the answer. Our goal is not to be happy, but to let God fill the hole and make life worth living. That’s the message we should live, and we should spread. -Robert G. Taylor-    

The Russian city of Berezniki has a problem. It’s 150,000 citizens are watching their city sink. The city sits on top of a potash mine held up by walls and pillars of salt. It worked for years. Then, in 2006, a spring burst forth and flowed through the underground mine. The water dissolved the salt, and parts of the city fell into the earth. Locals named the most massive sinkhole “Grandfather.” It is 1300 feet across and 650 deep. Some have left the town. Others wonder what will happen. Something happens when cities and lives build on dangerous things. People make lives on philosophies, wealth, importance, and fads. None ask, “how is this supporting my life in eternity?” Yet, these are shifting ground. People disappoint. Money disappears. Philosophies dissolve. Jesus reminds us of a problem that many have. He tells a story of two men whose end proved their building. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”(Matthew 7:24–27) Appearances can fool. What looks like a stable life can crumble when the foundation is shallow. But built on a foundation of eternity and truth, people can stand any force. The ground remains under them when times change. Ask yourself, “what’s holding up my life?” If it is not rock-solid faith, prepare for life’s sinkholes. -Robert G. Taylor-

In every race comes a moment of “will I finish.” It must have crossed the mind of a Sri Lankan runner in the 1964 Tokyo games. The country sent a team to the games, including Ranatunge Karunananda, who ran the 10,000-meter race. The race’s victor was Billy Mills of the United States. When he crossed the finish line, Karunananda had no chance at a metal. He was four laps behind. The crowd expected Karunananda to quit, but he kept running. After some time, he entered the arena, but the spectators were now cheering. They realized he was not growing the quit. Instead, they were encouraging him to finish his race. When the race was over, interviewers asked, “why didn’t you quit?” He said: “The Olympic spirit is not to win but to take part. So, I completed my rounds.” Christian living takes its toll at times. The racecourse of life provides obstacles and challenges. It’s tempting to think, “what’s the use?” Yet, Paul hit significant roadblocks in his life. He lay on a gravel road, stone pelting him. He faced a conspiracy to kill him and then got caught in the bureaucracy of the Roman judgment system. He sat in prison when so much of his mission went unfinished. Instead, he took Karunananda’s viewpoint. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:13-14) Run the race to finish it. Disappointments and stone walls arise. But run on. In the end, Karunananda’s impressed the Japanese that it had a place in the children’s textbooks. Let your perseverance in Christ stand as such an example. -Robert G. Taylor-