Who is your Thorn?

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.  Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:7

No one likes to have negative or sinful things about them pointed out.  Sure, we may say that we welcome correction or reproof, or that we are open to learning more of our weaknesses and shortcomings, but deep down, it really is something we resist.  We not only fail to go out of our way to find those who can point those out to us, often we actually shy away from anyone who would share those sins, weaknesses, and shortcomings with us.

Yet, there are few things more valuable to our growth as Christians than to have someone lovingly point out a sinful action or behavior, or a habit that we have that hinders others, or a weakness that we may not want to consider.  When such things are pointed out to us, we have the opportunity to address that issue and to grow from it.  I know personally that I have benefited from having this done for me any number of times, sometimes on matters of minor importance and at other times on matters that deeply affected me and others.  Each time, I have grown in my Christian faith and in the living out of that faith because of such encounters.

Truth be told, having someone do this for us is much like a thorn in the flesh.  To be honest, I made use of the verse above because it somewhat fit what I was looking for from a Bible verse for this post, rather than being the specific thing that Paul was talking about.  However, I do believe that we would tend to look at someone bringing a word of correction or reproof as a thorn.  It's something to avoid.  It keeps us from becoming conceited.  It may or may not be of Satan, but it does serve to remind us of the humility that God looks for in His people.

So the simple question tonight is, who is your thorn?  Who is that person that could address a sin issue, a weakness, or a correction, and that you would be open to their words?  Some might say it's your spouse, and there is something to that.  However, while it's good to be open and honest as a married couple, you usually want to focus on building up and strengthening each other.  Yes, at times that means addressing issues, but I would suggest that you don't necessarily want the person who is your thorn to be your spouse.

Consider, though.  Who is that person who can address that sin issue in a firm, yet caring way?  Who is there that you know who could correct something that you have done, and you won't build up a wall of pride to prove them wrong (or, at least, not too high a wall)?  Who could poke you in a way that hurts, but that serves to draw you to humility and care, and so the pain they inflict is something that you are thankful for?

If you don't have such a person in your life, perhaps it's time to look for that.  WARNING: doing this WILL be damaging to your pride and ego.  You are not perfect, and you will have some holes punctured in you.  Yet, when this is done in a caring way toward you, you can start to address these areas and grow as a Christian, which benefits you, the whole Body of Christ, and ultimately all of your neighbors as well. 

The Disease, or the Symptoms?

"Preach on.  Speak to issues of fundamental importance--like world view.  Younger Christians more acutely feel the tension between the confession of Scripture and the mindset of the twenty-first century.  Preaching on the underlying causes for this tension [e.g., world view] rather than railing against the symptoms [homosexuality, gender issues, cohabitation, etc.] would, I think, ring true and be very appealing for those who think the Church is there simply to say 'no' all the time."  Quotation from an article I recently read from Concordia Technology Solutions.

It comes up in discussion when I visit with people.  I hear it on Sundays following worship.  Recently, when I requested input for stories from the Bible that people wanted to hear more about, I not only received the stories, but specific things that people were looking for from the stories.  I've had discussions about the importance of preaching on 'the issues of the day', with a good number of people having an honest question and desire to hear what God has to say about many of the things we face in our daily lives. 

Now, I could make far more out of this than I should.  However, the quotation above from a "Millenial" shows us something of vital importance when it comes to the Christian faith and our proclamation of it.  In essence, what this young person points out is that our Christian focus truly impacts our lives when we focus on the "underying cause" rather than the "symptoms."

Okay, so what does that mean?  Let me use an example.  A little over a year ago, our nation was rocked when the Supreme Court "legalized" marriage between people of like gender.  Like many, I heard a fervent plea to preach on what the Scripture says about marriage.  A good request, to be sure.  However, given the context, such a reaction is addressing the symptom rather than the underlying cause.  The symptom (homosexual marriage and all its accompanying issues) took on a priority over the underlying cause (a world fallen in sin and in need of redemption) in the eyes and minds of many.

Preaching on the symptom rarely drives us to the cure.  Usually, what happens instead is that those who do not condone or practice the symptom feel better about their lack of sin in that area, and they develop a tendency to look down on those who either practice it or condone it.  In other words, preaching on the symptom can often lead us to be more secure in our own righteousness and seeing others as less "deserving" of God's grace in Christ Jesus.

Preaching to the disease, though, gets to the heart of the problem of the entire human race.  Once we realize that the issue isn't the symptom, but rather, the underlying cause, now we find ourselves standing at the same place with those who condone or practice the sin.  We stand at the foot of the cross with them, as people who do not perfectly reflect God's desire for our lives, and who would be at His judgment if not for the mercy God shows in Jesus and His carrying our sin in His own body on the cross.  Rather than looking down on them, we are then more likely to stand with them, looking up to the One who redeems them and us, and wanting them to receive the same gifts that we have received. 

I find it utterly fascinating that so many young people in our day and age are looking much more fervently at the heart of what our problem as humans is, and are not content to merely look at the symptoms.  When we look at that underlying cause and disease, that great gift of God in Jesus becomes so much more precious to us, and something of far greater value for us to share.

Getting Along With Jesus

How well do you think you would get along with Jesus?

I would dare say that most of us think we would get along pretty well with Jesus.  I imagine that is the case because we believe that we have a proper faith, and that Jesus would commend us for how we live our lives.  After all, most of us haven't been too radically off on the things that we believe God sees as important.  We haven't run a knife though our neighbor.  We haven't cheated on a spouse.  We haven't really taken too much of value from others.  We honor God by our worship attendance.  In other words, we should get along pretty well with Jesus because we find that we do a lot of things that Jesus seems to indicate are important.

Now, I do not want to downplay the importance of striving to do those things that God says we are to be doing.  In fact, in many respects, we are to be commended for doing them as faithfully as we do.  It shows a true response to the Good News that Jesus came to bring and purchase for us.  That response is something that God looks for as He re-creates us in the image of Jesus.

Yet, at the same time, I would dare say that we probably wouldn't get along with Jesus nearly as well as we think we might.  Why would I say that?  Well, based on the four stories of the life of Jesus, it doesn't really seem like anyone really got along with Jesus.  People were intrigued by Him, and yet, just a bit later, they were turned off by what He would say.  He likely seemed to be an enigma to some of the religious leaders, who saw His actions and heard His words, and who agreed with what He would say and do, but then, would be turned off by Him because He showed mercy where they didn't expect, and was found hanging out with people that they didn't approve of.  Shoot, He would even go so far as to call them names like white washed tombs and blind guides.

Even His closest followers didn't seem to get along with Him.  Fairly often, they seemed to try to disuade Jesus from what He intended to do.  Or, when Jesus didn't respond in a way that they thought He should, they wondered what He was doing.  More often than not, they actually seemed to compare themselves to each other about who ranked closest to Jesus, rather than pondering how they could grow closer to Him.

In the end, it seems like we tend to think that we would get along with Jesus because we have this tendency to make Jesus to be more like us, and less of a focus on us being more like Him.  So, yes, I think we all would have a tremendously difficult time getting along with Jesus.  After all, if we realize where we stand before our holy God, who hates sin and consumes it utterly, when we think about Jesus being this same God, our hearts should perhaps tremble a bit.

That's why, ultimately, it's not about how we get along with Jesus.  It's about what Jesus has done for us (and yes, I say for us, not to us).  Really, we don't get along with Jesus because we are sinful people.  And yet, Jesus has restored us to the Father, along with all others who are fallen in sin and who cling to what He has done for us.  Thanks be to God that it's not about how we get along with Jesus, but in what He has done for us.

Belated Post on Freedom

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."  Galatians 5:1

This past Monday, the United States of America celebrated the date on which the original signing of the Declaration of Independence was signed.  That document declared the freedom of the original 13 colonies from the authority of the British, and continues to be celebrated at the date on which a nation was born.

That is an important kind of freedom to celebrate.  While it is easy to say that such an event changed the world, it rings no less true.  Granted, the freedom we have as Americans is something that many in the world wish was also theirs, and at times we take such freedom for granted.  But for a moment, I want to change the foundation of our thoughts on this word FREEDOM.

In the context of our nation, the word freedom essentially has come to mean, "I can do what I want."  Yes, there is a particular kind of freedom in that.  It's one that comes into conflict with the needs of the good of the society quite often, but it is still freedom.  We can choose what we want to do, and there are relatively few restrictions on it. 

That's a worldly kind of freedom, and one that greatly appeals to our sinful nature.  Our sinful nature does not want to be told what to do, whether by governments or by God (and even by those we love the most, too!).  Such freedom, when allowed to become the focus of life, ends up allowing almost every sinful impulse a forum in which it can be practiced.  And rarely is that for the good of others, or even ourselves.

Yet, the freedom that Jesus has purchased for us is a far different freedom.  It's not a freedom to do whatever we want.  It is, instead, a freedom to return to the original design with which God created us.  Rather than a self serving freedom, it is a freedom to rejoice that we are free from God's wrath, which frees us to love our neighbors without restraint.  It's very similar to something that Martin Luther wrote a number of years ago, when he wrote that the Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant to everyone.  We are free to do what is for their good, what will bring them closer to their Savior and their God, and to know that they are loved and valued by God, set free from their flawed sinfulness.

That freedom doesn't look to the good of the individual, but to the good of the neighbor.  And that is a profound difference when it comes to how we live out our freedom.  Instead of asking how the freedom affects my rights, we instead focus on how my freedom affects others in their relationship with Christ Jesus.  I dare say that, were we to really change our thinking in that way, we might find that our support on certain issues of the day would change radically.

That's because freedom looks to the good of the neighbor, even when it comes at the expense of our own selves.  That's the freedom we have in Jesus, who looked to our good, even at the expense of His own self.  For that, we are immensely thankful to our God in our Lord, Jesus Christ. 

What about God and Dishonor?

From yesterday's blog.  "Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?"  Romans 9:21


Yesterday I wrote a bit about God and the clay that He molds.  I talked about how that can be a painful thing for the clay, and how I have seen that at work in my life quite frequently.  But I also included the above verse from Romans 9, about how the potter makes some clay into honorable use vessels, and others into vessels for dishonorable use.  So let's talk about that a little today.

What would be a vessel for dishonorable use?  Well, think about some of the ceramic fixtures in your house that you don't exactly show off a lot.  Maybe the first one to jump to mind is found in your bathroom.  Let's face it, going to the bathroom is not exactly something that springs to mind when we think about honorable use.  We treat it with more modesty, hiding it behind closed doors, precisely for that reason: it isn't the most honorable thing in our house.

So, if God molds the clay, and some of it is for honorable use, and others for dishonorable use, then what would be those vessels of dishonorable use?  Or, to put it in a slightly different way, what would be the equivalent of the toilet when God fashions people?  A necessary part of life in this world, but not exactly one that we are proud to admit that we need to use, or that we even really want to admit to having to use.  So what would be the people equivalent of that?

Well, God does actually paint a few pictures of that for us.  Think about Pharoah at the time of the Exodus.  God actually speaks that He put Pharoah in charge so that He could demonstrate His power in freeing His people.  Pharoah would seem to be a vessel for dishonorable use.  Or, at the time of the exile, when God would utilize the Babylonian army to destroy the temple, Jerusalem, and Judah, eventually to bring about their downfall because they overshot what God had given them to do.  It may seem that they were set up for a dishonorable purpose, to be God's sword against His people, only to be discarded for what they had done.

The point I basically make is really the same as yesterday.  If God decides to do that, what can we really say against it?  Can we say that He is wrong to do such things, especially as it serves the purpose of His will and design?  Can we say He is wrong in that at all?  After all, who are we to question the one who makes us, and who has His design for our role in the grand scheme of things?

Really, I think it boils down to this one thing.  How comfortable are we with really saying, believing, and knowing that God is the one who gets to call the shots, and we really don't have much say in the matter?  But don't we say that our lives are in His hands, and that He should do with us what He sees fit?  What if He decided that you were to be a vessel of dishonorable use?  Would you still be able to say, "Praise the Lord"?  If not, what would be getting in the way of that?  It's a thought well worth thinking about. 

Compassion: The Wound that Never Heals

"But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water."  John 19:34

"And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, 'You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.'"  Mark 10:21

"And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain..."  Revelation 5:6

I cannot tell you the exact time it happened, but I know it happened quite a while ago.  In ministering in the name of Jesus, a pastor has many, many opportunties where his heart gets opened up to someone in need of compassion.  He sees a person or family hurting, and his heart goes out to them.  He feels the heartache that they feel.  It becomes his own as he walks through the situation with them, or as he watches them go through it.

I myself have had this happen any number of times over the 13 years that I have been a pastor.  And I remember one of the early temptations that I had.  I don't remember the specific situation, but I had undoubtedly gone through a tough time with someone.  I had seen the hurt in their life, and I had felt it myself.  (Perhaps this points to one of my strengths and weaknesses, I get too attached, too close, and take their pain upon myself.)

After watching their struggle, I remember this part fairly clearly.  I realized that I could protect myself.  I could limit my exposure to their pain, and perhaps keep myself from hurting so badly through their struggle.  It would seem to save a great deal of heartache on my part.  It would mean that I could walk through the situation with them, but I would have to remain somewhat detached and apart from them.

I realized that doing this could save me a lot of heartache and pain.  And I distinctly remember choosing that, in the future, I wouldn't do that.  I would not choose to limit my pain in the interactions I would have with God's people as they struggled.  I would feel their heartache and pain.  Like Jesus, in the second verse above that I listed out, I would love them, even if it meant hurt and pain for me.

Compassion is a wound that never heals.  Now, I don't have the same vision as that which John had, either of Jesus on the cross or in the Revelation of Jesus.  But John sees Jesus as the lamb who was slain.  We're not told specifically, but you would imagine that the spear thrust into the side of Jesus went up into His heart.  In the vision that John saw, it would seem that the wound was not healed, but remained.  Jesus even presented it to His disciples following His resurrection.

While this may be somewhat of an metaphorical reach, I would go so far as to suggest that Jesus' heart remaining open like that is a sign that God's compassion never stops.  The wound of compassion never heals.  God does not separate from us in our pain.  He feels it most keenly and deeply.  And His servants often find that the sharing of the message of Good News happens when they feel the same pain as God's people.

Over the years, I have shared in the pain of many of God's people.  Like I said, I chose not to keep myself detached from it, but to walk through it.  And yes, sometimes I even do that without their knowing it.  It hurts, but in the end, I would rather be able to relate to their pain, and to be able to show that I am walking through it with them, rather than be detached, and have my words and actions ring more hollow than true. 

Compassion is a wound that never heals.  We never will arrive at a place where compassion is unnecessary in this world.  We may shut our heart off from feeling compassion, but in my mind, that cuts us off from truly relating to others.  Even if it means heartache, I pray that my heart will always be open to showing compassion.

YOLO, or YOLF?

Some of you who read the title of this post may know what the first set of initials means.  Others may not.  For those who don't, YOLO is a fairly new acronym that stands for, "You only live once."  It has become the byline for explaning why you do some of the things you do.  For example, someone may go skydiving, and caption it, "YOLO!"  Others may drive a speeding car down a windy mountain road at high speeds with the same caption.  In short, it can be used as a tagline to explain why you may do something risky, or even something that is just plain dumb.

After all, if you only live once, you might as well try to make the most out of it, right?  And if you happen to go out in a blaze of glory, well, at least you went out doing something you loved, or something you wanted to.  Believe me, there is a lot of that kind of thinking out there today.  It becomes the reason for not saving money, for doing careless things, as well as those bucket list kind of things.

But for those of us who approach the world from a biblical point of view, we also recognize that it is not, in fact, "YOLO."  Yes, God only gives us one life to live in this world, where we inhabit a body created by Him that nonetheless also has the taint of sin attached.  However, God also speaks about a new life, one which has its beginnings in us at baptism, and which comes to its full realization in the resurrection of the dead and when we are brought into the eternal kingdom, where death no longer intrudes.

In other words, YOLF!  Only, my acronym here is "You only live forever!"  Sure, that may mean that we can take calculated risks for God as we live our lives in this world, knowing that we have something even better in store ahead of us.  We don't treat this life carelessly; after all, it is still God's gift to us.  But we also remember that we have something better in store for us.

Here's the thing about YOLO.  The center of YOLO is the self.  YOU do what YOU want because it's YOUR life to do with what YOU want.  Do you see the center of that more clearly now?  It becomes fully focused on YOU, the self.  And for those of us who approach this world from a biblical perspective, we know that's not the one God calls for.

Our lives are lived to the glory of God's grace, to honor the name of Jesus, to following the leading and prompting of the Spirit that God has put in us at our baptism.  That life is lived in honor of God, in following His will and design for life.  And we find that the extention of that is a life lived in love for our neighbor.

In other words, our lives find their fulfillment, not in doing whatever we can to get the most out of this life, but in doing what we can to see that others get the most out of this life.  And, as those others do the same thing, they serve us in seeing that we get the most out of this life.  And then, we remember that we get to do this perfectly with God forever when the new life fully comes!  Wow!  That's an incredible thought to consider.  And I don't know about you, but it makes me want to risk for God, not just to please myself more. 

That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles

I find some of the worldviews out there fascinating.  I won't say that I'm drawn to them, but I find their particular approach to why things happen fascinating.  We all want to know why the things that happen to us in life happen.  We want to know and understand if there is some element of it that we can control, and if there are things out of our control, then who exactly is controlling them?  And I truthfully find such views of this fascinating, because they point out that we humans really do want to make sense of things.

The thing that I have noticed is that a lot of these views may sound appealing, but may not necessarily be the most helpful.  Let's say, for example, the worldview according to karma.  Karma says that what you do has an impact on what happens to you.  What goes around comes around.  So, if you are a very nice person, then that kindness and niceness will be returned to you.  Likewise, if you're a mean person, then mean things will happen to you.

Now, there does seem to be a rather large hole in this idea.  If you are a typically good person, then what does it suggest if something bad happens to you?  If you are a mean person, but good thing regularly come your way (likely because people are afraid of upsetting you), then how does karma explain that?  It doesn't really have an answer.

There's another view out there that basically says that what happens, happens.  The Muslim faith tends in this direction, saying that God will do what God will do, and there's nothing to be done about it.  Basically, God could be good to you, or God could be bad to you, but it's not worth complaining about, because it just happens.  But if that's the case, then why is it that you can work hard and change your circumstances, or on the other side of the coin, why can you be well off, but then be lazy and lose it all?  If it's just supposed to happen, then is there any sense in actually trying to do something?

Is that the way the cookie crumbles?  As you can see, there are some holes in these ideas.  Tomorrow, I intend to bring this back to the Christian faith, which seems to actually have an answer to these matters, even if it's not always one that might think. 

On The Lighter Side

There is a lot of joy that comes in ministering in the name of Jesus.  Far too often, we focus on the hardships, the sins of the people, and where the problems are.  But make no mistake, as God re-creates us in the waters of baptism, that new creation that emerges and arises before God also has a great deal of joy involved.

One of my particularly joyful areas comes when I get to work with kids.  In fact, I would even say, I really love working with kids before they reach school age.  Some of you may be surprised to learn that I actually worked at a preschool for about three years of my life, and they were some of the most fun times I have had in work and ministry.  Even today, I live for moments when I can surround myself with kids and play with them.

That's not just because I have a very joyful and exuberant two year old girl at home.  I honestly believe that God created me with some kind of gift for interacting with kids of a young age.  I love walking with them, talking with them, playing with them, and just simply being with them.  I often think that, if my career allowed, I would probably invite parents to just drop their young ones off in my office for the day and I would find a great deal of joy in that.  Of course, sermons might be about two minutes long if I were to regularly do that, but who knows, some might even say that would be an improvement!

There is great joy in children.  I don't believe that it was a coincidence that Jesus chose a small child to illustrate the kind of faith He seeks when He addressed His disciples.  Nowhere do you typically see more joy than in the face of a child.  That's the joy that I wish for all of God's people, even as we face the realities and struggles of life.

Defensiveness and Territoriality

"Why not rather suffer wrong?  Why not rather be defrauded?  But you yourselves wrong and defraud-even your own brothers!"  1 Corinthians 6:7b-8

It's happened in church after church.  God's people gather together, some of them are designated to do certain functions of ministry, and then you start to encounter the snarling dog.  Rather than seeing their work as an opportunity to serve God and others, they become territorial.  They want things done their way.  If you threaten their little kingdom, they become territorial, kind of like a dog protecting its backyard.  If you question the way they do things, they become defensive, as though they have to justify why the way they do it is the best, right, and only holy way.

Okay, I'm overspeaking things there a bit.  But you've probably been there before, especially if you've served in some area of ministry in a congregation.  And while it is great for God's people to take their tasks seriously, it's also sad when it becomes a badge of honor, or something to that effect.  If you've ever had to think about how someone would react before a needed change could be made, you've probably encountered this phenomenon before.

The problem is, this is completely contrary to how God desires for His people to interact with one another.  It promotes a spirit of pride rather than a spirit of humility.  It locks us into certain ways of thinking, and prevents us from learning things that could truly be helpful and beneficial.  It deprives us of the wisdom and counsel that others could introduce into the picture that maybe, just maybe, could actually help things work better or smoother. 

The above quotation, in its context, is St. Paul chastising the Corinthian Christians for their lack of humility, in that they placed being right above the well-being of the Church and Christian unity.  They were territorial and defensive, and Paul took them to task for it.  God's people are changed to serve one another, to love one another, not to promote their own causes and desires above others. 

That's why Paul says that it's better to be wronged than to pursue this kind of course.  That shows true humility, truly putting the needs of the brother or sister in Christ above your own.  And if that's the thing that Christians became known for doing, rather than being territorial and defensive, it just might make a different impression on our brothers and sisters, as well as our witness to the rest of the world.  And that is something that Jesus would have us remember in our interactions with each other.

Christian Journaling

When you think of it, the Christian faith has a long history of writing down the interactions of God in the life of His people.  In one sense, that's what the Bible is.  It is a journal of God's interactions with His people, inspired by His very own Spirit, so that we can look back on it, learn from it, and grow in it.  Even St. Paul himself wrote in a couple of places that the things written down long ago were written down for our instruction and learning.  And then, in places like Deuteronomy 4 and 6, the directive is given to continually be reflecting on these things so that they are learned by God's people, by their children, and their children's children.

Part of the reason that we have such a rich abundance of the history of God's church is because His people have consistently written down their thoughts, their discussions, and their conclusions.  Part of the historical part of my studies to become a pastor had to do with reading the accounts of very early church people and what they wrote down.  If you think about it, if they had not written down the things that they did, so much would have been lost about God's continued working in the lives of His people, the Church.

Sadly, in our current day and age, the discipline of journaling has been largely lost.  Especially in our day and time, we suppose that we are far too busy to take time to reflect on what God has done in our lives each day.  We're so intent to get on to the next task, or to finish our work so that we can engage in entertainment that we don't take time to write down what God has been doing in the context of our lives.  So it is any surprise that we look back and wonder where God has been all along, since we haven't taken the time to reflect on His presence and working in our lives?

I'll admit that I am not the most avid of journalers.  I've attempted it in the past, but it always seems to get short shift.  However, I have arrived at a point in life where I see the importance of journaling.  I also see that it's not just a benefit to my life, but to the lives of God's people, as well.

In future posts, I'm going to be describing a project that I will be undertaking that will involve not just me, but people in the congregation I am part of.  Rest assured, journaling will be a big focus point of it.  I look forward to seeing how it goes over as God's people seek to engage this lost discipline.

That's Not What I Wanted

After a few posts, it starts to get a bit depressing to realize just how much I am a slave to so many things in life, especially as I realize the hold they have on me, and that they tend not to be very God pleasing at all.  But, in a sense, I'm also a slave to my sense of holding to the course, so to finish the week out, here's another area of life where I find myself a slave.

I am a slave to getting what I want.  Now, that doesn't sound so bad on the surface.  In fact, that's an idea that is drilled into our heads from the time we are young.  "You can be whatever you want."  "If you want something, work hard and it can become yours."  And so the drive to get or to become whatever you want can become a very powerful motivating force in a person's life.  But is that necessarily a good thing?

When I got married, I faced quite a dilemma.  I had quite a few things that I had been doing in a particular way for a while, and now they had to change.  I had to take another person and their desires into account.  I couldn't always get what I wanted.  I would go to the movies whenever I wanted, to see whatever show captured my fancy.  When I got married, not only did I have to work with another person who didn't exactly share my same interests in movies, but also had a very different view of movie watching than I did!

I'm a slave to wanting to do things that I want to do.  The thing is, one of the correctives that God puts in place in our lives is that we live among other people.  We cannot simply go forth to get our way, especially as we live in relationship with others.  And that is actually a very good thing.  God teaches us that our lives are not our own, despite what our American upbringing may declare.  While God often grants us the freedom to choose things like career, occupation, and spouse, He doesn't leave us as slaves to our desires and whims.  We simply have to take others into account.

Yet, I find myself rebelling against that from time to time.  Sure, most of the time I see the value and wisdom of my wife and my daughter, and in what they call for from me.  But there are times where I just want to do what I want to do.  And when it doesn't happen, I realize my slavery to such things as I become surly.  I pout.  I try to find a way to do what I want, hoping that it won't interfer with what others want.  But at heart, I realize that I am a slave.  I want to do what I want to do.

Help! My Mouth Leaks

As I reflect on my life, there are a lot of things that I find myself enslaved to.  One of the more unfortunate ones is my desire to always be talking.  Prior to meeting my wife, I used to babble and chatter nonstop.  If someone said something, I usually thought I had to say something in response.  I can imagine that it got quite old for people to hear one person say something, then I respond, someone else say something, I respond, and so on.  A conversation in which one person speaks every other time tends to get quite dull after a bit.

The problem isn't so much the speaking, though.  The problem is the thought process that goes behind the speaking.  The truth is, I thought that what I had to say was more important than what others had to say.  So I would simply speak what came to mind because, to my way of thinking, I had something important to say, and they all needed to hear it.  It didn't matter if it was informed or not, I had to say it.  And still today, even after having this pointed out to me, and with many intentional efforts to be a better listener, I still find that I'm a slave to my desire to want to say something and think that it's the most important thing they need to hear.

I truly find it fascinating how often the Bible emphasizes that wisdom is found more in keeping your mouth shut than in speaking your mind.  The Proverbs are filled with this kind of wisdom.  And truthfully, it takes a great deal of self control to keep from flapping my lips all the time.  Even though I am engaged in an occupation and vocation in which speaking is a big part of the job, I still find that, when I say less, I usually end up saying more.

Think of it this way.  If you feel you have something to say on everything, what tends to happen is that other people start to tune you out.  On the other hand, when you don't speak all the time, often people will listen to what you say, especially if you prove to have something wise to contribute.  We've all known that person in life that, when he or she spoke, you knew true gold was coming out, and so you paid attention.  You've also known that person who opened their mouth so often that you started to dread when you saw their lips part.

I'm a slave to wanting to say something in response to everything someone else says.  Even though, outwardly, I may have tamed that instinct some, it still lives within me.  I'm a slave to the thought that my thoughts are worthy of having everyone hear them, invited or not.

When is Enough, Enough?

I had a brief moment of angst this morning.  I had gotten the call that one of God's dear children had been called to recieve her eternal life.  Since it was morning, I was in the process of my morning routine.  You know, shower, eat breakfast, get dressed, that sort of thing.  And I decided to put on a red button-up shirt, in my mind a symbol of Christ's blood shed for that dearly departed sister in Christ.  So I went to my closet with my dress shirts and started looking.  I saw a sort of burnt orange shirt, but it wasn't the one I was looking for.  I saw a couple of really dark shirts, but they weren't my red shirt.  I saw a lot of blue and pastel colored button up shirts, but I couldn't find the exact red shirt I was looking for.  That is, until I started looking in between shirts.  There it was, having been slightly pushed back by the weight of the other shirts pressing against it.

It struck me again right then, as it has so many times in recent years.  I have too many shirts.  That closet space that I was looking in was merely one part of one closet of mine.  Yes, I have many more shirts, and they all hang there the same way.  So many packed in that, when you put a bundle of shirts away, they push the ones back that hang right next to them.  I have too many shirts.

I am a slave to having stuff.  I have purchased practically every shirt that hangs in my closets, along with the countless Tshirts filling drawers, and so many other things crammed around my closets, under the beds, and in boxes.  I am a slave to having things.  And that's when the words of Jesus so clearly ring in my ears, when I am confronted by all my stuff.

"Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required."  "Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat' or 'what shall we wear'?"  And then, in an encounter with a young man versed in God's law, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treaure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 

I'm a slave to my stuff much more than I'm a slave to Jesus.  I like to have stuff.  I have stuff in places that hasn't been used in a year and a half.  At some point, I felt that I needed it.  But now, it sits unused.  And the troubling thing is, the value of that stuff would probably be enough to feed small villages in other parts of the world.  But my heritage is that of so many others in this nation.  I need stuff.  I want stuff.  And I even get stuff that I don't use.

When I think about how painful it would be if Jesus were to say the same thing to me that He said to that young man, it really does rip at me inside.  But that's so often how God confronts those things that enslave us.  He puts us in conflict with them, and exposes how we so often want more stuff rather than want God and His will.  Stuff in and of itself isn't bad.  It's our desire for that stuff that ultimately threatens to enslave us and draw us away from our Lord Jesus.

I hate that I am a slave to stuff.  I actually do look forward to the day when Jesus completely and finally frees me from that slavery, even if it means passing through the doorway of death, or welcoming Him back as He re-creates this world.  Until then, Lord Jesus, keep me uncomfortable in my slavery to my stuff.

I Am A Slave

Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin."  John 8:34

I am a slave.  There are many times in my life where I don't want to be a slave, and there are many times where I actually don't mind being a slave all that much. 

How am I a slave?  In the sense that Jesus spoke about in the verse I quoted above.  Whoever commits sin is a slave to sin.  I sin.  I am a slave.  And the reality that I live in shows that this is indeed a very complicated situation.

There are those things that I really fight and battle against.  I see the sin in my life, and I don't want it to be there anymore.  I struggle with it.  I ask others to help in the struggle.  I come before God, admitting that I'm a slave to these things, and praying for His forgiveness and His Spirit to work toward their conquest in my life.  I don't want to be a slave to these, and so I engage in a battle against them.

The problem is, there are also those things that I am a slave to, but they don't really bother me all that much.  I'm going to post about what some of these look like over the next few days, maybe not in particularly specific ways, but to show how invasive and pervasive some of this slavery really is.  I'll be looking at how I don't really mind being a slave to some of these things because being a slave is actually fairly comforting.  However, it becomes a whole lot less comfortable when I encounter what God says about them, and have to view them from the lens of my redemption and my faith.

But in many respects, this all starts as I realize the truth of what Jesus spoke so many centuries ago, but still applies to my life, and the lives of all people who ever live.  I am a slave.  I don't want to be one, but I am. 

Intentional Weaves

This week, I've been posting about weaving Gospel threads into your life.  It's basically saying that every encounter that you have with others is an opportunity to bring some element of your faith into the encounter, no matter how brief.

Today, I want to look a little bit at how you can begin to bring multiple threads into the same person's life.  Yes, it is great when we string that Gospel thread into someone's life, and we never get the chance to build on it.  That is when we see the truth that St. Paul writes about when he says that he planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.  There are so many times where we encounter a person once, and we either get to plant the seed or provide a little water to the seed that someone else has planted before.

But we also find ourselves going regularly to certain places in life.  In those places, we start to see familiar faces.  For example, my family regularly goes to a small grocery store near our house.  I've gotten to the point that I know pretty much every face in the place.  I think a few of them even remember us, especially our cute little girl. 

So just imagine how those Gospel threads can begin to be woven together in the lives of those that we regularly encounter.  While it's not always going to be possible to go to that same cashier, if you happen to notice that same person working, why not go get in their line, regardless of how long it may be?  And then, weave another Gospel thread into their life.  Who knows, after you have woven enough threads, you might start having the opportunity for something more to build there.  Or, you may even be planting and watering for another to harvest.  There's absolutely no problem with that.

I would imagine, right now, you can think of at least three or four places that you frequent where you recognize faces or people.  Why not start working to intentionally weave a few Gospel threads into a few of those lives?  As you water, God's Spirit will be working to prepare the field for the white harvest.

When Threads Unite

As we continue the topic of weaving Gospel threads into our lives, today I want to venture into those connections that you have with others on a regular basis.  But before I do that, it strikes me that I should probably explain a bit about what I mean when I say "weaving Gospel threads."

As you interact with people in your life, the language and vocabulary you use speaks greatly about you as a person.  Since many of you who read this are Christian, the language and vocabulary that you use in your interactions are means by which you can weave Gospel threads into the lives of others.  But what do I mean by this?  Do I mean that you should work Jesus into every conversation?  While that would be a commendable thing, let's look at something even more basic.

Every interaction you have with others is a chance to demonstrate your faith in God.  Some can be more overt than others.  Consider this: you go to pick up your morning coffee from the barista.  Why not weave a Gospel thread through something like the following.  "Thanks, this will help me enjoy the beautiful day God has given us."  You've woven a Gospel thread there.  Sure, it's not explicitly a Christian Gospel thread, but you've created a moment where your faith in God is present. 

Think of that as a single thread.  Now, you carry that thread with you throughout the day.  As you order your lunch, what about another thread to weave?  As you pick up your food, something simple like this could weave another thread.  "Thank God that He takes care of what I need every meal."  Another Gospel thread has been woven. 

As you weave these threads, one of the things that I believe will happen is that you will have regular encounters with some people.  So sure, that thread where you simply thanked God for a beautiful day doesn't seem like much all by itself.  But the next day, you're back at the same barista for your coffee.  How about another Gospel thread?  "The tastebuds God gave me sure love this cup of coffee.  Thanks for making it."  And then the next day, "I'm thankful to God that my morning includes getting coffee from you."  Thread upon thread upon thread.

What happens when enough threads unite?  You start to form something.  A few threads don't make a blanket, but as you start to weave enough threads together, you start to get something that has some substance.  And, as you can imagine, you can be pretty creative with these Gospel threads.  In fact, I encourage you to think of how many different ways you can weave those threads.  Make some more explicit than others.  Let some be fairly generic.  But start working at them, and then see if you don't start looking for opportunities to weave those threads into your daily life more and more frequently.

The Thread of Your Life

As you live among people, it is inevitable that you will acquire a certain legacy in the eyes of others.  This is especially true of those who see you often.  They will get to know you, and often, they will be able to see things that you may be blind to about yourself.  They will form certain thoughts and opinions about you, and who knows, some of them may even be ones that you would be okay with!

While this is certainly true for those you interact with regularly, that same legacy will often reveal itself even to those with whom you don't regularly interact.  For example, if you are someone that your close friends would call kind-hearted, it's likely that this same kind-heartedness will reveal itself as you interact with others.  On the other hand, if your close friends would call you prickly, it's also very likely that other people will observe that same prickly-ness in their interactions with you.

The legacy that you are leaving behind right now is a thread that you are weaving in your life.  So have you ever given thought to what you want that thread to look like?  In my experience with people, I've known relatively few who were intentionally planning the legacy that they wanted others to know them by.  Most often, it seems we are content to simply to let others think what they will without any particular leaning or guidance on our part.

As a Christian, we also have the opportunity to weave a thread of the Gospel into our lives as part of our legacy.  Every interaction that we have with others is an opportunity to weave the Gospel thread into our lives, as well as the lives of others.  And just like I've said above, in many ways, this thread cannot help but become evident as we live it out.  The approach you take toward appreciating the life God has given you can become a thread that you weave in all the interactions you have with others.

Right now, what does that Gospel thread look like in your life?  Are there ways that you would like to intentionally nurture it so that it becomes more evident?  If so, what ways do you want to take to do that?  And as you do that, give thanks to God that His Spirit is actively at work through the lives of His people as that Gospel thread gets woven.

"Follow Me"

Recently, I came across an interesting little Youtube video, which applied Twitter to the story of Jesus' ministry, life, death, and resurrection.  I believe I posted it on here last week, so if you'd like to take this chance to go back and check it out, please feel free.

That's gotten me to thinking (always a dangerous thing).  One of the things we come across quite often in the Bible is the invitation/command to "Follow Me".  Jesus speaks those words to those whom we call His disciples.  It's the unspoken invitation of the Holy Spirit when we encounter God's Word.  It's the call of God to His people as they left Egypt in the middle of the night, and even as they waited 40 years to take possession of the Promised Land.  It's the call of God to a man named Abraham, whose descendants and descendant would ultimately change the world.

Follow Me.  It's a gracious invitation from our God, the God who made all things, and who has promised to make all things new again.  And we respond to that call.  In fact, that's really the only way that we come to know God, when He extends His call to us.  Absent that call, we just wander around this life, following whatever manages to capture our attention.  And so, we are thankful when God whispers that invitation into our ears and minds.  Follow Me.

The thing is, following God isn't the easy road that it has been made out to be.  It involves sacrifice.  It involves re-thinking the way we live.  It involves serving others and considering them as more needing than ourselves.  It involves giving up the control we think we have of our lives and watching God do miraculous things that we never expected.  It leads to adventure, and to danger.  It leads to hope, and also to having our good name tarnished by others.

And yet, God makes one consistent promise.  Follow Me, and nothing can take you from My hand.  That's the promise that is attached to the invitation/command (and yes, it really is a command as well as an invitation, but more on that later).  And that's the promise we cling to as we follow God, and as we follow Jesus, wherever He may lead.

Living in a #Hashtag World

Okay, full confession here.  I have a twitter account.  I'm also highly considering a Pinterest and an Instagram account.  I realize that some of you who read this blog may be wondering what those are, and perhaps in the future I'll explain or link to them.  But I have a twitter account.  I aim to put a thought or two out there each day on it, as well as a link to my (daily) blog entries. 

Lots of people, though, frequent twitter a lot more than I do.  Just in the last 3 minutes, I've had over 20 new twitter statements come through on my "feed".  I follow quite a few different people or interests on there.  Some are sports, some are running, some are food, and some are church, ministry, or theology related.  Regardless, I get a new alert every time a few more pop up.  (Just got 5 more while I typed that sentence.)

One of the remarkable things on twitter is that you can add a hashtag (#) in front of something, and it will sometimes get picked up by others.  You do that for a one word summary of something that expresses your thoughts at the moment.  It could be a person of interest, an item of interest, or something along those lines.  When enough people add it to their feed, twitter updates you to let you know what people are hashtagging, so you know what is trending out there in the world.

We live in a hashtag world, regardless of your awareness of how twitter uses them or not.  Every time you see a banner on TV that says "Breaking News", you have a form of the hashtag.  Every time something like that crosses your internet provider, you have a form of the hashtag.  It's a reminder of what's happening now, of what's popular now, of what people are looking into now.

We live in a hashtag world because we want things right now.  And in some respects, that also speaks to our Christian lives.  We want to know God is with us right now.  We want to know that God forgives us, not at some point in the future, but right now.  We want to know that God has an interest in our lives right now.  And the amazing thing is, God actually is and does all those things, and right now!

You have forgiveness right now, because of what Jesus has done for you.  You have forgiveness right now when you have the washing waters of baptism as part of your history.  You have the gift of a relationship with God right now, through that baptism, and through your ongoing faith in what God has done for you in Jesus.  You have the gift of eternal life right now, by virtue of your connection to God in Christ Jesus, who lives an eternal life that will never die.

The great thing is, we don't need hashtags to make those things our reality.  They are our reality because of what God has done for us, and because those gifts have been given to us.  And yet, we need that hashtag frequency of reminder because not a day goes by that we need to be reminded of it.  We need that reminder because every day, other hashtags attempt to distract us from God's gifts in Christ Jesus.

Maybe you didn't know it, but you live in a hashtag world, in that you live in a world of right now.  God works right now for you, and won't stop.  Even if you don't know what a hashtag is, you have the assurance of God's gifts in your life right now!  Thanks be to God for that in Jesus!