Ragamuffin Gospel

One in a Million

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I’m in this apologetics class at my church and today we talked about a lot of things that made my brain hurt. Let’s just say that I think that whoever decided to put the alphabet in math was evil.

Still, it’s good to be challenged and stretched outside of your normal comfort zone. It’s important to know how to defend what you believe and why you believe it.

One of the factoids that grabbed my attention was how the odds of sustainable life in the universe were so infinitesimally small that it’s a miracle in and of itself that any of us are here. Really.

The odds of everything on this planet being just right and the earth being in just the right place to bring about life are 1 in a number with a lot of zeros. Like as in more than Donald Trump’s net worth. More than the cost of an apartment in downtown Nashville.

I remember the saying that if you have a hard time believing in miracles, remember that you are one.

God didn’t bring you about in the face of those odds for nothing. You have a purpose. You matter.

Each day you wake up is a gift. Every breath you take is grace. Every moment you witness is a Eucharisteo (a word I’m borrowing from Ann Voskamp that essentially means thanks-living).

How will you pay it forward? How will you live out your thanks to Almighty God? If life is a grand play and you get to contribute a verse, what will that verse be?

I know that life is too short to spend it nursing grudges and harboring bitterness. There’s too much beauty in the world to waste time in anger and impatience and greed.

So choose joy. Choose forgiveness. Choose freedom. Choose life.

 

Don’t Ever Give Up 

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“Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith” (Galatians 6:7-10, The Message).

You can’t microwave maturity. If you want spiritual growth and lasting change, you can’t expect it to happen overnight. As Kairos pastor Chris Brooks put it, most of us want righteousness in the amount of time it takes to cook a Hot Pocket. It doesn’t work that way.

The key is persistence. It’s about not giving up. It’s about showing up day after day with a surrendered heart, a positive mental outlook, and faith. Not necessarily big faith in God but faith in a big God who sees the bigger picture. Who sees the whole picture.

That’s a good reminder for me. No matter how bad things get during the hard days, the outcome is already assured. It’s your best possible future because God is already there.

Don’t give up.

 

 

Be Nice

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I think I can safely go on record and declare that I am an Independent. I don’t drink the kool aid of either political party. I refuse to be blinded by ideology to the point where I can no longer see any flaws in the person who represents the “right” side.

That said, I have some advice, particularly for those of faith who are wading into political waters. Two words: be nice.

You can disagree with someone and still be friends. You can hold opposing viewpoints and still be civil. You can admit that maybe the other side isn’t evil and may have some valid arguments. You can hold your convictions with humility and reverence and remember that there’s always more than one perspective.

You gain nothing if you descend into throwing insults and defaming the character of the opposition’s candidate. That does nothing to address the issues and ailments of our society or to give aid to those in need.

Jesus said to love your enemies. He said to pray for them. He didn’t qualify that statement. He didn’t say “Treat them right only if they treat you right.” He didn’t say, “Pray for you enemies unless they insult you.”

Hopefully, you can support your candidate without making those who don’t your enemies. Still, you will have those who will vilify you anyway. You can still choose love.

At the end of the day, you don’t fight hate with more hate. You fight hate with love. Your weapon is the kind of love that led Jesus to the cross to die for sinners and enemies. It was a love that said, “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Don’t compromise your convictions. Take a stand for your beliefs. Just don’t be a jerk about it. Do whatever you do out of love.

Do You Believe?

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“Do you believe that the God of Jesus loves you beyond worthiness and unworthiness, beyond fidelity and infidelity—that he loves you in the morning sun and in the evening rain—that he loves you when your intellect denies it, your emotions refuse it, your whole being rejects it. Do you believe that God loves without condition or reservation and loves you this moment as you are and not as you should be” (Brennan Manning, All Is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir).

That’s the key. Do you believe that God really loves you?

I think most of the time a lot of us believe it in the same way we believe that Galileo existed or that Einstein discovered the theory of relativity– we assent to it as an intellectual fact.

Then we live and serve out of our own reservoir and wonder why we seem to burn out so easily and why we’re always so tired.

When we can accept with our entire being that God loves us and receive that love, then we realize that trying to contain the love of God is like trying to contain all the oceans in a thimble (thanks to Uncle Mikey for that one). It ends up sloshing over the sides and spilling out onto everything around it.

When we begin to grasp and understand and receive the love of God, we live and serve out of the constant overflow that never ceases. Not to say that we don’t go through seasons of hardship and suffering or that we don’t experience seasons of spiritual dryness where God and His love are harder to find.

Still, the normal experience for the believer who understands (as much as is possible for anyone to understand) the comprehensive love of God for each of us is the abundant life of joy and peace that comes out of the overflow of that life.

May we all come one step closer to that kind of life today.

 

Politics, Shmolitics

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It’s not even November and I’m already tired of the Presidential election and politics in general. What I’ve seen so far this time around has left me more deeply committed than ever to being an Independent.

I see too many people who have drunk the kool aid of either the Republican or Democratic party. They demonize their opponents and dismiss anyone who wants to vote for the opposition to the point of being almost cartoonish.

I’ve seen both sides who have blinders on when it comes to any faults in their own candidate, yet at the same time are unwilling to give any credit to the opposing candidate.

Abba’s children are called to a higher standard. We know that we as a nation are electing a President and not a Savior. That position has already been filled.

We know that the problems we face are not political but spiritual in nature. These problems won’t go away, regardless of who wins the election.

I for one am thankful that not everyone is like me and that everyone else doesn’t think like I do. I know that getting outside of yourself and learning about different perspectives is a good and healthy thing.

My hope still lies not in a flag and a country but in a King and a Kingdom. I remember that in four years when we go through the whole election process to choose another President that Jesus will still be Lord and King.

Here endeth the soapbox blog post.

 

Revisiting The Silmarillion

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It’s been a while, but I’m back.

Much like people who revisit familiar places as vacation destinations, I’m going back to revisit a favorite book series of mine, starting with The Silmarillion.

A primer is in order first. The Silmarillion is like Middle Earth 101 (or to risk being a little sacrilegious, the Middle Earth Bible). It starts with the creation of all things and progresses from there.

If you love The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, this is where it all started. Literally. J. R. R. Tolkien began working on this manuscript way before The Hobbit and worked on it continuously until he died. His son, Christopher, published it  four years after Tolkien’s death.

It’s not for the faint of heart. It’s Wagnerian in its scope and not quite as warm and friendly as The Hobbit or LOTR. I don’t see how anyone could adapt this into a feature film (though I imagine someone will make an attempt in the near future).

I could have titled this blog post “Yes, I am a Nerd (and Thanks for Noticing).” I don’t mind. I can think of very few who could create such a fully realized reality such as Middle Earth, complete with an assortment of beings who had their own histories and languages. Though Tolkien didn’t intend them as allegories in the strictest sense, you can pull all sorts of inferences from his writings.

For the record, I am a fan of all things Harry Potter and Narnia. I also love the Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L’Engle. At least those are the ones that come to mind.

Hopefully, I won’t rush through this time. I want to stop and savor all of Middle Earth. Too bad there’s not a “I went to The Shire and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” t-shirt.

 

I Think It’s About Forgiveness

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I’ve been thinking about forgiveness quite a bit lately, particularly in the context of the story of Joseph and his brothers.

I imagine most of you are probably familiar with the story, but I’ll give a brief summary. Joseph has dreams as a teenager and (unwisely) decides to tell them to his family. That and being the favorite son doesn’t do him any favors.

His brothers end up selling him into slavery (making Joseph the first recorded victim of human trafficking). He winds up in Egypt, where he goes from a slave in Potiphar’s court to wrongful imprisonment to a high-ranking position in the government (thanks in large part to his God-given ability to interpret dreams.

One of the dreams he interprets predicts a coming famine to all the known world. He’s able to prepare by storing up large amounts of grain during a time of plenty, so that Egypt not only has enough to survive but also to sell to neighboring countries.

Some of the people who show up to buy food happen to be those very brothers who sold him in the first place. Joseph is able to see how God used their evil act for good to save a multitude of people, including his own family.

Joseph could have chosen bitterness. Or revenge. He was well within his rights to seek retribution against his brothers. He probably could have even had them killed if he wanted.

People will say that forgiveness is a cop out for the weak. I say forgiveness takes great strength. I will go so far as to say that true forgiveness is impossible without God’s help. As my pastor said recently, forgiveness is releasing the expectation that the other person or persons can fix what they did. That’s hard.

Joseph was able to forgive because of his perspective. He saw how God had been with him time and time again though every stage of his journey from home to Egypt, from son to slave to ruler. Joseph was able to see the bigger picture.

Forgiveness ultimately sees that there is nothing that you’ve done or that has been done to you that God can’t work for good and His glory.

Who do you need to forgive (including yourself)? Who do you need to seek forgiveness from?

I love the image that forgiveness is opening the door to a prison cell to release the prisoner only to discover that that prisoner was you all along.

Forgiveness is a beautiful thing.

 

The Prince of Peace

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“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

It seems like every time I turn around, there’s more hatred and violence. There’s more racism and division. I know ultimately that it’s not a hate issue or a race issue. It’s a sin issue.

It’s the sin that indwells the hearts of every man, woman, and child. It’s the same sin that indwells my own heart, the sin that causes me to not do what I want and to do what I don’t want to do.

That same sin issue won’t go away by electing the “right” President. It won’t go away by passing the “right” laws or by deporting the “wrong” people.

The answer to all the hate, violence, racism, and division lies within the Prince of Peace, who chose to keep silent in the midst of His own injustice and suffering.

He chose the wrongful death so  that we could live. He chose to bear the weight of my sin and shame so that I wouldn’t have to be a slave to it any longer.

That’s what brings me comfort on nights like these when the world outside seems to have lost its collective mind. There are a lot of talking heads out there offering a lot of different ideas about what can solve the mess we’re in, but only one real solution: Jesus.

The sobering thought is that I am just as sinful and in need of grace as those who shout racist epithets and those who riot and loot. In the deepest part of my heart, I see that same darkness. I see glimpses of what I am capable of apart from the incessant grace of God.

So I’m praying for peace to the Prince of Peace and resting in the promise that the victory over evil has already been won and that one day everything wrong will be made right.

I’m Not Even On Drugs. I’m Just Weird.

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I’m not even on drugs. I’m just weird.

That sums up my day. I’ve been racking my brain for 30 minutes thinking of something noteworthy to write about, but apparently, the literary part of my mind has already called it a night and gone to bed.

I read where having your dog sleep next to you on the bed helps you to sleep better, reduces anxiety and depression, and increases your lifespan. I wonder if sleeping next to snoring cats has the same effect.

I believe that Fall officially starts in two days. For those of us (like me) in Tennessee, that means we have all the pumpkin spice beverages to consume while it’s still at least 90 degrees outside for another month or so.

Still, I’m thankful. I’m grateful for every day of life that I get. I’m appreciative for good health and mobility. The older I get, the less I take these things for granted because the more I know people who didn’t get to wake up this morning and experience the miracle of life.

I highly recommend that you get either a dog or a cat who can sleep next to you in bed. I also recommend partaking in a pumpkin spice beverage at least once during the season. Most of all, I recommend giving thanks every day for at least one good thing, no matter how small. See how that will change your perspective.

 

Examen of Consciousness

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I’m still mulling over that little book, Seven Sacred Pauses by Macrina Wiederkehr. Did I agree 100% with every paragraph and sentence? No. Would I recommend it? Yes, for those with discernment. Did I love it? Yes.

One of the parts that resonated deeply with me was a section called the examen of consciousness, questions to ask yourself at the end of the day to see if you lived deliberately and mindfully instead of simply existing.

These are good questions for each of us to ponder at the close of another Monday:

  • Have I been a good memory in anyone’s life today?
  • Have the ears of my heart opened to the voice of God?
  • Have the ears of my heart opened to the needs of my sisters and brothers?
  • Have the eyes of my heart beheld the Divine face in all created things?
  • What do I know, but live as though I do not know?
  • Have I been a good student of the hours today?
  • How have I affected the quality of this day?
  • Have I been blind or deaf to the blessings of the day?
  • Is there anyone, including myself, whom I need to forgive?
  • When did I experience my heart opening wide today?
  • Have I worked with joy or drudgery?
  • Have I waited with grace or with impatience?
  • What is the one thing in my life that is standing on tiptoe crying, “May I have your attention please?” What needs my attention?” (Macrina Wiederkehr, Seven Sacred Pauses)

Hopefully, someone has asked you one or more of these questions today. All of us need at least one person to hold us accountable and not let us off with pat answers to the tough questions. We all need someone who will call us out on our crap and who will hold us up to being our very best selves.

Next, I think I’ll tackle reading through The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien yet again. Wish me luck.