Back in the groove
After thanksgiving, and then the funeral of Erika's Great Grandmother hot on the heels of Thanksgiving, I have certainly gotten off the journal wagon. So, I thought I would saddle up, and post another one. Rather than do two articles, i'll just do one that covers two topics.
1. I loved getting to see all of you over Thanksgiving. It warmed my heart to see all of you that I have cared for and invested so much of myself into. I continue to see so much potential with each one of you that I know you can and will be world changers for God's Kingdom. It seemed almost like a homecoming that night as some of you hadn't been all together in quite a while. The world and ourselves have a great way of making that happen. But, it seemed that night that as everyone was telling their story, laughing and enjoying one another that a level of serenity covered over the room. I can only attribute that to what God has placed in us. This desire for "home". You see, that evening, we were lost in the wonder of "us" to the neglect of "me". I guess that is really what my picture of Heaven consists of. You see, that evening we were enjoying God and enjoying each other so much, that we forgot about ourselves for just a couple of hours. Maybe that's what eternity is like, getting to enjoy God in a way we haven't really fully come to understand, and at the same time, enjoying each other, and the wonder of community so much, that our fixation is no longer on us, but wholly and holy on the Community that is before us. Just think, the day will come when we won't have to call an end to the evening because somebody has to go home, or back to Michigan :). But instead, the enjoyment will never find its end. Enjoying each other and God will actually take an eternity to complete.
2. I've been thinking lately about one of the greatest evils ever perpetrated against Christianity. To blame Satan is reasonable and correct, but to simply lay all the blame at his feet is to give him a victory I care not to do. Who must also share the blame of this unspeakable act? Easy. You and me. Why do I call this one of the greatest evils ever perpetrated against Christianity? Simple. Most people don't even realize it, care that much about it, or know any different. It's deeply evil because it goes under the radar of our souls day in and day out. Meanwhile, the world is watching and taking its cues from us, so this evil is continually spreading like an STD in Vegas! What is it? O.k., here goes... and watch yourself not be all that impressed by my answer (which incidentally only goes to prove my point)... we have made Jesus boring. Somehow we have taken the Son of God and reduced Him to a meek and mild bore. Someone who, if followed closely, will not only suck any fun out of life, but will lead us down sedentary paths of blah! We've made following Jesus a dutiful thing whereby we sterilize our souls with boring rituals and traditions, time spent "doing" and "not doing" this and that. How did this happen? How did Jesus get reduced to the school wimp? Where did the Savior of the world get dubbed, "boring"? When you read the Scriptures you find just the opposite. You find a Jesus who called people on an adventure that was beyond their wildest dreams. The people who executed Him did so not because He was boring, but because He was to radical for their religious lives. They killed Him in part because He was calling them to something so great, so extreme that they tucked their tale between their legs as they shouted "crucify him". The mission that Christ called His followers on was and is to this day the most radical thing you will ever find. He says leave it all behind, follow Me, and I'll use you to upset the world with my wonderfully terrifying message. Following Jesus, truly following Jesus is a call to a life that can only be described as "radical" To take serious what He says and does will move you from a life that is really boring as it is (be honest), to a life where you don't know what is going to happen one day to the next, who God might put in your path, or how He might use you to bust in with some love on the loveless. Somehow we have bought into this notion that Jesus is boring... we've taken the Lion of Judah, stripped Him of His claws, and domesticated him into a pussycat. We've sterilized the life and message of the most radical individual (who was also God in the flesh)and we find a world who is not all that interested in the Jesus that is on display in many Christians today. Can you blame them> Would you really want to lay down your life for the Jesus you see in many Christians today? Would their testimony call you to die to yourself,and live wholly and holy for Jesus Christ? Would yours? Is following Jesus, for you, duty/obligation/"the right thing to do", or is it frighteningly wonderful, mysteriously exciting, and above all... radical? Go back and look at what Jesus said and did... Hear the Lion of Judah's roar drown out the sound of the domesticated kitty we've reduced Him to.
1. I loved getting to see all of you over Thanksgiving. It warmed my heart to see all of you that I have cared for and invested so much of myself into. I continue to see so much potential with each one of you that I know you can and will be world changers for God's Kingdom. It seemed almost like a homecoming that night as some of you hadn't been all together in quite a while. The world and ourselves have a great way of making that happen. But, it seemed that night that as everyone was telling their story, laughing and enjoying one another that a level of serenity covered over the room. I can only attribute that to what God has placed in us. This desire for "home". You see, that evening, we were lost in the wonder of "us" to the neglect of "me". I guess that is really what my picture of Heaven consists of. You see, that evening we were enjoying God and enjoying each other so much, that we forgot about ourselves for just a couple of hours. Maybe that's what eternity is like, getting to enjoy God in a way we haven't really fully come to understand, and at the same time, enjoying each other, and the wonder of community so much, that our fixation is no longer on us, but wholly and holy on the Community that is before us. Just think, the day will come when we won't have to call an end to the evening because somebody has to go home, or back to Michigan :). But instead, the enjoyment will never find its end. Enjoying each other and God will actually take an eternity to complete.
2. I've been thinking lately about one of the greatest evils ever perpetrated against Christianity. To blame Satan is reasonable and correct, but to simply lay all the blame at his feet is to give him a victory I care not to do. Who must also share the blame of this unspeakable act? Easy. You and me. Why do I call this one of the greatest evils ever perpetrated against Christianity? Simple. Most people don't even realize it, care that much about it, or know any different. It's deeply evil because it goes under the radar of our souls day in and day out. Meanwhile, the world is watching and taking its cues from us, so this evil is continually spreading like an STD in Vegas! What is it? O.k., here goes... and watch yourself not be all that impressed by my answer (which incidentally only goes to prove my point)... we have made Jesus boring. Somehow we have taken the Son of God and reduced Him to a meek and mild bore. Someone who, if followed closely, will not only suck any fun out of life, but will lead us down sedentary paths of blah! We've made following Jesus a dutiful thing whereby we sterilize our souls with boring rituals and traditions, time spent "doing" and "not doing" this and that. How did this happen? How did Jesus get reduced to the school wimp? Where did the Savior of the world get dubbed, "boring"? When you read the Scriptures you find just the opposite. You find a Jesus who called people on an adventure that was beyond their wildest dreams. The people who executed Him did so not because He was boring, but because He was to radical for their religious lives. They killed Him in part because He was calling them to something so great, so extreme that they tucked their tale between their legs as they shouted "crucify him". The mission that Christ called His followers on was and is to this day the most radical thing you will ever find. He says leave it all behind, follow Me, and I'll use you to upset the world with my wonderfully terrifying message. Following Jesus, truly following Jesus is a call to a life that can only be described as "radical" To take serious what He says and does will move you from a life that is really boring as it is (be honest), to a life where you don't know what is going to happen one day to the next, who God might put in your path, or how He might use you to bust in with some love on the loveless. Somehow we have bought into this notion that Jesus is boring... we've taken the Lion of Judah, stripped Him of His claws, and domesticated him into a pussycat. We've sterilized the life and message of the most radical individual (who was also God in the flesh)and we find a world who is not all that interested in the Jesus that is on display in many Christians today. Can you blame them> Would you really want to lay down your life for the Jesus you see in many Christians today? Would their testimony call you to die to yourself,and live wholly and holy for Jesus Christ? Would yours? Is following Jesus, for you, duty/obligation/"the right thing to do", or is it frighteningly wonderful, mysteriously exciting, and above all... radical? Go back and look at what Jesus said and did... Hear the Lion of Judah's roar drown out the sound of the domesticated kitty we've reduced Him to.