Ragamuffin Gospel

Follow Me

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That’s the offer Jesus made to two men in the Gospel of Matthew. One was a tax-collector who dropped everything and followed. The other was a rich young ruler who might have wanted to follow but loved his possessions too much and said no.

That’s the offer Jesus still makes: follow me.

Most of us won’t have to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor.

But eventually everyone of us must decide one way or the other: to follow or not to follow.

I know that I have never regretted deciding to follow Jesus.

I wonder if the rich young ruler ever looked back and wished he could go back and choose differently.

As a pastor once said, Jesus didn’t run after the young man or beg him to follow. He respected his decision and let him walk away.

So my question to you is this: will you follow Jesus?

 

Finding What You Love and Loving What You Do

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I attended my company’s 55th anniversary celebration at Maggiano’s on West End. One of the unexpected highlights of my evening was watching the balloon guy.

It probably doesn’t sound like something a grown up would enjoy, but this guy was incredibly talented and obviously enjoyed what he was doing. I never thought making balloon animals and such could be an art form, but this guy elevated it to that level.

That’s the ultimate goal of everyone who works for a living– finding that dream job where you get to do what perfectly suits your talents and passions. Something that doesn’t feel like work most of the time.

The reality is that most of us for whatever reason aren’t in a position to live out that dream job fantasy. Most of us have to make the best of the work situation we’re in.

My advice is to treat it like your dream job. Find the parts that you enjoy and do those with great enthusiasm. Whatever you do, remember that your employer is ultimately God, so work as though you reported directly to Him (which you ultimately do), and not for a human boss.

“Work is love made visible.” That quote still haunts me long after I finished the book. That sums up everything. If you view your job as an opportunity to serve others —  whether that be customers or fellow employees– it changes the way you view what you do. It changes your whole outlook to where you actually care about making a difference versus merely earning a paycheck from week to week.

Whatever you do, do it with love. Do it as unto the Lord, as the verse says. Remember that your job is not your whole life. You still have family and friends and hobbies and other things. Bear in mind that you do spend most of your waking day working so make it count for good.

 

 

Further Up and Further In

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It’s time once again for a little snippet of Narnia, in case you were weary of all the fear-mongering and misinformation (on both sides) that passes for news these days.

“‘Peter,” said Lucy, ‘where is this, do you suppose?’ . . . “If you ask me,” said Edmund, ‘it’s like somewhere in the Narnian world. Look at those mountains ahead—and the big ice-mountains beyond them. Surely they’re rather like the mountains we used to see from Narnia, the ones up Westward beyond the Waterfall?’. . .

‘And yet they’re not like,’ said Lucy. ‘They’re different. They have more colors on them and they look further away than I remembered and they’re more . . . more . . . oh, I don’t know . . .’

‘More like the real thing,’ said the Lord Digory softly. . . .

‘But how can it be?’ said Peter. ‘For Aslan told us older ones that we should never return to Narnia, and here we are.’

‘Yes,” said Eustace. ‘And we saw it all destroyed and the sun put out.’

‘And it’s all so different,’ said Lucy.

‘The Eagle is right,’ said the Lord Digory. ‘Listen, Peter. When Aslan said you could never go back to Narnia, he meant the Narnia you were thinking of. But that was not the real Narnia. That had a beginning and an end. It was only a shadow or a copy of the real Narnia which has always been here and always will be here: just as our own world, England and all, is only a shadow or copy of something in Aslan’s real world. You need not mourn over Narnia, Lucy. All of the old Narnia that mattered, all the dear creatures, have been drawn into the real Narnia through the Door. And of course it is different; as different as a real thing is from a shadow or as waking life is from a dream.’ His voice stirred everyone like a trumpet as he spoke these words: but when he added under his breath ‘It’s all in Plato, all in Plato: bless me, what do they teach them at these schools!’ the older ones laughed. It was so exactly like the sort of thing they had heard him say long ago in that other world where his beard was grey instead of golden. He knew why they were laughing and joined in the laugh himself. But very quickly they all became grave again: for, as you know, there is a kind of happiness and wonder that makes you serious. It is too good to waste on jokes. . . .

It was the Unicorn who summed up what everyone was feeling. He stamped his right fore-hoof on the ground and neighed, and then cried:

‘I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this. Bree-hee-hee! Come further up, come further in!'” (C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle).

Still the Same

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“You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message” (Colossians 1:21-23, The Message).

It’s the same Gospel message that still saves anyone who comes to God in faith.

It’s the same Gospel message that saved a wretch like me.

It’s the same Gospel message that has the power to transform and liberate.

It’s still the same.

More Hump Day Weirdness

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Hopefully by now you’ve grown accustomed to the occasional random blog posts from me. I could say that they’re exercises in expanding my creativity and practicing free-thought expression, but really they’re just the things I write when I can’t think of anything organized to say. It happens more frequently than I’d like.

I’m still taking trips in the Tardis, visiting the Doctor and all his companions. For the non-Whovians out there, that means I’ve been watching more episodes of Doctor Who. I’m on the series with Matt Smith, and while he’s quite good, he’s still no David Tennant. And don’t get me started on the lack of Rose Tyler.

As always, there are precious few things better than a sleeping/snoring/purring animal next to you at night to keep you company. Those furry little guardian angels are the best.

I love that it’s fall weather, but us Tennesseans could sure use some rain to get some of the crud out of the air. I can’t remember it ever being so dry around here. If you happen to have a few rain clouds, send ’em my way, please and thank you.

My old-school musical journey continues. I’m currently listening to Ernest Tubb in the car, with Ray Price and Porter Wagoner next in line. I think everyone should experience music recorded before they were born.

If you’re wondering what I want for Christmas, I’d still like one of those red Mini-Coopers. I’m also wanting an Apple Watch and one of those Nintendo Classic gaming systems that are rumored to exist (though I have yet to see a real live one with my own eyes).

My cat Lucy is currently snoring away beside me. I think that’s my cue to wrap this up and call it a night. That and the fact that it’s 11:09 pm. That’s past my bedtime, folks.

 

The Ultimate Fairy Tale

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“It is a world of magic and mystery, of deep darkness and flickering starlight. It is a world where terrible things happen and wonderful things too. It is a world where goodness is pitted against evil, love against hate, order against chaos, in a great struggle where often it is hard to be sure who belongs to which side because appearances are endlessly deceptive. Yet for all its confusion and wildness, it is a world where the battle goes ultimately to the good, who live happily ever after, and where in the long run everybody, good and evil alike, becomes known by his true name….That is the fairy tale of the Gospel with, of course, one crucial difference from all other fairy tales, which is that the claim made for it is that it is true, that it not only happened once upon a time but has kept on happening ever since and is happening still.” (Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale).

Perhaps that’s why so many of us are still drawn to fairy tales after all these years.

 

Contentment Isn’t Just for Cows

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“I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am” (Philippians 4:12-13,  The Message).

Contentment is the new counterculture. It flies in the face of every ad and billboard and commercial that screams that in order to be happy, you need to buy this one thing or eat at this one place or drink this beverage. Contentment says no thanks, I already have enough. Contentment is a radical idea. If you really want to annoy people, especially the ones who always seem to be in a hurry, practice contentment. It’ll drive them nuts.

 

I’m content because I’ve learned that God is enough. It’s true that God plus everything you’ve ever dreamed of is really no more than God plus nothing else, because all your deepest desires and dreams find their ultimate fulfillment in the person of Jesus.

Contentment comes from realizing that the best things can’t be bought or sold or even possessed. They can only be appreciated and loved and cherished. They aren’t even things, but relationships and people and memories. You are not the sum of your possessions and your wealth but of your relationships and experiences and memories.

If you want to be radical, learn to be content. It’s definitely the least stressful way to live that I can think of (aside from being comatose, which I imagine is fairly stress-free).

“Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you” (Lao Tzu).

I Will

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I heard something good from a friend of mine and I just might try it someday soon.

She opened up her Bible, turned to the book of Isaiah, and highlighted every occurrence of the phrase “I will” as spoken from the mouth of God.

Notice that God never says, “I might,” or “I hope someday to,” or “I think I could possibly.” He always says “I will.”

As I’ve heard a pastor put it before, God’s promises are so certain that you can write them down in the past tense as already done. Whatever it is, if God has tacked an “I will” to it, you can count on it as certainly as you can count on the God who made the promise.

God’s promises are most often not what we originally thought we wanted or what we expected, but always better. They are always ultimately what we would have asked for all along had we been able to see the big picture.

So, the next time God asks you to trust Him in the middle of your circumstances, whatever they may be, the best answer is always “I will.”

 

Some Positives for your Post-Election Weekend

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In case you missed it, there was an election this past Tuesday. A few people showed up. Some are elated at the result, while some are ready to jump off the nearest bridge or building they can find.

I thought I’d share a few positives on this Saturday evening because everyone probably needs a little more positivity in their lives at this point (regardless of whether your candidate won or not).

  1. Finding almost the entire series of one of your favorite sitcoms at Goodwill (in my case, it was the BBC sitcom As Time Goes By).
  2. A day with perfect fall weather.
  3. Hot chocolate on said day with perfect fall weather.
  4. Waking up in the morning.
  5. Not being dead.
  6. Pets that love you no matter what.
  7. Random acts of kindness all around us.
  8. The hope of the Gospel that still saves people like you and me.
  9. Time traveling back into the past via the Turner Classic Movie Channel and their old movies.
  10. A good mystery novel and a piping hot cup of tea.
  11. Just a piping hot cup of tea.
  12. Sleeping under the covers under a ceiling fan, even in the dead of winter.
  13. Those 50% off Criterion movie sales at Barnes and Noble.
  14. That feeling after you take your socks off.
  15. Sleeping in on Saturday mornings.
  16. Seeing your life as an adventure and living it that way.

Take as many of these as you like and leave the rest. Not everyone will agree with me on everything on the list (like those weird people who only like weather that is ridiculously hot and humid).

I’ve heard and found to be true that you pretty often find what you’re looking for, so if you only look for the negative and depressing, you’ll very often find it. The same goes for positive and uplifting. So maybe turn off the news and go outside for a change.

That’s all.

 

A Beautiful Borrowed Prayer

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“In me there is darkness,
But with You there is light;
I am lonely, but You do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with You there is help;
I am restless, but with You there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with You there is patience;
I do not understand Your ways,
But You know the way for me.”

“Lord Jesus Christ,
You were poor
And in distress, a captive and forsaken as I am.
You know all man’s troubles;
You abide with me
When all men fail me;
You remember and seek me;
It is Your will that I should know You
And turn to You.
Lord, I hear Your call and follow;
Help me” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison).

I’m too weary to think of something original, so I scrolled through the quotes of Dietrich Bonhoeffer until I found this. It’s a beautiful prayer penned by someone who knew what it meant to fight against real evil.

Sometimes the biggest fight of all can be against your own frailty and sinfulness. It’s easy to get discouraged when all you see is failure and fear within yourself.

Yet God Himself doesn’t see any of those things. He sees beyond potential to your future realized self, that self that He is working toward.

If you feel the most hopeless in your most darkest place, try praying this prayer and remember that God is a God who knows the way out of the grave, who knows where you are, and certainly knows how to get you where you need to be. Failure will not be your final word.

Ok, so I lied. I did add an original thought or two. I want to end by reminding you that God will never leave you alone. Never ever ever.

The end.