I was reading a book recently that was suggested to me by one of my friends with the intention of "seeing my response to it." The book was written by an outspoken and passionate atheist (although he despises the term), who brings up some intriguing objections to Christianity. One of the themes of the book that the author uses to attach Christianity is the anti-morality of the Bible. He brings up slavery and the treatment of non-believers in the Old Testament and really presents a strong case. He claims that since our moral guideline (the Bible) is debunked, then we should throw it out, and our faith is worthless.
My first thought was an odd one: if only it were that easy. I think that the writer seems to think that we Christians simply judged the morality of the Bible against our own innate morality and decided that it is close enough to use as a framework to base our lives around. This is far from the truth, at least for me. If he was right, then it would be easy to read his words and walk away from the faith forever. I could create my own morality centered around me. I could do always what feels good or benefits me personally and maybe find some sort of satisfaction.
My faith, however, is not a result of a logical decision.
Today I heard O Holy Night. It seems that every year, a new line in the song catches my attention. This year it is:
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
This is a much more accurate picture of what it means to be a Christian. we all have this pesky, cumbersome soul living inside of us. It gives us morals and makes us feel funny sometimes. Christians and Non-Christians alike, we all have it. It leaps when we love and is heavy when we weep. It often gets in the way of advancing our own kingdom. It makes us make decisions that don't always benefit us. We wonder sometimes why we even have it.
Then, it happens. He appears, not just two-thousand years ago, but every single moment of every single day. He is constantly appearing. Our lives intersect with the divine, and we realize it. Our soul feels their worth. It all becomes clear. The Bible is not a morality handbook, it is a story of the shape of things and where our souls fit in it. Before Christ, our souls are a hindrance and a weight. After Christ, we see that they are our connection with the divine and our internal moral guide.
So this Christmas, celebrate the meaning of life. Celebrate that love has come to earth and that we now can love more fully. Celebrate that suffering will one day expire. Celebrate that there is meaning in the world for you, for me, and for the writer of the book I am reading. Celebrate that your soul is worth something.
Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Don't Pinch Me!
Allow me to paint a picture in your mind. It's middle school. 7th grade. Middle of spring. You show up to school and scurry inside the building, hiding your face so as not to be associated with the dork in the station wagon that just dropped you off. Your heart races as you try to find some of your friends to sit with in the lunch room before homeroom. To your satisfaction you see a group of boys you feel comfortable sliding onto the seat beside. Then it happens. You feel a fiery pain on the back of your arm that nearly forces you to jump over the table. Your voice cracks out an "Owww!"
"Your not wearing any green." The sadistic torturer informs you.
"OK, you just pinched the crap out of my arm. Are we all pointing out the obvious today?"
"It is Saint Patrick's day, you gotta wear green or you will get pinched."
You feverishly check all of your clothing from bookbag to socks to find some speck of green. If you are lucky you find that the emblem on your shirt is green or that it is on a bracelet you had tossed in your bookbag. If you are unlucky, you find that the boxer shorts you begged your mom to buy you contain green mixed among the plaid. You will now spend the rest of your day watching for pinchers ready to announce that the green is on your underwear. However, if you are still rocking the whitey tighties and the rest of you is without that elusive color, you are doomed. You see all of those boys that you thought were your friends turn to you with a devilish hunger in their eyes. Today is not going to be a good day.
Sometimes I find myself concerned with just what it takes to be a Christian.
Intellectually, this makes me wonder, what is the baseline requirement to be a Christian? It concerns me that this does not seem to be a question that Jesus was concerned with answering. People ask him all the time, and it seems that he gives a slightly different answer every time. Sometimes it is believe (John 3:16). Sometimes it is serve (Matthew 25: 31-46). Sometimes it is give away everything and follow him (Matthew 19:16-30).
Practically, I ask: am I doing "enough?" This question always returns disastrous results. If I answer yes, then I am complacent or prideful in my self-assessment. If I answer no, I console myself with the idea that I will never be able to do enough. This only grants me half-comfort and still challenges me to keep trying.
The imagery of light is often used in relation to the Christian life. The cool thing about light is that it does not have just one purpose. It is warmth, security, clarity, beauty, fuel, necessary for growth, comfort, and ultimately life-giving. Light is invasive and is exponentially potent.
When Christ comes into our lives, this light permeates our existence. This light comes into our lives and illuminates the dark corners of our souls. It gives us purpose and direction. It gives us peace and comfort. It pours out of us dispelling the darkness both inside ourselves and in our world.
So no longer should we be the kid living in fear of St. Patrick's day. We should be the one who brings in enough clover-leaf necklaces to save everyone from pain. We should stand atop the lunchroom table bidding others who are persecuted and burdened to come and fear no more. We can then celebrate this nonsensical holiday with the utmost of joy and live our lives with hope again.
"Your not wearing any green." The sadistic torturer informs you.
"OK, you just pinched the crap out of my arm. Are we all pointing out the obvious today?"
"It is Saint Patrick's day, you gotta wear green or you will get pinched."
You feverishly check all of your clothing from bookbag to socks to find some speck of green. If you are lucky you find that the emblem on your shirt is green or that it is on a bracelet you had tossed in your bookbag. If you are unlucky, you find that the boxer shorts you begged your mom to buy you contain green mixed among the plaid. You will now spend the rest of your day watching for pinchers ready to announce that the green is on your underwear. However, if you are still rocking the whitey tighties and the rest of you is without that elusive color, you are doomed. You see all of those boys that you thought were your friends turn to you with a devilish hunger in their eyes. Today is not going to be a good day.
Sometimes I find myself concerned with just what it takes to be a Christian.
Intellectually, this makes me wonder, what is the baseline requirement to be a Christian? It concerns me that this does not seem to be a question that Jesus was concerned with answering. People ask him all the time, and it seems that he gives a slightly different answer every time. Sometimes it is believe (John 3:16). Sometimes it is serve (Matthew 25: 31-46). Sometimes it is give away everything and follow him (Matthew 19:16-30).
Practically, I ask: am I doing "enough?" This question always returns disastrous results. If I answer yes, then I am complacent or prideful in my self-assessment. If I answer no, I console myself with the idea that I will never be able to do enough. This only grants me half-comfort and still challenges me to keep trying.
The imagery of light is often used in relation to the Christian life. The cool thing about light is that it does not have just one purpose. It is warmth, security, clarity, beauty, fuel, necessary for growth, comfort, and ultimately life-giving. Light is invasive and is exponentially potent.
When Christ comes into our lives, this light permeates our existence. This light comes into our lives and illuminates the dark corners of our souls. It gives us purpose and direction. It gives us peace and comfort. It pours out of us dispelling the darkness both inside ourselves and in our world.
So no longer should we be the kid living in fear of St. Patrick's day. We should be the one who brings in enough clover-leaf necklaces to save everyone from pain. We should stand atop the lunchroom table bidding others who are persecuted and burdened to come and fear no more. We can then celebrate this nonsensical holiday with the utmost of joy and live our lives with hope again.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Car Problems
I am plagued by car problems. They seem to follow me around. Not just normal ones either; they are usually squirelly and uncommon. Cars are becoming more and more complex as the years go by, and there will soon be a day when any powers as a mechanic that I have will be rendered useless by computers, but that won't stop me from trying. I both love and hate working on cars. The joy of completing a project and cranking the car up to feel that sense of accomplishment is matched only by the pain of seeing steam pour out from under the hood or turning the key and having nothing happen.
A car is much like life. Sometimes there is joy. Sometimes there is disappointment. Ultimately, the car, like your life, is on a steady decline until one day it will be dead (barring of course show cars that live in garages and people that would basically pay the price for a new car to replace the innards of an old one out of sentimental reasons (There is no parallel for this in life, sorry)).
It is unclear just how God works in the world. It is evident that he does interact with our lives, but to what degree? Is he active in making sure that you get the last corndog in line at the stadium? Is he also active in killing someone you love with a vicious disease? Is he choosing to let us have our own way on earth to our own demise? Is he controlling every decision we "make" to his own will? I have neither the intellect nor time to address these issues here, but it is important that we decide how to react to life.
I have found in my personal life that my gut reactions to events in life don't always reflect my personal beliefs in how God works. I have images of a God who is constantly giving and taking and who also gives us the ability to make decisions that actually change the world around us. Sometimes these two don't agree. I end up thanking God for something he may not have directly given to me or begrudging him for bad things that he may not have caused.
I have never really liked that passage in Job where he says that the Lord has given and taken away and then he praises him for it. I always thought that Job sounded like some kind of zombie, after losing everything because of God to praise him seems absurd. I thought that maybe it was out of some sense of duty, as if Job said, "God is still God so what am I going to do about it? I might as well praise him." That doesn't jive with how I believe that God wants us to worship him. If he wanted us to praise him for his power then he would have sent his son to conquer not to love and to die.
Ultimately, we can't understand the way that God gives and takes away, but the Bible does say that he takes care of us. This doesn't mean that he gives us what we think we need all the time. What God gives to us, rather, is a transformation by the renewal of our minds. Thus, the ins and outs of the workings of God are not up to us. They should not concern us as much as how we react to life.
At the end of the day, I love cars and working on them. I don't hate the problems or blame the car for them, rather I love it all. The same is true of life. Life is not good because good things happen to us, it is good because it is. It is good because a good God made it that way. We can know that it is good because when he comes into our lives, he changes things. Therefore when all the things that can go wrong do or when everything falls right into our laps, we can say, like the old hymn, that it is well with our souls. Love life.
A car is much like life. Sometimes there is joy. Sometimes there is disappointment. Ultimately, the car, like your life, is on a steady decline until one day it will be dead (barring of course show cars that live in garages and people that would basically pay the price for a new car to replace the innards of an old one out of sentimental reasons (There is no parallel for this in life, sorry)).
It is unclear just how God works in the world. It is evident that he does interact with our lives, but to what degree? Is he active in making sure that you get the last corndog in line at the stadium? Is he also active in killing someone you love with a vicious disease? Is he choosing to let us have our own way on earth to our own demise? Is he controlling every decision we "make" to his own will? I have neither the intellect nor time to address these issues here, but it is important that we decide how to react to life.
I have found in my personal life that my gut reactions to events in life don't always reflect my personal beliefs in how God works. I have images of a God who is constantly giving and taking and who also gives us the ability to make decisions that actually change the world around us. Sometimes these two don't agree. I end up thanking God for something he may not have directly given to me or begrudging him for bad things that he may not have caused.
I have never really liked that passage in Job where he says that the Lord has given and taken away and then he praises him for it. I always thought that Job sounded like some kind of zombie, after losing everything because of God to praise him seems absurd. I thought that maybe it was out of some sense of duty, as if Job said, "God is still God so what am I going to do about it? I might as well praise him." That doesn't jive with how I believe that God wants us to worship him. If he wanted us to praise him for his power then he would have sent his son to conquer not to love and to die.
Ultimately, we can't understand the way that God gives and takes away, but the Bible does say that he takes care of us. This doesn't mean that he gives us what we think we need all the time. What God gives to us, rather, is a transformation by the renewal of our minds. Thus, the ins and outs of the workings of God are not up to us. They should not concern us as much as how we react to life.
At the end of the day, I love cars and working on them. I don't hate the problems or blame the car for them, rather I love it all. The same is true of life. Life is not good because good things happen to us, it is good because it is. It is good because a good God made it that way. We can know that it is good because when he comes into our lives, he changes things. Therefore when all the things that can go wrong do or when everything falls right into our laps, we can say, like the old hymn, that it is well with our souls. Love life.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Time
In his new song, "Walking Far From Home," Iron & Wine, the stage name of singer/songwriter, Samuel Beam writes from the perspective of a man walking around the world. He sees everything from blooming fruit trees to a building high as heaven. The song captures a large smattering of "things" happening and going on in the world. The collection of sounds in background brilliantly illustrate the beauty and driving, steady chaos of modern life. Although, a different line or image sticks out to me every time I listen, one particular line always ends up sticking with me.
I see lovers in a window
Whisper, "Want me like time, want me like time."
Time, there is nothing else so cruel, fickle, and fleeting as time. Whether in a daily sense, like being unable to complete all the tasks on the to-do list, or in a grand sense, like being unable to spend enough time with those that we love.
I have always hated it around Christian circles whenever you here someone talk about dying and they say that they have no fear of dying because they will finally be done with this world and home with Jesus. Don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer that heaven will be better than this earth and anything I can imagine. However, am I in any hurry to get there? I don't think so. I believe pining after heaven is like a tired man thinking about sleep. When he finally falls asleep, his state of consciousness will not even recognize that he was thinking about sleep prior to falling asleep. In short, thinking about sleep is a waste of time because when you are asleep, you will not remember thinking about it. Sleep is temporal, but we will be in heaven forever. How much more useless is it to waste any thought of hurrying ourselves along to it? Will we even remember our time on earth? Since eternity exists outside of time, we will be left with a proportionately, infinitely small pocket of memories. If we are to remember our time here on earth, will we congratulate ourselves on our readiness for heaven?
In Ecclesiastes chapter 3, we find the passage of the "time for this" and "time for that" montage. Just a couple of verses down from that, we find this in verse 11:
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he
cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Let us begin with God putting eternity into man's heart. First of all, we must stop thinking of eternity within the confines of time. We oftentimes think of eternity as just a lot of time, but since we are temporary beings, we can only think of more of what we have experienced. Here and now, time is the framework in which we exists, thus everything is happening as we move through it or as it moves around us. Eternity, however, is not a larger amount of time, it is a totally different framework in which we will live. It is a frame that is not so much longer than time, but fuller, or more complete. One that does not move, begin, or end.
So, God has placed this eternity into our hearts. I think that in the same way that we only use a small percentage of our brains, we only use a small amount of our hearts and/or souls. So, the knowledge and understanding of eternity is hidden away from us deep in our hearts. Though we can't completely comprehend or even access us, our hearts know there is a better way out there, thus we will always be frustrated with time.
There is a time for everything under the sun and God has made everything beautiful in its own time. This does not mean that there is a appropriate and designated time to do all of these things. It means that for any activity that God has given us, there is a predetermined amount of time for us to do it in. For instance, you will spend 40 million seconds eating or 80 million watching television. Those things are simple and mundane things, but what about more meaningful things.
Is anyone ever given enough time with a grandparent?
How much time is necessary to stare at the stars and fully appreciate their beauty?
The very thought of having a limited amount of time with a lover seems criminal?
Is 31,556,926 seconds enough time?
Is 60,000,000?
Is 200,000,000?
Could you ever have enough?
There is a fixed amount of time for everything. This will not change. There is only that amount of time for everything. There is no sense in wishing for more, because that is all we will have. There is no sense lamenting the amounts we have been given, because that in itself is time wasted.
All we can do is tap into the eternity inside our hearts and try to experience everything, from waiting in line to holding our first child, to the fullest. To be fully engaged in a moment, to suck the marrow out of experience like you know that it will never be there again, is to taste a morsel of eternity. Find eternity in every second today.
I see lovers in a window
Whisper, "Want me like time, want me like time."
Time, there is nothing else so cruel, fickle, and fleeting as time. Whether in a daily sense, like being unable to complete all the tasks on the to-do list, or in a grand sense, like being unable to spend enough time with those that we love.
I have always hated it around Christian circles whenever you here someone talk about dying and they say that they have no fear of dying because they will finally be done with this world and home with Jesus. Don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer that heaven will be better than this earth and anything I can imagine. However, am I in any hurry to get there? I don't think so. I believe pining after heaven is like a tired man thinking about sleep. When he finally falls asleep, his state of consciousness will not even recognize that he was thinking about sleep prior to falling asleep. In short, thinking about sleep is a waste of time because when you are asleep, you will not remember thinking about it. Sleep is temporal, but we will be in heaven forever. How much more useless is it to waste any thought of hurrying ourselves along to it? Will we even remember our time on earth? Since eternity exists outside of time, we will be left with a proportionately, infinitely small pocket of memories. If we are to remember our time here on earth, will we congratulate ourselves on our readiness for heaven?
In Ecclesiastes chapter 3, we find the passage of the "time for this" and "time for that" montage. Just a couple of verses down from that, we find this in verse 11:
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he
cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Let us begin with God putting eternity into man's heart. First of all, we must stop thinking of eternity within the confines of time. We oftentimes think of eternity as just a lot of time, but since we are temporary beings, we can only think of more of what we have experienced. Here and now, time is the framework in which we exists, thus everything is happening as we move through it or as it moves around us. Eternity, however, is not a larger amount of time, it is a totally different framework in which we will live. It is a frame that is not so much longer than time, but fuller, or more complete. One that does not move, begin, or end.
So, God has placed this eternity into our hearts. I think that in the same way that we only use a small percentage of our brains, we only use a small amount of our hearts and/or souls. So, the knowledge and understanding of eternity is hidden away from us deep in our hearts. Though we can't completely comprehend or even access us, our hearts know there is a better way out there, thus we will always be frustrated with time.
There is a time for everything under the sun and God has made everything beautiful in its own time. This does not mean that there is a appropriate and designated time to do all of these things. It means that for any activity that God has given us, there is a predetermined amount of time for us to do it in. For instance, you will spend 40 million seconds eating or 80 million watching television. Those things are simple and mundane things, but what about more meaningful things.
Is anyone ever given enough time with a grandparent?
How much time is necessary to stare at the stars and fully appreciate their beauty?
The very thought of having a limited amount of time with a lover seems criminal?
Is 31,556,926 seconds enough time?
Is 60,000,000?
Is 200,000,000?
Could you ever have enough?
There is a fixed amount of time for everything. This will not change. There is only that amount of time for everything. There is no sense in wishing for more, because that is all we will have. There is no sense lamenting the amounts we have been given, because that in itself is time wasted.
All we can do is tap into the eternity inside our hearts and try to experience everything, from waiting in line to holding our first child, to the fullest. To be fully engaged in a moment, to suck the marrow out of experience like you know that it will never be there again, is to taste a morsel of eternity. Find eternity in every second today.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Art
...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Phil. 4:8
God made a world large and filled with people. These people, He filled with souls. These souls, He gave the itching desire to create and and the ability to think, imagine, and dream. He has chosen to work out His will and achieve His glory through these people, not just the Christian ones. Thus, Christianity was never meant to be a sub-culture. There should not be "christian music" or "christian books" or "christian movies." If we truly believe in a beautiful creator that crafted this whole creation to His own perfect will, then isn't every book theology? Isn't every song grappling with the fact that God is out there? Isn't every movie trying to understand what it means to be a human being living in this world created by God?
Sure, much of this art may arrive at different and opposite conclusions of the world, but that doesn't mean that it can't be lovely or true or pure. That would be as if the only places that are beautiful in the world must be inside churches or that the only art worth seeing is paintings of Jesus dying on the cross. As it stands now, that is the image we are projecting to the rest of the world as Christians. We are so ready to condemn all of the "evil" in the world outside our church walls that we fail to see the beauty of the constant creation that is flowing from the God's-image part of every human's soul out into the world.
So I will stand now and say that I have gained more from Emily Dickinson and Henry David Thoreau than the newest milk and cookies theology book at the christian bookstore. V for Vendetta will always be better for my soul than Facing the Giants. Sufjan Stevens and Mumford and Sons bring me closer to God than most of christian radio ever will.
It is time for Christians to stand up and embrace what is good in the world. It is time for Christian artist to stop trying to be preachy or to make a buck by feeding the masses what they want to hear and see, but to let their God given soul flow with all the creative juices they can muster. I believe that this is when God will be most satisfied, when His people find joy, beauty, peace, and goodness in all the good things that He has created and when they produce art that is no longer a "Christian" version of what the world likes, but art that is so true and glorious that the world cannot help but notice.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Suffering Part 2
For years now, I have thought that the most important question regarding suffering is, "Why would a good God would let us suffer?" In many ways there are millions of answers to that question and no good ones. I am now convinced, however, that the most important question is, "Does He care?"
In Herman Melville's often mocked tale, Moby Dick, Captain Ahab is consumed by a desire to destroy the white whale, even if it means that he will lose everything in the process (spoiler alert! he does). The whale symbolizes God in its omnipresence and sheer power and was used as a way for Melville to air out his quarrels with the Almighty. Ahab hates God for one reason more than the rest: the fact that we here on earth must suffer and God does not even have to answer for it.
Can I just stop for a moment here and say that I love Moby Dick and that I think it is one of the most important pieces of American literature? I love it for its passion and its thinking. I love it for not covering up a tough subject that is crucial to our human experience with a pat on the head and a Sunday school answer. I do, however, have one revision. At the end of it all when the Leviathan (cool Melville word for whale) has taken down the ship and is about to crush Ahab once and for all, he rises dramatically out of the water. Ahab shouts curses at the beast and readies his harpoon only to see that amidst the brine and chaos that the whale is no longer advancing. As the water drips off of its body from around its eye, Ahab begins to see that not just water pours forth into the sea, but tears. The whale weeps for Ahab's pain. Ahab hops on Moby Dick's back and they swim off happily ever after.
In the book of John, Jesus is given news of his friend Lazarus' sickness, but strangely enough he does not rush to his side. After a couple of days, he tells his disciples that Lazarus has fallen asleep but that he is going there to wake him. The disciples are confused, so Jesus, in typical Jesus form, spells it out for them. "Lazarus is dead." When they reach the town, Mary comes to see Jesus and tells him that if only he had come a few days earlier, her brother Lazarus would still be alive. Just imagine the emotions involved here. Mary has seen Jesus do some amazing things and he obviously has a special connection with the family. She looks him in the eye and accuses him of not acting quickly enough. She blames him for her suffering.
Before we get to what Jesus did do, let's meditate for a moment on what he did not do.
He did not chastise her for a lack of faith.
He did not say "my ways are not your ways."
He did not tell her to wait a moment while he went and raised him from the dead.
He did not look down on her as a child for her lack of understanding.
In a genius move by the people who broke the Bible into verses, we are given the shortest and one of the most potent verses.
"Jesus wept."
He could have stopped it before Lazarus died and he knew he was on his way to bring him back to life, but still Jesus wept. He knew this story would be recorded in the scripture to be read for thousands of years, but still Jesus wept. He exists outside of time and knew that Lazarus was in a better place already, but still Jesus wept. He created billions of people that He loves and Lazarus was just one of them, but still Jesus wept. He knew that he was about to endure a much worse death for sinners like Lazarus, but still Jesus wept.
I can't help but imagine that when your grandmother dies or a tsunami strikes Japan, Jesus looks down on us with love and weeps with us. What does it mean to have a God who weeps for you when you suffer? I will take that God over a God who hides suffering from me any day.
In Herman Melville's often mocked tale, Moby Dick, Captain Ahab is consumed by a desire to destroy the white whale, even if it means that he will lose everything in the process (spoiler alert! he does). The whale symbolizes God in its omnipresence and sheer power and was used as a way for Melville to air out his quarrels with the Almighty. Ahab hates God for one reason more than the rest: the fact that we here on earth must suffer and God does not even have to answer for it.
Can I just stop for a moment here and say that I love Moby Dick and that I think it is one of the most important pieces of American literature? I love it for its passion and its thinking. I love it for not covering up a tough subject that is crucial to our human experience with a pat on the head and a Sunday school answer. I do, however, have one revision. At the end of it all when the Leviathan (cool Melville word for whale) has taken down the ship and is about to crush Ahab once and for all, he rises dramatically out of the water. Ahab shouts curses at the beast and readies his harpoon only to see that amidst the brine and chaos that the whale is no longer advancing. As the water drips off of its body from around its eye, Ahab begins to see that not just water pours forth into the sea, but tears. The whale weeps for Ahab's pain. Ahab hops on Moby Dick's back and they swim off happily ever after.
In the book of John, Jesus is given news of his friend Lazarus' sickness, but strangely enough he does not rush to his side. After a couple of days, he tells his disciples that Lazarus has fallen asleep but that he is going there to wake him. The disciples are confused, so Jesus, in typical Jesus form, spells it out for them. "Lazarus is dead." When they reach the town, Mary comes to see Jesus and tells him that if only he had come a few days earlier, her brother Lazarus would still be alive. Just imagine the emotions involved here. Mary has seen Jesus do some amazing things and he obviously has a special connection with the family. She looks him in the eye and accuses him of not acting quickly enough. She blames him for her suffering.
Before we get to what Jesus did do, let's meditate for a moment on what he did not do.
He did not chastise her for a lack of faith.
He did not say "my ways are not your ways."
He did not tell her to wait a moment while he went and raised him from the dead.
He did not look down on her as a child for her lack of understanding.
In a genius move by the people who broke the Bible into verses, we are given the shortest and one of the most potent verses.
"Jesus wept."
He could have stopped it before Lazarus died and he knew he was on his way to bring him back to life, but still Jesus wept. He knew this story would be recorded in the scripture to be read for thousands of years, but still Jesus wept. He exists outside of time and knew that Lazarus was in a better place already, but still Jesus wept. He created billions of people that He loves and Lazarus was just one of them, but still Jesus wept. He knew that he was about to endure a much worse death for sinners like Lazarus, but still Jesus wept.
I can't help but imagine that when your grandmother dies or a tsunami strikes Japan, Jesus looks down on us with love and weeps with us. What does it mean to have a God who weeps for you when you suffer? I will take that God over a God who hides suffering from me any day.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Suffering Part 1
I cry in movies. There, I said it (or typed it). As I have gotten older, it seems to be getting worse. It is odd when you think about it that movies have the potential to make us at least twice as sad as they could ever make us happy. Think of the movie that makes you the happiest a movie could ever make you and compare that amount of happiness to actual happy moments in your life. No movie could ever hold a candle to it. Yet somehow when I think of the saddest times in life, the end of Toy Story 3 is not that much less sad. Sure, the length and possibly the depth is not as strong, but in that moment in Armageddon when Bruce Willis pushes Ben Affleck back on the ship, I am truly sad. Not even a "oh that is so bad for them" kind of sad, for whatever reason while sitting on the couch watching thousands of little pixels change colors on a screen describing a story someone just dreamed up one day, I can feel real, true sadness.
There is something communicable about suffering. More so than any other emotion. When someone tells you about some type of suffering they are going through or when you see images on the news of hurricanes, tsunamis, or tornadoes, you can often feel their pain in your chest. Why is suffering like this? Why can humans pass it from one to another? Why do we connect with each other over suffering?
I love it in the book of Galatians where it says to "bear one another's burdens." It seems to be one of the more beautiful and poetic verses in the New Testament. The imagery in my mind is of one man trying to lift something on his shoulders, but when he realizes that he is incapable of doing it on his own, someone else comes by and slides their shoulder under the load and the two stand up together. The passage recognizes two extremely crucial things.
First, this passage shows that the world is simply too much for any one person to bear alone. Even at the very beginning, God said that it was not good for man to be alone and so he made Eve, the "help-mate." I know typically this passage is used as reasoning behind a man finding a good woman, but I think that above an beyond that, this shows our human need to be helped by others and to help as we are able. Remember, everything in the Garden of Eden was perfect. What could Adam have possibly needed help with? Regardless, after the fall, we see that the ground no longer just spit out food for them, there was to be pain, and there was to be death. Thus, suffering was introduced into the world. The only consolation was that Adam and Eve had each other to help to bear the load of this heavy world.
Secondly, this passage shows that we can somehow take on each other's suffering. I think that this is why suffering is so communicable. We were designed to see suffering in others and and take it on ourselves. I remember that I once spoke with a student who was going through some pretty heavy stuff, the type of stuff that no teenager should have to go through. As I listened and prayed with him and realized that as the night went on, his pain became my pain and I suffered with him. I came home that night and wept as if it was all happening to me.
I don't think that his suffering lessened as I took some of it on or that the more I cried, the less he would. I do know that the act of listening, caring, praying, and of taking on his suffering as my own did help him to bear the load in some small way.
This is never a formulaic act. You can't just sit and listen or help someone who is in trouble and chalk it up to bearing someone's burden, but when you listen, help, give, serve, and care for your fellow man out of the love in your heart given to you by Jesus, the world is made just a little lighter for everyone you meet. Look for someone's burden to bear today.
There is something communicable about suffering. More so than any other emotion. When someone tells you about some type of suffering they are going through or when you see images on the news of hurricanes, tsunamis, or tornadoes, you can often feel their pain in your chest. Why is suffering like this? Why can humans pass it from one to another? Why do we connect with each other over suffering?
I love it in the book of Galatians where it says to "bear one another's burdens." It seems to be one of the more beautiful and poetic verses in the New Testament. The imagery in my mind is of one man trying to lift something on his shoulders, but when he realizes that he is incapable of doing it on his own, someone else comes by and slides their shoulder under the load and the two stand up together. The passage recognizes two extremely crucial things.
First, this passage shows that the world is simply too much for any one person to bear alone. Even at the very beginning, God said that it was not good for man to be alone and so he made Eve, the "help-mate." I know typically this passage is used as reasoning behind a man finding a good woman, but I think that above an beyond that, this shows our human need to be helped by others and to help as we are able. Remember, everything in the Garden of Eden was perfect. What could Adam have possibly needed help with? Regardless, after the fall, we see that the ground no longer just spit out food for them, there was to be pain, and there was to be death. Thus, suffering was introduced into the world. The only consolation was that Adam and Eve had each other to help to bear the load of this heavy world.
Secondly, this passage shows that we can somehow take on each other's suffering. I think that this is why suffering is so communicable. We were designed to see suffering in others and and take it on ourselves. I remember that I once spoke with a student who was going through some pretty heavy stuff, the type of stuff that no teenager should have to go through. As I listened and prayed with him and realized that as the night went on, his pain became my pain and I suffered with him. I came home that night and wept as if it was all happening to me.
I don't think that his suffering lessened as I took some of it on or that the more I cried, the less he would. I do know that the act of listening, caring, praying, and of taking on his suffering as my own did help him to bear the load in some small way.
This is never a formulaic act. You can't just sit and listen or help someone who is in trouble and chalk it up to bearing someone's burden, but when you listen, help, give, serve, and care for your fellow man out of the love in your heart given to you by Jesus, the world is made just a little lighter for everyone you meet. Look for someone's burden to bear today.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Reverend Shaw Moore
I had the privilege of going seeing my little brother in Douglas County High School's rendition of Footloose, The classic tale of a young man trying to make his way in a small town who faces off with a local reverend over dancing. In the latter half of the first act, Ren and Ariel finally find themselves alone. They begin to open up to one another and connect for the first time. While Ariel is describing a little more background on the town and why it is the way it is, she points out that her father, the reverend, wasn't always the way he is now. She said that he used to be a really good pastor. At this point my ears perked up. What do the writers of Footloose through the mouth of an 18 year old girl think that it takes to be a good pastor? She said, "He used to give people hope."
I thought a lot about this. Is that all it takes to be a good pastor? It hit me later on in the show that they were on to something. I think hope is all that we need and more than just being a good pastor, this is what it takes to being a good Christian. Hope is what Jesus came to bring. Hope is the message that we are charged with carrying. Hope is why we are here.
I am not sure that sin exists on its own. I like to think of it more like cold, which is scientifically defined as not being real, but rather the absence of heat. Essentially the world is comprised of heat and less-heat. I think sin is the absence of good. Good is from God and was created by God who we know to be good. This good creator breathed his good breath into creation and then even said that it is good. Sin came in and became a divergence from this good, but, oddly enough, was somehow very much a part of a good plan. If approach to sin is to try and attack and condemn it, I think our focus is wrong. The only way to get rid of cold is to warm it up, just as the only way to get rid of sin is to offer hope of a better way.
Let's try an example, a hot-button issue that is pervasive in our society: homosexuality. The most common approach taken by the Christian community is hatred. Sure we say that we are loving and that we want to care for them, but it is a love from a far that only exists in our heads. In actuality, we think that we have to conquer this thing. We think of it as a disease that must be eradicated from our society. If we step back for a moment, however, and remember our end goals, we can't help but ask, "is this really the best approach?"
How many people will renounce their sin because of protests?
How many people will want to step foot into churches that reject them?
How many people will come to know Christ, live a true and whole life, and live with him forever because Christians set anti-gay marriage legislation?
Our goal can never be to attack sin head on, because this makes the sinner feel the brunt of the attack. The only way is to show a better way, to offer hope. We can't say, "The way you are living is wrong," we must say, "Come, let me show you a better way." For just like our savior, we did not come to condemn the world, but to save it.
Don't condemn the prostitute, but give her hope of true love.
Don't reproach the addict, but offer hope of a life free from chains.
Don't hate the wicked, but give them hope of life more full and wonderful than they could ever earn.
Give hope today.
I thought a lot about this. Is that all it takes to be a good pastor? It hit me later on in the show that they were on to something. I think hope is all that we need and more than just being a good pastor, this is what it takes to being a good Christian. Hope is what Jesus came to bring. Hope is the message that we are charged with carrying. Hope is why we are here.
I am not sure that sin exists on its own. I like to think of it more like cold, which is scientifically defined as not being real, but rather the absence of heat. Essentially the world is comprised of heat and less-heat. I think sin is the absence of good. Good is from God and was created by God who we know to be good. This good creator breathed his good breath into creation and then even said that it is good. Sin came in and became a divergence from this good, but, oddly enough, was somehow very much a part of a good plan. If approach to sin is to try and attack and condemn it, I think our focus is wrong. The only way to get rid of cold is to warm it up, just as the only way to get rid of sin is to offer hope of a better way.
Let's try an example, a hot-button issue that is pervasive in our society: homosexuality. The most common approach taken by the Christian community is hatred. Sure we say that we are loving and that we want to care for them, but it is a love from a far that only exists in our heads. In actuality, we think that we have to conquer this thing. We think of it as a disease that must be eradicated from our society. If we step back for a moment, however, and remember our end goals, we can't help but ask, "is this really the best approach?"
How many people will renounce their sin because of protests?
How many people will want to step foot into churches that reject them?
How many people will come to know Christ, live a true and whole life, and live with him forever because Christians set anti-gay marriage legislation?
Our goal can never be to attack sin head on, because this makes the sinner feel the brunt of the attack. The only way is to show a better way, to offer hope. We can't say, "The way you are living is wrong," we must say, "Come, let me show you a better way." For just like our savior, we did not come to condemn the world, but to save it.
Don't condemn the prostitute, but give her hope of true love.
Don't reproach the addict, but offer hope of a life free from chains.
Don't hate the wicked, but give them hope of life more full and wonderful than they could ever earn.
Give hope today.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Imaginary Friend
There are some ideas that are clearly passed on from kid to kid, like jinx or cooties. They are passed down through the ages by one child communicating to another and that second child seeing something worthwhile in them and continuing to do them. Thus, if my grandmother, my future son, and myself all ran into the kid versions of ourselves, we could all enjoy a multicolored, folded piece of paper that, when used properly, tells us our fortunes.
That being said, I wonder how imaginary friends have withstood the years. So many children have them. Is there something innate inside each of us that tells our little minds that when there is no one to play with, we can just make someone up? Or does one kid walk up on another looking crazy, talking to no one and say to him or her self, "I want what that kid has?"
We have some family friends who have a young daughter who has an imaginary friend named "Sarah." One day she calmly walked in the living room and announced with little remorse that Sarah had died in a car wreck. The next day, she was talking to her again. Can you have a ghost of an imaginary friend?
My brother must have been a born leader. At different times, he would have an imaginary friend, an imaginary hockey team, or an imaginary choir. Is there a conceptual limit to the amount of human beings your mind can create?
Here is a list I have compiled for the top five reasons that imaginary friends are great: (In no particular order)
1. They always share your opinions.
2. They never gossip about you.
3. They are always there when you need them and not when you don't.
4. You can tell them to do anything.
5. They are always ready to play.
Here is a list of where imaginary friends lack:
1. You can't wrestle with them.
2. You always have to carry the conversation.
3. No one else seems to see them.
4. They have all of your bad habits.
5. They bear so little impact on your actual life.
I think that sometimes, we use Jesus like an imaginary friend.
We only talk to him when we need him.
We do all the talking.
He shares a suspicious amount of our opinions.
We swear that he is there, but others see nothing of him in our lives.
In high school, I was a late-night janitor at my church. There was another janitor there named James. James was at least in his mid-fifties and had been working at the church for a long time. There were rumors that when people walked up on him working in the night, that he was always talking to himself, but I had never heard him until one night. I was asking him about something ans when I was walking away, I heard him say, "Yeah God, that Josh is a good kid." It turns out that he wasn't talking to himself the whole time, he was talking to God. Then it hit me, God wasn't an imaginary friend to him, He was real. Instead of talking to his conscience or just trying to go through life thinking for himself, James was constantly talking to God.
What if our interior monologues were dialogues with the creator of the universe. What if when we were alone or in a crowd of people, we communicated with God. What if we lived like God was no longer imaginary, but more than we can imagine. I am excited to see what happens when we try.
That being said, I wonder how imaginary friends have withstood the years. So many children have them. Is there something innate inside each of us that tells our little minds that when there is no one to play with, we can just make someone up? Or does one kid walk up on another looking crazy, talking to no one and say to him or her self, "I want what that kid has?"
We have some family friends who have a young daughter who has an imaginary friend named "Sarah." One day she calmly walked in the living room and announced with little remorse that Sarah had died in a car wreck. The next day, she was talking to her again. Can you have a ghost of an imaginary friend?
My brother must have been a born leader. At different times, he would have an imaginary friend, an imaginary hockey team, or an imaginary choir. Is there a conceptual limit to the amount of human beings your mind can create?
Here is a list I have compiled for the top five reasons that imaginary friends are great: (In no particular order)
1. They always share your opinions.
2. They never gossip about you.
3. They are always there when you need them and not when you don't.
4. You can tell them to do anything.
5. They are always ready to play.
Here is a list of where imaginary friends lack:
1. You can't wrestle with them.
2. You always have to carry the conversation.
3. No one else seems to see them.
4. They have all of your bad habits.
5. They bear so little impact on your actual life.
I think that sometimes, we use Jesus like an imaginary friend.
We only talk to him when we need him.
We do all the talking.
He shares a suspicious amount of our opinions.
We swear that he is there, but others see nothing of him in our lives.
In high school, I was a late-night janitor at my church. There was another janitor there named James. James was at least in his mid-fifties and had been working at the church for a long time. There were rumors that when people walked up on him working in the night, that he was always talking to himself, but I had never heard him until one night. I was asking him about something ans when I was walking away, I heard him say, "Yeah God, that Josh is a good kid." It turns out that he wasn't talking to himself the whole time, he was talking to God. Then it hit me, God wasn't an imaginary friend to him, He was real. Instead of talking to his conscience or just trying to go through life thinking for himself, James was constantly talking to God.
What if our interior monologues were dialogues with the creator of the universe. What if when we were alone or in a crowd of people, we communicated with God. What if we lived like God was no longer imaginary, but more than we can imagine. I am excited to see what happens when we try.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Reset
The worst thing about the original super mario brothers wasn't the graphics or the rather underdeveloped characters. It was the fact that no matter how far you had gone, what you had overcome, even if you were on level 5-4 and you had dodged 7 bullets, gotten 99 coins, and just killed two hammerthrowers with one red shell, you could die. It wasn't like the movies where a super hero could only be defeated by a super villain either, you could bump in a koopa or slide right off the edge. Death cared not for your impressive performance or noble cause. Simultaneously, however, the best thing about the game may be the reset button.
I think that often when we think about becoming a Christian, we think of it as an upgrade (like a fireflower, or maybe that weird leaf thing from the third one, but I digress). We think of it as taking who we are and making it better. As if we are "us" and that God has found us and made us better than we were.
I am not sure that is how it works. It seems too superficial, like a new coat of paint. It is not enough.
I like to think of it more like a reset button. In John chapter 3, Jesus tells Nicodemas that in order to see God's kingdom, he must be born again. The imagery surrounding rebirth doesn't seem to resemble an upgrade. It is a radical, abrasive event where the world is brand new and you are free to go and sin no more.
We are starting over. We are starting to live the way that God has always planned for us to live. We had been distracted and decieved, but now we are a new creation in Gods image just like at the beginning. It is not just a better way, it is the real way, the only way.
You know that feeling? The one you get when you love someone so much that it hurts? Or when you give so much that it costs you something? Or when you see new life that you have created for the very first time? Or when you meet with your creator in a near-tangible way? It feels great. It feels the way we wish all of life could feel. These are the reset moments. When nothing before even matters. When for a brief and fleeting moment the divinity buried deep within us from original creation permeates our entire being and we live as God intended. Press reset today.
I think that often when we think about becoming a Christian, we think of it as an upgrade (like a fireflower, or maybe that weird leaf thing from the third one, but I digress). We think of it as taking who we are and making it better. As if we are "us" and that God has found us and made us better than we were.
I am not sure that is how it works. It seems too superficial, like a new coat of paint. It is not enough.
I like to think of it more like a reset button. In John chapter 3, Jesus tells Nicodemas that in order to see God's kingdom, he must be born again. The imagery surrounding rebirth doesn't seem to resemble an upgrade. It is a radical, abrasive event where the world is brand new and you are free to go and sin no more.
We are starting over. We are starting to live the way that God has always planned for us to live. We had been distracted and decieved, but now we are a new creation in Gods image just like at the beginning. It is not just a better way, it is the real way, the only way.
You know that feeling? The one you get when you love someone so much that it hurts? Or when you give so much that it costs you something? Or when you see new life that you have created for the very first time? Or when you meet with your creator in a near-tangible way? It feels great. It feels the way we wish all of life could feel. These are the reset moments. When nothing before even matters. When for a brief and fleeting moment the divinity buried deep within us from original creation permeates our entire being and we live as God intended. Press reset today.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Why Blog?
So, here I am, johnny-come-lately, jumping on the blogging phenomenon bandwagon only to add another voice in the chorus of our blogging world. With so many people typing so many words filling blog after blog with thoughts and feelings all so brilliantly unique and yet mundane, it all seems to get lost and we end up with a society of men and women just dying to be heard or at the very least to hear themselves speak. So, why join in? Am I so full of myself as to assume that I have anything new or anything worth saying at all? Can I say with any degree of confidence that I know something more than all the other bloggers in the world? Or that this blog will be of any substance at all? We shall see.
The intention of the title of this blog is to designate it as a place where my lost thoughts can go to save from being wasted. Good thoughts are scarce and should be preserved at all costs. This way thoughts that I have can be collected and held until useful. Unlike real lost and found boxes, you are more than welcome to come and pilfer any thoughts you like or need. It is constantly amazing to me the power that simple thoughts can hold. Something so small and insignificant to you can be a life-altering revelation to me, conversely, perhaps, these simple thoughts that I throw into my box can be used to do some good, somewhere, for someone and that is a hopeful thought.
I think that we understand God more through the open sharing of thoughts. I imagine every Christian who has ever lived standing in a large circle looking at God in the middle. God is large and far too much for any of us to take in, but we can each can see a small part. When we speak to the people on either side of us about what they are seeing, it may be totally different, but it paints a better, more complete picture for all of us. If thoughts and ideas were to be shared openly and freely around the circle, who knows what more we could understand.
It is far too easy to get lost among all of the words and thoughts and noise flowing endlessly in and out of our lives. I hope that pain in loss can lead to joy in finding. I hope that finding can always result in new searches. I hope that in a world of much, we can get lost in little thoughts sometimes. I hope that we can remember to feel the joy of being lost in something as well as finding. Most of all I pray that you, whether lost or found, can find something here worth finding.
The intention of the title of this blog is to designate it as a place where my lost thoughts can go to save from being wasted. Good thoughts are scarce and should be preserved at all costs. This way thoughts that I have can be collected and held until useful. Unlike real lost and found boxes, you are more than welcome to come and pilfer any thoughts you like or need. It is constantly amazing to me the power that simple thoughts can hold. Something so small and insignificant to you can be a life-altering revelation to me, conversely, perhaps, these simple thoughts that I throw into my box can be used to do some good, somewhere, for someone and that is a hopeful thought.
I think that we understand God more through the open sharing of thoughts. I imagine every Christian who has ever lived standing in a large circle looking at God in the middle. God is large and far too much for any of us to take in, but we can each can see a small part. When we speak to the people on either side of us about what they are seeing, it may be totally different, but it paints a better, more complete picture for all of us. If thoughts and ideas were to be shared openly and freely around the circle, who knows what more we could understand.
It is far too easy to get lost among all of the words and thoughts and noise flowing endlessly in and out of our lives. I hope that pain in loss can lead to joy in finding. I hope that finding can always result in new searches. I hope that in a world of much, we can get lost in little thoughts sometimes. I hope that we can remember to feel the joy of being lost in something as well as finding. Most of all I pray that you, whether lost or found, can find something here worth finding.
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