The patriarch of the Westboro Baptist Church has died.
On one level, words fail to describe the absolute loathing and contempt I have for him and the organization of loathsome, repugnant, repulsive, malformed, misanthropic, knuckle dragging cohorts. That they are, and should be, an anathema to genuine human beings. Their masquerade as Baptists and as Christians is unconscionable. They represent the absolute worst of human kind. My reaction to his death is to wonder, deliciously, whether his having to face an angry vengeful God would be worse, or to face a kind and loving God who is the antithesis of his own beliefs.
And yet.....
In a discussion at work with a friend the other day, he made an astute observation. He and I understand that Westboro has no real relationship, no connection, to the Christian faith or the God of the Bible. What they vomited in terms of attitude and actions represents a position abhorrent to the beliefs of mainstream (and even offshoot) Christian theology and practice. That this group's misappropriating of both the name of Christ and the Church that worships the True God could lead others to think that Christians could believe and act that way, is blasphemous. What Westboro believed has nothing to do with Christ and Christians and Christianity.
Maybe just like jihidists have nothing to do with Islam.
My friends point was a good one. How much of the non-western world views the West (culture and faith) as being synonymous with Christianity? How many see people of Westboro's ilk as being what Christians are? Do we view Islam the same way? Do we hear only the shrill anti-western rhetoric of the most vocal of the extremists and assume it represents the views of a billion people spread across the globe from North Africa to Indonesia? Have we done anything to find the faithful, the mainstream, the rational followers of Islam and hear their words or see their world? There was an exhibit a couple of years ago at the Smithsonian that displayed the contributions of Muslim culture to the world and to the West. It was fascinating to see what that faith and civilization brought forth, even as today we see it only as destructive and hateful. Maybe like others see Westboro.
Perhaps this could be an opportunity to open lines of communication, open eyes and minds across a spectrum of religious belief. Even as a follower of Christ, I need to see others as being created in the image of God (Gen 1:27), made only a little lower than God Himself (Ps 8:3-8), something that I struggle with many times in my self-centeredness. Maybe this would be a time that Churches and Mosques and Synagogues and other houses of worship could reach out to each other, in understanding to close some of the distances in the world.
Wouldn't that be an amazing thing to see?
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
All?
For a long time I have struggled with the concept of "all". It is an absolute that, I suspect, terrifies me, and it shows up in in some major ways. We are told that the first and great commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul (Matt 22:37). I realize that I have yet to get to any one of those three, much less all of them.
I suspect the question that I have relates to understanding if this is a commandment, a required way of living, or an illustration of the type of way we are to live. In the extreme, to love the Lord with all of me requires me to not think or care about anyone else. Even with the caveat that Jesus follows this with, "And the second is like it..." (Matt 22:38) that still leaves no time or no ability or no space to do or think or be anything but absolutely and totally devoted to God all the time in all circumstances. We should all then becomes monks, devoting our lives to worship and praise of the King of Kings. Yet, that then leads to questions about how much thought and energy am I allowed to expend in the world working, eating, playing, loving? I don't believe this is a literal call to monastery, even if there are a few are called that way.
Another aspect is the fiscal. I have wondered about this quite a bit, at the number of Christ followers who live in big houses, drive fine cars, take great vacations. Should we instead be giving all of that away to the poor? If the moderate position says we can have some material possessions, then how much house is acceptable? 500 sq ft? 1000 sq ft? 3500? If I fail to give everything away to the poor, does that diminish me in some form to Christ and His kingdom?
The absolute nature of "all" echoes as well in Luke 14:26 where Christ says "“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple." That would, I think, lead to very small families, very few disciples, and a very short lived religion.
I think the reason these examples bother me is two fold. First, they represent, to me, verses that are so clearly illustrative and not declarative. I've struggled with some of Francis Chan in "Crazy Love" and "Multiply" (in two different Bible study groups) because he talks about reading the Bible literally.....and I just can't see that. Yes, some should clearly be taken literally, but which parts should be is not perfectly clear or straightforward. My hope is that my objection is not just because I am sinful and want to avoid God, but because I am tired of people misusing His Word to further shame or direct or marginalize people by those techniques. I WANT to love the Lord far more than I do, but don't know how to do it. These statements as declarative don't bring me closer, they drive me further away. To pull from "one Way Love" by Tullian Tchividjian, legalism doesn't inspire people to do better, it causes them to give up. And I don't want to give up.
Second, I have found that my connection with God improves when the decision of how much and when and how are made by me through the prompting of His Spirit. I know that people telling me to give hasn't made me want to give, it was the demonstration of generosity by others that did. It was not a command to read the Bible that caused me to, but the realization that I wanted to know Him better, or to track through a verse that causes me to question or to see things differently.
I don't think I will get to "all" on this side of life. What I want on this side is to be moving in that direction, freely, because I hear Him calling me. Lord, please let me hear You better, to be stirred by Your Spirit, to move closer to You as I continue to live life here. Amen.
I suspect the question that I have relates to understanding if this is a commandment, a required way of living, or an illustration of the type of way we are to live. In the extreme, to love the Lord with all of me requires me to not think or care about anyone else. Even with the caveat that Jesus follows this with, "And the second is like it..." (Matt 22:38) that still leaves no time or no ability or no space to do or think or be anything but absolutely and totally devoted to God all the time in all circumstances. We should all then becomes monks, devoting our lives to worship and praise of the King of Kings. Yet, that then leads to questions about how much thought and energy am I allowed to expend in the world working, eating, playing, loving? I don't believe this is a literal call to monastery, even if there are a few are called that way.
Another aspect is the fiscal. I have wondered about this quite a bit, at the number of Christ followers who live in big houses, drive fine cars, take great vacations. Should we instead be giving all of that away to the poor? If the moderate position says we can have some material possessions, then how much house is acceptable? 500 sq ft? 1000 sq ft? 3500? If I fail to give everything away to the poor, does that diminish me in some form to Christ and His kingdom?
The absolute nature of "all" echoes as well in Luke 14:26 where Christ says "“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple." That would, I think, lead to very small families, very few disciples, and a very short lived religion.
I think the reason these examples bother me is two fold. First, they represent, to me, verses that are so clearly illustrative and not declarative. I've struggled with some of Francis Chan in "Crazy Love" and "Multiply" (in two different Bible study groups) because he talks about reading the Bible literally.....and I just can't see that. Yes, some should clearly be taken literally, but which parts should be is not perfectly clear or straightforward. My hope is that my objection is not just because I am sinful and want to avoid God, but because I am tired of people misusing His Word to further shame or direct or marginalize people by those techniques. I WANT to love the Lord far more than I do, but don't know how to do it. These statements as declarative don't bring me closer, they drive me further away. To pull from "one Way Love" by Tullian Tchividjian, legalism doesn't inspire people to do better, it causes them to give up. And I don't want to give up.
Second, I have found that my connection with God improves when the decision of how much and when and how are made by me through the prompting of His Spirit. I know that people telling me to give hasn't made me want to give, it was the demonstration of generosity by others that did. It was not a command to read the Bible that caused me to, but the realization that I wanted to know Him better, or to track through a verse that causes me to question or to see things differently.
I don't think I will get to "all" on this side of life. What I want on this side is to be moving in that direction, freely, because I hear Him calling me. Lord, please let me hear You better, to be stirred by Your Spirit, to move closer to You as I continue to live life here. Amen.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Everyday bushes
I was taking a walk this fall, enjoying one of the great days we had this past season. I love the fall, with the feel of the air and the colors of the trees. The street I was on happened to be lined with maples, so that as last in the season as it was, they were ablaze in reds, oranges, golds, and shades of each of those that I had no names for. I was thinking of them allegorically, wondering what poem I could create about them and the blaze of colors that I saw, when it hit me.
Burning bush.
My burning bushes were trees. Or maybe more accurately the trees were my burning bushes.
The point of the burning bush was not to just prove God's power, although it did that. The point was to get Moses's attention and have him meet and connect with the Great I AM (Exodus 3:3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up"). Maybe the bush wasn't really on fire, maybe it just looked that way. Maybe it was just colorful, maybe it was full of colorful birds, or fruit, or it was the play of water across it. The point was to get Moses over to it so the Almighty God could speak to him.
So perhaps these trees were to remind me of God. To get me to consider His creation and His goodness in giving beauty. To explore, as Paul says in the letter to the Romans, the signs and wonders in the world that display God's existence (Romans 1:20). It worked that day, for my thoughts turned to the Lord for the rest of the walk.
How many every day burning bushes do I see, and fail to see, that could turn me to see God? Lord, may I be aware of those things in the world around me that remind me of You; may I be reminded of You in all the things in the world around me, that I may learn to be closer to You.
Burning bush.
My burning bushes were trees. Or maybe more accurately the trees were my burning bushes.
The point of the burning bush was not to just prove God's power, although it did that. The point was to get Moses's attention and have him meet and connect with the Great I AM (Exodus 3:3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up"). Maybe the bush wasn't really on fire, maybe it just looked that way. Maybe it was just colorful, maybe it was full of colorful birds, or fruit, or it was the play of water across it. The point was to get Moses over to it so the Almighty God could speak to him.
So perhaps these trees were to remind me of God. To get me to consider His creation and His goodness in giving beauty. To explore, as Paul says in the letter to the Romans, the signs and wonders in the world that display God's existence (Romans 1:20). It worked that day, for my thoughts turned to the Lord for the rest of the walk.
How many every day burning bushes do I see, and fail to see, that could turn me to see God? Lord, may I be aware of those things in the world around me that remind me of You; may I be reminded of You in all the things in the world around me, that I may learn to be closer to You.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Questioning heart
Over the course of years, I have found that different versions of the Bible have the ability, through their choice of words or the structure of those words, to impact me in new or challenging ways. It is the variation in how a thought or phrase is worded that can impact me at different times in my life.
The section in Mark 2 is one that hit me one morning recently at church. It is even possible that I didn't initially hear it correctly, but heard it with a God-directed ear.
"Why do you question these things in your heart?"
It's a bring-me-up-short question. I don't want to be a Pharisee. They could see and hear first had the Word of God made flesh, and yet were unwilling to see Him as He was, and to see Him for who He was. They were so wrapped up in their legalistic, hypocritical, self-important world of self-justification that this missed God's Word dwelling among them. And I wonder if I do any better? Am I missing Him because of my own self-regulating nature, a fear of letting go and trusting Him? Am I questioning because I am seeking or because I am trying to escape Him (as though you could flee from a God who finds you wherever you are ....Psalm 139:7-12)?
On the other hand, I hear acceptance of honest questioning. Nicodemus questioned, and it was fine (John 3). Nathaniel questioned (John 1:45-49) but believed and accepted the Living Truth. Thomas doubted and Jesus reached out to him (John 20). So I 'hear' that questions and questioning are acceptable. Or at least they are until they become so stubborn that they cause the mind to choke off the heart (Matt 13:22) and blind the eyes, as happened to the Pharisees.
I even question sometimes why it is that I want to believe. Do I really want Jesus to be my Christ and Lord and light of my life? Or do I want to believe and hope that He will provide a human helpmate to me? Do I love HIM, or do I just not want the heartache of not being special to anyone anymore?
Regardless, my prayers these days are just Jesus take my will and my life, to be the love of my life, and let me desire to draw ever closer to you.
Amen.
The section in Mark 2 is one that hit me one morning recently at church. It is even possible that I didn't initially hear it correctly, but heard it with a God-directed ear.
"Why do you question these things in your heart?"
It's a bring-me-up-short question. I don't want to be a Pharisee. They could see and hear first had the Word of God made flesh, and yet were unwilling to see Him as He was, and to see Him for who He was. They were so wrapped up in their legalistic, hypocritical, self-important world of self-justification that this missed God's Word dwelling among them. And I wonder if I do any better? Am I missing Him because of my own self-regulating nature, a fear of letting go and trusting Him? Am I questioning because I am seeking or because I am trying to escape Him (as though you could flee from a God who finds you wherever you are ....Psalm 139:7-12)?
On the other hand, I hear acceptance of honest questioning. Nicodemus questioned, and it was fine (John 3). Nathaniel questioned (John 1:45-49) but believed and accepted the Living Truth. Thomas doubted and Jesus reached out to him (John 20). So I 'hear' that questions and questioning are acceptable. Or at least they are until they become so stubborn that they cause the mind to choke off the heart (Matt 13:22) and blind the eyes, as happened to the Pharisees.
I even question sometimes why it is that I want to believe. Do I really want Jesus to be my Christ and Lord and light of my life? Or do I want to believe and hope that He will provide a human helpmate to me? Do I love HIM, or do I just not want the heartache of not being special to anyone anymore?
Regardless, my prayers these days are just Jesus take my will and my life, to be the love of my life, and let me desire to draw ever closer to you.
Amen.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Evidence
It's interesting how three holes can remind me of a broken and sinful nature, both my own and all of mankind.
The three holes are found in a concrete slab along the path of my daily (I wish it were daily, but ....not in this weather) walks. They are the mounting holes for a relocatable traffic camera that is within a half block of an elementary school along a crowded and bustling residential street.
The thought came to me as I was walking by it...."I could do X and render it useless for the cameras" What?
WHAT??
WHERE did THAT come from??
I'm (generally) a law abiding, rules following person. Viewed (to use a phrase from a favorite movie, Guys and Dolls) as an upright, forthright square. And yet, there is this vestige remnant that puts the idea in me to be a vandal. I've never thought about destroying a stop sign, or a street lamp, or a mailbox. So....why this? If you ask me about the need for speed cameras along this street, I'd say yes they are needed; people travel way too fast along this route, even with children outside.
I don't know why the thought came to me to deface that foundation, but it DOES effectively remind me that all humans are fallen creatures...all have sinned (Rom 3:23), there is none righteous, no not one (Rom. 3:10). For we all have rejected God, regardless of how good we think we are. Our hearts are wicked and deceitful, who can know it? (Jer 17:9)
So now, I have my own visual reminder that no matter how good I pretend to be, how forthright I think I am, there are still seeds from a bad apple in me, just wanting to burst forth.
The three holes are found in a concrete slab along the path of my daily (I wish it were daily, but ....not in this weather) walks. They are the mounting holes for a relocatable traffic camera that is within a half block of an elementary school along a crowded and bustling residential street.
The thought came to me as I was walking by it...."I could do X and render it useless for the cameras" What?
WHAT??
WHERE did THAT come from??
I'm (generally) a law abiding, rules following person. Viewed (to use a phrase from a favorite movie, Guys and Dolls) as an upright, forthright square. And yet, there is this vestige remnant that puts the idea in me to be a vandal. I've never thought about destroying a stop sign, or a street lamp, or a mailbox. So....why this? If you ask me about the need for speed cameras along this street, I'd say yes they are needed; people travel way too fast along this route, even with children outside.
I don't know why the thought came to me to deface that foundation, but it DOES effectively remind me that all humans are fallen creatures...all have sinned (Rom 3:23), there is none righteous, no not one (Rom. 3:10). For we all have rejected God, regardless of how good we think we are. Our hearts are wicked and deceitful, who can know it? (Jer 17:9)
So now, I have my own visual reminder that no matter how good I pretend to be, how forthright I think I am, there are still seeds from a bad apple in me, just wanting to burst forth.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Knocking on the door, Rattlin at the Gates
Another long walk (I walk a lot), another faith image that comes to mind (I think a lot during my walks).
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock...." It's from Revelation 3:20, and within evangelical circles is famous for describing how Jesus seeks to enter the heart of all who seek Him and all who cry out to Him, so that all who call on Him, who ask Him into their lives, may be saved. Yet, God will not force us into belief, it is a decision for us to make based on our will. We are not automatons, and while He could have made us perfect, it would have required a loss of our will. I've heard it described that God is a gentleman and would not force Himself onto us, He must be invited in to our lives.
I feel at times that more than Him standing at the door of my heart and knocking, that at times I stand at the Lord's gates, looking in. Or maybe sometimes it feels like I'm standing and shaking the fence and gates, trying to get in. Taking the handle and frantically and repeatedly pulling on it in the same desperate way the kids in slasher movies are trying to open a door to escape the killer. I want in, want safety, shelter, sanctuary. I know there is a killer after me. I know what a "killer" life is , know that it and its henchmen are after me. So I know I need, and want, God in my life.
I wonder sometimes if I'm slow to see the door open to let Him in. Or perhaps I am not inviting enough to Him. Sort of like my ex is, when I she stands inside the house and opens the door but stands as a human barricade to keep it from opening too far, or allowing me too much opportunity to enter. Am I like that with God? I want to surrender my will and my life to God. I've prayed. I've repented, I've fallen. I've gotten up again.
Rinse, lather, repeat.
I think I expect, or maybe better yet I hope for, a mountain top experience (like Elijah in 1Kings 19, or the apostles with Jesus in Matthew 17). To have one of those moments where the heavens open up and a dove descends (Mark 1). (Okay, a bit over the top but it drives home a point). Maybe the Lord has responded and has made His way in to my life and is making Himself at home. Maybe He's already /still here working on the defects in my life/home.
Defects? Oh yes -- faulty wiring, hazardous materials, maybe even an unsafe foundation. I think maybe it's not so much unsafe as settling (do you think? ;)
Maybe I'm turned around and am already on the right side of the gates. Maybe my compassion for others, my engaging the LORD in prayer and discussion, my yearning to fill the voids Pascal references inside of me with Him and not other things.....maybe this is evidence I'm on the right side of the fence after all.
Now that's a nice thought :)
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock...." It's from Revelation 3:20, and within evangelical circles is famous for describing how Jesus seeks to enter the heart of all who seek Him and all who cry out to Him, so that all who call on Him, who ask Him into their lives, may be saved. Yet, God will not force us into belief, it is a decision for us to make based on our will. We are not automatons, and while He could have made us perfect, it would have required a loss of our will. I've heard it described that God is a gentleman and would not force Himself onto us, He must be invited in to our lives.
I feel at times that more than Him standing at the door of my heart and knocking, that at times I stand at the Lord's gates, looking in. Or maybe sometimes it feels like I'm standing and shaking the fence and gates, trying to get in. Taking the handle and frantically and repeatedly pulling on it in the same desperate way the kids in slasher movies are trying to open a door to escape the killer. I want in, want safety, shelter, sanctuary. I know there is a killer after me. I know what a "killer" life is , know that it and its henchmen are after me. So I know I need, and want, God in my life.
I wonder sometimes if I'm slow to see the door open to let Him in. Or perhaps I am not inviting enough to Him. Sort of like my ex is, when I she stands inside the house and opens the door but stands as a human barricade to keep it from opening too far, or allowing me too much opportunity to enter. Am I like that with God? I want to surrender my will and my life to God. I've prayed. I've repented, I've fallen. I've gotten up again.
Rinse, lather, repeat.
I think I expect, or maybe better yet I hope for, a mountain top experience (like Elijah in 1Kings 19, or the apostles with Jesus in Matthew 17). To have one of those moments where the heavens open up and a dove descends (Mark 1). (Okay, a bit over the top but it drives home a point). Maybe the Lord has responded and has made His way in to my life and is making Himself at home. Maybe He's already /still here working on the defects in my life/home.
Defects? Oh yes -- faulty wiring, hazardous materials, maybe even an unsafe foundation. I think maybe it's not so much unsafe as settling (do you think? ;)
Maybe I'm turned around and am already on the right side of the gates. Maybe my compassion for others, my engaging the LORD in prayer and discussion, my yearning to fill the voids Pascal references inside of me with Him and not other things.....maybe this is evidence I'm on the right side of the fence after all.
Now that's a nice thought :)
Monday, January 27, 2014
Life changing phrase
Words fill our lives everyday, sometimes washing over like a tsunami in their shear volume and relentlessness. Yet, on rare occasions, a few pithy word become life altering and direction changing.
Several years ago I was part of a study group at church for those new to faith, or newly returned. For me, it was newly returned, after years of being a faithless, murmuring follower (see Exodus and Numbers). The most salient part of that study was not the study itself, as good as it was, but a word spoken by one of the members. As we went around the opening introductions, Erin described herself as "...a world champion God-wrestler".
In that moment, in that phrase, I knew/heard that it was alright to have doubts and questions. I heard that it was alright for my faith to push back and to challenge and grapple with the Truth. I heard God-wrestler, not like Moses protesting his lack of skill (Exodus 4), or Gideon asking for repeated fleeces (Judges 6), but grappling and wrestling like Jacob with the angel ...or was it God himself (Genesis 32)...striving for a blessing.
It has been six years since I heard that phrase. I've not seen Erin since then, to tell her how significant and life changing that phrase has been. I have heard since then, or perhaps just focused more as a result of the phrase, of those who have challenged God -- Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Job...Thomas. These years have been my own Jacob-time, freely acknowledged. Its been interesting too, as I've going along, to find out how many others have questions, although generally they are not as many as mine!
So I keep wrestling. I don't think I've had my hip touched yet or gone lame (but interestingly I think I have a touch of arthritis in my right hip!), but I continue to wrestle. Grace. Legalism. Faith. Love. Works, Church. Forgiveness. Salvation. In that phrase I gained a freedom to explore that I had not had before. Freedom to talk to God openly and directly about His word, His Church, and about....his adopted son, me. Ultimately, I want to close the 18" gap between my head and my heart. I want to love and experience God with all my heart and mind and soul.
Wrestling involves contact, intimacy, and going through all of this may be a sign that the gap is closing.
I hope so.
Several years ago I was part of a study group at church for those new to faith, or newly returned. For me, it was newly returned, after years of being a faithless, murmuring follower (see Exodus and Numbers). The most salient part of that study was not the study itself, as good as it was, but a word spoken by one of the members. As we went around the opening introductions, Erin described herself as "...a world champion God-wrestler".
In that moment, in that phrase, I knew/heard that it was alright to have doubts and questions. I heard that it was alright for my faith to push back and to challenge and grapple with the Truth. I heard God-wrestler, not like Moses protesting his lack of skill (Exodus 4), or Gideon asking for repeated fleeces (Judges 6), but grappling and wrestling like Jacob with the angel ...or was it God himself (Genesis 32)...striving for a blessing.
It has been six years since I heard that phrase. I've not seen Erin since then, to tell her how significant and life changing that phrase has been. I have heard since then, or perhaps just focused more as a result of the phrase, of those who have challenged God -- Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Job...Thomas. These years have been my own Jacob-time, freely acknowledged. Its been interesting too, as I've going along, to find out how many others have questions, although generally they are not as many as mine!
So I keep wrestling. I don't think I've had my hip touched yet or gone lame (but interestingly I think I have a touch of arthritis in my right hip!), but I continue to wrestle. Grace. Legalism. Faith. Love. Works, Church. Forgiveness. Salvation. In that phrase I gained a freedom to explore that I had not had before. Freedom to talk to God openly and directly about His word, His Church, and about....his adopted son, me. Ultimately, I want to close the 18" gap between my head and my heart. I want to love and experience God with all my heart and mind and soul.
Wrestling involves contact, intimacy, and going through all of this may be a sign that the gap is closing.
I hope so.
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