religion

What Community Means: Part 2

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In yet another sellout, I am putting out a sequel to my last blog. But before you accuse me of going Hollywood, let me offer a few words of explanation. I left out some stuff in my last blog. Deep, right?

Being a part of the community of faith means these things as well:

You are only a stranger once; after that, you’re family. You are a fellow pilgrim travelling along the same narrow road.

No matter where you go, you will always carry your brothers and sisters with you in your heart, in your mind, and in your soul. Each brother or sister is only a prayer away.

You are always held and carried by strong arms of prayer and by the God who hears them. That’s in good times and bad, through sunny weather and storms. Regardless.

Sometimes, you will be strong for someone else who can’t be and speak to God on their behalf; sometimes, you will be weak and need someone else to stand in the gap for you.

Your family isn’t just those who are related by blood to you and share a common ancestry, but all of those who seek after God with hearts made alive and minds transformed and lives changed by the resurrection power of Christ.

Last of all, community means that above all, we seek to be in unity and to have the mind of Christ in all matters. That we do everything in our power to make our relationships work and to seek reconciliation and restoration when they don’t. It means to put others’ needs before our own and to seek to serve rather than be served.

That’s what community means.

What Community Means

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When you and I said an eternal YES to Jesus, we became a part of the universal community of faith. That means:

You and I are stuck with each other. There’s no way biblically you can justify turning your back on me and no way I can ever give up on you.

You will never walk a single day through a single storm alone. You will never walk through the deepest darkest valley by yourself.

Your joys will be my joys, your sorrows will be mine, and your burdens lightened because I will share your load.

You can be yourself, warts and all, and I can do the same, and neither one of us will ever have to fear judgment or condemnation.

We will speak the truth in love to each other and gently guide the errant ones back on to the path and keep each other honest, transparent, and steadfast with our eyes on the prize.

Since this community of faith is made up of broken and imperfect people, we will often hurt and neglect each other, but the hallmark of this community is forgiveness and second chances.

We have one God, one Savior Jesus Christ, one faith, one baptism, one goal, and one love to share with a fragmented and scarred world.

Every single person matters, and every single person is essential to the community bringing forth the visible image of God into our world.

You can only be you and I can only be me. We each have a unique place in the mosaic of faith that no one else can fill, and a part to play in God’s unfolding drama that no one else can play.

The Church is all of us. The Church is not you and the Church is not me. Alone, we are vulnerable and susceptible to enemy attack, but standing together under the banner of Christ, nothing can overcome us or separate us from God’s love.

Community means all these things and much more. Community means that you and I are unique and special. That we are not alone. That we are wanted and deeply loved by the Father who called us all into this koinonia, this fellowship of saints.

That’s what community means.

The Mosaic of Faith in Community

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“Community is like a large mosaic. Each little piece seems so insignificant. One piece is bright red, another cold blue or dull green, another warm purple, another sharp yellow, another shining gold. Some look precious, others ordinary. Some look valuable, others worthless. Some look gaudy, others delicate. As individuals stones, we can do little with them except compare them and judge their beauty and value. When, however, all these little stones are brought together in one big mosaic portraying the face of Christ, who would ever question the importance of any one of them? If one of them, even the least spectacular one, is missing, the face is incomplete. Together in the one mosaic, each little stone is indispensable and makes a unique contribution to the glory of God. That’s community, a fellowship of little people who together make God visible in the world” (Henri Nouwen).

You may not be the hippest and trendiest person on the planet.

You may not be the most socially polished person that anyone will ever meet.

You may not rank very highly on the socially desirable scale of who’s who’s and so-and-so’s.

You may not feel like you’re a very high prority on anyone’s list of friends and your friends may seem like they can make time for others when they’re too busy for you.

You may feel romatically undesireable because you’re not GQ or Vanity Fair, and that whatever good traits you possess don’t really matter if you’re not physically beautiful and if people don’t use words to describe you like “hot” or “fine” or “gorgeous” or “eye candy”.

You may look around at all the people who seem to be more successful in every area of life than you and get discouraged because you just don’t measure up to anyone or anything.

You may think that you add nothing to the world and that your absence wouldn’t affect anything in the slightest little bit.

But you matter.

You are who God created you to be. You are your Abba’s beloved child.

You are the mosaic piece God created you to be to fill a part of the mosaic that only you can fill and shine like only you can shine.

You can only be the best you, just as I can only be the best me. We can never be what someone else thinks we should be or what we think others want us to be.

Together, we can show the world what the rainbow colors of faith, hope, and love look like.

Together, we are the hands and feet and heart of Jesus to the outcast and needy and poor and broken.

Together, we are the visible face of God. Together, we are the body of Christ.

Without you in it, the mosaic doesn’t shine as brightly and the world misses a crucial part of what God looks like.

Together, you and I and the rest of the community of faith form a divine mosaic. When the world looks at us, they will see Jesus.

The Way of Downward Mobility

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Tonight I was touched by these words from Henri Nouwen. I will let them speak to you the way they spoke to me, unedited and in his own words, not mine:

“Prayer means letting God’s creative love touch the most hidden places of our being and letting Jesus’ way of the cross, his way of downward mobility, truly become our way.  And prayer means listening with attentive, undivided hearts, to the inner movements of the Spirit of Jesus, even when that Spirit leads us to places we would rather not go. . . .

I say this with great compassion: we are living in an upwardly mobile society, a society in which making it to the top is expected in some degree of all of us. And aren’t we tempted to use even the Word of God to help us in this upward mobility? But that is not the way of God, the Father, Son, and Spirit. God’s way is not the way of upward mobility but of downward mobility. You know, as well as I do, that the question we will finally hear is not going to be: “How much did you earn during your lifetime?” or “How many friends did you make?” or “How much progress did you make in your career?” No, the question for us will be: “What did you do for the least of mine? What did you do for the lonely in your cities, the prisoners in your country, the refugees within and below your borders, and the hungry all over the world? Have you seen the humiliated Christ in the faces of the poor?”

God has chosen to be revealed in a crucified humanity. That is a very hard realization to come to, yet all authentic prayer will eventually lead us to it. I hope you are able to feel with me our hesitation to let God truly love us in God’s way and to respond fully with our whole being.”

Why I Am a Fan of Henri Nouwen

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solitude

“In solitude we can slowly unmask the illusion of our possessiveness and discover in the center of our own self that we are not what we can conquer, but what is given to us. In solitude we can listen to the voice of him who spoke to us before we could speak a word, who healed us before we could make any gesture to help, who set us free long before we could free others, and who loved us long before we could give love to anyone. It is in this solitude that we discover that being is more important than having, and that we are worth more than the result of our efforts. In solitude we discover that our life is not a possession to be defended, but a gift to be shared. It’s there we recognize that the healing words we speak are not just our own, but are given to us; that the love we can express is part of a greater love; and that the new life we bring forth is not a property to cling to, but a gift to be received” (Henri J.M. Nouwen).

Henri Nouwen wrote that every single person ever born deals with aloneness, because every single one of us is unique and no one else will ever have our exact problems and issues and hang-ups and phobias.

He said we can either see our aloneness as a wound and thus turn it into loneliness or view it as a gift, where it becomes solitude. In solitude is where we can learn to be still and quiet and know that in truth, we are never really alone. God is with us.

Solitude makes us better people, better neighbors, better friends, better spouses, better lovers, and better disciples. We’re not clinging to each other out of a desparate need to not be lonely, but because we are finally comfortable with who we are in the times when we are alone with no noise to drown out our own thoughts.

That is my own wording of what I’ve been reading in The Only Necessary Thing, a compilation of Nouwen’s thoughts on living a prayerful life. Seriously, if you don’t read another one of my blogs, but read one of his books, I will be supremely happy. He’s that good.

That’s all for tonight. Let me know what you are reading that touches you deeply at the soul level. Maybe it’s a book that will do the same for me. And may the God of the earthquake and the God of the thunder also be the God of your silence and the God of your solitude. Amen.

More About Blessings and Such

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For the record, I thought about calling this blog “Mo Better Mo Blessings,” but decided against it. Be thankful for that.

I had some more thoughts about blessings earlier today when I should have been paying more attention to the sermon. That’s actually where some of my best ideas for blogs come from. Shhh, don’t tell anyone, okay?

Some blessings are only found through suffering and trial and can’t be found any other way.

Some treasures are only found along the road through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, but they turn out to be some of the dearest treasures you will ever find.

Sometimes, the words God speaks to your heart in the midst of great pain are the words that turn out to be life and light and healing. Those are the words you remember most and hold most deeply in your heart of hearts, for those are the ones that go deep and speak to the most hidden, secret parts of you.

Some joys born out of sorrow are the ones that last with you the longest. Long after the storms cease and the suffering ends, these joys remind you like the rainbow of God’s goodness and His faithfulness.

Sometimes worship means the most to you when it costs you something. David once said, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord that which cost me nothing.” Sometimes, the cost is tears. Sometimes, the cost is your time, your talents and your treasures. In some places, the cost of worship may very well be your life.

Hold dearly to these lessons learned in the dark. Treasure the blessings found in storms. Never let go of the words God speaks to you in the midst of your suffering. Those are what will carry you through to the end.

And may you always hear in the night the voice of your Abba singing and rejoicing over you in the night as He does every night.

 

Blessings for 2011 (So Far)

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“‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?” (Laura Story)

Sometimes, blessings from God don’t look like I think they should. Sometimes they don’t come wrapped in prosperity or popularity. Sometimes they come wrapped up in heartache and hardships. Sometimes they look like anything but blessings on the outside.

I had a friend pass away recently after battling brain cancer for 2 years. That doesn’t seem like a blessing on the surface.

My grandmother fell and broke her hip a little over a week ago and has a long road of recovery ahead of her. That certainly doesn’t look like a blessing.

I’m not saying that death and hardships are blessings, but that blessings are wrapped up in them for those with eyes of faith to see them.

I see blessings. I’m thankful to be reminded that this life isn’t forever and we’re not meant to stay in this imperfect, fallen, broken world. I’m thankful that while God chooses to heal us in this life, that every time He heals completely when someone crosses into eternity.

I’m thankful that I woke up this morning, healthy and happy. I’m thankful that I had access to clean water, shelter, clothing, and transportation, because so many people don’t. In fact, from a global perspective, having all these things make me wealthy. Even though I never considered myself rich, I am.

I’m thankful that God puts people in my life that sometimes I don’t truly appreciate until they are no longer there or until they are unable to give the way they once did. I’m learning to thank God every single day for these family and friends who made me who I am today and who I can never, ever hope to repay.

I’m mostly thankful that I know Jesus is still in control. I’m thankful that one day He will set things right. One day, He will wipe every tear from our eyes. I like to think that God turns all our tears into diamonds that Jesus sets in our crowns that we lay at His feet.

I’m thankful for all these blessings that came through trials and tribulations. I’m thankful that after all the suffering and heartache and troubles end, that the blessings still remain.

Thank You, God.

Lessons Learned This Past Week

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I am definitely not above learning new things and even being reminded of some old things I learned long ago but had forgotten. God reminded me of a few things again this past week:

1) Don’t take it for granted that those you love will always be around to hear you say the words, “I love you.” It’s easy, at least for me, to look at my family and friends and think that they will always be around and will always be as strong and healthy as they are now.

2) Life is precious. Treasure it and treasure those in your life while they’re in your life. Say the words so they can hear them and don’t assume they know.

3) Give the people in your life, family and friends,  every benefit of the doubt. I know I’ve listened to my fears about my friends and have been lied to. I choose to listen to the Voice of Truth that says that love hopes and believes the best for people and doesn’t assume the worst. The Voice that says that that kind of love wins.

4) Ferris Beuller was right. You should stop every now and then and look around. Life is short and many people who are trying to keep up with a day planner and make plans for living miss it. Sometimes, you have to sit at Starbucks and drink a peppermint mocha and just listen and watch.

5) God has a way of getting your attention that may not always look loving, but it is. If everything in my life went exactly as I wanted and no one in my life ever got sick or grew old or had pain, I probably wouldn’t see my need for Him. I’d probably go and do my own thing without even the remotest thought of God in my head. The fact is that I still live in a fallen world with the fallout from sin all around me (and sometimes in me as well). I need God every single second of every single day of the rest of my life.

That’s all. I know I’ve said this before, but if this blog was only just for me, it was worth it. I found healing just now getting these thoughts out. I hope you do, too.

Dear Friend

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Dear Friend,

I’m so thankful that you chose to be friends with me. It really is more than I deserve. Every time I count my blessings, I count you and I thank God for you.

You showed me what joy looks like. You showed m what kindness looks like. Most of all, you showed me what Jesus looks like, because I saw Jesus in you.

I just wanted to let you know a few things.

I’m not about to stop praying for you. I’m not about to stop praying and believing God’s best for you. I’m still convinced that God has great plans for you and He will use you in ways that will amaze and astound you.

I’m not about to quit counting you as my friend. By the grace of God, I plan on sticking around for the duration and being the best friend I can be to you and being Jesus to you the same way you were Jesus to me.

There will always be an empty seat at Starbucks and a coffee drink with your name on it. I may not be at my wittiest or most clever, but I promise to listen to what you have to say and encourage you in any way I can.

If you decided you didn’t want to be friends with me anymore and never wanted to see me or talk with me ever again, I would still look on you as a blessing. No matter how long I live, I will always be grateful and thankful for your friendship.

I pray tonight that the God of all peace will surround you and hold you in His embrace. I pray you will hear the sweet voice of Him singing over you in the night. I pray you will wake up in the morning mindful again of new mercies and fresh grace.

Thank you for being my friend.

More Thoughts on Fighting From Victory (And not For It)

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chariots of fire

I normally don’t do follow-up blogs to ones I have posted. Kinda like the line about not repeating this ever again or something like that. Did I mention my brain is a little fuzzy this evening?

Someone posted a comment on my blog that got my attention. I failed to mention or say correctly that we should pray for strength. Absolutely. We should pray that God will strengthen us with power through His Holy Spirit.

It seems to me that sometimes we should claim the power that is already in us. The Bible states that the power that raised Christ from the dead is in us. It is in us because the risen Christ is in us.

The power that my sin couldn’t overcome. The power that death could not conquer. The power that the grave couldn’t hold down. That kind of power.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t pray to be strong, but rather that God would be strong through me. I want to be a vessel that God pours through, that God loves through, that God comes through.

Sometimes I know how I want to say something in my head and for whatever reason, it doesn’t quite come out in print. On a side note, I have become quite familiar with the taste of shoe leather for as many times as I have put my foot in my mouth and said really dumb things. That really makes me feel like a heel.

Pray for strength. Yes. Claim the power of the risen Christ in you. Yes. The point is that you don’t have to live defeated and downtrodden. You can live in victory because the Victor lives in you.

That’s what I am praying and claiming for myself and for all of you tonight. May God’s peace rule your hearts tonight, friends!