Notes from the Wayside

Introspection: Why I Do This

2012-01-27T13:55:00.004-05:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Why I Do This

Scripture:

No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.

Matthew 5:15 (NRSV)

2AM and I'm still awake, writing a song
If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me
Threatening the life it belongs to

And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
'Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud
And I know that you'll use them however you want to

From "Breathe (2AM)" by Anna Nalick

A few weeks ago, after midnight, after New Year's Eve became New Year's Day, I posted my first perspective of the year, marking the beginning of a fourth year of blogging. I have to admit that very few of my hobbies and endeavors have had the longevity of this blog. I feel as though my writing has improved over the past three years; however, I have had this nagging feeling lately that this blog has lost something. If you look at my writings from the first two years, you will see that many were very personal and even quite vulnerable. On the other hand, the tone of my blog last year seemed a bit more preachy.

That said, I thought it might be a good idea to force myself to do some introspection and to reflect on why I keep this blog.

I started this blog nearly three years ago. I was going through a rough time in my life, questioning whether or not I had chosen the right career path, and I began to reconsider the possibility going into the ministry. Wondering if I could actually deliver a sermon, I asked my pastor for some opportunities to preach at my church. At the same time, I felt as though there was little sense in doing all the work of writing a sermon, only to have it collect proverbial dust after it had been delivered only once. A friend of mine was writing devotionals on his blog at that time, so I decided to follow suit and to start my own so that I could share my sermons with anyone who would read them.

I realized that, if I wanted to keep updating my blog, I would need to post something besides sermons, since my opportunities to preach might not be very frequent. I started to write shorter, more personal posts, which I called introspections. In these posts, I recorded the thoughts and feelings I was experiencing and the lessons I felt that God was teaching me in the midst of a bad job situation, unemployment, and a transition to a new job. In these posts I also opened up about my struggles with perfectionism, self-image, forgiveness, and chronic singleness.

As time went by, I began writing posts that were less personal. I went exclusively to Christian schools until I attended college, so I have learned a lot about the Bible. Though I don't regularly study the Scriptures as I should, because of my education it is not uncommon for me to get a verse, passage, or story from the Bible stuck in my head. Sometimes I will have some sort of musing about it and want to share it with other people, especially since I feel as though my way of thinking about things is somewhat unique. There are other times that I will ponder the spiritual implications of a subject, a song, a picture, or something in the media. I write about such things in posts which I call perspectives, since they reflect my perspective on things.

When I realized that my opportunities to preach would be few and far between, I offered to teach Sunday School at my church. Since then, I have been in rotation with two other teachers. A number of times, there has been an interplay between my blog and my Sunday school lessons: sometimes elements from my lessons have become perspectives, while, on a few occasions, my perspectives have actually become lessons.

I see my blog as a means of sharing my beliefs and my faith journey with other people. Christ told His disciples to take His message "unto the uttermost part of the earth."¹ While I have never been the type of person to walk up to a complete stranger to initiate a conversation about Jesus, I try to present, in my blog posts, the message of Christ in a way that is not threatening or off-putting but rather personal, practical, and hopeful. I have tried to make it easy for readers to share my posts with anyone whom they think could benefit from reading them. When Christ said "the uttermost part of the earth," I imagine that He was including cyberspace as well.

I recently took a survey at my church to determine my spiritual gift.² The results of the survey indicate that I have been blessed with the gift of knowledge, which "drives a person to learn, analyze, and uncover new insights with regard to the Bible and faith." The gift of knowledge is of little worth unless I use it to be a blessing to others. Furthermore, I realize that I will die someday, and that all the insights I accumulate over the years will fade away if I have not passed them on to other people. As Jesus said, "No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house." If God has indeed entrusted me with a message, then I must share it.³

I also see my blog as a way of sharing my story. When I was still a part of the Wesley Fellowship at my alma mater, a number of us in the group, including myself, had the opportunity to share our stories with the rest of the group. I think that it was at this time that I learned the importance of sharing one's story with other people, and I realized that even the most boring everyman, who may very well be myself, has a story so share. I do not know how common or unique my experiences actually are, but I share them anyway in the hopes that the lessons I have learned in my life may help somebody somewhere.

I cannot claim that writing for me is purely an act of ministry or that all of my motives for writing are completely unselfish. There is indeed a more indulgent reason for me to keep my blog. If you were ever to meet me in person, you might find me to be a shy, quiet, awkward, introverted person. Sometimes, I am the most quiet person in the room. These aspects of my personality are rather frustrating to me, and they often make me feel lonely. I keep my blog to prove that, though I may have the personality of a wax figure in some settings, I am indeed a flesh-and-blood human being that has thoughts in his head and feelings in his heart. I feel as though this blog gives me a way to express myself and a connection to the world.

Writing for my blog has also been a way for me to work things out in my life over the past few years. Sometimes I need a place to look back on the lessons God has taught me in the past. Some of my writings are cathartic, written to help me work through some of my feelings of depression or discouragement. Though I sometimes try not to let it show, I am actually a rather moody person. I am also an admitted perfectionist, always trying to hide what I think is unacceptable about myself. Sometimes I think that if I get enough of my faults and quirks out in the open I will break myself of my perfectionism. There have been times that I have even become angry or ashamed with myself as I wrote. Sometimes I wonder if I reveal a little too much about myself. Last year, a friend of mine said that she read my blog and started worrying about me.

I think that the Internet is a wonderful thing. I speak, not as a "computer nerd," but as a creative soul. The Internet gives a voice and a creative outlet to anyone who wants them. Aspiring writers, filmmakers, artists, and musicians can express themselves and find an audience without first catching the eye of some sort of benefactor. The internet offers many different creative outlets free of charge, so, if you have creative impulses, I encourage you to try one out for yourself and to let your creativity flow.

As for me, I will continue on the path on which I have been traveling. This year I hope to publish more introspective writings like this one, but I can make no promises. After all, I do not know where life will lead me or how God will work in my life this year. Still, as long as I have a message to share, I will continue to write.

Notes:
1 - Acts 1:8 (KJV)
2 - See Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
3 - I sometimes struggle with determining whether something I write comes from me or from God. I do not know what is more arrogant: claiming that God's words are mine or claiming that my words are God's. I prefer to think that God inspired me with a message and that I fleshed the message out with my words.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: A Burning Bush and a Burning Church

2012-01-13T17:11:00.007-05:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

A Burning Bush and a Burning Church

Scripture:

You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can't be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16 (CEB)

We are burning ones
We are consumed by You
We set our lives apart
We are consumed by You

So let this love be like a fire
Let our life be like a flame
Fill our souls with Your desire
Let our passion bring You fame

From "Burning Ones" by Chris Quilala (Jesus Culture)

Last Sunday, before the church service, my pastor asked me what I thought our church would look like if it was on fire. She did not mean this literally: she did not want me to imagine our church building was burning down. Fire is both a symbol of passion and a symbol of the presence of God. When the people of Israel traveled through the wilderness, they were led by the presence of God in the form of a pillar of fire. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit appeared to the disciples as tongues of fire. The symbol of my church, the United Methodist Church, includes both a cross and a flame. My pastor wanted me to imagine what our church would look like if the members were on fire with passion, eagerly following the leading of the Holy Spirit.

At first I didn't know what to say, but, later on, the image of a burning bush came to mind.

Moses was born in Egypt, where his people, the Israelites, were slaves. Through unusual circumstances, Moses grew up in the household of the Pharaoh, but eventually he fled to another land where he began a new life as a shepherd. One day, when Moses is out leading his flock, he sees a bush that is burning but not burning up. Puzzled by this bizarre phenomenon, he stops to look at it. God then speaks to Moses through the bush, revealing that Moses' true calling is not to tend sheep but rather to speak out against Egypt, to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, and to be a shepherd to his people.¹

One thing worth noting is that the Bible specifically points out that Moses was intentional about stopping to look at the burning bush. The Bible even records Moses' thinking to himself, "Let me check out this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn't burning up."²

To address my pastor's question, I believe that the Church is called to be like the burning bush that Moses stopped to investigate. I believe that the Church is called to burn with the fire of the Holy Spirit. I believe that the Church is called to point people to God and to call sleepers to action. I believe that the Church is meant to call people to put away old, destructive patterns and to experience new life in Christ. I believe that a church truly burning with the fire of God is a church about which people say, "I need to stop and see this."

I think that it is important to point out that not everything that attracts people is necessarily a good thing. An act of arson can draw a crowd, but, in truth, such fire will eventually burn out and will leave behind nothing but ashes and ruin.

Remember that the bush in Moses' story was burning, but it was not burning down. Fire destroys, but this bush was on fire and not being destroyed. This is not physically possible. What Moses saw that day cannot be described as anything but a miracle. The fire he saw was not natural, but supernatural. The fire was not from human origin, but from divine origin. The fire was from God.

This nuance reveals a very important truth. A church must be ignited by God and not by humans. Often local churches find themselves concerned with numbers, concerned with filling pews. Sometimes churches will try to emulate what is new and hip and trendy in an effort to bring people in. The things they do are not necessarily bad, but they are temporal, based on trends and fads. These things change and fade away, but God is eternal. Perhaps a local church incorporates all of the latest and greatest worship music and even has a coffee shop. This church might draw people in, but, without God at the center of the church's ministry, the church will not have any true impact on people's lives. It may burn, but it will burn away.

Multiple times, St. Paul refers to the Church Universal as the Body of Christ. Just as the human body is made up of appendages, muscles, and organs working together, the Church is made up of individuals working together for a common purpose, to continue the work of Jesus Christ here on earth.³ Paul also says that the Church Universal is the temple of the Lord and the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.⁴ This means that a church should be where people can find the very presence of God. The local church can only be these things if it is burning bright with the Holy Spirit. Otherwise it is no different from any gathering place or a social club.

May you not only believe but also burn bright with the Spirit of God. May you let this light shine before others, pointing them to God, showing them God's love, and calling them to new life. May people stop and look at this fire so that they may experience the miracle God is working in your lives.

Notes:
1 - For the story of Moses and the burning bush, see Exodus 3:1-10.
2 - Exodus 3:3 (CEB)
3 - 1 Corinthians 12:12-14
4 - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

The painting featured in this perspective was painted by Eugène Pluchart and can be found in Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: Walking with Rhythm

2012-01-01T00:48:00.006-05:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Walking with Rhythm

Scripture:

Don't love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them. Everything that is in the world - the craving for whatever the body feels, the craving for whatever the eyes see and the arrogant pride in one's possessions - is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world and its cravings are passing away, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.

1 John 2:15-17 (CEB)

Don't be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God's will is - what is good and pleasing and mature.

Romans 12:2 (CEB)

You came from Heaven to Earth
To show the way

From "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" by Rick Founds

It is not uncommon for me to spend some time after work walking around at the local shopping mall. In the mall, there is a particular trendy clothing store. Though I have never been inside this store, I cannot help but notice the music coming from inside the store every time I pass by. The song differs from time to time, but I have noticed a consistent pulsating techno beat. If I am not careful, I will find myself walking in step with the beat of the music. Because of this, I sometimes intentionally walk out of step with the music.

I have since realized that whether I am unintentionally walking in step with the music or intentionally walking out of step with the music, I am letting the beat of the music affect how I walk.

There are many spiritual implications here, as the rhythms all around us often affect how we walk through life. For example, it has been said that "he who angers you, controls you." There is truth in this saying, at least when our anger provokes us to action. When we act out of anger, whether or not our actions are in direct opposition to the people or things that are making us angry, the anger still affects what we do. By acting out of anger, we essentially give the things that anger us direct influence over our lives.

The rhythms around us can affect us in different ways. Often we find ourselves walking in step with the rhythm or "going with the flow." Other times we seek to walk out of step with the rhythm or to go against the current, not unlike salmon that swim upstream.

In many Christian circles, the term worldly has become a dirty word. Christians cite the words of early church fathers as a call to swim against the current of the world and to abstain from "worldly" things. St. John writes, "Don't love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them." St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, writes, "Don't be conformed to the patterns of this world." Many see such verses as a call to be countercultural, to live contrary to the dominant culture.

The problem with this attitude is that it still gives the dominant culture influence over how we live our lives. Our focus is still on the world.

I believe that these exhortations by John and Paul are not necessarily a call to walk out of step with the rhythm of the world, but are instead a call to walk in step with a different rhythm altogether. John goes on to define the "things in the world" as temporal things, things that pass away. He exhorts us to not seek after temporal things but instead to seek God's will, which is eternal. Paul, after calling us to not conform to the world, calls us to be transformed so that we may discern God's will for our lives. John and Paul want us to take our focus off of the world and to redirect our focus to God.

These teachings of John and Paul do not call us to be countercultural and to thereby conform ourselves to what the world is not. Instead, these teachings call us to realign ourselves completely, to walk in step with God's rhythm. St. Peter exhorts us to walk in step with the example set for us by Jesus Christ.¹ Christ was honest and forgiving. He loved other people, proclaimed a message of hope, and helped the afflicted wherever He went.

As this new year begins, let us take some time examine the different rhythms that influence our lives. Let us resolve to not walk out of step with rhythms we disdain, and let us resolve to instead walk in step with the rhythms that affect us positively and bring us closer to God.

Notes:
1 - 1 Peter 2:21

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: How to Truly Keep Christ in Christmas

2011-12-16T15:42:00.008-05:00

Merry Christmas from the Wayside!

How to Truly Keep Christ in Christmas

Scripture:

I was hungry and you gave Me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave Me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed Me. I was naked and you gave Me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of Me. I was in prison and you visited Me.

I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you have done it for Me.

Matthew 25:35-36,40 (CEB)

You are the body of Christ and parts of each other.

1 Corinthians 12:27 (CEB)

Where are you Christmas?
Why can't I find you?
Why have you gone away?
Where is the laughter
You used to bring me?
Why can't I hear music play?

From "Where Are You Christmas?" by Faith Hill

Christmas means many things to many people. For many, it means celebrating the birth of their Savior in a manger under very adverse circumstances. For many, it means sitting down at the dinner table to share a feast with their loved ones. For many, it means gathering around the Christmas tree to give and to receive gifts. For many, it means decorating the house, setting up nativity scenes, and hanging up stockings. For many, particularly children, it means writing letters to Santa. For many, it means crowded malls and traffic jams. For many, it means that their radio stations of choice will play nothing but Christmas music for nearly six weeks.

In the last few years, Christmas has become a time of "righteous" anger for a lot of Christians. Many are outraged that people who work at retailers and restaurants are ceasing to say "Merry Christmas!" and are instead offering a more generic "Happy Holidays!" Many are angered by the fact that some people choose to write the holiday "Xmas."¹ In both ways, they feel as though Christ, whom they consider to be "the Reason for the Season," is being left out of Christmas.

Though I am a Christian, I do not think it is a big deal if someone wishes me "Happy Holidays" or if someone gives me an "Xmas" card. What bothers me more is the fact that so many professing Christians are getting so wrapped up in arguments over such matters. I feel that by focusing on such things at Christmas, we miss out on something a lot more important. I believe that there is much more to "keeping Christ in Christmas" than simply making sure that the word Christ is somewhere in everyone's greetings.

Christmas is first and foremost a celebration of the Incarnation, the belief that nearly two thousand years ago, the Son of God left the glory of Heaven behind to take on frail human flesh and bone here on Earth. In Jesus Christ, God reached out to a fallen humanity right where it was. Christ lived, died, and was resurrected so that we might be reconciled to God and to each other.

I believe that experiencing the Incarnate Christ here and now is infinitely more important than what anyone chooses to call Christmas. I believe that one of the best ways to experience the Incarnate Christ at Christmas or at any time of the year is through acts of kindness and love.

Jesus, in one of His last teachings before He was crucified, said that, when He returns, He will say to the kind and the loving, "I was hungry and you gave Me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave Me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed Me. I was naked and you gave Me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of Me. I was in prison and you visited Me." When they wonder when they ever did those things for Christ, He will say, "I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you have done it for Me."²

Jesus is saying that, whenever we do something to help someone in need, we are essentially doing it for Him. Mother Teresa devoted her life to serving the poor, the sick, and the dying in Calcutta, India. In an interview with Time, she said, "The dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted, the unloved - they are Jesus in disguise."³

St. Paul, in his first letter to the Christians in Corinth, said that the Church is the Body of Christ and that each follower of Jesus Christ is an individual part of the Body.⁴ This means that collectively, the followers of Christ are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the work of Christ here on earth. Each of us has been called by Christ to carry on the ministry He began so long ago.

Though Christ physically ascended to Heaven nearly two thousand years ago, the teachings of Christ and the teachings of Paul remind us that the Incarnate Christ is still among us in the people all around us. Someone who does an act of kindness for another person experiences the Incarnate Christ in that person, as Christ said that whatever someone does for "the least of these" is done for Him. A recipient of an act of kindness experiences the Incarnate Christ because the person who does the act of kindness is acting as the hands and feet of Christ.

If you truly want to keep Christ in Christmas, don't argue with people about how they choose to greet each other this season or about how they choose to write Christmas. Instead, remember the teachings of Christ and seek to embody them in your own life. Take your place in the Body of Christ, and do your part to carry on Christ's ministry. This Christmas I challenge you to reach out and show the Incarnate Christ to somebody who needs to see Him, and I also challenge you to see the Incarnate Christ in that very same person.

Notes:
1 - The letter X is similar in form to the Greek letter chi. Chi is the first letter in the Greek word for Christ. It has been used as a symbol for Christ for centuries.
2 - Matthew 25:31-46
3 - Edward Desmond. "Interview with Mother Teresa: A Pencil In the Hand Of God." Time, December 4, 1989.
4 - 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: Sacrificial Love

2011-12-02T21:54:00.008-05:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Sacrificial Love

Scripture:

So the LORD God put the human into a deep and heavy sleep, and took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh over it. With the rib taken from the human, the LORD God fashioned a woman and brought her to the human being. The human said,

"This one finally is bone from my bones
and flesh from my flesh.
She will be called a woman
because from a man she was taken."

This is the reason that a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife, and they become one flesh.

Genesis 2:21-24 (CEB)

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love
Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

From "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real

Not too long ago, a very popular person in the media, after a heavily publicized wedding, decided to file for divorce from her husband after less than three months of marriage. The reason she gave was "irreconcilable differences." I don't like judgmental people, and I try not to be judgmental myself, but, given the brevity of the marriage, I cannot help but think that she did not try very hard to reconcile her differences with her husband.

According to data from the Center for Disease Control, each year from 2007 to 2009, given the number of people in the United States who got married, almost half as many people got divorced.¹ I wonder if people, by and large, have lost sight of what marriage is all about. Monkish as I am, I must acknowledge that I am by no means qualified to write about marriage. Still, I feel as though I have some insights to share.

St. Paul, in the fifth chapter in the letter to the Ephesians, writes that "wives should submit to their husbands as if to the Lord."² To husbands, he says, "Love your wives just like Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her."³ Many times, this particular passage of Scripture is used by church leaders - usually male ones - to subjugate women by basically giving husbands lordship over their wives. I don't believe that this is at all what Paul intended. If you read earlier in the passage you will see that Paul is using the marital relationship as an example of how followers of Christ are called to "submit to each other out of respect for Christ."⁴

I am sure that women have heard enough about how wives are supposed to submit to their husbands, so I want to focus more so on what it means for husbands to love their wives "just like Christ loved the church." How exactly did Christ love the church? What does this kind of love look like?

Christ said that He "didn’t come to be served but rather to serve."⁵

Christ knelt down and washed His disciples' feet.⁶

Christ, as He awaited the time of His own execution, sweat blood while He prayed that He would not have to face the cross. At the same time He prayed to God, "Not My will but Your will must be done."⁷

Christ was arrested, mocked, beaten, stripped naked, and nailed on a cross to die.⁸

Jesus Christ was the Son of God, so glory, honor, and power were rightfully His. Instead He put all of that aside and Humbled himself, becoming a servant.⁹ He did things that were not becoming to a deity, such as washing dirty feet and touching diseased lepers. Christ did not want to face the cross, but was willing to go through a living hell for the sake of a fallen humanity. This is how Christ loved the church!

It is truly ironic that people try to use Paul's words to subjugate women, when Paul is actually calling husbands to a level of submissiveness greater than that to which he calls their wives. A wife is called to submit to her husband as the church submits to Christ, but, if the husband is really called to love his wife as Christ loves the church, he is called to submit to her to the extent of dying on a cross for her! The submission that Paul calls for in a marriage is mutual. Paul is calling for husbands and wives to surrender their wills to each other; he is not calling for husbands to impose their wills on their wives.¹⁰

Before I go further, I want to state that submission within marriage has nothing to do with becoming a doormat or allowing oneself to be abused in any way. Abuse of any kind is harmful not only to the abused but to the abuser as well.

In recent years, popular culture has stressed the importance of compromise in a marriage. In the sitcom Home Improvement, for example, when the lead characters Tim and Jill have a clash of wills, they end up giving up part of what they want in order to reach an agreement with each other. Compromise is a good thing, but I don't think it necessarily goes far enough. Compromise is still concerned with one getting what one wants, if not completely, then partially. What if a compromise is simply not possible? I think that what is key in a marriage is not compromise, but sacrifice.

O. Henry illustrates sacrificial love within marriage beautifully in his Christmas story "The Gift of the Magi." In this story, Della has very little money with which to buy her husband Jim a Christmas present, so she decides to sell her long, beautiful hair to a wig maker. She then goes on to buy him a platinum chain for his prized gold watch. Little does she know that Jim has sold his watch, a family heirloom, to buy her adornments for her long hair.

Both Della and Jim give up things that were important to them so that they can give Christmas gifts to each other, and, because of their sacrifices, neither of them can use the gifts they receive. At the end of the story, O. Henry notes, "Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest." The true gift they give that Christmas is in the selfless, sacrificial love that they show for each other.

I feel as though the spirit of self-sacrifice as shown in "The Gift of the Magi" has become rare in our individualistic society. Life is not always about getting we want or what we think we deserve, and I think that this is especially true in regards to marriage. Sometimes it is necessary, for love's sake, to put aside what one wants in order to do what is right for one's beloved. Both husbands and wives must put aside their own desires for the sake of the family as a whole. This is what it means for husbands and wives to submit to each other as followers of Jesus Christ.

I think that the lack of sacrificial love in our society stems partially from the fact that people often think of love as a "warm, fuzzy feeling." I believe that, though love can be felt, love is not itself a feeling. C.S. Lewis notes that a married couple is "one flesh" regardless of whether or not they are happily married.¹¹ Feelings come and go, but true love never dies. Furthermore, if you are basing a marriage or any relationship on how you feel, then the relationship is, by nature, selfish. The relationship is not about giving of yourself to the other person but about giving yourself an emotional high. True love is selfless: it is less concerned with receiving and more concerned with giving. Love is not a "warm, fuzzy feeling." In fact, true self-sacrificial love can even be painful at times.

Christ did not want to face the cross, but He loved His bride, the church, so much that he was willing to go through heartache, humiliation, pain, and even death for her. If we are to truly follow in Christ's footsteps then we must realize that life is not about getting what we want, and we must realize that love is sacrificial. In the words of St. Paul:
Love is patient, love is kind, it isn’t jealous, it doesn’t brag, it isn’t arrogant, it isn’t rude, it doesn’t seek its own advantage, it isn’t irritable, it doesn’t keep a record of complaints, it isn’t happy with injustice, but it is happy with the truth. Love puts up with all things, trusts in all things, hopes for all things, endures all things.¹²

Notes:
1 - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_25.pdf
2 - Ephesians 5:22 (CEB)
3 - Ephesians 5:25 (CEB)
4 - Ephesians 5:21 (CEB)
5 - Matthew 20:28 (CEB)
6 - John 13:3-4
7 - Luke 22:39-44 (CEB quoted)
8 - Matthew 26:47-27:56, Mark 14:43-15:41, Luke 22:47-23:49, John 18:1-19:30
9 - Philippians 2:6-8
10 - Rob Bell. Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality. 2007, Zondervan. Chapter 6: "Worth Dying For."
11 - C.S. Lewis. The Screwtape Letters. Letter 18, paragraph 6.
12 - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (CEB)

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Introspection: Homecoming

2011-11-16T22:42:00.005-05:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Homecoming

Scripture:

Don't remember the prior things;
don't ponder ancient history.
Look! I'm doing a new thing;
now it sprouts up;
don't you recognize it?

Isaiah 43:18-19a (CEB)

We've seen our share of ups and downs
Oh, how quickly life can turn around
In an instant
It feels so good to reunite
Within yourself and within your mind
Let's find peace there

From "My Sacrifice" by Creed

Last month, while enjoying a long walk at one of my favorite places, I began to notice, for the first time this autumn, the colors of the changing leaves. The glorious blend of green, red, and orange reminded me of something I might have seen on the old PBS show The Joy of Painting, starring Bob Ross. If an artist were to paint the tree I saw, perhaps she would begin by painting the trunk and the branches. Next, she might paint the leaves with splashes of green. Last, she might apply highlights of red and orange to represent the changing colors.

I began to wonder if God works in a similar way. Maybe the changing of the seasons marks the times when God gets His paints back out. Perhaps spring is the time when God paints the green leaves on the trees, and perhaps autumn is the time when God highlights the trees with the beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows we enjoy every year. At the very beginning of the Bible, it is said that God created the world in six days. Of course, when God stopped to rest on the seventh day, He didn't put His paints away for good. I believe that God continues to create and to re-create in every moment of every day.

Perhaps the very essence of change is something that God "painted" into His creation from the very beginning. From the changing leaves we enjoy every autumn to the supernovas that occur light-years away from our planet to the electrons that orbit the nucleus of an atom, all of God's creation is in a constant state of change. Of course, human beings and human lives are no exceptions. It has even been said that the only constant in life is change.

During autumn of last year, I was contemplating a very painful but very necessary change in my own life. At that time, I was still a regular part of my college faith community even though I had graduated over three years earlier. Because I was in a very different situation from the students, I was beginning to feel more and more as though I didn't belong. One year ago, when I realized that I could no longer be a part of my college community to the extent I wished to be, I knew that the time had come for a change. My mother had told me about a young-adult Bible study group at a large church downtown, so I finally decided that it was time to "put away childish things" and to visit the group.¹ The good people in the group immediately welcomed me with open arms and made me feel at home.

The months passed, and I began to have conflicting feelings about both my college community and my new Bible study group. Sometimes I thought about all the good experiences I had with my old community and began to long for those times. Other times I thought about how disconnected I had become with the people from that community and became resentful, wondering if I ever even belonged there at all. There were also times I compared my new community to my old community and became discouraged, particularly in regards to the shortage of other "single" people in the group.

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend homecoming at my alma mater, and that week I feel as though God taught me a number of lessons about life and the changes it brings.

A number of people in my Bible study group play for the church's softball team. That Thursday, I decided that it was high-time that I went to a softball game to cheer my friends on as they played, especially since it was the last game of the season. That night, I had the pleasure of cheering for my friends from the dugout, and I was invited to join them for dinner afterward. It was a blessing to draw closer to my new community.

Friday night, I went to the homecoming carnival, as I do every year. Instead of riding the rides and playing the games, I typically walk back and forth looking for people I know. What made this year unique is that, though I saw people from my old community, I actually spend more time with people from my new community. I also ran into someone I know from my current job and had a rather long conversation with her and her husband.²

Saturday morning, I joined some of my friends from my college community for breakfast. Afterward, I headed over to the university to visit the Biology, Mathematics, and Computer Science departments.³ Next I went to the tailgate held by my previous community where I reconnected with fellow alumni and with friends who are current students. Instead of watching the football game, I went with some others for a walk around the campus. That night a bunch of us went downtown for dinner and dessert.

In the events of those three days, I feel as though God was addressing the feelings I had been experiencing. In the time I spent with my friends from my new community, I feel as though God was telling me, "Don't long for your past, because your present is good." In the time I spent with my friends from my old community, I feel as though God was saying, "Don't resent your past either, because your past was also good." In the time I spent with my old friends and in the conversations I had with them, I feel as though God was reminding me that some things, like true friendships, I will always have with me.

Typically we tend to divide time into three parts: the past, the present, and the future. The truth is that only one of these truly exists. The past does not exist any more. The only parts of the past that remain are the parts that we carry with us in the present, things like memories. The future does not exist yet. Furthermore, the future is amorphous: we do not know what shape the future will actually take. All that truly exists for us is the present, more specifically, this instant. As a gambler said in the movie 21, "Yesterday's history; tomorrow's a mystery. It's all what you do in the moment, baby."

Sometimes we fear change and try to hold on to the past for dear life. Sometimes we even try to re-create the past in the present. Living in the past, though, costs us the here and now. If we refuse to let go of the past, we sacrifice the blessings God wants to give us in the present.

Though sometimes we need to let go of the things of the past in order to embrace the present, it is important that we do not forsake the past. Sometimes, as we journey on the road of life, we get a chance to stop at the wayside to look back on where we have been. Sometimes life even gives us opportunities to retrace our steps at times like homecoming. These times allow us to remember how God blessed us in the past and to remember the things that have made us who we are today. This is the purpose of holidays. The Jewish people, for example, celebrate Passover to remember that God delivered their ancestors from slavery, guided them through the wilderness, and led them into the Promised Land.

Are you holding on to the past too tightly? Remember the blessings of the past, and be thankful for them. Just don't try to live in the past. If you do, you do so at the expense of the blessings that God wants to give you in the here and now. Remember what God told the people of Israel: "I know the plans I have in mind for you... they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope."⁴

Notes:
1 - I am not calling my former community childish, rather my attachment to it.
2 - Incidentally, her husband was a professor I knew from my job when I was in college.
3 - In college, I worked in the Biology department for more than two years and got to know the Biology faculty and staff. Though I never took a biology class, I was considered an honorary biology student. I studied Computer Science and, to a lesser extent, mathematics.
4 - Jeremiah 29:11 (CEB)

The picture featured in this introspection was taken by me at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: Blessed

2011-11-04T13:49:00.006-04:00

Adapted from a Sunday School lesson delivered at Bethel United Methodist Church in West Greenville, South Carolina on October 30, 2011.

I recently listened to a series of sermons about the Beatitudes, from Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan from late 2009. This series changed the way I looked at the Beatitudes, so I decided to share the things I learned with my Sunday School class. Here and now I share these things with you, the reader. Contributors to the series are Rob Bell, Robert Sirico, Ed Dobson, and Kent Dobson. The Mars Hill Bible Church podcast can be found here.¹

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Blessed

Scripture:

When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. Then He began to speak, and taught them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Matthew 5:1-12 (NRSV)

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus

From "Cry Out to Jesus" by Third Day

At the beginning of Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount is a series of blessings commonly called the Beatitudes. Often we read the Beatitudes as a series of states to attain if we want to receive God's blessing. While it is true that some of these blessings are indeed calls to change, most of them describe situations in which we simply would not want to find ourselves. For example, while we should seek to be merciful and pure of heart, we would not want to mourn or to be persecuted. A number of the Beatitudes are simply announcements of God's blessing.

Often we fall into the trap of believing that the good people, the happy people, or the successful people are the ones whom God has blessed. The Beatitudes break us from this line of thinking. According to commentator Frederick Dale Bruner, "First and literally, the Beatitudes are Jesus' surprisingly counter-cultural God-bless-yous to people in God-awful situations."² The Beatitudes are Jesus' announcements that, as Rob Bell would say, "God is on your side!"

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

The poor in spirit are people who are spiritually impoverished, or, as some might say, morally bankrupt. The first blessing runs contrary to the common belief that God favors good people. Jesus said that "the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."³ It has been said that lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for. In Christ, God came to earth to fight for the lost causes, the people on whom the world had already given up. In the parables, God is portrayed as a woman who turns her house upside down to find a lost coin,⁴ a shepherd who leaves behind ninety-nine well-behaved sheep to find the one that got lost,⁵ a gardener who would not give up on a tree until he gave it every chance to bear fruit,⁶ and a father who celebrates the return of his wayward, immoral son.⁷ The first blessing reminds us that Christ meets us where we are, even in our sin and moral bankruptcy and invites us into the Kingdom of God.⁸

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

I would wager that every person has been touched by suffering. This world is full of injustice, violence, and sadness, so life gives us many opportunities for mourning. It was a common misconception in Jesus' time that suffering was a sign of God's disfavor. The Disciples once asked Jesus regarding a blind man, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"⁹ I think that sometimes we fall for the same misconception in our time. Jesus, in his ministry, healed the ailing, cleansed the lepers who had been rejected by society, and even raised the dead. The second blessing reminds us that there is room in the Christian life for tears and that Christ meets us in our suffering to offer us hope and comfort.¹⁰

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

This world operates by the law of "the survival of the fittest." When we look at the world around us, it often appears that the most aggressive and the most ruthless are the people who succeed. The meek whom Jesus declares blessed in the third Beatitude include the weak, the powerless, the quiet, and the timid. They are the ones who are ignored, silenced, forgotten, or swept under the rug. They are the ones who are trampled under the feet of those who make it to the top. They are the ones who are not even aggressive enough to get their own fair share in the world.

Someday, God will reign on earth as in Heaven. God does not operate by the law of "the survival of the fittest." The world to come will not operate as the world does now. Things like greed and aggression will be done away with, and people will no longer step on each other to get ahead. The third blessing reminds us that, though the meek may be forgotten and pushed aside now, they will inherit their place in the Kingdom of God.¹¹

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Many think of the people who "hunger and thirst for righteousness" as people who seek to be righteous with all their being. This is a good quality to have, but do not forget the true nature of hunger and thirst. Hunger is what we feel when our stomachs are empty. Thirst is what we feel when we are dehydrated. Hunger and thirst are the painful feelings we experience when we are lacking something essential, namely food or water. If someone truly hungers and thirsts for righteousness, then he or she must be, by definition, without righteousness. This blessing is for the people who experience a lack of righteousness in their own lives. This blessing is also for the people who experience a painful lack of righteousness in a world full of injustice and violence.

St. Paul wrote a great deal about the grace God extends to us in our need for righteousness. In his letter to the Romans, he wrote, "God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us."¹² To the Corinthians, he wrote, "For our sake [God] made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."¹³ The fourth blessing reminds us that Christ offers transforming grace to those who experience such a lack of righteousness that they ache for it.¹⁴

At this point in the Beatitudes, there is a transition. The first four blessings describe how Christ interacts with us in our own brokenness, but the last four deal with how we interact with others in a broken world.¹⁵

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

The fifth Beatitude is only one instance in Scripture that links the mercy we receive from God to the mercy we extend to others. Later in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us to pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." He goes on to say, "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."¹⁶

William Barclay defines mercy, "to get inside someone's skin until we can see things with his eyes, think things with his mind, and feel things with his feelings" and "to move in and act on behalf of those who are hurting." A good example of someone who was merciful is the Good Samaritan, who helped the battered Jewish man, a man who would have normally been his enemy, when the man's two priestly, Jewish brethren would not.¹⁷ The fifth blessing calls us to be merciful to other people just as God has shown us mercy.¹⁸

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

In our world, we often fall into the tendency to put on a spiritual act for other people; the sixth Beatitude, however, reminds us that true purity or impurity is found, not in what we show on the outside, but in our hearts. On one occasion, Jesus is criticized because His disciples do not wash their hands before eating. To this, Jesus replies, "For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile."¹⁹ Another time, He tells the Pharisees, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean."²⁰ The first step to for us to become pure of heart is to admit to ourselves and to others our own impurity of heart. The sixth blessing calls us to be pure, not just on the outside, but on the inside.²¹

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

In the seventh blessing, Jesus indicates that pursuing peace is a characteristic of being a child of God. Jesus makes this link in a similar way later in this sermon, saying, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven."²² Often we do not share this ideal, for our tendency as humans is to split ourselves into opposing opposing groups. We end up with an "us-verses-them" mentality, and often Christians can be the worst about this.

God does not operate in this way. As I noted earlier, Paul points out that, in Christ, God reached out to us while we were still sinners. Paul goes to far to say that we were enemies of God, but God still reached out to us in love.²³ As followers of Christ, this is how we should seek to relate to each other. When we follow Christ, we put aside the differences that divide us from each other and seek reconciliation with each other. The seventh blessing reminds us to seek peaceful relationships with each other just as our Father in Heaven sought to bring us back into a peaceful relationship with Him.²⁴

Rob Bell points out that there is a beautiful progression to the Beatitudes. The first four Beatitudes show us that Christ extends grace to us, meeting us in our spiritual poverty, in our mourning, in our meekness, and in our need for His righteousness. When Christ touches our lives like this, we are transformed by God's grace. We begin to relate to others differently as highlighted by the next three Beatitudes. We become merciful to others as Christ was merciful to us; we become more pure of heart and more genuine in our love for others; and we no longer take sides against each other but instead try to bridge the gaps between us. This brings us to the last of the Beatitudes.²⁵

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

When we are transformed by God's grace, we seek to do God's will on earth as it is done in Heaven. The last blessings point out that we will be met with resistance. There are many who will refuse to give up the ways of greed and violence and who see the ways of Christ as a threat. It is from such people that we can expect to face resistance for following Christ. I believe that this is part of what it means to take up our crosses and follow Christ. Christ Himself was executed on a cross by those who saw His message as a threat to their ways and to their place in society. According to commentator Eduard Schweizer, this blessing "extols not the strong, who, to the admiration of all, heroically defend their faith, but those who are defamed and go down to ignominious [or shameful] defeat."²⁶

Notice that Christ says regarding both the poor in spirit and the persecuted that "theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." The final blessings bring us full circle. The persecution we face for doing what is right brings us to a lowly, powerless state not unlike the one in which Christ first met us. The final blessings remind us that Christ continues to meet us where we are and that we are not alone in our struggles.²⁷

Wherever you are right now, whether you are spiritually poor, mourning, meek, or desperate for righteousness, may you know that God's blessing is upon you. May you accept God's transforming grace to become more merciful, more pure of heart, and more of an agent of peace. May you know that God is with you, even if you feel as though everyone else is against you.

Notes:
1 - This particular sermon series is no longer available on the podcast, but it can still be purchased here.
2 - Frederick Dale Bruner, Matthew, a Commentary: The Christbook, Matthew 1-12. 2004, Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 165
3 - Luke 19:10 (NRSV)
4 - Luke 15:8-10
5 - Matthew 18:12-14 or Luke 15:3-7
6 - Luke 13:6-9
7 - Luke 15:11-32
8 - Basis for this section: Rob Bell, "Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit." Mars Hill Bible Church podcast, 09/13/09.
9 - John 9:2 (NRSV)
10 - Basis for this section: Robert Sirico, "Whistling Past the Graveyard." Mars Hill Bible Church podcast, 09/20/09.
11 - Basis for this section: Rob Bell, "Blessed Are the Meek." Mars Hill Bible Church podcast, 09/27/09.
12 - Romans 5:8 (NRSV)
13 - 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NRSV)
14 - Basis for this section: Rob Bell, "Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst." Mars Hill Bible Church podcast, 10/04/09.
15 - The idea of a progression in the Beatitudes is a recurring theme in Rob Bell's sermons in the series.
16 - Matthew 6:12,14-15 (NRSV)
17 - Luke 10:25-37
18 - Basis for this section: Ed Dobson, "Blessed Are the Merciful." Mars Hill Bible Church podcast, 10/11/09.
19 - Matthew 15:19-20 (NRSV)
20 - Matthew 23:25-26 (NRSV)
21 - Basis for this section: Kent Dobson, "Blessed Are the Pure in Heart." Mars Hill Bible Church podcast, 10/18/09.
22 - Matthew 5:43-45a (NRSV)
23 - Romans 5:6-10
24 - Basis for this section: Rob Bell, "Blessed Are the Peacemakers." Mars Hill Bible Church podcast, 10/25/09.
25 - Mars Hill Bible Church podcast, 10/25/09.
26 - Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Matthew. 1975, Westminster John Knox Press. p. 96
27 - Basis for this section: Rob Bell, "Blessed Are the Persecuted." Mars Hill Bible Church podcast, 11/25/09.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Sermon: Bigger than Taxes

2011-10-21T17:11:00.008-04:00

Delivered at Bethel United Methodist Church in West Greenville, South Carolina on October 16, 2011.
I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Bigger than Taxes

Scripture:

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Him in what He said. So they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for You do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what You think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting Me to the test, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the tax." And they brought Him a denarius. Then He said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" They answered, "The emperor's." Then He said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left Him and went away.

Matthew 22:15-22 (NRSV)

Who I thought I was
And who I thought I had to be
I had to give them both up
'Cause neither were willing to ever believe

I am not who I was
I am being remade
I am new
I am chosen and holy
And I'm dearly loved
I am new

From "I Am New" by Jason Gray

During the fall of 2004, I was a sophomore at Furman University. Incidentally, at that time I found myself enrolled in a political science class in the midst of the 2004 presidential election. The election gave my classmates and myself the opportunity to see in action the principles we had discussed in class. One major factor in that particular election was what people might call "wedge issues."

In a typical political election, there are two main candidates, both of whom are on opposite ends of a political continuum. By this, I mean that typically one candidate is a Democrat while the other is a Republican. One is liberal, and one is conservative. The problem for many people is that they do not find themselves on either end of the political spectrum but rather somewhere in the middle. Perhaps these moderates agree with conservatives on some issues and with liberals on others issues. To gain the votes of these "swing voters," politicians will employ wedge issues. A wedge issue is a subject about which almost everyone has strong feelings one way or another. Some popular examples are abortion and homosexual marriage. These issues effectively "wedge" moderate voters to one side or the other.

Jesus, throughout His ministry, never failed to rub the Pharisees the wrong way: He ate with the wrong people; He didn't follow all of the rules they followed; and His subversive message about the Kingdom of God was drawing people away from the stringent legalism they preached. They started asking Jesus loaded questions in the hopes of tripping Him up. Jesus, ever keen to their malice, would either flat-out refuse to answer their question or give them answer that left them scratching their heads. Desperate, the Pharisees sought out help from unlikely allies, namely the supporters of King Herod, and attempted to trap Jesus in a wedge issue of the day.

One day, some Pharisees along with some of Herod's supporters confront Jesus. First they try to butter Him up, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for You do not regard people with partiality." After that they go in for the kill, asking Him, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" The Pharisees' plan is perfect. If Jesus says that it is wrong to pay taxes to Rome, He will find Himself in trouble with the Roman Empire which was occupying Israel and with Herod whom the empire had allowed to act as king of Israel. On the other hand, if Jesus says that it is right to pay taxes to the Caesar, He will find himself in hot water with the people of Israel, particularly those who oppose the Roman Empire.¹ One way or the other, He is in serious trouble.

Of course, Jesus is wise to the tactics of the Pharisees. He sees past their flattery and their seemingly innocent inquiry to the malice they harbor in their hearts. He calls them out for their animosity, saying, "Why are you putting Me to the test, you hypocrites?" He then demands, "Show Me the coin used for the tax." When someone hands Him a coin, He asks, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" Someone answers that it is the emperor's, and Jesus says "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." The dumbstruck Pharisees and supporters of King Herod walk away astonished.

Jesus' answer was a far cry from the simple "yes" or "no" that the Pharisees wanted to hear. Furthermore, He did not specify what rightfully belonged to the Caesar. And why did Jesus bring giving to God into the answer? All the Pharisees and Herodians wanted to know was whether or not Jesus thought it was right to pay taxes to Rome.

If you would indulge me for a few minutes, I would like to put this story into a more familiar context.

* * *

It's a sunny day downtown, and Jesus and His disciples are walking down Main Street. As they near the park, they notice a large political rally. The conservative Tea Party movement had organized the event because of the new tax bill that is before Congress. Just across the street, they notice a second gathering. Apparently, people of a more liberal political persuasion caught wind of the Tea Party's rally have come together for their own rally. Tensions are high as opposing chants and shouts fill the air over an array of signs and "Don't Tread on Me" flags.

A short distance away from the fray, people who have broken away from both gatherings are having a very heated discussion about whether or not the tax bill is actually fair. One from this group, a man who identifies himself as a conservative, notices Jesus and the Disciples and says, "Look, there's Jesus! Let's ask Him whether or not the bill is fair. He'll tell us that it's wrong for the government to overburden the hard-working American people!"

Another from the group, a woman who identifies herself as a liberal, says, "That shows how little you know! If the government has to cut spending, you know that the programs that help those in need will be the first to be cut. Have you never listened to Jesus when He speaks? He wants us to help the poor!"

With that, the group walks toward Jesus and the Disciples. One debater speaks up and says, "Jesus we have a question for you. Is the new tax bill fair or not?"

Jesus looks each person from the group in the eyes and says, "Would someone please hand me a dollar bill?" One man from the group pulls out his wallet and hands Jesus a bill. Jesus takes the dollar, holds it out in front of Him, and says, "Whose portrait is in the middle of this bill?"

"Washington!" one answered.

Jesus then says, "Give to Washington whatever belongs to Washington, and give to God whatever belongs to God." Jesus returns the dollar bill to its owner, and He and His disciples go on their way. The small group of debaters is left speechless.

* * *

You will notice that I did not change Jesus' actions or response, because I believe that Jesus would have said and done the same thing in either situation.

As human beings, we have a tendency to segregate ourselves into diametrically opposed groups. In Jesus' time and culture, the divisions were between Israel and Rome, and between Jews and Samaritans. In our time, the divisions are numerous.

Democrats and Republicans

Conservatives and liberals

Upper class and lower class

Black people and white people

Catholics and Protestants

Methodists and Baptists

Christians and atheists

Jews and Muslims

Tigers and Gamecocks²

Us and Them

We take sides, and we use such divisions to label ourselves and to label each other. Worse yet, we put up barriers between ourselves and those who do not share our particular point of view.

Sadly, a Christian who decides takes one side over the other will often try to force Christ into his or her particular side. One day, my friend Sam was browsing the religion section of a bookstore where he saw a book titled Secular Sabotage: How Liberals Are Destroying Religion and Culture in America. His problem with the book's title was that it implied that liberals were opposed to God, so God was on the side of the conservatives.³ Not too long afterward, I went to a bookstore and happened upon the very same book that my friend had mentioned. Not too far away from it, I spotted another book titled Jesus Was a Liberal: Reclaiming Christianity for All. At the time of the 2004 election, at least one clergy member told people that if they voted a certain way then they needed to go to confession and repent.

When the Pharisees confronted Jesus with the question about paying taxes, they were basically trying to do the same thing: they were trying to force Jesus to take one side or the other. The conflict was already there, and the battle lines had been drawn long before that day. They were essentially saying, "Whose side are You on, Jesus? Are You one of us, or are You one of them? You can't be both. So, what will it be?"

I think that Jesus made a powerful statement in the way He chose His disciples.⁴ One of the Disciples was a man named Simon. This was not Simon Peter, but another Simon whom Scripture identifies as a Zealot. In Jesus' time, the Zealots were Jewish people who sought to drive the Roman Empire out of Israel by means of a violent uprising.⁵ Simon was what one might call a terrorist - or a patriot, depending on one's particular viewpoint. Another Disciple was a man named Matthew who, by contrast, worked for the Roman Empire as a tax collector. Tax collectors were despised in Jesus' time, just as the IRS is despised in our time.

Matthew and Simon were two people who normally would not have associated with each other were they not both called to be Jesus' disciples. To Matthew, people like Simon were a violent threat to people like him who associated with Rome. To Simon, people like Matthew were sell-outs, traitors to God's chosen people. If we put things in modern political terms, it could be said that one disciple favored small government and low taxes and that the other disciple favored big government and high taxes. Essentially, both the political right and the political left were represented among Jesus disciples. Dinner conversations between these two must have been just delightful. I am sure that, more than once, Jesus had to say, "Alright, boys, settle down."

Simon opposed the Roman Empire with a raised fist, but Matthew depended on the Roman Empire for his livelihood. Simon and Matthew had taken sides that were so opposed to each other that, in our typical black-and-white thinking, both could not have been right at the same time. Never once, though, is it recorded that Jesus ever said to these men that one side was right and that the other was wrong. Jesus simply said to both men, "Follow Me."

God is bigger than our prejudices, bigger than our opinions, bigger than our divisions, bigger than our politics, and bigger than our doctrinal differences. St. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, wrote, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."⁶ When we accept Christ's invitation to follow Him, the things that we once let separate us fade away as we are united by one Lord and Savior. The labels we once placed on ourselves and on each other are forgotten as we take on our new names - Children of God and Disciples of Christ. Both Simon and Matthew left everything behind including their former labels when they accepted the call to follow Jesus.

Soon after Christ ascended to heaven, God called the apostle Peter to minister to a man named Cornelius. Cornelius was a Gentile, so normally a Jewish man like Peter would not have associated with him. Furthermore, Cornelius was a centurion, a leader in the Roman military, so Peter would have most likely regarded him as the enemy. When the two met, Peter realized that the Holy Spirit had brought them together and that God was calling both Jews and Gentiles to be the Church, to be the body of Christ.⁷

When the Pharisees asked Jesus whether or not it was right to pay taxes to the Roman Empire, Jesus' answer left something to be desired. Though Jesus said to give to the government what belongs to the government, He did not say what rightfully belongs to the government. I wonder if Jesus was telling the Pharisees that they were asking the wrong question in the first place. Obsession with political matters or with money could be a sign of misplaced priorities or anxiety about the future. Such things indicate a lack of trust in God.

Christ teaches us not to worry about the future but to trust in God. In the Sermon on the Mount, He said, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."⁸ Christ taught us not to worry about or daily needs but to pray for our "daily bread," as we do at church every Sunday. St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, reminds us that no human leaders or rules would have any authority if it were not allowed by God.⁹ Ultimately, God is in control; therefore, we should not be anxious about how much money we have or about who is in office.

Jesus said to give "to the emperor the things that are the emperor's," but He follows this up by saying to give "to God the things that are God's." Not only does He leave us wrestling with the question of what rightfully belongs to the government, He also gives us a second question to ponder: what belongs to God? C.S. Lewis, in his work The Screwtape Letters, points out that God wants us to be less concerned about what happens to us and more concerned about what we do.¹⁰ If the question about taxes was the wrong question to ask, then maybe this second question is what Jesus really wants us to consider.

I am not going to attempt to tell you specifically what God is calling us to give, because the answer is different for each of us, and the answer may be different from day to day. Many Christians give to God by giving a tenth of their income - a tithe - to the church. It is important for us to be generous with our money, but each of us has something to offer that goes beyond money. Christ taught us that when we do something for someone in need, we are giving to God.¹¹ As followers of Christ, we each have spiritual gifts that have been entrusted to us by the Holy Spirit. We each have talents and abilities that we can share. We can give of our time. We can offer someone a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, or a word of encouragement. We can offer our prayers.

Give to the government what belongs to the government. Pay your taxes. Do your civic duties. Try to vote for leaders who will make the best decisions, taking all matters into consideration, not just the wedge issues. Most importantly, pray for the elected leaders. Don't condemn the people who disagree with you, for Christ invites both sides to come to the table with Him. Remember that God is bigger than our differences, bigger than our opinions, and bigger than the issues faced by the world. Give to God what belongs to God. Never cease to ask yourself what God is calling you to give each day.

There is no longer black or white. There is no longer upper class or lower class. There is no longer liberal or conservative. There is no longer us and them, for we have all been called to one purpose in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Notes:
1 - Wesley Study Bible. 2009, Abingdon Press. p. 1193.
2 - This is the big sports rivalry in my area. I'm sure there's one in your neck of the woods.
3 - Sam Hunley. Static Truth: "What if God Was a Democrat?"
4 - Matthew 10:1-4
5 - Wikipedia: "Zealotry"
6 - Galatians 3:28 (NRSV)
7 - Acts 10
8 - Matthew 6:25,32-33 (NRSV)
9 - Romans 13:1
10 - C.S. Lewis. The Screwtape Letters. Letter 6, paragraph 1.
11 - Matthew 25

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Sermon: A Crisis of Calling

2011-10-16T21:49:00.005-04:00

Delivered on October 16, 2011 to complete a lay speaking course.
I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

A Crisis of Calling

Scripture:

Come to Him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Once you were not a people,
but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2:4-5,9-10 (NRSV)

What's going on inside of me?
I despise my own behavior
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I'm still a man in need of a Savior

I wanna be in the light as You are in the light
I wanna shine like the stars in the heavens
Oh, Lord be my light, and be my salvation
'Cause all I want is to be in the light

From "In the Light" by dc Talk

While I was a junior at Furman University, I took a series of courses on the German language. One day the professor asked each of us what we wanted to do with our lives. When my turn came, I asked her for the German word for computer programmer. As she told me that the word was Computerprogrammierer, something inside me asked, "Is that really what you want to do with you life?" I was not passionate about computer programming, but I understood it, and I knew that it was a career in which I could make money.

In the spring of 2007, I graduated with a bachelors degree in computer science. For the summer, I had a part time job at the university, but employment afterward was still uncertain. On top of that, I had a mountain of student loans to repay. It turns out that I didn't have to do much searching at all. During the summer, I received a call from a woman trying to fill a computer engineering position at a small company in town. After an interview and a few follow-up meetings, I was offered the job. I had an uneasy feeling about the company, but I needed a job, and I figured that to receive a job opportunity out of the blue must have been, in some way, a gift from God. I reluctantly accepted the job offer.

What I have not told you about this job is that it was in the gambling industry. My job was to write code for video poker machines and for slot machines. I had never really thought about the morality of gambling before that time, but from day one I was self-conscious about working in that particular industry. The United Methodist Church takes a stance against gambling, and I wondered what my friends or the people at church would think. Still, the money was good, and the job gave me the opportunity to quickly repay my student loans.

Almost one year after I had accepted the job, I realized that the company wanted more from me than I was willing to give, especially to that particular industry. I wanted out, but other potential employers might not hire me if I simply quit, and I wasn't sure if another programming job would have been any better. I didn't know what to do, so I began to pray for God to call me out of this job and to lead me to something that was better for me.

At that time, I had what I have called a "crisis of calling," a time when I began to rethink what God was calling me to do with my life. When I was in college I did not seek out my passion or my calling. Instead, I opted for something that would pay the bills. I began to feel as though I had simply floated through life, like a jellyfish floats through the ocean until it is stranded on the beach to die.

I was feeling a lot of what could only be described as despair. Every weekday morning, I lay in bed praying for God to slow down time, to prolong the time before I had to get out of bed and go to work. One morning before work, I thought about my misery and found myself wishing that I could help ease the misery of others. Another time, I remembered a moment years before when I thought to myself that I didn't want to become a minster because of the higher standard to which ministers are held. I didn't want to have to be a role model.

It was then that I began to wonder if my true calling was in was in ordained ministry. After all, if I had made an excuse not to do it, then the thought must have already been in my head. I knew that this was not a choice to take lightly, so I began testing the waters at my home church. I preached a few times, and I began teaching Sunday school.

Months past, and my prayers were finally answered. The company for which I worked consolidated offices and moved operations out of state. Because I was unwilling to relocate, I was laid off. I was still not sure if ordained ministry was truly my calling, so I began searching for another job in computer programming. This time, though, I was a little more intentional about my job search. I began sending applications and resumes to colleges and universities in the area. If I was unable to find a job in higher learning, I would seek employment within the hospital system. I wanted a job where I could use my skills for the benefit for my fellow human beings. Three months after I was let go from my job, I began my next job as a computer programmer at Greenville Technical College.

Since then, I have realized that my job in the gambling industry was indeed a gift from God - in the same way that the big fish that swallowed Jonah was gift from God. It was my wake-up call. I learned that, if nothing else, my calling was to not simply float through life, but to take hold of my life and to do so something with it that will glorify God. I also learned that, regardless of whether or not I am an ordained minister, I am still called to a higher standard as a follower of Jesus Christ. I believe that these things are true, not just for me, but for all of us.

It has been almost two years since I began my new job, and I am happy to say that I am not praying for God to lead me out of it. In the past few months, though, I have found myself stressed, irritable, depressed, angry, and all-around miserable, not with my job, but with life in general. Working through lay speaking school, I realized that I have forgotten my calling to glorify God with my life. I have let small frustrations, minor setbacks, and less than preferable circumstances overshadow my sense of purpose.

I have realized that my crisis of calling is not yet over. God called me out of job enabling people to waste their hard-earned money and into a job serving students and teachers. Now, God continues to call me out of a stagnant, desolate, miserable life and into a life of love and service.

Often, our tendency is to associate our calling with our careers. While our careers are certainly part of our calling, our calling lies not only in our nine-to-five jobs, but in the day-to-day aspects of our lives. St. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthian church, wrote, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God."¹ Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind," and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."² These are not nine-to-five commandments but 24-7 commandments.

St. Peter wrote that we have been called out of darkness and called into God's marvelous light to be a chosen people, a holy nation, and a royal priesthood. We have been called out of destructive patterns and out of a meaningless existence. We are called to live our lives a witness to Christ. We are called to a life full of love and service both to God and to other people.

At this time, I am blessed with the opportunity to participate in a study of C.S. Lewis's work The Screwtape Letters. A recurring theme in this book is the intentionality essential to live a life of faith, as the demon Screwtape constantly advises his nephew Wormwood to divert his human subject's attention away from God. So often the temporal aspects of life distract us from our calling in Christ. Just as I had to learn the importance of being intentional in regards to my career, we all need to learn to be intentional in our day-to-day walk with Christ.

Theologian John Wesley offered us three simple rules for living. The first is to do no harm. The second is to do good. The third, to use Rueben Job's words, is to stay in love with God.³ Each of these three rules requires intentionality. First, we must be on guard against things within us that would cause us to be unkind, hurtful, or insensitive to other people. Second, we must actively seek ways to serve our neighbors. Third, we must be intentional about being in constant prayer, studying the Bible daily, and engaging in worship frequently, for these are the ways in which we stay in love with God and in which we keep our lives centered on God.

In the Gospels there are numerous instances of Jesus saying to people, "Follow Me." Christ offers us the same invitation to follow Him day by day. Christ said that He "came that [we] may have life and have it abundantly."⁴ This is a life free from shame and free from the destructive tendencies that weigh down our hearts. This is a life full of purpose and meaning. Christ offers to lead us to this abundant life if we will only follow Him.

Amen.

Notes:
1 - 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NRSV)
2 - Matthew 22:37,39 (NRSV)
3 - For more about John Wesley's rules for living, see Rueben Job's book Three Simple Rules. (2007, Abingdon Press)
4 - John 10:10 (NRSV)

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: Two Paths

2011-09-18T13:35:00.006-04:00

Developed from a Sunday School lesson delivered at Bethel United Methodist Church in West Greenville, South Carolina on September 11, 2011.¹

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Two Paths

Scripture:

Your word is a lamp before my feet
and a light for my journey.

Psalm 119:105 (CEB)

Forgive me now 'cause I have been unfaithful
Don't ask me why 'cause I don't know
So many times I've tried but was unable
This heart belongs to You alone

Now I'm in our secret place
Alone in Your embrace
Where all my wrongs have been erased
You have forgiven

From "Forgiven" by Skillet

At the very beginning of the Bible is story about the first two human beings, Adam and Eve. In this story God gives them the beautiful Garden of Eden to tend and to enjoy. God also gives them a choice. In the middle of the garden are two trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If Adam and Eve eat the fruit from the Tree of Life, they will live forever. On the other hand, if they eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge as God has forbidden them, they will gain an understanding of evil.

Adam and Eve choose to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, and they end up paying dearly for it. God drives them out of the Garden of Eden, and, because they are denied access to the Tree of Life, they will eventually die. Worse yet, their actions expose not only humanity, but the whole world to evil.²

Toward the middle of the Bible is a book of wisdom called Proverbs. Common themes in this book are the difference between the ways of the wise and the ways of the foolish and the difference between righteous people and wicked people. The Book of Proverbs consistently shows us that the ways of the good, the wise, and the just lead to prosperity, while the ways of the wicked, the foolish, and the corrupt lead to ruin. Consider the following examples:

Those who do right
are saved by their righteousness,
but the untrustworthy
are caught by their own desires.³

A slanderer walks around
revealing secrets,
but a trustworthy person
keeps a confidence.⁴

The lazy have strong desires
but receive nothing;
the appetite of the diligent
is satisfied.⁵

Poverty and shame come to those
who don’t care about instruction;
honor belongs to those
who heed correction.⁶

Later in the Bible, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "Go in through the narrow gate. The gate that leads to destruction is broad and the road wide, so many people enter through it. But the gate that leads to life is narrow and the road difficult, so few people find it."⁷

Throughout Scripture, we are taught that there is more than one way to live - that there is more than one path through this life. We are also taught that it is up to us to choose which path we will take through life. It has been said, "We make our choices, and then our choices make us." The path a person chooses to follow will, in turn, shape the person he or she will become. Some paths are wise and other paths are foolish. Some paths are life-affirming, and other paths are destructive. Some paths lead us to God, and other paths lead us away from God.

It is my belief that God wants only what is best for all of us and nothing else. Because of this, we can always trust in God to lead us on the path we should follow if we will only take His hand and follow Him. We can trust God to show us the path that will shape us into the people He truly created us to be.

Unfortunately, we all have weaknesses that burden us, and we all have demons that haunt us. As the old adage goes, "Nobody's perfect." Jesus wasn't kidding when He said that the path to life is difficult. It seems as though no matter how hard we try to follow the path on which God is leading us, there are things that trip us up and lead us astray. Time and time again - perhaps on a daily basis - we stumble on the path that leads to life and veer into the path that leads to destruction. Years ago, I heard a prayer that illustrates this point well:
So far today, I've done all right. I haven't gossiped. I haven't lost my temper. I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or overindulgent. I'm very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, God, I'm going to get out of bed; and from then on, I'm probably going to need a lot more help.⁸

It is important to remember that even if we lose our way and end up on a destructive path, we do not have to stay on this path forever. We can always turn around and return to the path of life.

Jesus, on the evening before He was executed, ate supper with His disciples. That evening, He broke some bread and gave it to His disciples, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you." He also gave His disciples a cup of wine, saying, "This cup is the new covenant by my blood, which is poured out for you." Jesus asked His disciples to break bread together and to share a cup of wine together to remember Him.⁹

I think that one reason that Jesus wants us to share the bread and the wine is because this act helps to bring us back to the path of life to which God has called us. Every so often, churches will observe this very act, commonly known as Holy Communion. Typically churches observe it once every month or once every quarter of a year; however, theologian John Wesley recommended that people share in Holy Communion at least once every week. I think that Wesley realized that we constantly stumble and deviate from the path of life.

In my church, at the beginning of the Holy Communion service, we confess that we have not been obedient to God and that we have not loved God and other people as we should have. Throughout the Communion service we are reminded that by God's grace we are forgiven for our failures. When we share the bread and the wine, we remember that Christ's body was broken and that Christ's blood was shed that we might be reconciled to God. By confessing our shortcomings and by experiencing God's grace anew, we return to the path that leads to life.

Of course we don't have to wait for a Holy Communion service to realign ourselves with God: this is something we should do every day. One way to align ourselves with God and with the path to life is studying the Scriptures. To the Israelite leader Joshua, God said, "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."¹⁰ On the same subject, one ancient poet wrote:

How can young people
keep their paths pure?
By guarding them
according to what You’ve said.
I have sought You with all my heart.
Don’t let me stray
from any of Your commandments!
I keep Your word close, in my heart,
so that I won’t sin against You.¹¹

Another way to align ourselves with God is through prayer. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus promises that if we ask God for guidance, we will receive it. He says, "Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Whoever seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door is opened."¹² St. Paul found prayer so important that he encouraged one church to "pray continually."¹³

Two paths lie before you: one path that leads to life and another path that leads to ruin. May you choose the path that leads to life, and may God bless you on it. If you have strayed from this path and ended up on the path to ruin, may you realize that it is not too late to turn around and return to the path where God is leading you. May you realize that God is always there to lead you as you journey through this life.

Notes:
1 - The original basis for the Sunday School lesson was:
Simon Peter Iredale. "From Generation to Generation", Adult Bible Studies Fall 2010. Cokesbury. pp. 13-19
This perspective is developed from elements I added to the original lesson.
2 - For the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, see Genesis 2-3.
3 - Proverbs 11:6 (CEB)
4 - Proverbs 11:13 (CEB)
5 - Proverbs 13:4 (CEB)
6 - Proverbs 13:18 (CEB)
7 - Matthew 7:13-14 (CEB)
8 - http://www.oneliners-and-proverbs.com/engels/D_d.html
9 - For one account of the Last Supper, see Luke 22:14-20. (CEB quoted)
10 - Joshua 1:8 (TNIV)
11 - Psalm 119:9-11 (CEB)
12 - Matthew 7:7-8 (CEB)
13 - 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (CEB)

The photograph featured in this perspective was taken by me at Table Rock State Park in Pickens, South Carolina.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: Like Cute, Fluffy Animals

2011-09-03T19:43:00.016-04:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Like Cute, Fluffy Animals

Scripture:

Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is - what is good and pleasing and mature.

Romans 12:2 (CEB)

I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colours will bleed into one
Bleed into one
But yes, I'm still running

You broke the bonds
And You loosed the chains
Carried the cross of my shame
Oh my shame, You know I believe it

From "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2

A few days ago, while I was at work, my mother sent me an email titled "Animal Therapy." It was the type of email that people often like to forward to each other - the kind full of assorted cute animal pictures. One of these pictures, the one shown below, particularly caught my eye.

There are two things worth noting about this picture. First of all, it is unbearably adorable! Second, the two kinds of animals that are depicted in such a friendly state in this picture are normally in a predator-prey relationship. Whether you saw a cat catch a bird in your own backyard or watched Sylvester's futile attempts to eat Tweetie on Looney Tunes, you probably learned at a young age that cats hunt and kill birds. According to conventional wisdom, the chick should be fleeing from the kitten and not sitting atop the kitten's head.

When I saw this picture, a particular saying came to mind: "The lion shall lie down with the lamb." This saying originated from a prophecy that came through the ancient Jewish prophet Isaiah. As he described what life will be like under the reign of the Messiah, the one who would bring about an age of peace, he said:

The wolf will live with the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down
with the young goat;
the calf and the young lion
will feed together,
and a little child will lead them.
The cow and the bear will graze.
Their young will lie down together,
and a lion will eat straw like an ox.
A nursing child
will play over the snake’s hole;
toddlers will reach
right over the serpent’s den.¹

In Isaiah's prophecy, a number of animal pairings that would normally constitute predator-prey relationships are depicted living and grazing and resting together. These images are not dissimilar from the picture of the kitten and the chick.

So how is it that the two animals in the picture above are able to coexist so harmoniously? I am not an expert in animal behavior, but perhaps the the kitten and the chick are simply too young to know the way that things are "supposed to be."

On at least two occasions, Jesus spoke about children when describing the Kingdom of God. One day, Jesus called a child to come to Him and then said, "I assure you that if you don’t turn your lives around and become like this little child, you will definitely not enter the Kingdom of Heaven."² On another occasion, people brought their children to Jesus so that He would bless them. When the Disciples tried to stop them, Jesus said, "Allow the children to come to Me. Don’t forbid them, because the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to people like these children."³

This summer, I was fortunate enough to see Terrence Malick's film The Tree of Life. At one point in the film, the mother says, "There are two ways through life: the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you'll follow."⁴ The "way of nature," as I understand it, is the idea of the "survival of the fittest." According to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, an animal with more favorable qualities will survive to propagate it's species while an animal with less favorable qualities will become extinct. Applied to a social setting, the more ruthless a person is, the more likely he or she will succeed. On the other hand, the kind, the honest, the humble, and the meek are left trampled in the person's path.

The "way of grace," as I see it, is the opposite of the way of nature. People who live by the way of grace don't live in conflict or in competition with each other. Instead they love each other, help each other, and seek to build each other up. This is the way that Jesus taught us to live.

The young do not understand the way of nature: they live by the way of grace. This can be seen in the two young animals in the picture who do not yet realize that they are natural enemies. This truth can also be seen in small children who have no apprehensions about playing with children of different races or of different social classes. At some point, though, all creatures are robbed of their innocence by the world around them. All creatures are hurt by others and exposed to the evils of this fallen world. All of creation becomes broken by the way of nature.

This fall from grace is illustrated well in the second Jurassic Park film. Early in the film, a man is approached by a tiny dinosaur, classified as a compsognathus or "compy" for short. Wondering why the dinosaur is not afraid of him, he asks a paleontologist who tells him that the dinosaur has never seen humans and thus has no reason to be afraid. The man then tasers the tiny dinosaur and says, "Now it does." Later in the film, the same man is overtaken and devoured by a herd of compies.

One night, a pious man named Nicodemus meets with Jesus. Jesus tells him, "I assure you, unless someone is born anew, it’s not possible to see God’s kingdom." In other versions of the Bible, the words "born anew" are translated "born again" or "born from above." Nicodemus is perplexed by Jesus' words, wondering how it is possible to re-enter the womb and be born a second time. Jesus goes on to say the famous words: "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him."⁵

Jesus Christ came into the world to usher in the Kingdom of God. To put things into Terrence Malick's terms, Christ also came into the world to heal the wounds inflicted by the way of nature and to show us the way of grace. Being "born again" means being transformed by God's grace so that we might become like little children again, fit for the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God has yet to be fully realized here on earth, but it can be seen in those who follow Christ by choosing grace over conflict, love over selfish ambition. I believe that someday Christ will return to reign on earth, and there will be peace and harmony. What was once a predator will rest with what was once its prey. Former business tycoons will dine with people who were formerly homeless. People will no longer look at each other and see the things that divide them but will instead see brothers and sisters.

Notes:
1 - Isaiah 11:6-8 (CEB)
2 - Matthew 18:2-5 (CEB)
3 - Matthew 19:13-15 (CEB)
4 - Click here to see the trailer for The Tree of Life.
5 - John 3:1-4,16-17 (CEB)

The pictures featured in this perspective were forwarded to me in an email, so I do not know whom to give credit.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Introspection: A Legion of Voices

2011-08-26T14:06:00.014-04:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

A Legion of Voices

Scripture:

A man in the synagogue had the spirit of an unclean demon. He screamed, "Hey! What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are. You are the holy one from God."

"Silence!" Jesus said, speaking harshly to the demon. "Come out of him!" The demon threw the man down before them, then came out of him without harming him.

They were all shaken and said to each other, "What kind of word is this, that He can command unclean spirits with authority and power, and they leave?" Reports about Him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.

Luke 4:33-37 (CEB)

Your love makes me forget what I have been
Your love makes me see who I really am

From "I Need You to Love Me" by BarlowGirl

I have this one extremely vague, hazy memory from my early childhood, from back when I was in either my "terrible twos" or my "terrible threes." I remember being in the church nursery with my grandmother one Sunday morning, and for some reason I was very upset. I was upset enough to run around the nursery, screaming, crying, and banging my head. I am now in my "terrible twenties," and I regret to inform you that very little has changed about me.

I don't remember what was stressing me out that day I threw the tantrum in the church nursery, but one recent source of stress for me has been minor, recurring digestion issues. I'll spare you the details, but I have found myself becoming extremely upset and even angry when these problems occur. Wondering if I should see a gastroenterologist, I explained my problems with a friend. As I described the symptoms, I realized that the issues are actually more annoying than debilitating, and I began to wonder if they might be brought on by stress. One clue is that I usually don't experience these problems on Saturday, the day I am under the least amount of stress.

I am beginning to see the utter stranglehold stress has on my life. To call me a tense person would be an understatement. I think that I would be better described as an unhealthy, tangled mass of nerves. Sadly, a vast majority of my stress - I estimate around 97.85 percent - is actually self-inflicted. My digestion problems appear to be brought on or exacerbated by stress, and then my digestion problems only serve to add to my stress.

Another source of stress for me is the negativity that runs rampant inside my mind. Craig Groeschel, in his book Dare to Drop the Pose, explains the "What-if Game." The first rule is, "You're only allowed to think of worst-case scenarios." The second is, "You're never allowed to win this game. You can only lose." The third is, "The more you play, the greater your losses."¹

I tend to play the "What-if Game" with the people in my life. In my head, I predetermine people's reactions to what I say or do, and the reactions are always extremely hypercritical. I put words in people's mouths based on my own perfectionism and broken self-image. Sometimes, when I send emails to people, I second-guess my wording, assuming the recipient will misinterpret something I wrote and leap to the wrong conclusion. In the worst of cases, I plan out entire arguments. Of course, these misunderstandings and arguments hardly ever happen.

There have been a few instances when I have made some very minor faux pas at church on Sunday morning - so insignificant that I cannot even provide an example. My mother's place in the choir loft is in a position where she can easily see me in my normal seat, so I assume that after church she is going to get on my case about my mistake. Throughout the service, I rehearse an argument with her in my head. I mention my mistake to her, and it turns out that she didn't notice - or even care for that matter. By that time, though, I am already angry with my poor mother, so I pick an argument with her anyway!

In the past, I have said that I have "voices in my head." By this, I am referring to my own toxic inner dialogue along with these imagined criticisms from other people. I imagine my parents' voices constantly pointing all my faults. I hear the voices of women I admire telling me that I am not good enough for them. I hear the voices of people I support at work complain about me to my superiors, and I hear the voices of my superiors scold me. Worst of all, I hear my own voice telling me that I am completely worthless and unredeemable. It is as if I have a legion of voices in my head, and none of them have anything nice to say about me.

Jesus once met a man who had a legion of problems.

One day, Jesus and His disciples find themselves in a foreign land where they are met by a demon-possessed man. This man makes it a habit to spend all of his time in graveyards, screaming and cutting himself. People try to chain him up, but he always breaks through the chains. When he sees Jesus, he throws himself to the ground begging for mercy. When Jesus asks the demonic presence within him it's name, it replies, "Legion is my name, for we are many." The demons begin to bargain with Jesus, asking to be cast into a herd of pigs. Jesus grants their request, and immediately the herd jumps into the Sea of Galilee and drowns. Two thousand pigs are lost, but the once-possessed man is given back his peace of mind.²

At work last week, I was on the phone with a woman, trying to help her to deal with a computer problem. This problem had persisted for a couple of days, and I had run out of ideas for how to fix it. A co-worker of mine just happened to be in her area, so she asked him for help. A few minutes later, he called me to explain the situation. With all my frustration and irritability, I barked, "I know! I've been trying to help all day!" My co-worker then told me to not be mean because I was on speakerphone. The woman heard what I said.

I wasn't trying to be mean or rude, and I had no fault with the woman I was trying to help. I was only frustrated. The voices started speaking again as I began another losing session of the "What-if Game." The woman would tell her supervisor about my rudeness. She and her supervisor would then complain to my supervisors, and then my supervisors would then see the need to school me on proper customer service. I sent the woman an email saying that I wasn't trying to be mean. She replied, "I know you were not being mean. I don’t think that you have a mean bone in your body."

In all honesty, the woman's assessment of my character wasn't completely accurate, because I know I have been mean to people in the past. To her, though, I had proven myself to be a generally nice person. With an extremely broken self-image, I sometimes need an outside voice to clear things up for me. I feel as though this was a "God moment," because, when I read the woman's email, the voices stopped. I closed the door to my office and started crying.

The demon of negativity sinks its claws into many people, followers of Christ included. In my case, negativity toward myself is manifested in a legion of voices, but Christ speaks back to the voices. The legion of voices tells me that I am worthless and unredeemable. Christ says, "Silence!" The legion of voices tries to bring me down. Christ says, "Come out of him!"

A friend of mine once told me about self-compassion. Self-compassion is the idea that a person should extend to himself the same compassion he would extend to others. I believe that this is indeed a Biblical principle. Jesus said that the second greatest commandment is, "You must love your neighbor as you love yourself."³ You cannot properly fulfill this commandment if you do not first love yourself. I would not consider it acceptable for other people put themselves down, so why is it acceptable for me to put myself down? Last month, I even wrote a perspective about accepting others just as they are.⁴ Why should I not extend this same mercy to myself?

It is important for us to be honest about our faults, but it is also important for us to recognize what is good about us as well. Jesus had some sharp criticisms for the people of His day, especially for the extremely religious, but He also commended people for their good qualities. To one wise religious scholar, He said, "You aren’t far from God’s kingdom."⁵ To several who sought healing, He commended their faith saying, "Your faith has healed you."⁶ It is not prideful to be honest about your own good qualities.

I know that my war against the "voices in my head" isn't over, but this victory against the voices has reminded me that I am more than my faults. I post this here as a reminder to myself and as an encouragement to anyone else haunted by the demons of negativity and low self-esteem. If you struggle with such things, remember that God sees more in you than your faults. God sees your good qualities and your great potential as well. You need to be honest with yourself, and you need to see these things in yourself as well.

Notes:
1 - Craig Groeschel. Dare to Drop the Pose: Ten Things Christians Think but Are Afraid to Say. 2010, Multnomah Books. pp. 107-108
2 - For the story of the Gerasene Demoniac in its entirety, see Mark 5:1-20.
3 - Matthew 22:39 (CEB)
4 - See my perspective "Being Real."
5 - Luke 12:34 (CEB)
6 - See Mark 5:34, Mark 10:52, and Luke 17:19 for examples (CEB quoted)

The pictures featured in this introspection are of myself.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Sermon: Redefining Possible

2011-08-07T14:32:00.009-04:00

Delivered at Bethel United Methodist Church on August 7, 2011.
I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Redefining Possible

Scripture:

Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. And after He had dismissed the crowds, He went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning He came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."

Peter answered Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, He cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reached out His hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."

Matthew 14:22-33 (NRSV)

It doesn't matter what you've heard
Impossible is not a word
It's just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody's scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water, but it'll be alright

Life is so much more than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way if you keep believing

I've seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do

From "What Faith Can Do" by Kutless

A few years ago, I went with some of my friends from Furman University to a short retreat at Asbury Hills, a nearby Methodist camp. During this brief getaway, we tackled a low ropes course. One of the challenges on this course consisted of a series of tightrope wires attached to trees. Our objective was to help each other to walk the ropes from the starting point to the end. Whoever fell off the ropes or put a foot on the ground had to start back at the beginning. While attempting to walk a rope from one tree to another, I made an important observation: if you try to walk a tightrope and begin doubting yourself, you will fall.

Nearly two thousand years ago, a man named Simon Peter learned a very similar lesson.

Jesus has just fed thousands of people with only five loaves of bread and two fish while somehow managing to leave twelve baskets of leftovers. Earlier that day, Jesus heard about the death of His cousin John and had wanted some time alone when He was met by a large crowd, an occurrence that happened to Him quite often.¹ After ministering to the crowd, He still wants some time to Himself, so He tells His disciples to go on ahead of Him back across the Sea of Galilee while He dismisses the crowd. He dismisses the crowd and withdraws to a private place in the mountains to pray.

Early the next morning, the disciples are still in the boat, struggling against some very turbulent waters. Suddenly, in the distance, they see what appears to be a man walking on the water. The disciples know that it is impossible for human beings to walk on water, so they come to the only logical conclusion: it's a ghost. What they don't realize is that this "ghost" is actually their Rabbi. Jesus, seeing His disciples scared to death, calls out, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."

By now, nothing should surprise the disciples. They had just seen Jesus make a sumptuous banquet for thousands of people out of a sack lunch. Before this, they had seen Jesus heal many who were sick and ailing, including a leper, a paralytic, a bedridden woman with a fever, another paralytic, a woman with a chronic gynecological problem, two blind men, a mute person, and a man with a shriveled hand. They had also seen Him calm a storm with His words, exorcise demons from many including two possessed gentiles, and bring a dead girl back to life. Afterward, they will go on to see Jesus heal countless others including an epileptic and two more blind men. They will also see Him exorcise a demon from the daughter of a gentile, feed thousands more with only a small amount of food, and curse a fig tree so that it instantly withers. And these are only the miracles described in the Gospel of St. Matthew.

There are many stories of Jesus performing miracles throughout the Gospels. What makes this particular miracle, walking on water, somewhat unique is that Jesus invites one of His disciples to participate in the miraculous with Him. Once Jesus identifies Himself as the one walking on water, Peter calls out to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to you on the water." To this request, Jesus replies, "Come."

Perhaps, to us, Peter's request seems somewhat strange, so it might be helpful to put it into its cultural context. Rob Bell, in his book Velvet Elvis, discusses in great detail the relationship between a rabbi and his disciples. In Jesus' time, a rabbi would choose disciples from among the best and brightest students of the Scriptures. A rabbi was only interested in training those whom he believed could do what he did. Those called to be disciples would then devote their lives to shadowing their rabbi, learning from him, seeking to be just like him. There was even one instruction to disciples, "Cover yourself with the dust of [your rabbi's] feet." This instruction invokes an image of a disciple following his rabbi so closely that he is covered by the dirt his rabbi kicks up as he walks.² This is exactly the kind of relationship Jesus has with His disciples.

Peter is a very zealous disciple. Throughout the Gospels, when Jesus makes a statement or poses a question, Peter is often the first to speak up. We know that his enthusiasm sometimes gets the best of him, but we have to admire his dedication as a disciple of his Rabbi. Peter wants to be covered in the dust of his Rabbi's feet. He wants to do what his Rabbi does. He wants to follow in his Rabbi's footsteps, even if those footsteps are on liquid water.³ So, at Jesus' invitation, Peter steps out of the boat and begins walking on the water toward Jesus.

The previous day, just before Jesus fed the crowd, the disciples said to Him, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves." To this Jesus replied, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."⁴ Jesus said this to His disciples as if feeding thousands of people was no big deal. Now Jesus is inviting one of His disciples to walk on water with Him, as if walking on liquid water is no big deal. Later on, Jesus will become frustrated with His disciples when they are unable to heal a boy with epilepsy, as if healing an epileptic is no big deal.⁵ Prior to all of this, Jesus told His disciples that their mission, aside from proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God, was to "cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons."⁶ Jesus speaks as if such things are not amazing, miraculous feats but simply business as usual.

It seems as though Jesus is trying to push His disciples beyond their perceived limitations. When the disciples are unable to heal the boy with epilepsy, Jesus says to them, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."⁷ In the Gospel of St. John, Jesus says to the disciples, "Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these..."⁸ Jesus is trying to push His disciples to do what He does. Jesus is calling His disciples to perform miracles, to do the impossible.

Jesus' promise that His disciples will be able to perform miracles and to move mountains did not apply only to the original twelve: this promise applies to us as well. Before Jesus ascends to heaven, He instructs His disciples to "make disciples of all nations."⁹ A disciple of Jesus not only does what Jesus does, but calls others to do the same. As Christians living in the twenty-first century, we are the among the last in a long line of disciples of Jesus called by disciples of Jesus. Like the original twelve, we too are called to perform miracles. We too are called to do the impossible.

Writer Peter Rollins suggests that perhaps the true power of a miracle is not a mysterious change in the physical world, but a resulting change within a person's heart.¹⁰ Perhaps the true significance of Jesus and Peter's walking on water is not the fact that two men are walking on liquid water, a feat that is not physically possible for humans. Perhaps the true significance of this miracle is that the Disciples are beginning to see a reality beyond the limitations they had previously placed on themselves. By walking on water and by calling Peter to do the same, Jesus is redefining what is possible. Maybe this is still the significance of this miracle for us disciples living two thousand years later.

I believe that miracles still happen today, but maybe moving mountains with our words and walking on water are not the specific types of works we are called to perform. Even so, we are called to follow in Jesus' footsteps by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and bringing peace to the troubled. Whatever our specific places in the Kingdom of God, I believe that God wants us to dream big and to dare to do the things that we wouldn't generally consider to be within our capability. In the 2003 movie Bruce Almighty, God, portrayed by actor Morgan Freeman, says:
A single mom who's working two jobs, and still finds time to take her kid to soccer practice, that's a miracle. A teenager who says no to drugs and yes to an education, that's a miracle. People want Me to do everything for them, but what they don't realize is, they have the power. You want to see a miracle, son? Be the miracle.¹¹

What kind of mountains do you dream of moving? Is your mountain perhaps a deadly or debilitating disease that you want to eradicate? Is your mountain perhaps an embattled foreign nation where you want to help to bring peace? To you, does moving a mountain mean bringing clean drinking water to impoverished villages around the world. To you, does moving a mountain mean getting through to stubborn loved ones who just won't seem to see the light and change their ways? Is your mountain perhaps an addiction you've been battling for years? To you, does moving a mountain mean fostering new growth in a small-membership church? Though we may say to ourselves, "I could never do that," Jesus says to us, "Come, follow Me." Though cynicism may tell us that such things will never happen, the story of Jesus and Peter walking on water reminds us that such things are indeed possible. Though people tell us to be realistic, Jesus calls us to stand in defiance of realism.

Imagine No Malaria is an initiative of the United Methodist Church. Malaria has existed for over three thousand years, and this disease claims the life of a child in Africa every forty-five seconds. The goal of the Imagine No Malaria initiative is to eliminate the disease in Africa by distributing of mosquito nets, building clinics, and educating the people about how to avoid contracting the disease. The ultimate goal of Imagine No Malaria is to eliminate suffering and death caused by malaria in Africa by the year 2015.¹² Another ambitious undertaking is the Mentoring Project. Founded by author Donald Miller, the Mentoring Project partners with faith communities to train people to become mentors for young people growing up without fathers. By equipping people to mentor these at-risk youths, Miller and the Mentoring Project seek to "shut down prisons, end school dropouts, curb youth suicide, and reduce homelessness."¹³ Are such ambitious goals even within our reach? The Gospel reminds us that such miracles are indeed possible.

As Peter walks on the water toward Jesus, he starts to notice the strong wind blowing against him and the rough waves all around him, and he becomes scared. Doubt creeps into his heart, and he begins to sink into the water. Peter cries out, "Lord, save me!" and Jesus reaches out and grabs him, saying, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" The two walk back to the boat, and the disciples worship Jesus, proclaiming Him the Son of God.

Generally, we surmise that Peter started to sink because he doubted Jesus. In Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell argues that Peter isn't doubting Jesus but that Peter is actually doubting himself. After all, why would Peter doubt Jesus when Jesus isn't sinking.¹⁴ Perhaps, as Peter feels the strong wind and sees the waves, he begins to think that he isn't cut out for the task of following Jesus out on the water. Whether you agree with this idea or not, you have to admit that things like self-doubt, low self-esteem, and hesitation are all ingredients for failure. Jesus would not have called Peter to be a disciple if He didn't believe Peter could do what He did. The same is true for us. It is important for us to have faith in Christ, but it is also important for us to realize that Christ has faith in us.¹⁵

If Peter's lack of faith in himself is indeed what caused him to start sinking, I wonder if he was perhaps relying too much on his own strength. Once upon a time, a young boy was trying to move a boulder. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get the boulder to budge. The boy's father, who was watching him the whole time, asks him if he is using all of his strength. The boy says that he is, to which his father replies, "No, son, you aren't: you haven't asked me for help."¹⁶

It is impossible for human beings to walk on liquid water, but was Jesus not fully human? In coming to earth and taking on frail human flesh, did Jesus not take on all the same limitations faced by each of us? Again, it is impossible to walk on water. "For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible."¹⁷ Did Jesus perform all of His powerful, miraculous acts by His own power, or did He perhaps receive divine strength from the Father and from the Spirit? St. Paul writes, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."¹⁸ This is how God can call mere mortals to do things that are not humanly possible. It has been said, "God does not call the qualified: God qualifies the called." God does not call people who are able to work miracles: God gives the ability to work miracles to the people He calls. We can be disciples of Jesus Christ, doing what He does, because God is our strength.

If we want to follow in Christ's footsteps, if we want to do the great things God calls us to do, if we want to receive the strength from God to do the impossible, then what do we have to do? We have to get out of the boat and to take a step onto the water. We have to leave the safety of our comfort zones and to face the wind and the waves. We must be bold. We cannot be afraid to challenge the status quo. We have to step out in faith, confident that God will give us the strength to do what He calls us to do.

So often, faith is presented to look like some sort of otherworldly fire insurance. People preach that if we admit that we are sinners, pray for forgiveness, and believe all the right things, then we don't have to go to a really bad place when we die. Presented in this way, faith acts as some sort of safety mechanism, but what if faith really isn't safe at all?

I have come to believe that having faith is less like buying fire insurance and more like jumping out of an airplane. When skydivers and paratroopers jump out of an airplane, they put all of their faith in their parachutes to bring them to the ground alive. Faith is so much more than belief. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews writes that faith is "the assurance of things hoped for" and "the conviction of things not seen."¹⁹ Faith is our reason to believe and to act when we have every reason to doubt. Faith is jumping out into our destiny, trusting in God to see us through. When we want to walk on water, faith gives us the confidence that God will keep us steady. When we want to move a mountain, faith gives us a reason to grab a shovel and to start moving dirt.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to do great things, but we are not called to do these things alone. God is always there for us to guide us and to give us the strength we need to do what He has called us to do. We have God, and we also have each other. As Disciples, we are all one Body of Christ. It is important for us to work together and to be in fellowship with each other so that when we see each other starting to sink, we can reach out and pick each other up.

As you ponder this story of Jesus and Peter walking on water, may you believe that miracles really do happen. May you believe that Christ's promise that His disciples will do the impossible applies to you as well, for you too are called to be one of His disciples. May you overcome any self-doubt you have, and may you rely on God to give you the strength to do what you have been called to do. May you have the boldness to step out of your comfort zone and into the footsteps of your Rabbi. May you find the strength in Christ to "do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all they ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."²⁰

Amen.

Notes:
1 - See Matthew 14:13-21 to read the entire story of Feeding the Five Thousand
2 - Rob Bell. Velvet Elvis. 2005, Zondervan. pp. 129-130
3 - Velvet Elvis p. 133
4 - Matthew 14:15-16 (NRSV) Emphasis added
5 - Matthew 17:14-18
6 - Matthew 10:7-8 (NRSV quoted)
7 - Matthew 17:20 (NRSV)
8 - John 14:12 (NRSV)
9 - Matthew 28:19 (NRSV quoted)
10 - Peter Rollings, The Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales. 2009, Paraclete Press. pp. 170-173
11 - Wikiquote: Bruce Almighty
12 - This information was taken from the Imagine No Malaria website.
13 - This information was taken from the Mentoring Project website.
14 - Velvet Elvis p. 133
15 - Velvet Elvis p. 134
16 - Wesley Study Bible. 2009, Abingdon Press. p. 1123
17 - Matthew 19:26 (NRSV). I know that I am taking this verse out of context, but I believe it still applies in this case.
18 - Philippians 4:13 (NRSV)
19 - Hebrews 11:1 (NRSV)
20 - Aphorism attributed to John Wesley

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: Being Real

2011-07-22T21:50:00.006-04:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Being Real

Scripture:

LORD, You have examined me.
You know me.
You know when I sit down
and when I stand up.
Even from far away,
You comprehend my plans.
You study my traveling and resting.
You are thoroughly familiar
with all my ways.
There isn’t a word on my tongue, LORD,
that You don’t
already know completely.

Psalm 139:1-4 (CEB)

Life can hold you down
When you're not looking up
Can't you hear the sounds?
Hearts beating out loud

Although the names change
Inside we're all the same
Why can't we tear down the walls
And show the scars we're covering?

From "Inside Us All" by Creed

I have a love-hate relationship with church signs. Sometimes I come across a sign that actually makes a profound statement or one that offers passersby a message of hope. These signs, I like. So often, though, I find myself wincing at a lame pun or cringing at a condemning message. In these cases, I cannot help but feel that these signs are not helping to lead people to God and to the Church but are instead keeping people away. These signs, I do not like.

Recently I saw a church sign that gave me mixed feelings. It said something to the extent of the following: "You can hide your sins from others, but you can't hide them from God." Depending on a person's perspective, this sign offers either a threat or a comforting message.

A person could view the message on this sign as a warning or as a threat. One could easily interpret the message as, "You had better be careful, because God is watching you!" One could even read it, "God is going to get you if He catches you sinning!" In this light, it is not too dissimilar to the subtly threatening and downright creepy Christmas song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake¹

While I do believe that God sees everything we do and that sin has serious consequences, I hate to see people using condemning or threatening messages as a means of winning people to Christ - or rather, frightening people to Christ. Though the message on this sign might seem threatening on the surface, if we dig a little deeper, we can find a comforting message on this sign.

When you were a child, did you ever do something wrong and then try to keep it a secret from your parents? Do you remember the guilt and alienation you felt? Do you remember wanting to confess to your parents but fearing what they might do to you or how they might feel about you if you did confess? It was a horrible feeling, wasn't it?

The message on the church sign is correct that we cannot hide our sins from God. God is omniscient, seeing and knowing everything. The Psalmist reminds us at the beginning of Psalm 139 that God knows everything about us: everything we do, everywhere we go, the inner workings of our hearts and minds, everything we say, and everything we think. It is utterly pointless to try to hide anything from God or to try to pretend that we are someone we're not before God. God knows everything about us - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Throughout the Gospel we learn of God's amazing love for us. The immortal words of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world," remind us that God loves each and every one of us. The "Parable of the Prodigal Son" teaches us that God loves us in spite of the bad things we have done.² The "Parable of the Lost Sheep" teaches us that God does not forget about any of us and goes out of His way to bring us home when we go astray.³ The Cross shows us the great lengths to which God will go because He loves us so much.⁴

God's love for us is what makes the message on the sign comforting. We cannot hide our sins from God, but we do not have to hide our sins from God. We don't have to worry about how God would feel about us if He found out some bad thing we have done, because He already knows everything we have ever done. God knows everything about each of us, including our sins, our character flaws, and our shortcomings, and He loves us anyway. We can be completely honest with God. We can be ourselves before God.

God wants us to be ourselves. The brutal honesty of the Psalms remind us that we can come to God with anything we are thinking, feeling, or going through.⁵ Throughout the Bible, we are encouraged to confess our wrongdoings to God and to others.⁶ When we tell God something about ourselves, we are not revealing anything He does not already know about us. Being honest with God means first being honest with ourselves. Confessing our sins to God is tough because it forces us to take ownership of what we have done and to admit to ourselves that we did something wrong. Honesty with ourselves is a vital part of changing our ways and of coming to terms with the difficult things in our lives.

We are free to be ourselves with God, but are we free to be ourselves with other people? Unfortunately, we live in a very demanding and judgmental society, and we are all too aware of this. People are a lot less understanding, forgiving, and patient with each other than God is with us. We easily find ourselves guarded, afraid to show our true selves to others. We try to present ourselves as something we're not in the hopes of meeting the high expectations of the world around us.

Recently, I went to a grocery store and noticed some veggie burgers in the organic foods case. A lot of people don't like veggie burgers because they don't taste like real meat. Personally, I have enjoyed veggie burgers in the past, but I have to agree with the critics that they don't actually taste like real hamburgers.

People can be a lot like veggie burgers. First, a veggie burger is prepared with the intentions of giving it the appearance, texture, and taste of ground beef - something it is not. In the same way, we often try to pass ourselves off as someone we are not, hoping to be more acceptable to others. Sometimes we manage to fool people, but sometimes people see right through us. Second, many people have tried veggie burgers and found themselves disappointed that they don't actually taste like real meat. Similarly, when we get to know other people and realize that they don't meet our hopes and expectations, we become disappointed.

The key to enjoying a veggie burger is to accept it for what it is: not meat, but a vegetable product made to look and taste somewhat like meat. You have to put your expectations aside. Don't expect it to taste like actual beef; just enjoy it for what it is. Similarly, I think the key to truly loving other people is to accept them for who they are. To love others, we need to accept the things we like about them along with the things we don't like about them - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Put your expectations aside, and look past the facades people try to present.

We are called to be honest with ourselves, with God, and with others, but we live in a world that makes it extremely difficult to truly be ourselves. Our society can be critical, judgmental, and condemning, and Christian circles can be the worst of all. Christ teaches us, "Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged."⁷ He goes on to teach us not to try to remove a splinter from another person's eye until we get the log out of our own.⁸ Sadly it is the people who should be the most familiar with Christ's teachings about judging who are notorious for being judgmental. We Christians know that we are not without sin, but that does not stop us from throwing stones anyway.

So often we end up guarding ourselves, hiding the things we think are unacceptable in order to protect ourselves from the judgments of others. When we try to hide the things we consider to be bad about ourselves, we may end up depriving people of the things that are good about us. We may very well uproot the wheat along with the weeds.

The world needs to change. We must work to create a world where people can be open and honest about themselves. We should not be judgmental, but instead we should have empathy. We should not be demanding of others, but instead we should be understanding. We need to be patient, compassionate, and kind, fully mindful of the grace that God has shown us. We need to love and accept people for who they are. Remember that we are commanded to love our neighbors as we love ourselves,⁹ and remember that, deep down, we all want to be loved and accepted.

Notes:
1 - From "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie
2 - Luke 15:11-32
3 - Matthew 18:12-14 and Luke 15:3-7
4 - Romans 5:8
5 - Consider the frustration expressed in Psalm 73, the anger expressed in Psalm 10, the hatred expressed toward the end of Psalm 139, the thoughts of cruelty expressed at the end of Psalm 137, and the despair expressed at the beginning of Psalm 22.
6 - James 5:16 and 1 John 1:9
7 - Matthew 7:1 (CEB)
8 - Matthew 7:3-5 (CEB referenced)
9 - Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: What Every Child Needs to Hear

2011-07-01T23:10:00.011-04:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

What Every Child Needs to Hear

Scripture:

Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Mark 1:11 (NKJV)

Castles, they might crumble
Dreams may not come true
But you are never all alone
'Cause I will always, always love you

From "In My Arms" by Plumb

For the summer months, my Bible study group decided to watch and discuss Rob Bell's NOOMA video series. Recently, we watched the sixth in the series, titled Kickball. In this short video, Rob walks on a beach as he speaks. All the while, his son can be seen running around on the beach, in and out of the view of the camera. Rob tells a story about buying a kickball for his son, and, when he gets to the part where he hands his son the kickball, he quotes himself as saying, "Here you are, my son, with whom I am well pleased!"¹ For some reason, this one part of the video was stuck in my mind for days afterward.

If you are familiar with the Gospel story, you know that Rob Bell was paraphrasing God. Hearing Rob say this in his video made me think about the story of Jesus' baptism.

One day, not too long before Jesus starts His ministry, He goes to the Jordan River to be baptized by His cousin John, another teacher and prophet. As Jesus comes up out of the water, the heavens suddenly open. The Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove and lands on Him. After that, God the Father calls out from heaven, saying, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."²

I have heard this story numerous times in my life, but, as I pondered this story recently, I began to wonder about something: for whom did God the Father say what He did? Did He say it so that those present would know that Jesus is the Son of God? Did He, perhaps, say it for Jesus Himself?

The story of Christ's baptism, in some form, can be found in each of the four Gospels. Each of these accounts, with the exception of John's Gospel, includes this quote from God the Father. Matthew's account begins this declaration, "This is My beloved Son," as if it was spoken to everyone present. Mark and Luke's accounts, on the other hand, begin the declaration, "You are My beloved son," as if God the Father was saying it for the encouragement of Jesus Himself.

Often we get so caught up in Christ's divinity that we forget Christ's humanity. Jesus was fully God, but at the same time He was fully human. This means that He had human needs: at times, He became hungry, thirsty, and tired. He also had human emotions: He laughed human laughs and cried human tears. As human beings, each of us has the emotional need to hear certain affirmations from our parents. Jesus was raised by his mother Mary and by His human father figure Joseph, but He knew that His real Father was God the Father. Perhaps, at Jesus' baptism, God the Father was saying to His Son things that all of us need to hear from our parents.

God the Father made a simple declaration about His Son Jesus, but this one statement says a lot. The more traditional New King James Version is quoted above, but some newer translations like the Common English Bible break this statement up quite nicely:

You are My Son, whom I dearly love; in You I find happiness.³

In this one statement, we find three affirmations that all sons and daughters need to hear from their parents. If you are a parent or if you someday hope to become a parent, please pay careful attention!

Affirmation #1
You are my child.

This first affirmation may sound like an obvious statement, but all children need to know that their parents claim them. Children need to know that they're wanted. Children need to know that their parents identify with them and that their parents are not ashamed of them.

Affirmation #2
I love you dearly.

All children need love and affection from their parents. Children need to know that their parents love them unconditionally. Children need to know that their parents will always love them and that there is nothing they can do to make their parents stop loving them.

Affirmation #3
You make me happy.

All children need approval from their parents. Children need to know that their parents are proud of them, even if it is for no other reason than the fact that they are their parents' children. Children need to know that their parents take joy in having them in their lives.

Since I have no children of my own, I obviously have no experience being a parent; I do, however, have more than twenty-seven years of experience being a son. Speaking as a son, I realize that I needed to know that my mother and my father loved me, that they wanted me, and that I made them happy. I'll admit that, even in my late twenties, I still sometimes need to hear these things from my parents.

These affirmations must be important if God the Father saw the need to rip open the very heavens to say them to His Son.

If you have children and fail to express your love, acceptance, and approval for them, then you will severely damage them emotionally and psychologically. Much of the brokenness in this world is a result of being unwanted, unloved, or unaccepted by one's parents - just ask any psychiatrist or counselor. This year, as Father's Day drew near, one of my favorite websites didn't feature any articles celebrating fathers but featured two articles about forgiving fathers and about finding healing from "father wounds."⁴ Wounds from one's parents affects one's relationships with others, one's relationship with oneself, and even one's relationship with God.

If you are a parent, if you intend to someday be a parent, or even if there is someone who looks at you as his or her parent, make sure that your children hear these affirmations loud and clear. Don't give them any mixed messages. Don't leave any room for them to doubt your acceptance, your love, or your approval. If you were unwanted, unloved, or unaccepted by your parents, I pray that you find healing, realizing that God loves you, that God wants you in His life, and that God regards you as someone worth dying for.

Notes:
1 - Rob Bell. Nooma Kickball | 006. Flannel.
2 - See Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, and John 1:29-34.
3 - From either Mark 1:11 or Luke 3:22 (CEB)
4 - See "The Stories Behind Absent" and "Finding Healing on Father's Day" from the RELEVANT Magazine website.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: From Humility to Honor

2011-06-24T20:48:00.008-04:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

From Humility to Honor

Scripture:

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.

James 4:10 (CEB)

How can this be?
A love so unfailing
Reached down and lifted me
From ashes to beauty

And You invite me in
Doesn't matter where I've been
Your arms are open wide
There's nothing left to hide

From "You Invite Me In" by Meredith Andrews

After God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, they spent a long time traveling through the wilderness under the leadership of Moses. Forty years later, they finally reached the land promised to their ancestors. When Moses died, a man named Joshua was charged with the task of leading the Israelites in a series of battles against the inhabitants of the land. The Book of Joshua tells the story of Israel's conquest of the Promised Land. Parts of the Bible like this can be hard to read, disturbing, and even shocking at times, but even in the Book of Joshua, in the midst of destruction and wholesale slaughter, there is a story of salvation, redemption, and mercy.

Before leading Israel across the Jordan River into the Promised Land, Joshua decides to send out two spies on a reconnaissance mission to the fortified city of Jericho. After entering the city, the two end up in the house of a prostitute named Rahab.¹ Word reaches the king of Jericho that Israelite spies have entered the city, so he sends some of his men to Rahab's house. Rahab hides the two spies on the roof under stalks of flax and lies to the king's men, telling them that the spies have already left the city. The men then leave Jericho in search of the two Israelites.

Rahab then tells the spies that word has spread about how God brought the Israelites out of Egypt and gave them the victory in a previous battle. She knows that God will also give them the victory when they attack Jericho, so she begs the two spies to spare her life and the lives of her family. Since Rahab protected the spies from the authorities, they swear on their lives that she and her family will be spared as long as she keeps the Israelites' plans a secret.

Rahab lives in a house that was built into the city wall, so she helps the two escape the city through a window. The spies then instruct her to gather her whole family into her house when the Israelites attack and to hang in her window the same rope with which she helped them escape. When the two spies return to base, they report to Joshua that the people of the land are afraid of the Israelites.²

The Israelites cross the Jordan River and prepare to attack Jericho. When the time to attack comes, the Israelites march around the city with the Ark of the Covenant while the priests blow trumpets.³ This happens once a day for six days. On the seventh day, the Israelites march around the city seven times. After the seventh time, the people shout and blow trumpets, and the city walls miraculously fall. The Israelite army then proceeds to kill all people and livestock in the city. Because Rahab had protected the two spies, she and her family are spared and welcomed into the community of the Israelites.⁴

I do not want to sugarcoat Rahab's story, because I think it is very powerful. Rahab was a prostitute, a person who makes a living by having sex with strangers. Some theorize that she may have been a cult prostitute, one who performed sex acts as part of religious rituals. Others think she was simply trying to provide for her family, considering her concern for her family's safety. Many people go into prostitution because they believe that it is the only way they can provide for themselves and for their families. Perhaps this was the case for Rahab.⁵

Regardless of the circumstances that led Rahab down this road, her profession does not seem to matter very much in the eyes of God. Not only are Rahab and her family spared during the razing of Jericho and welcomed among the Israelites, Rahab is also honored throughout the Bible as a hero and as a woman of great faith.

The eleventh chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews is often called the "Hall of Faith." In this chapter we read about the faith of people like Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Samson, and King David. Near the end of this chapter we read the following:
By faith Jericho’s walls fell after the people marched around them for seven days.
By faith Rahab the prostitute wasn’t killed with the disobedient because she welcomed the spies in peace.⁶
St. James, in his letter, honors Rahab as a righteous woman who not only had great faith but lived out her faith in her actions.⁷

Rahab's recognition in these two letters is not the most profound way in which she has been honored. Rahab married an Israelite named Salmon, and the two had a son named Boaz. Boaz married a woman named Ruth. Boaz and Ruth had a grandson named Jesse. Jesse had a son named David who would become the king of Israel. The most famous descendant of King David is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the one who redeemed humanity when He died on the cross and arose from the dead.⁸ In this way, God included Rahab in His plan for our salvation.

People, especially Christians, like to cast judgment on women like Rahab. Many of us would look on her with disgust for the type of life she led, but God sees people so much better than we do. While society would see her as an undesirable element, God sees her as a woman of great faith and heroism. St. James writes, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up." This is exactly what Rahab did. Rahab knew that God was real and that His hand of protection was on the Israelites. She humbled herself before God when she protected the spies, when she acknowledged her belief in God, and when she pleaded for her family's safety. God then lifted her up from a place of disgrace to a place of honor.

When I consider Rahab's story, I cannot help but think about what Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day: "I assure you that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering God’s kingdom ahead of you."⁹ On another occasion He said, "Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do... I didn’t come to call righteous people, but sinners."¹⁰

Jesus did not come into the world for people who think that they're good. Jesus came into the world for people who know that they're bad and cry out desperate for redemption. Christ came to seek and to save people who made bad choices in life like Rahab and the unnamed woman who washed Christ's feet with her tears.¹¹ He came to seek and to save people like Matthew and Zacchaeus who sold out and took jobs as tax collectors for an evil empire.¹² He came to seek and to save people like the prodigal son who waste everything and come home with nothing but brokenness.¹³ He came to seek and to save people like the terrorist who was crucified beside Him and asked for salvation.¹⁴

We need to remember that we are all in the same boat as Rahab: we are all lost, helpless little sheep. We need to remember that we all in desperate need of God's saving and transforming grace. We all need to humble ourselves in the sight of God and to let Him lift us up.

Notes:
1 - Go figure.
2 - To read the story of Rahab and the two spies in its entirety, see Joshua 2.
3 - The Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of God's covenant with Israel. It contained, among other items, the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written.
4 - To read about the Battle of Jericho in its entirety, see Joshua 6.
5 - Dr. Gary Thompson. "God Protects", Adult Bible Studies Summer 2011. Cokesbury. p. 22
6 - Hebrews 11:30-31 (CEB)
7 - James 2:24-26
8 - Matthew 1:1-17
9 - Matthew 21:31 (CEB)
10 - Matthew 9:11-12 (CEB)
11 - Luke 7:36-50
12 - Matthew 9:9-13, Luke 19:1-10
13 - Luke 15
14 - Luke 23:39-43

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Introspection: This Winding Path

2011-06-03T20:55:00.000-04:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

This Winding Path

Scripture:

Tell me all about Your faithful love
come morning time
because I trust You.
Show me the way I should go
because I offer my life up to You.

Psalm 143:8 (CEB)

We cannot separate
You're part of me
And though You're invisible
I'll trust the unseen

From "Never Alone" by BarlowGirl

A few weeks ago, in response to increasing stress in my life, I decided that I needed to make more of an effort to observe a Sabbath day every week. I decided that I would work harder to get my work done during the week so that, on Saturday, I can put aside all work and "supposed-to's" of life and simply rest and enjoy the day.¹ Since then, I have found myself dissatisfied with how I spend Saturday: typically I sleep too late and don't do enough to enjoy the day. On one Saturday I even broke down and wrote a blog post.

One other thing I have noticed since my decision to take a sabbath is that, on Sunday, I have been paying more attention to spiritual disciplines: going to church services, reading books of a spiritual nature, and going for long walks to gather my thoughts, for example. I have found that, even if Saturday is a letdown, Sunday is refreshing.

I was introduced to a new spiritual discipline nearly six years ago: praying while walking through a labyrinth. Originally expecting some sort of maze, I learned that a prayer labyrinth consists of a single winding, non-branching path that leads to a center area.² I have walked through a labyrinth at least twice in the past, but I didn't get much out of it because I didn't really understand what it all meant. My pastor recently mentioned a prayer labyrinth in a sermon, and from her I learned that, on my way to the center, I should let go of the things that are weighing me down inside. In the center, I should just spend time in the presence of God. On my way out, I should receive whatever God offers to me on my way back into the world.

My favorite place to walk is Furman University, my Alma Mater. Furman has a prayer labyrinth behind its chapel, and last Sunday, with my new understanding of the purpose of the labyrinth, I decided to walk through it before walking around the campus. I think I was seeking some sort of guidance or some peace of mind after a bad week.

When I arrived, I removed my shoes and socks and emptied my pockets.³ As I walked into the labyrinth, I asked God for forgiveness for my failures and for help with my struggles. I also tried to push out thoughts of leaving my shoes and personal effects unguarded, of getting sunburned, and of my current hopes and fears in my life. In the center, I knelt down on my knees as if in the presence of God. I saw the grass and bricks beneath me and felt the hot sun above me. I heard sounds of bicycles and cars and heard organ music from the chapel. I ended my time in the center by whispering the Lord's Prayer. As I walked out of the labyrinth I held out my hands, palms up, as if to receive whatever God was offering me.

As you can probably tell, I haven't exactly mastered the practice of walking a prayer labyrinth or of simply being still and knowing I'm in the presence of God. I am hoping, though, to improve on these things through practice. I remembered something a friend who works in chaplaincy said about Communion: we don't really know what's going on when we share the bread and the wine, but we trust that God is somehow present in it all. Perhaps the same is true for my experience in the prayer labyrinth: though I don't really know what I was doing, I can trust that God was somehow present in my experience.⁴

I guess my experience in the prayer labyrinth is much like my experience in life. Just as I didn't really know what I was doing in the labyrinth, I don't really know what I'm doing in life. And just as I don't really understand certain spiritual practices, I don't really understand God. Despite my lack of understanding, I must trust that God is journeying with me as I navigate the labyrinth that is my life.

I believe that God has spoken to me in very tangible ways in the past, but the fact that God doesn't seem to respond in such a way immediately every time I ask Him does not mean that He is not present or that He does not care.⁵ I must have faith in God to guide me through the dark, scary, and uncertain twists and turns of my life.

Notes:
1 - See my introspection "Balancing Act."
2 - Wikipedia: "Labyrinth"
3 - Nobody said that I had to do this; it just seemed right. See Exodus 3:5.
4 - After all, God did give me something to reflect on and to blog about.
5 - To be honest, I have also been reflecting on the BarlowGirl song quoted above. Listen to the song and read the lyrics. This song is very good and very honest.

The photograph of the Furman University Labyrinth was taken by me and published with the permission of the Furman University Chaplaincy.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: The End of the World

2011-05-29T13:14:00.005-04:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

The End of the World

Scripture:

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:10 (KJV)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne say, "Look! God’s dwelling is here with humankind. He will dwell with them, and they will be His peoples. God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." Then the one seated on the throne said, "Look! I’m making all things new."

Revelation 21:1-5a (CEB)

He made the lame walk and the dumb talk
And He opened blinded eyes to see
That the sun rises on His time
Yet He knows our deepest, desperate need

And the world waits while His heart aches
To realize the dream
I wonder what life would be like
If we let Jesus live through you and me

From "What Life Would Be Like" by Big Daddy Weave

If you have been paying attention to the news in the last few weeks, you know that one man predicted that the end of the world would begin on May 21 of this year. This man bought ad space on billboards throughout the United States to warn the people of the judgment to come.¹ Armed with pamphlets and signs, his followers went out to call people to repentance. Many people, myself included, made jokes or laughed because of the prediction, but some people actually quit their jobs and stopped saving money, betting everything on the hope that on May 21 they would be taken to Heaven.²

May 21 came and went, and life went on as normal.

Popular theories about the end of the world are taken from the Revelation of St. John pieced together with visions from the Old Testament Book of Daniel, teachings of Jesus about the Day of the Lord, and some writings of St. Paul. One popular theory holds that someday all true followers of Christ will be suddenly taken to Heaven in an event often called the Rapture. Next will come a seven-year period of hell on earth called the Great Tribulation, during which the world will be controlled by an evil ruler called the Antichrist or the Beast. The Great Tribulation will end with the Battle of Armageddon. Finally, Christ will return to earth to reign, and all people will be judged. Not too long ago, there was a popular fiction series based on this theory.

At one point in my life, I subscribed to such a theory - I even followed the aforementioned book series for a while. Over time, though, my personal beliefs about scripture changed, and I stopped holding to such a literal interpretation of apocalyptic Scripture. Now I tend to view such Scripture, particularly the Revelation, as a metaphor for the struggles one faces for following Christ and standing up for what is right. To me, the Beast in Revelation represents the systems and regimes that exploit, oppress, and harm people. To the first readers of the Revelation, the Beast was the Roman Empire, but, to others, the Beast has been Naziism, apartheid, imperialism, caste systems, and slavery to name a few. Truly following the teachings of Jesus Christ puts a person into opposition against such systematic evils.³

Despite my more liberal view of Scripture, I still claim the hope that someday Christ will return to the earth to make things right. Either by coincidence or by divine providence, on May 22, one day after the end times were predicted to begin, I had the opportunity to teach a Sunday School lesson about St. John's vision of the restored world found in Revelation 21.

In this vision, John sees a new heaven and a new earth. This is not to say that heaven and earth will be destroyed so that new ones can be created in their place. What John sees is that heaven and earth have finally been redeemed, restored to the goodness that the Creator intended from the very beginning, before creation was broken by sin. This is a vision of God "making all things new." John then sees the city of New Jerusalem being lowered to the earth from Heaven. God Himself will dwell with humanity to reign. Under the reign of God, there will be no more sadness, no more pain, no more death, and no more evil.

John's vision of the new creation is followed with a warning:
But for the cowardly, the faithless, the vile, the murderers, those who commit sexual immorality, those who use drugs and cast spells, the idolaters and all liars - their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.⁴
I don't like teaching or preaching about hell, and I hate when people use the threat of hell to convince someone to become a Christian. Nevertheless, such parts of Scripture must not be ignored.

As St. Paul writes, "the wages that sin pays are death"; the natural result of sin is destruction.⁵ Sin breeds things like pain, sadness, fear, and death - things that will be absent in the new creation. Sin cannot exist under the reign of a holy God.⁶ Some ways of life just won't work out in the new creation, neither will they be allowed. This warning is a call to repentance. If we are unwilling to turn from evil, destructive ways, we resign ourselves to the misery and death that we earn with our actions, and we miss out on the newness of life that God offers us.⁷

So should we try to predict when this time will come so that we can make sure that everyone is ready?

Christ, in His teachings about the Day of the Lord, says that even He doesn't know when it will happen - only God the Father knows.⁸ St. Paul, in one of his letters, writes that "the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night," meaning that it will be unexpected.⁹ If you think that you have happened upon some secret formula that will reveal the exact date, remember that St. Peter writes that "with the Lord a single day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a single day."¹⁰ This is not another formula but a reminder that God does not operate on a system of time like we do. Ultimately, trying to predict when Christ will return is pointless.

More than anything else, what I learned from the discussion at Sunday school that day is that maybe predicting the date of Christ's return and drawing up timelines of end times events are not the best ways to prepare for Christ's return. Perhaps we should instead invest our energies into preparing for the reign of God. The best way to prepare for God to reign on the earth in the future is to let God reign in our hearts today.

Every week at my church, the congregation prays, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." Perhaps you regularly pray for this as well. It is important to remember that this part of the Lord's Prayer is not just a wish for the future but a prayer for the here and now. The Kingdom of God has not been realized on earth as it has in John's vision of the future, but it is realized among people who truly follow Christ. We are called to live now as citizens of the Kingdom of God, to live out God's will in our lives, and to show God's love to other people.

To prepare for the reign of God on earth, we need for God to reign in our hearts here and now. We need to put away our destructive patterns and to be Christ's hands and feet in the world around us. For these things to happen, we must rely on God's grace. When we put our faith in Christ and turn our broken lives over to God, God gives us His transforming grace through the Holy Spirit. If we want to be a part of the new creation, we need God's grace to make our hearts into new creations today.

Notes:
1 - Jesse McKinley. "At Apocalypse Central, Preparing for What Happens, or Doesn’t." New York Times, May 20, 2011.
2 - Tiffany Stanley. "No Rapture, Just Judgment." The New Republic, May 23, 2011.
3 - Again, this is only my personal view of the apocalyptic literature in the Bible. I am not so arrogant to claim it as absolute truth. Who am I to say that the world will not end as some theorize?
4 - Revelation 21:8 (CEB)
5 - Romans 6:23 (CEB)
6 - Kevin Baker. "All Things New", Adult Bible Studies Spring 2011. Cokesbury. p. 89
7 - Rob Bell. Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. 2011, Harper One. p. 112-113
8 - Matthew 24:36
9 - 1 Thessalonians 5:2 (CEB)
10 - 2 Peter 3:8 (CEB)

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Introspection: A Time to Let Go

2011-05-08T09:23:00.007-04:00

This is what I was going through when I wrote my perspective
"Turn the Page."
I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

A Time to Let Go

Scripture:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away...

Ecclesiastes 3:1,4-6 (NRSV)

So I climbed a mountain and built an altar
Looked out as far as I can see
And everyday I'm getting older
I'm running out of dreams

From "Your Love" by Brandon Heath

Have you ever felt lonely in a room full of friends?

Looking back, I have come to realize that each of the last few phases of my life revolved around making up for the previous phase that didn't work out like it should have. My high-school experience was not at all what I think it should have been. I went to a religious school that was much too conservative and strict; I had only a few friends; the girls I liked didn't like me back; and I didn't get out very much. What's worse, I just couldn't seem to come out of my shell. Looking back, I know that I should have made the most of my time there, despite the rules and religious differences. I also know that I could have had more friends and more meaningful relationships were I not such a religious bigot.¹

Then came the time I had anticipated my whole life, my life's ultimate goal, the time that was supposed to make up for high school: college! I started out repeating many of the same patterns I had back in high school, but in my third year I found the community I never had but always wanted - people who were fun to be around, people who believed like I did, people I wanted to be like. This community gave me many opportunities to have fun, to serve others, and to grow spiritually. It was beautiful for a while, but in two years I had to graduate.

My college experience was a lot better than my high-school experience. I made more of my time in college, but I still could have done better. I had waited two years to seek out community, and being a commuter left me somewhat disconnected from the others in the group. There were still experiences I had missed and opportunities I had passed up, and I still hadn't completely broken out of my shell. Now college was over, and the years that were supposed to be the best years of my life were behind me. Was I supposed to give up my community? My friends? Luckily, my Alma Mater was just a few minutes away from my house, so I decided to hang around for a little while longer.

So there I was, more than three years later, a ghost clinging to the world he used to know. I was a young working adult in a community full of collegians, feeling more and more like I didn't belong. Everyone who had been a student when I was a student had already graduated and moved on. I wanted so badly to belong in this group, to have a place in this group, but I felt so disconnected from everyone else. I knew they accepted me; I knew they cared about me; and I knew that the walls that separated us were within my own heart. Still, the differences between my stage of life and theirs was becoming more and more of a barrier for me, and I just couldn't be a part of the community like I wanted. Something had to change.

Thankfully, God led me to another community, a Bible-study group at a large church downtown.² When I walked in, I was immediately welcomed into the group, despite the fact that I don't attend that particular church. The group was very much like my college community, but it was intended for all young adults and not just for college students. I was finally with other people like me, people who were in the same stage of life.

I am enjoying my time with my Bible-study friends, but every now and then I go back to visit my college community. And sometimes, when I do, I still feel the same longing, the same disconnect, and the same sadness. Finally, I realized that I was still stuck in high school. In high school, things didn't go for me the way I think they should have, so college was supposed to make up for that. When college was over, and my dreams hadn't come true, I held on for dear life to the one thing from college I could hold on to.

The truth is that both high school and college are behind me. Those days are gone forever. I can never get them back. I cannot redo those parts of my life that didn't go the way they should have, and I cannot make up for the experiences that I missed. And admitting that hurts like hell. My parents neglected to tell me that growing up would hurt so much.

As a Christian, I claim the good news of the Gospel, but it's a real pity that I don't apply it to my whole life. The Gospel is a message of God's love and grace, a message of forgiveness and redemption. The Gospel does not give us the chance to undo the past or to make up for the past; the Gospel does, however, give us the chance to make a fresh start by putting the past behind us with God's forgiveness, by restoring broken relationships with God's grace, and by moving forward with God's help. When we trust God with our lives, He will not change our regretful pasts, but He will transform our lives in the present. He will give us the grace we need to move forward into the future.

St. Paul wrote, "When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, reason like a child, think like a child. But now that I have become a man, Ive put an end to childish things."³ In my case, the childishness I need to end is my desire to cling to the past and to try to make up for the things I didn't do right. I'm taking the time to finally grieve what should have been, so that I can truly move on with my life. I need to let the past be the past and to let God lead me into the future.

And maybe, someday, I'll come out of my shell.

To all my college friends who may be reading: this is the reason I have not been around much lately. I will be back to visit, though. I love you, and I wish you the best. To those of you who have graduated: I'll see you at homecoming.

Notes:
1 - I always looked down on fundamentalists for being judgmental and closed-minded, but I was judging them and closing myself off to them. As always, my own worst enemy is the man in the mirror. I point my finger, and three point back at me.
2 - Funny story: on the night before I intended to first visit this Bible-study group, I happened upon a map of the church that I received when I attended a Sunday school workshop there. A coincidence or a nudge from God?
3 - 1 Corinthians 13:11 (CEB)

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: "Imagine"

2011-04-29T13:36:00.006-04:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

"Imagine"
(The Gospel According to John Lennon)

Scripture:

There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28 (CEB)

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

From "Imagine" by John Lennon

"Imagine" is probably the most famous song by the late singer-songwriter and social activist John Lennon. In this song, Lennon asks his listeners to imagine a world where people put aside all the things that separate us from each other and live together as one. Though "Imagine" is beloved by many as an anthem of peace and unity, this song has sparked a great deal of controversy over the years. Many people have denounced the song as unpatriotic, anti-religious, and pro-communist.¹

Some Christians especially dislike the song "Imagine" because they view the lyrics - particularly those asking us to imagine no heaven, no hell, and no religion - as anti-Christian. It is well known that John Lennon was not a very big fan of Christianity or of religion in general, but I believe that his dream for the world was not too different from the teachings of Jesus Christ. If we dissect the lyrics of this song verse by verse and examine its themes in light of Scripture, I think that we will see that "Imagine" actually has a very Christian message.

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

It is within the first few lines of the song that many Christians begin seeing problems. After all, two of the major teachings of the Christian faith are the consequences of sin (hell) and hope for eternity (heaven). To hear some Christians talk, though, one would think that all that there is to their faith is going to heaven when they die and, more importantly, not going to hell. A former pastor of my church used to speak of people who are "so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good." There is much more to the Christian faith than the afterlife.

Let's consider this logically. The reality of heaven and hell does not depend on anyone's beliefs. Heaven and hell either exist or do not exist regardless of what people believe: if they truly exist, they cannot be imagined away. That's not really the point though. It's helpful to realize that each verse of this song has an overarching theme. Notice that after John Lennon asks us to imagine no heaven and no hell, he asks us to "imagine all the people living for today." I believe that this verse is not so much a rejection of the belief of heaven and hell, but a call to live for the moment, not for the afterlife.

Like Lennon, Christ also teaches us to live in the moment. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."² He also taught us to pray that God's will is done here on earth as in heaven and to pray for the necessities of the day.³ These two requests are not for the future, but for the present day.

When Christ was asked what was the most important commandment, He gave two answers: to love God and to love each other.⁴ Later on, He taught that when we show love to other people, we actually show love to Him.⁵ I think that Christ would agree that the most important part of following Him is not a happier outlook on the afterlife but the love our faith creates in us. Love and kindness happen in the here and now, not just in the hereafter. As a friend of mine once said, one should not preach to someone who has an empty stomach.

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

In the second verse, John Lennon asks us to imagine a world where people live together peacefully, a world where there is no reason for conflict. Many people focus on the parts about no countries and no religion, causing them to criticize the song for being both unpatriotic and anti-religious. Again, realize that this verse has an overarching theme: peace. Pride in one's nation and devotion to one's religion are not bad qualities, but many wrongly use them to commit horrific acts of violence. Lennon is simply asking us to imagine a world in which there is nothing to put people in conflict with each other.

Patriotism becomes a bad thing when love for one's nation overshadows love for one's neighbors, even one's neighbors in other countries. In Nazi Germany, for example, Adolf Hitler used nationalism to support the slaughter of millions. Corrupt governments and self-serving political leaders often use their power to act in ways that are harmful to people in other lands. This breeds distrust and hatred between nations. In the worst cases, war breaks out, and people are killed.

Regarding religion, I find it necessary to mention that religion is largely a human construct. God has given humanity revelations about His nature and about living in harmony with other people, but we, as humans, have a consistent track record of messing up whatever we touch. Our tendency is to obscure what God has given us, with soulless legalism. What's worse is that we build up barriers that separate us from people who believe differently or who live out their faith differently. This us-verses-them mentality breeds malice toward people of different religions. Some have even killed for religious reasons. As a Christian, I must be honest and admit that Christianity is not innocent in this matter.

Such hatred is not at all what God desires for humanity. God wants all people to love each other and to live with each other in peace. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ taught, "You have heard that it was said, You should love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you because of your faith so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven."⁶ Christ came to earth, not to create barriers between people, but to break down the barriers that divide us from each other.

Jesus said, "Follow Me," not, "Follow My religion." There are many Christians who now say things like, "Christianity is a relationship, not a religion," emphasizing a personal relationship with Christ over religious rules or dogma. St. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, wrote, "There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."⁷ When we decide to follow Christ and seek to live like Him, none of the labels we place on ourselves matter anymore. When we dedicate our lives to Christ, all other allegiances, including those to one's country, one's political party, and even one's religion, are secondary.

Christ himself was a victim of the sins of organized religion. He taught contrary to what the religious elite of the time were teaching, and He was executed on a cross for it. As He hung on the cross, He said, "Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing."⁸ In this horrible act of injustice, Christ paid the penalty for all of humanity's wrongdoings.⁹ In doing so, Christ taught us, as Shane Claiborne puts it, "there is something worth dying for but nothing worth killing for."¹⁰ If people would put away their hatred, there would be no reason to kill for anything and no reason to die for anything.

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

Most of the things that John Lennon asks us to "imagine away" are not bad things, but they all become problematic when they become priority one in a person's life. The same is true with personal possessions. It is not wrong to own things, but we live in a world where the greed of a few results in the poverty of many. In the third verse, Lennon asks us to imagine a world where nobody claims ownership of anything but where all people share so that everyone has enough.

Jesus Christ, in His ministry on Earth, also downplayed the ownership of temporal, earthly possessions. In the Sermon on the Mount, He said, "Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."¹¹ Christ is not advocating some sort of otherworldly materialism; instead He is asking us value the things that God values, things that last for eternity.

It is important to make sure that the things that we own don't own us. A rich man once asked Christ how to get eternal life. Christ replied, "Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me." This man did not follow Jesus because he cared more about his earthly wealth than about spiritual things.¹²

Christ's exhortation to the rich man reminds us that God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to other people. Christ once told a parable in which God rebukes a successful farmer for hoarding his harvest instead of sharing it with others.¹³ John the Baptist, a relative and contemporary of Christ, taught his audience, "Whoever has two shirts must share with the one who has none, and whoever has food must do the same."¹⁴ Living for earthly riches only benefits a few, but seeking eternal riches benefits us and the people around us.

For this verse, Lennon was criticized for being pro-communist, but the truth is that this verse reflects what Christ taught us. The Bible notes that the early Christians lived in the way that both Christ and Lennon envisioned: "All the believers were united and shared everything. They would sell pieces of property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to everyone who needed them. Every day, they met together in the temple and ate in their homes. They shared food with gladness and simplicity."¹⁵

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Christ came into the world to show us what God is like, to teach us how to live with each other in peace, and to free us from our sins. Christ also came into the world to usher in the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom where God reigns and where evil is defeated, a Kingdom of "righteousness, peace, and joy."¹⁶ This Kingdom has yet to be fully realized on earth, but it can be found in the hearts of all who truly seek to follow Christ and reflect His love to the world.

Someday, Christ will come back to earth, and the world will be restored to what God intended it to be from the very beginning. In this restored world, God Himself will reign among humanity. There will be no sun or moon, because God will be light for all. People will have no need for churches or temples, because God will live among them. People will find healing, and they will never be hungry or thirsty again. There will be no sadness, no pain, no death, and no evil.¹⁷

"And the world will live as one."

Notes:
1 - Jon Wiener. "'Imagine' - a lasting hymn to controversy." Los Angeles Times, December 7, 2010.
2 - Matthew 6:34 (CEB)
3 - Matthew 6:10-11
4 - Matthew 22:38-40
5 - Matthew 25:40
6 - Matthew 5:43-45 (CEB)
7 - Galatians 3:28 (CEB)
8 - Luke 23:34 (CEB)
9 - Romans 5:8-9 (CEB)
10 - Shane Claiborne. The Irresistible Revolution. 2006, Zondervan. p. 207
11 - Matthew 6:19-21 (CEB)
12 - Mark 10:17-22 (CEB quoted)
13 - Luke 12:13-21
14 - Luke 3:11 (CEB)
15 - Acts 2:44-46 (CEB)
16 - Romans 14:17 (CEB)
17 - Revelation 21:1-22:5

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Introspection: Balancing Act

2011-04-08T23:32:00.010-04:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Balancing Act

Scripture:

Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to GOD, your God. Don't do any work... For in six days GOD made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; He rested on the seventh day. Therefore GOD blessed the Sabbath day; He set it apart as a holy day.

Exodus 20:8-11 (The Message)

Savior, please
Take my hand
I work so hard
I live so fast
This life begins
And then it ends
And I do the best that I can
But I don't know how long I'll last

From "Savior, Please" by Josh Wilson

If you have been reading my blog this year, you know that I have admitted to being a perfectionist. Because of this, I tend to get really frustrated when I don't live up to the standard I place on myself. Unfortunately, I think that all of the stress in my life, a vast majority of it self-induced, is starting to catch up with me. Lately I have been becoming very angry with things that should be, at most, mild annoyances. I even found myself momentarily wishing that I would fail at everything or suffer a breakdown just so I could cast aside all the pressure.

I have started to wonder if I have too much going on in my life. While I would love to lose some some of my stress, I know that there are many people who take on a lot more than I do and handle it much better than I do. In comparison, I have it pretty easy. So why am I getting so frustrated? Why do I sometimes feel as though I am on the verge of a burn-out?

In the book Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell tells the story of the founding of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the first few months, attendance boomed and the church rapidly expanded. For the first two years, Rob tried to be the perfect pastor, seeking to meet everyone's expectations of him. He tried to meet all the wants and needs of his thousands of parishioners while setting a good example for them. He tried to be, as he termed it, "superpastor." Two years after Mars Hill was started, Rob found himself burned out. He realized that he couldn't keep going at the rate he had been going. He also realized that, because he was trying to be the perfect pastor, he was not taking a day of rest every week.¹

God commands each of us to set aside one day every week to rest. In fact, the command to take this day of rest, called the Sabbath day, is the fourth of the Ten Commandments. Rob Bell, in his pursuit to be "superpastor," was failing to "Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." I have to admit, I am not very good at keeping this commandment either. I have always been one to procrastinate. For example, on the weeks I am scheduled to teach Sunday school, I always end up spending Saturday preparing my lesson. As a result, on the following Monday, I begin my work week feeling as though I didn't have much of a weekend.

Jesus said that the greatest commandment is, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." He said that the second is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."² To summarize, love God and love others. Most people don't realize this, but Jesus hid a third commandment within the second: love yourself. Think about it: you cannot "love your neighbor as yourself" if you do not love yourself.³

If you consider any one of the commands God gives us, you can always boil it down to one of the three commandments Jesus listed: love God, love others, or love yourself. Consider the Ten Commandments.⁴ The first three deal with our relationship with God. The last six deal with our relationships with other people. Most people consider the fourth commandment, the command to observe the Sabbath day, to concern our relationship with God; however, I believe that the fourth commandment mainly concerns our relationship with ourselves.

God commands us set aside the Sabbath day to rest because He knows that we, as humans, need time to recover from our labors. When God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments, they had just escaped slavery in Egypt. They had been treated, not as humans, but as machines. The fourth commandment, like the rest of the commandments, was designed to restore the Israelites' humanity and to put them back into the right relationships with God and with each other.⁵

The three relationships in our lives - our relationship with God, our relationship with others, and our relationship with ourselves - are all interconnected. Our perceptions of ourselves affect our perceptions of our Creator.⁶ Furthermore our love for God is shown in our love for others. Christ reminds us that when we serve others, particularly those in need, we are actually serving Him.⁷ Lastly, we are better able to serve our fellow human beings if we are living healthy, balanced lives. To live healthy, balanced lives, we need a sabbath rest.

Sometimes people lose sight of the purpose of the Sabbath day. In Jesus time, there were people who were very legalistic about their observance of the sabbath. Some would count stars to determine when the Sabbath day started and ended. Some would keep track of how far they traveled that day. There was even one group of people who refused to use the bathroom on the sabbath. Even among some modern-day Christians, the observance of the sabbath has devolved into lists of things you can and cannot do on Sunday.

Christ reminds us, "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath."⁸ The purpose of observing the Sabbath day is to take a day to recover from the past week. Sleep in. Go for a walk. Spend time enjoying the company of friends and family. If it is sunny, go outside to enjoy the sunshine. If it is rainy, sit and enjoy the sound of raindrops. Stop and smell the roses. Relax. Recuperate.

If you say that you are unable to take a sabbath rest, you may have one of two problems. First, it is possible that you simply have too much going on in your life. Some people spend their lives constantly in a hurry to go somewhere, to get some activity over with, so that they can hurry off to the next thing. As humans, we have limits. It may be that you need to let go of some things to achieve balance in your life.

On the other hand, it may not be that you are taking on too much in your life but that you are instead failing to properly manage your time. The fourth commandment reminds us that we are to work for six days and to rest for one day, just as God does in the creation story.⁹ We are to work diligently six days out of the week so that we can afford a day of rest at the end of the week.

I know that I am guilty of the latter of the two problems. I have decided to try to better budget my time so that I can take a proper sabbath rest. On Sunday, I am constantly on the run, even on the weeks I am not teaching Sunday School, so I have decided to take Saturday, the original Sabbath, as my day of rest. I will work harder during the week to make sure that my Sunday School lesson is prepared by Friday. I may also refrain from blogging on Saturday. By taking a sabbath rest each week, I am hoping to lose some of my stress and to improve my mood.

Notes:
1 - Rob Bell. Velvet Elvis. 2005, Zondervan. p. 96-120
2 - Matthew 22:36-40 (NRSV)
3 - David A. Seamands. Healing for Damaged Emotions. 1981, David C. Cook. p. 70
4 - Exodus 20:1-17
5 - Rob Bell and Don Golden. Jesus Wants to Save Christians. 2008, Zondervan. p 33-34
6 - Matthew 25:40
7 - Seamands, p. 64
8 - Luke 2:27 (NRSV)
9 - Genesis 1

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Introspection: Chosen

2011-03-30T21:29:00.011-04:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Chosen

Scripture:

God destined us to be His adopted children through Jesus Christ because of His love. This was according to His goodwill and plan and to honor His glorious grace that He has given to us freely through the Son whom He loves.

Ephesians 1:5-6 (CEB)

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

From "Who Am I?" by Casting Crowns

From kindergarten through high school, I exclusively attended private Christian schools, meaning that, from ages 4 through 18, the Bible was a major part of my curriculum. For a brief time during my senior year in high school, a student teacher from a local evangelical university taught my Bible class. At the end of one class period, he revealed that he believed in the idea of limited atonement. This stirred up a bit of controversy among my classmates.

Limited atonement is the idea that God has already decided which people will be saved and which people will not be saved. This means that there is a certain group of people, the "elect," who will be unable to resist God's grace, and will therefore spend eternity with God in Heaven. Everyone else is basically hopeless. They will never come to repentance; they will never accept God's forgiving grace; and they will ultimately spend eternity apart from God in hell.¹ This idea leaves little room for free will, as God has already made the choice for each of us.

After that class period, I told some of my classmates that I didn't believe this idea because I knew that it was my choice: I could accept Christ as my Savior and seek to follow God's will for my life, or I could reject Christ and do all the destructive things that I wanted to do. One of my classmates said that, even if God only chose to save some of humanity, God was still being merciful because we all deserve hell.

It's easy to say something like that when you are certain that you are one of the chosen. What about all the people whom God didn't choose? What about all the people who were put on this earth only to perish and face everlasting anguish? What about all the people who literally don't have a prayer?

I don't follow this line of thinking, but the idea still troubles me. What if the people who believe this way are right? What if I am one of the unchosen, the uninvited, the unforgiven? What if I am only fooling myself by thinking I have a relationship with God? What if my faith and my beliefs are all for naught? What if there is nothing awaiting me at the end of my life but a lake of fire? How would I accept my fate? I would probably do a lot of pointless begging. Part of me thinks that I would spend eternity indignant toward God for so cruelly rejecting me.

There are some people who take this viewpoint to a horrible extreme. There is one "church" in particular whose members believe that they are the only people chosen by God. They believe that God hates all other people and is just itching to send every last one of them to hell. I recently said that if they are right about God, then I want to spend eternity in hell. Who would want to spend eternity with a God like that?

When I ponder such ideas and speak out against them, I can hear venom in my own words. Why would I speak such vitriol against God if I don't believe such negative things about Him? When I dwell on these things too much, I can even sense anger and distrust toward God lurking within me. Why would I have these negative feelings about a God who as been so loving and patient with me?

Have you ever kept someone at arm's-length because of your experiences with other people in the past?

I have always thought of myself to be more of an outsider than part of the "in" crowd. I am more familiar with rejection than with "chosenness." I was never one of the popular kids. In elementary school, I was never chosen first for kickball teams at recess. In my junior year of high school, I was not elected class president. I ended up going to both of my junior-senior banquets² by myself. In my senior year of college I was turned down for a job at my Alma Mater. Don't get me started about my love life. I was chosen for a few honor societies, but that was only because I had good grades.

If God is the type who picks and chooses who He wants to be saved, why should I expect Him to be any different from the other people who rejected me over the years? Last week, I realized that perhaps I was projecting onto God my feelings of rejection from the past.

The truth is that God is the last person with whom I should be angry. The more I look at my life, the more I see God at work in it, drawing me closer to Him. The more I look back, the more I can see that God has always been there preparing the way for me. I know that God is blessing my efforts to serve Him. God is not going to reject me or give up on me: God has chosen me! When God reminded me last week, the only way I could describe my feelings at the time was humbled - struck down from my high horse.

Do I think that this makes me special? Yes! But I also believe that each and every one of us is special to God. We live in an immeasurably vast universe that may have existed for billions of years. In the grand scheme of things, each of us is but a particle that exists for an instant in time. Still, God knows how many hairs are on our heads, every thought we have ever thought, and every feeling we have ever felt. We are that important to God.³

Two of the most famous Bible verses are found in the Gospel of John:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.⁴

God poured out His grace on all of humanity by sending His Son Christ Jesus into the world. Jesus lived, not as a part of the "in" crowd, but among the outsiders. He showed us how to love each other, and He taught a message of justice, mercy, and love. In dying on a cross, Christ paid the penalty for all of humanity's wrongdoings, and, in His resurrection, He brought us hope for eternity. Christ came into this world so that we "may have life, and have it abundantly,"⁵ not just in the next life, but in this life.

St. Peter, after ministering to a man who would normally be his enemy, said the following:
I really am learning that God doesn’t show partiality to one group of people over another. Rather, in every nation, whoever worships Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him. This is the message of peace He sent to the Israelites by proclaiming the good news through Jesus Christ: He is Lord of all!⁶
God's grace is for all people, not just a select few. St. Paul, in one of his letters, wrote that God "wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."⁷

In another letter, Paul wrote that grace is "the gift of God - not the result of works."⁸ We don't have to prove ourselves worthy of God's love. God's love makes us worthy. God wants to be part of each of our lives, and He wants all of us to be a part of His family.

It is my hope that you, the reader, realize that God has chosen you. Will you choose God back?

Notes:
1 - Wikipedia: "Limited Atonement"
2 - A junior-senior banquet is what a fundamentalist Christian school has instead of a prom.
3 - See Psalm 139
4 - John 3:16-17 (CEB)
5 - John 10:10 (NRSV)
6 - Acts 10:34-36 (CEB)
7 - 1 Timothy 2:4 (CEB)
8 - Ephesians 2:8-9 (NRSV)

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Introspection: God's Gift to Someone

2011-03-12T22:45:00.011-05:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

God's Gift to Someone

Scripture:

I will instruct you and teach you about the direction you should go. I'll advise you and keep My eye on you.

Psalm 32:8 (CEB)

Don’t know how it is You looked at me
And saw the person that I could be
Awakening my heart
Breaking through the dark
Suddenly Your grace

Like sunlight burning at midnight
Making my life something so
Beautiful, beautiful
Mercy reaching to save me
All that I need, You are so
Beautiful, beautiful

From "Beautiful, Beautiful" by Francesca Battistelli

If you couldn't tell from my writing, the last six months have been an emotional time for me, to say the least. During this time, I have felt God working within me, bringing about some much-needed healing, forgiveness, and change in my life.

At some point within the last few years, I said something to the extent of the following: "I've been a bad son, a bad grandson, a bad friend, a bad student, a bad employee, and a bad Christian. If only I could meet the right woman, I could be a bad boyfriend and maybe even a bad husband and a bad father." I admit that I have a tendency to be melodramatic, particularly when I am feeling discouraged, but this statement speaks volumes about my self-image and my negativity. In my mind, I saw myself as a failure, and I had low expectations for the future, particularly in regards to finding love and starting a family.

If you read my blog during October of last year, you might have noticed that I wrote a lot about love and companionship. The reason for this is that, at the time, I had developed a crush on a young woman I know. While it is not uncommon for me to be attracted to the women I know, this was an extreme case. There were times I had trouble getting this woman off my mind. It felt both good and painful at the same time.

Given my very broken self-image, a relationship with this woman just didn't seem realistic. I saw myself as inadequate, undesirable, and unlovable; I felt as though no woman in her right mind would ever want me. My situation seemed desperate, but I remembered another desperate situation I faced in the past. When I was stuck in a miserable job situation, I began praying, and God delivered me from it. My unfulfilled desire for companionship had been an ever-present thorn in my mind, but I had never really put the matter into God's hands. I began praying that God would lead me to a girlfriend, if not to the woman on my mind, then to someone else He would choose for me. Basically, I was praying for a miracle.

I am convinced that God has heard my prayers. Though I do not yet have a girlfriend, I believe that, as a direct result of my prayers, God has begun working in my life in a new way. As the great theologian Mick Jagger wrote:

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, well you just might find
You get what you need

I think that this chorus applies to prayer. When we pray, God might not give us exactly what we want, but He will give us exactly what we need. When I began praying for a girlfriend, I feel as though God rolled up His sleeves said, "If you want a companion, then we have some work to do." If God had simply given me what I asked, my snarky comment about myself could have become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

One evening, shortly after I started praying for a companion, I caught myself thinking resentful thoughts over something that happened over ten years ago, something that I had let shape my self-image. Halfheartedly, I asked God to help me to forgive the person who hurt me. That night, God led me to a book called Healing for Damaged Emotions.¹ This book brought me face-to-face with my brokenness: namely my resentment, my low self-esteem, and my perfectionism. The things I learned from this book helped me to dig beneath my anger and my resentment and to work through the hurt I was holding inside.

God was putting me through a process of healing that brought some much-needed forgiveness and reconciliation into my life. One evening, I decided that I didn't want to be angry or resentful toward people any more, even when they hurt me. I then remembered the person who hurt me long ago and thought about what I would want to say to her. The next day I decided to clear the air with her and to apologize for the grudge I held against her. Finally, I was able to put the past in the past.

On Thanksgiving Day last year, I cleaned up the living room while my mother cooked dinner. As I cleaned, I saw a stain on the carpet where I had spilled a soda and a mildewed spot on the coffee table where I had been setting my drinks. Being the perfectionist I am, I became discouraged with myself and yelled out, in my signature melodramatic fashion, "Everywhere I look I find another reason to hate myself." The last thing my mom needed at that time was an argument, but she is not the type of person who can remain silent when I start beating myself up. We began to argue, and eventually I said that all I ever do is to make her miserable. My mother told me that I was wrong and that most of the time I actually make her happy.

I desperately needed to hear that from her. The truth is that I had been viewing myself as a curse to others. I had felt as though there was nothing I could do but to make other people upset, uncomfortable, or miserable with my presence. Sometimes I even felt as though everyone would be better off if I wasn't around. Knowing that I actually made my mother happy shook my damaged perceptions of myself. Maybe I was completely wrong about myself.

I am a man of many faults. It is a lot easier for me to see my own faults than the faults of others, so I end up seeing myself as a bad person by comparison. Furthermore, being a perfectionist causes me to be constantly aware of my faults, and sometimes it causes me see faults I don't even really have. The truth is that we should not take our self-image from our faults or from comparing ourselves to others. We should look at ourselves as God looks at us. God looks past our faults and our shortcomings and sees our potential. God sees the people He created us to be. Why else would God call so many seemingly messed-up people to do great things?²

Maybe other people can see more to me than my faults and my shortcomings. Maybe other people don't put the same unrealistically high expectations on me that I put on myself. Maybe I can be open and honest about my brokenness and still be loved in spite of it. After all, I am not the only person in this world who has faults, and I am not the only person in this world who is broken. These things are true of each of us.

Historically, Valentine's Day has not exactly been my favorite holiday, but this year I made the decision not to spend the day feeling sorry for myself. I learned a long time ago that I am not, as the saying goes, "God's gift to women." Even so, I now realize that I am God's gift to someone. My mother always prays that she'll be a blessing to others. Essentially, a blessing is what each of us is called to be. Collectively, the followers of Christ are called the Body of Christ.³ This means that Christ continues to bless the world through His followers. In this way, I am called to be God's gift to other people. Maybe I am even called to be a blessing to someone in particular through my lifelong companionship.

No matter what faults you have, no matter what mistakes you have made, no matter how discouraged you feel, please realize that God sees past your faults and your shortcomings to the person He created you to be. Realize that you were created to be God's gift to other people. If you are unable to believe this about yourself, then I beg you to let Christ into your heart to bring healing into your life.

Notes:
1 - David A. Seamands. Healing for Damaged Emotions. 1981, David C. Cook.
I have referenced this book numerous times in my blog posts these last few months. This book is honestly one of the most wonderful books I have ever read. I strongly encourage you to read it, even if you don't think you have damaged emotions.
2 - Look at the stories of Gideon, King David, Jonah, St. Peter, and St. Paul for starters.
3 - "We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function. In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other." ~ Roman 12:4-5 (CEB)

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: A Life, Unearthed

2011-02-25T23:54:00.004-05:00

Disclaimer: I am, by no means, an expert in living out the advice I give in this article. This message is as much for me as it is for anyone else.
I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

A Life, Unearthed

Scripture:

God didn’t give us a spirit that is timid but one that is powerful, loving, and self-controlled.

2 Timothy 1:7 (CEB)

What good is chance not taken?
What good is life not living?
What good is love not given?

Here goes nothing
Here goes everything
Gotta reach for something
Or you'll fall for anything
Take a breath; take a step
What comes next, God only knows
But here goes!

From "Here Goes" by Bebo Norman

Jesus once told a parable about a rich man who entrusted his investments to three of his servants. To one, he gave the sum of five talents; to another, he gave two talents; and, to the third, he gave one talent.¹ The first two servants were bold: they invested aggressively and doubled the money entrusted to them. The third servant was afraid of what would happen if he were unsuccessful, so he played it safe and buried the money he was given. The rich man was very happy with the success of the first two servants, so he rewarded them. With the overly cautious servant, on the other hand, the man was quite angry.²

The "Parable of the Talents" is a call for us to faithfully use the things that God has given us. Typically we associate the "talents" in the story with the resources God has entrusted to us: our spiritual gifts, our abilities, our time, and our money, to name a few.³ The more I think about this story and the more I think about life in general, the more I see that this parable is also a call to boldness.

What if the "talents" in the story are not just our gifts and our resources, but something a lot more personal? What if the third servant, in burying his talent, was actually burying himself? Perhaps Jesus is warning us against burying the very things that make us who we are:

our hopes,

our dreams,

our desires,

our passion,

our creativity,

our love,

our calling.

Maybe we bury our "talents" when we work for decades at jobs we hate. Maybe we bury our "talents" by not pursuing a relationship with someone we care about. Maybe we bury our "talents" by living lives devoid of passion, purpose, and drive. Maybe we bury our "talents" by not reaching out to others. Maybe we bury our "talents" when we don't express ourselves because we fear the disapproval of others. Maybe we bury our "talents" when we never leave our comfort zones. Maybe we bury our "talents" when we don't follow our hearts but instead live our lives in a meaningless rut, all in the name of security, practicality, and realism.

God's desire for us is that we live life to the fullest.⁴ How often do we find ourselves spending day after day doing business as usual, all while feeling a sense of restlessness deep within our hearts? How often do we bury our hopes, our passions, and our souls beneath a mountain of fears, doubts, and excuses? How often do we content ourselves with dreaming of a purposeful and meaningful life and settle for mere existence? We all have dreams and desires, but they will never come true unless the dreamer within us awakens and pursues them, working to make them a reality.

Often Christians speak of dying to self and of being a living sacrifice. While it is true that not all desires are good and that some dreams are best not chased, I believe that some dreams and some desires are given to us by God. To bury such things would be to bury our calling, to bury the person who God created us to be. It takes wisdom to discern which dreams are God-given and which dreams are nothing but sandcastles. Thus, it is important for us to boldly ask God for direction in life.⁵

The servant in Christ's parable was afraid of what would happen if he made an investment and lost money. He thought it better to play it safe and to do nothing. Ironically, the rich man would have probably been happier with the servant if he had invested the money and lost every penny. At least he could have said that he tried, and he would have been wiser for the wear. If this were the case, judging from Christ's other parables and teachings, the servant would have probably begged for mercy, and the rich man would have given him a second chance.

Perhaps, like the servant, we fear failure. It is important for us to remember that God forgives failure. I am not advocating recklessness, but we should not be afraid to fail, because each failure gives us an opportunity to learn from it and to grow. Our God is a God of second chances. The fearful servant, though, had no second chance. After all, each of us has only one life to live (or not to live).

Maybe it is not failure that we fear, but the disapproval of others. There are nearly seven billion people on this planet, and it is impossible to please all of them. Ultimately we have no control over people's reactions to what we say or do. Maybe we fear conflict. Though we should always try to be considerate of others, we can end up stepping on people's toes even when we do nothing wrong. It is important for us to learn how to handle conflicts with grace and maturity.

Maybe we bury ourselves under excuses because we doubt ourselves or feel inadequate to achieve our dreams. Maybe our motto is "if only." "If only I were smarter." "If only I were more talented." "If only I were more like this person or that person." "If only I were better looking." "If only I had a better personality." "If only I had more money." "If only I were younger." We have no reason to make such excuses. As a friend recently reminded me, if God puts a dream in our hearts, He will also give us the means to make the dream come true. It has been said that "God does not call the equipped; He equips the called."

The rich man in the story told the fearful servant that, if he was too afraid to do anything else, he should have put the money in the bank because then at least he would have gotten some interest. The lesson we can take from this is that God is happy with us for any progress we make, even if it is just a baby step. Any step in the right direction is better than standing still.

As a friend once told me, "Sometimes you just have to grab life by the horns." God did not create us to merely exist but to truly live. We need to stop hiding behind doubts, fears, and excuses. We need to unearth the parts of ourselves that we have buried so that we may be truly complete in who God created us to be. Don't just live...

LIVE OUT LOUD!

Notes:
1 - Average wages for 75 years, 30 years, and 15 years respectively
2 - To read the "Parable of the Talents" in its entirety, see Matthew 25:14-30.
3 - For more on that point of view, see my perspective "A 'Talent' is a Terrible Thing to Waste"
4 - "I came so that they could have life - indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest." ~ John 10:10b (CEB)
5 - "But anyone who needs wisdom should ask God, whose very nature is to give to everyone without a second thought, without keeping score. Wisdom will certainly be given to those who ask." ~ James 1:5 (CEB)

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Introspection: What Forgiveness Means to Me

2011-02-13T13:39:00.004-05:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

What Forgiveness Means to Me

Scripture:

This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.

Matthew 5:23-24 (The Message)

I have seen the healing hand of God
Reaching out and mending broken hearts
Taste and see the fullness of His peace
And hold on to what's being held out
The healing hand of God

From "The Healing Hand of God" by Jeremy Camp

Last year, I wrote an article in which I admitted my difficulties forgiving other people for the things they have said or done that hurt me in the past. I lamented the fact that, though God has forgiven me for so many things, I could still hold grudges against others.¹ Looking back, I believe that a lot of my trouble was that I did not know what it truly means to forgive someone. Reflecting on the things I have learned in the past few months, I realize that my former concept of forgiveness was altogether wrong.

Back then, I thought that forgiveness meant pretending that something never happened. Back then, I had confused forgiveness with forgetfulness. So often we hear the words "Forgive and forget." It sounds as though it should be simple enough, but in some cases it is much easier said than done. I am not talking about instances when someone cuts us off in traffic or when someone borrows something and neglects to return it. These things actually are forgettable. Sometimes, though, people say and do things that hurt us deeply, and getting over these things is a lot more difficult.

To truly leave the past in the past and to be reconciled with those who have hurt me, I needed to learn what forgiveness really means.

Forgiveness is not simply pretending that something never happened. When we try to pretend that someone never hurt us, we are not properly working through the pain that the person caused us. We are not forgiving the person at all. Instead, we only cover up our feelings. Though unacknowledged, these feelings become infected, changing us from human beings into toxic, tangled masses of pain, anger, bitterness, and even hatred. Instead of letting go of the things that hurt us, we make them a permanent part of ourselves.

Sometimes forgiveness looks nothing at all like forgetfulness. In fact, sometimes it is quite the opposite. Forgiveness actually requires us to dredge up the hidden pain of the past so that we can deal with it properly. Forgiveness means digging beneath the hard outer layer of bitterness and confronting the feelings that have been covered up for so long. It means bringing these things to the surface so that healing can begin.

Forgiveness requires that we admit that someone has hurt us. Pain caused by others, particularly when we are young, can profoundly affect who we are and who we become if it is not dealt with. Sometimes forgiveness even requires us to confront those who caused us pain. When one does so and when the offender is willing to listen, the doors to reconciliation are opened. One may even come to better understand the offender and to realize that the two are not so different.

Forgiveness requires us to be honest enough to admit when someone's actions have made us angry. Forgiveness means allowing ourselves to experience the anger in the moment so that it does not have the chance to fester into bitterness or hatred. St. Paul once wrote "Be angry without sinning. Don’t let the sun set on your anger."² Paul realized the dangers of unresolved anger. Perhaps you believe that anger is wrong. The truth is that it does not even matter whether or not anger is a sin. If you are angry, hiding your anger or condemning yourself will not make it go away. When we do not acknowledge our anger and fail to work through it, we hold on to what has angered us, and we do not forgive.

Forgiveness requires that we acknowledge that others have hurt us, but it does not mean that we assign blame. Forgiving is sometimes compared to canceling a person's debt.³ When we forgive someone, we no longer hold the person responsible for undoing the damage caused, and we no longer expect the person to pay for the transgression. When we forgive, we no longer use the offender as a crutch, blaming the person for everything that has gone wrong in our lives.

Forgiveness requires us to admit and to experience the pain and the anger that someone has caused us, but it requires another step. Forgiveness means moving past the pain and the anger: it means healing. This is not something that we can do by ourselves: we need the grace of God. Recently, a friend pointed out to me the healing power of God's grace. He told me that the human body cannot heal scar tissue, but God can heal the scars on our hearts. God's grace often comes to us through other people, so we should be willing to ask others for help as we seek healing.

Sometimes forgiveness requires us to be mature enough to accept responsibility when necessary. A friend of mine once pointed out to me something I should have done for someone else. I became angry with him and proceeded to give him a piece of my mind. The truth is that I was not angry with him because of his criticism: I was angry with him because he was right. In this case, forgiving him meant apologizing to him.

This is what forgiveness means to me. I have stories to go along with each of these points, but they are too personal for me to include in this article. It has been said that forgiveness helps the one forgiving more than the one being forgiven. Now I am seeing the truth in this. I had destroyed myself on the inside because of things that happened in the past. God, in His graciousness, put me back together again, reconciling me to others and to myself. For the first time in a long time, I feel like a normal human being.

Notes:
1 - See my introspection "Excess Baggage"
2 - Ephesians 4:26 (CEB)
3 - David A. Seamands. Healing for Damaged Emotions. 1981, David C. Cook. Chapter 2.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Introspection: Pushing and Pulling

2011-01-29T15:18:00.008-05:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Pushing and Pulling

Scripture:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (TNIV)

There's no such thing as perfect people
There's no such thing as a perfect life
So come as you are
Broken and scarred
Lift up your heart
And be amazed and be changed by a perfect God

From "Perfect People" by Natalie Grant

I recently joined a Bible study group for young adults. One thing about this group that is somewhat new to me is the fact that many of the members of this group are married. I am used to being around people slightly younger than I, all of whom are single. One thing I have noticed is that, though I often have trouble speaking with single women, I find myself more comfortable around married women or women in committed relationships. I'll provide some examples to explain why.

Woman A is happily married. I can be myself, express myself, and say pretty much whatever is on my mind around her. Woman B is in a serious relationship. Again, I can tell her anything about myself, my opinions, or my feelings. Why is this? Each of these women already has someone special in her life. The most I aspire to be to either of them is a friend. There is no reason for me to try to impress them or try to hide anything about myself.

Woman C, on the other hand, is single... and attractive. I want her to like me. I want her to go out with me. Maybe I want her to be my girlfriend. Maybe I even want to marry her, build a life with her, wake up with her every morning, and have children with her. There is a lot riding on how I present myself! I can't just be myself. I have to be better than myself. I have to be cool and attractive. I can't let her see the unattractive things about myself. I have to convince her that I'm the perfect man for her.

And that is precisely why I am still single.

My downfall, aside from looking insanely too far into the future, is my perfectionism. I try to show only what I consider to be good qualities about myself. On top of that, I try to act like I'm cool. Unfortunately, there are so many things about myself that I think would be unattractive, very little of me comes through at all. I end up throwing out the baby with the bathwater. I uproot the wheat along with the weeds. I figure that very few women I know have ever met the real me. Instead, they have met my nervous, quiet, pathetic attempt to be attractive. I have never given them the opportunity to know or love the real me.

I'll never be the perfect man, and I'll never meet the perfect woman. Neither of these exists. If I did not have the perfectionist mindset, I would probably now have a girlfriend, if not a fiancée or a wife. Of course, this is just one example of my struggles with perfectionism: single women are not the only people with whom I have this problem. I experience the same thing with anyone I am trying to impress. For example, I have acted in a very similar way during job interviews.

I have come to realize that my perfectionism is one of the greatest problems in my life, as it affects me in so many different ways. I have trouble opening up to people because I don't want people to see my flaws. I don't voice my opinions because I want to please everyone. I become irritable when things are not just right. I become angry with myself when I make mistakes. I beat myself up on the inside when I don't do the right thing. I have trouble forgiving myself. These are some of the general characteristics of a perfectionist.¹

Perfectionism is harmful to oneself, and it hinders one's relationships with other people. Some people even project their own perfectionism onto God. As a result, they see God as someone they can never make happy.² In this way it can even sabotage a person's relationship with God. Taking these things into consideration, I think it is pretty much evident that perfectionism is a sin.

Having just labeled perfectionism a sin, I am not saying that it is wrong to desire to be a better person. Those things in our lives that hurt ourselves, hurt others, and separate us from God need to be dealt with, and one should always seek to do good in the world. The process of becoming a better person is a major part of following Christ. Some refer to this concept as "going on to perfection." That said, there is a big difference between perfection in this sense and perfectionism. I like to think of it as the difference between pushing and pulling.

Perfectionists try their hardest to be perfect or to appear perfect. They try to push themselves toward perfection. Dr. David A. Seamands, in Healing for Damaged Emotions, discusses the two persons in the life of every perfectionist: Real You and Super You. Real You is a person's true self. Super You is an ideal that the perfectionist strives so hard to live up to.³

We can never hope to push ourselves to perfection because each and every one of us is broken. Because of this, we cannot see clearly what is truly perfect and ideal. We may push ourselves toward perfection as hard as we can, but, because we all suffer from some degree of spiritual blindness, we will inevitably veer drastically off course. Our idea of perfection is not the same as God's. Super You is a figment of one's imagination, and it is not the person whom God wants any of us to be. Instead, God wants each of us to be the best Real You possible.

The key difference between perfectionism and true perfection is the one in control of the process. A perfectionist takes it upon himself to push himself to perfection but misses the mark entirely because he does not know what is perfect. The true process of perfection comes about when God is allowed to pull a person to where he or she needs to be.

John Burke, in his book No Perfect People Allowed, compares people to priceless paintings covered in mud. The fact that the painting is covered in mud does not make it any less of a masterpiece. The mud needs to be removed, but we shouldn't try to clean it off by ourselves because we might damage the painting. Instead the painting must be taken to a master so that it can be properly restored to its original glory.⁴

In the same way, when we take it upon ourselves to fix ourselves, we only damage ourselves further because we don't really know how to fix ourselves. Instead we must put our imperfections into God's hands, allowing the Master to lead us into wholeness. It is true that we must do our part and follow God to where He is leading us, but the one in control of the process is God and not ourselves. So many times recently I have heard the words, "Let God be God."

In recent months, God has led me to take certain steps to become free from the perfectionism that has disrupted my life. I have tried to adopt a more "warts and all" approach to my interactions with others. I have tried to be open and honest about my own faults and brokenness, for only when we are honest about such things do we allow God to bring healing into our lives. I have learned more about emotional healing and confronted the things in my past that led to my perfectionism and my negative self image. I am trying to leave behind Super Me so that people can get to know Real Me.

If, like me, you struggle with perfectionism, I urge you to abandon any notion of trying to become someone you are not. Instead, take your imperfections to God and let Him guide you to become the person He created you to be. God will deal with all of our imperfections in His time and in His way. Let God be God, and let you be you.

Notes:
1 - David A. Seamands. Healing for Damaged Emotions. 1981, David C. Cook. p. 77-83
2 - Seamands, p. 82
3 - Seamands, p. 101-109
4 - John Burke. No Perfect People Allowed. 2005, Zondervan. p. 97

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: When Life Gives You Onions

2011-01-21T17:32:00.004-05:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

When Life Gives You Onions

Scripture:

I know the experience of being in need and of having more than enough; I have learned the secret to being content in any and every circumstance, whether full or hungry or whether having plenty or being poor. I can endure all these things through the power of the one who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:12-13 (CEB)

When I’m stuck in this nothingness by myself
I’m just sitting in silence
There’s no way I can make it without Your help
I won’t even try it
I know You have Your reasons for everything
So I will keep believing
Whatever I might be feeling, God You are my hope
And You'll be my strength

From "No Matter What" by Kerrie Roberts

"When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade." You have probably heard this little piece of advice in some form at some point in your lifetime. This famous saying is attributed to Norman Vincent Peale, the author of The Power of Positive Thinking and one of the founders of the popular Guideposts magazine.¹ I first heard this advice when I was young, but just recently have I begun to really give it any serious thought.

Obviously this advice is not referring to literal lemons. What it means is that, when something bad happens, you should try to make something good out of it. In general, I think that this is good advice. I believe that people should always try to turn a negative into a positive. One should always try to make the best of any situation.

Though I think this modern-day proverb is very appropriate for minor setbacks, I don't think it would be very helpful to someone going through a really tough time. Though it would still be sound advice, I think it would sound rather glib in really trying times. I know that in my own times of struggling and emotional turmoil, if someone advised me just to turn my lemons into lemonade, I would probably become irritable and would want to say something like, "Easy for you to say! You have no idea what I'm going through right now!"

The catch is that lemonade is actually rather easy to make. Squeezing lemons is not a very difficult task. What I don't particularly like about this piece of advice is that it does not acknowledge how truly difficult it can be to overcome some of the struggles that life throws at us. The truth is that life does not always give us "lemons." I would say that sometimes life gives us "onions."

A couple of months ago, I made some broccoli salad for a party. The recipe called for a red onion. As I sliced up the onion, the floodgates of my sinuses opened. The old saying that onions make a person cry proved true in my case. Thanks to the onion fumes, my eyes burned and watered, and my nose began to run. I had to leave the kitchen, run to the bathroom, and blow my nose. Cutting up that onion was no fun whatsoever.

I think that some of life's trials are more like onions than lemons. Like lemons, onions are not very good to eat by themselves, but they can be used to make good things. Unlike squeezing lemons, though, cutting up onions is not very fun. In fact, it is downright unpleasant. Onions can be used to make good foods like salads, sandwiches, soups, and pizzas, but there will be tears along the way.

If you are more than a few years old, you have probably come to realize that life is not always easy. Life can be difficult, unfair, and even downright cruel at times. There will be times when we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. There will be times when we cannot see how anything good could possibly come from our circumstances. There will be times when we will want to cry.

The good news is that we are not alone, that we do not have to go through these tough times all by ourselves. Remember that God is always there for us if we will only turn to Him. St. Peter wrote, "Throw all your anxiety onto [God], because He cares about you."² St. Paul noted that he could endure anything that life threw at him because Christ gave him strength.³ No matter what you are going through, God is there to help you if you will only turn your troubles over to Him. There is no problem that you cannot take to God.

Remember also that you can turn to other people for help as well. God did not intend for us to face life by ourselves; He never intended for people to be alone in this world. We are created for community, and we are called to help shoulder each others' burdens.⁴ Don't be afraid to admit your feelings to others or too proud to ask others for help. True friends will be there for you in your time of need.

Realize that, whatever you are going through, God understands your pain. Jesus Christ was both fully God and fully human. He had a human heart. He had human feelings. He shed human tears. He was man enough to express His feelings before others, and He was not afraid to ask His friends for help when He needed them.⁵ Dr. David A. Seamands notes that Christ, in his time of suffering, "took unto Himself the entire range of our feelings. And He bore the feeling of our infirmities, that we would not have to bear them alone."⁶

When life hands you an onion, turn it over to God. Be confident that He understands your pain and that He will bring something good out of your difficult time. Do not be afraid to open up to others and to ask for help. Work through your trying time the best you can, and, if necessary, cry your eyes out.

Notes:
1 - Wikipedia: "Norman Vincent Peale"
2 - 1 Peter 5:7 (CEB)
3 - Philippians 4:13
4 - Genesis 2:18, Ecclesiastes 4:10, Galatians 6:2
5 - John 11:35, Matthew 26:37-38
6 - David A. Seamands. Healing for Damaged Emotions. 1981, David C. Cook. p. 44 (See all of chapter 3.)

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: The Christmas Scandal

2010-12-23T13:59:00.007-05:00

Merry Christmas from the Wayside!

The Christmas Scandal

Scripture:

For He grew up before Him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him,
nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.
He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
He was despised, and we held Him of no account.

Surely He has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted Him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon Him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by His bruises we are healed.

Isaiah 53:2-5 (NRSV)

He came down to earth from heaven
Who is God and Lord of all
And His shelter was a stable
And His cradle was a stall
With the poor, the scorned, the lowly
Lived on earth our Savior holy

From "Once in Royal David's City" by Cecil Frances Alexander

An evangelical university in my town has set up a very elaborate nativity scene at the main entrance to the campus. At night, the entire scene is illuminated for all passersby to see. Nativity scenes are familiar sights at Christmas: a glowing infant Jesus lying in a manger surrounded by the Virgin Mary, Joseph, some shepherds, and three elderly wise men, all looking very serene and pious. Some nativity scenes even include a few well-behaved animals. As familiar and iconic as this scene is, I am beginning to wonder if it really captures the true nature of the Christmas story.

The story begins when a young teenager named Mary is visited by an angel. This angel, Gabriel, tells her that she will soon give birth to a child. This child would not be just any child: this child would one day be the King of Israel and would even be called the "Son of God." This would be surprising news for any woman, more so for a woman like Mary who hadn't even lost her virginity. The news was not only surprising but also troubling. Mary was not yet married, so what would the townspeople think? What would her fiance Joseph think? Would anyone even believe her story?

People in town begin to gossip. Mary's story isn't very convincing: "I'm pregnant, but I'm still a virgin. Oh, by the way, the baby is God's." Nobody in his right mind would believe a story like that, so there are only two logical explanations. Either Mary and her fiance have been fooling around, or Mary had been unfaithful. Word reaches her fiance Joseph. Obviously, he knows that the baby is not his, so that leaves only one conclusion: Mary has cheated on him. Naturally, he decides to break off the engagement. Even though Joseph is disappointed, hurt, and angry, he is kind-natured, so he decides to handle things discreetly to spare Mary what little dignity she had left.¹

Just after Joseph had made up his mind about breaking his engagement to Mary, an angel appears to him in a dream and tells him that Mary has not been unfaithful to him and that the baby is indeed from God. Joseph wakes up and decides not to break the engagement. Of course this is going to make Joseph look bad as well. By not breaking the engagement, he is basically confirming to the townspeople that he and Mary have conceived a baby out of wedlock, something that is a lot less acceptable in their culture than it is in ours. Mary and Joseph know the truth, but, to everyone else, they are just another young couple who couldn't control themselves and messed up.

To complicate matters, the government decides to take a census, requiring that all people go to their ancestors' hometowns to register. This means that Mary and Joseph have to travel all the way to Bethlehem because they are descendants of King David. When they arrive, Mary goes into labor. Unfortunately, the two cannot find anyone who will take them in, so they end up having the baby in a stable - a dirty, smelly cave - like a couple of teenage runaways. With no bed for the baby, they lay Him in a feeding trough.

If things weren't bad enough, a bunch of anxious shepherds show up to see the baby. In our heads we have a lot of warm, fuzzy images of shepherds, but, at that time, shepherds were notorious for being thieves and were considered among the scum of the earth.² Shepherds would be the last people that Mary and Joseph wanted to see, especially at that time.

I imagine that the mental portrait I am painting of the Christmas story is far different from the peaceful, pious nativity scenes we usually see. Nativity scenes typically make the story seem much more dignified, when, in reality, it was a holy mess. The young couple are usually depicted so serene and prayerful, but with all the conflicting emotions - the excitement of having a baby, the joy of doing God's will, the frustrations of lives turned upside-down and reputations ruined, and the panic of having everything to go wrong in one evening - who knows what the two were really feeling at the time? A passerby would most likely look on this scene, see the child, and think, "That kid doesn't have a chance." God did not pick a very auspicious way to bring His Son, our Savior, into the world.

Things did not get much better afterward. This child Jesus grew up to become a rabbi - a poor, homeless rabbi. He and his friends would travel the region, completely dependent on the grace of God and on the hospitality of others. He would associate with prostitutes, tax-collectors, beggars, and other disreputable types. Jesus repeatedly ticked off the religious authorities. Eventually He was put on trial, executed in a public spectacle, and buried in a borrowed grave.

The people of Israel had waited generations for a messiah to show up and set things right. This messiah was supposed to be a great political leader, a heroic warrior king who would liberate the Israelites from their Roman oppressors. The person called Jesus was nothing like the messiah that everyone had imagined. Instead, He was the exact opposite: he was born under sketchy circumstances and lived his life at the bottom rungs of the societal ladder.

So why did God choose for things to be this way? Why did Christ have to be born under such questionable circumstances? Why did God have to drag Mary and Joseph's names through the mud? Could He not have been born to married parents? Could he not have been the great warrior king everyone was expecting, or could he not have been more reputable rabbi? Could He not have brought salvation to humanity without being executed like a common criminal?

I believe that the Christmas story, like the entire life of Christ, should affect how we look at each and every person on this planet. The Christmas story is scandalous because God's love is scandalous. God loves unwed mothers, teenage runaways, and young couples who mess up their lives. God loves people who have bad reputations and people who live on the other side of the tracks. God loves embezzlers, prostitutes, sex offenders, people with substance-abuse problems, and even inmates on death row. God loves the unlovable and the people on whom society has already given up. The Christmas story reminds us of this scandalous love.

Regarding acts of kindness, Christ once said, "I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you have done it for Me."³ There is something very literal about what He said because, in many ways, Jesus was the "least of these." The Christmas story reminds us that God invited "the least of these" into the story of our salvation. It reminds us that God even placed His own Son, sometimes called Emmanuel meaning "God with us," to live among them.

I hope that as we celebrate Christmas in the next few days, we will see the Christmas story for what it really is: not just a story of a baby born in a stable but a story of God's scandalous love and a story of God identifying with us. I hope that this story affects how we look at other people as we worship the one who was both fully God and fully human, the one who was both the least of these and the greatest of these.

Notes:
1 - Rulebreaker: A Christmas Story. 2010 Wayfarer. Master Teacher Guide p. 12
2 - McKinley, Seay, and Holder. Advent Conspiracy. 2009 Zondervan. p. 41-42
3 - Matthew 25:40 (CEB)

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: Is Hatred Ever Right?

2010-12-10T15:04:00.004-05:00

Developed from part of a Sunday School lesson delivered at Bethel United Methodist Church on November 28, 2010.¹
I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Is Hatred Ever Right?

Scripture:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24 (NRSV)

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause
As I walk from Earth into Eternity

From "Hosanna" by Brooke Frasier

Recently the Bible study book used by my Sunday School class featured lessons about the Psalms. At first I was not too enthusiastic about this. After all, how was I supposed to teach a whole Sunday School lesson about a Psalm? A lesson about a Bible story? I can handle that. A lesson about the teachings of Jesus? Definitely! A lesson about parables? Those are my favorite! A lesson about a Psalm? No way! Psalms are usually self-explanatory, so what is there to explain or discuss? What would I do with Psalm 100, for example? "Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth." Should I discuss the importance of singing?

I came to find out that teaching about a Psalm is not too different from teaching about anything else. As always, the Bible study book gave me a good starting point; God helped me to prepare the rest of the lesson; and the discussion questions took up most of the class time.

Recently, I was blessed with the opportunity to deliver a lesson about Psalm 139. Written by King David, this particular Psalm contains a number of well-known and beloved Bible verses and passages about God's close, personal involvement with humanity.

The psalmist begins with some words about God's perfect knowledge of each of us:

O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
(verses 1-3)

The psalmist then continues with thoughts regarding God's constant presence with us:

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol², You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there Your hand shall lead me,
and Your right hand shall hold me fast.
(Verses 7-10)

The psalmist then praises God for the thought and care that He put into our creation:

For it was You who formed my inward parts;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are Your works;
that I know very well.
(Verse 13-14)

Toward the end, though, David decides to go off on a tangent, and the Psalm takes on a much darker tone:

O that You would kill the wicked, O God,
and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me -
those who speak of You maliciously,
and lift themselves up against You for evil!
Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
(Verses 19-22)

And this was such a beautiful Psalm! Why did David have to go and ruin it with all that stuff about killing and hatred? There are verses that I honestly wish were not included in the Bible, and these are four of them. The author of our Bible study book must have felt the same way, as she decided not to cover this part of the Psalm in the lesson. As I prepared to deliver this lesson, I decided that it was necessary to wrestle with these verses as well.

So what are we supposed to learn from this part of the Psalm? Are we supposed to have the same attitude as the psalmist? Are believers supposed to hate the people who reject God and choose not to follow His ways? Are we supposed to pray for the deaths of those who do evil?

We all know that there are people who share David's sentiment. Without giving any names, there is one "church" in particular that is notorious for its members' hatred. The members of this church infamously travel the country protesting at the funerals of those they consider sinful. They brandish spiteful words on mockingly colorful signs and sing hateful songs, adding to the pain of those who are grieving. They admit to rejoicing when people die because they view it as God's righteous judgment on the wicked. They use Bible verses like the ones above to justify their beliefs and their actions.

There is something very dangerous about basing one's entire belief system on a handful of Bible verses. The passage above, like all Bible passages, must be read while taking the rest of Scripture in consideration. If we do so, I believe that we will see that the hatred that David expresses is not what God wants for us.

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Jonah. God sends the prophet Jonah to the city of Nineveh to warn the Assyrians of their coming destruction. The Assyrians were a very cruel people, and they were the hated enemy of Israel. Jonah himself had advised the king of Israel in his campaign against them. Jonah hated the Assyrians, so he was initially reluctant to go to Nineveh. With a little prodding from God and a whale, he finally does go. When the Assyrians repent of their ways, Jonah becomes angry that God decides to spare them from destruction. God has to remind Jonah that the Assyrians too are His creations whom He loves.³

The same God whom David is worshiping with this Psalm is the same God who sent Jonah to minister to the Assyrians.

I believe that the teachings and actions of Jesus Christ also have a lot to say about love and hatred. In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ said, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven..."⁴ Christ said that for us to be children of God, we are to love not only our neighbors but also those who are our enemies. When Christ was executed on the cross, He followed His own command, praying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."⁵ Christ prayed for the forgiveness of those who were treating Him so cruelly and unjustly.

The same God for whom David wrote the Psalm loved us enough to die for us "while we were still sinners."⁶

Taking such acts of God into consideration, it is evident that God does not want us to hate those who reject Him but to love them. We should not pray for the deaths of evildoers, but we should pray that they come to repentance.

I would like to propose that this part of Psalm 139, in which David boasts perfect hatred for the enemies of God, is not an example of the correct attitude to have or the correct theology to affirm. Instead, I believe that it is an honest admission of David's spirituality at the time. I have come to believe that some of the Psalms are examples of honest prayers. When we pray we should be completely honest, with God and with ourselves, about what is really on our minds and in our hearts. Sometimes this means admitting ugly things like "God, I am angry with you," or "God, I really hate this person."

David finishes this Psalm with a request:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
(Verses 23-24)

David follows up his admission of hatred for the enemies of God with an appeal to God to search his heart for evil and to lead him. Though David is totally devoted to God, he knows that he is not perfect and that he is dependent on God's grace. He knows that he needs for God to purge the evil from his heart and to lead him in the "way everlasting," the way of righteousness. David is asking for what is sometimes called God's sanctifying or transforming grace.

Though I initially felt that David ruined an otherwise beautiful Psalm with his talk of hatred and death, his closing request brings a beautiful sense of irony to the Psalm. If David is truly earnest about God searching his heart, if David truly wants to be transformed by God, he must let go of the perfect hatred that he boasts for the enemies of God. This would mean learning the lesson that God sought to teach Jonah. This would mean sharing the love for God's enemies that Christ showed when He gave His life on the cross.

No matter where we are on our spiritual journeys, each of us needs for God to come into our hearts, to heal our brokenness, and to transform us into the people He created us to be. We need to follow David's example, not in his admitted hatred, but in his honesty in prayer and in his willingness to be transformed and led by God.

Notes:
1 - The basis of my Sunday School lesson was:
Carol J. Miller. "God Is All-Knowing", Adult Bible Studies Fall 2010. Cokesbury.
All referenced verses from Psalm 139 are taken from the New Revised Standard Version.
2 - Death. Hell is used in some versions.
3 - Book of Jonah
4 - Matthew 5:43-45a (NRSV)
5 - Luke 23:34 (NRSV)
6 - Romans 5:8

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Introspection: Hidden Clutter

2010-11-25T16:15:00.005-05:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Hidden Clutter

Scripture:

Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn't come to call righteous people, but sinners.

Mark 2:17 (CEB)

Come to Me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Put on My yoke, and learn from Me. I'm gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. My yoke is easy to bear, and My burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30 (CEB)

Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain?
But if the invitation's open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

From "Stained Glass Masquerade" by Casting Crowns

Every year, in preparation for thanksgiving dinner at my house, my mother and I divide the responsibilities: my mom cooks while I clean. Most of my attention goes to the living room, which, unfortunately, accumulates a lot of clutter over time, the vast majority of it mine. When I start cleaning, the living room will actually look a lot worse before it starts to look better. This phenomenon occurs, because cleaning forces us to expose everything that has been swept under the rug - or, in my case, crammed in a corner behind a chair. Only when such clutter is brought to light can it be sorted out and dealt with properly.

Just as there is a lot of clutter in my living room, there is a lot of clutter in my life. These are things that I try to sweep under the proverbial rug or cram behind the metaphorical chair because I do not want people to see them in me. Case in point, earlier this week, I was able to leave work early, so I used the extra time to exercise. I noticed that one of the handlebars on my exercise bike was a little loose, so I decided to take it off to fix it. I had a great deal of trouble removing some of the bolts, and I lost my temper. As I worked on the bike, I yelled, threw a pair of pliers and a ratchet wrench at the floor, and employed a number of four-letter words that I know I should not have used. I was rather disgusted with myself afterward.

I was at home by myself when I lost my cool that day. Only a few people have seen this side of me. My anger is something that I have tried to keep hidden because I just do not want people to know about it. Had I been around other people while fixing my bike, I would have handled my frustration much more gracefully. Very few people have seen what I am actually like when I am angry. Normally, if I am angry around other people, I suppress my anger or deny it altogether.

The world can be a very judgmental and unforgiving place. Even in some churches, places intended for healing and mercy, weakness and failure are simply not allowed. Awareness of this has caused me to become some weird sort of perfectionist. I guard myself, fearful of what people might think if they knew the truth about me, that I have faults, that I have problems, that I am a sinner. I try to only let people see what I want them to see.

I like to read books and articles that are of a spiritual or religious nature. In the past couple of months, I was blessed to find two particular books that have truly resonated with me. The first is Healing for Damaged Emotions by David A. Seamands. As I read this book, I felt as though a majority of it was written especially for me. This work, written nearly thirty years ago, helps people to deal with things like low self-esteem, perfectionism, depression, and problems forgiving. In this book, the author teaches that nobody, not even a Christian, is invulnerable to such problems, that people should not be ashamed to admit these problems, and that Christ offers us healing.¹

The second book I have found is Messy Spirituality by Michael Yaconelli. Each time I sat down to read this book, my eyes would burn at least once as I fought back tears, so moving are the stories contained within. In this book, the author teaches that a person does not have to be a perfect Christian to have a relationship with God and that God reaches out to us in our imperfections and in the messiness of our lives.²

As I was reading this latter work, I began to wonder why these two books spoke to me so deeply. It then dawned on me that these authors were speaking directly to my own brokenness, to the very parts of myself that I try to keep hidden from other people.

There are a number of problems that result from hiding one's brokenness. A person who hides his or her brokenness cannot be healed. Just as clutter in a messy room must be brought out into the open to be sorted out, brokenness must be brought to the light for healing to occur. Christ once said, "Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn't come to call righteous people, but sinners." A sick person can only be treated if he or she is willing to admit that there is a problem and then go to see a doctor. Likewise, spiritual brokenness can only be healed if it is acknowledged and brought to God.³

A person who hides his or her brokenness also runs the risk of becoming isolated. A person who keeps himself guarded, fearful that others will see his imperfections, may end up hiding the good parts of his character as well. As a result, others will never get to know who the person really is. Furthermore, nobody knows that the person needs help, and nobody knows to pray for the person.

I have been trying to be more open and honest about my own brokenness, so here and now I bring my clutter out into the open.

My name is Anthony Snyder, and I am broken. I am a sinner. I want everyone to think that I'm perfect, but I am not even close. I struggle with things like anger. I have problems. Sometimes I feel as though my whole life is a mess. I have tried to hide my brokenness from others, and I have hidden myself in the process. I have deprived myself of both the love and the prayers of other people.

I am going to venture a guess that you, the reader, are in the same boat that I am, that my confession of brokenness is true for all of us, whether or not we want to admit it. Just realize that God loves all of us regardless. Realize that God has a purpose and a plan for each of us despite our brokenness. Know that God, in His grace, is able to heal us if we will only let Him into our hearts to do so.

Notes:
1 - David A. Seamands. Healing for Damaged Emotions. 1981, David C. Cook.
2 - Michael Yaconelli. Messy Spirituality. 2007, Zondervan.
3 - A word of thanks to all of my friends who reminded me of this recently.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: Turn the Page

2010-11-12T21:21:00.007-05:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Turn the Page

Scripture:

When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, reason like a child, think like a child. But now that I have become a man, I've put an end to childish things.

1 Corinthians 13:11 (CEB)

I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crooked lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

From "Your Hands" by JJ Heller

St. Paul, in his first letter to the church in Corinth, includes a meditation on the nature of love.¹ Toward the end of this "Love Chapter", Paul throws in an exhortation to put aside childish things. In the past, this part has bothered me: the thought of putting behind me everything I ever loved as a child is unsettling to say the least. Since then, I have come to realize that this not a call to stuffiness but a call to put aside immaturity.

To restate what I have written before,² there is a major difference between being childish and being childlike. For example, there is nothing inherently wrong with being an adult and enjoying things like comic books and video games. Liking such things does not necessarily mean that one is immature. On the other hand, one can act completely sophisticated and proper and still be selfish, petty, and irresponsible. Being childlike is a good thing: we should strive to have the faith, joy, hope, honesty, and unconditional love characteristic of children. Christ even calls us to come to Him with the heart of a child.³ What we should seek to do is to hold on to our childlikeness while putting aside our childishness.

Lately, though, I have begun to see more implications to Paul's exhortation than I did previously. I am beginning to see that this is more than just a call to put aside immaturity: it is a call to growth and movement.

We are all on a journey called life. This journey takes each of us in different directions. Sometimes our path is straight and smooth, and other times our path is rocky and winding. We see mountaintops of joy, and we see valleys of pain. We should never expect for the pace and the path of our journey to remain the same throughout our entire lives. Our journey will inevitably change over time.

We are not called to throw away everything that we once held dear just because we grow older. It is important to realize, though, that it is completely possible that some of the things to which we are most attached and which bring us the most comfort might actually hold us back and prevent us from growing. This can even be true about things that are inherently good in nature. Staying within our comfort zones can rob us of the opportunities God wants to give us to grow and to progress on our journey.

Jesus called twelve men as disciples to accompany Him throughout His ministry here on Earth. They followed Him for three years, learning from Him and watching Him perform miraculous acts of kindness and healing. The Disciples would have happily continued to do so for the rest of their lives, but Jesus knew that His time on earth would be brief. Jesus never intended for the twelve to spend their lives shadowing Him. Instead He was training them to continue the work He started. He once said to them, "I assure you that whoever believes in me will do the works that I do. They will do even greater works than these..."⁴ He intended for the Disciples to be like Him, to do what He did, and to even surpass Him. He intended for them to graduate from being disciples - those who follow - to being apostles - those sent out on a mission.

Jesus never intended to send the apostles out on their journey alone. He promised them that the Holy Spirit would be there to remind them of everything that He taught them and to guide them throughout their journey.⁵ This same Spirit, the Spirit that empowered the apostles as they built the Church throughout the world, is available to us to guide us on our own journey through life.

In this journey of life there will be times when we need to plant ourselves where we are, but there will also be times when we need to uproot ourselves and to move on so that we can grow. It is important that we remember to ask God for His Spirit to guide us and to help us throughout our journey. If we do so, the Holy Spirit will help us to discern which direction to take in life and to discern when we need to stay where we are and when we need to move forward on our journey. Our journey will change, but God is always there for us.

Notes:
1 - 1 Corinthians 13
2 - See my perspective: "Snakes, Doves, and Children"
3 - Matthew 19:14
4 - John 14:12 (CEB)
5 - John 14:25-26

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Introspection: Where Are You, God?

2010-11-05T13:51:00.006-04:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Where Are You, God?

Scripture:

Why, O Lord, do You stand far off?
Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor -
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.

For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.
In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, “God will not seek it out”;
all their thoughts are, “There is no God.”

Their ways prosper at all times;
Your judgments are on high, out of their sight;
as for their foes, they scoff at them.
They think in their heart, “We shall not be moved;
throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.”

Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand;
do not forget the oppressed.
Why do the wicked renounce God,
and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”?

But You do see! Indeed You note trouble and grief,
that You may take it into Your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to You;
You have been the helper of the orphan.

Psalm 10:1-6, 12-14

You led me here,
Then I watched You disappear
You left this emptiness inside
And I can't turn back time
No, stay!
Nothing compares to You
Nothing compares to You
I can't let You go

From "Never Be the Same" by RED

You can probably tell from some of my previous articles that my life is not like I want it to be. Frustrated with being a perpetually single, self-conscious introvert, I sometimes find myself actually becoming indignant that my circumstances are not what I think they should be. I just feel robbed, cheated out of the life that I think I should have, a life that seems to come so naturally to other people. I become angry, angry with myself for being the way I am, angry with my parents for the way they raised me, angry with other people for making me feel invisible, angry with society for being like it is, and even angry with God for letting - or making - me to be the way that I am.

In the past few weeks, I have noticed a number of people referencing the Psalms as examples of honest prayer.¹ Feeling a little indignant regarding my circumstances, I decided to search the Internet for Psalms that deal with anger toward God. In my search results,² I came across the tenth Psalm which begins:

Why, O Lord, do You stand far off?
Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?

The one who wrote this Psalm begins his prayer upset with God for seeming inactive and even absent in a time of great turmoil. It is as if the psalmist is saying, "Where are You, God? Why aren't you doing anything? Are you even watching this?" The psalmist then continues to vent - to God - his feelings of anger about the injustice going on all around him, about how cruelly the wicked among the rich and powerful are treating those less fortunate and about how much they seem to profit from it. He goes into great detail about how he feels, describing how he views the greedy, the ruthless, and the godless, comparing them to lions stalking their prey. The psalmist then asks God to take action and to punish those who have been abusing others.

With the fourteenth verse, the tone of the Psalm begins to change. The psalmist, Having expressed his anger and frustration, begins to remember the truth that God is always present, that God always hears our prayers, that God is in control, and that God cares about the oppressed and the needy.

Many of us feel uncomfortable with the idea of being angry with God. It is God who created the universe. It is God who has given us all of the blessings we have experienced in this life. It is God who has shown us such great love, mercy, and grace. What right do we have to be angry with such a wonderful God? Whether or not anger toward God is ever justified is actually irrelevant. If you are angry with God, condemning yourself for your anger, burying your anger under positive thinking, or pretending that you're not angry will not make the anger go away.

I recently heard someone say that one should treat his or her relationship with God as one would treat a relationship with a friend or a family member. For many of us, prayer can seem like speaking to some imaginary friend up in the sky; however, God is a very real person in each of our lives. When you are angry with a friend, what do you do? Do you bury your anger, or do you tell your friend how you feel? If you bury your anger, giving it the opportunity fester within yourself, you risk destroying your friendship. The right thing to do is to tell your friend how you feel. Regardless of whether you are right or wrong in your anger, a true friend will listen to you and respect your feelings. By telling your friend how you feel, you open the door for reconciliation.

All relationships require work to maintain, and all relationships have times of difficulty. Why should one's relationship with God be any different? Much of the Bible deals with the relationship between God and the people of Israel. Interestingly enough, the word Israel means "struggles with God."³

When we pray, we may feel as though we are talking to the ceiling, wondering if anyone is actually listening to us, but prayer is actually a two-way conversation. When we speak to God, God not only listens but also speaks back to us, though it is not necessarily audible. When we pray, we open ourselves up to God's healing and transforming power in our lives.⁴ I think that this may have been what the author of the tenth Psalm experienced. Once he opened up to God, expressing all of his feelings, he began to remember the truth of God's presence, mercy, and love.

I have seen this phenomenon in my own life in the last few weeks. Recently I began asking God for a major change, specifically a girlfriend. God has not yet given me a companion, but I believe that God has been working within me more noticeably since I started praying. I feel as though God is preparing me for a relationship with another person by bringing healing into my life and by teaching me lessons about patience, hope, trust, and openness.

I will not tell you that anger toward God is justified, and I will not condemn anger toward God. If you ever do feel angry toward God, tell Him! Tell God how you truly feel, knowing that God is a true friend who listens to you and who cares about your feelings. Realize that prayer is a two-way conversation and that God will speak back to you, giving you the opportunity to be transformed and to draw closer to Him.

Notes:
1 - For two examples, see the following:
Sharing the Journey: "Praying FOR Others"
Upper Room Daily Reflections: "Praying the Psalms"
2 - Thinking Christians: "Angry Prayer"
3 - Genesis 32:28
4 - Rob Bell. Nooma 019 | Open. 2008, Flannel / Zondervan.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Perspective: More than Chemicals

2010-10-22T17:33:00.012-04:00

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

More than Chemicals

Scripture:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:39

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

A friend of mine once told me that there are certain brain chemicals that can cause people to feel as though they are in love. I decided to do some research on this and learned a great deal. One of these chemicals is oxytocin which is affectionately known as the "cuddle hormone." This chemical is commonly associated with bonding between humans.¹ Another of these love chemicals is dopamine, which increases heart rate.² This explains why your heart races when you are with the one you love. Another is serotonin, which causes symptoms similar to those of obsessive compulsive disorder. This explains why your special someone is constantly on your mind when you are in love. Other chemicals associated with falling in love are, vasopressin, norepinepherine, nerve growth factor, and, of course, the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone.³

My friend went on to tell me that the chemicals that make people feel that they are in love tend to lose their effect after about seven years. This explains the phenomenon known as the "seven year itch," the tendency to leave or betray one's lover after a number of years together.

I have heard people say that love is a feeling. While I understand that I am young and have less life experience than others, I believe with every fiber of my being that love is not a feeling. It is true that we tend to have a "warm, fuzzy feeling" about a significant other, friends, family, and other loved ones, but this feeling itself is not love. After all, it is completely possible to feel upset or angry with the people in our lives and still love them. While it is true that love is something that can be felt, love is something more than feelings, something more than chemicals.

The Bible tells us a lot about love, but the Bible does not seem to contain a clear-cut definition of love. Perhaps love is not something that can truly be defined in mortal language. Perhaps, at most, love can only be described. St. Paul, in his first letter to the church in Corinth, describes love in great detail in what is often called the "Love Chapter."⁴ According to Paul, love is patient, kind, hopeful, and enduring. Love is not envious, arrogant, resentful, or selfish. Love wants what is good and what is true.⁵ St. John links love to the very nature of God, saying that God is love. To know God is to love, and to love is to know God.⁶

When asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus replies that the greatest is, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." Jesus goes on to say that the second greatest is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."⁷

Sci-fi author Robert A. Heinlein said, "Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." I think that this statement is much like Christ's second commandment. When you truly love another person, that person's well-being is just as important to you as your own well-being. When you love a person, that person's hopes and dreams are just as important to you as your own hopes and dreams. On that note, I think that loving God means the same thing. A person who truly loves God will want his or her will to be the same as God's will, just as Christ prayed, "Not what I want but what You want."⁸

I have noticed something very interesting about the word "passion." Often we associate passion with enthusiasm or fervor. For example, we think of someone being passionate about a cause, meaning that that the person is driven by that cause. We also think about loving someone passionately. The original meaning of the word "passion" was quite different. The word "passion" is derived from the Latin word "passio," which means "suffering."⁹ People often call the week leading up to Christ's crucifixion, "Passion Week." Christ loved humanity passionately, and His desire for our redemption drove Him to endure suffering on the cross for our sake.

Love is not a "warm, fuzzy feeling." Love can actually be quite painful at times. Love can mean suffering for someone else, crying for someone else, or even telling a person goodbye though you desire to be with that person.

St. Paul notes in his description of love that life is completely meaningless without love. Anything that is said without love is nothing but noise. No matter what talents you have to offer the world, if you do not have love, you offer nothing. Whatever you do is all for naught, if it is not done out of love.¹⁰

As you seek love in your life, remember that love is not just a feeling. Remember that truly loving someone is wanting what is best for him or her as much as you want what is best for yourself. Remember that love gives our lives meaning and that love brings out the best in us. Remember that loving God and loving each other is what we are meant for. Remember that God is love.

Notes:
1 - Wikipedia: Oxytocin
2 - Wikipedia: Dopamine
3 - Wikipedia: Chemical basis for love
4 - 1 Corinthians 13
5 - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
6 - 1 John 4:7-8
7 - Matthew 22:34-40
8 - Matthew 26:39
9 - Wiktionary: passion
10 - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.

Sermon: Not Like Us

2010-10-17T13:11:00.005-04:00

Delivered at Bethel United Methodist Church on October 17, 2010.
I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Not Like Us

Scripture:

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Grant me justice against my opponent.' For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to His chosen ones who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long in helping them? I tell you, He will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?"

Luke 18:1-8

I am full of Earth
You are Heaven’s worth
I am stained with dirt
Prone to depravity
You are everything
That is bright and clean
The antonym of me
You are divinity

From "Wholly Yours" by The David Crowder Band

During the 90s there was a popular television sitcom called Family Matters. This series centered around the Winslows, a middle-class African-American family living in the Windy City. One of the show's recurring themes was the relationship between the Winslows' daughter Laura and their neighbor Steve Urkel. Steve was smitten with Laura, but he was not the type of boy that Laura and most girls would consider the ideal boyfriend. Though he was honest, intelligent, and kind, he was also annoying, clumsy, and flamboyantly nerdy. Steve spoke in a high, nasally voice, wore suspenders that pulled his pants up way too high, and snorted every time he laughed. His interests included science, polka music, the accordion, and cheese.

Steve pursued a romantic relationship with Laura persistently for many years, but he was always met with rejection. Nevertheless, the two were always good friends who looked out for each other. Sometimes, when Steve would see a glimmer of hope for a future with Laura or some sign of fondness on her part, he would say to her, "I'm wearing you down, baby. I'm wearing you dowwwn!" Eventually Steve's persistence paid off. At the end of the series' nine-year run, the two were engaged to be married.

Jesus tells a story about another person who sought to wear somebody down. In this story, there is a judge, most likely a Roman magistrate. It was the job of the magistrates to arbitrate between disputing parties, much in the same way that modern judges settle lawsuits. Roman magistrates were notorious for corruption: justice was a commodity that was bought and sold.¹ Jesus describes this particular judge as having neither respect for God nor compassion for his fellow human beings. This man who is meant to be an agent of justice does not even know the meaning of the word "justice." Instead, he does what is best for himself: he looks out only for "number one."

In this story there is also a nameless woman. We know nothing about her except that she has been widowed, that she is most likely poor, and that she has suffered some sort of injustice. One day she approaches the judge, begging him to hear her case. He shrugs her off. After all, what is a poor widow like her to a man of power and importance like him? This judge might not know the meaning of the word "justice," but this woman does not know the meaning of the word "no." The woman does not give up but continues to appeal to the judge over and over and over and over again, crying out for justice. Time and time again, the judge continues to brush her off, refusing to hear her case.

Eventually, the judge realizes that this woman is never going to leave him alone. He thinks to himself, "Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming." To call this woman persistent is an understatement: the Greek words translated as "wear me out" are better understood "give me a black eye." The judge realizes that this woman will either make him look bad, resort to physical violence, or beat him down emotionally with her constant nagging.² To spare himself the trouble, he agrees to help the poor widow. The widow has effectively worn down the unjust judge with her persistence.

In this theatre called life, I feel as though I have played the part of this widow.

In the summer of 2007, I was working part-time at my Alma Mater, having just graduated with a bachelors degree in computer science. One day, I received a call from a woman trying to fill a software engineering position at a small local company. The woman warned me that the company was in the gambling industry and asked me if I had any problem with that. I said that I did not. Weeks later, I was contacted by the company's chief operations officer, and, after two interviews, I was offered the position. On the one hand, I was not crazy about the idea of working in the gambling industry, and the interviews had left me with an uneasy feeling. On the other hand, I was afraid that, with no prior job experience and with more and more technology-related jobs moving overseas, I would not be able to find another job. I accepted the job offer.

I always hated telling people what kind of work I did. I always feared what people might think of me for working in an industry that provides people with nothing but the means to waste their hard-earned money. Even so, I tried to be straightforward about it. When I told people where I worked or what I did, I always followed up with a statement that I did not want to do this job my entire life. On at least one occasion, I felt the need to provide an unwarranted justification for my working in the gambling industry, though now I think I was probably just trying to convince myself that my choices were justified. Though I was ashamed of my job, I had to admit that the money was good. I was up to my neck in debt because of student loans, and my salary gave me a good reason to stick with this job. At first, I planned to stay with the job for two years and then move on to something else. After my probation period ended, I was given a pay raise, and I thought that I would perhaps stay with the job for three years.

After my first major crunch period, I decided that I needed to get out of that job right away. I was surrounded by workaholics and demanding bosses, but I just could not - or rather would not - dedicate myself to that industry to the extent that they had. To me, a good salary was not worth late nights at the office and lost weekends. Because of my shame, I had tried to compartmentalize my life, completely divorcing my life at work from my life outside of work, and I started feeling that my job was breaking the boundaries I had placed on it. I became miserable and constantly stressed, fearing that an industry that I was hating more and more was going to take over my life as it had the lives of my coworkers.

I wanted out, but I could not simply quit. If I did, no other company would hire me. I considered another job, but I was not even sure that I wanted to work with computers any longer. Pursuing another job seemed like changing horses mid-stream. I felt like my back was up against the wall. I regretted majoring in computer science, and I lamented the lack of direction in life that had led me to this predicament. I once told some people that I felt like a jellyfish that did nothing but float its way through life until it was stranded on the beach by the tide, left with no option but to perish under the sun.³

With seemingly no options, I decided to pray. Every morning before work, I would join hands with my mother and pray for God to call me away from my job. The months went by, but, workday after workday, I prayed to God for a solution to my problem. About nine months later, the decision was taken out of my hands. The company announced that it was consolidating its offices and moving its operations out of state. I finally had a valid reason to leave the company. With no intent of following the company out of state, I was laid off twenty-three months after I accepted the job. I was finally free, free from debt and free from the job I hated, but I still needed to find another job.

Throughout my time at my previous job, one particular place had lodged itself into the back of my mind. When I started looking for work, I decided to look at this place's website to see if there were any job openings. By some miracle, there was indeed a job opening, and I met the qualifications for it. I submitted an application, and two interviews and two and a half months later, I became a computer programmer at Greenville Technical College.

I prayed persistently that God would call me away from the job I hated, and, months later, God finally answered my prayers. Was I like the widow in Jesus' parable, appealing to my Judge over and over and over and over again until He finally agreed to hear my case? Did I wear God down with my constant praying?

A number of Jesus' parables are meant to tell us what God is like. From these parables, we learn that God is like a gracious father who is so overjoyed to see His wayward children return to Him, that He forgets all the wrong they have done and welcomes them home. We learn that God is like a good shepherd who does not consider one missing sheep an acceptable loss and will go out of His way to find those in His flock who go astray. We learn that God is like a gardener who refuses to cut down a tree until He has given it every possible chance to grow and to bear fruit. With all of these powerful, loving images of God in mind, what are we to do with this story of an unjust judge? Unlike other parables, this story is not meant to show us what God is like but to show us what God is not like.

The judge in Jesus' parable is more representative of a broken humanity. Though the judge was called to be an agent of justice in the world, he instead used his position for his own personal gain. He cared not about the laws of the world nor the laws of God. Instead he did only what was beneficial for himself. He would not hear the widow's case because it was of no benefit to himself to do so. Likewise, we, as humans, are prone to selfishness. We are called to serve God and to do good in this world, but we often go our own way, seeking to serve ourselves.

God is not like us.

God reveals, through the prophet Isaiah, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways... For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."⁴ Humanity is broken, but God is perfect. God's wisdom is infinitely greater than ours: God knows what is best for each of us. His will for us is justice and mercy, and His motive in all of His interactions with us is His intense love for us.

Even though people have a tendency to be self-serving, humanity still has a basic understanding of what is right and what is wrong. C. S. Lewis called this concept the "Law of Human Nature." This sense of what is just is written into our very nature as human beings. Even though we do not always do what is right, we do, in general, know what is right.⁵ Sometimes, despite our own brokenness, we humans actually do what is right, as shown by the actions of the unjust judge. His decision, "I will grant her justice," shows that he knew all along that helping the widow was the right thing to do, and, in the end, he actually decided to do what was right.

Jesus elaborates on His parable, saying, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to His chosen ones who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long in helping them? I tell you, He will quickly grant justice to them." I think that the point that Jesus is making with this parable is that, if this extremely corrupt judge would do what is right for the poor widow under coercion, then God, whose ways are higher than humanity's, will do what is right for us because it is His will to do so. If human beings in their brokenness are capable of doing what is right at least some of the time, then God in His holiness will do what is right for us all of the time.

On another occasion, Jesus poses the question, "Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion?"⁶ If you think that this question sounds absurd, then you are probably reacting in the way that Jesus intended. Only someone truly depraved would give his or her children snakes or scorpions when their children are hungry. It is the natural instinct of parents to want to provide for their children's needs. Jesus knows this, so He follows up His bizarre question by saying, "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"⁷

Often we speak of God's loving nature, saying things like "God is Love." As children, we learned to sing "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." Still, somehow many of us get it into our heads that God likes to throw snakes and scorpions at us when we are already suffering from the pangs of hunger. How many times have we thought to ourselves that God hates us, that He is out to get us, or that He likes to make life miserable for us? We need to banish this bad theology from our lives. We need to abandon these negative perceptions of God, because nothing could be further from the truth.

Think about the people you love the most, perhaps your children, your spouse, your parents, or your friends. If we humans are capable of loving someone unconditionally and unselfishly, then the God whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts and whose ways are higher than our ways must love us, His children, more than we can even imagine!⁸

To answer my own question, no, I did not wear God down with my constant petitions to Him for help. God, in His wisdom, knew that the job I had accepted was not what was right for me. Not only did He provide me a way out of my predicament, He also provided me with an opportunity to use my computer skills for the benefit of others, not to mention the fact that He also provided me with a tough lesson in taking some ownership of my life. These were things that God knew I truly needed. I cannot explain the entire chain of events except for God's love and providence.

The judge in Jesus' story did not care about hearing the problems of others unless they had something to offer him in return. In the end, he only helped the widow because she would not leave him alone. By contrast, our God is "merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness."⁹ Throughout the Scriptures, we are constantly invited to pray, seeking help from God. St. Peter writes, "Cast all your anxiety on [God], because He cares for you."¹⁰ St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians writes, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."¹¹ In another letter Paul encourages us to "pray without ceasing."¹² Christ himself says, "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you."¹³ With all of these invitations to go to God in prayer, I can come to no other conclusion but that God wants to hear our prayers.

Theologian William Barclay offers six of guidelines for praying. First, pray with the knowledge that God knows better than we do what is best for us. God may not give us what we want, but He will give us what we need. Second pray with the knowledge that, while we have a limited understanding of things, God sees the bigger picture. Third, pray sincerely. The widow in Jesus' story would not have kept going back to the judge over and over again if she were not sincere in her request. Fourth, be definite in your prayers. Tell God exactly what is on your heart. Fifth, pray with a willingness to give God your cooperation. If we are going to ask God for help, we must be willing to do our part. Finally, pray for God's will to be done.¹⁴ When we do so, we open ourselves up to God's transforming power in our lives.¹⁵

Whatever is on your mind, whatever you are feeling, whatever is troubling your heart, pray! Pray, knowing that you can go to God with anything. Pray, knowing that God wants to hear your prayers. Pray, knowing that God wants to give you what is best for you. Pray, knowing that God loves you more than you can even imagine.

Amen.

Notes:
1 - William Barclay. The Parables of Jesus. 1999, Westminster John Knox Press. p. 114
2 - Barclay, p. 115
3 - See my introspection “Jellyfish and Currents”
4 - Isaiah 55:8
5 - C.S. Lewis. Mere Christianity. Book I, Chapter 1.
6 - Luke 11:11-12
7 - Luke 11:13
8 - John Burke. No Perfect People Allowed. 2005, Zondervan. p. 213
9 - Exodus 34:6
10 - 1 Peter 5:7 (emphasis added)
11 - Philippians 4:6
12 - 1 Thessalonians 5:17
13 - Luke 11:9
14 - Barclay, p. 117-119
15 - Rob Bell. Nooma 019 | Open. 2008, Flannel / Zondervan.

If you have any feedback, thoughts, stories, or even arguments to contribute, please leave comments.