There is this deep, excited, magical feeling I get when I read any of the books in CS Lewis' Narnia series, or listen to a song by Mumford and Sons, or look at the view on top of a beautful mountain when no other sign of civilization is in sight.
I get this same feeling when I think about Jesus, living, walking, breathing, talking to people with fire in His eyes. It's this feeling of thr reality of holiness, of glory, of Something so much bigger than myself.
I got this feeling again this week as I worshiped with other Christians at our joint Ash Wednesday service with a couple other churches. There were several moments, when everoyne around me was crying out to God as loud as they could while we were singing Psalm 51 and Amazing Grace, that I just felt this magical, wonderous feeling stirring so strongly inside me. Looking around, I just kep thinking, This is real - and praised God for it. Jesus, someone Ive heard about my whole life and work for everyday, can sometimes become a thought that I get used to. But He lived, He laughed, He touched and healed. And one day I will stand by His side and get to kneel at His feet and thank Him for the fact that He thought of me on His walk to the cross. I will get to stand at His side as He literally destroys all evil.
As I looked at everyone around me believing this same thing and visibly feeling the same feeling I was feeling, the magic of it all only left me more in awe. This is real - not only that night, but throughout centuries, believers have gathered together on Ash Wednesday and dedicated themselves to walkng with Christ through His suffering. They all believed in His reality that much. So did my fellow worshipers on Wednesday - many of whom I did not even know. Yet we were all joined by the magic of Christ - the reality of the combined love and holiness of a God who walked earth and gave Himself willingly up to suffering, for us. And because of this reality, millions of people over thousands of years repeat the same words, pray the same prayers, and dedicate themselves to walking with Him in His suffering. That is beautiful, exciting, magic. That has to be real.
It is this beauty, these moments of knowing God's reality and glimpsing Him "dimly in a mirror" (1 Corinthians 13:8-12hj...reading this chapter in Scripture is another moment I get a glimpse of another world, something so much bigger than myself) - it is these moments when I am most happy. Because it is these moments that take me outside myself. I am not focused on my selfish worries and prideful little stresses. I am in the presence of Something greater, Something that somehow simplifies myself.
So on ASh Wednesday, I was able to clearly see and committ to what God is calling me to this Lent: He is calling me to live in the magic. Train my mind on the ismple reality of Who He is, and think of myself less. This is a daily, lifelong habit that I know all believers strive for, but for me, this is especially hard. I worry,s tress, and overanaluze. I have a brain that thinks ALOT - which is a blessing when it is in God's hand, but a curse when in mine, because I just think about MYSELF too much. So this Lent, I am repenting of my selfishness, of my over-analytical, selffocsed tendencies that distract me from the beauty that is Christ and the life He has given me, and am committing myself to truly walking with Him in His solemnity and suffering this season. I am commiting to training my mind more on the glory and majesty that I once again experienced on Ash Wednesday - the beauty of God becoming man, of this Man giving Himself for me. The beauty of receiving ashes on my head, along with millions of others, reminding me of my humanity and my sinfulness and my need for Someone to rescue me. And I'm committing myself to the reality of the words of Amazing Grace that we sang at the end of the night:
Through many dangers, toils and snares...
we have already come.
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...
and Grace will lead us home...
When we've been here ten thousand years...
bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise...
then when we've first begun.
These words fill me with that kind of hope and peace that can only come from really beleiving in the reailty of Something greater than yourself. They remind me that this is real. This wonderous, magical feeling that comes when I am comptely confident that there is Something greater than the hurt in this world and the importance I've given myself and my mistakes. I think this feeling can best be descirbed by verse 12 of Psalm 51, which we read at the service. The "joy of my salvation" fills me, overwhelms me, makes everything so much more beautiful and simple. This Lent, I repent of my selfishness and committ to walking with Christ through His time of suffering, learning to keep my mind trained on Him, letting Him convict me, refine me, teach me - and letting everything else in my life flow from that. And I know as I learn to train my mind on His reality, that His magic - the "joy of my salvation" that He gives me and that we will fully celebrate on Easter - will only increase everyday.
Which means more of my other-worldly Aslan, Mumford and Sons, Ash Wednesday, majestic mountain-top experiences....it's just so much better thinking more about Jesus.
Friday, February 24, 2012
The Deepness of Adoption
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:3-8)
Ever since I first met my beautiful adopted cousins when I was just an awkward pre-teen, I've desired to provide a home for those who had none, just as my aunt did for my cousins. And as I've gotten older and come to understand the beauty of what God has done for me through Christ, my desire to love others the way He first loved me - to give others a place the way God gave me one - only deepened my desire to adopt. As Paul says to the Ephesians in the passage above, God planned before time even began to show His amazing, glorious love to us through adoption. He planned to give His only Son - whom He loved so much - as a sacrifice for us so we could be adopted into His family. He planned to bring us from nothing and make us sons and daughters, so we could see how very deep His love is for us. Beginning to understand this - and I know the deepness of God's adoption for us will take my whole life to even begin to understand - has given me a deep desire to show love to the most lonely, most hurting, most vulnerable people. And most often the most vulnerable are children, especially those without parents to take care of them the way God intended.
And living in DC this past year has opened my eyes to the meaning of "adoption" in even deeper ways. There is so much brokenness in our culture today - and almost every single issue of brokennes we see around us can be traced back to broken families. There are so many children in the foster care system who have never known the unconditional love of two parents. There are so many children who still live with one or both of their biological parents but still do not receive the love and affirmation God desires them to have through their earthly parents. Whether it is through talking to an employee at DC Child Welfare Services, hearing my husband talk about his 5th grade students, or seeing how a mother interacts with her child on the street - there are so many children who need to be "adopted." Whether legally adopted into our homes, or adopted through mentorship and discipleship, God has called us all to show the love He has shown us to others. And adoption is one of the most tangible ways - if not the most tangible way - we can do this. And while I do believe Stephen and I will legally adopt a child into our home someday, and while I believe God has blessed many with the desire and resources to legally adopt, others might not be called to adopt in that way. But I believe we are all called to give the world a glimpse of our adoption into God's family by adopting others into our family in some way.
I just read a thought-provoking article on urban ministry called "Discipling Urban Youth," where the author, Tyler Staton, highlighted the importance of discipleship. As I often need to be reminded, Christ didn't call us to start an orgnaization that saves the world or try to come up with a plan that will change a city overnght. He called us to be intentional with a few others in our life - loving them, discipling them, and bringing them closer to Him. And through doing this, the world will be changed, but by bit. Because Christ knew that through doing this - through intentionally pouring our lives into a few others, walking with them, discipling them as He did His disciples - He knew that they would feel the same feeling of adoption into a family as we felt at one point into His family. And it is this adoption into our lives that will help others get a glimpse of God's love for them, of God's reconciliation and adoption into His family for all eternity.
So whether you're at the place where you're ready and able to legally adopt a child into your family forever, whether you're at the place where you can meet with a child once a week, or whether you can go into a local teacher's classroom and help tutor some students on a regular basis - we are all called to adopt in some way. We are called to live differently - to live in such a way that Christ's redemption can be seen in our lives. And in our world today, there are enough children without families, without parents to show them the unconditional love of God, that this is an obvious area where God is asking us to live differently for Him. Whether it be giving up time with friends, time relaxing at home, or some over-time at work, I truly believe this is a way we can be "salt and light" in this world, helping to bring the Kingdom of God into this world. Adopting children into our lives - whether they be 2 months old or 22 years old - is a need the Church can fill in every coutnry in the world, and an incredibly beautiul way to show God's eternal love to the restof the world.
I've been thinking and praying with Stephen and some others at my church about ways the Church in DC can step in this gap and help lead the movemnt of adoption in DC. There is much space in the foster care system, in our public schools, and in many other places for the Church to step in. So please be praying for us as we seek to dsicern God's will for us in this area. Most importantly, be praying about how God is calling you to show His heart for adoption to this hurting world.
FYI: One of my pastors, Amy, preached a sermon last week on restoring the family, foster care, and adoption. It is definitely worth a listen! You can go here to check it out.
Ever since I first met my beautiful adopted cousins when I was just an awkward pre-teen, I've desired to provide a home for those who had none, just as my aunt did for my cousins. And as I've gotten older and come to understand the beauty of what God has done for me through Christ, my desire to love others the way He first loved me - to give others a place the way God gave me one - only deepened my desire to adopt. As Paul says to the Ephesians in the passage above, God planned before time even began to show His amazing, glorious love to us through adoption. He planned to give His only Son - whom He loved so much - as a sacrifice for us so we could be adopted into His family. He planned to bring us from nothing and make us sons and daughters, so we could see how very deep His love is for us. Beginning to understand this - and I know the deepness of God's adoption for us will take my whole life to even begin to understand - has given me a deep desire to show love to the most lonely, most hurting, most vulnerable people. And most often the most vulnerable are children, especially those without parents to take care of them the way God intended.
And living in DC this past year has opened my eyes to the meaning of "adoption" in even deeper ways. There is so much brokenness in our culture today - and almost every single issue of brokennes we see around us can be traced back to broken families. There are so many children in the foster care system who have never known the unconditional love of two parents. There are so many children who still live with one or both of their biological parents but still do not receive the love and affirmation God desires them to have through their earthly parents. Whether it is through talking to an employee at DC Child Welfare Services, hearing my husband talk about his 5th grade students, or seeing how a mother interacts with her child on the street - there are so many children who need to be "adopted." Whether legally adopted into our homes, or adopted through mentorship and discipleship, God has called us all to show the love He has shown us to others. And adoption is one of the most tangible ways - if not the most tangible way - we can do this. And while I do believe Stephen and I will legally adopt a child into our home someday, and while I believe God has blessed many with the desire and resources to legally adopt, others might not be called to adopt in that way. But I believe we are all called to give the world a glimpse of our adoption into God's family by adopting others into our family in some way.
I just read a thought-provoking article on urban ministry called "Discipling Urban Youth," where the author, Tyler Staton, highlighted the importance of discipleship. As I often need to be reminded, Christ didn't call us to start an orgnaization that saves the world or try to come up with a plan that will change a city overnght. He called us to be intentional with a few others in our life - loving them, discipling them, and bringing them closer to Him. And through doing this, the world will be changed, but by bit. Because Christ knew that through doing this - through intentionally pouring our lives into a few others, walking with them, discipling them as He did His disciples - He knew that they would feel the same feeling of adoption into a family as we felt at one point into His family. And it is this adoption into our lives that will help others get a glimpse of God's love for them, of God's reconciliation and adoption into His family for all eternity.
So whether you're at the place where you're ready and able to legally adopt a child into your family forever, whether you're at the place where you can meet with a child once a week, or whether you can go into a local teacher's classroom and help tutor some students on a regular basis - we are all called to adopt in some way. We are called to live differently - to live in such a way that Christ's redemption can be seen in our lives. And in our world today, there are enough children without families, without parents to show them the unconditional love of God, that this is an obvious area where God is asking us to live differently for Him. Whether it be giving up time with friends, time relaxing at home, or some over-time at work, I truly believe this is a way we can be "salt and light" in this world, helping to bring the Kingdom of God into this world. Adopting children into our lives - whether they be 2 months old or 22 years old - is a need the Church can fill in every coutnry in the world, and an incredibly beautiul way to show God's eternal love to the restof the world.
I've been thinking and praying with Stephen and some others at my church about ways the Church in DC can step in this gap and help lead the movemnt of adoption in DC. There is much space in the foster care system, in our public schools, and in many other places for the Church to step in. So please be praying for us as we seek to dsicern God's will for us in this area. Most importantly, be praying about how God is calling you to show His heart for adoption to this hurting world.
FYI: One of my pastors, Amy, preached a sermon last week on restoring the family, foster care, and adoption. It is definitely worth a listen! You can go here to check it out.
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