“The years teach much the days never know.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
ATTENTION: Attention please! Things are always after our attention. Details overwhelm circumstances every day. Things cry out to us; feed me, pay me, buy me, notice me, listen to me, put me first, give me, love me, talk with me, trust me, play with me, worry about me… and a myriad of other requests every day we open our eyes and face the world we inhabit. Demands in the details require our attention, our focus, our hard work and our planning. Sometimes we get so bogged down by these issues of need that we lose sleep, we resort to manipulation, we lose our tempers, and relinquish our ability to spend time with those who we hold with affection or have committed to love. We are stressed out to our limits by the busyness of giving our attention to a variety of areas; even when they take the form of occupying our mind with anxiety of their satisfaction. We think, we suppose, we worry and infer the situational matrices of what will require our attention next. We also worry about the attention we need in response. Sooner or later we come to understand that we do not have the ability to meet all the demands of attention in our lives. Fortunately for us, the infinite, almighty God of the universe not only is aware and in control of the billions of details, but He is weaving them together in his perfect timing, for his perfect will.
With so many details demanding our attention and efforts each day, it is easy to get caught up in the minutia of satisfying them. When we get in the habit of living our lives through our own efforts to accomplish and satisfy the needs of attention we have thrust upon us; we find that our hearts eventually run cold and our cups eventually run dry. We further find that our resources have their limits; we find that our power is finite, and our time in which to accomplish these things is short. It is in these moments when our hope in the infinitely powerful Lord must reign supreme. The Lord who created everything, who measured the heavens with the span of his hand, is truly in control in a world seeming to be overflowing with chaos. It is our viewpoint of being in the midst of demands which colors our perspective and focuses our presuppositions to confusion.
When we focus on understanding the situations of attention in the immediacy of circumstance, we confuse our infinite nature in the Lord and our finite being in a sinful world. Our abilities and adequacies are based in God’s limitless power; therefore we have an infinite level of resource in seeking the Lord. When we focus on Him through our times and trials, we find unending levels of compassion and provision. We recall where we have come from and the promise of what lies ahead, due to his grace. We recognize his loving hand working through circumstances and people. Many times in the present circumstances of needs and attention, we are unable to see the larger picture, as it is very difficult to comprehend what the Lord is doing in the exact moment He is doing it. We can see slivers of possibility and truth, but in order to see the unfurled majesty encompassing the details of reality; it must be defined in what He has done. The finite human mind cannot comprehend the all encompassing sovereign mind of the King of Kings. God is always up to much more than we can see and infinitely working in ways far beyond our comprehension of cooperative circumstances. In the moment and looking to the future, we must reside in the faith, hope and trust, worthy of his omnipotence, as He weaves billions of details together to accomplish his will. The limitless power of the Almighty is the only source of strength which can be depended on in light of the variables facing us every day. This is the essence of our seeking Him. He is the God of the details. The mathematical wizard of the universe; taking unknown amounts of variable details, and using them mystically to abundantly add, subtract and multiply the majesty of his will on earth. He perfects every outcome of every atom in the cosmos. There is not a maverick molecule, nor a moment misused in history. Even in the face of evil’s existence, the scheming of the Devil and the ugliness of sin; no action is beyond the realm of what He uses to bring infinite good into our hearts. Who we are is directly connected to his infinite ability, his limitless love and his unending grace.
In the midst of so many variables we must come to understand ourselves and the provision of the Father through the perspective of the past. As we know from the story of Joseph; the circumstances of the moment are often too overwhelming to understand in light of themselves, and must be given in trust to the Lord, as He is working out the details to the end of his purpose. This is no easy task while caught up in the middle of anger, bitterness and the disillusionment of the moment, amidst pragmatic thoughts of the situational metrics. This is where the story of Joseph gives us past insight for our present and future. God used things that seemed bad, to be vehicles for bringing about his good. Joseph was trapped in a pit and sold into slavery; yet God used the evil intentions of his brothers to take Joseph to a new place for him to be used for the Lord’s purpose. He rose to a place of authority in Potiphor’s house, and though he was wrongfully imprisoned due to accusations and intended harm, the Lord took him again to a place where he could be used. Once in prison, again he rose to a position of authority, and even after he interpreted the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker, he still waited two years for the circumstances to be right to find himself in the palace. While Joseph was in the pit, there was no meter for understanding the palace. While he was in prison there was not justice for the false accusations or reparation for someone who had wronged him. After serving in interpretation of dreams, there was no change for two years of his circumstances. His only comfort was the presence of the Lord and his promise to be with him through the melancholy rollercoaster of emotions and situations. Joseph knew that in the promotions and demotions of life, the authority given and stripped away, the unwarranted vengeance of men and women and the service to the Lord of Hosts, The Lord was with him. He knew that the Lord rules and overrules in the lives of men and women, even to those who are hard-hearted to his purpose. His sovereignty is full and all encompassing. Both providentially and concurrently, the Lord’s sovereign will comes to fruition in the world. In providence He acts to bring about his will on earth and in the hearts of humanity. In concurrence, his will acts in conjunction with man’s to achieve his purpose. Billions of details align at the word of the Lord. This is the creator and the master of the universe, who answers each need of attention perfectly and in his perfect timing. Our infinite ability to seek Him in our need is our mainstay as we wait for Him. Our limitless adequacy is fulfilled in his sustenance as we acknowledge our needs to Him.
We must seek Him in the midst of the details of the moment. As Joseph found, God was waiting to send him into a situation which had been ripened to perfection by the hand of the Father. Had Joseph been freed sooner from prison, the circumstances would not have been paramount for the possibilities ahead. We learn things from the pit to the prison which we need in the palace. The waiting room of the Almighty is where the essential molding of our hearts is perfected. It is not in the present moments of our circumstance where we understand the billions of details which the Lord is working together every moment for the good of billions of people according to his will. This is the essence of what C.S. Lewis said when he penned, “…the first two words when we reach heaven will be, ‘of course!’.” We view the present of perfection from our limited space and time. We can only understand it through the perspective of the past. We must trust the God of promise who takes us from the pit to the palace. The Lord has promised us the infiniteness of his presence as we experience the existence of his will in the world. Let us seek Him in our moments of struggle. When we find ourselves in the pit, let us remember that his presence is with us; his provision is preparing the path through billions of details crying out for attention. Let us be faithful to the Sovereign Lord of the universe. Let us seek Him as we wait for his perfection. Let our hope remain strong through the ups and downs of our experience in the world He who was and is and is to come controls every detail of.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Sunday, March 3, 2013
The Gospel of Mathematics –
“From nursery school onward we are taught how to succeed in the world of ungrace. The early bird gets the worm. No pain, No gain. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Demand your rights. You get what you pay for. I know these rules well because I live in them. I work for what I earn; I like to win; I insist on my right. I want people to get what they deserve – nothing more, nothing less.” Philip Yancey
In recent years problem solving has been a standard function at home, at work and in our relationships. A formulaic approach to getting by, being valued and driving purpose seem to over-arch much of our functional identity. Where we are and what we are doing seem to frame our philosophies and rationales in making sense of our daily lives. We may find ourselves amidst victory, injustice, mercy, fear, entitlement or obligation. What changes us from day to day and makes sense within the moments of our daily journeys? Do we have formulas for success, avenues of achievement or statements of mission or purpose which propel us? The world at large can embrace a ruthless timeline and mantra for definition within our circumstances: A hyper imposed social contract which imparts a lack of peace, a reservoir of empty pursuits and a moral code of subjective indifference. From ethnocentric world peace methodologies to partisan political agendas; from blurred boundary lines of appropriate action to innate human rights violations; from must see T.V. to seemingly omnipresent interconnected social network postings; we are losing our substance to a subjective amalgamation of ubiquitous objects of primacy. They demand attention which instigates their own importance, praises their own one-sided argumentative news-worthiness, and elevates their opinions about subjects to usurp lasting significance for momentary relevance; all the while banging the drum of ungrace, discontentment and illusion.
We all get caught in the mathematical conundrum of trying to figure out how to control the chaos and cling to the possibility and outcome which is most reasonable. In making sense of our current circumstances we can wind down the metal rabbit holes of distraction and delusion, ultimately leading to self-glorification or depression. We all identify with the moments of head-scratching, reason-defying, hope-squelching and peace-robbing thoughts and feelings which bully us with anxiety and drive us to confusion and desperation. Fortunately for us, there is a place we can go to for rest. A place where someone says, “Cease striving and know that I am full of grace, love, purpose and compassion.” In a world steeped in action items for success, the Lord God Almighty calls us to rest in Him. We are not to know every detail of the equation, every landmine to sidestep, every possibility of the outcome; more simply, He calls us to know Him. He calls us to be connected to Him and rest in his knowledge. In the current age, we are more connected to each other in ways no other generation has had. And yet, whether in victory or in failure, we are lonelier than any other generation in the world which obscures reality and illusion.
One of the difficulties we continue to face is in our reliance on ourselves instead of knowing trust in God. We consistently take our minds back to the mathematical configuration of salvation and provision through our own actions rather than relying on the abundant grace of a Faithful Lord. This can be a minute by minute struggle as we, like Peter on the Sea of Galilee, so many times, fail to keep our eyes on the Lord and begin to sink. As we begin to think, the formulas and plans for action take over, and the anxiety of what will happen begins to choke our faith in the Faithful Lord. It is in these moments that we must realize God’s action over ours; his power, his compassion and his care for us innate in his action in our lives. From salvation to our safety, from his provision to our prodigal return; his undeserved grace is the true force of our sustenance, powered by his unfathomable love for his creation. We must unlearn this gospel of mathematics, formulaically trading the life of a new creation held in the grace of Christ for the powerless uncertainty of self-dependence.
Similarly, we must encourage one another with assurity and compassion; covered by the same grace we’ve been given. This undeserved grace is the power of connection from the Father to us and from us to one another. Our extension of undeserved grace transforms our relationships, our churches, our communities and our connection. Rather than based on our temporal connection, it is based on our eternal, grace infused connection to the Transcendent Lord. Our mathematical construct reduces the miraculous and wonderful work of our Lord to the actions of a cause and effect deity. Though Christ died on a specific day, at a specific time, in a specific place; the essence and power of his action transcend that moment to the presence of our Holy God, who exists outside of our construct of time and space. This is the majesty of an event occurring in time which outcome has eternal significance. This is the truth which undeserved grace can only afford: Grace which is dependent only upon a God not confined by human parameters. Christ died to afford us forgiveness unbound by time and space, reaching all moments as one; binding us to the continuous grace which is faithfully dispensed by the Lord at all moments throughout history. This truth in the nature of Godly existence is what underlies what Miroslav Volf said about the source of our hope. “The economy of undeserved grace has primacy over the economy of moral deserts.” We must acknowledge this truth in our minds, our friendships, our marriages, our churches and in every interaction with the lost. Undeserved grace knows no boundaries and permeates every good and perfect thing in the will of the Father. This is the concept being everything working together for good according to God’s purpose. This is the “new creation” logic of grace mastering the formulas of our own devise.
We must come to the place of understanding our preservation through grace and not our calculated action. There is only one God who rules and overrules in lives of all men. Let us return to a gospel of grace and humbly rely on the mercy, provision and faithfulness of our compassionate, Almighty Lord. Interpreting our purpose inside our experience, the intentions and actions of others and the outcomes of the future are all a divergence from the hope-filled current of grace to the peace-robbing calculations of fabricated significance. His undeserved grace is not bound by details, time, space or our ability to understand, acknowledge or approve it. This is the power of the actions of a Sovereign Lord. The more we cling to Him and understand ourselves in the connection of his grace, the more his peace is infused into our hearts, minds and souls. We are not connecting to Him to change the level we deserve it; we are bathing in our joyful praise, seeking the safety and illumination of this undeserved gift. His purpose, his peace and his faithfulness are the real calculations on which we can depend. He has promised that if we seek Him, we will find Him. Let us leave the legalistic gospel of mathematics and shine brightly with the glory of undeserved grace. He has called us to leave the illusion of our own calculated existence and find the reality of his provision, his peace and his purpose. He is faithful. He knows exactly where we are, who we are and what we need. His grace is the only refuge we have that can save us – whatever it is that we are facing. Let us relinquish our problem solving efforts to the one who faithfully saves those He loves. He is gracious. He is compassionate. He is God. His undeserved grace is the only remedy for people being smothered slowly by the ungrace of a world demanding worthiness. Cease striving and know He is God. The Miraculous, Sovereign, Holy, Almighty Lord of undeserved grace.
In recent years problem solving has been a standard function at home, at work and in our relationships. A formulaic approach to getting by, being valued and driving purpose seem to over-arch much of our functional identity. Where we are and what we are doing seem to frame our philosophies and rationales in making sense of our daily lives. We may find ourselves amidst victory, injustice, mercy, fear, entitlement or obligation. What changes us from day to day and makes sense within the moments of our daily journeys? Do we have formulas for success, avenues of achievement or statements of mission or purpose which propel us? The world at large can embrace a ruthless timeline and mantra for definition within our circumstances: A hyper imposed social contract which imparts a lack of peace, a reservoir of empty pursuits and a moral code of subjective indifference. From ethnocentric world peace methodologies to partisan political agendas; from blurred boundary lines of appropriate action to innate human rights violations; from must see T.V. to seemingly omnipresent interconnected social network postings; we are losing our substance to a subjective amalgamation of ubiquitous objects of primacy. They demand attention which instigates their own importance, praises their own one-sided argumentative news-worthiness, and elevates their opinions about subjects to usurp lasting significance for momentary relevance; all the while banging the drum of ungrace, discontentment and illusion.
We all get caught in the mathematical conundrum of trying to figure out how to control the chaos and cling to the possibility and outcome which is most reasonable. In making sense of our current circumstances we can wind down the metal rabbit holes of distraction and delusion, ultimately leading to self-glorification or depression. We all identify with the moments of head-scratching, reason-defying, hope-squelching and peace-robbing thoughts and feelings which bully us with anxiety and drive us to confusion and desperation. Fortunately for us, there is a place we can go to for rest. A place where someone says, “Cease striving and know that I am full of grace, love, purpose and compassion.” In a world steeped in action items for success, the Lord God Almighty calls us to rest in Him. We are not to know every detail of the equation, every landmine to sidestep, every possibility of the outcome; more simply, He calls us to know Him. He calls us to be connected to Him and rest in his knowledge. In the current age, we are more connected to each other in ways no other generation has had. And yet, whether in victory or in failure, we are lonelier than any other generation in the world which obscures reality and illusion.
One of the difficulties we continue to face is in our reliance on ourselves instead of knowing trust in God. We consistently take our minds back to the mathematical configuration of salvation and provision through our own actions rather than relying on the abundant grace of a Faithful Lord. This can be a minute by minute struggle as we, like Peter on the Sea of Galilee, so many times, fail to keep our eyes on the Lord and begin to sink. As we begin to think, the formulas and plans for action take over, and the anxiety of what will happen begins to choke our faith in the Faithful Lord. It is in these moments that we must realize God’s action over ours; his power, his compassion and his care for us innate in his action in our lives. From salvation to our safety, from his provision to our prodigal return; his undeserved grace is the true force of our sustenance, powered by his unfathomable love for his creation. We must unlearn this gospel of mathematics, formulaically trading the life of a new creation held in the grace of Christ for the powerless uncertainty of self-dependence.
Similarly, we must encourage one another with assurity and compassion; covered by the same grace we’ve been given. This undeserved grace is the power of connection from the Father to us and from us to one another. Our extension of undeserved grace transforms our relationships, our churches, our communities and our connection. Rather than based on our temporal connection, it is based on our eternal, grace infused connection to the Transcendent Lord. Our mathematical construct reduces the miraculous and wonderful work of our Lord to the actions of a cause and effect deity. Though Christ died on a specific day, at a specific time, in a specific place; the essence and power of his action transcend that moment to the presence of our Holy God, who exists outside of our construct of time and space. This is the majesty of an event occurring in time which outcome has eternal significance. This is the truth which undeserved grace can only afford: Grace which is dependent only upon a God not confined by human parameters. Christ died to afford us forgiveness unbound by time and space, reaching all moments as one; binding us to the continuous grace which is faithfully dispensed by the Lord at all moments throughout history. This truth in the nature of Godly existence is what underlies what Miroslav Volf said about the source of our hope. “The economy of undeserved grace has primacy over the economy of moral deserts.” We must acknowledge this truth in our minds, our friendships, our marriages, our churches and in every interaction with the lost. Undeserved grace knows no boundaries and permeates every good and perfect thing in the will of the Father. This is the concept being everything working together for good according to God’s purpose. This is the “new creation” logic of grace mastering the formulas of our own devise.
We must come to the place of understanding our preservation through grace and not our calculated action. There is only one God who rules and overrules in lives of all men. Let us return to a gospel of grace and humbly rely on the mercy, provision and faithfulness of our compassionate, Almighty Lord. Interpreting our purpose inside our experience, the intentions and actions of others and the outcomes of the future are all a divergence from the hope-filled current of grace to the peace-robbing calculations of fabricated significance. His undeserved grace is not bound by details, time, space or our ability to understand, acknowledge or approve it. This is the power of the actions of a Sovereign Lord. The more we cling to Him and understand ourselves in the connection of his grace, the more his peace is infused into our hearts, minds and souls. We are not connecting to Him to change the level we deserve it; we are bathing in our joyful praise, seeking the safety and illumination of this undeserved gift. His purpose, his peace and his faithfulness are the real calculations on which we can depend. He has promised that if we seek Him, we will find Him. Let us leave the legalistic gospel of mathematics and shine brightly with the glory of undeserved grace. He has called us to leave the illusion of our own calculated existence and find the reality of his provision, his peace and his purpose. He is faithful. He knows exactly where we are, who we are and what we need. His grace is the only refuge we have that can save us – whatever it is that we are facing. Let us relinquish our problem solving efforts to the one who faithfully saves those He loves. He is gracious. He is compassionate. He is God. His undeserved grace is the only remedy for people being smothered slowly by the ungrace of a world demanding worthiness. Cease striving and know He is God. The Miraculous, Sovereign, Holy, Almighty Lord of undeserved grace.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Come now, my love; my lovely one, come –
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.” – Clive Staples Lewis
Love is the most powerful connection that we know as people. The pursuit of this connection can earmark one’s life and shape the activities of interaction with the world around them. The recognition of love can rapture our hearts into a state of ecstasy, and the rejection of love can spin our mentality into severe depression. Love is something that must always be shared. As R.E. Coleman put it, “Love is always giving itself away. When it is self-contained, it’s not love.” We long to know love in a tangible, life-changing manner. Whether through family, friends, religion, significant others, children or other members of our community; we are all longing for connection to others in a deep and meaningful experience.
In order to experience real love, we must open our hearts to the source of love, and be changed to have that source be a priority in our lives. This is why the reward in love is so life-altering and satisfying: In order to experience it you must risk your entire self. If you reserve a part of yourself, you are not experiencing the full measure of connection. Embracing love in its ultimate embodiment means knowing and interpreting who we are through truth – the truth of the lover and the truth about yourself. Our ability to understand and accept love is based in knowing yourself in light of the lover. To accept one’s self as the object of another’s affection is to liberate the heart from the idea of volition in receiving love. Specifically, in Christ, to know his love for you in an intimate, truthful manner, is to be changed by Him. You become overwhelmed by a longing to be near Him and aware of your need for his interaction within your days. Much like the toddler who loves to play with mommy and daddy, and can’t hold their emotion in when mommy and daddy “need to focus” on something else; the heart longs for the interaction and connection – simply to enjoy the attention and satisfaction of the Father’s soothing and restoring presence. This is why our identity is wrapped so tightly in the love of Christ – it is parallel to his love in that it is something we can only know in knowing Him. Who you are is the object of the divine affection of the Father. He is calling you, bidding you to come and know your inmost self and his fervent love for his creation. When you truly believe and know yourself in light of this truth, your heart burns with the longing to commune with the Father. You release the fear in reservation of what negative ideas you have about who you are and replace them with the power of the love of the crucified Christ. As Bernard Bush writes, “If you love yourself intensely and freely, then your feelings about yourself correspond perfectly to the sentiments of Jesus.”
Love changes from an embodiment of ownership, entitlement and obligation, and returns us to the childlike innocence and freedom of reliance and longing. We return to the pixie-dust centered flight of joy and wonder in the presence of the Father. We rationally can’t explain it, but we magically experience it. This is “the deep, deep, love of Jesus; vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!” And we are the bearers of his affection. We are freed from the obligation of earning his continual favor. His passionate love does not change in our holiest moment or our lowest depravity; because his love is defined in his character, and our identity is held in his love. He has revealed the life-changing truth of his love to our hearts. It is powerful. It is safe. He is abundant in his love for us and he is worthy of unadulterated and fervent pursuit.
Let us embrace the love of the Father. He has revealed our true identity as the object of his omnipotent affection, that we might experience the most powerful connection with the God of the Ages. Let us be vulnerable to Him. Let us hear his calling for our hearts. Listen to the voice of the Father, calling you to find Him, the words of the Lover of our Souls from Song of Solomon: “Come now, my love; my lovely one, come. For the winter is past, the snows are over and gone. The flowers appear in the land and the season of joyful songs has come… Come now, my love; my lovely one, come. Let me see your face, let me hear your voice: For your voice is sweet and your face is so beautiful. Come now, my love; my lovely one, come.”
Love is the most powerful connection that we know as people. The pursuit of this connection can earmark one’s life and shape the activities of interaction with the world around them. The recognition of love can rapture our hearts into a state of ecstasy, and the rejection of love can spin our mentality into severe depression. Love is something that must always be shared. As R.E. Coleman put it, “Love is always giving itself away. When it is self-contained, it’s not love.” We long to know love in a tangible, life-changing manner. Whether through family, friends, religion, significant others, children or other members of our community; we are all longing for connection to others in a deep and meaningful experience.
In order to experience real love, we must open our hearts to the source of love, and be changed to have that source be a priority in our lives. This is why the reward in love is so life-altering and satisfying: In order to experience it you must risk your entire self. If you reserve a part of yourself, you are not experiencing the full measure of connection. Embracing love in its ultimate embodiment means knowing and interpreting who we are through truth – the truth of the lover and the truth about yourself. Our ability to understand and accept love is based in knowing yourself in light of the lover. To accept one’s self as the object of another’s affection is to liberate the heart from the idea of volition in receiving love. Specifically, in Christ, to know his love for you in an intimate, truthful manner, is to be changed by Him. You become overwhelmed by a longing to be near Him and aware of your need for his interaction within your days. Much like the toddler who loves to play with mommy and daddy, and can’t hold their emotion in when mommy and daddy “need to focus” on something else; the heart longs for the interaction and connection – simply to enjoy the attention and satisfaction of the Father’s soothing and restoring presence. This is why our identity is wrapped so tightly in the love of Christ – it is parallel to his love in that it is something we can only know in knowing Him. Who you are is the object of the divine affection of the Father. He is calling you, bidding you to come and know your inmost self and his fervent love for his creation. When you truly believe and know yourself in light of this truth, your heart burns with the longing to commune with the Father. You release the fear in reservation of what negative ideas you have about who you are and replace them with the power of the love of the crucified Christ. As Bernard Bush writes, “If you love yourself intensely and freely, then your feelings about yourself correspond perfectly to the sentiments of Jesus.”
Love changes from an embodiment of ownership, entitlement and obligation, and returns us to the childlike innocence and freedom of reliance and longing. We return to the pixie-dust centered flight of joy and wonder in the presence of the Father. We rationally can’t explain it, but we magically experience it. This is “the deep, deep, love of Jesus; vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!” And we are the bearers of his affection. We are freed from the obligation of earning his continual favor. His passionate love does not change in our holiest moment or our lowest depravity; because his love is defined in his character, and our identity is held in his love. He has revealed the life-changing truth of his love to our hearts. It is powerful. It is safe. He is abundant in his love for us and he is worthy of unadulterated and fervent pursuit.
Let us embrace the love of the Father. He has revealed our true identity as the object of his omnipotent affection, that we might experience the most powerful connection with the God of the Ages. Let us be vulnerable to Him. Let us hear his calling for our hearts. Listen to the voice of the Father, calling you to find Him, the words of the Lover of our Souls from Song of Solomon: “Come now, my love; my lovely one, come. For the winter is past, the snows are over and gone. The flowers appear in the land and the season of joyful songs has come… Come now, my love; my lovely one, come. Let me see your face, let me hear your voice: For your voice is sweet and your face is so beautiful. Come now, my love; my lovely one, come.”
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
The ultimate understanding of the ubiquitous –
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, and in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
– St. Patrick
What is it that we associate with the evidence of God in the world surrounding us? Do we associate Him with the existence of the church? Do we hold Him as the creation deity who argues against evolution? Is He the God of the heart, the God of abstinence, the God of Sunday drivers or the Southern Baptists? Is He the Almighty of the fish sticker on a car, the theocratic dictator of moral good, or is He the punisher of the ungodly? Is He a holy do-gooder; does He muddle through life like Ned Flanders muttering non-sense and exuding a holy aura that puts people off? I dare say that for all of the humanistic confines we try to put Him inside of; He is greater than we could ever define and permeating every aspect of existence in ways we can never understand. He is the God who the rocks and trees cry out to glorify. He is the Suffering Servant who died for our transgressions and reconciliation. He is the Spirit of life within everyone who confesses his Lordship. The reality of our definition of Him is that He is infinitely involved in our lives in ways that we cannot comprehend, faithfully providing for his beloved children, righteously bringing his will to fruition in eternity.
Much of our understanding of the Lord’s place of existence is wrapped up in warped ideas of a far away gray bearded man in the heavens, a 33 year old Jewish man who died on a cross and claimed to be the Son of God, or an unexplainable Spirit of conscious, guilt or warm fuzzies. It is those who have gone passed the generic ideas of his existence who have truly come to know Him as He is: The Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent Sovereign Lord. The One who goes before us as we wander down life’s paths, the One who carries us when we are too tired to press on, the One who sustains us in the peace of our hearts in his purpose; the God we follow, inexplicably works through millions of simultaneous interactions and billions of people and trillions of situations in the exact order of his will. Nothing is out of his realm of power! The Lord who is ever present and sovereign in all things and all circumstances has been orchestrating our worlds and his will for infinite increments of time and space. It is not beyond his power to use the feeble constructs of our minds to accomplish his purpose, but as Isaiah and First Corinthians show us, “No mind conceived what God has prepared for his beloved.” He is powerful enough to use reality altering explosions to create, evolving hearts and bodies to survive, or the foolish things of this world to shame the wise; but He usually astounds us with the truth of what He has prepared which blows away our expectation to his glory and praise.
In our focus of his existence we must take our eyes from our misplaced view of reality which is based on the primacy of self. “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and delivered Himself up for me.” Chapter two, verse twenty of Paul’s letter to the Galatians vividly describes our change in becoming followers of Christ and the change of focus in our hearts to be on his purpose. We come to understand the center of our lives to be Him. The face to face interaction of replacement of ourselves in the place of primacy can be a recurring struggle in our endeavors to follow Him; but fortunately for us, He lives in us, giving us the strength to open our hearts to our crucified life with the Omnipotent Savior. The central focus of Christ in our lives as a reality of interpretation for every situation is one that truly changes us from the inside out to know his existence for what it really is. This reality transforms us not only to know that we carry the Living God as the definition of our being, but he is innately in the world around us (the situations, the people, the places, the conversations…etc.) and He is ubiquitously omnipotent amidst all details of our interactions. The God who inhabits our inner being surrounds us in the external as well. It is no longer I who live, but the God who permeates all existence draws me unto his heart with every sunset, whispered prayer, laugh or tear, hug from a friend, every drop of rain and every ounce of trust which He bestows on the world we live in.
A friend of mine recently recounted a lesson learned in the words of the angel at the tomb. The women who came looking for Jesus were told to go tell the disciples, that He has risen and is going ahead of you to Galilee, where you will see Him, just as He said you would. This is the methodology of the Omnipresent Lord. He has gone before you to where He has called you to go, and when you get there, you will see Him the way He said you would. Eugene Petersen uses this idea in reminding himself that Christ is going ahead of us in all our circumstances. As he goes to visit a sick person in the hospital, he is not afraid, for Christ goes ahead of him, and when he gets there Eugene will see Him the way He said that he would. The reality of insight like this helps us see the ultimate level of understanding in the ubiquity of the sovereign Lord. Where we go, He goes ahead of us; and we see Him as He said we would. Like St. Patrick, God with him and within him; before, beside, and beneath him – ever-present, working through all things for the goodness and glory of his purpose.
The reality of understanding is in knowing that the God of the Ages is unable to have a monkey wrench thrown into his works. He goes before us and behind us, working through us and in those around us. As we come to truly know his existence in light of these truths, we are filled with the peace and contentment of his Spirit, which surpasses all understanding, and surrounds us, binds us and sustains us in every endeavor or experience in our lives. The Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent Sovereign Lord understands and orchestrates the circumstances of our existence. We must trust Him as we go forward. We must know Him as He truly is that we might hear the direction that He calls us to go. And as we go, we will see Him as He said we would, waiting for us, then going ahead of us to where He will lead us next.
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, and in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
– St. Patrick
What is it that we associate with the evidence of God in the world surrounding us? Do we associate Him with the existence of the church? Do we hold Him as the creation deity who argues against evolution? Is He the God of the heart, the God of abstinence, the God of Sunday drivers or the Southern Baptists? Is He the Almighty of the fish sticker on a car, the theocratic dictator of moral good, or is He the punisher of the ungodly? Is He a holy do-gooder; does He muddle through life like Ned Flanders muttering non-sense and exuding a holy aura that puts people off? I dare say that for all of the humanistic confines we try to put Him inside of; He is greater than we could ever define and permeating every aspect of existence in ways we can never understand. He is the God who the rocks and trees cry out to glorify. He is the Suffering Servant who died for our transgressions and reconciliation. He is the Spirit of life within everyone who confesses his Lordship. The reality of our definition of Him is that He is infinitely involved in our lives in ways that we cannot comprehend, faithfully providing for his beloved children, righteously bringing his will to fruition in eternity.
Much of our understanding of the Lord’s place of existence is wrapped up in warped ideas of a far away gray bearded man in the heavens, a 33 year old Jewish man who died on a cross and claimed to be the Son of God, or an unexplainable Spirit of conscious, guilt or warm fuzzies. It is those who have gone passed the generic ideas of his existence who have truly come to know Him as He is: The Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent Sovereign Lord. The One who goes before us as we wander down life’s paths, the One who carries us when we are too tired to press on, the One who sustains us in the peace of our hearts in his purpose; the God we follow, inexplicably works through millions of simultaneous interactions and billions of people and trillions of situations in the exact order of his will. Nothing is out of his realm of power! The Lord who is ever present and sovereign in all things and all circumstances has been orchestrating our worlds and his will for infinite increments of time and space. It is not beyond his power to use the feeble constructs of our minds to accomplish his purpose, but as Isaiah and First Corinthians show us, “No mind conceived what God has prepared for his beloved.” He is powerful enough to use reality altering explosions to create, evolving hearts and bodies to survive, or the foolish things of this world to shame the wise; but He usually astounds us with the truth of what He has prepared which blows away our expectation to his glory and praise.
In our focus of his existence we must take our eyes from our misplaced view of reality which is based on the primacy of self. “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and delivered Himself up for me.” Chapter two, verse twenty of Paul’s letter to the Galatians vividly describes our change in becoming followers of Christ and the change of focus in our hearts to be on his purpose. We come to understand the center of our lives to be Him. The face to face interaction of replacement of ourselves in the place of primacy can be a recurring struggle in our endeavors to follow Him; but fortunately for us, He lives in us, giving us the strength to open our hearts to our crucified life with the Omnipotent Savior. The central focus of Christ in our lives as a reality of interpretation for every situation is one that truly changes us from the inside out to know his existence for what it really is. This reality transforms us not only to know that we carry the Living God as the definition of our being, but he is innately in the world around us (the situations, the people, the places, the conversations…etc.) and He is ubiquitously omnipotent amidst all details of our interactions. The God who inhabits our inner being surrounds us in the external as well. It is no longer I who live, but the God who permeates all existence draws me unto his heart with every sunset, whispered prayer, laugh or tear, hug from a friend, every drop of rain and every ounce of trust which He bestows on the world we live in.
A friend of mine recently recounted a lesson learned in the words of the angel at the tomb. The women who came looking for Jesus were told to go tell the disciples, that He has risen and is going ahead of you to Galilee, where you will see Him, just as He said you would. This is the methodology of the Omnipresent Lord. He has gone before you to where He has called you to go, and when you get there, you will see Him the way He said you would. Eugene Petersen uses this idea in reminding himself that Christ is going ahead of us in all our circumstances. As he goes to visit a sick person in the hospital, he is not afraid, for Christ goes ahead of him, and when he gets there Eugene will see Him the way He said that he would. The reality of insight like this helps us see the ultimate level of understanding in the ubiquity of the sovereign Lord. Where we go, He goes ahead of us; and we see Him as He said we would. Like St. Patrick, God with him and within him; before, beside, and beneath him – ever-present, working through all things for the goodness and glory of his purpose.
The reality of understanding is in knowing that the God of the Ages is unable to have a monkey wrench thrown into his works. He goes before us and behind us, working through us and in those around us. As we come to truly know his existence in light of these truths, we are filled with the peace and contentment of his Spirit, which surpasses all understanding, and surrounds us, binds us and sustains us in every endeavor or experience in our lives. The Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent Sovereign Lord understands and orchestrates the circumstances of our existence. We must trust Him as we go forward. We must know Him as He truly is that we might hear the direction that He calls us to go. And as we go, we will see Him as He said we would, waiting for us, then going ahead of us to where He will lead us next.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Treadmill of the Contemporary…
“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside
us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch.
Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight
or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” – e.e. Cummings
Many of us walking the streets of society today have a variety of
fervent opinions about a great number of things in our world. In the recent
elections we saw a great division over purpose and ideal in what people believe
in our land. Democracy, in its base form, is about assertion of beliefs.
Presenting passions to the whole and voting for the people’s subjugation to the
rule. Sometimes it comes with praise, excitement and joy, and sometimes it
comes with regret, anger and discontentment.
With the ever-changing events in the world, a social morality has been
put on the forefront of focus; restoring value to the human condition, enlisting
new passions to motivate others and pursuing the advancement of mutual good.
This new enlightenment of perspective takes the tenets of self-realization and
projects them into the experiential truth of the society. To use Cummings’ idea, the Postmodern society
has instilled in us a revelation: Believe in yourself, it is through this power
that you will inspire the world, contribute to its betterment and transcend the
insignificance of details for the experience of connectivity through
commonality, with your other passengers on the Good Ship Earth.
From politics and religion, to coffee and craft beer; from green
living and consumerism, to social media narcissism and celebrity fixation; and
from identity and exclusivity, to brand association and indie appeal – Our
society calls us to balance a system of beliefs shared by all with freedom from
beliefs which are inconvenient to your desires. This revelation of self, calls
us to heighten the importance of our opinions about ourselves, broadcast our
opinions about others and dismiss and denigrate any truth which escapes our
experience, lives beyond our understanding and validates the principles
contrary to what we want.
As a result, the only ability we have to assert our influence is
internal. The only place we can rest our hope is in the busyness of our hands,
the fulfillment of our pleasures and the connectivity to others who are equally
internally influential. This philosophy has spawned books like The Secret, A
Course on Miracles and Dianetics. It brings to life an emerging church of
influence which substitutes truth for charisma, obedience for understanding and
wisdom for relevance.
And yet, in the end, this Postmodern social morality does not provide
significance or transcendence; it brings a busyness to our achievements and a zeal
to our au fait advancement of self. The
treadmill of the contemporary focuses our hearts on perspectives gleaned from
our desire rather than what we truly need. As we run through our days, we are
blinded by all that we are and all that we are doing, losing the heart of true
connection for a assemblage of association.
In looking to that end, people are going to be self-absorbed,
money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, disobedient, crude, coarse,
dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical,
treacherous, ruthless, opinionated, addicted to lust, and allergic to God.
They’ll take up with every new fad that calls itself “truth.” They get
exploited every time and never really learn.
Jesus spoke to this in the scriptures in likening the truth to a great
celebration feast given by a king:
He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to
tell them to come, but they refused to come. Then he sent some more servants
and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: the
best food you have ever had, 5 star cuisines, and everything is ready. Come to
the celebration!’
But they dismissed the offer, busy with their work, focused on their desires
and concerned with their own ideas about how to feed themselves and provide
their need. Some of them stayed at home, some of them plunged back into work
and some stood up against the servants speaking about the celebration. Many
servants were mistreated, ostracized and even killed. The king was enraged. He
sent calamity upon them for their rejection.
For many of us on this earth, we try to construct the truth as we see
fit. We go forward in an existence that builds a foundation upon itself. Though
the ideas in society may carry popular sway, they do not deter the truth as it
is, objectively outside of our perspective.
Jesus Christ presented the truth, as it is, the truth about who He is
and the truth about who we are almost 2000 years ago. The foundation for what we know, built on
anything but that truth leads to discouragement, disconnection and ultimate
boredom. He did not call us to look to our own insight, but to his. In this
world where contemporary and relevant pursuits earmark validity and purpose, He
calls us to stop the searching and know Him in the stillness of who He is.
It is difficult for many people to let go the entitlement of “how they
think it should be.” They experience a life in opposition to the truth, not
because they know it and despise it, but because they want to be the provider
of it, the discoverer of it and the best assessor of it. They get caught up in
crafting the right thing to do, being the great force of right/good or being
busy in promoting the progress that needs to be embraced. It is only in looking
to the end where there will be found that the battle was not in circumstance or
ideal, but in the effort to provide truth by one’s own strength.
Those who would “deserve” the celebration by finding the truth for
themselves and cannot accept the king’s provision, only find that the wedge
between what they could receive freely from the king and that which they must
provide for themselves, is made of their own strength. In their own strength
they climb back on the treadmill and work toward their own provision, providing
contemporary and relevant insight into why their new perspective is the only
reasonable way to know the truth.
And yet this is still the place where the love of Jesus, which allows
mankind the freedom to choose their own strength over his, goes to the street
corners and invites to the feast anyone his servants find. Gathering as many
who will lay down their strength, get off the treadmill of self-provision and
receive what He has graciously provided. Many get invited, but only a few will
let go their personal view of truth for the truth as it is.
The objectivity of truth is only in the person of Jesus Christ. It is
not in our belief in ourselves, our country, our party, our perspective that
provides our security; it is only our belief in Jesus that can provide that
which transcends our human limitation. He is the King, providing the ability
for us to abandon our efforts to manufacture purpose, peace, fulfillment and
perspective, and join the celebration that knows his provision for all things. It
is not in our realization of our own value that leads to the truth, but the
realization of his value, his Lordship and his mission for us that we find
salvation from a world losing itself to its own end.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
The Big Three...
“American Culture fosters and sustains a functional Trinitarian god of consumerism, hedonism and nationalism. Made in this image and likeness of such a god, we are committed to lives of possessiveness, pleasure and domination.” – John Kavanaugh
We are facing some revolutionary times in the world right now. There is an atmosphere of assessment and introspection upon life and what is necessary. For those within the community of faith this is a pivotal time of being able to live in the faith and trust of one who knows the provisions and contentment of the Lord. As we interact with others we interact with the world and it’s pursuits of three of the most basic desires: security, pleasure and power. In the face of a troubled economy and the uncertainty of what the coming year will bring, there will be an internal wrestling match over the importance of these desires and how life changes to interact with them. There will be anxiety over them, sleepless nights, arguments with spouses, reactionary responses n the workplace; in the places where they are focused on most, life will come off the hinges and open a door to speaking directly to the heart of what really matters. And what really matters: Peace which transcends the menial, contentment which relegates anxiety, relationships which do not hunger for superiority… a change is coming to life as we know it, and if we are able to help others in their needs, we will see revolutionary change of the world which is spinning heads and hearts into confusion and disorientation.
God gives his hands and feet to the people of this planet in his community. As we step forward and interact with others, we must understand the immense responsibility we have in being “the light” to the dark and troubled places. We are not earmarked by the pursuit of power, we are not dominated by the ruling passions of pleasure, and we are not living frenetic lives of satiating security innate in ourselves. We must be centered in the transformation of ourselves by Christ, and the tuning of his purposes to ours. We must be a resource to help refocus those who are searching on the life-changing peace which comes as one takes on the attitudes and attributes of the Savior. We must strive to combat the general misunderstanding about God: That he is here to change our lives and improve the quality of our experience in this life. This would be likening him to the support of the pursuit of the big three, not a change to understand his purpose of wanting all mankind to be drawn to him, and his understanding of importance. From the delusions of the “prosperity gospel,” or the extrapolation of a corporate American pursuit pulled from the intention of Rick Warren’s: A Purpose Driven Life, the spiritual bootstrapping of Joel
Osteen’s: Become a Better You, to the misinterpretation by the Christian subculture of Bruce Wilkinson’s: The Prayer of Jabez; the “Christian” method of living seems to be turning into another way of seeking to live a better lifestyle. Living the abundant life has nothing to do with personal achievement or success outside of Christ. We are not capitalist Christians, trying to balance a life which pursues “things” or ideas on the same level as the Father. How high upon the pedestal of ability have we placed ourselves in light of God? It is a mistake to believe that God has so gifted you, that he needs your contribution for his cause to be fulfilled? Similarly, those whose ego has been elevated to a position where they believe themselves to be of more importance in light of God’s use of them, whether in prominence or in function, have lost the plot. Need we forget that Christ came to save the sinners? He did not come to build a five-star, personalized vacation resort for righteous people. He came with a surgical kit and unparalleled compassion to offer a lifeline at the gates of hell to his beloved sons and daughters. He is not providing for us the opportunity to achieve success to the honor and glory of a chief benefactor who gives us security in position, pleasure in its attainment, nor the power to exert influence because we have a weighty contribution. He did not desire for us to acquire eternal significance outside of the Lord of Hosts. The contrasting reality, which sheds the light of truth to us, is that he is here to change our hearts so that we can have an improved quality of experiencing himself. When we experience Christ in the manner which he has intended us to, we cannot help but know the abundant life of significance which has a lasting resonance in our lives.
Would we honestly believe that the God who sent his Son to die, and gives richly in his rewards, who desires you to be cradled in his love and acceptance, would be so shallow in his blessings that he would reward one’s pursuit of Christ with a BMW, or a million dollar home, or winning the lottery? Would he really give you the desires of a corrupt heart finding joy in exertion of power, or position? Is the gift of Christ the hedonism of satisfying the needs of the flesh, the ego, or the pocketbook? Of course in posing a ridiculous question, I am not disallowing for these circumstances, but I have a strong feeling that the God of the Ages would not revel adding to treasures stored where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal.
The truth is that we must be so revolutionary as to show the contentment and stability of relinquishing these pursuits. We must seek first the kingdom. We must strive to know Christ and his direction, that we may be the rock of his strength for those who surround us in our communities. We must delight in the joys of the Father. We must exude the security of an eternal nature with Him. Our power will be lessened, but his will increase. We will reflect to others the security of dependence on the Almighty, and how steadfast and satisfying he is.
We are facing some revolutionary times in the world right now. There is an atmosphere of assessment and introspection upon life and what is necessary. For those within the community of faith this is a pivotal time of being able to live in the faith and trust of one who knows the provisions and contentment of the Lord. As we interact with others we interact with the world and it’s pursuits of three of the most basic desires: security, pleasure and power. In the face of a troubled economy and the uncertainty of what the coming year will bring, there will be an internal wrestling match over the importance of these desires and how life changes to interact with them. There will be anxiety over them, sleepless nights, arguments with spouses, reactionary responses n the workplace; in the places where they are focused on most, life will come off the hinges and open a door to speaking directly to the heart of what really matters. And what really matters: Peace which transcends the menial, contentment which relegates anxiety, relationships which do not hunger for superiority… a change is coming to life as we know it, and if we are able to help others in their needs, we will see revolutionary change of the world which is spinning heads and hearts into confusion and disorientation.
God gives his hands and feet to the people of this planet in his community. As we step forward and interact with others, we must understand the immense responsibility we have in being “the light” to the dark and troubled places. We are not earmarked by the pursuit of power, we are not dominated by the ruling passions of pleasure, and we are not living frenetic lives of satiating security innate in ourselves. We must be centered in the transformation of ourselves by Christ, and the tuning of his purposes to ours. We must be a resource to help refocus those who are searching on the life-changing peace which comes as one takes on the attitudes and attributes of the Savior. We must strive to combat the general misunderstanding about God: That he is here to change our lives and improve the quality of our experience in this life. This would be likening him to the support of the pursuit of the big three, not a change to understand his purpose of wanting all mankind to be drawn to him, and his understanding of importance. From the delusions of the “prosperity gospel,” or the extrapolation of a corporate American pursuit pulled from the intention of Rick Warren’s: A Purpose Driven Life, the spiritual bootstrapping of Joel
Osteen’s: Become a Better You, to the misinterpretation by the Christian subculture of Bruce Wilkinson’s: The Prayer of Jabez; the “Christian” method of living seems to be turning into another way of seeking to live a better lifestyle. Living the abundant life has nothing to do with personal achievement or success outside of Christ. We are not capitalist Christians, trying to balance a life which pursues “things” or ideas on the same level as the Father. How high upon the pedestal of ability have we placed ourselves in light of God? It is a mistake to believe that God has so gifted you, that he needs your contribution for his cause to be fulfilled? Similarly, those whose ego has been elevated to a position where they believe themselves to be of more importance in light of God’s use of them, whether in prominence or in function, have lost the plot. Need we forget that Christ came to save the sinners? He did not come to build a five-star, personalized vacation resort for righteous people. He came with a surgical kit and unparalleled compassion to offer a lifeline at the gates of hell to his beloved sons and daughters. He is not providing for us the opportunity to achieve success to the honor and glory of a chief benefactor who gives us security in position, pleasure in its attainment, nor the power to exert influence because we have a weighty contribution. He did not desire for us to acquire eternal significance outside of the Lord of Hosts. The contrasting reality, which sheds the light of truth to us, is that he is here to change our hearts so that we can have an improved quality of experiencing himself. When we experience Christ in the manner which he has intended us to, we cannot help but know the abundant life of significance which has a lasting resonance in our lives.
Would we honestly believe that the God who sent his Son to die, and gives richly in his rewards, who desires you to be cradled in his love and acceptance, would be so shallow in his blessings that he would reward one’s pursuit of Christ with a BMW, or a million dollar home, or winning the lottery? Would he really give you the desires of a corrupt heart finding joy in exertion of power, or position? Is the gift of Christ the hedonism of satisfying the needs of the flesh, the ego, or the pocketbook? Of course in posing a ridiculous question, I am not disallowing for these circumstances, but I have a strong feeling that the God of the Ages would not revel adding to treasures stored where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal.
The truth is that we must be so revolutionary as to show the contentment and stability of relinquishing these pursuits. We must seek first the kingdom. We must strive to know Christ and his direction, that we may be the rock of his strength for those who surround us in our communities. We must delight in the joys of the Father. We must exude the security of an eternal nature with Him. Our power will be lessened, but his will increase. We will reflect to others the security of dependence on the Almighty, and how steadfast and satisfying he is.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)