PAINFUL REALITIES, UNKNOWN POTENTIAL

1 Samuel 1:1-2:21; John 5:1-23; Psalm 105:37-45; Proverbs 14:28-29

“’I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.’ And they worshiped the Lord there.”

“When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, ‘Would you like to get well?’”

“People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.”

At our “White Elephant” Christmas parties, folks bring a small (usually, a gag) gift, pick numbers and then select their own gift from the veritable cornucopia of “wonders” (as in, “I wonder who would buy that?!?”) under the tree. Oh, and if someone opens a gift you actually want (some are claimed just to be regifted next year; it’s that kind of group), you can take it for your turn and send them back to the tree. Once in a while, someone will want to keep a gift. Grips relax a little too slowly for comfort. What is truly interesting, though, is how many “victims” don’t then opt for another surprise, but instead take a known article from someone else.

So it is with life. We are reluctant to let go of almost any known circumstances or stuff, no matter how they burden us, unless we are forced to give them up. We look around for other “knowns” to replace them. We don’t trust Jesus to creatively provide unanticipated blessings in place of things we lose or sacrifice. Consequently, our hands are usually so full of relatively meaningless material that we deprive ourselves of the chance to grab hold of what the Lord offers. Someone once responded to this observation with the old cliché that the enemy we know is better than the one we don’t expect. Ha, ha – NOT! His is a life obviously bounded by fear. If we don’t keep our lives available to the Spirit, and a loose grip on our stuff, we will never be able to fully lay hold of grace or any other heavenly opportunity when it comes along.

Thankfully, Christ sometimes helps those unwilling to help themselves in spite of themselves. I myself am typically a “safety first” guy, more focused on the likely adverse results of a bad decision than the potential of a good one. I don’t like being a stumbling block to creativity, yet time and again, I reject unknown potential in favor of known realities. Jesus no doubt understands but shakes His head at the blessings I miss because I don’t trust Him to have a better plan. Occasionally, He even graciously intervenes. For example, I was in a truly hateful job for several years. Money got tight. The wonderful folks I’d started with became worse than mercenaries. Morale and camaraderie were distant memories. Friendships disappeared, and loyalty had no meaning. It obviously was not the place for me, yet I stayed. After all, I didn’t know what other opportunities might exist, and the biweekly paycheck was still pretty comforting… until it did not come, either. One of my partners captured the situation perfectly: “How long can you tread water?” Still, I stayed, now beyond all reason. When they finally asked me to leave, it honestly was something of a relief – at least, deeply underneath the uncertainty and fear.

Talking much more bravely than I felt, on getting home, I quoted my wife an old Imperials’ song: “He didn’t bring us this far to leave us; He didn’t teach us to swim to let us drown.” I began my job search clinging to that hope. Long story short, I never missed a paycheck (thank God for severance packages!), and the place Christ put me has been my vocation for the last 13 years. It’s a better place, a friendlier place and a place where I can be free to be more effective for Christ. It also is a place I never would have gotten to if I had not been lovingly pushed by the Spirit, in spite of my own desires.

I understand all stories of loss, fear or uncertainty do not have happy endings. Happy endings are not the point. Frankly, I doubt Hannah ever felt her five later children balanced giving Samuel back to the Lord, even knowing how things worked out. But neither balance nor justice is the point, either. Recognizing, accepting and actually grasping God’s plan as the best thing, regardless, is the only point. Jesus asked the man at Bethesda’s pool a deep and honest question, loosely paraphrased, “Do you want to give up your excuses?” Any number of reasons exist for failing to trust the Lord. There are perfectly rational excuses. But let not anger or frustration rule. Everything pales compared to the blessings He has in store. We just have to free up our hands to take hold of them. Whether we like it, or not. The next time God wrests some bit of security from our control, maybe the best response is just to challenge and trust Him to provide something better, and open ourselves to new possibilities.

AIN'T TOO PROUD TO BEG

Ruth 2:1-4:22; John 4:43-54; Psalm 105:16-36; Proverbs 14:26-27

“Naomi took [Ruth’s] baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.”

“Jesus asked, ‘Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?’ The official pleaded, ‘Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Go back home. Your son will live!’ And the man believed what Jesus said and started home.”

‘Those who fear the Lord are secure; he will be a refuge for their children.”

There is a plain beauty in how God’s ministry to the humble is always exactly what’s needed to bring them into His plan. The more I read, the more it seems the Spirit saves Damascus Road experiences for the self-righteous, those too proud to be reached any other way. He is gentler with the modest but uses them just as mightily, and that is important to understand when ego threatens to get in the way.

Ruth, a “pagan” Moabite, was always true to one allegiance – providing for and protecting Naomi. Nothing was beneath her that could be a tool used for that purpose. She stood firm against the humiliation of picking up the leavings of Boaz’s harvesters, endured the judgment of “real” workers, and even suffered through the embarrassing presumption of dipping her bread in their cup as directed by Boaz. Then, she accepted her mother-in-law’s direction to go lay at Boaz’s feet. Ruth did not fear vulnerability, and she remained steadfastly focused on Naomi. In turn, her priorities and course remained clear, and she was not dissuaded by pride or gossip. Many may feel Ruth demeaned herself, but those folks shouldn’t miss the final verses. Without Ruth’s humility, there would have been no Jesus Christ, because there would have been no King David. I know the retort. God would have found another way. True enough. But in no way does that possibility diminish the reality that His plan for Christ went through Ruth.

How often does our pride or aversion to vulnerability cause us to be a barrier around which the path of God is forced to detour? The good news is we’ll likely never know, at least this side of heaven. That’s also the bad news. Undoubtedly, we have left countless blessings on the table because we were too busy, too important or too wounded to stoop to pick them up or stop to accept them. The Capernaum official knew better. As a public official, being told to go home was not the warm and reassuring answer he was expecting. It probably felt like a rebuke. Still, this humble man simply “believed Jesus’ word” and started home.  He could have taken any perceived slight personally, argued about it, insisted on a personal visit and likely never would have seen the blessing of simple faith. But because he swallowed his pride, his son was saved, and his entire household believed. If we read Jesus’ words carefully, the son and family got better results from the father’s unadorned trust than they ever would have experienced had the man insisted on more personal attention and comfort.

In summary, it sure seems like God does a lot more for us when the results are not about us, especially when we are humble enough to just accept in faith what He offers. Ruth helped Naomi, willingly giving up other opportunities. She was blessed beyond anything she could ever have dreamed.  The official accepted Jesus’ word without demanding reassurance or personal comfort, and his whole house entered the Kingdom. The conclusions are inescapable. Our allegiances need to be to something other than ourselves. We need to accept what the Spirit offers in humble gratitude. We need to give up our own ideas of success. In Godly trust is the greatest power and healing. As difficult as it may be to give up place and power and personal significance, Christ was pretty clear that only the meek shall inherit the earth.

DECLARATIONS OF ALLEGIANCE

Judges 21:1-Ruth 1:22; John 4:4-42; Psalm 105:1-15; Proverbs 14:25

“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.’”

“Then they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.’”

“‘Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.”

It always surprises me when and how God finally gets me around to where I need to be. For the last couple of days, I’ve been unable to shake a focus on details, if not outright negatives. It’s a bit of a victory that this even troubled me. Attorneys aren’t exactly trained to look for the good in things or to accept the big picture outlook, and to be honest, neither has ever been my first impulse. Nor do l wish to sound Pollyanna-ish. The serious problems we face demand serious analysis and answers from serious people.

But it is also possible to over analyze things and lose ourselves in the overwhelming minutia of “things needing to be done” or, more basically, “qualities of a righteous person.” There is no freedom in a checklist, and that’s probably why Jesus seldom let Himself get drawn into debates about specific priorities. Anyone who could condense all the Laws of Moses and the teachings of the prophets into two commands has the art of “concept living” down to a science. Being so firmly committed to just those two basic principles gave Jesus the freedom to be much more creative. His perspective was unfettered by considerations of what others thought or how His actions and decisions would play out. As far as Christ was concerned, as long as His allegiances remained squarely within the dual motivations of loving God and loving neighbors, their practical consequences were not something He fretted over.

This finally got me to thinking about my own priorities and allegiances. Two things became immediately clear: 1) I am confusing priorities with allegiances; and 2) I have too many priorities and am too unclear about fundamental allegiances. The Spirit challenges each of us to clarify the latter and cut down on the former. Hopefully, this will focus our energies. At the very least, it should help me better appreciate the relationship between my heart and head and assure my efforts are worth what they accomplish for God. If they don’t accomplish anything for God, perhaps this new perspective on allegiances will give me the courage to stop wasting effort on misguided priorities and let go of the inevitable, associated frustrations.

Dedicated allegiance is a far cry from the simple priority of recognizing and worshiping Christ as Savior. It is especially easy to forget that over the holidays. However, the contrast in Old and New Testament verses today brings the distinction into sharp focus. The Samaritans recognized Jesus as the Messiah, but from what I read, it mattered no more than if they had been admiring a puppy in a window. No one – not even the woman at the well – is recorded as making a commitment to follow Christ. Consequently, it seems a fair assumption that, despite the recognition, Jesus simply passed into and out of their lives without any real effect… just as He does for many of us at Christmas.

Ruth, on the other hand, understood priorities quickly fade when dedicated allegiance is not their foundation. That’s why she declared her allegiance first. How many knelt at the manger and pledged to the Babe that we would go where He goes; live where He lives; and regard His people (meaning everybody) as our people? I did not. That’s a huge pledge. But mainly, I just didn’t think about it. I thought worship (the priority of recognition) was enough for that season. Perhaps it was, but I am now quickly becoming convinced that if that is all I allow Christmas to be, it’s just going to once more fade into pleasant, and impotent, memory.

I need to make a new declaration of allegiance to the Christ as both Lord and Savior and evaluate my priorities based on that. The Psalmist understood any living relationship with God requires both a going forth in His power, and letting the whole world know of our allegiance. If we are reluctant to reprioritize our lives by the standard of an unquestioned allegiance to God, I’m beginning to think our so-called Christianity may not end up being much more than lip service from the eternal perspective.

FIGHTING AGAINST OURSELVES

Judges 19:1-20:48; John 3:22-4:3; Psalm 104:24-35; Proverbs 14:22-24

“They had asked the Lord, ‘Should we fight against our relatives from Benjamin again?’ And the Lord had said, ‘Go out and fight against them.’”

“He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit.”

“When you give them your breath, life is created, and you renew the face of the earth.”

“If you plan to do evil, you will be lost; if you plan to do good, you will receive unfailing love and faithfulness.”

My all time number one enemy is me. When I’m not busy fighting with myself, the most consuming conflict usually involves one or more family members. Don’t misunderstand. Discord is not a standard part of our clan’s dynamic. (The kids have even readjusted to being back home and together for Christmas break, thankfully.) It’s just that we all occasionally are guilty of treating our friends and acquaintances better than we treat those closest to us. More ironically, we are not at all shy about demanding more consideration from others than we give ourselves. Perhaps this is merely symptomatic of the old saw about familiarity breeding contempt. No one, save God, knows us better than those with whom we live, or than we know ourselves. But that does not make dismantling ourselves or messing up family relationships any more acceptable.  

We all know individuals who have destroyed themselves from the inside out, or have alienated others so badly they have found themselves completely isolated. I’m not talking about those with addictions or genuine psychological illnesses. My focus is on those, like ourselves, who sometimes just let the emptiness, selfishness, anger or grief inside swallow who they are as people. Whether one is reading Judges 19 or Matthew 18, the Word is clear that those who bring cancer into the Body just cannot be allowed to stay without first being repentant and healed. The best solution, though, is simply not to let things get to the point of causing injury in the first place.

My personal experience suggests there is no cure for the “I’m no good” syndrome or family disharmony that does not include a healthy dose of prayer. We cannot truly fill any inner needs without the Spirit’s help, and we can have no communion with the Spirit if we do not spend time with the Lord in prayer. We can say we love ourselves even without Christ, but in the vast majority of cases, we are mistaking arrogance, selfishness and/or narcissism for genuine, healthy self love. It’s no wonder, then, that we lose patience with ourselves and our families. We just forget that we, and they, are both more loved and more loveable than we imagine.

For those so inclined, there could be no better New Year’s resolution than to dedicate ourselves to trying to see ourselves and our loved ones as Jesus does. We, and they, are worth the sacrifice of God’s own Son; it is irrational for us to give up on anyone the Lord has declared worthy of such grace. It also is a direct affront to our Creator to even suggest that we are a better judge of character than He. When the Lord told us to leave judgment to God, He did not mean for us to exclude ourselves or our families. Indeed, if we cannot accept His forgiveness for ourselves or share it with those closest to us, we cannot expect to ever be of much help in building the Body of Christ. Only the Spirit can heal us of our emptiness and our skepticism. What have we got to lose by opening ourselves to His power? It surely does not compare to the family and fellowship the Spirit wants to help build through us!

A SIMPLE CHOICE

Judges 17:1-18:31; John 3:1-21; Psalm 104:1-23; Proverbs 14:20-21

“In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”

“…Judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.”

Like every year, 2009 will be a year of decisions. Perhaps there will be greater, and more important, choices than usual – if there is a usual. Our options may be more complicated, interrelated or difficult. But there is always this first: decisions made without regard for fundamental standards are never any better than mere reactions.  If we just keep on sticking our fingers in the leaky dike, we may get lucky, but we will never be secure. Too much water has already been spilled for anyone not to understand that a greater price has yet to be paid for the erosion of integrity and morality 2008 finally revealed. The real question is whether humanity will ever be ready and willing to accept the only medicine that can heal and make it whole.

God waits patiently, continuing to call us back to our spiritual foundations and the life He always intended for us, as He has for thousands of years. History proves nothing, though, if it does not stand as irrefutable evidence that even the Creator’s cries for universal societal change, morality and holiness always fall on more deaf than listening ears. No social movement has ever begun as a shifting of the masses. Ethical, economic and any other serious reform always begins with a new vision. And the vision that becomes the rudder which redirects an entire community, region or country almost always starts with one inspired individual or a very small group.

Thus, if 2009 is to be the turning point we all so desperately need, it also must be the year Christians and other bold individuals start to take things personally. Specifically, it’s time to dump the grandiose “causes” and special interests in favor of simple, individual commitment to and insistence on honesty and openness. Every person must play by the same rules. No one is impressed by loud voices and extravagant promises or schemes anymore. We have got to get back to personal responsibility and opportunity. Effective change will only begin with us, the people, not another governmental program. We need to recapture the fire and power of the America where neighbors stood by and for each other and inspired their families. It can only begin with a simple choice to come out of the dark and forcefully walk into the light.

Look at today’s situation. The problems we now face bear little relation to any major social movement. Yes, there was an inappropriate relaxation of regulation and oversight which allowed a lot of wrongdoing, but that was not itself the problem. The problem was individuals who made personal decisions to behave unethically and imprudently. Others saw, accepted and followed suit. Pretty soon, what was an aberration became a plague that undercut the financial stability of the entire world. The seeds of destruction were planted without a single major decree or proclamation promoting malfeasance. All it took was a relative handful of individuals making decisions without principles.

Jesus proved that process can be reversed. One person can save the world. There’s just one catch: commitment to sacrifice. Little in life makes an impact or has significance without some level of sacrifice. Even the bad guys get that; they just sacrifice the wrong things, like ethics and justice. We can do better. We can once more live, and inspire each other with, a simple mantra: “Do right!” There will be those who say this is too simple. People don’t even know what’s “right.”  I disagree. We even have an Example of how “right” works. We just don’t want to do right. The price is too high, the sacrifice too great.

Not for everybody. There are still a chosen few who understand the present costs of a commitment like Christ’s will inevitably and most assuredly be outstripped by the dividends paid in the abundant life the Spirit provides and in eternity. I pray God will raise up these few select men and women of vision to step fully into the light and once more inspire our people to just “Do right!”

GETTING IT WRONG

Judges 15:1-16:31; John 2:1-25; Psalm 103:1-22; Proverbs 14:17-19

“Samson was now very thirsty, and he cried out to the Lord, ‘You have accomplished this great victory by the strength of your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of these pagans?’”

“Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, ‘Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!’”

“Short-tempered people do foolish things, and schemers are hated.”

Samson confuses me. “You have accomplished this great victory by the strength of your servant.” Say what?!? Was he serious? God won only because Samson was on His side??? Please! Samson may be the most cocky, ungrateful character in Scripture. Few have ever matched his physical strength, or his arrogance. He ruled Israel for 20 years, single-handedly fought and won numerous battles in which entire garrisons might not have engaged, and had his choice of the ladies. Yet not once is he quoted as giving thanks to God or anyone else for anything. His only recorded prayer is for vengeance against those who exposed and took advantage of his vanity so completely. Even at his weakest and most vulnerable, Samson was still making demands of God. It’s sad, actually: not once in his entire biography is Samson described doing anything other than for himself. All his narcissism and selfishness added up to only one thing – a huge pile of dead bodies.

Centuries later, Jesus dealt with a similar problem. The Temple had become a cistern of selfishness, crowded with those only interested in making a profit, even if at the expense of others. Jesus did not bother with a sermon, logic or even a plea for charity. He literally whipped the carpetbaggers right out of the sanctuary. It wasn’t that they weren’t providing a valuable, necessary service; like Samson killing the occupying Philistines, they were. Having animals available for sacrifice allowed customers symbolic purification they could not have achieved otherwise. But also like Samson, the heart behind the action was corrupt and so polluted the “service” that no one truly benefitted. Arguably, the people were better off without such “leaders.”

It would seem, then, that 2008 was not such an unprecedented year after all. This is not whining. It is reminding ourselves of an important spiritual truth. Absolute selfishness, not absolute power, corrupts absolutely. When our motives are limited to doing only what benefits us, there just aren’t any spiritual benefits for anyone, including us.

Thank goodness we worship a God of second chances… and third, fourth and fifth chances. We have the choice and opportunity to defy history, beginning today.  Say no to the old and bring in the new. 2009 is the best time we have to start doing business and living life with a different goal. We simply cannot succeed if our “achievement” comes at the expense of others. We will never exorcise greed from the human gene pool. But we can decide it is more important to build up the Body of Christ than to build up ourselves. If 2008 proved nothing else, it proved that a focus on self drags everyone down.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Judges 13:1-14:20; John 1:29-51; Psalm 102:1-28; Proverbs 14:15-16

“’Why do you ask my name?’ the angel of the Lord replied. ‘It is too wonderful for you to understand.’”

“As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, ‘Look! There is the Lamb of God!’”

“But you, O Lord, will sit on your throne forever. Your fame will endure to every generation.”

Since time immemorial, control of a name has implied control of the thing or being. Perhaps that explains God’s name: “YHWH.” Inherently unpronounceable, God’s name defies explanation, just as He defies our control. Yet many of us spend more of our “religious” time trying to dictate to God how He should behave than we spend allowing Him into our lives. We need to reconcile ourselves to the idea that the Spirit cannot be controlled and that our attempts to govern Him actually are a form of rejection. In other words, we attempt to control what we cannot trust. If we trust someone, there is no need for control.

God recognizes our misguided desire to command Him. It’s called sin. That’s why He translated His Name, “I AM.” It may be too wonderful to understand fully, but at least, it tells us the One we worship is, quite literally, outside our jurisdiction. As the very essence of all being, the Source of all Life, God is just not subject to our control. He is only subject to our decision to accept or reject Him because He will not hold our souls captive. Instead, God offers Himself for us, so we know we can safely offer our lives back to Him and trust Him to do His best with and through us.

Another of His Names helps us understand this: Lamb of God. The ultimate, once-and-for-all sacrifice of Christ gave us another shot at Life as God always intended, in actual fellowship with Him. In this Name is abundant life. In this Name is found shared, eternal life. We do well, we do our very best, when we just give our lives back to the Lamb for reconciliation, purification and recreating. 

Putting all this together, without God as He is, in all His marvelous iterations, life as it was intended by its Source just does not happen. We have no business speaking His true name because we have no business trying to control or limit Him or the Life that comes from Him. Any real limitation of God necessarily would limit life itself. Thus, our efforts to box God into any image will necessarily limit our ability to fully experience Him.

God comes to us in three forms: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each speaks to us in different ways at different times. But the ultimate take-away from the Trinity is that there are no lengths to which God will not go to reach us. And there is no reason to attempt to limit our experience of God for the same reason. He loves us. We can trust Him. There is no need to control Him. And any effort to do so is destined to be self-defeating. This year, let’s resolve to let God be God in all His iterations. We might just end up with a better appreciation of exactly what is in His many Names. 

STAND TRUE!

Judges 11:1-12:15; John 1:1-28; Psalm 101:1-8; Proverbs 14:13-14

“I have made a vow to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.”

“The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

“I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them. I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil. I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.”

“Backsliders get what they deserve; good people receive their reward.”

I have a confession. With Christmas over, family here, nightly activities and it being the “dead” week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, I was thinking about how nice it would be to just take a little time off from church and the daily commitment to this blog. After all, everybody allows themselves a break once in a while, right? Even our head pastors took Sunday off. As late as Saturday around 6 PM, I was offered the “opportunity” to cancel my Sunday school class and was sorely tempted. Who would notice if I checked out for the weekend? Would anyone really care? The answers came quickly: I would, and Christ would. So, the blog continued (O.K., later than usual, but it continued), and I lead class Sunday morning. Both decisions were significant mainly because they continued personal commitments to the Lord. They also brought home a deeper point as we approach 2009 and the inevitable New Year’s resolutions. Life is about a lot more than just doing what we feel like, or not doing things when we don’t feel like doing them. At the core of who we are as people is integrity… or not. Since the upcoming year clearly is going to seriously test our integrity (or lack of it) as a people and individually, we might as well start practicing now.

There isn’t any point to continuing to whine about the economy or the incredible list of persistent failures that got us here. 2009 asks simply whether we will stand true through the storm. Will we continue to seek out and seize opportunities in Christ, or just “duck and cover?” To be sure, the duck and cover strategy is not all that unattractive. Survival can be its own victory, and there are any number of folks for whom simply getting through the day will be a success they can and should rightfully claim. But where we can do better, I personally believe the God of all Creation is specifically calling us to do more.

Let’s not forget that, out of the slavery of Egypt, God raised up one of the greatest leaders ever seen. After the stoning of Stephen came the conversion of Saul to Paul. Beyond the Cross was the Resurrection.  History is replete with examples of God’s redemptive grace. But we need to be available; we need to give Him the opportunity to use us and act through us.

As in every year, this coming year, Christ will continue to call forth men and women of integrity to serve Him and bring others to Him. We can choose to lick our wounds and politely decline further risk, or we can extend ourselves beyond the bounds of reason and logic into the realm of pure faith in the One who has brought us this far. We speak glibly about trusting the Spirit to provide, protect and strengthen us when times are good and we are not being tested. Coming up is our opportunity to live out what we say we believe. God does not break His promises. We, however, have to be available and willing to claim their benefits. And when those benefits are not to be found in a comfortable place, we have to be willing to be uncomfortable, if that is where the Spirit leads.

WHO ELSE IS WORTHY?

Judges 9:22-10:18; Luke 24:13-53; Psalm 100:1-5; Proverbs 14:11-12

“When they oppressed you, you cried out to me for help, and I rescued you. Yet you have abandoned me and served other gods. So I will not rescue you anymore. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen! Let them rescue you in your hour of distress!”

“’You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures….’ With my authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’”

Certain people claim accepting Jesus is an exercise of the heart more than the head. Some go so far as to assert we will never come to Christ through our intellect. I beg to differ…, strenuously! There is much illogical about God’s love for us, but there’s absolutely nothing illogical about our accepting the Spirit’s lordship. Indeed, considering the alternatives, nothing else makes as much sense. At least, that’s the conclusion I came to when considering the following for myself:

1. I am a sinner who falls short way too often. Left unaddressed, my failures will be fatal to my relationships and my own self-image. I know this, because I have experienced it. There is no contrary argument that withstands truthful scrutiny.

2. I am incapable of saving myself from my failures. I need forgiveness, but more than that, I need a Savior.

3. Christ promises to save me, if only I will accept His Lordship.

4. No one else, and no other thing, is worthy to be Lord of my life.

If we accept we need some Savior, considering the alternatives, Jesus is the only logical choice. The battle usually rages between self and the Spirit. We do not surrender control gracefully. But we are no more worthy to govern our own lives than is a golden calf. Here, then, is the ultimate battleground: pride. It is pride, not intellect, which separates us from God. We just don’t do submission very well.

Rejection of Christ or His Will usually is a product of pride. Feeling that we know better than God is an easy symptom to identify.  What is more insidious is the lack of self-evaluation which would lead us to the Spirit. Whenever we decline to look at our lives with honest objectivity and refuse to own our faults, all we are really doing is pridefully rejecting any indication that might lead us to God. This is understandable. Humans dislike vulnerability. We forget, though, that there is no real vulnerability in Christ. First, God already knows our faults; it would be impossible for us to be more vulnerable to Him. Second, however, the Blood of Jesus washes those faults away; when God looks at us, He sees Jesus. The most logical thing in the world, then, would be to immerse ourselves in Christ and accept His Lordship over our lives. No one else is worthy to be so trusted, including – especially – ourselves.

CLAIMING CHRIST

Judges 8:18-9:21; Luke 23:44-24:12; Psalm 99:1-9; Proverbs 14:9-10

“’Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.’ Then they remembered that he had said this. So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened.”

“Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established fairness. You have acted with justice and righteousness throughout Israel. Exalt the Lord our God! Bow low before his feet, for he is holy!”

“Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can fully share its joy.

Jesus makes a habit out of not showing up where we expect Him and revealing Himself when we’re not looking. Old Testament prophecy told us plainly to look in Bethlehem, but most missed Him there. Jesus said He would not stay in the tomb more than three days, yet no one believed it at first when they saw the tomb empty. He’s given us clues about His Second Coming, but it’s still likely to come as a surprise, too. There’s a trend here. None of the most significant of the Lord’s appearances have been marked by widespread acceptance. Maybe it’s because relatively few Christians are genuinely serious about claiming Christ as their Lord, as well as their Savior.

It can be hard to find Christ when we’re not seriously looking for Him. Even the most diligent sometimes have a hard time staying focused, particularly when He does not seem to show up when we expect Him as we expect Him. It could be our hearts just aren’t ready, but it also could be we are looking for something other than a Lord.

I was one of the most difficult of souls for the Spirit to reach. No, not an addict, a pervert, an atheist or a Satan worshiper: the guy most mothers wanted for their daughters. I did not smoke, almost never drank, and was a one-girl-at-a-time guy who paid attention to the bounds of morality, played athletics and got good grades. In short, not an obvious sinner at all, I was instead a “lifer,” one who had grown up in the church, never knew any other way and thought everything was fine. Had anyone asked (they didn’t, probably assuming my time in church, youth group, retreats and mission projects spoke for itself), I’d have said I had a relationship with Christ. Certainly, I needed no proselytizing. I knew the Scriptures. I even toured as Jesus in the musical Godspell for close to a year! I didn’t need another relationship; I needed a Lord, but I didn’t recognize it until almost too late.

It’s hard to realize how far off a miss can be until we are confronted with an actual target. I called myself a Christian, but the first time I really needed God, I came up empty. I did not know how to align my spirit with Christ’s. The sad fact is, I had just been going through the motions, acting like what I thought a Christian was, until one day, it became painfully obvious I had no clue. While the specifics of that story are a whole blog for another day, the gist is that I was challenged to respond to a major crisis in my life (at 17, isn’t most everything?) by relying on the Spirit, and had nothing to fall back on. I never really thought I needed Jesus before, so I had never really acknowledged Him as my personal Lord. I had just been going through the motions of a “religious life,” thinking the rest would take care of itself.

It won’t. We can decorate the house for Christmas, spend time in church, carry our Bibles, think pious thoughts, give to the poor… and still not be one step closer to the Living Christ. Finding Christ has little to do with intellectual knowledge or living a decent life. Primarily, it means submitting to Him as the Lord of our lives. Said another way, “being Christian” is much more about recognizing who Jesus is than it is about what we think or do. My prayer is that no one waits until they need Jesus to make Him their Lord. I won’t say Jesus won’t or can’t save us in the bottom of the ninth. But I will say that waiting to actually confess Him as Lord allows a lot of blindness, and may leave us vulnerable when we need His strength the most. There won’t be a better time to claim Jesus as Lord. But there could be any number of times coming when we’ll wish we’d done so sooner.

A FALSE SENSE OF SERENITY

Judges 7:1-8:17; Luke 23:13-43; Psalm 97:1-98:9; Proverbs 14:7-8

“Your dream can mean only one thing—God has given Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite, victory over Midian and all its allies!”

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.’”

“Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory; his holy arm has shown his saving power! The Lord has announced his victory and has revealed his righteousness to every nation!

“The prudent understand where they are going, but fools deceive themselves.”

Where do we go from the Manger? The world has not changed. Perhaps we have. But the roads on which we walked on the 24^th are usually still the same ones we must continue traveling after our Bethlehem diversion. They have the same uncertainties, difficulties, twists and turns. Why doesn’t Christmas make life any easier?

Today, the day after Christmas, a fundamental premise deserves thought. What makes the experience of Christmas positive or negative for us personally? Most folks tend to evaluate “good” and “bad,” or better and best, etc., in terms of whether that which we evaluate makes our own personal life easier or more difficult. “Easy,” of course, is “good.” And so forth. But as we evaluate Christmas, maybe a good place to start is with this basic assumption. If Christmas stands for anything, it stands for the proposition that “easy” and “good” are never synonyms in God’s vocabulary.

This is a frequent hurdle to overcome in my relationship with God. Nothing’s easy in the Christmas story, and I should not expect otherwise. Idyllic cards and over-idealizing winter beauty only distract us from the harsh realities of the season. Mary and Joseph’s trip, night in a cold stable, actual childbirth in a cold stable, shepherds leaving their flocks, the Wise Men’s mental chess with Herod, Herod’s murder of the Hebrew babies, Joseph and family’s flight to Egypt… if we’re looking for “easy,” we’re going to be very disappointed in Christmas. There’s the rub. We have allowed this time of year to lull us into a false sense of serenity. When the going stays tough, we jump to the unwarranted conclusion we have missed Christmas.

God never promises us “easy,” at Christmas or any other time. He promises His Presence. Our obsessive quest for the comfortable accounts for much of our failure to experience the grace of Christmas.  Gideon understood this: His call to attack hordes of Midianites with only 300 warriors was not well-received or easy to accept. It still amazes me he was able to convince those special 300 to attack at all. The point, though, is that God went ahead of Gideon and demoralized his enemies long before Gideon was aware of his mission. Gideon had no idea how “easy” God had made things, until he moved forward in faith. Therein lies the secret of Christmas.

The invitation of Christmas is for us to move forward into a difficult world with the power and the certainty of God’s accompaniment. Whatever call, decision or circumstance we face, as we center on Christ, we can be sure He will travel with us, feel with us and give us His strength. It’s not going to be easy, but we have only ourselves and our stubborn sin to blame. On the other hand, we need never be alone… unless we give up on ourselves and on the Gift that is Christmas. There are many reasons for Christ’s cry at the Cross: “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Leaving Christmas on the 25^th of December is just one of them.

REPOSSESSION OF THE SOUL

Judges 6:1-40; Luke 22:54-23:12; Psalm 95:1-96:13; Proverbs 14:5-6

“When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he cried out, ‘Oh, Sovereign Lord, I’m doomed! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!’ ‘It is all right,’ the Lord replied. ‘Do not be afraid. You will not die.’”

“So Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Jesus replied, ‘You have said it.’ Pilate turned to the leading priests and to the crowd and said, ‘I find nothing wrong with this man!’”

“Come, let us worship and bow down.  Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care.  If only you would listen to his voice today!”

Today’s Scriptures have nothing to do with Christmas, but amazingly, they tell the Christmas story quite well.

1.     Those who are called by God may, in fact, look upon His face and live (abundantly).

2.      Jesus is the Messiah, the very Son of God, given to us by a loving God.

3.     Come, let us worship. He watches over us; hear His voice calling.

There is no simpler way to say it. There does not need to be. We don’t even have to fully understand what we see and hear. We just have to accept it. So today, let’s just relax and cherish the moment.

Even as I write these words, I am reminded again about my need to rest in the love of the Lord, and how seldom I actually do it. The noise, distractions and obligations of daily life do tend to get in the way, no doubt. But the responsibility for any burnout is mine. I don’t have to allow it. Christmas says I have a choice. There’s an option to give an offering of my time to Christ on a daily basis. Each time I dare to do so, especially when my Blackberry says there’s no time, my soul is freed from a little more worry and insecurity. There’s no obvious explanation for what’s happening. But the truth is, staking out a daily time for Jesus has brought with it unexpected power. A lot of this Spring and Summer’s anxiety is now an unpleasant memory – but that’s all it is! It’s no longer controlling my thoughts or my actions. Allowing the Spirit to speak to and through me on a daily basis has made a lot of other things a little less important, and the things of this world much less significant.

Obviously, Christmas is about Christ; our decision to go to Bethlehem; and our willingness to take time to appreciate, accept and worship what we find there, even if we don’t fully grasp it. It plays out in reshuffled priorities and new and unexpected potential. But simply, it’s about God as a human Baby. Let’s not get so used to the idea that it loses its stunning illogic and unfathomable grace. When we take Christmas for granted and fail to set aside time for Jesus Himself to speak to us through His Spirit, we never quite claim the reality of what it means that God would become one of us to save each of us.

I have tried wearing anxiety. The fit is never flattering. I’m convinced only Christ can evict it from my heart. It’s time to let Him have His way. Christmas is a time to let Jesus repossess our souls. Once the packages are unwrapped, the meal eaten, the football (or basketball) game concluded, and clean up finished, let’s take a few minutes just to stop and claim the freedom from anxiety God offers. As our pastor noted, the first word of Christmas is always, “Fear not!” We can allow a daily Christmas to get inside us, to soften and change us. We can keep on with the same old, same old. The decision is ours. We can put Jesus back in the attic for another year, but we don’t have to. We can choose instead to give Him life, our lives. 

RESISTING THE PILGRIMAGE

Judges 4:1-5:31; Luke 22:35-53; Psalm 94:1-23; Proverbs 14:3-4

“Why did you sit at home among the sheepfolds—to hear the shepherds whistle for their flocks?
Yes, in the tribe of Reuben there was great indecision.
Gilead remained east of the Jordan.
And why did Dan stay home?
Asher sat unmoved at the seashore,
remaining in his harbors.”

“’Why are you sleeping?’ he asked them. ‘Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.’”

“’The Lord isn’t looking,’ they say, ‘and besides, the God of Israel doesn’t care.’ Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on?
Is he deaf—the one who made your ears? Is he blind—the one who formed your eyes?”

“An empty stable stays clean, but no profit comes from an empty stable.”

The Night of Nights is finally here! Blessings and peace to those wise enough to follow the Star! Scripture is correct that there’s no profit in an empty stable, but neither is there any benefit from an unvisited manger or an unacknowledged guest amongst the animals. Yet, many of us remain undecided about whether to make the pilgrimage to Bethlehem, as we have been year after year. We’re pretty content with the way things are. If we’re not, we’re still mostly comfortable with the boundaries we’ve established for our lives. Really meeting Jesus face-to-face and kneeling down to worship Him could change things. He’s not likely to leave us as He finds us. Lines of authority could blur if not shift all together. Allegiances and priorities could switch. Besides, it’s a long way from where we live our day-to-day lives to the Manger. Seems the trip would be a lot of work and probably be disruptive of our envisioned futures to boot. Maybe it’s just not worth all the effort to get worked up over….

So men and women have rationalized - and been grossly mistaken - for centuries. As but one illustration, I once invited a friend to a very special weekend retreat. During the weekend, more often than not and in a way I still cannot comprehend, the Living Christ Incarnate actually shows up and is tangibly present to bless, cry and laugh with, and mainly love on His adopted sons and daughters. Don’t fret; I’m not talking apparitions or visions here. I’m talking about Christ in the world, the Body of Christ, Jesus in us. The Walk to Emmaus uses the love and support of Christ’s living Body, His Church, to show the “pilgrims” how special and loved they are by God, as well as their brothers and sisters in the faith. It is a deeply spiritual time and can be life changing. So, how did my friend respond? “I like my life. I don’t want to change. Thanks, but no thanks.”

Whether we admit it or not, facing the pilgrimage to Bethlehem every December 24^th, too many of us make the same choice to simply, politely decline God’s invitation to a living relationship with Him. We decide not to risk the change which would confront us there. Sometimes, we do not even recognize we are making an actual choice. After all, the decorations are up, the feast is prepared, the family is gathered, and we go to church. We think we’re ready for Christmas. But make no mistake: not to affirmatively choose to kneel in the muck and inconvenience of Jesus’ stable first is itself a decision that actually weighs against Christmas. It is really a decision to avoid Christ. He simply cannot be our Savior if He is not first the undisputed Lord of our lives. So, a refusal to stop and kneel truly is a decision to reject the Gift of Christmas.

Many of us spend a lot of time, if we think about it at all, bemoaning the “lost” Spirit of Christmas. The Good News is, it isn’t lost at all! It’s right where it has always been: in the obscurity of the overlooked and undervalued; in the decision to give preeminence to something other than ourselves; and in a place that is, undeniably, off the beaten path and down a long and sometimes difficult road. But it is a place from which Jesus Himself still beckons to those willing to pay attention. He still offers Himself to those who would partake and be made new in His image. The question is, what on earth is worth so desperately holding onto that we would refuse His invitation? 

ONE PARENT'S CHRISTMAS REGRET

Judges 2:10-3:31; Luke 22:14-34; Psalm 92:1-93:5; Proverbs 14:1-2

“After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD….”

“’For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.’ The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing. Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them.”

“You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done.
O Lord, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts.
Only a simpleton would not know,
and only a fool would not understand this.”

“And a sword will pierce your own heart.” Mary heard Simeon’s prophesy, but how could she possibly have understood the sheer enormity of it? How can any of us fully appreciate the risks of child rearing and, ultimately, the pain of separation as our kids grow beyond our ability to protect them from themselves? Don’t get ahead of me. As far as I am concerned, my kids have been and are wonderful, unique blessings from a loving God. I could not be prouder of any of them. They are learning to spread and test their wings. But it really can be tough watching them actually learn to fly, especially when it becomes an unhealthy competition. Sometimes, it seems they are more interested in assuring the other doesn’t leave the ground than in soaring themselves. That kind of negativism among his children breaks this father’s heart and puts a real damper on whatever else is going on, including Christmas. We didn’t raise them that way. We don’t know how or why they insist on so aggressively undercutting each other. Only one thing is clear: nobody wins that fight, and it generates a tremendous amount of collateral damage neither of them sees, much less appreciates enough to change.

Yet, they come by it honestly enough. Ever since Adam, humans have been seeking the one “leg up” that will give them an advantage or authority over others. Adam was seduced by the promise of becoming “like God.” Jacob took hold of Esau’s heel. The Israelites abandoned God when other gods and lifestyles became more convenient. And under the guise of “godly discipline,” I myself have inappropriately trimmed my kids’ wings more than once. What an ugly thought for Christmastime! Unseemly as it may be, though, it is one which must be addressed at the risk of missing Christ altogether.

How quickly we forget the lessons of Jesus! The persecution Christ suffered at the hands of His Jewish brothers and sisters from birth to death should sound a loud clarion blast of warning to all those struggling with family discord and conflict this time of year. Stop it! We may or may not intend the damage done, but regardless, we are operating contrary to the will of our heavenly Father. When we bring discord rather than compassion to such a time as Christmas, we do far more harm than good.  We interfere with the reconciliation the Lord intended the season to bring. We may even wreck catastrophic injury on the very ones we are supposed to love the most.

Let's reprioritize our worldly concerns and priorities today. Setting ourselves above others is never attractive, but today, it is downright hideous and completely insensitive. When we judge, we isolate… everyone involved. We all have been blessed by the Spirit more than we deserve. This is a time for refocusing on those blessings and sharing them to the fullest extent possible. If it isn’t possible, if we have nothing positive to say, we should at least have the common courtesy to keep our negative opinions to ourselves. There is always time for disagreement, but the chances to build up others in love and Christ can be fleeting and easily missed. Besides, it just breaks God’s heart when His children quarrel, particularly at Christmas.

KEEPING WATCH FOR CHRISTMAS

Judges 1:1-2:9; Luke 21:29-22:13; Psalm 90:1-91:16; Proverbs 13:24-25

“The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said to the Israelites, “I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you. For your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. But you disobeyed my command. Why did you do this? So now I declare that I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides.”

“Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times.”

“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.”

Year after year, we watch and wait for Christmas. We develop traditions. We share the usual greetings. We fall into habits. And every year, Christmas seems just a little harder to recapture. Christmas obligations pile up as families grow. Christmas opportunities seem to get squeezed and limited more as each winter passes.  All this points to a simple truth: we are working too hard at Christmas and focusing too much on the wrong things. It draws our attention away from what is truly important.

None of this is anything new. We hear it so often we have become immune. We aren’t in denial. We know our Christmas burnout is the child of our emphasis on the good rather than God’s best. We just get swept along with the momentum of the times, and before we know it, Christmas is over and we are exhausted, wondering where the spirit of Christmas was and went.

When we do not insure we have time to pay attention, it’s no wonder we miss Christmas. When we don’t follow the Lord’s path to Bethlehem and neglect to kneel at His manger before we open the presents or eat the turkey, it’s entirely possible to miss the true blessings of the season altogether. Here’s the real point, though: the more we miss of Christmas, the more often we miss it, the easier it is to give up altogether, and to simply assume Christmas just isn’t able to live up to its own hype. To put it the way Christ might, the more “ordinary” we allow Christmas to become, the more likely we are to sleep right through it in a spiritual sense. We may not even recognize when we are doing so.

This year, then, I prayed for a Christmas that would drive me to my knees. I don’t need more stuff. I don’t need the cards, tinsel or tree. What I need is Christ. I had to get out of my comfort zone to find Him, though, because Christ has a habit of only showing up in the least expected places, like a stable. So last night, the longest night of the year, I attended a memorial service for all the homeless who died in San Antonio in the last year. 45 names. Names like “Eddie.” “Rags.” And 43 others. None of them likely planned or wanted to end up where they did. They were simply victims, victims who suffered and died in almost completely obscure circumstances. It mattered not whether they were victimized by external situations or their own inner demons. What mattered was that if those who were present last night had not taken time from their own plans and insisted on breaking with tradition, most if not all of those homeless victims would have passed without recognition, respect or appreciation of any sort. For one too brief hour, about 100 people took time from their own Christmases to stand in Christ’s place. We all were blessed to serve as a tangible reminder to others that no one needs to stand alone. A blessed few found Christ standing right next to them. Some may even have learned it is just as important to be Christ for others as to find Christ for ourselves. Indeed, the two usually share a common bond. This Christmas is as good a time as any and probably better than most for those who follow Jesus to stop waiting and looking for the Spirit and start being Christ for those less fortunate.

LOVE STEPS DOWN

Joshua 24:1-33; Luke 21:1-28; Psalm 89:38-52; Proverbs 13:20-23

“Joshua said to the people, ‘You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God….’ But the people said to Joshua, ‘No! We will serve the LORD.’  Then Joshua said, ‘You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.’ ‘Yes, we are witnesses,’ they replied.”

“People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory.  So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”

“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”

The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! Christ is coming! The Great Immanuel, God with us, really will be soon. Of course, the Spirit never left us. But each year about this time, most of us can use the tangible reminders of Jesus’ presence. The year is winding down, work takes on a different pace, and we find ourselves longing for the spiritual renewal Christmas offers. If only we took it more seriously. What could be more awesome the very God of the Universe lowering Himself to the human level just so He could love us better and more personally? It’s really too much to comprehend.

After all, consider what Jesus Himself said about His next physical intervention into human affairs. The heavens themselves will be shaken. He will come on the clouds in great power and glory in the midst of earthquakes, wars and roaring seas. This will be no silent night, and no manger will hold Him. Now, we’re talking! That’s what a Savior, a Messiah, should do. There’s a Lord we could accept. What else could one do but fall at the feet of a Being like that and worship? Come to think of it, things might have been a lot easier, or at least clearer, if Jesus had come that way in the first place.  When it comes to power, overcoming evil and setting things right, the God in the Clouds is certainly easier to believe and hope in than the Babe in the Manger.

Inevitably, then, some will ask why God bothered with Bethlehem. Why not just take charge, cut to the chase and forget about all this “becoming human” stuff? I don’t want to presume to speak for Him, but from where I stand, it pretty much looks like God just isn’t interested in taking complete command of Creation as long as it means losing us. The Lord knew justice always has to come first; the price of sin must be paid for the Holy to dwell with the tarnished. God’s righteousness cannot be compromised. He also knew what the consequences would be to His children if holiness just took over. So, instead of exercising authority and power that was rightfully His, God stepped down. He surrendered His place and omnipotence for a dirty, dusty stable and a people who did not deserve in any respect the Gift He ultimately gave.

At some point, that’s what all love must do: step down. My kids, for instance, are very confused right now. The two youngest are home from college for Christmas and beginning to talk about adult life and real plans for their future. I have always been a pretty strong Dad. There’s never been much question about my opinions or approval (or lack thereof) or my leadership. But now, when the kids recognize they are at the most important crossroads of their young lives, suddenly, Dad’s kind of quiet. He’s keeping his thoughts to himself, and letting them make the decisions. They complain it feels like I’m not supporting them, or worse, that I’m not even paying attention. If they only knew how much discipline this self-imposed silence requires! Still, painful as it is, I know this is the better way, now. I’m giving them a chance to fly… or not… on their own. In time and love, I pray their journey will lead them back to me and that we can rejoice together for the adults they have become. But regardless, I do not want my children never to realize their own potential because they never fully exercise their own free will. They simply must make their own decisions. They know what they have to know to make the right choices. They just have to learn how to live out and live with their preferences before they will ever fully appreciate what a blessed place home really was, and still is.

The journey from sinner to saint, from hell to our heavenly home, is much the same. We begin by claiming independence. Sooner or later, if we’re either blessed or very lucky, we find independence is simply the fastest way to loneliness and isolation. We can – and frequently do - stubbornly insist on keeping to that path, regardless. But the truly blessed and wise eventually turn back, walk with their Father and, in that self-surrender, find wisdom, peace and true fellowship instead of just education and discipline. There is beauty in sharing the responsibilities of life in a loving relationship with Christ. But there would be no relationship to share if He had not come to die for us first. Love is always willing to step down, if that’s what it takes to lift others up.

GOD'S CHRISTMAS GIFTS

Joshua 22:21-23:16; Luke 20:27-47; Psalm 89:14-37; Proverbs 13:17-19

“Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised.”

“And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.”

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,
for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation.
They exult in your righteousness.
 You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong.
Yes, our protection comes from the Lord,
and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.”

It’s nearly Christmas. Each year around this time, anticipation builds, right up until the day of the Big Event… which never quite seems to live up to the hype commercialism throws at it or the deeply spiritual connection with the God of all the Universe it claims to offer. This year, for the first time in my 50+ years – maybe, in part, because of the project this journal has become – I am beginning to understand why Christmas Day is so often anti-climatic. Perhaps we don’t get all the gifts God wills for us at Christmas simply because we are so busy focusing on the event that we miss the ongoing experience.

As I read today’s quoted Scriptures and reflect back over the last almost four months (nearly one-third through the Bible, folks!), I am frankly amazed at the changes the Spirit has brought into my life. I have come from the dust of burnout and the empty shell of cosmetic Christianity into what truly is a new life of inspiration, boldness and gratitude (though, certainly, more work on all three remains to be done). There have been the usual highs and lows. Actually, that’s not true; both the highs and the lows have seemed more intense lately, but then, so has everything about life, and that’s more than OK. It proves I’m alive again. All this is, as far as I can tell, primarily the result of just being disciplined enough to do this little exercise every day. I honestly don’t know why. I cannot explain the cause-effect relationship. But just like the Spirit itself, the fact I cannot explain has nothing to do with the reality of its existence, or what I know in my heart to be true. So, I have been richly blessed.

But something else is going on, too. I am getting overwhelmed by how much blessing and grace I routinely leave on the table, just because I do not have the audacity to claim it. There is a sense Christ Himself is offering more than I ever dreamed or imagined. So last weekend, I took a huge risk, as I felt led. Some of the finest Christian brothers and sisters anyone could ever know journeyed with me right to (and some would say well over) a spiritual cliff. Understanding we can never accept the Gift or gifts of Christmas if our hands, however subconsciously, are clenched in anger at God, they graciously allowed me to role play a father devastated by the molestation and murder of his daughter. Then, I took questions… still in the role of the father. There was no script for that! Several watching had lives much closer to our unspeakable fiction than I pray I ever will. The questions were real, and cut no slack. Meddling into others’ tragedies and emotions so close to the heart while presuming to have any idea how people in that position truly felt was beyond uncomfortable. I simply was not worthy. But the Lord led anyway, and new compassion and hope was shared. One strong prayer warrior had the courage to disengage and just pray for us for the entire hour. I was spooked badly by the call of God, grateful for the charity and empathy of the group and absolutely astonished by the power and healing that flowed into and through the room. We totally missed some people, and I could not be happier for them. But in others, God began a work of Christmas reconciliation, painful as it was, and that was a far better thing, well worth the risk and discomfort.

So, I come to the Scriptures today with new ears and eyes. Christmas Day is just a door. The true blessings come only when we walk through it and have the gumption, discipline and audacity to walk with Jesus during the scorching days of August and the frigidity of January. We will never know in advance how blessed we truly are. We can only experience the astonishing cornucopia of God’s grace and love by living in it and depending absolutely on it with a no-holds barred desperation.

GETTING THE WHOLE TRUTH FIRST

Joshua 21:1-22:20; Luke 20:1-26; Psalm 89:1-13; Proverbs 13:15-16

“The rest of Israel heard that the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar at Geliloth at the edge of the land of Canaan, on the west side of the Jordan River. So the whole community of Israel gathered at Shiloh and prepared to go to war against them. First, however, they sent a delegation led by Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, to talk with the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

“They demanded, ‘By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?’”

“A person with good sense is respected;
a treacherous person is headed for destruction.”

It’s downright disturbing that we have an over 3000 year history of drawing the worst possible conclusions about our brothers and sisters. We claim stunned amazement at how quickly the West-of-the Jordan Israelites turned on their east-of-the-Jordan family. But our fuses are no longer.  Checking the facts seems to be a courtesy few are willing to extend anymore (if they ever did). It is much easier to shoot first and ask questions later, and takes far less character. But we need to remember that, if the Israelites had stood on their prejudices and snap judgments, it is possible the fledging nation would have destroyed itself before it had begun. And Christmas itself could have quite different.

I think, without knowing, that Phinehas the priest understood the dangerous precipice his people approached as they stood on the banks of the Jordan judging their cousins across the water. He didn’t draw any conclusions. Instead, he slowed things down and took the time to lead a delegation to investigate the facts through direct, personal contact and communication with the accused.  He allowed his brethern to defend themselves before condemning them. As a result, his people as a whole avoided a tragic mistake, and his country was spared from what would have been a devastating civil war.  There’s a lot to be learned from his example.

I first grasped the lesson as a baby lawyer but in something of a backwards fashion. Us “kids” in the Firm I was with at the time were given the very dregs of the available legal work. These were cases and clients none of the more senior folks wanted to mess with. At that level, more dubious claims and defenses existed than there were attorneys to screen them. So, I ended up with… oh, let’s just call him Fred. In short, Fred had started his own business, sold it while retaining a consulting position and then was accused of stealing the new owners’ customers and contractors for a competing business Fred set up. I was told the claims of the opposition were simply an effort to avoid lawful competition: there were no written contracts; Fred had been an exemplary consultant who taught the owners all they knew; and all it got him was disrespect and grossly unfair and shabby treatment. He had no choice but to leave and try to compete. The bad guys were trying to starve him out. I have learned since that when a client so loudly proclaims injustice and oppression, there is usually more than a grain of truth and reason in the opposition’s position. But then, I fell hard for his story and just prepared to throw my whole self into a brilliant defense that would set the world straight. Right up until opposing counsel produced a non-competition agreement Fred had signed and pulled a baggie out of John’s briefcase (which he had left behind in his haste to leave) containing roughly a gram of a fine, white powdery substance. Fred denied the baggie was his in deposition, and then laughed about lying when the deposition was over.

The take-away from both stories is the same. Investigate the facts first. When we draw conclusions before we know the facts, we likely will create or face far worse problems as a result. There is just no substitute for an ol’ face to face discussion of the circumstances. So, let’s give our fellow humans a break. Let’s ask the tough questions up front. See reality clearly before making a judgment call. And never, never make the mistake of believing your own side on the force of their passion or rhetoric. For one reason or another, we can be next to certain we’ll be glad we got the facts right first.