different than me
i heard an interesting thought today that has given me a lot to think about…many times god helps us grow in the areas in which we need to grow through people who are different than us. that has certainly been true in my life on many occasions. interesting how we really do need people in our lives who are different than us – who see things differently, who believe different things, who do things in a different way. we have a lot to learn from them and they have a lot to learn from us.
chew on that for a bit. there is a lot in that thought for each one of us.
fully alive while shoveling snow
the snow has been falling the past few days – which means i have shoveled my drive more than a few times. as i was shoveling the snow yesterday, i noticed that our neighbor across the street – who usually is the first one to take care of any household task like shoveling snow – had not shoveled at all. when he got home, i happened to be outside, so i asked him if everything was okay. he explained that several weeks ago he had neck surgery. this is why he hadn’t shoveled.
so today, after shoveling my drive once again, i took care of his drive and sidewalk as well. as i did, god reminded how blessed it is to do life together with others, to come alongside of them in times of need, and to do what we can to serve them in some way.
it never ceases to amaze me how fulfilling this is…just another indication of the fact that we have been made in god’s image. we were created for community, life together, and limitless generosity as a reflection of who he is and who he made us to be. there is something deep within us that beckons us to give ourselves away for the good of others – just as jesus did for us. when we do, as counterintuitive and countercultural as it may seem, it is there that we find the greatest sense of life and the realization of what it means to be truly and fully human.
lessons from haiti…
this past sunday a man from our church shared about his recent trip to haiti. as a medical doctor, he spent a week or so helping those in need of medical care. as he shared with us on sunday, there were several things he said that really challenged and inspired me.
first of all, he shared a story of a woman who told him that his presence there reminded her that god had not forgotten her. what a profound and powerful statement. as i reflected on this, i realized that this is true whether we are in haiti or in our own neighborhoods. our presence in the lives of others can serve as a reminder for them that god has not forgotten them. it offers them a sense of hope and encouragement – and a realization that they are not alone…that they matter. this is why it is so important for us to do life together with other people.
in addition to this, another thought he shared that challenged and inspired me was the comment that he can no longer convince himself that he can do just as much by financially supporting people who are doing the work. he realized that there is an element of the work god wants to do in his life and in the lives of others through him, that can only happen as he engages in the work himself and gets his own hands dirty. again, as i reflected on this, i realized that this truth is true for all of us here just as much as it was true for him there. to simply support financially those who are doing the work – pastors, missionaries, ministry leaders – without joining in the work ourselves…this will never be enough. it’s not that supporting people financially is not a great thing…because it is. but there are certain things we will only experience when we engage ourselves.
go fast alone…go far together
“if you want to go fast, go alone. if you want to go far, go together.” this thought has continued to swirl around in my mind ever since one of the speakers at a conference i went to this summer talked about it. i tend to be someone who likes to move quickly, and as a result, have often gone alone instead of bringing as many others along with me as possible. recently though, i have been learning so much about how true this statement is and how important it is to move forward with others in order to move farther with them.
as i’ve been reflecting on this, it got me thinking a little bit about the way we see this in the christmas story that we celebrate during this season of the year. when i think about the timing of jesus’ first coming – it came at just the right time as a result of a long roller coaster ride of a journey. god chose to use people to bring jesus into the world – and in order to use them it took all sorts of time and failures, which might have been unnecessary if god would have simply done things all on his own. he knew there was significance in bringing us in on his plan and efforts with him though.
it must have seemed at times as though there had to be a better way…but perhaps it was the fact that he was willing to be patient so that we could be included in it, that the impact of jesus’ coming has spread to the entire world and all of humanity – rather than only to a small group of people in one particular region of the world.
i am thankful that even today, god still chooses to invite and integrate us into his work. he has not chosen to do it alone, but realizing the potential that exists for a far superior outcome, he waits for us to join in, grow and develop along the way, and really get a glimpse of what it means to live life the way we were always meant to.
advent
during this advent season leading up to christmas this year, god has been directing my thoughts to the hope and reality of jesus’ return someday. as i think about how amazing that will be, i am thankful for the resurrection and new life Jesus makes available to us now because of what he did when he came into this world the first time two thousand years ago. i’m thankful that he has made it possible for us to experience a restoration of shalom again – peace with him, ourselves, others, and the creation itself. i am thankful that what we were made for and what god dreamed for us in the beginning, we are invited and enabled to pursue and experience. there is so much to celebrate.
as much as jesus began and accomplished as a result of his first coming though, there is still so much to be done and look forward to. as a pastor, i have a unique opportunity. in addition to the effects of my own fallenness and those of my family, i am also continually exposed to tragic effects in this lives of many others in my church and community.
there are marriages falling apart, people being destroyed by drug abuse, bodies that are wearing down and being ravaged by disease, and all sorts of terrible consequences that come as a result of foolish and rebellious choices. sin and evil have really done a number on all that god has made. jesus made it possible to overcome these things and to stop our rebellion, but what he started will not be completed in its entirety until he returns.
so this advent season, as I reflect on his first coming, i am also reflecting on the hope that we have in his second coming – when all things will be made new, sin and evil will be done away with, there will be no more suffering or pain or tears – just a complete restoration of the way things were always supposed to be.
a pre-father’s day post…
this sunday we are going to be talking at our church about the importance of raising up the next generation. as part of this conversation together, we’re going to look at a story from the Bible, found in 2 kings 20 regarding king hezekiah.
in this story, king hezekiah becomes ill and is about to die. in his desperation, he cries out to the lord, and god promises to heal him and give him 15 more years of life. not long some time after this then, hezekiah foolishly invites some representatives from the babylonian empire to come and see all of the riches of his kingdom.
through the prophet isaiah, god tells hezekiah that this was foolish to do, because now the babylonians would plan to attack them in order to take possession of all that hezekiah had shown them. obviously this would be a fairly frightening prophecy for the king to hear. to his surprise though, isaiah also explains to him that this would not happen until after hezekiah had died. we read in the story that this was a tremendous relief to him, because as he states in verse 19, at least he will be okay in his lifetime. in other words, he was only concerned with his life, and he had no care for those who would come after him.
the reason i point this out with father’s day coming up this weekend is that unfortunately, this is too often the way that many people live their lives and think about life. dads, as well as all of us, must care about those coming after us though. we must do what we can to raise up the next generation in a way that honors god and serves him well. it is simply unacceptable for us to only have concern for ourselves and how things will be in our own lives. we need to take seriously our responsibility to raise up the next generation. so do your part…care about those coming after you…set a good example…show them how to live wisely and rightly…and pray for the dad’s you know too…encouraging them to do their part as well.
in god we trust…
i must have received at least a handful of identical emails last week from a variety of people. the emails were forwards that were passed on to me regarding the importance of rejecting the new dollar coins because they no longer say “in god we trust” on them. the subject for these emails read – a great way to witness.
not long after receiving these emails, i received a response that one person sent to all of us who had received the original. he pointed out that according to the u.s. mint website, the omission of “in god we trust” was a temporary minting mistake. as a result, according to this man, it was not a government attempt to “get rid of god.” future coins will continue to say “in god we trust.”
as i consider all of this, it got me thinking about one of my major frustrations with american christianity. too often we forget that god is not really interested in whether our government prints “in god we trust” on our coins and currency. instead, he is much more interested in whether we demonstrate that we trust in god through the way that we use our coins and currency. we are often too quick to demand an opportunity to advertise what we believe through statements, words, billboards, and coins. we ought to focus instead on revealing what we believe through the way we live. that’s where the real impact and influence will be seen.
i love the people who forwarded the message to me…and i certainly am not intending to put them down in any way. their heart is right and i appreciate them for that. i do want to challenge all who are following jesus to focus first on the messages that their lives communicate, regardless of what our government does. that is a great way to witness.
you have to see the movie “up”
my wife and i went to see this latest pixar movie this past weekend. it was amazing. as usual it was entertaining, but beyond that there were so many incredible lessons for life. instead of writing my own review of the movie here, i would encourage you to read the review written by one of my favorite pastors, greg boyd. he took the words right out of my mouth.
click here to read his review…and if you can, grab somebody you love and go see this movie.
sleeps…doesn’t sleep…sleeps…doesn’t sleep – continued…
in my last post i mentioned a few of the challenges we have experienced with my ten month old son. i mentioned that as we have been trying to help him learn how to sleep in his own bed by himself, god has been teaching me things about my relationship and journey with him.
in addition to what i described in that previous post, another thing god has been teaching me is that his love for me is so great that he is even willing to let me go through things that i don’t like and don’t want to go through because he knows and desires the good that can come out of them for me.
i was reminded of this over the past few nights when i put my son to bed. we put him in the crib and he looks up at us with sad eyes, arms reaching out for us, and crying his heart out because he wants to be with us. when he does this and we walk out of the room to let him go to sleep, i think to myself that he must be feeling so abandoned by us as we leave him by himself in the darkness of his room.
as much as i love him and want to grab him out of there, i know that it is for his good that he learns how to fall asleep by himself. now i confess that i have not always followed through with this though…i have given in a few times and have grabbed him out of there to let him sleep on me. but i realize that loving him and doing what is best for him means not always doing what he wants in the short term – rather it involves doing what is best for him in the long term as well.
as this relates to my relationship with god, it is amazing to me that he loves me so much that even though it must make his heart ache to see me feeling alone and abandoned by him at times, he is willing to let me endure it for the sake of the good that can come out of it for me. what amazing, powerful, profound, true and persistent love. as a parent this is so difficult to do, yet god loves me so much that he is willing to do this for me.
not only that…one of the things my son does not realize as he sits in his crib feeling abandoned by his dad and left all alone in the darkness of his room, is that i am just outside the door the entire time…peeking in occasionally and always paying attention to what’s going on for him – just as i know god is doing for us.
thank you god for loving me enough to let me endure things that i don’t always want or like in order to experience the good that you are able to bring out of it for me. help me to appreciate that love and to love others in the same way. and thank you god for always being with me – even when it seems to be lonely and dark.
sleeps…doesn’t sleep…sleeps…doesn’t sleep
as some of you know, my wife and i are relatively new at parenting. our son was born a little over ten months ago…it has been quite an adventure, and we have learned so many things along the way. he has been such an amazing blessing. we have not been without our share of challenges though. one of the major health issues that our son has faced is reflux. it has made eating and sleeping much more difficult for him than it is for most babies.
as we have tried to deal with and manage the sleeping problems in particular, god has been teaching me a few things about my own life and relationship with him. my son has yet to really establish a pattern for sleeping. everyone told us that he would after a month or two, and then the promise was six months, and then nine months, and now we are at ten months…and there are still no real patterns.
he is just now getting to the point where he can sleep in his bed without being propped up and without puking up his dinner…so we have begun the process of trying to get him to sleep in his bed. as any parent knows, this is no easy task, especially after he has been sleeping with us much longer than most babies.
when we first tried this a couple weeks ago, the first night was not so bad. the second night was a little better. the third night was like starting all over again, and the fourth night was worse than ever before. then we had a good night, and then not a good night. it was back and forth and back and forth.
in my frustration over the few steps forward few steps backward cycle that seemed to be never ending, i was reminded of my own journey with god. so often with him i take steps forward, and then come crashing down in the wrong direction, then a little movement forward, and more steps backward. when i think about how frustrating the sleeping…not sleeping…sleeping…not sleeping thing has been for me, i wonder how frustrating it must be for god at times to watch me do the same thing – with much more awareness of what i am doing than our son has by the way.
yet thankfully he continues to extend to me mercy and grace. thankfully he continues to catch me when i stumble and maximize the gains that i make through his supernatural work in my life. i am so grateful for this…if only my gratitude would always translate into greater success in avoiding the cycle. i pray that it will for me and for all of you who find yourselves in a similar situation at times. how great is our savior and rescuer, jesus, who has covered all of this through the giving of his life for us.
