Trials

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.  
-- 1 Peter 1:6, NLT

It has been a bit since I last wrote. A little funny, the topic I was working on was that of trials.

We all have trials. They are inevitable. I've heard preachers quip (and have been guilty of such myself), "You are either in the storm, have just come out of the storm, or are about to enter the storm."

For many of you, like me, it's been a little stormy. But in the immortal words of Donna Summer (and a loose transliteration of the Apostles Peter and Paul), I will survive! And so will you.

To do so, we need the imminent presence of the Holy Spirit, the support of the community of faith, and some old fashioned guts.

At times we cannot move forward. We feel like we cannot advance. Paul writes, ...having done everything to stand... stand firm... (Ephesians 6:13-14).

So stand.

The words simply haven't come the last week or so. But words will return.

More to come on trials.

Since I've already broken all reverence with a disco quote, I'll end with an 80's Elton John lyric: I'm still standing!

For now...
D

Ramblings... Ugliness, Orlando and the Overwhelming Power of Beauty

Ours is a beautiful world. And it is an ugly one. Often the beauty is demonstrated in the aftermath of tragedy. The ugliness: the tragedy itself; especially when man-made.

We always wonder in the face of ugliness. We speculate and offer half-hope reasons and responses. We attempt to make meaning of it, but the dots cannot be connected.

This relationship between beauty and ugliness mirrors our hearts. Within each of us there is beauty. And there is ugliness. To put it in biblical terms; there is darkness, and there is light.

Ugliness is not creation. It is distortion. And ugly acts result from distorted attitudes, distorted views.

A distorted view of God.
Man-made tragedy is often perpetrated in the name of (a) god. I readily admit to a bias: I believe there is One God. This God has chosen to reveal himself in many ways; through creation, through scripture, in mankind, and ultimately and fully in Christ. To those who might say this in some way narrow-minded, I lay down a challenge: do the work of honest investigation for yourself. If God is a God of truth and beauty, he can stand the scrutiny. But a word of caution: be ready to deal with the revelation. Light exposes darkness and beauty exposes ugliness. (I won't apologize, after all Ramblings is in the title of this post.)

Those who do damage in the name of God, at best misunderstand his nature. More likely, their distortion is due to a counterfeit version of God; a god of their own making.

The biblical God (and again, I admit my bias) is a God of love. I don't begin to understand every facet of his character, methods or means. But I trust his heart. After all, he demonstrated his passion through ultimate sacrifice.

In the aftermath of the Orlando tragedy I have heard both pronouncements of judgement and calls for tolerance. I cannot agree with the former, and find the latter to be a watered-down version of love. (Who would ever desire to be merely tolerated, when they could instead choose to be loved!?)

We live in a world of beauty and ugliness, light and darkness. And though I don't always understand the relationship, I do know the same God who calls me to stand on his truth, calls me to love unconditionally.

Ugliness is a distortion of beauty. And ugliness in the name of (a) god, is the result of a distorted view of God.

A distorted view of self
Each of us is the result of myriad relationships, experiences, pains and joys. These all come together to form our identity - the way we view ourselves. God says we are fearfully and wonderfully made; that we are a special creation in his image, in the midst of the beauty of his spectacular creation.

Our (self-)identity can however, become distorted. Sometimes we forget there is a God, or we replace him with a counterfeit. At other times we personally take on the role of god. Oblivious self-importance causes us to think too highly of ourselves. Or the opposite - extreme self-deprecation forces us to lose sight of our uniqueness.

Each of these results is a distorted self-view and gives birth to ugliness.

A distorted view of others
It could probably go unsaid; with a distorted view of God and ourselves, there is little hope of viewing those around us in a healthy way. Long ago I read in a counseling book the following line: Damaged people damage people. We've seen this axiom played out; whether it be a parent on the soccer sideline, a priest in a church, a politician in the seat of power, or a man holding a weapon with murderous intent.

Any and every ugly act becomes possible when we lose sight of the beauty and person-hood of our neighbor(s). Ugliness is almost always the natural outcome when a person or people are devalued.

Jesus summarized the key to living a life of beauty with the statement: Love God and love others as you love yourself. Distortions removed. Ugliness washed away. Beauty wins out. Light overcomes the darkness.

In summary, the tragedy of Orlando is the result of ugliness to the extreme. The sad reality is there will be another Orlando; another Oklahoma City, 911 or Waco. There will be another because ugliness exists.

However - and this is the huge however - beauty ultimately wins! I believe that from my core. I believe it because the nature of God is beauty without ugliness. He is love without distortion. He is light that overwhelms the darkest darkness.

Do I understand tragedy? No. But I trust. And that is beautiful in itself.

For now...
D

STUMBLING

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling...
--Jude 24

The older I get, the more stumbling hurts. I stuck my toe in some deep carpet while walking through a convention hall this week. The resulting stumble was minor - imperceptible to anyone who might have been watching - but the back pain was immediate and lasting.

Stumbling hurts. And though I am being literal at the moment, it is also true metaphorically. Stumbling brings pain into our lives, and often to those around us.

Here is the problem: We all stumble in life; missed steps and missteps, bobbles and trip-ups that don't usually result in full face-plants. But they are painful nonetheless. We casually gather ourselves, look around to make sure no one noticed, and limp away as gracefully as we can muster.

When we stumble, it is not due to a lack of willpower (and I am speaking of life/faith stumbles). We stumble due to a lack of relationship.

There is One who goes before us, who walks with us, who shows the way. He is a light to our path and a compass to our course. He points out the rocks and roots (and carpet monsters) that might catch our feet. But we must follow him. Striking out on our own will lead to stumbles... and pain.

God, direct my footsteps according to your word (Psalm 119:133), that I might not stumble.

For now...
D

MIRROR

Examine yourselves... test yourselves...
--2 Corinthians 13:5

Scripture is a mirror. If in it we see others - what they should do or not do, where they fall short, etc. - then we are choosing to look past our own reflection.

Scripture is a spotlight. It exposes darkness. The invasive power of truth's light always forces shadows to shrink away. We must first be exposed by the cleansing light before we can be light-bearers to others.

Scripture is a lantern. It provides illumination to the path before us.
Though we share many common paths, each of us has paths that are unique. We must each carry our own lantern to find our steps. (OK - It sounds like a flashlight, but lantern just sounded cooler.)

Scripture is a sword with which we attack the enemy's lies. It cuts through deception and impales the negative things we hear whispered deep within. Unchecked, these can become hideous monsters robbing us joy and peace. The sword of scripture however, was never intended to be a club wielded in the hands of the uncaring. It's blade must first make it's mark in us.

Examine yourselves... test yourselves...

God, expose me to me so I can be wholly yours.

For now...
D

Sufficient Grace

My grace is sufficient for you...
--2 Corinthians 12:9

Do you need grace today? I'll ask another way: Do you need power? We tend to think of grace in terms of covering our inadequacies, a balm applied to our failures. But grace is and does much more.

It is by grace that we are not given what we deserve. It is by grace that we are given what we do not deserve.

As James puts it:

Every good and perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the Father of lights 

with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 

--James 1:17

Q: How powerful is grace?
A: It is sufficient.

Wait, shouldn't this covering and empowering grace be overwhelmingly abundant? Shouldn't God cover a "3" on the need-grace scale with a "10" measure of grace? Shouldn't there be puddles of grace everywhere around after the grace shower rains down; so we can scoop a little extra up and store it away for use later?

Grace doesn't work like that. (Think manna from heaven; Exodus 16 - it's worth a read). New grace is given each day; actually moment by moment. Leftover grace - if there were such a thing - would spoil. And future grace, though promised, cannot be utilized. Today's grace... this moment's grace is sufficient for you. It is sufficient to completely cover, completely forgive, completely empower.

And how strong must we be? Well, our part is to rely on God's grace. To lean on and into his power. Our job is to embrace weakness and trust his strength. God says:

...my power is made perfect in weakness. 

--2 Corinthians 12:9

It would be easy to write of God's sufficient grace at certain times. This is not one of those times. It is a time when the preacher (or blogger, as the case may be) must hear and apply what he is writing. (Actually, every time is that time.)

God, I am weak, but you are strong. I need your sufficient grace.

For now...
D

FLAWED...

I will boast of the things that show my weakness. --2 Corinthians 11:30

Thankfully the writers of the various narratives, histories, poems, and letters that make up the Bible never attempted to cover up the flaws of faith's heroes.

David's murderous lust. Peter's tempestuousness. Sarah's lack of faith. James' and John's ambition. Real people with real strengths and real weaknesses; real faith and real doubts. Much like us.

Paul is one of those super-saints with whom we feel we cannot relate. His shadow is cast over much New Testament and the formation of the early church. He authored one half of the New Testament. Yet Paul is flawed. His story is not a simple one. It is not fairy-tale clean.

Paul was a man of incredible faith; a picture of passion and mission. But I think Paul was at times a lonely man. You can hear it in his voice when he gets personal in his writings. Groups of people, both within and outside the church, continually attacked Paul's credibility and motives. He was mocked, ridiculed and worse. He was also, on a few occasions, abandoned.

Paul was a man of strengths. His greatest? Intimacy with his weakness. It is in this understanding of his own inability that he was enabled to completely rely on God's power within; God's power to transform.

And the same is true for us. There is a swelling confidence that comes when we choose not to hide our weaknesses from God. Instead, when we reveal ourselves completely to him, his grace will do in and through us what only he can do. And the results are beyond our wildest imaginations.

What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, 

what God has prepared for those who love him...

--1 Corinthians 2:9

(More on this grace/weakness connection next time.)

God, your grace overwhelms my weakness.

For now...

D