What if they don't forgive me?

The last couple of days, I have been thinking about some of the challenges that come with reconciliation.  Today I want to tackle one that deals with our expectations.  Now, you and I tend to think in a linear fashion.  When one thing happens, it should lead to something else.  And to pull that thought into our topic, if I go to the other person, confess what I did, and ask for their forgiveness, we have an assumption that they should forgive us, and not just forgive us, but do it at that moment when we ask.

But what if they don't forgive you at that moment?  Did the whole process fail, then?  Did I make an inadequate confession if they choose not to forgive me?  Well, given that I cannot see through to the heart of every situation, I can't judge that one way or the other.  But I can address a thought that can enter into a situation like this.  Just because you are ready to confess and to ask for forgiveness, does the other person have to be ready to forgive at that moment?  None of us recover from the times when others sin against us in the same way.  We simply may not have gotten over it, or maybe we haven't thought about it for a while.  And if these, or other related thoughts, are the case, then is it fair to expect instant forgiveness, right there, on the spot?

Yes, it would be nice if that forgiveness came at the exact moment we were ready to confess and ask for it.  In the case of God, we know it's already there, and that God has actually already forgiven us, even before we ask, because of what Jesus has done.  But when we think about the earthly side of forgiveness, we have to acknowledge that the process of confession and forgiveness does not always run so smoothly.

So what do we do if they don't forgive me then and there?  I would suggest that you remember this.  God wants that forgiveness shared, but perhaps a bigger concern for Him is about your heart.  Your heart and intent was to admit your wrong and sin, and to ask for forgiveness.  Regardless of whether that forgiveness is shared back to you, you have shown sorrow over your sin.  You have taken the appropriate approach, one that fits with God's design for reconciliation and forgiveness.  That is truly an action that is in line with God's will and design.

In some respects, God would have us go through the process as He has designed it, regardless of the outcome.  Yes, for us, it is very fulfilling to hear that word of forgiveness offered when we confess.  However, our forgiveness in God's sight is not dependent upon their word of forgiveness to us.  In that way, the condition of our heart matters more than the actual process being completed through to the end.  Our forgiveness with God is secure.  The earthly forgiveness that we desire may not be secured, but we have approached the situation as God would have us do, and that is good and right for us to do.

Do we desire their forgiveness, especially when we have taken such a bold step as to confess our sin and ask for their forgiveness?  Yes.  But in the end, it's the blood of Jesus which has won our forgiveness, and not their word of forgiveness.  In that way, their word of forgiveness is really nothing more than a declaration of what Jesus has already accomplished for you.  That is your security, even when they don't speak those words of forgiveness with you.

Making Peace Takes Two...or Does It?

There's an old expression out there that says, "It takes two to tango."  Having taken dance lessons at one time in my life, prior to my wedding, I understand the thought here.  It's really hard to dance all by yourself.  Having a partner there to participate with helps immensely.  You only get so much out of shadow dancing by yourself.

As we've been thinking about peacemaking, reconciliation, and forgiveness lately, that brings to mind this question.  Does making peace take two (or maybe sometimes more)?  Does there have to be a person who confesses as well as a person who forgives?  Can you only have one part of the equation present to have "effective" peacemaking?

This is actually a more relevant question than you might suppose.  In our day and age of transiency, it may be rather difficult to get back in touch with that person from whom you need to ask forgiveness.  Death too often intrudes before we have made our peace with the person.  And so, in cases like this, this question looms large.  (And no, I'm not going too deeply with the case where the one person simply doesn't want to talk to the other, even though the opportunity may be there.  That's a slightly different situation.)

Does it take two to make peace?  Let's start off very simply.  If you want to confess what you've done, it's rather difficult to make that confession to someone who isn't there.  In the same way, getting the word of forgiveness from someone who isn't there is also a rather significant challenge.  Sure, it's great that your heart might be prepared to confess your wrong and ask for forgiveness, but without the other person, that assurance of forgiveness is simply lacking.

There's another part to this, which I'll take up a bit tomorrow.  What if I confess, but they refuse to forgive me?  Again, it's a reminder of the importance of having that one to one discussion when it comes to confession and forgiveness.  There's also the question that can be asked when you find that you are ready to forgive, but you don't have that person readily available to speak that word of forgiveness to.  But we'll handle those as we keep the conversation going.

Peacemaking in the Internet Age

I listen to the radio a lot as I drive.  I've heard this commercial come on quite often, where some business offers to help businesses "clean up" their internet searches by taking away negative content.  This business will seek out those negative content places and cause them not to pop up on the top of the page when a particular business gets googled.  This business's solution to peacemaking: just get rid of the negative stuff out there (I can honestly say I don't know what they would do if someone had posted a negative, yet real story).

It brings to mind the challenge that we face in our day and age when it comes to peacemaking.  We live in the internet age (I don't know if anyone else has coined that term, but I'm starting to think of it as such).  Living in this age, we can pretty much say anything we want on a website, facebook page, or some other venue, and it sticks there.  It may or may not be true.  It may or may not "explain everything in the kindest way."  But the thing is, for the most part, once it's out on the web, it's very difficult to make it go away.

This presents two major problems to peacemaking in the internet age.  First, we humans are way too prone to posting things about our conflicts or problems with others in public venues.  Someone says a harsh comment to us, and we blast them on Twitter a few moments later.  Our Facebook page starts to resemble some kind of "list of grievances", even if we don't use real names.  But the internet age has made it way too easy to air our dirty laundry out for everyone to see.

That makes peacemaking a rather significant challenge.  How do you go about correcting and restoring a relationship which now has been advertised as negative to practically anyone who knows how to use Google effectively?  We may genuinely want to reconcile and restore, but the sheer magnitude of harm that we can do may make such reconciliation rather challenging.

The other problem with peacemaking in the internet age is that we are way too apt to opt for non-face-to-face interactions.  Try to reconcile with someone over an email, or via Twitter, or on Facebook.  You might see the challenge.  How do they understand your tone and expressions when all they have to rely upon are the words you wrote?  Human interaction is so much better, especially when it comes to issues such as reconciliation.  I would even argue that phone calls are insufficient for reconciliation, since you can't read the body language of the person you are chatting with. 

In other words, we face new challenges to peacemaking in the internet age.  The challenge to repair a damaged relationship may extend far beyond merely reconciling with the person.  It may involve making a "public" statement of your wrong for others to see (and by public, I mean on the media in which you originally damaged their reputation).  It may even mean that you simply cannot undo the damage, and the relationship, though reconciled, may still be irreparably damaged.  The danger is real, and I've seen it happen way too often to not say anything about it.

Challenges also bring opportunities.  But more than anything, I would always caution anyone whose first inclination is to take things to the public sphere.  There is a reason that Jesus said we are to approach the person first with the issue.  Heeding the words of the Redeemer of all Creation might just be a wise thing to do.

Where Does Character Develop?

"...suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope..."  Romans 5:3-4.

Recently, our congregation has begun a focus on reconciliation.  It's a focus that has a lot of bearing on our lives, since we all find ourselves in conflict and disagreements quite often in life.  Anytime we have conflict, we have a need for reconciliation.  It could be for something as small as which TV show to watch, or as large as when a family is torn apart by conflict.  Reconciliation is needed to restore the relationships that are injured when conflict enters.

Over the years, I've thought about this topic a lot.  And one of the aspects of conflict and reconciliation involves the building of character.  Now, character is an interesting thing.  For starters, I'm going to use the word character to mean that inner self-assurance that we have which enables us to stand firm in what we believe in.  In other words, character happens when we know who we are and have the awareness of ourselves to stand firm for what we believe in, or to stand up for what is right, even in the face of disagreement.

To put it simply, this kind of character doesn't just happen.  Well, it may be a God-given gift to some, but for most people, we have to have such character built up in ourselves.  And if part of our Christian life is to develop a life of character in those who hold the faith, we do need to ask ourselves how such character is developed.

One conclusion I have drawn over the years is that character does not really develop when things are going smoothly in life.  The building and development of character seems to happen most when we face difficulties and challenges in life.  It's very much like what St. Paul wrote in the verses above, from his letter to the Roman Christians.  Suffering produces endurance, as we learn how to endure that which we'd rather not face, and that endurance produces character.  Character is produced as we learn how to endure the tough times of life, and how to handle them in ways that fit with God's will and design.  Character is created when tough times arise, and not so much when life is going well and easy.

In a way, character develops through conflict.  How we learn to handle conflict will say much about how our character develops.  As we begin to overcome our natural tendencies, and as we seek to follow God's will and design in conflict, character is created.  Not easy, not at all.  But it is much like the refining fire.  Only as the wrong, sinful approaches to conflict are burned off do we see character purified.  It will always be incomplete in this life, but character can be refined to shine more as we face life's difficulties and challenges.

A Friday Excursion

Today we interrupt our regularly scheduled program to simply take an excursion on some interesting things out there in the world.

Popes and Mixed Messages: I haven't yet waded through the latest big statement from Pope Francis that is making news.  I have heard the sound bites and read a few reactions, but haven't actually looked over what he actually said.  So this is coming somewhat off the cuff.  It seems as though Pope Francis wants to remind people that Jesus came to save sinners, and that the message of Christians should primarily be about that Gospel message.  He doesn't seem to say ignore the things that God calls sin, but don't make the Christian faith and message more about sin than about grace.  I do plan on reading his lengthy statement soon, and can hopefully add a few more thoughts to this.

Sound Bite Generation: Following up on the previous thought, have you noticed how we never get the full message of what people say that is newsworthy anymore?  Instead, we get soundbites.  Sure, the newsies may pull the most important statements out for us to hear, but truthfully, everything loses something when it is pulled out of context.  We can make soundbites sound however we want, and we should always remember that the newsies don't have a primary responsibility to convey the news as it should be, but to get eyeballs to watch them or read their articles.  Therefore, they will always pull out the most controversial statements, or will present things in order to attract attention to their story, and not to present the whole picture.  Just remember that when you watch the newsies.

Good Reading Material: I enjoy reading good theological books.  I also enjoy reading good practical application of theology books.  Yes, those are two different things, though they should be walking hand in hand with one another.  So often, though, we want to pit the two against each other.  But the reality is, theology is meant to be lived out in real life application.  And that means that it will always be messy, because it gets applied into a sinful world.  Sure, it would be nice to have things work out exactly as God wills and designs, but sin simply will not allow that to happen.  So, there will always be a wrestling match between the two.

Well, that's long enough for a Friday morning.  Praying you all have a blessed weekend that finds you in worship with God's people at some point, but always in God's grace in Jesus!

Where does Peace come From?

"I NEED A LITTLE PEACE AND QUIET!!!"  I would imagine that, at some point in our lives, we all have felt like we needed to shout something like that out loud.  Maybe life was a little too hectic.  Maybe a lot of was going on.  Maybe we found ourselves in a situation that we hadn't planned for our counted on, and we needed some way to escape from it.

Peace and quiet.  It sounds so nice, doesn't it?  This is especially true when we live in a world of demands on our time, and where we tend to be surrounded by noise and sound almost constantly.  Take a moment to think about it.  When is the last time you were able to take 10 minutes, where no one was making a demand of your time, and where you could actually sit there without any kind of noise or sound?  For many, doing something like that is unnerving because we've become so accustomed to dealing with noise and demands constantly.

For a moment, allow your mind to think about this question.  Where does peace come from?  Does peace come merely from the absence of things like sounds and demands?  Is that true peace?  Or is it something more along the lines of merely escaping "real life" for a little while?  In a way, we could make the case that something that is only temporary isn't really true peace. 

So where does peace come from?  Well, you may remember yesterday that I defined peace as being in line with God's will and design for life.  If that's the case, then you may not be surprised that peace itself is a gift that comes to us from God.  If peace is being in line with how God created us to live, then being restored to that is the work of God, a work that begins in us when God extends His promise of renewal to us through the waters of our baptism.

In other words, true peace comes from God.  Sure, we may try to search in ourselves for "inner peace" (and I'll talk about that a little more at some point), or we may try to escape from the demands of daily life to find peace, but those are fleeting.  True peace comes from God.  True peace has a high cost, which came at the cost of Jesus' life on the cross.  True peace is a gift.  It's not something we can find, or give ourselves.  It has to come from the one who is the author of peace, the very Prince of Peace Himself.

Why is Peace Important?

There are very few religions out there that aren't supposed to be about peace.  Some call for a greater level of peace in this world than others.  But pretty much all religions look forward to some kind of peace for the individual when their time in this world is done.  Again, they may have differing levels of peace-seeking in this world (varying from very firm stances against any kind of violence all the way to seeing it as okay to destroy your enemies), but pretty much any religion out there paints the picture of hope after this life.

With peace being such a major tenet of so many belief systems, it's good to ask the simple question.  Why is peace important?  If peace is consistently being held up as the primary end of most faiths, there has to be a reason for that, right?  What is there about peace that makes it such a significant part of the belief system of so many?  And, what is actually meant by peace?

Let's tackle the last question first.  What is meant by the word peace?  There are a number of different ways to look at peace.  Absence of conflict, harmony among people, a satisfaction with one's inner self.  I've seen each of these identified as a major part of peace.  You can also probably throw in things like the absence of fear, serenity among people (and even among people and nature), and rational, realistic thinking of oneself.  All of these also carry some aspect of peace in them.

For the most part, I'm going to proceed with this kind of understanding.  Peace is when creation is in harmony with the design with which God created it.  Deep, yes.  God created things perfectly, and if everything were proceeding according to God's design, everything would know perfect peace.  (And yes, I'm unapologetic about taking a Christian view of peace here, but if you were expecting otherwise, the name of my blog should give that away!) 

In a way, that kind of a definition brings out the reason why peace is important.  It's important because it's a restoration to the way that God initially created all things.  We long and yearn for that which is out of our reach, and that's part of the reason why peace is such a significant tenet of our faith.  That's why the promise of God in Jesus, where He re-appears to make all things new, is so significant for us.  That's when we are brought fully into the peace of God.

Peace is essentially living according to God's will and design.  That's why true peace is so infrequent in this world, since all of us have sin as part of our nature.  And that's why peace is such a foundational part of our faith life.

"Blessed are the peacemakers"

How wonderful it is when God proclaims that you are blessed!  Now, I could go on about how we so often fail to fully understand what God means when He uses the word "blessed", but that's not my point today.

When God says that you are blessed, essentially He is saying that you add something to His name.  You are blessed when you are forgiven, because you add to God's name by proving that He is a forgiving God.  In that same way, when you forgive others, you are blessed because you add to God's name by proving that He is a God of forgiveness, who extends that forgiveness through His people.  So being blessed involves receiving from God's hand that which He joyfully pours out, but also grows to include how that is lived out in the context of your life.

So Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers."  Now, I don't know how much time you have ever spent thinking about what that sentence means.  On my part, I have actually given a considerable amount of time pondering the depths of this statement.  It would seem to be a given that Jesus didn't just throw out words or thoughts for us to take them lightly.  When Jesus spoke, it's time for us to sit up and listen, and to take what He says to heart.  So, when  Jesus says "Blessed are the peacemakers," it probably means we should pay some attention to what peacemakers are, and why Jesus proclaims that they are blessed.

In one sense, this statement seems pretty easy to grasp.  Blessed are those who strive to end conflicts between people, and instead work toward peace.  And yet, I would go so far as to suggest that this is something that we all can be active in every single day, and quite frequently during the day.  We all face times of conflict.  We find ourselves in disagreement with others often, sometimes over which lane of the road is rightfully ours, or who should go first as a stoplight, or who gets to decide what to eat for lunch or dinner, or even whether or not you should take that stack of post-it notes home from the office.  They can be over big things or small, over very substantial things (where do we spend our money) or very small things (who gets the last chip in the bag).  They can be over ideas or over material things.  In short, disagreements (read, conflicts) arise daily.

When we find ourselves in those situations, we can either work toward peace, or we can work toward ends that aren't peaceful.  If we fight only for our way, we toss aside peace because we want our way.  And, yes, we do that.  And I would have us think about how such an action serves to add to God's name as you engage in such behavior.  Does it?  Or does it instead take away from God's name?  Are you being a blessing, or are you taking away blessing from God's name?

We'll keep on this topic of conflict, disagreement, and peace for a while.  It strikes us every day, and so it's something we benefit by being aware of, and of learning what all God teaches us about it.  So be ready for a fun series of blogs coming up!

Who ya talking to?

There are a lot of people out there who claim that the Bible has contradictions.  Now, I'm not going to harp on how they often don't actually know what those contradictions are, and that they are typically just mouthing an argument that they think holds water.  But I do want to acknowledge that there are statements that often seem to be at odds with each other, especially when you pull them out of the context and simply compare one verse to another, especially when they both come out of the mouth of the same person.

Now, I've already given away part of my thought in that previous paragraph.  One thing that many "contradictions theory" people hold is that Jesus says different things, or that the Bible says different things.  I will readily acknowledge that.  For example, in one story, Jesus tells a person caught in sin that He doesn't condemn that person, and then, in another, He pretty much seems to blast what seems to be a fairly minor thing.  Or, in once case, He says that those who aren't against Him are for Him, and yet, in another instance, He says that those who aren't for Him are against Him.

So we might want to say, Jesus, You seem to be speaking out both sides of your mouth.  But here's the rub.  We have to look at the story in which these different statements are offered to understand why the Bible says the thing it does.  In one case, Jesus is speaking to someone who seems to have been set up merely to try to prove a point to Jesus.  In another case, Jesus is talking to people who take great care to count their tithes, but forget things like God's mercy and forgiveness.  In one case, Jesus is speaking to those who want to stop someone who is acting in Jesus' name, and in another case, Jesus is speaking to those who are actively working against Him.

In other words, context actually serves to clear up most "contradictions" in the Bible.  We could simply ask the question, Who ya talking to?  If Jesus was talking to someone who was convinced that they were right with God on their own, He's going to answer very differently than He would to someone who recognized their sin and asked for forgiveness.  If Jesus was talking with someone who was content with their sin, He would say something far different than He would to the person who felt great remorse over his sin.

To whom is this statement directed?  That's a great question to ask when supposed "contradictions" are brought to our attention.  And honestly, I think it should fall on the shoulders of the person who brings up these contradictions.  In that sense, it's obvious that they need to do their homework.  They need to point out the specific incidents that they are talking about.  And then, they need to examine those to see why the statement is made at that time, in that place, to that particular person or group of people. 

You might notice that this requires them and us to have a decent working knowledge of what the Bible actually says, and to go even further in knowing the context in which these things are found.  Yes, a pretty tall task, but I honestly don't recall God or Jesus ever saying that the life of faith would be easy.

"It's okay to be a sinner"

Okay, I'll admit to being a little theatrical with the title.  When it comes to the task of preaching, I've always struggled with coming up with titles, and the same thing goes for blogging.  So sometimes it's just whatever sounds somewhat attention grabbing that wins the day.  My hope is always that the title will draw at least a few in, and might keep their attention to hear what we're talking about God for that time.

Now, when you hear or read a statement like "it's okay to be a sinner", you're likely to have one of two reactions.  Either you're going to go along the lines of thinking that it's NOT okay to be a sinner.  After all, from God's perspective, sinners are condemned.  It's not okay to be a sinner because it means present and eternal separation from God.  And who knows, you might even be so riled up about it that you stop listening or paying attention simply because nothing good can ever come from something with a title like that.

Or, you could fall on the other side of the street.  You hear, "it's okay to be a sinner", and you think that all those things that you do that God says not to do are now okay.  Doesn't God forgive completely?  So why should I give up those sinful things in my life, or even really battle against them at all?  And so, you read that title and start nodding your head, already convinced that you're only going to be made more secure in those things that God says not to do because, after all, God is a God of grace and forgiveness.

My point is this: if you take either side, you tend to miss the full picture of God.  It's okay to be a sinner and to admit that to God because God does indeed want to forgive you.  In fact, God wants you to be able to approach Him with your sin to ask for forgiveness.  We can do that because we have confidence in God's compassionate nature, because Jesus has lived, died, and risen to forgive our sin.  It's okay to be a sinner when we approach God to admit/confess our sin, knowing that God looks with compassion upon sinners and forgives them.

At the same time, it's not okay to come before God with your sin, stubbornly holding on to it at the same time as you try to hold on to God's gift of forgiveness.  It's not okay to live joyfully and willfully in your sin and to flaunt it before God, basically daring Him not to forgive you.  You cannot hold to that which separates you from God AND to that which connects you to God at the same time.

But neither of those are my point today.  My point primarily is this.  When we gather as God's people, we often treat sin as something that we aren't guilty of.  We portray our lives as basically good, though there may be a few small things that God needs to forgive.  Meanwhile, we are left to wonder if we are the only ones who struggle with sin in our lives.  We may point out the sins in others, but we're highly reluctant to share our sins with others, simply because we know of that all too human tendency.  And that's why we need the reminder that, when it comes to the Body of Christ, it's okay to be a sinner, because Jesus does receive sinners and forgive them.

That points to the ultimate goal of admitting that we are a sinner.  We are okay with being a sinner because we also know that Jesus has fully forgiven us.  We are also a saint, fully forgiven, even while we struggle with our sin.  We can admit our sins to one another because that brother or sister can pronounce God's forgiveness in Jesus to us.  And that's something to be celebrated.  That's why we can say, "It's okay to be a sinner."

Demons in the Bible

Last night, I was part of an interesting conversation.  We had been studying Luke 11, starting at verse 14, and on through the rest of the chapter.  A couple of stories from Jesus' life are found there, starting with the healing of a man with a mute demon.  It then moves on to talk about what happens to an individual who may have a demon exorcised, but not subsequently filled with God's Spirit.

In the course of our conversation, a couple of things came out.  First, we talked about the apparent lack of demons and possessions in the Old Testament, which also led us to think about how often we encounter demon stories following the ascension of Jesus.  To our recollection, there weren't really all that many, either before the time of Christ, nor afterward.  And that got my mind to thinking.  Why would that be?

The one thing that jumped into my mind was that Jesus, being the one true God in human flesh and blood, can see that which we sinful humans simply cannot discern, spiritual realities that are beyond our vision in the form of demons.  That could be part of why demons are such an integral part of the Gospels, but not really all that common in the rest of the Bible.  Since we don't have the ability to see or discern demons with any sense of regularity, it fits that Jesus, being God, would not only be able to see them, but talk about them with His disciples.  But then, once Jesus ascended, we sinful humans still are unable to discern demons with regularity, and so things go back to the way they were before Christ's "arrival".

The other thought that came up was that Satan and his followers were extra busy while Jesus was walking the earth.  They would be unable to resist Jesus as a mere human being, since God would seem to be limiting Himself by becoming a human being.  Thus, if they could show their strength, perhaps they had a good possibility of foiling God's plans.

I'll state right out front that I don't expect any answers to this question on this side of God's eternal kingdom.  But it is something interesting to think about, especially in a day and age that either completely denies demons and spiritual forces of evil, or is overly fascinated by them.  But above all, it really reminds us that we aren't the ones who have power over demons and evil spirits.  That's God's job, and we're probably wise to let God handle those rather than taking on things that are beyond us anyway.

The Art of Training

Proverbs 22:6--Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

It's likely that you have read this verse before.  So many Christians have looked at this verse over the ages and thought it a worthwhile one to pursue.  And so, many programs have developed around the idea.  Teach children about God, about the Bible, about their faith, and it should "stick". 

In a sense, this kind of approach is a very "modern" approach.  Now, when I use the word "modern", I don't mean a current, up to date approach.  I mean an approach that is typical of the period of time that has been called "modern" in recent years.  And the reason I suggest that this is a "modern" approach is because of the presumptions that go into the approach are ones that came to highlight the "modern" era.

So what are those presumptions?  Well, one of them presumes that, if you fill a child's mind with good things, then good things should come out of the child.  If we apply the proper knowledge and information to the child, then the child should come out right.  And yet, every single one of us can likely name a child who went through a program like Sunday School, confirmation, or some other teaching of the Christian faith, and then failed to live up to the second part of the verse above.  They departed from it.  While their heads may have been filled with good things, the good that was hoped for did not emerge.

That's why I really like the first word of the verse.  "Train."  Training is not merely learning.  Training involves far more than knowledge.  Training aims to penetrate into the entire life.  It involves what we know, as well as how we think, how we act, how we discipline ourselves, and how we actually live out what we think and believe.  Training doesn't presume that, if you put good in, good will come out.  Training presumes that you will have to actively work to bring that good to life.

One of the downsides of traditional "modern" education is that it focuses primarily on the knowledge component of learning.  In recent years, the thought of actually getting out and experiencing what we learn has started to gain much traction.  I'm actually very much in favor of such an approach.  As we actively engage our world with the teachings of our Christian faith, we'll start to see how God's wisdom applies and works within the world.  We'll see the obstacles that we have to learn to deal with, such as inherited sin, greed, selfishness, and alternative worldviews.  And as we encounter those, we then come back together to share those experiences, see what God says about them, and learn and grow with one another.

Training.  It means intentional work.  When St. Paul says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, I have a suspicion that this is something of what he means.  Not that we have to work to be right with God.  God has done that completely through Jesus, the cross, and the resurrection.  But as we see just how deeply that impacts every aspect of our lives, we recognize the need for training to live that faith out daily.

Taking Time To Learn

I remember the situation.  A young man had gone through a number of sessions with me.  He had been so excited as he learned about the Christian faith.  He wanted to be involved in the life of God's people.  Word had gotten around that he wanted to be involved, and the church, always in need of people to fill the different roles, asked him if he would take on one of those roles.  He enthusiastically said yes.  He was elected, installed, and hit the ground with his feet spinning like crazy.

However, that burning fire quickly started to get doused.  It became apparent rather quickly that there were just some situations that he was unprepared for in his role.  On top of that, while he knew a few people, he hadn't been part of the group long enough to work his way into their trust circle.  His enthusiasm began to wan.  He started to complain about the lack of encouragement he was receiving.  He felt overwhelmed.

It finally got to the point that the end of his term came up, and he happily relinquished his role.  He became yet another in the countless throng who were part of God's people, but weren't really interested in the different roles which the organization needs filled.  And that was one of my first lessons in "Taking Time To Learn."

One thing I often stress to people who are new to the Christian faith or to a particular congregation is to take a period of at least 6 months to get adjusted and acquainted with God's people, with the way that we do things, and to spend that time really connecting with people.  I have seen it happen far too frequently where someone came in, was very enthusiastic, and either didn't know the needs of God's people at that time, or simply were frustrated when others didn't share their same enthusiasm.  The problem is, the congregation is often far to willing to play along with it.  "We need someone, and they were so excited to do it" is often the rallying cry.  So the congregation plays along in the very thing that ends up hurting.

That's why I often encourage people to take the 6 months or more prior to getting involved.  It allows them to connect with God's people.  They start to learn which things are important, and why they are important.  When they indicate a willingness to participate, it allows for some training, when necessary, and also allows them to be included, to learn the purpose behind the various things that they may be involved in, as well as learning the expectations that come along with those.  And in the end, those are always good things to learn.

I realize that there are those who don't agree with such an approach.  But I would dare argue that, for every person whose fire of enthusiasm burned out by waiting, there were many more who benefited even more from learning God's people, what was happening, and how to be part of what was going on, and they became more deeply involved.  They understood what they were getting into.  As Jesus instructs us, they learned to count the cost of what they were becoming part of, and were able to have a clearer picture of what that cost was.  And in the end, it benefited them, the congregation, but most importantly, God's enduring kingdom in great ways.

The Listening Ear

"Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips he is deemed intelligent."  Proverbs 17:28

"Better to keep your mouth closed and have people think you a fool than to open your mouth and prove it."  Unknown

Some conversations stand out in the mind more than others.  I remember one that happened in my past.  I was talking with a person over a disagreement we had, and I found myself getting frustrated.  It seemed as though every time I would start to say something, I would get cut off.  The other person wouldn't even let me finish what I was saying much of the time.  It really came across to me as though my words weren't important to them, and that their words carried far more weight. 

Perhaps you've had an experience like this before, too.  I tend to liken it to a lack of proper listening skills (and even perhaps a lack of conversational skills).  The one who is so impatient to say what's on their mind that they can't wait until the other person even finishes what they are saying can be a very frustrating thing. 

Yet, one thing that stands out in God's Word is the encouragement to be a far better listener than speaker.  It's almost as though God would have us use our ears far more frequently than He would have us use our mouths.  The trouble is, listening requires work and effort.  It takes far less effort to say whatever pops into our heads.  And to not merely listen, but to strive to understand what the other person is saying?  Well, that takes even greater effort, an effort which few seem willing to try.

This fall I'll be spending quite a bit of time on here talking about conflict, confrontation, and confession and forgiveness.  It shouldn't come as a surprise that one of the matters that I will continually circle around on will involve being a good listener.  Being a good listener requires work and effort, and yet, few things will endear you to others than being a good listener.

Why not take a conversation you find yourself engaged in today, and practice really trying to understand what the other person is saying, rather than planning out your responses?  See how it changes the conversation.  What does it do to your mind as you attempt to listen, and to keep the mouth closed?

The Old, Dusty Bible

There's a thought out there that I go back and forth on a lot.  It's a thought that is impacted by a lot of things.  First, we live in a very literate society.  The Bible is available to read in many different formats, versions, sizes, levels, etc.  Lots of churches have Bibles that they will give out to people if they need one.  Access to the Bible is not typically a problem.

That has led to an emphasis on regularly reading the Bible.  The phrase you often hear is, "get into the Word."  It's a great idea.  Read what God has said.  Not only do you grow in knowing what God actually said (since there a lot of things out that there are supposed to be from the Bible, but that actually aren't out there, such as 'God helps those who help themselves'.), but you also give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to nurture your faith.

The thing is, such an emphasis has often seemed to lead more to guilt than to building up people in faith.  The Bible is available, and yet, so many have a remarkably difficult time creating time to actually sit down and read it.  I honestly wish I had a quarter for the number of times I've heard something along the lines of, "I just haven't had the time."

Part of me wants to point out to people that it's a matter of priority.  However, there is another part of me that works in my mind.  It's the part that thinks about the centuries of illiteracy.  For a bulk of Christians who are part of God's eternal kingdom, access to the Bible wasn't something that they enjoyed.  They didn't have the opportunity to have one or more sitting around at home.  Even if they did, they couldn't have read them.  So saying that they really need to be in the Word would almost be a laughable statement.

Were those Christians worse off than us today, because of their inability to regularly be reading the Bible?  Sure, they may have heard longer sections during their worship times, but still, we have so much better access now.  And yet, do we think that their faith life was somehow inadequate?  Were they "less" of a Christian because they didn't have the opportunity to read and study as we do?

Granted, different times, different ages, different expectations.  Plus, God makes it pretty clear that we don't get welcomed into His eternal kingdom based upon how much we know or read or studies, or how much time we devoted to His Word.  And so, I really do struggle at times with telling people that they should be reading their Bibles.  Are they "lesser" Christians if they don't?  Are they dishonoring God if they aren't reading?  And if we assume they are, then what about those who didn't have the ability or opportunity?

It would seem, in the end, to boil down more to our attitude toward what God has said, much more than the opportunity that God provides.  What if pre-literate people valued what God said more because it was less accessible?  What if we don't value it as highly simply because it is at our fingertips most of the time?  We could access it at any time, and so we downplay the opportunities we miss because there will be more of them.  And then, they just keep getting pushed off again and again and again.

In the end, it seems like the discussion revolves more around our attitude toward the Bible than in our reading of it.  Yes, the benefits of reading it and spending time with it are incalculable.  However, if we spend five minutes at the beginning of the week memorizing a verse, and then spending the rest of the week reflecting often on that verse, it would seem a far better thing than if we said we would read for 10 minutes a day, but not really process what we read because we were more intent on just getting through with the reading.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Do I Have To Go To Church?

There's a story I remember hearing a long time ago.  It's Sunday morning.  The lady shakes her husband awake and tells him that he needs to get up and get ready for church.  He grumbles a little bit, then rolls back over and goes back to sleep.  Ten minutes later, she shakes him awake again, telling him that he needs to get up and get ready for church.  It's very important for him to be there.  Once again, he grumbles, and then rolls over and goes back to sleep.  Finally, ten more minutes later, she shakes him awake and says that it's now urgent for him to get up and get ready.  He sits up, looks at her, and replies, "I don't want to.  I don't like the people there.  They don't like me.  I just don't want to go."  His wife looks back at him and replies, "You have to go.  You're the pastor!"

Sure, you might have gotten a few chuckles from that.  I have to admit that there have been more than a few mornings where I have been less than enthused about getting up on Sunday to go through the whole usual Sunday morning thing.  It's not that I dislike my career or anything.  In fact, I really enjoy pretty much everything I get to do in the context of a Sunday morning.  But yes, there are just some mornings where your get up and go has just got up and left.

Yet, I still get up and go.  True, I have less of an option than most.  My presence or absence will be noticed more acutely than most.  However, I suspect that there are a great number of people who truly wonder about the vale of regularly attending worship.  I've heard some of the reasoning.  "I can worship Jesus wherever I happen to be."  "I love Jesus, but His followers annoy me."  "It's too early."  "I don't get much out of it."  "It's too boring."

We humans are great at making excuses.  And yet, it's still there.  In fact, it's one of the ten words that God spoke through Moses.  "Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy."  What does this mean?  We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it. 

I would even go a bit further with encouragement for worship.  In the context of worship, we receive God's gracious gifts to us and are strengthened by His Word and Spirit.  But even that still focuses on us as an individual.  Worship is just as much about the community as it is about us as individuals.

We gather to worship for the additional purpose of strengthening and encouraging one another.  We don't exist as a branch separate from the trunk, or from one another since we are all connected to the same trunk.  The Bible uses different pictures to show our connectedness, a vine and branches, members of a body, a gathering of people called to a specific purpose, and the like.  Also throughout the Bible are the exhortations to be with one another, to encourage one another, uplift each other, carry each other's burdens, and the like.

In other words, we are to be active in gathering with God's saints, and it's as much about their need for us as it is our need for God's gifts of grace.  We also need them and the support that they bring.  So when you ask yourself, Do I have to go to Church, just remember that being in worship is not only about you.  It's about God, His grace, and helping and supporting your neighbor in every need.