Imagine, if you will, that you were a kite flying freely in the wind. In time, you would soon realize that there is a string tethering you to a specific spot on the ground. Oh to be free of that anchor so you can fly without restraint! However, as soon as that connection is lost, you will be nothing more than trash blowing in the wind, having no control of where to go.
Change, as they say, is the only constant in this life. Heraclitus has been given credit of creating this saying. As a philosopher in 500 BCE Greece, it is incredible to see the truth of that concept 2500 years later. There are so many ways that change can take place and over different lengths of time. How, then, do we live and work in an ever-changing world? Setting certain foundations help in coping with change, but what foundation is there that doesn't also change?
Thinking about it now, I think this might be part of what Jesus is getting at in Matthew 6:22-34. When we try to grab hold of, or place our faith in, things that we really have no control over, things that will ultimately change whether or not we want them to (or things that have already happened and we can't change), we begin to grow anxious and distracted from the real things of this world, from actually taking part in the Kingdom of God in the world around us. Jesus is not discounting the job of the farmer to gather the produce and crop, or in clothing for that matter, but rather the attachment (read: death grip) and focus we place on these variables. To combat this, Jesus states "seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Change is just one area that can cause anxiety and stress (though it may be the center of a lot of other stress causes; another perspective on this passage can be found in my earlier post entitled "Anxiety"), but I think the idea can still be applied to other areas.
When our foundation is the Truth of the Kingdom, we begin to grow in capacity of change. This can only really make sense if we accept and live in the Kingdom here and now as Jesus understood it. Paul somewhat re-phrases this in Philippians saying "whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, good,... dwell on these things" (4:8, paraphrase). When we dwell on these things, there is no other option but to see God, and when we see God, we have no choice but to see His Kingdom, here and now, in our lives. Allowing God's truth and Kingdom to be the foundation and structure of our lives allows us to live in a world of complete inconsistency and change. When we focus on and seek the Kingdom first, in all things (from finances to use of time), everything else seems to fall in place and "the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7, see also end of verse 9). Peace is the opposite and counter to anxiety and chaos (change without order).
Back to the kite analogy, it is because of the string that the kite is able to fly. The tension of the string with its foundation and the wind exerting its force will lift the kite. What are you investing in as your foundation?
"For God so loved the world, alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, that he sent his only son, reconciling you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach, that whoever believes in him, continuing in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moving away from the hope of the gospel, shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16 combined with Colossians 1:21-23)
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
1 Verses The 99 (Matthew 18:11-14, Luke 15:1-7)
Over the last year, the parable of the 1 lost sheep over the 99 safe ones has been referenced multiple times in my life. In two different places, it has been used in church reference as focusing on searching for that one lost sheep. This is an accurate description of the focus of this passage, but for this one I kept feeling like there was more to it. For the last year I attempted to spend some time considering the passage and what was gnawing at me about it. I still probably haven't come to the full idea of it, but after some meditation, I think I found that what was gnawing at me was that it isn't fully about the search, but about the being lost and the journey back.
In both passages, Jesus relates the shepherd to God in the sense of how God actively searches for those who are lost and celebrates with the angels when they have been found, same as how a shepherd celebrates when he finds his lost sheep. The shepherd isn't worried about the other ninety-nine. They are already safe, they are already home. He sees that one lost sheep as so important to risk his life for it. He personally cares for each of his sheep, but the sheep don't always listen and so run away or get lost as they travel. This then leads the shepherd on a hunt for that sheep.
In my opinion there are different levels or depths of being lost. In this case the sheep was simply separated from the main party, either ran away or got lost in the middle of traveling, but there is a sense of relation between physically being lost and mentally, emotionally, intellectually and/or spiritually being lost (lost here being the state of being that can be changed rather than the definite state of absence). The sheep could be far separated from the group, miles away, or could simply be around the next corner of the road. When the shepherd finds the sheep he rejoices. He has found what was once lost, rescued what was in danger. The sheep was alone, wandering in the wilderness. The shepherd then places the sheep on his shoulders to carry back to the group. This, to me, is a beautiful image of care shown by the shepherd.
When there is a newborn lamb into the flock, the shepherd will carry that lamb on his shoulders, singing and speaking to the lamb so that it will remember his voice. For the sheep to get lost, it must have forgotten or not heard its shepherd's voice. When Luke states that the shepherd had placed the lost sheep on his shoulders, I imagine that the shepherd is whispering to the sheep, telling it how much he cares for it, missed it and was afraid for it while it was lost, so that it can become familiar with the his voice again. I also imagine that the sheep must have struggled more than once on its way back. Probably kicked the shepherd in the face a few times trying to get free because it saw the distraction that got it lost in the first place, forgetting its problematic situation a few minutes ago.
It is important to notice that there is no condemnation from the shepherd about the sheep being lost and how hard it must've been to find it again. Instead the shepherd rejoices and calls together his friends and fellow shepherds to celebrate in the finding of his lost sheep. God actively seeks the lost. What got me so much about that idea was that it felt a little too dismissive to those who were already safe.
My prideful self wants to say that I am part of the 99. I'm home, I'm safe, I haven't strayed. But the more I think about it, the more I reflect on myself, the more I become aware of my own lost-ness. I forget what the voice of God sounds like, I get distracted and deviate from the defined course of action (not to say that I know what my course of action is, but that my perception and discernment becomes weaker at certain points and lose track of where I should be). I don't realize that I am actually lost. When I remember this and turn around and seek God, I find Him seeking me. When He finds me, He walks with me back home, or rather in the direction of home. Along the way I see the same distractions and try to follow them again only to start the cycle over. I might be getting closer to home in the long term, but there are some moments where I end up farther than I should before I turn around.
The entire way, there is no condemnation. Instead, God is just emanating love and grace, telling me how much he loves me and wants better for me, celebrating when I am found and hoping for so much better for me.
In both passages, Jesus relates the shepherd to God in the sense of how God actively searches for those who are lost and celebrates with the angels when they have been found, same as how a shepherd celebrates when he finds his lost sheep. The shepherd isn't worried about the other ninety-nine. They are already safe, they are already home. He sees that one lost sheep as so important to risk his life for it. He personally cares for each of his sheep, but the sheep don't always listen and so run away or get lost as they travel. This then leads the shepherd on a hunt for that sheep.
In my opinion there are different levels or depths of being lost. In this case the sheep was simply separated from the main party, either ran away or got lost in the middle of traveling, but there is a sense of relation between physically being lost and mentally, emotionally, intellectually and/or spiritually being lost (lost here being the state of being that can be changed rather than the definite state of absence). The sheep could be far separated from the group, miles away, or could simply be around the next corner of the road. When the shepherd finds the sheep he rejoices. He has found what was once lost, rescued what was in danger. The sheep was alone, wandering in the wilderness. The shepherd then places the sheep on his shoulders to carry back to the group. This, to me, is a beautiful image of care shown by the shepherd.
When there is a newborn lamb into the flock, the shepherd will carry that lamb on his shoulders, singing and speaking to the lamb so that it will remember his voice. For the sheep to get lost, it must have forgotten or not heard its shepherd's voice. When Luke states that the shepherd had placed the lost sheep on his shoulders, I imagine that the shepherd is whispering to the sheep, telling it how much he cares for it, missed it and was afraid for it while it was lost, so that it can become familiar with the his voice again. I also imagine that the sheep must have struggled more than once on its way back. Probably kicked the shepherd in the face a few times trying to get free because it saw the distraction that got it lost in the first place, forgetting its problematic situation a few minutes ago.
It is important to notice that there is no condemnation from the shepherd about the sheep being lost and how hard it must've been to find it again. Instead the shepherd rejoices and calls together his friends and fellow shepherds to celebrate in the finding of his lost sheep. God actively seeks the lost. What got me so much about that idea was that it felt a little too dismissive to those who were already safe.
My prideful self wants to say that I am part of the 99. I'm home, I'm safe, I haven't strayed. But the more I think about it, the more I reflect on myself, the more I become aware of my own lost-ness. I forget what the voice of God sounds like, I get distracted and deviate from the defined course of action (not to say that I know what my course of action is, but that my perception and discernment becomes weaker at certain points and lose track of where I should be). I don't realize that I am actually lost. When I remember this and turn around and seek God, I find Him seeking me. When He finds me, He walks with me back home, or rather in the direction of home. Along the way I see the same distractions and try to follow them again only to start the cycle over. I might be getting closer to home in the long term, but there are some moments where I end up farther than I should before I turn around.
The entire way, there is no condemnation. Instead, God is just emanating love and grace, telling me how much he loves me and wants better for me, celebrating when I am found and hoping for so much better for me.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Anxiety (Matthew 6:22-34)
Over the years, anxiety has been a difficult topic for me. It presents itself in different ways to different people which makes it a little more difficult to define than other subjects or conditions. After a rather difficult discussion with a friend years ago, I was forced to readdress the topic and do a little bit more research into it (scriptural research that is). To preface this, I had mentioned that I was worried about a friend or test (I can not remember exactly what it was, but the important thing is that I was worried) to another friend. This friend, in a valiant effort to minister to me, told me that to worry is a sin. Immediately, in my head, I pushed back saying that there is no way anxiety or worry could be a sin. I justified this by saying that anxiety or worry reveals to us our subconscious and conscious cares. I found that the majority of things I worried about were things that I cared about. If this is the case, how then could it be a sin?
Here it would be important to define what exactly is anxiety, or try to define what anxiety does. The best way to define anxiety would be to look at the root meaning of the word and where it came from. The word comes from an old way of torture/execution. What would happen is they would take a prisoner or offender and tie each of their limbs to four horses. Once that was completed, they would send each horse off in a different direction stretching the individual to the point of separation. I apologize for the gruesome image, but this is a pretty clear definition of what anxiety and worry do. Contrary to popular belief, multi-tasking is quite impossible. To be more clear doing two things at the exact same time is impossible. Whenever it is attempted, neither of the tasks are done to the extent that one could achieve if they gave each task individual focus, and would possibly take more time than if they gave individual focus. This is kind of what the mind does with anxiety, or rather what anxiety and worry do to the mind. Trying to do two things at once stretches the mind to the point of exhaustion, removing the ability to properly give attention to any single thing. This is experienced most in the way of stress.
This is the type of anxiety and worry that Jesus (Matthew 6:25-34) talks about in the middle of his Sermon on the Mount. The little transition Matthew uses is hugely important in understanding the point and meaning of this passage: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. For this reason I say to you, do not be worried..." (Matthew 6:24-25a, NASB). The main idea here is trying to serve two masters at the same time, or in other words doing two things at once. Jesus goes on to warn against focusing or worrying about certain physical things of life: clothing, food, etc. He then finishes by advising to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:33-34, NASB)
Anxiety works to distract from the present. When we are thinking about multiple different things (especially in this season of finals, Christmas presents, family, travel, etc. and things that we really have no control over or haven't even happened yet), we begin to lose focus on what we should be thinking about. It will be difficult to refocus and take control of thoughts at first. This is why it is called a discipline. Over time, it will become easier and peace will begin to permeate the intricate details of life. This is not to say distractions will completely go away, just that peace will become a constant attitude because those distractions will be seen in light of the Kingdom. When we keep the Kingdom in perspective, everything else finds its proper place and value. After this research and conclusion, I still feel that anxiety itself is not a sin. It does reveal to us those certain things we care deeply about, so why wouldn't we want to offer those cares and worries to one who can properly handle them? At the same time, it is a dangerous slope that can lead to missing the mark of properly being in the present, prepared for whatever the Spirit has for us in that moment. When we begin to feel anxiety or worry or stress, we need to take it as a sign that we need to offer whatever it is up to God, releasing it into His plan.
Here it would be important to define what exactly is anxiety, or try to define what anxiety does. The best way to define anxiety would be to look at the root meaning of the word and where it came from. The word comes from an old way of torture/execution. What would happen is they would take a prisoner or offender and tie each of their limbs to four horses. Once that was completed, they would send each horse off in a different direction stretching the individual to the point of separation. I apologize for the gruesome image, but this is a pretty clear definition of what anxiety and worry do. Contrary to popular belief, multi-tasking is quite impossible. To be more clear doing two things at the exact same time is impossible. Whenever it is attempted, neither of the tasks are done to the extent that one could achieve if they gave each task individual focus, and would possibly take more time than if they gave individual focus. This is kind of what the mind does with anxiety, or rather what anxiety and worry do to the mind. Trying to do two things at once stretches the mind to the point of exhaustion, removing the ability to properly give attention to any single thing. This is experienced most in the way of stress.
This is the type of anxiety and worry that Jesus (Matthew 6:25-34) talks about in the middle of his Sermon on the Mount. The little transition Matthew uses is hugely important in understanding the point and meaning of this passage: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. For this reason I say to you, do not be worried..." (Matthew 6:24-25a, NASB). The main idea here is trying to serve two masters at the same time, or in other words doing two things at once. Jesus goes on to warn against focusing or worrying about certain physical things of life: clothing, food, etc. He then finishes by advising to "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:33-34, NASB)
Anxiety works to distract from the present. When we are thinking about multiple different things (especially in this season of finals, Christmas presents, family, travel, etc. and things that we really have no control over or haven't even happened yet), we begin to lose focus on what we should be thinking about. It will be difficult to refocus and take control of thoughts at first. This is why it is called a discipline. Over time, it will become easier and peace will begin to permeate the intricate details of life. This is not to say distractions will completely go away, just that peace will become a constant attitude because those distractions will be seen in light of the Kingdom. When we keep the Kingdom in perspective, everything else finds its proper place and value. After this research and conclusion, I still feel that anxiety itself is not a sin. It does reveal to us those certain things we care deeply about, so why wouldn't we want to offer those cares and worries to one who can properly handle them? At the same time, it is a dangerous slope that can lead to missing the mark of properly being in the present, prepared for whatever the Spirit has for us in that moment. When we begin to feel anxiety or worry or stress, we need to take it as a sign that we need to offer whatever it is up to God, releasing it into His plan.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Grace - Reflection on Felix Culpa (Kings Kaleidoscope)
I attended the excavate chapel at my school tonight and the message ended up reminding me and my reflections on the song Felix Culpa (Lyrics) performed by the upcoming band Kings Kaleidoscope (I'll post a video of the song for convenience). My dad, the speaker at excavate for the fall semester, spoke on the parable of the prodigal son. In it he reflected on the love and grace the father had for both of his sons.
This then reminded me of the song because the main theme of it is the idea of God's grace. The end of each verse repeats the phrase "the sweetness of the saviors grace" reflecting back on each of the sins and struggles and times of brokenness that the subject has gone through. The chorus then repeats this idea of the sweetness of grace with the line "a fortunate fall, my sins are stories of grace to recall." The words coupled with the musical stylings present the beauty and joy of this grace through the story. Each verse begins with quick beats and darker tones, leading up to the chorus where the full band joins in, bringing in an open, upbeat tempo that just reminds me of a joyous, happy feeling. The last section of this song concludes this story of grace so beautifully. Before the lyrics begin in this section, you can here the music tone down a bit, focusing ears to the lyrics. As the lyrics tell the very personal story, the voice steadily grows with the tension of intensity, revealing the passion as the music builds to an open conclusion that allows for the reflection of the words "grace upon grace upon grace upon grace," once again leading to the upbeat fun tempo, showing the joy that grace can bring.
One of the points that my dad had brought up, and I found extremely challenging, is how we abuse that grace. Each of the sons held their father in a view of simple capital, a way of inheritance rather than the personal loving father that had raised them. With that, it is then hinted at the way we abuse the grace of God. God's grace is continuous and everlasting even before we sin, but that doesn't mean that we should continue to do so. We are saved from the very things that bring harm to our spiritual selves, yet we continuously go toward these things because of our human nature: "I'm a wicked wretched man, I do everything I hate... In the end I just want blood, and with His blood my hands are stained." Without this grace, there would be no hope for us.
Thank you God for your loving grace.
This then reminded me of the song because the main theme of it is the idea of God's grace. The end of each verse repeats the phrase "the sweetness of the saviors grace" reflecting back on each of the sins and struggles and times of brokenness that the subject has gone through. The chorus then repeats this idea of the sweetness of grace with the line "a fortunate fall, my sins are stories of grace to recall." The words coupled with the musical stylings present the beauty and joy of this grace through the story. Each verse begins with quick beats and darker tones, leading up to the chorus where the full band joins in, bringing in an open, upbeat tempo that just reminds me of a joyous, happy feeling. The last section of this song concludes this story of grace so beautifully. Before the lyrics begin in this section, you can here the music tone down a bit, focusing ears to the lyrics. As the lyrics tell the very personal story, the voice steadily grows with the tension of intensity, revealing the passion as the music builds to an open conclusion that allows for the reflection of the words "grace upon grace upon grace upon grace," once again leading to the upbeat fun tempo, showing the joy that grace can bring.
One of the points that my dad had brought up, and I found extremely challenging, is how we abuse that grace. Each of the sons held their father in a view of simple capital, a way of inheritance rather than the personal loving father that had raised them. With that, it is then hinted at the way we abuse the grace of God. God's grace is continuous and everlasting even before we sin, but that doesn't mean that we should continue to do so. We are saved from the very things that bring harm to our spiritual selves, yet we continuously go toward these things because of our human nature: "I'm a wicked wretched man, I do everything I hate... In the end I just want blood, and with His blood my hands are stained." Without this grace, there would be no hope for us.
Thank you God for your loving grace.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Space and Time
So for this one I want to examine both space and time and their mutualities: SPACE IN TIME and TIME IN SPACE. Before I do this, I should probably define what I mean with those words. By time, I mean a period that may span anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours to a few months, years, etc. By space, I don't just mean the vast expanse outside of earth's atmosphere, but a certain distance between two points.
So for the SPACE IN TIME part. There will always be at least a minute where you will have nothing going on. whether walking to class or driving to work. Another example of space in time is a vacation or even just being between jobs. What I mean by nothing going on is that you have nothing too important that is tugging at your mind, nothing that can't be held off until you reach your destination. The importance, then, comes with what we do in those times. Jesus' ministry was filled with spaces like these, but that doesn't mean that he was any less busy with them, in fact it was those in-between spaces that held the place of most of his ministry. While traveling from city to city he healed and taught, he saw the needs of the moment and met them. Each of these points of ministry, Jesus felt the Spirit guide him towards that situation (hearing and healing the blind man, Zacchaeus, etc). One of the biggest spaces in time is Sabbath. Jesus did work on the Sabbath and debated the Pharisees about it's laws asking if "it is lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill" (Mark 3:4, NASB). Doing the good work that God has called us to do should be a focus every day, every moment. This is what we should do with our spaces in time.
As for TIME IN SPACE. Now, I'm not saying then that we should fill our time completely. Spending time in space is a necessity. That was the reason or idea behind the Sabbath, a day of rest and reflection on the events that have transpired and the prospective events to come. It was important enough that it was made a law. Now this doesn't mean that we should stop caring about what is going on around us. As mentioned before, the Sabbath doesn't mean that we should stop doing work completely, if there is work that you can do, particularly something that is forwarding the Kingdom of God, then we should do that. But I understand that it can be tiring and again Jesus demonstrates how to handle this. Jesus intentionally made time for space or SPACE IN TIME. One example is in Mark. Jesus intentionally wakes before there was light in the morning, knowing that when the sun rose was when the field workers would wake, and withdrew to a secluded place to be alone and in the quiet (Mark 1:35). He was there so long that his disciples had to search for him, which could possibly mean that the sun had quite fully risen. During this entire time he was praying. Now I don't think this is the same praying that we might think of in today's culture, looking at how messed up its gotten, not saying that where it is is a bad thing either just meaning that I think the meaning of it has changed. What I mean is Jesus might not have been talking the entire time. There is a beauty and mystery in silence especially when it is in silent community with God. God wants a deep and intimate relationship with us and I think that sometimes we forget that even in the best relationships (this means friendships as well) there is silence. "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10a), he wants that to be enough for us, he wants the fact that "[He] will be exalted among the nations, [He] will be exalted in the earth" (Psalm 46:10b) to be our comfort. The idea behind prayer is communication, with communication comes silence. Be comfortable in that fact. Make time to spend with God, and make part of that time simple silence.
Time doesn't stop and the spaces within that time will change in quantity and length. Use them wisely. While walking to class, take time to appreciate the beauty of the nature around you. While driving to work listen to music. I don't just mean worship music, though that's great and if you do keep doing it, but I'm going to be honest here not everyone likes worship music 100% of the time. But find music of a genre that you enjoy that is edifying to you, it may not even be a Christian band (though I don't fully recommend this), but just something that 1) makes you THINK and reflect, 2) allows room for your own personal growth or 3) even just puts you in a good mood to deal with people, because that's where our ministry lies: showing God's love to others. If you don't want to listen to music then spend time driving in silence, working on becoming aware of any movement of the Spirit and, if felt, responding to it. The idea is focus. In your SPACE IN TIME and your TIME IN SPACE, what and where is your focus?
So for the SPACE IN TIME part. There will always be at least a minute where you will have nothing going on. whether walking to class or driving to work. Another example of space in time is a vacation or even just being between jobs. What I mean by nothing going on is that you have nothing too important that is tugging at your mind, nothing that can't be held off until you reach your destination. The importance, then, comes with what we do in those times. Jesus' ministry was filled with spaces like these, but that doesn't mean that he was any less busy with them, in fact it was those in-between spaces that held the place of most of his ministry. While traveling from city to city he healed and taught, he saw the needs of the moment and met them. Each of these points of ministry, Jesus felt the Spirit guide him towards that situation (hearing and healing the blind man, Zacchaeus, etc). One of the biggest spaces in time is Sabbath. Jesus did work on the Sabbath and debated the Pharisees about it's laws asking if "it is lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill" (Mark 3:4, NASB). Doing the good work that God has called us to do should be a focus every day, every moment. This is what we should do with our spaces in time.
As for TIME IN SPACE. Now, I'm not saying then that we should fill our time completely. Spending time in space is a necessity. That was the reason or idea behind the Sabbath, a day of rest and reflection on the events that have transpired and the prospective events to come. It was important enough that it was made a law. Now this doesn't mean that we should stop caring about what is going on around us. As mentioned before, the Sabbath doesn't mean that we should stop doing work completely, if there is work that you can do, particularly something that is forwarding the Kingdom of God, then we should do that. But I understand that it can be tiring and again Jesus demonstrates how to handle this. Jesus intentionally made time for space or SPACE IN TIME. One example is in Mark. Jesus intentionally wakes before there was light in the morning, knowing that when the sun rose was when the field workers would wake, and withdrew to a secluded place to be alone and in the quiet (Mark 1:35). He was there so long that his disciples had to search for him, which could possibly mean that the sun had quite fully risen. During this entire time he was praying. Now I don't think this is the same praying that we might think of in today's culture, looking at how messed up its gotten, not saying that where it is is a bad thing either just meaning that I think the meaning of it has changed. What I mean is Jesus might not have been talking the entire time. There is a beauty and mystery in silence especially when it is in silent community with God. God wants a deep and intimate relationship with us and I think that sometimes we forget that even in the best relationships (this means friendships as well) there is silence. "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10a), he wants that to be enough for us, he wants the fact that "[He] will be exalted among the nations, [He] will be exalted in the earth" (Psalm 46:10b) to be our comfort. The idea behind prayer is communication, with communication comes silence. Be comfortable in that fact. Make time to spend with God, and make part of that time simple silence.
Time doesn't stop and the spaces within that time will change in quantity and length. Use them wisely. While walking to class, take time to appreciate the beauty of the nature around you. While driving to work listen to music. I don't just mean worship music, though that's great and if you do keep doing it, but I'm going to be honest here not everyone likes worship music 100% of the time. But find music of a genre that you enjoy that is edifying to you, it may not even be a Christian band (though I don't fully recommend this), but just something that 1) makes you THINK and reflect, 2) allows room for your own personal growth or 3) even just puts you in a good mood to deal with people, because that's where our ministry lies: showing God's love to others. If you don't want to listen to music then spend time driving in silence, working on becoming aware of any movement of the Spirit and, if felt, responding to it. The idea is focus. In your SPACE IN TIME and your TIME IN SPACE, what and where is your focus?
Friday, November 29, 2013
Calling (Klasis, Ephesians 4)
One thing that has been on my mind lately has been this idea of "Calling" or "Called." In our language it means a name or that which we are known by, but I like this definition that I found through the Greek translation. The word "call" in the Greek denotes an invitation, but it also takes our understanding of the word a little deeper. The word goes deeper too "the receiving of a name." Another study of the word "name" shows that name is a form of identity. To know one's name is to know the person, speaking of the relational knowing that comes from spending time with that person or thing. For me intimacy comes to mind in the sense of knowing and being known. To be called is to be given a name, an identity. In the acceptance of Christ into our lives we have been given the name of "Christian," or Christ follower, and that is where our identity stems from. Paul talks a lot about this, particularly to the Ephesians. He maps out what a life "worthy of the calling with which you have been called" (Ephesians 4:1, NASB) in the first 16 verses of Ephesians 4.
Taking this further than just the name, there is also an action. Now, and possibly even before, God has called or invited us into a role, not that that role isn't also a name but the name that he has given us comes with a gift, and with that gift comes an active involvement. Again Paul writes about what some of these names and gifts might be. In Ephesians 4:11, Paul states that God has gifted "some as apostles, some as prophets, some as pastors and teachers" to be gifts. These aren't just names. Each name/person comes with a certain gift set that can be used to equip others within the church to do the same (verse 12), all working toward the unification under Christ. Paul likes to use the image of the body, with Christ at its head, to help explain this. Each limb on its own can't properly function, but with the help and work of each of the other parts the limbs can work and function at a much higher efficiency than on their own, but even then the body has no direction without the head. If you pursue your connection with the head, you will gain direction, whether you see it or not (Jesus is the lamp unto my feet, light to my path), into that which you are called.
Taking this further than just the name, there is also an action. Now, and possibly even before, God has called or invited us into a role, not that that role isn't also a name but the name that he has given us comes with a gift, and with that gift comes an active involvement. Again Paul writes about what some of these names and gifts might be. In Ephesians 4:11, Paul states that God has gifted "some as apostles, some as prophets, some as pastors and teachers" to be gifts. These aren't just names. Each name/person comes with a certain gift set that can be used to equip others within the church to do the same (verse 12), all working toward the unification under Christ. Paul likes to use the image of the body, with Christ at its head, to help explain this. Each limb on its own can't properly function, but with the help and work of each of the other parts the limbs can work and function at a much higher efficiency than on their own, but even then the body has no direction without the head. If you pursue your connection with the head, you will gain direction, whether you see it or not (Jesus is the lamp unto my feet, light to my path), into that which you are called.
Monday, November 18, 2013
A Prayer
"MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone." - Thomas Merton
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