“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” - Mathew. 22:37-40
Jesus’ first and greatest commandment – to love God with our whole hearts – and then His second – to love our neighbors as ourselves – were never meant to be separated. As theologian Meredith Kline said, “The two commandments of Jesus do not distinguish two separable areas of human life but two complementary aspects of human responsibility…” Jesus made it clear through His teaching, and we see now clearly through His Scriptures, that the more we come to know and love Him, the more we should love others. Not separately, but one out of the other. The more we know the love of God, the more that love should be pouring out of us to others.
But how are we to love them? Not, as our modern Christian culture sometimes tells us, by preaching God’s love at them. No – we are called to love them like Christ. Because we are called to be like Christ, we are called to love others like him. “Why are we to love our neighbors? Because we love the God who loves them; and, according to the principle articulated in the Sabbath commandment (Exod. 20:11), the imperative to love God is also a demand to be like Him.” (Kline) We are called to become like Christ and love like He loved, with His love.
And what does that look like? Let’s look at His life: it looks like living out a love to powerful, so heartfelt, so compassionate that it draws people to you. It doesn’t look like preaching at people – it looks like showing God to people and then giving them a reason for your love when it stands out to them so much that they ask you about it. Christ never shied away from sharing Truth – but He lived in such a way that people actually asked to hear the Truth. It means we weep with those who are heartbroken; give to those that have none even, and especially, when we ourselves have none; we eat with those who are most hated and converse with those who could ruin our reputation even by our proximity to them; we do not follow religious tradition or what is culturally accepted but instead question the heart of the matter; we do not look at one as accepted and one as different (or one as American and another as immigrant…) but we look at all as children of God who deserve to be shown grace and pushed towards Something better. In John 4:4-26, Jesus talked to a Samaritan woman – a woman who, simply because she was a Samaritan (a group of people who were only half-Jew) was considered a foreigner and an outcast. She was a woman that no self-respecting man ever would have talked to at that time. Yet Christ approached her, asked her questions, spoke truth, and challenged her towards something better. He looked at her and saw a hurting child of God, and loved her. He saw no color, no race, no religion. He saw a woman created in God’s image and loved her with his actions.
Loving like Christ ultimately means we look to God’s Kingdom purposes and not our own – we love others more than ourselves and our own theology, our own purposes, our own political ideology, our own image. We die in humiliation, as Christ did, if that is what is required of us to accomplish God’s purposes; we love those who hate us to the point of heart-wrenching pain and cultural shame.
Out of God’s love, we are called to love others as He loved us.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
I am not my own...
"But by the grace of God I am what I am..." (1 Corinthians 15:10)
It is only by God's GRACE that I am what I am. It is by nothing I have done that I was born into a middle-class white family in America, that I was able to go to college, do prestigious internships, learn to read and write well, eat healthily enough every day to be able to focus and function in what I do, marry an amazing man who has a good job, etc. It is by the grace of God that I received all these things and am the woman I am. So why would I ever think that all those things are for me to take and use as I please? Why would I ever think that this life I have and all that I am able to is my own? I have done nothing to merit all of this - what I have merited is a life of pain and heartache, but by the grace of God in Christ I am saved from that, and for His purposes have been given all the aforementioned blessings. All that I am is His and all that I have is for Him. "You are not your own; you were bought at a price..." (1 Cor. 6:19-20) Therefore, why would I ever think that what I have is for me, to use for my purposes and as I please? I do not deserve what I have; it is by nothing I have done that I am here and not one of the girls born into a destitute family in India who could not afford to pay the bills so they sold her into sexual slavery. My heart hurts thinking of her. Why her and not me? The GRACE of God. I deserve nothing more than her. Who I am, what I have, is given by the grace of God in Christ for His purposes. I pray that my heart, that all of our heart's, would break all over again everyday for those who have been injured so much by the sin of this world, and that we would grow more and more convicted every day of the fact that we are what we are and we have what we have for the purpose of bringing God glory by bringing His grace to those who have not been blessed like we have. We are blessed for His purposes, to spread His grace.
God, show me everyday how to give all that I am to you. Show me how to give back all that you've given me, so that the pain of other's might be lessened by the blessings you have given me in Christ and by His grace lived out in my life.
It is only by God's GRACE that I am what I am. It is by nothing I have done that I was born into a middle-class white family in America, that I was able to go to college, do prestigious internships, learn to read and write well, eat healthily enough every day to be able to focus and function in what I do, marry an amazing man who has a good job, etc. It is by the grace of God that I received all these things and am the woman I am. So why would I ever think that all those things are for me to take and use as I please? Why would I ever think that this life I have and all that I am able to is my own? I have done nothing to merit all of this - what I have merited is a life of pain and heartache, but by the grace of God in Christ I am saved from that, and for His purposes have been given all the aforementioned blessings. All that I am is His and all that I have is for Him. "You are not your own; you were bought at a price..." (1 Cor. 6:19-20) Therefore, why would I ever think that what I have is for me, to use for my purposes and as I please? I do not deserve what I have; it is by nothing I have done that I am here and not one of the girls born into a destitute family in India who could not afford to pay the bills so they sold her into sexual slavery. My heart hurts thinking of her. Why her and not me? The GRACE of God. I deserve nothing more than her. Who I am, what I have, is given by the grace of God in Christ for His purposes. I pray that my heart, that all of our heart's, would break all over again everyday for those who have been injured so much by the sin of this world, and that we would grow more and more convicted every day of the fact that we are what we are and we have what we have for the purpose of bringing God glory by bringing His grace to those who have not been blessed like we have. We are blessed for His purposes, to spread His grace.
God, show me everyday how to give all that I am to you. Show me how to give back all that you've given me, so that the pain of other's might be lessened by the blessings you have given me in Christ and by His grace lived out in my life.
More than US
Something needs to change in our Christian culture today: examples in Isaiah and Amos show us that the more complacent, comfortable, and affluent God’s people were, the more they deviated from His Word and way of living. And this deviation led to God’s intense displeasure with them. Isaiah and Amos are just two of the many prophets that were sent to warn Israel to turn from her disastrous ways: stop living the way those around you are living, stop doing what you want, turn back to God’s way….
A common theme behind Israel’s sin throughout her history is selfishness. It is the same selfishness all mankind – yes, even (and some many say especially), the Church - struggles with today. It is our inherent selfish mindset that tells us we should do what we want, we deserve the best, that our first concern should be our happiness, our safety, our security.
But look at the prophets warning to Israel, and look at the culmination of God’s message in Christ: we are created to glorify Him above all else. We are created to be in relationship with Him and to live for Him. That means that our will, what we want, what we think we deserve, is not our focus. Christ’s message was one of God’s Kingdom coming onto this earth, of a new Way. He fulfilled everything the Old Testament spoke about and the prophets interceded for – He gave the opportunity to truly know God. And along with that, He showed what it looks like to live for God, to live as God desires us to live as His set apart people. Christ showed what it looks like to work for God’s redeeming Kingdom on this earth, and to live as the holy people He created us to be.
So then how should this practically look for us? I have come to realize maybe that means looking at life from Christ’s perspective, not mine. Maybe this means I am not the end, the center, the focus. I think it means that I am part of something so much bigger, so much more glorious than my selfish perspective originally told me…
Instead of seeing God has Someone who lives for our purposes, maybe we can get on our faces before Him as Moses did, aware of His glory and holiness and the fact that there is so much more He desires for my life and for this world than our selfish culture tells us.
Maybe my first thought in thinking about a government policy (possibly such as healthcare?…) shouldn’t be how it will affect me, but maybe it should be held up to the light of God’s Kingdom that He desires us to live under: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:16-18) As His set apart people, we are called not to think of ourselves first, but of bringing Him glory by living differently – by living the way Christ showed us how to live.
Maybe instead of thinking of our own financial security or personal safety, we are called to GO. To DO what He has commanded, without fear or what the world will think or what the world can do to us. Does the beauty of my Savior and the glory of my God move me so beyond this world that I do not even think what twice about what it says I “should” do? The world says I deserve a nice house, a safe place to raise my children, a good job so I can live comfortably and be “responsible” with my finances. But what if there is MORE God desires for us as His people? “Go and make disciples of all nations…”(Matthew 28). In Isaiah 1 God says He is “weary” of the offerings of the Israelites, that they have become a “burden” to him. It is clear from Is.1 that the Israelites still observe the religious festivals and holy days God commanded them to observe, that they still bring Him offerings in His temple. Yet He says He is tired of their “vain offerings.” He then goes on to say that He will not hear their prayers, because their hands are full of blood, and commands them to “Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” (Is. 1:16-17) It is clear that, although still doing religious actions, the hearts of the Israelites were not in the right place. They were not truly loving God and living for Him. He says truly living rightly for Him would be to seek justice, correct oppression, plead the case of the fatherless and widow….Is there a similar pattern with the Church today? Do we observe the religious actions our culture tells us are “good,” and then not really live in all that God has for us? Do we do what benefits us, what is “good” for us, and miss out on truly living the Gospel the way Christ showed us we could live it? We need to question the world around us. What is our perspective? Why do we do the things we do? Are they religious actions that our culture tells us are right, but are in actuality self-satisfying and self-pleasing?
Christ showed us how in Him, we can be made new and join our God in the redemption of the world! That means so much more than living for ourselves, than living the way our religious culture often tells us we “deserve” to live. We can go higher, wider, deeper in the love of Christ to know Him and know what it looks like to join Him in working for the fatherless and oppressed, in working to bring His Kingdom onto this earth:
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings…” (Phil. 3:10).
Do we really want to know Christ? There is such power in really knowing Him and in sharing in His resurrection and getting to fellowship with Him in sufferings – and He has given us an opportunity to truly know Him and fellowship with Him through living like Him! Are we living in that awesome reality, in the reality that there is more? It is not about us – it is about His glory, about living in the new Way He showed us in Christ, about living out the salvation we received in Him by bringing His Kingdom onto this earth everyday in how we live and breathe and move. We live for more. There is more He has for us than us.
A common theme behind Israel’s sin throughout her history is selfishness. It is the same selfishness all mankind – yes, even (and some many say especially), the Church - struggles with today. It is our inherent selfish mindset that tells us we should do what we want, we deserve the best, that our first concern should be our happiness, our safety, our security.
But look at the prophets warning to Israel, and look at the culmination of God’s message in Christ: we are created to glorify Him above all else. We are created to be in relationship with Him and to live for Him. That means that our will, what we want, what we think we deserve, is not our focus. Christ’s message was one of God’s Kingdom coming onto this earth, of a new Way. He fulfilled everything the Old Testament spoke about and the prophets interceded for – He gave the opportunity to truly know God. And along with that, He showed what it looks like to live for God, to live as God desires us to live as His set apart people. Christ showed what it looks like to work for God’s redeeming Kingdom on this earth, and to live as the holy people He created us to be.
So then how should this practically look for us? I have come to realize maybe that means looking at life from Christ’s perspective, not mine. Maybe this means I am not the end, the center, the focus. I think it means that I am part of something so much bigger, so much more glorious than my selfish perspective originally told me…
Instead of seeing God has Someone who lives for our purposes, maybe we can get on our faces before Him as Moses did, aware of His glory and holiness and the fact that there is so much more He desires for my life and for this world than our selfish culture tells us.
Maybe my first thought in thinking about a government policy (possibly such as healthcare?…) shouldn’t be how it will affect me, but maybe it should be held up to the light of God’s Kingdom that He desires us to live under: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:16-18) As His set apart people, we are called not to think of ourselves first, but of bringing Him glory by living differently – by living the way Christ showed us how to live.
Maybe instead of thinking of our own financial security or personal safety, we are called to GO. To DO what He has commanded, without fear or what the world will think or what the world can do to us. Does the beauty of my Savior and the glory of my God move me so beyond this world that I do not even think what twice about what it says I “should” do? The world says I deserve a nice house, a safe place to raise my children, a good job so I can live comfortably and be “responsible” with my finances. But what if there is MORE God desires for us as His people? “Go and make disciples of all nations…”(Matthew 28). In Isaiah 1 God says He is “weary” of the offerings of the Israelites, that they have become a “burden” to him. It is clear from Is.1 that the Israelites still observe the religious festivals and holy days God commanded them to observe, that they still bring Him offerings in His temple. Yet He says He is tired of their “vain offerings.” He then goes on to say that He will not hear their prayers, because their hands are full of blood, and commands them to “Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” (Is. 1:16-17) It is clear that, although still doing religious actions, the hearts of the Israelites were not in the right place. They were not truly loving God and living for Him. He says truly living rightly for Him would be to seek justice, correct oppression, plead the case of the fatherless and widow….Is there a similar pattern with the Church today? Do we observe the religious actions our culture tells us are “good,” and then not really live in all that God has for us? Do we do what benefits us, what is “good” for us, and miss out on truly living the Gospel the way Christ showed us we could live it? We need to question the world around us. What is our perspective? Why do we do the things we do? Are they religious actions that our culture tells us are right, but are in actuality self-satisfying and self-pleasing?
Christ showed us how in Him, we can be made new and join our God in the redemption of the world! That means so much more than living for ourselves, than living the way our religious culture often tells us we “deserve” to live. We can go higher, wider, deeper in the love of Christ to know Him and know what it looks like to join Him in working for the fatherless and oppressed, in working to bring His Kingdom onto this earth:
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings…” (Phil. 3:10).
Do we really want to know Christ? There is such power in really knowing Him and in sharing in His resurrection and getting to fellowship with Him in sufferings – and He has given us an opportunity to truly know Him and fellowship with Him through living like Him! Are we living in that awesome reality, in the reality that there is more? It is not about us – it is about His glory, about living in the new Way He showed us in Christ, about living out the salvation we received in Him by bringing His Kingdom onto this earth everyday in how we live and breathe and move. We live for more. There is more He has for us than us.
Believing in God's amazing grace
Why don't we live in the GRACE of Christ in our everyday lives? I think it's because the more we have, the easier it is to rely on those things - those material things that we can see and touch, rather than on the supernatural POWER of God that IS our's in Christ. God has promised that in Christ He will do more than we can ever ask or imagine....so why don't we ask?! We fall back on the money we have, on the material provisions we use every day, on the things we can see with our eyes that provide for us. We assume that there is no way to help that person, do that ministry, change hat situation, etc if there is no way that my material possessions will stretch that far. But God has promised us that in His grace, He can do so much more than the material world around us would allow. We need to live every day not based on what "practically" I can do, or what the world tells me is smart or wise, but on what the grace of GOD can do. What if we all lived like we really believed that living out the love of Christ could change things? What if I really believed that God will do more than I could ever do within my own abilities if I would just ask and believe? Christ's love is so powerful and so different - it changed the lives of all those He interacted with. What if we prayed to live in love like that, and then really lived that out? God's amazing love and supernatural grace can do more than we ever could with our finite abilities - we need to rely on those less, and on the POWER that comes with knowing and living in Christ. If it seems we don't have the money, the means, or the abilities to do what God has called us to do, then that doesn't mean He hasn't called us to do those things or to live the way He has told us to live - it just means we are called to believe in the supernatural grace and means of GOD more and our own practical means less. We live in an environment where we are able to rely on our practical means daily to survive - but we have been blessed to live in this environment not so that we would rely on it above God, but so that God can use these blessings through us to bless others and impact this world. We are called to give them up to Him so that He might use them in His amazing grace to do more than we could ever imagine - we are NOT called to replace God with them and rely on them to do God's work.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Lessons of the Outdoors
I love being outside. Something about it is magical, holy, - being in creation reminds me that this world is better than the movies and the media make it out to be, that there is still some beauty that we have not ruined.
I think I also love it because being outside reminds me that the world is so much bigger than me. It is enormous, a vast expanse that I cannot control and that will do what it was created to do whether I am there or not. The rocks will still be massive, the trees will still be moved by the wind, the flowers will still bloom, the grass will still whisper quietly…Being in creation reminds me that it is all not ultimately about me.
It is this perspective that helps me when I listen to reports about the healthcare situation. How did we get to the point where we think it is a valid argument to say that some people should not have even a basic level of coverage because the quality of our’s might decrease? What makes my life more important than my neighbor’s? How did this mindset become so pervasive? It is not ultimately about government control vs. my control, my personal finances, my ability to decide what I want – it is about human life. The message of our world that I am the most important has poisoned our thinking to the point that now we would deny mothers and their children even the most basic treatment simply so that I can have all that I “deserve.”
“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” – Isaiah 1:17
If we all realized that there is more to this world than us, that we are held to a standard that calls us to take care of the poor, the widow, the fatherless, the child that can not care for himself – then I think we might think twice about arguing against providing for these people. There are some standards that apply to ALL of us – no matter our personal views, lifestyles, or callings.
Jesus tells his followers over and over in His Word that the way He would recognize if they truly know Him in their hearts is by the way they care for others. Matthew 25 makes it clear that if we truly know and love Jesus, we will love and care for the poor and the oppressed around us. In the book of James, the author says that pure religion is one that visits orphans and widows (James 1:27). Later on James says that if one truly has faith, good works will follow – and what is the first thing he lists as these good works that should follow faith? “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled.’ Without giving them the tings needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:15-17).
How can we say the politically correct, “War is bad, help the poor and needy, love everyone, etc…” and then in the next breath deny our neighbors even the most basic form of healthcare? The Church can be one of the most powerful tools in this world to bring Christ’s love and salvation to people – if the Church speaks up, the government will listen. Helping provide basic coverage to our brothers and sisters is a means to provide the “clothes and daily food” James is talking about! Spreading Christ’s message of salvation goes hand in hand with showing Jesus to those same people – telling them they should know Jesus while at the same time telling them they are not worth basic health coverage is blatantly contradictory and, really, not the true Gospel. We are called to live out the love of Christ, to show Jesus while we are preaching His name. Let’s examine our lives and make sure we are doing that in our every belief and action – are we truly living like we know this world is not all about us?
I think I also love it because being outside reminds me that the world is so much bigger than me. It is enormous, a vast expanse that I cannot control and that will do what it was created to do whether I am there or not. The rocks will still be massive, the trees will still be moved by the wind, the flowers will still bloom, the grass will still whisper quietly…Being in creation reminds me that it is all not ultimately about me.
It is this perspective that helps me when I listen to reports about the healthcare situation. How did we get to the point where we think it is a valid argument to say that some people should not have even a basic level of coverage because the quality of our’s might decrease? What makes my life more important than my neighbor’s? How did this mindset become so pervasive? It is not ultimately about government control vs. my control, my personal finances, my ability to decide what I want – it is about human life. The message of our world that I am the most important has poisoned our thinking to the point that now we would deny mothers and their children even the most basic treatment simply so that I can have all that I “deserve.”
“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” – Isaiah 1:17
If we all realized that there is more to this world than us, that we are held to a standard that calls us to take care of the poor, the widow, the fatherless, the child that can not care for himself – then I think we might think twice about arguing against providing for these people. There are some standards that apply to ALL of us – no matter our personal views, lifestyles, or callings.
Jesus tells his followers over and over in His Word that the way He would recognize if they truly know Him in their hearts is by the way they care for others. Matthew 25 makes it clear that if we truly know and love Jesus, we will love and care for the poor and the oppressed around us. In the book of James, the author says that pure religion is one that visits orphans and widows (James 1:27). Later on James says that if one truly has faith, good works will follow – and what is the first thing he lists as these good works that should follow faith? “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled.’ Without giving them the tings needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:15-17).
How can we say the politically correct, “War is bad, help the poor and needy, love everyone, etc…” and then in the next breath deny our neighbors even the most basic form of healthcare? The Church can be one of the most powerful tools in this world to bring Christ’s love and salvation to people – if the Church speaks up, the government will listen. Helping provide basic coverage to our brothers and sisters is a means to provide the “clothes and daily food” James is talking about! Spreading Christ’s message of salvation goes hand in hand with showing Jesus to those same people – telling them they should know Jesus while at the same time telling them they are not worth basic health coverage is blatantly contradictory and, really, not the true Gospel. We are called to live out the love of Christ, to show Jesus while we are preaching His name. Let’s examine our lives and make sure we are doing that in our every belief and action – are we truly living like we know this world is not all about us?
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Prayer
I pray that this is my prayer every day when I wake up, and that it becomes the prayer of the Church around the world, so that we are constantly living in Christ's vision to love and redeem this world:
"Dear God, give me the courage to live and work for a new heaven and a new earth as Jesus did. Give me the freedom to be critical where I see evil and to offer praises where I see good. Most of all, make me faithful to the vision you have given me, so that wherever I go and whomever I meet, I can be a sign of your all-renewing love. Amen." - A prayer by Henri Nouwen
http://www.ijm.org/justicecampaigns
"Dear God, give me the courage to live and work for a new heaven and a new earth as Jesus did. Give me the freedom to be critical where I see evil and to offer praises where I see good. Most of all, make me faithful to the vision you have given me, so that wherever I go and whomever I meet, I can be a sign of your all-renewing love. Amen." - A prayer by Henri Nouwen
http://www.ijm.org/justicecampaigns
A really bad trend....
In an age where political correctness reigns, there is an important trend that must be noticed:
As the demand for “acceptance” has increased, actual compassion for people has decreased. Care, grace, and love for others has lessened in our modern world of simply “accepting” how people are and moving on without taking the time to find out who they are and why.
This ultimately stems from selfishness. Selfishness has exploded. We do not even notice it anymore – it is a permanent mindset that we must consciously fight if we are to see Reality. Our culture tells us we deserve whatever we can get, that this world exists to serve our purposes, that life really is all about me. Why shouldn’t I do what I want, take what I can get, assume that everything I have is mine?
But the reality is, in fact, that I am not the center of the universe. There is more to this life than me being happy, than the world running on my needs and desires, than me having and doing and being all that I want. My nature, my corrupt being that is exaggerated by this self-focused culture, tells me so strongly that this universe revolves around me that I find myself in a selfish state of mind constantly. My first thought after a friend tells me about something going on in her life is “How will this affect me?” My first thought after I read Scripture is “How does this help me?” My initial reaction even after a humanitarian event or human rights talk is “How will it look for me if I am involved in this?” Because of the work of our great God in my life, it now only takes me a couple seconds to catch myself and even less than that to be disgusted with myself.
Being married for the extremely extended period of one week has shown me this nasty part of my nature even more. I love my husband more than anyone else on this earth and it is through him that God has helped me see what selfless love looks like: I want to give up more of myself for him. I want to see him elevated above myself. I want him to have more than me, to live longer than me, to receive more praise than me (because he definitely deserves it!) I decided not to do a job that I’ve wanted to do for several years now so I can help him more with his job and just serve him better. I woke up at 6 AM this morning to go into his 5th grade classroom and help him put papers together for his students. I love doing his dishes, washing his clothes, and making him food. Things that I never thought I would want to do for someone, that are opposite of what my selfish nature tells me I should be doing - that are opposite of what my selfish nature tells me I deserve – I love doing. God has already used this marriage relationship in extraordinary ways to show me what it looks like to love someone more than myself.
Even in this relationship I have to fight against my natural instinct. My nature tells me I should have slept in, I should have done what I wanted to benefit my future career and my interests. But the Reality is that the more we focus on ourselves and the more we are motivated by selfish interests, the worse this world will become.
I think it is a pretty popular thing today to say “The world needs to change.” A lot of people, especially a lot of people in my generation, say that the world is not perfect and that a lot of things need to change. There are many people who have set out to “change the world,” myself being one of them. And it’s completely true: the world does need to change. But attempting to eradicate poverty, homelessness, disease, war, etc will not change the world. It might on the surface for a while, but the root causes of these evils will still be there, and will generate them again before long. It is humanity’s self-focused, hardened hearts that need to be changed. Until we are made aware of our selfish nature and are constantly fighting against it, the world will not change much. The politically correct position of acceptance will continue to grow and compassion for people will continue to decrease – even as humanitarian organizations grow and non-profit work continues to be the fad. As long as the mindset of self is taught, emphasized, and allowed in our culture and in our homes and in our classes, we will say we want to change the world and then in the next breath complain about how we need more money to live the lifestyle we feel we are entitled to. This is a disconnect that must be remedied.
Every day we must fight our natural instinct and tune out the voices around us that tell us to focus on the I, the we, and the me. Maybe we should question more what is right and normal. Maybe we should question what we deserve. Maybe we could not think we are entitled to every penny in this world. Maybe we could give more – maybe we could even give some money, time, and possessions that are “rightfully” ours. Maybe we could look at other people, no matter their race, gender, or economic situation, and consider that they deserve just as much as I do. Maybe I could actually change something about the way I live to better the life of someone else.
“…many who are first will be last, and the last first…” (Matthew 19:30). When Christ walked this earth, He introduced an “upside down kingdom” that messed with people’s heads – He challenged man’s inclination to help himself first, and even asserted that the actual Right way to live was to put all others before yourself. His message was one of service, grace, mercy, compassion, and selfless love – a message that He lived out with every part of His being when He put all of humanity first by giving His life for our’s on the Cross.
It is this selfless mindset we must seek after today. This nature of mercy and grace and peace must daily be put on and sought after as our first inclination, as our outlook on the world. When this is our view, when we are second and other’s first, when we know the love that Christ offers and are therefore able to offer it to the world – it is then that the world will truly be changed.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” – John 3:30
“The world is overcome not through destruction, but through reconciliation. Not ideals, nor programs, nor conscience, nor duty, nor responsibility, nor virtue, but only God's perfect love can encounter reality and overcome it. Nor is it some universal idea of love, but rather the love of God in Jesus Christ, a love genuinely lived, that does this.”-Dietrich Bonhoeffer
As the demand for “acceptance” has increased, actual compassion for people has decreased. Care, grace, and love for others has lessened in our modern world of simply “accepting” how people are and moving on without taking the time to find out who they are and why.
This ultimately stems from selfishness. Selfishness has exploded. We do not even notice it anymore – it is a permanent mindset that we must consciously fight if we are to see Reality. Our culture tells us we deserve whatever we can get, that this world exists to serve our purposes, that life really is all about me. Why shouldn’t I do what I want, take what I can get, assume that everything I have is mine?
But the reality is, in fact, that I am not the center of the universe. There is more to this life than me being happy, than the world running on my needs and desires, than me having and doing and being all that I want. My nature, my corrupt being that is exaggerated by this self-focused culture, tells me so strongly that this universe revolves around me that I find myself in a selfish state of mind constantly. My first thought after a friend tells me about something going on in her life is “How will this affect me?” My first thought after I read Scripture is “How does this help me?” My initial reaction even after a humanitarian event or human rights talk is “How will it look for me if I am involved in this?” Because of the work of our great God in my life, it now only takes me a couple seconds to catch myself and even less than that to be disgusted with myself.
Being married for the extremely extended period of one week has shown me this nasty part of my nature even more. I love my husband more than anyone else on this earth and it is through him that God has helped me see what selfless love looks like: I want to give up more of myself for him. I want to see him elevated above myself. I want him to have more than me, to live longer than me, to receive more praise than me (because he definitely deserves it!) I decided not to do a job that I’ve wanted to do for several years now so I can help him more with his job and just serve him better. I woke up at 6 AM this morning to go into his 5th grade classroom and help him put papers together for his students. I love doing his dishes, washing his clothes, and making him food. Things that I never thought I would want to do for someone, that are opposite of what my selfish nature tells me I should be doing - that are opposite of what my selfish nature tells me I deserve – I love doing. God has already used this marriage relationship in extraordinary ways to show me what it looks like to love someone more than myself.
Even in this relationship I have to fight against my natural instinct. My nature tells me I should have slept in, I should have done what I wanted to benefit my future career and my interests. But the Reality is that the more we focus on ourselves and the more we are motivated by selfish interests, the worse this world will become.
I think it is a pretty popular thing today to say “The world needs to change.” A lot of people, especially a lot of people in my generation, say that the world is not perfect and that a lot of things need to change. There are many people who have set out to “change the world,” myself being one of them. And it’s completely true: the world does need to change. But attempting to eradicate poverty, homelessness, disease, war, etc will not change the world. It might on the surface for a while, but the root causes of these evils will still be there, and will generate them again before long. It is humanity’s self-focused, hardened hearts that need to be changed. Until we are made aware of our selfish nature and are constantly fighting against it, the world will not change much. The politically correct position of acceptance will continue to grow and compassion for people will continue to decrease – even as humanitarian organizations grow and non-profit work continues to be the fad. As long as the mindset of self is taught, emphasized, and allowed in our culture and in our homes and in our classes, we will say we want to change the world and then in the next breath complain about how we need more money to live the lifestyle we feel we are entitled to. This is a disconnect that must be remedied.
Every day we must fight our natural instinct and tune out the voices around us that tell us to focus on the I, the we, and the me. Maybe we should question more what is right and normal. Maybe we should question what we deserve. Maybe we could not think we are entitled to every penny in this world. Maybe we could give more – maybe we could even give some money, time, and possessions that are “rightfully” ours. Maybe we could look at other people, no matter their race, gender, or economic situation, and consider that they deserve just as much as I do. Maybe I could actually change something about the way I live to better the life of someone else.
“…many who are first will be last, and the last first…” (Matthew 19:30). When Christ walked this earth, He introduced an “upside down kingdom” that messed with people’s heads – He challenged man’s inclination to help himself first, and even asserted that the actual Right way to live was to put all others before yourself. His message was one of service, grace, mercy, compassion, and selfless love – a message that He lived out with every part of His being when He put all of humanity first by giving His life for our’s on the Cross.
It is this selfless mindset we must seek after today. This nature of mercy and grace and peace must daily be put on and sought after as our first inclination, as our outlook on the world. When this is our view, when we are second and other’s first, when we know the love that Christ offers and are therefore able to offer it to the world – it is then that the world will truly be changed.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” – John 3:30
“The world is overcome not through destruction, but through reconciliation. Not ideals, nor programs, nor conscience, nor duty, nor responsibility, nor virtue, but only God's perfect love can encounter reality and overcome it. Nor is it some universal idea of love, but rather the love of God in Jesus Christ, a love genuinely lived, that does this.”-Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Different
There are no words to describe the beauty, the holiness of marriage – the sacredness of knowing I am one with another person, that for the rest of our lives it is us together, living in God’s brilliant plan for this world.
What God has already reminded me of so much just through one week of marriage is that we are DIFFERENT. We are ALL meant to be different.
Just through one week of marriage God has shown me so much more of Himself and His incredibly massive vision for this world. It is grander than anything I could imagine, bigger than my little life. God, by His grace, wants to use Stephen and me to join this glorious adventure, this vision that has been the same since Adam and Moses and Esther – this vision to save the world. And it’s going to look so different - more amazing - than anything I could ever imagine.
The magic of being united with Stephen has helped me see that. I think our human habit is to fall into routine, into what it comfortable. It is to follow prototypes and examples of what is “right” that have been laid out before us by other “good” people. But there is no “prototype” for the unearthly, beautiful dreams of God. The heartbeat He is molding our hearts to feel is to a rhythm unlike any other. We are called to close our eyes and believe something bigger, something greater than we have ever seen before.
I completely believe that we should look to those that have gone before for wisdom and guidance. I believe wholeheartedly that there are some that are called to follow certain paths. But I have seen that taken to the extreme and abused, and have seen passionate, fiery people “calmed down” by the mold they were forced to fit. Get married, have kids, go to church, maybe work in youth ministry….none of these things are wrong, but if they are done simply because it is what is expected – because it is what is “good” and comfortable – and not because it is the calling of God to bring His glory and salvation into the world, then it is wrong. I believe there is more, there is something different and beautiful and fascinating that God has called each of us to that will blow our minds if we would believe that He wants to use us in this amazing huge vision. The girl crying in the brothel, the boy with no food, the parents who don’t talk anymore, the man in your office who gets quieter every day – God wants to change their lives with His love and make this world different and wants us to wake up everyday believing it can happen and believing that just like Moses, God desires us to stand up and declare FREEDOM for His people.
For some reason, God has given me a passion for government and the power it has to bring about real change if used in the right way. I have a deep interest in politics and advocacy and helping God’s people through these avenues. But I also love working with people, discussing theology, counseling others, and helping guide them to know more of God and His purposes. The past few years as I’ve been praying for God to show me His will for my life, I’ve though, because the world has told me, that I had to choose one path or the other, one passion or the other. But through my relationship with Stephen and God opening my eyes to more of His incredible, mind-blowing purpose for us in this world, I am realizing my life is supposed to look different. Just because I like working with kids, being around people, and having deep conversations doesn’t mean I have to have kids at age 23 and work with youth the rest of my life. I believe with my whole heart that God has given me a passion for government, advocacy, and political change for a reason. I believe He wants to use that just as much as He wants to use my love of people to change the world. But that doesn’t mean I can only work on Capitol Hill the rest of my life either – God is bigger than black and white, one or the other. And I believe He led me to a man who perfectly balances out the gifts He has given me with his own passions and talents – a man who perfectly completes the vision God has for us.
It’s scary because that vision is so beyond me. I can’t understand it and I don’t know how it will look. The path Steve and I are called to take is different. I am a political science major with a passion for politics who is working at a summer camp. I am married to a teacher who knows more about how to teach people than anyone I have ever met. We feel led to China, Scotland, the inner-city, the streets of Capitol Hill, the halls of nursing homes, churches, classrooms, seminaries…..
And all of it is for His glory – it is part of a wider, deeper, and more glorious picture than we will ever know. But we are called into it. We are not called to live our lives just for the sake of living them, or to fulfill a certain role or goal for ourselves. I am not called down a certain path because that is what I “should do” or because that is what makes the most sense or makes Stephen and I look the best. We are called to a higher way, a holy perspective. Everyone should look DIFFERENT. All of us should go down a path forged by a fiery passion for the vision of the redeeming love of Christ being brought onto this earth, a vision of His saving glory making this world the way God intended it to be before time began.
It is this vision that should drive us. It that leads us to a pretty normal looking life, then praise God – if the perspective is right then it is RIGHT. But nothing – nothing different or “normal” should be done with the motive of self, of comfort, of normalcy. We are called to empty ourselves, and we are called to this for a reason: the less we think of ourselves and the more we look to the throne room of God and desire His glory on this earth, the more we will pour out His love that is consuming fire, and the faster it will sweep over this pitiful, dying world. The more we desire His Way and keep the vision of Moses, Isaiah, and Paul, the vision that we are created for something more and live for something more – the vision that brings salvation – the more we let this be our perspective, the more we will look DIFFERENT. We can have PEACE in His greater plan, even though we may never see the whole picture ourselves. His love “surpasses knowledge” (Eph. 3:19), but we can LIVE it.
What God has already reminded me of so much just through one week of marriage is that we are DIFFERENT. We are ALL meant to be different.
Just through one week of marriage God has shown me so much more of Himself and His incredibly massive vision for this world. It is grander than anything I could imagine, bigger than my little life. God, by His grace, wants to use Stephen and me to join this glorious adventure, this vision that has been the same since Adam and Moses and Esther – this vision to save the world. And it’s going to look so different - more amazing - than anything I could ever imagine.
The magic of being united with Stephen has helped me see that. I think our human habit is to fall into routine, into what it comfortable. It is to follow prototypes and examples of what is “right” that have been laid out before us by other “good” people. But there is no “prototype” for the unearthly, beautiful dreams of God. The heartbeat He is molding our hearts to feel is to a rhythm unlike any other. We are called to close our eyes and believe something bigger, something greater than we have ever seen before.
I completely believe that we should look to those that have gone before for wisdom and guidance. I believe wholeheartedly that there are some that are called to follow certain paths. But I have seen that taken to the extreme and abused, and have seen passionate, fiery people “calmed down” by the mold they were forced to fit. Get married, have kids, go to church, maybe work in youth ministry….none of these things are wrong, but if they are done simply because it is what is expected – because it is what is “good” and comfortable – and not because it is the calling of God to bring His glory and salvation into the world, then it is wrong. I believe there is more, there is something different and beautiful and fascinating that God has called each of us to that will blow our minds if we would believe that He wants to use us in this amazing huge vision. The girl crying in the brothel, the boy with no food, the parents who don’t talk anymore, the man in your office who gets quieter every day – God wants to change their lives with His love and make this world different and wants us to wake up everyday believing it can happen and believing that just like Moses, God desires us to stand up and declare FREEDOM for His people.
For some reason, God has given me a passion for government and the power it has to bring about real change if used in the right way. I have a deep interest in politics and advocacy and helping God’s people through these avenues. But I also love working with people, discussing theology, counseling others, and helping guide them to know more of God and His purposes. The past few years as I’ve been praying for God to show me His will for my life, I’ve though, because the world has told me, that I had to choose one path or the other, one passion or the other. But through my relationship with Stephen and God opening my eyes to more of His incredible, mind-blowing purpose for us in this world, I am realizing my life is supposed to look different. Just because I like working with kids, being around people, and having deep conversations doesn’t mean I have to have kids at age 23 and work with youth the rest of my life. I believe with my whole heart that God has given me a passion for government, advocacy, and political change for a reason. I believe He wants to use that just as much as He wants to use my love of people to change the world. But that doesn’t mean I can only work on Capitol Hill the rest of my life either – God is bigger than black and white, one or the other. And I believe He led me to a man who perfectly balances out the gifts He has given me with his own passions and talents – a man who perfectly completes the vision God has for us.
It’s scary because that vision is so beyond me. I can’t understand it and I don’t know how it will look. The path Steve and I are called to take is different. I am a political science major with a passion for politics who is working at a summer camp. I am married to a teacher who knows more about how to teach people than anyone I have ever met. We feel led to China, Scotland, the inner-city, the streets of Capitol Hill, the halls of nursing homes, churches, classrooms, seminaries…..
And all of it is for His glory – it is part of a wider, deeper, and more glorious picture than we will ever know. But we are called into it. We are not called to live our lives just for the sake of living them, or to fulfill a certain role or goal for ourselves. I am not called down a certain path because that is what I “should do” or because that is what makes the most sense or makes Stephen and I look the best. We are called to a higher way, a holy perspective. Everyone should look DIFFERENT. All of us should go down a path forged by a fiery passion for the vision of the redeeming love of Christ being brought onto this earth, a vision of His saving glory making this world the way God intended it to be before time began.
It is this vision that should drive us. It that leads us to a pretty normal looking life, then praise God – if the perspective is right then it is RIGHT. But nothing – nothing different or “normal” should be done with the motive of self, of comfort, of normalcy. We are called to empty ourselves, and we are called to this for a reason: the less we think of ourselves and the more we look to the throne room of God and desire His glory on this earth, the more we will pour out His love that is consuming fire, and the faster it will sweep over this pitiful, dying world. The more we desire His Way and keep the vision of Moses, Isaiah, and Paul, the vision that we are created for something more and live for something more – the vision that brings salvation – the more we let this be our perspective, the more we will look DIFFERENT. We can have PEACE in His greater plan, even though we may never see the whole picture ourselves. His love “surpasses knowledge” (Eph. 3:19), but we can LIVE it.
Friday, January 22, 2010
less than a month...
So I’m getting married in less than a month – crazy! A lot of people have been asking me if I’m getting cold feet yet. If I’m nervous, scared, anxious. But it’s so different than that and it’s so hard to explain why. These last few months have actually been so GOOD. But not good because it’s fun or easy – good because this time is PREPARING me. Preparing me to be a WIFE. The more impatient I get, the more I am reminded of how crucial patience is in a marriage. The more annoyed I get at the little things, the more I am reminded of how essential grace will be in my marriage. The more I see how selflessly Stephen loves me, the more I realize how desperately I want to love him like that – every second of every day. So yes, I’m grateful for this time. Grateful that I have the time to be sanctified, to seek Christ every day and learn more every day how to be like Him. He has already changed me so much – I’m not doing the job or internship I’ve desired to do my whole life, because for the first time I’m beginning to want to serve someone else more than myself. I want to be there for Stephen more than I want to have my own career. Through Stephen, God is showing me how love works: loving someone more than yourself is so much BETTER. For the first time, I am not worried about the future, what exactly I’m going to do with my life and how I’m going to “change the world.” What God requires of me is to love Him with my whole heart, and then love others. And through my relationship with Stephen, He is teaching me to do that. And because I’m actually beginning to love someone more than myself, I’m so much more at PEACE – I know God will use the love, grace, and partnership Stephen and I share to do so much more in this world than my meager little plans could have ever done. It really is loving others that changes the world. And all we have to do is look to the cross, to the life and death of Christ to see what it looks like to truly love. And I’m so excited for God to continue to train my eyes to look to Him, so that in marriage I can be the best example of Christ’s love that Stephen will see on this earth.
Friday, November 6, 2009
"We love because He first loved us"
Let’s be different this Christmas season. (yes, the commercials are already starting…)
As a college student, I am completely aware of how hard it is to do anything that actually feels like we’re making a difference. We don’t have a lot of money, and we’re at college to get a degree, so realistically school work takes up a lot of our time.
But as Christians, it doesn’t matter whether we’re college students, busy, or don’t have a lot of money – we are still called to be holy, or “set apart” for Christ. That means we should look DIFFERENT from the rest of our culture. Not only by our words should His love and salvation be proclaimed, but in our every action and in our very lifestyles His Gospel should be seen. Even in our self-centered, money-driven, materialistic culture, we are called to live a life that is instead focused on Christ and His purposes, on living selflessly for others, in living simply and giving more. We are called to become like Christ and live out the grace we have received from Him. As a college student living in this culture, I have wrestled with how to do that. And God has shown me that it is so much more often about the little things than the big: how I talk to people, what I spend my money on in the day to day, my priorities. And this upcoming Christmas season we have a chance to live differently for Christ in the little things.
We have a chance to make Christmas what it is really about again: not a holiday to celebrate how much money we have and how many presents we can give, but rather a holiday to celebrate Love coming to earth, salvation incarnate, Grace born in human flesh, the embodiment of a merciful God. So this Christmas, please join myself and others in the Advent Conspiracy (watch this awesome video at www.adventconspiracy.org). Give up the money you would spend on just ONE family member or friend (just one, although if you feel led, please do more!) and spend TIME with that person instead. Have a conversation with them, hang out with them, show them LOVE. Then take that money and BE the Church. Give it to a person, a cause, a place that truly needs it this Christmas. Live out the Gospel – sacrifice something in yourself and in your life to give to another. Through this, who knows how many will be able to see Christ through your actions and hear about Him through your words.
Many of us will be donating our money to strengthen the fight against human trafficking, and if you wish to join us in that, facebook me or go to www.ijm.org and donate your money there! But if there is another person or cause that you are passionate about, give your money there. But make sure you’re not just giving away money – change something in YOUR lifestyle this Christmas season! Spend time with that family member you haven’t really talked to in years, or that friend that hurt your feelings a while ago, or that brother that is going through a really hard time right now. Show CHRIST this season.
Then come join us on Wednesday, November 18 at 7 pm in Jepson 100 at the University of Mary Washington and help us spread this revolution! Join the Justice Team of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship as we show IJM’s new documentary, “At the End of Slavery,” and work to raise awareness about human trafficking! There will be a guest speaker from IJM who will be talking about the issue after the documentary and leading a discussion time, and then we’ll have the opportunity to write to our senators and ask them to join us in fighting human trafficking. We will also be asking everyone to join us in living more simply this Christmas season and donating some of the money that they would have spent on presents to IJM! We’ll also have a chance to talk about the hope we can have in Christ despite human trafficking and other evils that exist in this world. So come help us be the hands and feet of Christ as we show His love and hope! Let’s live like HIM this season.
And who knows how this may carry on after Christmas? Maybe instead of spending that $10 a week at Starbucks (I am speaking directly to myself here…) we could give it to that human rights group we’ve always wanted to be able to support or a friend going through a really hard time. Maybe when you go buy groceries every week, spend an extra $5 on food that you donate to the homeless shelter every week. It is the little lifestyle changes sometimes that do the most to change our hearts and the world….
Live differently. Love because Christ has loved us and given His life for us. Let’s be moved to ACTION by His GRACE.
“We love because He first loved us.”
-1 John 4:19
As a college student, I am completely aware of how hard it is to do anything that actually feels like we’re making a difference. We don’t have a lot of money, and we’re at college to get a degree, so realistically school work takes up a lot of our time.
But as Christians, it doesn’t matter whether we’re college students, busy, or don’t have a lot of money – we are still called to be holy, or “set apart” for Christ. That means we should look DIFFERENT from the rest of our culture. Not only by our words should His love and salvation be proclaimed, but in our every action and in our very lifestyles His Gospel should be seen. Even in our self-centered, money-driven, materialistic culture, we are called to live a life that is instead focused on Christ and His purposes, on living selflessly for others, in living simply and giving more. We are called to become like Christ and live out the grace we have received from Him. As a college student living in this culture, I have wrestled with how to do that. And God has shown me that it is so much more often about the little things than the big: how I talk to people, what I spend my money on in the day to day, my priorities. And this upcoming Christmas season we have a chance to live differently for Christ in the little things.
We have a chance to make Christmas what it is really about again: not a holiday to celebrate how much money we have and how many presents we can give, but rather a holiday to celebrate Love coming to earth, salvation incarnate, Grace born in human flesh, the embodiment of a merciful God. So this Christmas, please join myself and others in the Advent Conspiracy (watch this awesome video at www.adventconspiracy.org). Give up the money you would spend on just ONE family member or friend (just one, although if you feel led, please do more!) and spend TIME with that person instead. Have a conversation with them, hang out with them, show them LOVE. Then take that money and BE the Church. Give it to a person, a cause, a place that truly needs it this Christmas. Live out the Gospel – sacrifice something in yourself and in your life to give to another. Through this, who knows how many will be able to see Christ through your actions and hear about Him through your words.
Many of us will be donating our money to strengthen the fight against human trafficking, and if you wish to join us in that, facebook me or go to www.ijm.org and donate your money there! But if there is another person or cause that you are passionate about, give your money there. But make sure you’re not just giving away money – change something in YOUR lifestyle this Christmas season! Spend time with that family member you haven’t really talked to in years, or that friend that hurt your feelings a while ago, or that brother that is going through a really hard time right now. Show CHRIST this season.
Then come join us on Wednesday, November 18 at 7 pm in Jepson 100 at the University of Mary Washington and help us spread this revolution! Join the Justice Team of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship as we show IJM’s new documentary, “At the End of Slavery,” and work to raise awareness about human trafficking! There will be a guest speaker from IJM who will be talking about the issue after the documentary and leading a discussion time, and then we’ll have the opportunity to write to our senators and ask them to join us in fighting human trafficking. We will also be asking everyone to join us in living more simply this Christmas season and donating some of the money that they would have spent on presents to IJM! We’ll also have a chance to talk about the hope we can have in Christ despite human trafficking and other evils that exist in this world. So come help us be the hands and feet of Christ as we show His love and hope! Let’s live like HIM this season.
And who knows how this may carry on after Christmas? Maybe instead of spending that $10 a week at Starbucks (I am speaking directly to myself here…) we could give it to that human rights group we’ve always wanted to be able to support or a friend going through a really hard time. Maybe when you go buy groceries every week, spend an extra $5 on food that you donate to the homeless shelter every week. It is the little lifestyle changes sometimes that do the most to change our hearts and the world….
Live differently. Love because Christ has loved us and given His life for us. Let’s be moved to ACTION by His GRACE.
“We love because He first loved us.”
-1 John 4:19
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