Category: old stuff

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Giving Up and Gaining

In A Renegade’s Guide to God, David Foster tells a story of a wealthy man who built a large art collection with his son. The son goes off to war and is killed. Later a soldier shows up at the man’s door with a portrait that he had painted of the man’s son, saying that the son had saved his life. The portrait is given an honored place in the man’s art collection.

The wealthy man dies and his entire estate is put up for auction. The first item is the portrait of the son. The crowd is waiting for the “good stuff” i.e. the Picassos, Rembrandts, and other great works. No one bids on the portrait. Finally a man bids ten dollars. It is the one who painted it and ten dollars is all he has to give. Because no one else bids he is the highest bidder. The auctioneer then says that the auction is closed. There was a clause in the will that states that the son’s portrait was to be the only thing auctioned and that whoever bought the picture would get the entire estate. So the soldier, who gave everything he had to get the son’s picture, also got everything else.

That’s what being a Christian is all about. You give up everything you have to “get the Son”, and you get everything else that the Father has. It’s all about a relationship with Jesus. It’s not about a bunch of rules, how you dress, what kind of Bible you carry, how you vote, what kind of music you listen to, whether you smoke or drink, or any other external things. It’s about whether you realize that you can not save yourself and that Jesus Christ loves you and has died for you so you don’t have to die. It’s about having a relationship of love with the Creator. It’s about following Jesus and letting his Spirit guide you and form you into his image.

Jesus said he came to give us a life that is abundant and full. That’s the way Christians should be. Are we?

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Mary’s Song

This is reposted from a couple of years ago:

The other day, I was thinking about the song of Mary in Luke 1. It was actually a pretty subversive thing to say in that day. I was wondering what Mary’s song would sound like in the 21st Century.

Who would be the rulers in today’s world? Who would be the proud? Who are the rich? Who are the humble and the hungry?

What in our consumer driven culture could the song speak to? What would Mary have to say to the Church?

What does it mean today that the King has come and is coming again? What would happen if those of us who say we follow this King lived as if we really did?

Just some questions rolling around in my head.

Any thoughts?

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How Far Would You Go?

This was posted a few years ago.

The other night I was watching American Idol (no, I’m not really a fan – I was watching it with my son, who is a fan). Anyway, there was this girl who came on knowing she has no singing talent at all. She wanted to go on to Hollywood so the Idol people could teach her to sing and remake her into a pop star. She was desperate to move to the next round, and I wondered just how far she would have gone to get there. If Simon and the others were cruel enough, how much would they be able to put this poor girl through, how much would she have put up with to become famous – to become the next American Idol.

I was going to write something about how easy it is to allow ourselves to be caught up in being “famous”, popular, well liked, etc. But instead, I’ll ask how far we who call ourselves followers of Jesus are willing to go to be taught by him and to be remade into his image. Do we say, “Yeah I want to follow Jesus, just don’t ask me to give up my dreams of a great career, or to spend time with those who are outside of the mainstream, or to get my hands dirty serving the poor and needy.”? Or, are we like Peter, who was willing to get out of the boat and risk drowning to be like his Rabbi? Do we want a Savior who gives us all sorts of good things and wants us to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. Or are we willing to do whatever it takes and take whatever comes our way if it will form us into the image of Jesus.

Which Jesus do you follow?

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Being Real

A few years ago, there was a thread on theooze.com titled “Which story are you in?” As I thought about what story I was in at the time, I thought of one of my favorite all-time stories – “The Velveteen Rabbit”. The story is about a stuffed rabbit who becomes real because of the love of a little boy.

As I thought about all that has transpired in my journey the last few years, I thought how God’s love is making me “real.” The process has not been without pain. In the story the Skin Horse tells the Velveteen Rabbit that becoming real may hurt but that when you do become real you don’t mind the hurt. So it is with being formed into the image of Christ – the hurt pales in comparison to the final result, so in some sense you really don’t mind it.

The Skin Horse also said that while you might not seem real to others, the one that matters is the one that is causing you to become real through their love. Again that has its parallel in the process of becoming like Jesus. You come to the place where the only one whose opinion of you matters is God.

Obviously, I have a long way to go in the process of becoming real. But God is working.

What story are you in?

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Where Do You Stay?

One of the things about working with young African-American students is the things you learn. I have noticed that they will ask someone where they “stay” while I would ask where they “live”. I was thinking that maybe they are closer to speaking correctly than those of us who speak “good” grammar. The house that I share with my wife is the place where I stay when I am not out at work, etc., much like someone stays at a motel. But I “live” everywhere I go and in everything I do. I’m certainly not dead when I am away from home.

Now, think of the words “church” and “worship”. Growing up, I was always taught that “church” is the place you go to a few times a week to “worship” God. You know, “This is the church, this is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people.” I have since come to the realization that this is not the correct way to use these terms. The little ditty should go, “This is the building, this is the steeple, open the doors and see the church.” And since we are the church, we continue to be the church everywhere we go and in everything we do. In the same way, “worship” is not just something we do a couple of times a week in a “worship service”. Worship is what the followers of Jesus should be doing in each thing we do. It should be in the fabric of our being. The weekly service is the church coming together to do corporately what they have been doing individually throughout the week. Our Sunday worship should be an overflow of what we are about the other six days.

Think about the difference it would make in our lives as individuals and as congregations if we re-thought those two terms (as well as others.)

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Don’t Forget

  • A few years ago I watched a video from the “That the World May Know” series. It was titled “Walk as Jesus Walked: Don’t Forget Us”. It’s about following Jesus in suffering and persecution. I’d always thought that while Christians in countries such as China or the Sudan were suffering for their faith, we here in the “Christian” West had it easy. And that is true to a great extent – the biggest thing we have to worry about is having someone make fun of us. The video showed me something that I had never thought of before. In 1 Corinthians 12:12, 26, Paul writes, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ….If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

    Do we suffer with the parts of the body that are going through persecution and suffering? Do we even know when they are suffering? I think the fact that we generally don’t enter into or even know of the suffering of our brothers and sisters is because we have lost that sense of oneness in the body that the early church had. Most of the time we don’t even know the struggles that others have in our local churches, so how do we expect to know what goes on around the world? There is no excuse for not knowing what is going on out there. Voice of the Martyrs and other organizations are constantly giving accounts of the suffering in the body. It does take a little work, but it can be done. Find out.

    If you want an object lesson about what it means when the whole body suffers because of one part, hit your thumb hard with a hammer. Then tell me if your whole body feels it or if you can keep the effects localized on your thumb. That is how the body of Christ is. Or at least how it should be.

    Find out how your brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering. Pray for them. Let their suffering affect you. Above all – never forget them.

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Back Roads

This is something I wrote a little over four years ago. It still is true.

I love back roads. When I travel, I would rather take back roads than the interstate any day. I enjoy seeing what lies in those places that most people just zoom by in their hurry to get to their destination. I like exploring and am usually willing to go out of my way to see what I can see.

What is interesting (to me anyway) is that my journey following Jesus seems to be taking me on the back roads. I know people who knew right from a young age what God was going to have them do. I thought I knew, at least in my senior year of high school. One year of Bible college, then two years learning the printing trade. One year turned into five, a youth ministry emphasis turned into a teaching and coaching gig at a Christian school, where I met my wife. After leaving that school, the plans were to get a job in the federal government. Of course, that was the time when the government had a hiring freeze. One year, a son, and a low paying job later, God told us it was time to go someplace else.

A move to Cincinnati brought further adventures. The twelve years we spent there brought a daughter, success in coaching, another job loss, and more education (both formal and informal). After some difficult times the Lord moved us again. This time to Rock Hill, SC.

The place God put us in was in a Christian school where I had applied for a job seventeen years earlier. During my time there I learned how to coach some different sports and how to teach some different subjects. All along God was taking me down some spiritual paths that I had never explored before. I also had the privilege of coaching both son and daughter and watching them grow up. Then, God decided it was time to take another back road.

After leaving that school, I was sure that the road was going to lead to the fulfillment of a long-time dream. I found out that road was closed, and I had to take a detour. The road God put me on led out into the desert, to a dry and empty place where He could teach me more of the things he had already started. After wandering around for a while, I stopped and settled in for what looked like a long stay. The desert school turned out to be sometimes hard, sometimes boring, sometimes frustrating. It was a one-to-one teacher to student ratio, and I had the full attention of my Rabbi. I learned that many of the things I had been taught were not right, that many of my ideas and presuppositions needed to be scrapped. I learned what is really important, what is really essential to following Jesus. I became a disciple of my Rabbi, and finally understood what a disciple really is. Finally it was time to leave the desert.

My journey is still taking twists and turns. But I’m finding out that, even though it may be hard and frustrating at times, I am enjoying exploring some of the back roads and trails that Jesus leads me on. Sometimes I lag behind, sometimes I try to run ahead. But, I am learning that the best way is to follow the Rabbi so closely that I am covered with the dust from His feet. Life is an adventure.

May God bless you on your journey.

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Praying

Here’s another blast from the past:

In The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning quotes M. Basil Pennington on prayer. I’m posting that quote here. There is no need for me to comment.

“A father is delighted when his little one, leaving off her toys and friends, runs to him and climbs into his arms. As he holds his little one close to him, he cares little whether the child is looking around, her attention flitting from one thing to another, or just settling down to sleep. Essentially the child is choosing to be with her father, confident of the love, the care, the security that is hers in those arms. Our prayer is much like that. We settle down in our Father’s arms, in his loving hands. Our mind, our thoughts, our imagination may flit about here and there; we might even fall asleep; but essentially we are choosing for this time to remain intimately with our Father, giving ourselves to him, receiving his love and care, letting him enjoy us as he will. It is very simple prayer. It is very childlike prayer. It is prayer that opens us out to all the delights of the kingdom

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Change is Coming

Change is coming
You can hide from it
You can try to ignore it
You can fight it
You can preach against it
You can try to control it
Or
You can welcome it
You can embrace it
You can learn from it
You can ride it
You can grow from it
But,
You can’t stop it
Change is coming
Change is here.

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Exult in What You Do

During the 2006 Winter Olympics, I watched an Italian female figure skater finish her Olympic routine. She had retired in 2002, but came out of retirement just to skate in her home country. She really didn’t have a chance to medal, but it was enough for her to skate at home. Near the end of her program she did two spin jumps in a row and nailed both of them. She threw up her hands and you could just feel the joy. I actually got chills and thought that, even though she might not realize it, she was bringing glory to God by doing what she had been gifted to do and thoroughly exulting in doing it well. It reminded me of what Eric Liddell said in Chariots of Fire – “God made me fast, and when I run I can feel His pleasure.”

How would our lives be if we recognized what God made us to do, and felt His pleasure when we did it to the best of our ability? What would our witness to the culture look like? I suspect far different than it currently does.