I watched the coolest TV show last night. It's the Planet Earth series on the Discovery Channel. The episode I watched was filmed deep down, on the ocean floor. I was amazed by the High Definition pictures of the Dumbo Octopus and the trickery of the bottom-dwelling Monk Fish. I was awed by the darkness far below the surface of the ocean. Honestly, it was a little frightening, and I was just sitting on the couch. Of course, my thought was, "What would it be like to be there without any equipment? Just to be there." It's a hypothetical question. I'd die long before I could get there; and i wouldn't see anything if I could get there.
And yet, that is where we are. Bear with me. Imagine you are at the bottom of the sea with the monk fish, humongous crabs, and eels. What would be required for you to live? Assuming your lungs were already full of air, you'd have a few minutes (unless you're David Blaine). Then your lungs would fill with the frigid water and it would be lights out. Simply by your presence in that place, you are required to do something you are absolutely unable to do in order to live. Sound familiar?
We are in a similar situation here on dry land. As a matter of fact, our plight is much worse. We don't even have a few minutes. Simply our existance in the world of a holy God, requires something of us which we are absolutely incapable of doing. What is that thing? Being like him. We don't have the spiritual gills to pull it off. To tell people or to believe anything else is an awful lie. Can I be saved by my good deeds? You would be better off to believe you could survive underwater by only breathing a little water at time. Perhaps there is no need to be saved at all. Maybe I create my own destiny and reality as the secret would have me believe. Tell that to a drowning man. I'll bet he doesn't believe you.
The drowning man is more fortunate, though, because at least he understands his plight. At least the drowning man knows that if he doesn't get to the surface his life will end. The secret tells me to believe that I am God, and that I make the rules and the outcomes. A serpent whispered a very similar secret to a very nice naked couple once. God has asked of you the exact thing that you will never be able to accomplish. Do you realize this? That's actually the point. It's only when you realize that you are completely dependent upon the God of the universe to rip you out of the ocean of your sin and revive your dead heart that you'd even want the sort of Paradise he's preparing for you, anyway.
My friends, whether you are a believer in Christ or on the outskirts, wondering what it's all about, you need to be reminded that the secret is no secret at all. It is as clear in this gorgeous spring weather, and in the incredible ocean floor as it is in the pages of your Bible. You are not alone. You are in a world that was created for you and that Creator demands that you be like him and be like his world, which is GOOD. Unless you cry out to Christ to save you, this world will be as deadly as the pits of some undersea canyon for you. He wants you to understand that he is your sufficiency, your necessity for life. Beg him for eyes to see this reality. Ask him to save you from this grave.
Believer, run to this good news that he did IT ALL that you would be rescued out of death! Run to this truth that his grace really is sufficient for the pain, loneliness, emptiness, and monotony of life. We run to entertainment, food and drink, sex and relationships and it all becomes more and more empty. After a while, I need more and more of it just to feel normal. But he has saved you. He is saving you. He is perfecting you. Find joy in that fact! Do not forget that you were dead. Do not forget that you were at the bottom of a great ocean, crushed by its weight; the icy chill of sin filling your lungs. Do not forget that he did this. The more we think upon this truth, the more we will find ourselves in tears of joy; striving for holiness and desiring his will. Think on it. Meditate on it. Never forget. This is the good news that saves lives, that God himself came and died and rose for you if you will only believe.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Saturday, March 17, 2007
the quest for community
I just got on-line banking. I know, you must be thinking 'you are just now getting on-line banking?? where have you been? you paelentalogical, archaic fossil.. I bet you still listen to cassette tapes!' (and you'd be right).
Anyway, as I've been enjoying the thrills of tracking exactly where it is that Chrissy has been abusing our debit card, I've actually found myself somewhat mourning the fact that I no longer need to interact with human beings to meet my banking needs. I've had to say goodbye to my favorite teller at my preferred Bank of America branch.
On-line banking has given me convenience, but has cost me relationship.
The same is true for so many other aspects of our society. I pay-at-the pump when I buy gas, happily circumventing the gas station attendent. I buy most of my stuff on-line saving me the hassle of being around people at the mall.
I use the self check-out line at the grocery store. I read other blogs to get the opinions of those I'm interested in hearing from. Heck, I even buy gift cards for gifts these days... see, now I don't even need to bother knowing you well enough to find out what you really like and don't like, do it yourself!!
Maybe I'm going overboard here, but the on-line happy, entertainment-addicted, consumption-oriented, full-throttle paced suburbanite culture that I'm part of seems to be steadily losing its ability to enjoy meaningful relationships and community, and yet is, at the same time, starving for it.
I myself often feel that I have more contacts than real relationships and have more appointments than shared experiences with dear friends. What gives? How do we bridge this gap?
A couple of thoughts... which are by no means comprehensive..
1.) Know why we long for community:
Because of creation. We long for community because we were created by a community (check out the pronoun usage in Gen. 1.26). A Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created you.. a 'we' created a 'you' and you are not complete until you find other 'yous'.
2.) Know why we struggle with community:
In addition to the obvious cultural shifts and struggles I wrote about above, there is also the inclination within our hearts to cover up, cover over, and to hide our true selves from others. This is a hangover from the fall of mankind into sin. When sin entered the world, the first responce of Adam and Eve was to cover themselves.. (see Gen. 3). We are no different. We fear being found out and exposed and rejected as unlovely.
3.) Know where freedom is found:
In the Gospel we learn that God made a way for us to experience both reconcillation and restored relationship with Him as well as the possiblity of true community with other Christians in the church. The way of the world is to live by the 'pecking order' (a barnyard term expressing the relational patterns of chickens!). We tend to build our identities around what we have, how we look, how smart we are, who we know, or some combination of the above. This neatly puts us into cliques, social strata, clubs, and castes. It divides us. The cross does away with the assumptions that this system is founded upon. It exposes all of mankind as hopelessly lost in and of themselves and offers hope if you come to it with nothing but your need.
Well, what do we do with all of this?
I long for the gathering to be a community.. imperfect and messy as it is.
A place to belong.
A place to process your story in relative safety.
A place to wrestle with the pressing questions of life without feeling like you're being indoctrinated.
A place to find love, friendship and truth.
That can only happen when we hate our own sin worse than we hate everyone else's,
when we make a commitment to belong and to serve, not to just be entertained,
when we ask God for the grace to see the same potential in others that He was able to see in us.
will you join me in this journey?
Anyway, as I've been enjoying the thrills of tracking exactly where it is that Chrissy has been abusing our debit card, I've actually found myself somewhat mourning the fact that I no longer need to interact with human beings to meet my banking needs. I've had to say goodbye to my favorite teller at my preferred Bank of America branch.
On-line banking has given me convenience, but has cost me relationship.
The same is true for so many other aspects of our society. I pay-at-the pump when I buy gas, happily circumventing the gas station attendent. I buy most of my stuff on-line saving me the hassle of being around people at the mall.
I use the self check-out line at the grocery store. I read other blogs to get the opinions of those I'm interested in hearing from. Heck, I even buy gift cards for gifts these days... see, now I don't even need to bother knowing you well enough to find out what you really like and don't like, do it yourself!!
Maybe I'm going overboard here, but the on-line happy, entertainment-addicted, consumption-oriented, full-throttle paced suburbanite culture that I'm part of seems to be steadily losing its ability to enjoy meaningful relationships and community, and yet is, at the same time, starving for it.
I myself often feel that I have more contacts than real relationships and have more appointments than shared experiences with dear friends. What gives? How do we bridge this gap?
A couple of thoughts... which are by no means comprehensive..
1.) Know why we long for community:
Because of creation. We long for community because we were created by a community (check out the pronoun usage in Gen. 1.26). A Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created you.. a 'we' created a 'you' and you are not complete until you find other 'yous'.
2.) Know why we struggle with community:
In addition to the obvious cultural shifts and struggles I wrote about above, there is also the inclination within our hearts to cover up, cover over, and to hide our true selves from others. This is a hangover from the fall of mankind into sin. When sin entered the world, the first responce of Adam and Eve was to cover themselves.. (see Gen. 3). We are no different. We fear being found out and exposed and rejected as unlovely.
3.) Know where freedom is found:
In the Gospel we learn that God made a way for us to experience both reconcillation and restored relationship with Him as well as the possiblity of true community with other Christians in the church. The way of the world is to live by the 'pecking order' (a barnyard term expressing the relational patterns of chickens!). We tend to build our identities around what we have, how we look, how smart we are, who we know, or some combination of the above. This neatly puts us into cliques, social strata, clubs, and castes. It divides us. The cross does away with the assumptions that this system is founded upon. It exposes all of mankind as hopelessly lost in and of themselves and offers hope if you come to it with nothing but your need.
Well, what do we do with all of this?
I long for the gathering to be a community.. imperfect and messy as it is.
A place to belong.
A place to process your story in relative safety.
A place to wrestle with the pressing questions of life without feeling like you're being indoctrinated.
A place to find love, friendship and truth.
That can only happen when we hate our own sin worse than we hate everyone else's,
when we make a commitment to belong and to serve, not to just be entertained,
when we ask God for the grace to see the same potential in others that He was able to see in us.
will you join me in this journey?
Monday, March 12, 2007
Know What I Mean?
Isn't it getting to be pretty outside? I'm so glad that spring and warm weather are right on our doorstep. There seems to be an undercurrent of excitement all around. There's a good scent in the air (even if it makes you sneeze) and the flowers are beginning to bloom again. All of this makes me certain that our government is out to get us and spoil anything good for us. . . Why else would they stick "tax day" right in the middle of all this spring-time splendor!? That's right, it will be here soon, so get ready! H&R Block would love me right now. . .
What if I decided to cheat on my taxes this year? What if I had absolute certainty that it would never be found out? It's an unrealistic, hypothetical question, but humor me. What if? This isn't a blog about whether I should or not. Just sit and think for a moment about all the implications of that act. It is a lie that no one else would ever know about. The question I want you to ponder is not "is it worth it?" Instead tell me what I am saying by cheating on my taxes? Am I saying anything? Let's then imagine that you find out, but you are the only person on earth who will ever know.
I blogged recently about communication. You can find that here
. With some presuppositions from that blog I'd like to explore this question a little. You come to me and ask why. First, in the idea stage I might say to myself, "I needed this money. No one else would know. I am not hurting anyone else. The government will never miss the paltry amount that a waiter pays anyway." Then, I would likely repeat my thoughts word for word. I might even have a very compelling reason. Perhaps I would tell you I had a child who needed an expensive medical procedure.
You would receive that communication. Although, you heard the exact words that I spoke, you would interpret my words through your own filter. In a split second you would imagine what it's like to be me. You would piece together fragments to create back stories and conversations between me and others that lead me to this decision. Maybe you would have sympathy or maybe not. Maybe you would agree with my decision or maybe not. I think that you would interpret all of my reasons to mean, "I didn't want to pay taxes, and I thought I could get away with it." Even if you interpreted it differently, my point is that you would categorize my communication under your own heading, and not within the framework that my words provided.
Most of our comprehension of communication stops here. In fact, I think we are each struggling mightily (if struggling at all) to push beyond this point in our understanding of meaning within word and deed. But I submit to you that there is another facet to this farcical situation. First there was the conception, the idea, my reasoning and thought process. Then there was the realization, the words and actions, the actual cheating and verbalized reason. Then there was the reception or perception of what the realization actually meant. However, all of this is meaningless and we are completely lost if we do not have some sort of actual concrete standard as to what it means to say or do anything.
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to a certain standard of communication. We are called to recognize that when we act and speak outside of His will as revealed in the Bible, we are in fact communicating something far greater than we may ever have previously realized. Cheating on my taxes communicates that I do not respect the government or authority; it communicates to others (even if they never hear me say it) that I believe I am held to a different standard; it communicates to God that I do not trust Him to provide for my needs as He has promised in Scripture. My sin causes me to scream at the top of my lungs (even when I look around to make sure no one sees) that I am not on God's team. Sin communicates a sort of pride that declares me as God over my life. Sin communicates that I live life on my terms and God must accept me for the good person I am. This sort of communication is much clearer than the usual sort of babble that spills from our mouths.
As I said, I think we are all struggling with this reality, eventhough it may never have been put in these exact terms. The actuality of our communication will match the ideas of our hearts and minds, and the words and deeds of our lives when we are perfected by Christ in the end. And take heart, believer, He promised that this will happen! As we struggle to work out our salvation together and learn to love our Savior all the more, let us pay special attention to what our words and lives are REALLY saying to our Lord and to the watching world. It is only because He has given us His Word and His Idea, that our words and ideas can find meaning in their (our) alignment with His character. Struggle on, church!
What if I decided to cheat on my taxes this year? What if I had absolute certainty that it would never be found out? It's an unrealistic, hypothetical question, but humor me. What if? This isn't a blog about whether I should or not. Just sit and think for a moment about all the implications of that act. It is a lie that no one else would ever know about. The question I want you to ponder is not "is it worth it?" Instead tell me what I am saying by cheating on my taxes? Am I saying anything? Let's then imagine that you find out, but you are the only person on earth who will ever know.
I blogged recently about communication. You can find that here
. With some presuppositions from that blog I'd like to explore this question a little. You come to me and ask why. First, in the idea stage I might say to myself, "I needed this money. No one else would know. I am not hurting anyone else. The government will never miss the paltry amount that a waiter pays anyway." Then, I would likely repeat my thoughts word for word. I might even have a very compelling reason. Perhaps I would tell you I had a child who needed an expensive medical procedure.
You would receive that communication. Although, you heard the exact words that I spoke, you would interpret my words through your own filter. In a split second you would imagine what it's like to be me. You would piece together fragments to create back stories and conversations between me and others that lead me to this decision. Maybe you would have sympathy or maybe not. Maybe you would agree with my decision or maybe not. I think that you would interpret all of my reasons to mean, "I didn't want to pay taxes, and I thought I could get away with it." Even if you interpreted it differently, my point is that you would categorize my communication under your own heading, and not within the framework that my words provided.
Most of our comprehension of communication stops here. In fact, I think we are each struggling mightily (if struggling at all) to push beyond this point in our understanding of meaning within word and deed. But I submit to you that there is another facet to this farcical situation. First there was the conception, the idea, my reasoning and thought process. Then there was the realization, the words and actions, the actual cheating and verbalized reason. Then there was the reception or perception of what the realization actually meant. However, all of this is meaningless and we are completely lost if we do not have some sort of actual concrete standard as to what it means to say or do anything.
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to a certain standard of communication. We are called to recognize that when we act and speak outside of His will as revealed in the Bible, we are in fact communicating something far greater than we may ever have previously realized. Cheating on my taxes communicates that I do not respect the government or authority; it communicates to others (even if they never hear me say it) that I believe I am held to a different standard; it communicates to God that I do not trust Him to provide for my needs as He has promised in Scripture. My sin causes me to scream at the top of my lungs (even when I look around to make sure no one sees) that I am not on God's team. Sin communicates a sort of pride that declares me as God over my life. Sin communicates that I live life on my terms and God must accept me for the good person I am. This sort of communication is much clearer than the usual sort of babble that spills from our mouths.
As I said, I think we are all struggling with this reality, eventhough it may never have been put in these exact terms. The actuality of our communication will match the ideas of our hearts and minds, and the words and deeds of our lives when we are perfected by Christ in the end. And take heart, believer, He promised that this will happen! As we struggle to work out our salvation together and learn to love our Savior all the more, let us pay special attention to what our words and lives are REALLY saying to our Lord and to the watching world. It is only because He has given us His Word and His Idea, that our words and ideas can find meaning in their (our) alignment with His character. Struggle on, church!
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