Lately, I've been thinking a lot about making better choices and how to live before God. As I was pondering this idea, I started thinking about making choices that matter. We often talk about making good choices and how to have a good life but what does that really look like? We say in Christian circles that it isn't about the money or the car and all of that, but do we really mean it? It becomes a different situation I think when someone offers you money to compromise your purpose in life. Recently I watched the movie Courageous. It's a really good movie and one of my favorite parts is the story of Javier. During the movie we see Javier's difficulty in finding a job and his struggle with providing for his family. Eventually he finds a job that has some consistency to it. He's called into the office one day and he's offered a promotion with the condition that he do something for the manager that would compromise his integrity. Can you imagine being in that situation? Here you are struggling to put food on the table with the chance to do exactly that and do it well, but it would come at the cost of sacrificing your integrity. You see it is easy to make the statement that money doesn't have a sway over you when you're not in a situation like this.
Money isn't the only thing that vies for our attention however. In America, one of the most cherished things that we strive for is happiness. Our interactions with others seem to always demonstrate that fact. We put up walls and boundaries to ensure that we don't get hurt by someone else. We protect that happiness with everything that we have and look at vulnerability as a weakness. Is this really how God intended us to be? To protect our happiness at the expense of those around us? How is that we can justify this way of living? We need a shift in perspective. We're too focused on our present situation and how it can be improved, we keep forgetting that this is temporary, we don't have an eternal perspective.
What does it really mean to have an eternal perspective though? My dad tosses that term around a lot. I find that it means that the actions and choices we make here on Earth need to be made in a way that shows what we're really living for. We are here to give glory to God and to tell others what He has done for us. We are not here to make lots of money and have a nice house and a nice car; those things may happen, but they aren't our sole purpose in life. You see those things aren't bad by themselves, but when they become the purpose for which we live, then we have missed out entirely on our real purpose. To live with an eternal perspective is to seek to glorify God in all of your actions. It is to live knowing that real rewards and treasures are only attainable by doing the will of God. I've only begun to process this and to understand what it would look like to live like this, but I have realized that the things in this world that really matter tend to deal with people. Showing love to others and serving them is at the very center of the heart of God. We need to move our perspective from one that focuses on our current situation to one that looks to eternity and the things that are on God's heart. We need to stop worrying about how helping someone may harm us. We need to move away from this safe and comfortable lifestyle and move into one that is as radical as Jesus. We need to move away from living for this world and into a living with an eternal perspective.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Swing on the Swing
As I type this I'm sitting in the small room of my townhouse at the Seminary. I have my window opened and the gentle breeze is blowing in the cool night air. The crisp air brings with it the smells of early spring. It's been a while since I've been able to walk around in sandals, shorts, and a t-shirt. It feels good to enjoy this moment and just relax. Despite the mountain of books beside me, I'm content to simply sit here and enjoy the night air. There is something peaceful about it, something sacred.
This weekend, I spent much of my time reading and writing a lengthy discussion on Ephesians. I had several commentaries spread out on the table along with several different translations of the letter of Ephesians. I was investigating every verse and how it related to the book as a whole. I would read one commentary's viewpoint and corroborate it with another. I would look up the cultural context behind the passage and figure out the purpose behind Paul's statements. I had never looked at Ephesians this in depth before and I relished in it. Being able to pick up on the subtleties that had previously gone unnoticed was energizing. Understanding Paul's use of the original Greek and what he meant by his choice in words was all incredibly fascinating. Though as I sit here and just enjoy the simplicity of the evening and notice the peace in this moment, I'm content in a very different way. You see it was great to be able to investigate Ephesians to the extent that I did, but it is equally as great to simply enjoy this moment as the breeze flows through my window. You see sometimes we do need those moments of intense investigation, where we go through the scriptures and just mine it for all that it has to offer. But then there are those other times where we need to simply BE, before scripture. Sometimes we need to slow down and just enjoy the beautiful words it has to offer.
Have you ever gone out to the store, bought a DVD, put it in the DVD player, and watched it for the very first time with the commentaries on? To be honest, I've never watched a movie with the commentaries on with any of my movies (Except Monty Python and the Holy Grail and that's just because the commentary is actually selected scenes from Henry VIII. Even then, I got bored after about 15 minutes). I can't imagine watching a movie, getting involved in the story, and all the while listening to some running commentary about how they made the movie. It would drive me crazy. Sure I'd learn tons about how they made the movie and how many takes it took to get a well choreographed fight scene perfect, but I would miss out on the entire movie. I would have deprived the movie of its ability to move me whether to laughter, or to tears, or to inspiration. By having the commentary, I would have lost focus on the beauty of the movie and the purpose behind it.
When I was studying math in graduate school, I was taking an applied math course. One day my professor told us to come up with a list of things we would need to take into consideration if we wanted to create an equation that modeled the movement of a swing. We came up with all of these ideas and talked about what an equation like that would look like. Then someone suggested that we would need to account for the force exerted by the person who was actually swinging on the swing. Most nodded in agreement, but one of the engineers responded that that was impossible, that the only way a person could swing on a swing was by being pushed by someone else. Now this engineer had a wealth of knowledge concerning mathematics and engineering. He had proven his abilities in the class time and again. Yet here he had missed one critical part. Having never swung on a swing, he could not fathom the idea of the person on the swing having the ability to make it go. I wonder if we do this to scripture sometimes. I wonder if we stare at it so long, analyzing it from every angle, figuring out the meaning behind every phrase, and yet in the end we miss that one thing. The simple beauty that lies within the scripture. Sure there are great things to be said for using a commentary with scripture. There are many times where it clears up confusion or adds additional insight. I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Ephesians better through the use of the commentaries. But I feel that there is also a danger when we get so wrapped up in the commentaries that we forget to enjoy the scripture as it was meant to be enjoyed. We miss out on the love story between God and His people. We miss out on the invitation that He gives us to respond in love. We miss out on the poetic nature of the Holy Spirit as He whispers gently to us concerning His love. Somehow in our confusion we try and describe the swing instead of swinging on it. May we always remember to swing on the swing.
This weekend, I spent much of my time reading and writing a lengthy discussion on Ephesians. I had several commentaries spread out on the table along with several different translations of the letter of Ephesians. I was investigating every verse and how it related to the book as a whole. I would read one commentary's viewpoint and corroborate it with another. I would look up the cultural context behind the passage and figure out the purpose behind Paul's statements. I had never looked at Ephesians this in depth before and I relished in it. Being able to pick up on the subtleties that had previously gone unnoticed was energizing. Understanding Paul's use of the original Greek and what he meant by his choice in words was all incredibly fascinating. Though as I sit here and just enjoy the simplicity of the evening and notice the peace in this moment, I'm content in a very different way. You see it was great to be able to investigate Ephesians to the extent that I did, but it is equally as great to simply enjoy this moment as the breeze flows through my window. You see sometimes we do need those moments of intense investigation, where we go through the scriptures and just mine it for all that it has to offer. But then there are those other times where we need to simply BE, before scripture. Sometimes we need to slow down and just enjoy the beautiful words it has to offer.
Have you ever gone out to the store, bought a DVD, put it in the DVD player, and watched it for the very first time with the commentaries on? To be honest, I've never watched a movie with the commentaries on with any of my movies (Except Monty Python and the Holy Grail and that's just because the commentary is actually selected scenes from Henry VIII. Even then, I got bored after about 15 minutes). I can't imagine watching a movie, getting involved in the story, and all the while listening to some running commentary about how they made the movie. It would drive me crazy. Sure I'd learn tons about how they made the movie and how many takes it took to get a well choreographed fight scene perfect, but I would miss out on the entire movie. I would have deprived the movie of its ability to move me whether to laughter, or to tears, or to inspiration. By having the commentary, I would have lost focus on the beauty of the movie and the purpose behind it.
When I was studying math in graduate school, I was taking an applied math course. One day my professor told us to come up with a list of things we would need to take into consideration if we wanted to create an equation that modeled the movement of a swing. We came up with all of these ideas and talked about what an equation like that would look like. Then someone suggested that we would need to account for the force exerted by the person who was actually swinging on the swing. Most nodded in agreement, but one of the engineers responded that that was impossible, that the only way a person could swing on a swing was by being pushed by someone else. Now this engineer had a wealth of knowledge concerning mathematics and engineering. He had proven his abilities in the class time and again. Yet here he had missed one critical part. Having never swung on a swing, he could not fathom the idea of the person on the swing having the ability to make it go. I wonder if we do this to scripture sometimes. I wonder if we stare at it so long, analyzing it from every angle, figuring out the meaning behind every phrase, and yet in the end we miss that one thing. The simple beauty that lies within the scripture. Sure there are great things to be said for using a commentary with scripture. There are many times where it clears up confusion or adds additional insight. I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Ephesians better through the use of the commentaries. But I feel that there is also a danger when we get so wrapped up in the commentaries that we forget to enjoy the scripture as it was meant to be enjoyed. We miss out on the love story between God and His people. We miss out on the invitation that He gives us to respond in love. We miss out on the poetic nature of the Holy Spirit as He whispers gently to us concerning His love. Somehow in our confusion we try and describe the swing instead of swinging on it. May we always remember to swing on the swing.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Desiring Best Things
One of my favorite passages in scripture is Jesus' encounter with Bartimaeus, the blind man. This is found in Mark 10: 46-52 and can also be found in Luke and Matthew. As I mentioned in a previous post, Jesus' question is quite possibly one of the most profound questions encountered in scripture, "What do you want me to do for you?" I mean that is a deep question. Most days I have a difficult time determining what I want for dinner, let alone what I want God, the creator of all things, to do for me. Bartimaeus, however, knows exactly what he wants. He has desired it all of his life. His lack of sight has been with him every day of his life. Every time someone mentioned how beautiful the sunrise was or how beautiful the flowers were, he was only reminded of his inability to appreciate those moments. Can you imagine going through life without the ability to see and constantly being reminded of that by those who are around you? Now what if Bartimaeus had asked for something else? What if instead he had asked Jesus for bread or riches? What if he had chosen some other desire of his heart?
I'm currently taking a leadership course at my church and it is all about being intentional, strategic, self-aware, and surrendered to God's will. It is certainly challenging at times and really makes you think about who you are, what you're doing, and what your motives are behind it. My dad was teaching one of the classes when he started talking about desires. He said that your desire for the best thing needed to be greater than your desire for something else. He used the example of losing weight. He said that if he really wanted to lose weight then his desire to do so must outweigh his desire for that extra Five Guys burger. That got me thinking. What desires do I have that are distractions and am I really desiring the best things? What is my response to Jesus when he asks me what do I want? Sure there are moments where I do desire the best things, but unfortunately I still seem to demonstrate a desire for lesser things quite frequently.
I came to the conclusion that the reason why I desire the lesser things is because on the surface they seem more appealing. For instance, when I get home from a week at school I have a number of options. I can go for a mountain bike ride, I can watch some TV, I can get some work done on my papers, or a variety of other options. Most days, the appeal to sit on the couch and watch TV is rather enticing. It requires little thought and energy and unfortunately, has often been the option that I go with. The problem is that I'm settling for a lesser thing when I do that. The surface appeal of it attracts my attention and keeps me from desiring the best things. The other options often require a great deal more work and in some cases appear to offer very little rewards. The importance, however, is that I must begin to look at the best things and begin to realize the beauty inherent in them. For instance, if I choose to go mountain biking, I'll be doing a healthy activity that offers a great deal of excitement and adventure, not to mention that I would have a chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery around me. If I choose to do my studies, I'll be less stressed during the weekend and more than likely do better on the assignment. If I'm to desire the best things, I must begin to realize the beauty inherent in them.
I'd wager that I'm not alone in my pursuit of lesser things. Thankfully, God has given us the ability to desire the best things. He has shown us what is really important in life and has given us the opportunity to pursue that. Each decision we make demonstrates the desires of our heart. When we desire the best things, it becomes evident through our lives. We begin to make time for the things that matter and begin to notice the things in our lives that simply aren't important. Our hearts begin to yearn for the things on God's heart and we begin to move into transformation. May we, like Bartimaeus, choose to desire the best things. May we desire God's purposes in our life over the pursuits of this world.
I'm currently taking a leadership course at my church and it is all about being intentional, strategic, self-aware, and surrendered to God's will. It is certainly challenging at times and really makes you think about who you are, what you're doing, and what your motives are behind it. My dad was teaching one of the classes when he started talking about desires. He said that your desire for the best thing needed to be greater than your desire for something else. He used the example of losing weight. He said that if he really wanted to lose weight then his desire to do so must outweigh his desire for that extra Five Guys burger. That got me thinking. What desires do I have that are distractions and am I really desiring the best things? What is my response to Jesus when he asks me what do I want? Sure there are moments where I do desire the best things, but unfortunately I still seem to demonstrate a desire for lesser things quite frequently.
I came to the conclusion that the reason why I desire the lesser things is because on the surface they seem more appealing. For instance, when I get home from a week at school I have a number of options. I can go for a mountain bike ride, I can watch some TV, I can get some work done on my papers, or a variety of other options. Most days, the appeal to sit on the couch and watch TV is rather enticing. It requires little thought and energy and unfortunately, has often been the option that I go with. The problem is that I'm settling for a lesser thing when I do that. The surface appeal of it attracts my attention and keeps me from desiring the best things. The other options often require a great deal more work and in some cases appear to offer very little rewards. The importance, however, is that I must begin to look at the best things and begin to realize the beauty inherent in them. For instance, if I choose to go mountain biking, I'll be doing a healthy activity that offers a great deal of excitement and adventure, not to mention that I would have a chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery around me. If I choose to do my studies, I'll be less stressed during the weekend and more than likely do better on the assignment. If I'm to desire the best things, I must begin to realize the beauty inherent in them.
I'd wager that I'm not alone in my pursuit of lesser things. Thankfully, God has given us the ability to desire the best things. He has shown us what is really important in life and has given us the opportunity to pursue that. Each decision we make demonstrates the desires of our heart. When we desire the best things, it becomes evident through our lives. We begin to make time for the things that matter and begin to notice the things in our lives that simply aren't important. Our hearts begin to yearn for the things on God's heart and we begin to move into transformation. May we, like Bartimaeus, choose to desire the best things. May we desire God's purposes in our life over the pursuits of this world.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
I Give you my eyes
Last year during my trip to Chile, my host would always talk about a Muslim friend that he had that would always tell him "Setsow" (pronounced "Serchow"). As he described it this meant, "I give you me eyes." It expressed his friend's willingness to do anything for him no matter the cost. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. God wants us to have that same willingness to give up anything for others. At a moment's notice we are to give of ourselves at any point. Unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that anything short of a grand gesture will be unacceptable. That in order to serve, one must leave their country and be martyred for Christ. This belief often forces us to the sidelines and keeps us from doing any sort of serving. This is such a tragedy. We have somehow looked at serving and decided that we simply don't have the gifts that are required for such an action.
Next week starts the Global Missions month at my church which is often a great time for people to hear and see what we're doing as a church around the world. We often have guest speakers who are missionaries who serve in various countries. Hearing their testimonies is one of the highlights of the year for me. The passion that they have in demonstrating the love of Christ and in building up the church is such a testament to God's power in his people. In all honesty, it fires me up, but also reminds me of my own shortcomings when it comes to serving others.
I bring that up because next Friday the worship team is putting on an "Encounter" which will serve to introduce the Global Missions month. The theme that is being used is "Give me your eyes." This is the title of one of my favorite songs by Brandon Heath. It's such a powerful song about our need to open our eyes to the world around us. He makes the observation in the song that we encounter people every day and we don't even think about it. We're so focused on our own world that we don't see the needs in front of us. He says, "I want a second glance, so give me a second chance to see the people the way you've seen them all along." This is the important thing, that we begin to look around us through a new lens. Through a lens which sees people, the hurt in their lives, and the love that God has for them. This new perspective gives us the ability to serve in our daily lives. From talking to the person who cleans your office to cheering up a gloomy cashier at the grocery store as she rings up your groceries. Serving can be done in a multitude of ways and is not restrained to taking a trip to the inner city and passing out meals to the homeless.
There is of course a danger here. By serving in our daily lives we may become complacent in other areas that need attention. Feeding the homeless and taking care of the poor is something that is very near to the heart of God and should not be ignored. My urging to serve in your daily lives is the first step to having a missional lifestyle. In all that we do, we are to serve others and put others' needs in front of our own. In 1 John 3:16, it says, "Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." At first glance it looks like John is telling his reader to die for someone else, but he elaborates further and says, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" (v.17) He is saying here that our daily lives are to be lived in surrender to the desires and needs of others. We are to put others before ourselves in all things. So as we cultivate a missional life through regular day to day actions, we begin to transform ourselves and move away from the selfishness within. We move into an others-centered life. This is what God desires for us. God is telling us "Setsow, I give you my eyes." May we respond:
Next week starts the Global Missions month at my church which is often a great time for people to hear and see what we're doing as a church around the world. We often have guest speakers who are missionaries who serve in various countries. Hearing their testimonies is one of the highlights of the year for me. The passion that they have in demonstrating the love of Christ and in building up the church is such a testament to God's power in his people. In all honesty, it fires me up, but also reminds me of my own shortcomings when it comes to serving others.
I bring that up because next Friday the worship team is putting on an "Encounter" which will serve to introduce the Global Missions month. The theme that is being used is "Give me your eyes." This is the title of one of my favorite songs by Brandon Heath. It's such a powerful song about our need to open our eyes to the world around us. He makes the observation in the song that we encounter people every day and we don't even think about it. We're so focused on our own world that we don't see the needs in front of us. He says, "I want a second glance, so give me a second chance to see the people the way you've seen them all along." This is the important thing, that we begin to look around us through a new lens. Through a lens which sees people, the hurt in their lives, and the love that God has for them. This new perspective gives us the ability to serve in our daily lives. From talking to the person who cleans your office to cheering up a gloomy cashier at the grocery store as she rings up your groceries. Serving can be done in a multitude of ways and is not restrained to taking a trip to the inner city and passing out meals to the homeless.
There is of course a danger here. By serving in our daily lives we may become complacent in other areas that need attention. Feeding the homeless and taking care of the poor is something that is very near to the heart of God and should not be ignored. My urging to serve in your daily lives is the first step to having a missional lifestyle. In all that we do, we are to serve others and put others' needs in front of our own. In 1 John 3:16, it says, "Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." At first glance it looks like John is telling his reader to die for someone else, but he elaborates further and says, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" (v.17) He is saying here that our daily lives are to be lived in surrender to the desires and needs of others. We are to put others before ourselves in all things. So as we cultivate a missional life through regular day to day actions, we begin to transform ourselves and move away from the selfishness within. We move into an others-centered life. This is what God desires for us. God is telling us "Setsow, I give you my eyes." May we respond:
Give me your eyes
So I can see
Everything that I've been missing
Give me your love for humanity.
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