brennan manning

It’s a Good Kind of Tired

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Throughout the day, I had all these grandiose plans about what I was going to write about for tonight’s blog post, but here I am at 10:34 pm, completely pooped and having forgotten every single one of those wonderful ideas.

I know, I know. Write those ideas down. But for me, I always think of things when I’m in the car or some other place where I don’t have access to a pen and paper. I can’t exactly write stuff down when I’m in the middle of rush hour traffic on I-65, can I?

Anyway, I’m tired. It’s not the kind of tired I experienced when I was out pounding the pavement, looking for a job. That was a defeating, soul-weary kind of tired. I was tired when I felt like I hadn’t done anything all day. That’s the worst.

This is a good kind of tired. The kind that comes from putting in a full day’s work and knowing that I accomplished some good today. I made money, but I also made a difference.

The better kind of tired is the one where I get to turn off the alarm and sleep in tomorrow. It may be sad, but I actually fantasize about sleeping these days.

So, it was a good day, and I’m still living the dream.

Living the Dream

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There’s nothing that’s more disappointing on a Friday than to realize it’s only Thursday. At least it’s not Wednesday.

I jest about wanting it to be Friday, but I really believe that there has to be more to life than merely existing from Monday to Friday and then really living on the weekend.

When you finally grasp how much of a gift each day is, then you stop merely existing during the weekdays and start living 24/7.

At least that’s the idea.

There are still some days when it’s all you can do not to count the minutes to 4 pm.

The real secret to living the dream is to not take any of your days for granted but to find ways to make each day matter by living out of the overflow of gratitude and thanksgiving.

So Happy Thursday. Tomorrow is Friday. Really and truly it is.

 

 

 

Recognizing Jesus

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I was struck by something I’d never noticed about Jesus after the resurrection. For whatever reason after He rose from the grave, no one could recognize Him by His physical appearance. Even Mary thought He was the gardener when she first saw Him.

Maybe it was the fact that their senses kept telling them it really couldn’t be a risen Jesus. After all, they had seen Him die.

Or maybe Jesus’ glorified body was what threw them off.

I don’t know. The Bible isn’t clear on that one particular issue. I’ll have to find out when I get to heaven.

I learned something new today. There were three ways in which Jesus’ disciples could recognize Him post-resurrection.

First, they knew Him by His voice. When Jesus called Mary by her name, that’s the moment she knew for certain it was her Lord speaking. Jesus Himself said that His sheep know His voice and follow Him.

Second, they knew Him in the breaking of the bread. The two disciples on the Emmaus Road didn’t realize who they’d been talking to until Jesus took bread and broke it before them. Maybe their minds flashed back to that Lord’s Supper before Good Friday and the crucifixion.

Last, they knew Him by His miracles. When Jesus approached the disciples as they were fishing, they didn’t know it was Him until their nets were overflowing to the breaking point with fish. All the signs and wonders they had seem Him do came flooding back into their memories.

Since the ascension, we have the Holy Spirit who reminds us of all that Jesus taught us. It’s He who helps us to discern whether the spirits and voices are of Jesus or not. We know because we recognize His voice. We remember when we break bread together as the body of Christ. We affirm that it’s Him by the miracles we continue to see.

Still, we say with all believers everywhere, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.”

Listen

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“Listen, Israel! The Eternal is our True God—He alone. You should love Him, your True God, with all your heart and soul, with every ounce of your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, The Voice).

When asked about which is the greatest commandment, Jesus quoted this verse. In essence, the first and most important command from God to us is to LISTEN.

To listen is more than just to hear. It’s more than just to accumulate more information.

When you listen, the object is to take what you hear and to put it into practice.

Jesus’ ministry was filled with invitations for us to listen. Note how many times He said things like “let those who have ears, let them hear.” He meant more than just hearing what He was saying. Many people heard Jesus’ words but did nothing with them and so remained untransformed by them.

What Jesus meant (and still means) is to take in His words with the intent of obeying them. To have knowledge disproportionate to our obedience will lead to an inability to receive new truths.

I confess that I’m not always the best listener, particularly when it comes to listening to God’s voice. I try to sit in the silence and be still, but my mind goes into overdrive. Random songs pop into my head, as well as snatches of conversations. It’s almost like when you have an old-fashioned radio that’s in between two stations.

To hear means to take in sound through your ears, but to listen is a discipline. You could say it’s an art. To listen to God better, you simply need to live out what you know for sure that you’ve already heard from God.

Loving God means listening to His words and allowing them to transform you. Loving people as you love God means listening to their stories and letting God’s light shine into them.

May we all learn to listen well.

 

A Change of Scenery

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Boom. That says it all.

Gratitude won’t instantly transform your scenery into something else entirely. You won’t be instantly whisked away to a tropical island with a hammock and fruity drinks that come in coconuts.

Gratitude will change how you see your scenery. Suddenly, you can see clearly all the blessings you have. You especially see all the little miracles that you missed before when you were caught up in greed, envy, bitterness, and general dissatisfaction.

Gratitude helps you see God in your scenery. Every thanksgiving is a reminder of God’s provision for you and God’s promises to you.

So, give thanks. Even on a Monday.

Humbling Yourself

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“So bow down under God’s strong hand; then when the time comes, God will lift you up. Since God cares for you, let Him carry all your burdens and worries” (1 Peter 5:6, The Voice).

It’s easy to talk about humility as a virtue in the abstract. It’s an entirely different matter to work it out practically in your own life. I know for a fact that my personality default type is definitely not humility, especially when it comes to being corrected and rebuked by others (which I mentioned a few days ago).

I read this passage and I see that to bow down under God’s strong hand is to live in an unconditional surrender. It’s to confess, “Thy will be done,” even if it means that my will be undone (to borrow from Elisabeth Elliot).

It’s an open-ended YES to Jesus for whatever He asks of me, whenever He asks, wherever He asks. Again, that means even if I have to let go of my own plans and desires and hopes and dreams.

For the early Christians, it meant enduring horrific persecution and suffering. It often mean martyrdom. Yet in light of the eternal glory, it seemed to them only a light and momentary affliction.

May we have that kind of faith that is willing to live surrendered so that Jesus might be glorified and lifted up in our lives.

 

 

 

 

Thoughts on Grief

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“I don’t believe grief passes away. It has its time and place forever. More time is added to it; it becomes a story within a story” (W. Berry).

Don’t worry. No one I know has died lately.

I was just missing my old cat Lucy a bit today after seeing an old video of her and ran across this memory on Facebook.

How true it is.

Grief never passes away. You never completely get over the sadness.

I heard that grief and loss is somewhat like losing an arm or a leg. You don’t go back to the way you were before, but you can learn to live with a new normal.

Even though I haven’t been touched by grief lately, I know several who have. I also know that this life is fleeting, so grief is inevitable for any of us who haven’t completely closed off their hearts to love.

I also know that we serve a God who in Jesus is completely acquainted with grief. Isaiah called Him a Man of sorrows.

This same Jesus also took the sting out of grief and death when He burst out of the tomb on that Easter Sunday morning. Now those of us who belong to Jesus don’t have to grieve as those who have no hope. We have hope.

I still don’t know how it works with animals. I’d like to think there’s that rainbow bridge and I’ll see Lucy again one day. I do know that all the best parts of what we had will live on in my memory and what awaits in heaven will be far better than anything I could ever possibly imagine.

In the meantime, grief and loss are a part of life. Right now, I wish they were not. One day, I know for certain that they won’t be.

 

A Needed Reminder

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I don’t like to be corrected. I get defensive and angry. But just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean that I don’t need it from time to time.

Every one of us needs that one person who will always speak the truth to us in love. We don’t need yes people who will tell us only what we want to hear and who will always go along with us, no matter what.

Sometimes, we need that person who can gently rebuke and correct us and show us the error of our ways. What we need is that someone who will hold us accountable.

I know I need that. I also know that I can probably be that person for someone else.

The question from Sunday still haunts me: Who is pouring into your life and discipling you, and whose life are you pouring into and discipling?

In order to fully experience the abundant life that Jesus promised, you need the whole gospel. That starts with salvation but doesn’t end there. The whole gospel starts with justification, continues on with sanctification, and concludes with glorification.

Or maybe it never stops. You never ever get over how amazing this gospel is, even in heaven. Not for all eternity.

That whole gospel experience includes you being discipled and you discipling someone. It means not being satisfied with being saved but continually striving and reaching toward spiritual maturity every single day.

Again, the question: who is discipling you and who are you discipling? Whose life are you pouring into and who is pouring into you?

It all starts with the patience of God. Once you get that, you will be astonished at how patient and understanding you are with others, because you know what it feels like to expect condemnation and receive mercy instead.

 

 

Two Weeks from Thanksgiving

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So be careful how you live; be mindful of your steps. Don’t run around like idiots as the rest of the world does. Instead, walk as the wise! Make the most of every living and breathing moment because these are evil times. So understand and be confident in God’s will, and don’t live thoughtlessly” (Ephesians 5:15-17, The Voice).

I used to hear my grandparents talk about how much faster time went by when they got older. I probably nodded and smiled and pretended to understand, but didn’t really get it. Until now.

It’s two freaking weeks until Thanksgiving. Then a month until Christmas. Then a week until 2018. It really feels like a whole week passes by in 24 hours.

It feels like 2008 was just yesterday. And 1990 still feels like 10 years ago, not almost 30. If I weren’t already in bed, I’d feel a strong need to lie down for a while.

That’s why it’s so important to savor the moments when you can. It’s vital that you cherish the people in your life while you have them. I know of some friends who have had parents pass away very unexpectedly. You just never know.

I also remember that for God, a thousand years is like a day. To Him, a whole human life is like a blade of grass that springs up in the morning and withers in the evening.

Life’s too short to live with un-forgiveness and bitterness in your heart. Life’s too short to hold grudges and have a cynical worldview.

I still believe that Jesus meant what He said about how He came to give us the abundant life– life to the full. Yes, He meant a limitless span of years, but He also meant a life that is rich, full, and satisfying.

I’m hoping 2018 will be a good year, but right now, I’m trying to savor and enjoy as much of 2017 as I can. More specifically, I’m just trying to be fully present in today as I can be and let God take care of tomorrow.

 

 

 

Happy 99th Birthday, Billy!

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“The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith” (Billy Graham).

I can think of no better example of a legacy of character and faith than Billy Graham. His whole life has been devoted to the spread of the Gospel. His motto might as well be “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease,” because he has always deferred the credit to his fellow workers, and especially to Jesus.

I believe there are thousands of people going to heaven because of Billy Graham. I also believe that one day he will hear the words from his Lord and Savior, saying “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

I’d love nothing more than to see him live to be 100, but I imagine he’s ready for heaven, to be reunited with Ruth, to meet again with family members gone before him, but best of all, to finally see Jesus face to face.

I echo the words of so many others whose lives have been touched by his faithful ministry and his servant’s heart when I say simply, “Thank you, Billy Graham.”