Seeking Him

Why Do You Call Me, Lord, Lord?

I have a quote that I want to share.  Ponder this for a moment:

It is surrender to the known will of God that paves the way for the discovery of the unknown will of God.

I heard those words the other night in a video lesson by Andy Stanley in a series called "Discovering the Will of God" and I have found myself continuing to think about them ever since. 

What would it look like to "surrender" to the known will of God?  What do I already KNOW about the will of God?  In answering these questions, I find myself always going back to Jesus' answer to the teacher of the law who wanted Jesus to name the greatest commandment.  Three times in scripture we find that His answer to this query was "to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself."  In 1 John 3 & 4, John tells us that we are liars if we say we love God, but don't love our brother...and not just love with words, but love "in action and in truth."  In John's gospel, particularly in chapters 15 and 16, we learn that Jesus said we would show our love for Him and we would remain in Him if we obeyed His commands.  He went on to say that His command to us was to "love one another." Jesus also talks a lot about how we treat the "least of these" in our midst (Matthew 25,) so I'm pretty sure that loving and caring for the poor is also part of the equation.  In short, it seems fairly clear that one thing about which Jesus felt strongly was this issue of love...love in action, sacrificial love.  

So, going back to my previous question, what would it look like to surrender to the known will of God?  In all honesty, I find it much more interesting at times to wonder about the parts of God's will that are still unknown to me than to consider how obedient I am being to the parts of God's will about which I am already clear.  Wondering about God's will for my life and lamenting the lack of clarity I am experiencing gives me permission to sit quietly in committee in the safety of my easy chair.  "I just don't know what God wants me to do next" or "I'm still praying about that" delays my obligation to DO anything of any consequence.  

Don't get me wrong, there are times in life when I need to wait upon the Lord or pray for clarity on a particular issue.  However, the quote with which I began this post suggests to me a greater truth.  I am going to have difficulty hearing God's voice and discerning His will on a particular issue if I am not actively pursuing those aspects of His plan for my life about which I am already perfectly clear.  I KNOW already that God wants me to love Him, love my neighbor, love my family and love the poor with a sacrificial, all-encompassing, action-oriented love that is different than the way that the world teaches love.  Even if I never understand another thing about His will for my life, then pursuing this one thing...understanding this one pursuit...growing in this one area could potentially define my life and keep me plenty busy until He calls me Home.  Any other details that He might decide to let me in on would just be a bonus!

In Luke 6, Jesus asks the question "Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I say?"  He goes on to say that it is only when we hear the Word AND do what it says that we build a foundation that will withstand any storm.  I know what my life looks like when I am attempting to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength...I also know what it looks like when I am only giving that my half-hearted attention.  For me, peace only comes when I am in surrender mode because that's how God wired me.   I know I need that reminder every once in a while.

 

His Mercies Are New Every Morning

I love a clear morning after a night of steady rain.  The world looks like it has been washed clean.  I particularly enjoy seeing my flowers as the sun comes out and they stretch out, energized by their soaking nourishment.  As much as I water my plants, they always seem stronger when God does the watering.  When I stand there with my hose, I get bored or distracted and probably move on to the next container or flower bed before they have had their fill.  A long, deep drink of water takes time and I am an often impatient gardener.

I saw a link this week on Facebook that caught my eye.  A friend referred us to a blog entry entitled "The Disease Called Perfection" and I was moved by what I read.  I'll let you read it for yourself but, suffice it to say, I could definitely relate.  The comments generated by the author's challenge to be "real" numbered well over 4,000 the last time I looked.  I read a few pages of them and they broke my heart with their desperation and hopelessness.  Person after person in bondage to their inability to overcome the parts of themselves that they hated and too ashamed to reach out for support.  Many expressed gratitude for the opportunity to be "real" and to discover that they weren't alone in their struggles to be a better version of themselves.  The fact that almost 5,000 people commented and well over 100,000 people have recommended the post to others speaks volumes about the universality of this issue.  We live in a broken, hurting world and we are unable to fix that brokenness or fix ourselves.

As I have continued to think about what I read and the ways in which I can personally relate, it became increasingly clear to me that it is for this reason that Jesus came.  This shame, this brokenness, this helplessness to change ourselves and the isolation we feel as we pretend to have it all together...this is the very human condition that makes the Good News such very good news. 

On my own, I struggle to change enough of my bad habits and stupid choices to "clean up nice" for company.  If I can look like I have it all together...that my house is perfect, my marriage is perfect, my children are perfect, my church life is perfect...then perhaps noone will suspect the areas where I struggle to keep my head above water or the issues which threaten to rob me of peace.

In Christ, by contrast, I can choose to remember what scripture says about Who God is and who I am in Him.  In Christ, I can hold firm to the promise that the good work begun in me WILL be carried on to completion...not by my own power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit within me.  In Christ, I am reminded that God sees me as holy and forgiven.  I am His precious child and He delights in me, sings over me and rejoices over me.  He will continue to work in me to transform me into the image of Christ and I can do all things through Him who gives me the strength.  Whatever my struggles, He will never leave me or forsake me.  There is no condemnation in Christ.  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free and we no longer have to be slaves to that which has formerly kept us in bonds of shame and despair.  Whatever it is, whatever the struggle, we are more than conquerors through Him who LOVES us!  

Some days I forget all that.  Some days, I can get bogged down in the frustration of my humanity, my "so not perfectness."  Some days I put on a happy face and pretend.  Yet, more and more often, as I remember His promises to me, I choose to believe Him instead of the world.  His mercies are new every morning, but I must drink deeply to reap the benefits.  I have to return to the well of His Word often and linger there a while.  In God's time, His will for me unfolds and I see the fruit of His tender care.  I am so grateful that someone shared that good news with me.  In case you hadn't heard, this good news is for you as well.  His Kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

God is REAL

Psalm 18:1-3

 ¹ I love you, O LORD, my strength.

 ² The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;  

       my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. 
       He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

 ³ I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, 
       and I am saved from my enemies.

We began our bible study time at the Lamb Center yesterday discussing adoration- the practice of expressing our love to the Lord.  As we read the verses above, we talked about the intimacy of the way David repeated the term MY over and over.  He clearly had experienced the Presence of God personally.  For David, this God was REAL and this God was HIS God.

In attendance yesterday was a young woman new to the Lamb Center.  She was there with her 3 small children; all under the age of 4.  As we spoke, she expertly and lovingly cared for her babies; rocking one to sleep, offering play-doh to keep another busy, finding a snack for another.  As we spoke about David's personal God, she listened carefully and then asked this question:  Is there a time that WE had experienced God in such a way that we knew He was real?  That He was really there? 

This question opened up a time of sharing that I will treasure forever.  It wasn't a large group around the table, but each of us shared a time when God reached down into our lives and made Himself known in a personal, intimate way.  Most everyone shared, some in more detail than others. Truly, as is often the case at the Lamb Center, it wasn't always clear who was a guest, a volunteer or staff as we passed around the tissue box and wiped away our tears of gratitude for the gracious God we had each met.  Those worldly barriers meant very little as we shared the experience of God's unexpected, intimate, gentle, comforting, encouraging Hand in our lives.

There was one story with which our young mother seemed to be particularly interested.   M shared that she had been living, in her words, in a "very dark place."  She had gotten herself into a particularly difficult financial circumstance and was in danger of losing the one thing that meant the most to her...the one thing that kept her connected to her daughter who she cherished.  In this desperate circumstance, she ran across a stranger who she asked for money.  He, like Peter at the gate called Beautiful (Acts 3,) told her "Gold and silver I do not have, but what I have I give you."  He laid out his bible on the hood of his car, took her hands in his and led her in a prayer of surrender to a Jesus who she had told him she was not "really into."  He told her that it was ok to go to Jesus with all her reservations, all her doubts, all her skepticism.  From that moment on, her life has been transformed. Like the beggar at the temple gate, she has experienced healing beyond that which she had originally asked.  She begged for money, and received new life.  As she told the young mother the many concrete, personal ways that God had redeemed her life, tears ran down her face and she said "God is real!  This is all real!  It is all true!  He is SO good!"

As I told her after the bible study, M was now getting to experience one of the great joys of Kingdom living.  By sharing what God had done in her life, she was able to bless another person....an opportunity to give back a portion of what she had been given.  God blesses us, so that we can be a blessing.  I experience God's love more deeply, as I share that love with another.  I understand the depth of my love for Him as I see Him at work in the lives of His people.  While I SOMETIMES feel His presence and His power in my moments alone with Him, I almost ALWAYS feel His presence and power in real moments of community like what we often experience around the table at the Lamb Center.   We are not meant to walk this journey alone; God wired us to live in community and to encourage one another as we try to serve Him.

God is real!  It is all true!  He is SO good! 

 

My Journey as a Runner

I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a, a book lover, a follower of Jesus, and recently, a very infrequent blogger.  While none of these labels describe all of me, each word gives you a bit more information about who I am.  When I blogged about labels last fall, I never in a million years thought I would ever add the word "runner" to my list.

As a kid, I dreaded P.E. class.  Don't EVEN get me started on dodge ball or red rover!  I have always much preferred curling up with a good book to exercising or playing sports.  As I have gotten older and my jeans have gotten tighter, I have begun to appreciate the wisdom of regular workouts and the physical and emotional benefits of making exercise a part of my life.  Because my husband has always been an athlete (the kind of boy I hated during dodge ball games!) we invested in a workout room with all the equipment a number of years ago and that has been my primary exercise outlet. For me, part of the appeal of the workout room is the television.  If I must exercise, at least I can distract myself watching E True Hollywood Story!  

One beautiful day this past May, as I headed down into the basement, I found myself wishing that my exercise routine could be done outside instead.  The flowers were blooming, the trees were budding and the temperature was a perfect 75 degrees.  The obvious choice would be to go for a run, but I knew that running was not for me.  My sister is a runner.  My brother is a runner.  Kelly is NOT a runner.  I am the non-running sibling.  I had tried before to run and I couldn't do it.  In college, my boyfriend (now husband) and my roommate talked me into going running ONE time.  I lasted about 5 minutes, at which point I turned around and headed back to the dorm to take a nap.  I am and always have been a very good napper.  I hated running.  I was bad at running.  I wasn't built to run and I had made my mind up about it.

However, in May, the idea of exercising outside persisted.  I went online to look up walking programs, thinking that perhaps a fast walk on a pretty day would be a nice addition to my exercise repertoire. Long story short, I ran across an app for my Iphone called Couch to 5K that promised a very gradual progression from walker to runner.  When I started in mid May, I would walk for 2 minutes, then run for 90 seconds, repeating this process for 20-30 minutes...all prompted by an encouraging voice on my headphones.  After a few weeks, I was walking 3 minutes, running 5 minutes...gradually increasing the amount of time running.  Throughout what turned out to be the hottest summer on record, I did this 3 times a week every week except one...I was too intimidated to run with all the cross country kids when we were in Philly on the mission trip!

Just recently, I started running the whole way.  I still do a 30 minute workout and I am now going about 2.75 miles in that time...not exactly a blistering pace, but I'm not in a hurry.  Just this week, it occurred to me that I now consider myself a runner!  My husband pulled up next to me in his car one day when I was out running and said that I actually looked like a "real" runner, whatever that is....having known me for 30 years, he said this with a bit of disbelief in his voice!  

So, why am I sharing this here?  This isn't a running blog, but more often a place where I talk about my faith journey.  As I thought about this progression from walker to runner, it occurred to me that I am learning some very important lessons in this process that are likely applicable to other areas of my life. 

First, I wonder how often we limit ourselves by stating absolutes about who we are or are not.  One of my girls said something the other day about the way she learns.  Her statement was said in such a way that it was clear she had made up her mind that this was an immutable fact...this was just the way it was and she had to deal with it.  As we talked, I encouraged her to not to limit herself at this young age and told her that the way I learned best had evolved at each stage of my education and was continuing to change as I grow older.  Growing and changing is part of growing up.  "I'm bad at math," "I'm unorganized," or  "I'm not a runner" are all examples of self-limiting and self-defeating statements.  I "choose" not to run is different than saying I "can't" run.  While a healthy and realistic understanding of our strengths and weaknesses can be useful in making choices about how we spend our time, I wonder how often we shut down God's plans to stretch us by immediately dismissing those things we have decided aren't our particular talents.  

Secondly, let's be clear, I am not a runner in the same way my sister is a runner or my friend Neil is a runner.   For me, running 3 miles without stopping to walk is a huge accomplishment.  For them, that is a warm-up.  But that's ok!  Letting go of the need to compare ourselves with the way another person does something is the beginning of freedom.  I am not ready to go running with anyone right now, I am not ready to enter a race right now, I am not planning on ever running a marathon right now...but I might change my mind someday.  Letting go of a particular image of who or what defines the word "runner" allows me to explore the new and perhaps, different ways that I might also choose to describe myself with that word.  The same freedom applies to labels like "mother," "teacher," "singer," "writer," "artist," or even "Christian."  Isn't it glorious that God made us all so different?  It is sad how often I limit His creativity by trying to be like someone else instead of celebrating my unique expression of my God-given abilities. 

Third, I did not become a runner overnight.  For me, the path was slow.  Perhaps others started running by just going out and running.  For me, that didn't work.  For me, the process of alternating walking and running is working, but it might not work for someone else.  For me, breaking my "run" down into baby steps worked at the beginning, but it might be too boring for someone else.  When I began the Couch to 5K program, it warned participants not to rush through the suggested incremental stages and it also advised you to repeat weeks, if you felt you needed to do so.  I took their advice because it sounded like they knew what they were talking about and because there were stories of others who had been successful using this approach.  I allowed myself to go slowly, I allowed myself to have bad days when I went backwards in terms of my progress and I allowed myself to be a learner.   In my journey with the Lord, I would be wise to remember the value of slow and steady progress, the importance of spiritual mentors, and the humility of always remaining teachable.

Lastly, for reasons I'm not sure I understand, I made up my mind to stick with this and so far, I haven't quit.  Somedays...initially, most days...I hated it.  On hot days, and there were many, I really hated it.  At first, my body hurt after every run.  And then, it began to hurt less.  It is only recently that I have begun to actually enjoy running and I am experiencing the benefits that drew me to try this path.  Now that it is cooler outside and I can run farther, I come back from my runs exhilarated and I look forward to the next run.  I may never run farther than 3 miles, but for now, I am having fun and it makes me feel strong and alive.  I am proud of myself for trying something new and doing something I thought I couldn't do.  As I move closer and closer to my 50th birthday and to the time when my little birdies will leave my nest, I know there are going to be many more opportunities to re-define myself and try new things.  That gets me excited to see what God has planned for me next! 

Lessons from this journey: be willing to learn, be myself, slow and steady, be committed.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (New Living Translation) ¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.  Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

 

 

 

The Hands and Feet of Jesus

"Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now." ~Saint Teresa of Avila

I posted the quote above as my Facebook status one day last week and was interested to see how many people responded positively to it.  Since then, I have been thinking about what it means to be Christ's hands and feet on earth.  Clearly, this idea resonates with people, but how do we go about doing it?

It seems to me that we might begin to "be" Christ's hands and feet by considering how Jesus used his hands and feet while He was walking among us.  Jesus, God Incarnate, lived on earth in human form and, before He returned to the Father, promised that we who had faith in Him would do "greater things than these." (John 14:12) Through the writers of scripture, we have a record of the way Jesus lived out His earthly existence and these stories offer us clues on how we might continue His work.  

First, Jesus knew that He had to spend time with the Father in order to know where to go and what to do next. Throughout the gospels, we hear that Jesus often "withdrew to a solitary place" in order to hear from His Heavenly Father.  Jesus says this in John 5:19 (the Message):

I'm telling you this straight.  The Son can't independently do a thing, only what He sees the Father doing.  What the Father does, the Son does.  The Father loves the Son and includes Him in everything He is doing.  

If Jesus needed down time with His Father, how much more must that apply to us?  I have found that even my most well-intentioned attempts to do God's will are useless unless I regularly "withdraw to a solitary place" to listen to my Father. Through time in His word, sharing my heart in prayer AND being still enough to listen, I begin to see the path God has for me to get involved in what He is doing in my little part of His world.  Without that time, I find that I am often tilting at windmills.

Secondly, Jesus was willing to be interrupted as He went about the work the Father had given Him to do.  Most of the accounts that we have of Jesus interacting with people and performing miracles begin with a phrase like "as Jesus went on from there."  He was often traveling to another destination when someone approached Him in need of healing.  While His disciples often tried to discourage or deter these seekers, Jesus always had time for the people who crossed His path.  Jesus was all about relationship.  In these instances, He made the choice to stop and offer healing and care to the persons involved.  Because He was not overly tied to His agenda of the moment, He could attend to the higher purposes for which He was sent.  In our own lives, we similarly have the choice to view the unexpected, the unplanned and the inconvenient interruptions we encounter as precious opportunities for ministry....divine appointments to realize our own role in bringing about the Kingdom of Heaven.  

Third, Jesus was willing to get His hands dirty.  One of my favorite stories about Jesus was the time He chose to wash the feet of His disciples in order to teach them about being a servant.  In their culture, washing dirty feet was the lowliest of jobs, yet Jesus got on His knees and tenderly washed and dried the dust-covered feet of those He loved most and then entreated them to do the same in His name.  In fact, He said clearly in John 13:15  "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."  As I seek to find the "important" work that I can do in God's Kingdom, I sometimes overlook the opportunities for smaller acts of service...acts that become holy when done from a place of love and grace and gratitude.  Life is messy.  People are complicated.  Getting our hands dirty; literally or figuratively, requires a willingness to get involved in the middle of the mess and complications.  Yet, that is exactly what Jesus has called us to do.  I have written on this before and I quoted this song from Michael Card in its entirety.  Here is my favorite part:

And the space between ourselves sometimes
is more than the distance between the stars.
By the fragile bridge of the Servant's bow
we take up the basin and the towel.

Finally, if we are to truly become Jesus' hands and feet, we must share His love for "the least of these."  This is the hard part of the gospel message for us sometimes.  Jesus was revolutionary in His approach to the downtrodden and forgotten in His society.  He touched lepers, He welcomed women and children, He dined with criminals, He championed the poor, He defended the powerless.  Jesus spent His time on earth with the hated and the outcasts and claimed that He had come to "preach good news to the poor."  There are a number of examples of this in scripture.  Here are just a few:

• He tells of a rich man and a poor one, and how the poor man goes to heaven and the rich man doesn’t.(Luke 16:19-31)  
• He tells of others who’ll be surprised they didn’t get into paradise because they didn’t take care of Him when He was hungry or in prison. They object that they never saw Him that way; He replies that whenever they neglected the hungry or imprisoned or unclothed, they neglected Him (Matthew 25.)  
• He says it’s harder for a rich person to enter heaven than a camel to go through the eye of a needle. He tells a rich man only one thing is between him and the Kingdom: he needs to sell what he has and give it to the poor (Mark 10:17-31.)
  

While Jesus came to reconcile us ALL to the Father, He is clear that He expects us to take care of one another and to begin with "the least of these."  God does not call all of us to sell everything we have and give it all to the poor, but He does call us to get involved and allow Him to show us how.  If I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, I have to open my eyes to the suffering in the world and allow my heart to be broken by those things that break the heart of the Father.  Because there is so much brokenness in our world, I can become overwhelmed by the need and throw my hands up in despair.  I recently read a book that addressed these issues in a profound way and gave me hope for the Church.  Please read it, if this topic tugs at your heart.  It is called The Hole in Our Gospel. Bottom line: we each can make a difference and it matters that we try...God is at work in the world and we can be part of it.  We can be the hands and feet of Jesus in our part of the world...what a privilege!

Whose To-Do List?

What a glorious day!  I have been sitting in the backyard this morning, soaking up the sunshine after several rainy, cool days.  The flowers in my yard are gorgeous after all the rain; you can almost see them growing and stretching in the warmth of this morning's sun.  The birdfeeders are full and the birds, after a few minutes, decided to ignore me and go about their business as usual, allowing me the pleasure of watching them from my seat nearby.  Truly, a beautiful morning to be alive.  As I enjoyed the beauty of God's creations, I spent some quiet time in the additional company of a few of my favorite devotionals and God's Word.  One of the devotionals that I read regularly is called Jesus Calling.  I read several passages this morning, but one of them particularly spoke to me, so I thought I would share it here.  The passages in this devotional are all written in the first person, as if Jesus were speaking directly to us.  Here is the entry from May 6, followed by the suggested scriptures:

Do not search for security in the world you inhabit. You tend to make mental checklists of things you need to do in order to gain control of your life.  If only you could check everything off your list, you could relax and be at peace.  But the more you work to accomplish that goal, the more things crop up on your list.  The harder you try, the more frustrated you become.

There is a better way to find security in this life.  Instead of scrutinizing your checklist, focus your attention on My Presence with you.  This continual contact with Me will keep you in My Peace.  Moreover, I will help you sort out what is important and what is not, what needs to be done now and what does not.  Fix your eyes not on what is seen (your circumstances), but what is unseen (My Presence). 

Isaiah 26:3 , 2 Corinthians 4:18

This really struck a chord with me.  I don't know about you, but there are a million things on my list of things that I need to/ should do.  Some are things that I hope to do today (get my filthy car washed, empty the dishwasher, run a load of laundry, return a phone call, etc.) and some are things that hang over my head that I need to do "sometime" (clean out the file cabinet, reorganize the playroom, get frames for the posters I want to hang, call that long-distance friend to re-connect etc.)  Sometimes I successfully stay on top of the first list, but there is always that nagging feeling that I am never quite finished.  As the devotional suggested, the sense of always living in a place of "not quite finished" can rob me of peace. Peace that Jesus says is my birthright in Him (John 16:33) 

I love the message of this little devotional.  Essentially, it is asking me to examine from whose to-do list I am operating?  Whose agenda am I following?  Mine, my spouse, my kids, my friends? Who or what owns the key to my peace?  Clearly, we all have responsibilities that we need to honor and work that needs doing, yet I am freed by the idea that resting, walking, living, abiding in God's Presence can help me determine a better way. And, it seems to me, that consulting God's to-do list allows me the opportunity to contribute to His Kingdom, to join in His work, to be part of something bigger.  As I get a little further along on this journey with the Lord, I am learning to anticipate the adventure of holding onto my own agenda a little more loosely.  When I am willing to be interrupted as I work through my "list," I often find that God has something much more wonderful planned for my day. And strangely enough, when I abide in Him, I tend to get done the things that really need doing.

Real Love

If you read my posts last week about the greatest commandments, then this scripture is for you.  This is found in 1 John 3:18-24 (The Message.)

When We Practice Real Love

 ^18-20My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

 ^21-24And friends, once that's taken care of and we're no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we're bold and free before God! We're able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we're doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God's command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.

Isn't that fabulous?  I love the wording "debilitating self-criticism."  Can you relate?  I know I can!  Over the years of talking with my Christian brothers and sisters about the ups and downs of our journey with the Lord, I have heard way too much of this "debilitating self-criticism."  While the Lord loves a humble heart, I have known so many people who are stuck...simply paralyzed...by a debilitatingly critical view of themselves and how they think they "ought" to be.  Yet, in these verses, it appears that John is gently reminding us that REAL love is the antidote for that "paralysis of analysis."  Whether we think too highly of ourselves or we think too little of ourselves, thinking too much about ourselves can keep us stuck.  The two commandments that Jesus valued most highly--to love God with all our hearts, souls and minds and to love our neighbors as ourselves--set us free to receive the life God has planned for us.  Real love, it seems, is the cure for debilitating self-criticism and perhaps, the path back to a healthy, invigorating love for ourselves as well.

The Greatest Commandment (Part 3)

Our last scripture about the greatest commandment is found in the Gospel of Mark.  Because I love the particular wording, I wanted you to read it in The Message translation (Mark 12:28-34:)

The Most Important Commandment

 ²⁸One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: "Which is most important of all the commandments?"

 ^29-31Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these."

 ^32-33The religion scholar said, "A wonderful answer, Teacher! So lucid and accurate—that God is one and there is no other. And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that's better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!"

 ³⁴When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, "You're almost there, right on the border of God's kingdom."

   After that, no one else dared ask a question.

When I began looking for the scripture references for this particular story, this is the last one I read and it gave me goosebumps!  Can you imagine having a conversation with Jesus like this?  You ask Him a question, you hear His answer.  You repeat back to Him what you think He meant...how you understand what He is teaching.  And then He says to you, "Yes, you are just about there!  I think you get it!" 

Like I said in the first post on this topic, I like to synthesize and summarize...I want to "get" the point.  Whether it is reading a book, hearing a sermon or listening to someone present an arguement, I like to figure out the essential message that I can take away.  What is the author/speaker trying to communicate and how does that apply to my life and understanding?  When the speaker is God Incarnate, "getting the point" is even more exciting!

For those of you who have read this blog over the years, you may have noticed that I mention the Kingdom, with a capital K, regularly.  Jesus spoke a great deal about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven and I am fascinated by what He was trying to communicate when He spoke, sometimes quite cryptically, about the Kingdom.  Is the Kingdom now or later?  Is it here or there?  And what is this about it being "within us?"

My understanding over the years has grown and changed, but it boils down to this: the Kingdom is the way we are meant to live...the way we were wired to live, back when God created us in His image.  God meant for us to be in relationship with Him and in harmony with one another, all under His rule and authority.  When we decided that we wanted to be our own god, that perfect union was broken and we have been trying to find our way back ever since...both individually and collectively.  Jesus came to show us the way home, both here on earth and later in heaven.  The Kingdom is all about finding our way HOME, to the way it was always supposed to be. 

The good news is, in my opinion, that we don't have to wait for heaven to experience the Kingdom. Signposts to the Kingdom are sprinkled throughout the Gospels, but I think our verse here in Mark says it simply, directly and beautifully.  These two commandments point the way to our path Home to the life we were always meant to live.  The way home, as the man in our story reminds us, is not through religious rituals (offerings and sacrifices) but through a passionate love for our God and for our neighbor.  When we truly understand these two commandments, Jesus says we are right on the border of the Kingdom; we are almost there.

While the message is simple, it is certainly not easy. The world's ways are not Kingdom ways and sometimes it seems that we are so far from seeing God's Kingdom come.  Yet, these verses encourage me.  As I said, I'm a simple girl and I like to have it laid out for me.  This path to the Kingdom makes sense to me, particularly because any glimpses I have seen of the Kingdom have come straight out of my experience of these two commandments.  While it may sound simplistic and naive to say that love is the answer, it is important to remember that love like this is hard work.  Loving God with ALL our "passion, prayer, intelligence and energy" isn't a part-time, halfway kind of love.  This kind of love is not for sissies.  And I don't know about you, but not all the "neighbors" God throws in my path are very loveable.  Yet, I am encouraged...excited even...to think that pouring myself into a life that is defined by this kind of BIG love will matter in the long run.  At 45, I am definitely too young to have determined the meaning of life, but I suspect it has a great deal to do with seeking the Kingdom.

I could go on and on, but I will leave you with a quote from an author I really enjoy. I think he says it all.

"I am convinced that the Christian Gospel has as much to do with this life as the next, and that the message of that Gospel is not just about going up when we die but about bringing God's Kingdom down." ~Shane Claiborne

Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  AMEN!

 

 

The Greatest Commandment (Part 2)

11:45 a.m.-  I should warn you right from the start that I have had A LOT of coffee this morning.  In my Lenten quest to spend more quality face-to-face time, I have scheduled several coffee dates for this week, including a lovely two hour visit with a fabulous friend this morning.  It is almost noon and I have pretty much been drinking coffee since 6:00 a.m...so watch out!

SO, let's continue with our story of Jesus talking about His pick for the most important part of God's Law.  Yesterday, we looked at the account from Matthew.  Today, I would draw your attention to Luke's account.  Again, this is your time to go read it, so I don't have to cut and paste the whole thing.  Yes, as you see, this time the discussion of the greatest commandment is the precursor to the story of the Good Samaritan.  And this time, the question is a little different from the expert who is testing Jesus.  He asks "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  Jesus, as He often did, answered the man with another question, " what is written in the Law...how do you read it?" When the man answered with the two commandments that we talked about yesterday, Jesus told him that he was correct and told him to live that way.  I love how this next part is written in The Message translation, "Looking for a loophole, he asked Jesus 'And just how would  you define neighbor?'"  Aren't we often "looking for a loophole" when we read something in God's word to us that sounds really difficult? 

What follows is the story that many of us have known since childhood about how the unexpected traveler is the one who stops to help the wounded man on the side of the road.  As He often did, Jesus turned expectations upside down by making the hero of our story a member of a race that was despised by His Jewish listeners.  Despite his lack of the proper religious pedigree, the Samaritan embodies the definition of the "good neighbor" by showing mercy and grace to someone who needed a big dose of both.  We don't know if the wounded man on the side of the road was "deserving" of this mercy, just that the Samaritan's "heart went out to him (The Message)" and he felt compelled to change his plans for the moment to take care of the stranger's needs. In contrast, the "religious" travelers' who came upon the man turned their heads and looked away...in fact, crossed to the other side of the road to avoid dealing with the neediness in their path.

A couple of things strike me about this story today.  In my suburban existence, I don't often wander onto injured people in the road.  I like to think that I would stop and help someone should I be presented with the opportunity.  I mean, I have a cell phone, I would certainly call 911, right?  Clearly though, we all know that Jesus calls us to a broader definition of "neighbor."  Using this story as a guide, who is MY neighbor?  Who has God placed in my path today to whom I could extend mercy?  If I'm honest, I wonder how often I inadvertently turn my head and cross to the other side of the road to avoid meeting the eyes of someone who could benefit from the mercy and grace I might be able to offer.

I passed a scene yesterday that made me think about how we can be the Good Samaritan in our story.  I have a friend, a suburban "homemaker" just like me, who works as a crossing guard in front of a local elementary school.  She has worked there for years, although none of her 4 children attend that school any longer.  In fact, I was surprised when I drove by the other day to see that she was still there.  Yet, as I drove by, I recalled hearing her talk about her work there...work that she considers her ministry.  Because of its location, this school has a large number of kids who will be going home to an empty house...homes that are faced with many challenges.  She has made it a point to really get to know these kids, to connect with the kids, to offer help or a listening ear to these kids.  While her job is to see them safely across the street, she chooses to really SEE them and follow God's leading in offering whatever she has from her storehouse of mercy and grace. 

I have another friend who knows the stories, worries and concerns of all the cashiers at our local grocery store.  She remembers their kids' names, their health challenges and shares with us prayer concerns that they know they can share with her when she comes to their register with her groceries.  If I am honest, I have to admit that I often go in and out of the grocery store without ever looking directly in the eyes of another human being.  After all, I am usually in a hurry, right?  If they had been asked, would our priest and Levite have said the same thing?

Those are just a couple of examples of people who I know who personify the Good Samaritan without ever leaving their ordinary, everyday path.  Of course, we all know the stories of people who serve as missionaries in impoverished areas and that is awesome, but I don't think that is necessarily the heart of this particular story.  To me, this story reminds me to open my eyes to the possibilities to "love my neighbor as myself" while I am living my ordinary, everyday life AND to be willing to deal with interruptions to my agenda.  After all, Jesus performed most of His miracles while He was "on the way" to somewhere else.  When I learn to live out of the grace that I receive from embracing the First of the two commandments, I am equipped to pour out the grace required of the Second commandment.  Divine love in, divine love out.  For me, it is only through the first that my eyes are opened to the second.

2:00 p.m.  This is not the way I expected to finish this post.

I just returned to my computer after taking a break for an appointment.  I wrote the previous section and then left to go to my 1:00 nail appointment.  As I drove there, I was thinking about how I wanted to finish up this post and about the one I am looking forward to writing tomorrow.  With this prayerfully in my mind, I arrived to see my precious friend, M.  I have been getting my nails done by this lovely young lady for about 6 years.  My husband teases me that I keep having my nails done because I am so crazy about M.  Over the years, I have had the privilege of getting to know her as she successfully navigated the process of becoming a U.S. citizen, through her pregnancy with her son (who turned 4 this month,) through the ups and downs in her relationship with her son's father, and through some tragedies in her family.  Today, I went in to see her with my heart full of our "discussion" here.  As God always does when we open our eyes to His presence in the midst of us, He blessed me with the opportunity to put into practice what He has been showing me in His word.  Through the course of our discussion, it became clear that my usually upbeat, positive, glass-half-full friend was struggling today.  She shared with me about a very, very difficult circumstance she had recently experienced.  While it is not my story to share here, suffice it to say that she shared with me at a deeper level than she had ever done before.  As I quietly and prayerfully listened to her share her pain, I marvelled at the "coincidence" that brought me to her side right smack in the middle of writing this blog about having my eyes open to the hurting stranger on the side of my road.  Because God had opened my eyes and prepared my heart in a particular way today, I had the opportunity and willingness to address some very difficult issues with her, to encourage her with my love for her and, more importantly, with God's love for her.  It was a holy moment.  

I share this story not to pat myself on the back for being a good friend to her...that was my privilege.  I firmly believe that it had very little to do with me and everything to do with God. The timing was miraculous. God is good and I am in awe. I am hopeful that this story does not end here.  My heart is too full to say anything more. 

Tomorrow I want to look at the last scripture which is found in Mark.  Stay tuned...it is my favorite and the whole reason that I wanted to write these posts in the first place.

The Greatest Commandment

I like simple.  I like a short phrase that sticks in my mind.  If my husband would allow me to put bumper stickers on our cars, I would likely have a couple of pithy phrases pasted to the bumper of my SUV.  Boiling something down to its essence appeals to me.  While I understand that life is generally a bit messier and more complicated than a single descriptive phrase might allow, I still have a tendency to want to synthesize and summarize.

Because of this aspect of my personality, I really love it when scripture gives us those power phrases...especially when it is red letter "straight from the mouth of Jesus."  If Jesus answers a question in the definitive, it seems like that would be a sentence or two to remember. 

Such is the case when Jesus is asked to reveal what He believes to be the "greatest commandment" in the Law.  Only recently did I discover, after telling that story numerous times in bible study discussions, that scripture actually tells this story 3 different times in the Gospels; in Matthew, Mark and Luke.  When I started digging around in these 3 different accounts, I gained an even deeper appreciation for the power of these words.  Simple, powerful, life-changing.  Over the next few days, I want to talk a little bit about what these verses mean to me.

The first account is found in Matthew 22:34-40.  (Those different colored letters and numbers mean for you to click on it and go read it...go ahead, I'll wait :-)  This account is fairly straight foward, although I did find it interesting that the questioner really wasn't concerned with the answer to the question, so much as he wanted to trick Jesus into making an error.  Lucky for us, God can even use evil motives to achieve great teaching moments.  Jesus says his favorite commandment is simply this:  love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul and mind.  The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. I primarily want to address the first commandment today because the account in Luke really emphasizes the second commandment...stay tuned! 

Having been raised in the church, I probably got the point about loving God early on...we're supposed to love God, I get it...sounds easy enough, right?   That neighbor part might get a little tough sometimes, but I definitely got that first one down, no problem.  I love God, check!  It has only been in recent years that I started thinking more about the "all your heart, all your soul and all your mind" part.  The part of the Law from which Jesus was quoting says it even better:

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

 ⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

The Message translation of this verse says to "love Him with all that's in you, love Him with all you've got!"  As I pondered THAT sort of love...all that's in me, all that I've got...this idea of loving God doesn't seem as simple.  Yes, I love Him, but do I love Him enough?  And what is enough?

When I got back into really reading and studying God's Word several years ago, a bible teacher shared something with us that changed my life.  She said "every time you think of God, it is because He thought of you first."  She reminded us of the verse in 1 John that tells us that we love because He first loved us.  All my life, I had felt that I was chasing after God; pursuing Him, seeking Him, hoping He would "notice" me and think I was good enough.  In reality, all those years, God was actually pursuing me, seeking to be in relationship with me, hoping I would notice Him at work in my life and finally believe and accept the "height and depth" of His transforming love for me.  As I began to read the Bible with fresh eyes, I saw it as the account of His love for me...a love letter to me and to all His people, the story of the ways that He woos us and forgives us and never gives up on bringing us back to Himself.  Gradually, as I nestled into this new understanding of how much He loves me, I knew that teaching me to love Him "enough" was what He wanted most in the world...and He is a God who gets His way!  Now, my prayer each day is "God, I love You so much, but help me to love You even more."  It is a prayer that I believe He always answers in the affirmative.  As He transforms my heart, I don't have to "try" to love Him with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind.  I just ask that He make it so and offer my heart, soul and mind to Him for reconstructive surgery. And all that other stuff on which I had worked so hard before, that just falls into place when I focus on loving God first.  If I can't remember one other thing in the bible, this one commandment will start the ball rolling in the right direction.  It is all about relationship first...just ask Jesus!

Speaking of relationship, we can't just keep all that transformational love to ourselves.  The nature of this kind of love is overflowing.  Tomorrow, I want to talk about the account in Luke where Jesus talks about these two commandments.