Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: Romans 2:4

heads or tales — February 4, 2026

heads or tales

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I think it’s safe now to finally tell my story.  If Sister Aimee Julie is still alive, she would be about 121 years old.  She was my eighth-grade teacher.   If you are reading this post and looking at the picture, I’m not the one in the black habit.  I am the spindly guy next to her. 

From the front of the classroom, sister launched us into a song and then exited the door in the back of the room.  Mario and I sat next to each other at the front of two rows. 

Mario was very Italian.  I’m pretty sure he sprinkled garlic salt on his Captain Crunch, but we were buds because I could make him laugh.

Once sister was gone, I began singing in falsetto – like a girl. Mario cracked up and did the same thing.  Pretty soon the entire class was giggling.  I felt pretty good about myself. 

However, Sister slipped in the back door and saw what was going on, but Mario and I didn’t know it because we had our backs to her.  She marched up the aisle, took Mario’s head in one hand and mine in the other and bashed them together.  We were on the floor – the desks were spilled, books were everywhere and we were seeing stars. 

We picked ourselves up and sat quietly for the rest of the school year.  She had certainly altered my behavior, but not my heart.  I was seething inside.  Still am! I was wrong for sure, but her harshness compelled me to try to justify my behavior.

Though she was a religious person, she was so unlike God. Romans 2:4 says, “Do (you) not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?”

When God corrects us, His goal is more than changed behavior, He is after a changed heart.  Harshness hardens a heart and alienates the guilty one, whereas kindness softens a hard-heart and draws us near. 

It was the apostle Paul who recorded Romans 2:4, and no one knew the kindness of God better than he.

He was a persecutor of the early church, known then as Saul.  He delivered Christians to prison and rejoiced when they were executed (Acts 26:10). Saul had legitimately earned a good head-bashing – but the Lord chose to confront his meanness with kindness.

God sovereignly arranged for Saul to be present when Stephen eloquently delivered the good news of Jesus for which Stephen was stoned.  A powerful Gospel seed was planted, and God, like a patient farmer, kindly allowed time for it to germinate in Saul. 

On the road to Damascus the Lord personally spoke to him saying.  “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” – Acts 9:24. The Lord didn’t gossip about Saul to Michael the Archangel.  He spoke directly to Saul with his carefully worded concern. 

Nor did He attack him in anger but framed His words in terms of the impact of Saul’s actions.  He let him know that he was personally wounded by Saul’s choices.

He used a question not an accusation to start the conversation.  How wise!   Also, the tone of his words suggested that He spoke with sincerity rather than severity.

The Lord didn’t publicly embarrass Saul.  Those with him heard His divine voice but didn’t understand what was said.  His uncomfortable words were for Saul’s ears alone (Acts 22:9).

And instead of an unrelenting berating of Saul for his sins, the Lord gave him a grand positive vision of what he could and would be should he repent. (Acts 26:17-18)

Had Sister Aimee Julie sat us down and had a conversation like that, I would have responded appropriately and repented thoroughly, and I could have avoided my recurring headaches (just kidding about the headaches).  

She did not get the memo, but we have.  When the people in our lives hurt us, disappoint us, disparage us, betray us or even sing in falsetto, confront them with kindness. 

A PRAYER: Lord it is so easy to be cruel, help us to be kind.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com  

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you

Scripture passages are from the NETBible®

the cat lady — December 14, 2022

the cat lady

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When the Christmas season rolls around, I often think of Edna who some called “The Cat Lady.” 

Edna needed a change, but she refused it – much like that difficult person in your life. 

I was teaching my youth group when Edna appeared.  She wore dirty clothes and matted hair.  There was a fungal growth the size of a softball on her forehead, and she smelled of cat urine.

She interrupted the meeting, pushed two empty milk jugs in my face and demanded that I fill them with water.  I tried to talk with her, but she wanted water not conversation.  I filled them and she left.

This became a Wednesday night ritual for Edna and me.  I learned that she had once been very wealthy but had spent it all.  She lived in a condemned apartment complex – the last of her holdings.

I learned that her brother was aware of her condition.  He loved her and was ready to financially support her – to get her a safe home and some professional help.  She refused. 

Social services regularly contacted me and quizzed me about her.  They were looking for grounds to commit her to institutional care but they were never able to make the case. 

I tried to help her as best I could, but she refused offers of transportation, hotel accommodations, food and so on.  Unfortunately, she was comfortable with her chaos.

One December night she came to the church flustered and frightened.  Someone had shattered her window and broken into her apartment.  She was afraid to go home, so I brought her to our house.

Her feline fragrance filled the car.  My three kids were speechless.  She slept in the living room next to our Christmas tree.  The kids feared she might steal the gifts. 

That morning she ordered me to board up the window that had been broken.  Only then would she feel safe.  I pulled up to her apartment complex.  It was surrounded by a chain link fence 8 feet high.  Inside the grounds were cats, hundreds, maybe a thousand cats roaming about.

There was also an acre of brown paper grocery bags overflowing with empty cat food cans.  I was thankful for the cats cause it meant no rats.  It was like a script from a sci-fi movie. 

I boarded up her window and made her very happy.  And that was the last time I saw the Cat Lady. 

I am by nature a compulsive fixer.  I really wanted to do more than board up that window.  I wanted to fix Edna, but she refused.

What do you do with someone like that – someone like your brother who is a lifelong alcoholic; or your dad who pummels you with his politics?  What do you do with your niece who greedily grabs onto every guy she meets or your daughter who has cut off all contact with you? 

You can’t fix em, but you can do a few things that may help.  First…

Love Em: Romans 2:4 tells us that it is God’s kindness that leads to repentance.  Kindness affects and draws others to us.  So fill the milk jugs with water for the Edna in your life.  Even if they don’t come around, it is still the right thing to do. 

Let up: It could be that they are reacting to us.  Our subtle efforts to try to change them could be galvanizing them and cementing them in their choices.  We think we are nudging them to the truth, but in reality, we may be pushing them away. 

Let God: Paul instructed Timothy, “I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people.” – 1 Timothy 2:1.  We need to pray for those people.  It was the Lord who personally confronted Saul on the Damascus Road and transformed him into the apostle Paul.  God still pursues stubborn people.

A PRAYER: God please give us hope for those who seem to be hopeless.

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of Our Lord Jesus be with you. 

Scripture references are from the NETBible.com