Dear Doves,

For a brief moment, the other day, I felt like I was talking to a Martian. Was he pulling my leg? No. Did he have a memory lapse? Maybe. He did, after all, suffer a stroke four years ago. But, right then, during a conversation about the current sad state of the world, I remarked that only Jesus can fix this mess when He returns and my father asked, "Jesus is coming back?".

I immediately thought that it was impossible for this 81-year-old man, who, before, could expound on the differences between communism and capitalism and lecture on free markets and the welfare state, not to know this basic teaching of his professed faith. He confirmed that he sincerely didn't know. The Bible? The Protestents 'walk around' quoting the Bible. The Old Testament? That was for the Jews. Revelation? What's that - oh, the prophecy about the end of the world. The Gospels? Heard all the stories growing up. Is Jesus the Son of God? Yes. Any questions? Plenty. Well, its a start. Amazing! Where was he all his life?

On reflection, where was I all my life? And that's why I'm writing this post. You too might catch yourself wondering why you rarely 'preach' to someone with whom you hesitate to take a teaching role. Is it because you assume you both know the story-line so it's only the nuances that need debate? Don't assume. I've had a wake-up call. I'm passing it on.

It occurred to me that my elderly parent, for whatever reason, has serious gaps in his knowledge base and perhaps the Lord has called on me to fill in what I can. God said: My people die for lack of knowledge. I've realized that I can't take for granted that those who taught me have nothing left to learn. Time is too short.

God Bless
Marie Komar