Sunday, September 23, 2012

Just Admit It

When I’m driving down the road, I believe that the other drivers sharing the road with me will observe the same set of rules of the road and regulations of the legislature that I will. When I come to a traffic light, I believe that others will stop when it turns red and that they will go when it turns green. Even when I’m running or riding my bicycle, I believe that the people who are behind the wheel of a vehicle will act in a way that is consistent with what I have come to believe is the acceptable behavior of an operator of a motor vehicle.

When I go to the doctor’s office, I believe that the doctor will use the skills and knowledge he or she has acquired through years of training and practice to diagnose and treat whatever condition I have. If the doctor prescribes medication or some other form of treatment, I believe that it will help me become more healthy. Even when I’m feeling well, I will schedule a visit periodically just to make sure that I haven’t missed a problem that could endanger my life.

When I go to the bank to deposit my paycheck, I believe that the teller will post the amount to my account, that the other officers and employees of the bank will be faithful stewards of my funds, and that when I decide to use some of my money to pay someone else for goods or services, that the money will be available to pay them. Even when I use cash, the transaction is based on that fact that both parties believe that the paper changing hands is worth something.

I could go on and on. Every day there are hundreds, if not thousands, of transactions that depend on one person believing that another person will do what they are expected to do. It would difficult, if not impossible, to sustain a community without such trust. That’s one of the reasons, we respond so negatively when we experience a situation where someone betrays our trust.

You may feel very uncomfortable leading someone to confess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. What I want you to see is that people are already placing their faith in all kinds of practices and processes and people. And they are doing this in spite of those things being unproven, unpredictable, and unfaithful.

You have the distinct privilege of inviting them to say yes to the invitation of the one who loves them, forgives them, and accepts them with a faithfulness that is unparalleled in this world. They may be waiting for someone to join them in admitting they need to accept that gift of grace. May God give you the boldness to offer that invitation.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Beyond Excuses


Nobody’s perfect. Everybody makes mistakes. If you look at anything close enough, you are sure to find a few flaws. Even the aluminum housing of each new Apple iPhone 5 is photographed by two high-powered 29 mega-pixel cameras to determine which of the 725 unique glass inlays on the assembly line at that point is the most precise match for every single iPhone.
Even though nearly everyone would agree that perfection is rare—if it can be found at all; that doesn’t keep most of us from expecting it. We assume the server will bring the meal we ordered. We anticipate the product we purchased will perform as advertised. And we imagine everything we do will turn out exactly as we intend.
But then the salad shows up with onion, the miracle gadget is not up to the task we hoped it would do, and our best efforts fall short of our lofty aspirations.
There are a lot of people who are living in this gap between their expectations and their reality. They feel like the whole world is out to get them. And they are hurt and angry and frustrated. And when they have a few moments to reflect on what they are feeling, they have to admit that the root of their deepest frustration, anger and pain is the result of their own flawed choices.
God wants what is best for us, but God knows we are not perfect; and the good news is that God forgives. Some people believe they have to get their act together before God will accept them. Other people are still working on developing a plausible excuse. More than a few think they have done something that cannot be forgiven. Almost no one believes they deserve a fresh start.
But that is what God offers every person. And God offers it to each person because of his love for them. Not because they’ve earned it. Not because they deserve it. Not because they’ve come up with a clever explanation. Just because God loves them; and wants to restore the peace, love and joy in their life.
Helping people accept God’s forgiveness is another important step in sharing your faith and helping them move through the process that leads to a transformed life.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Recognizing the Mistake


Some people might think that the computer programming courses I took in college were a waste of time. They may have not helped me earn any money or led to position at a tech company; but spending that time writing code influenced the way I think about computers. 
One of my professors taught us that while most people think computers are really “smart,” they are actually quite “dumb.” They can only process one instruction at a time. They don’t “remember” what came before, and they can’t “anticipate” what might come next. They only follow the instructions they are given.
They can do that at a very high rate of speed that keeps increasing year after year. That’s the reason companies keep coming out with more powerful models and we keep thinking we need to upgrade. I suppose we hope we will eventually buy a device that really is “smart.” 
It may only be a few hours or it may take a few weeks, but eventually the new desktop, laptop, tablet, or game console is going to “freeze up.” For a while everything is going great. All your programs are opening faster than you can believe. The video displays details that are stunning.  The controls are so responsive you are tempted to believe it is anticipating your moves. But then; everything stops. Nothing works.
When I was assigned to write simple programs back in college, it was challenging to think through a process and break it down into it component parts. You had to consider not only where to start and what outcome you desired, but all of the decisions that had to be made along the way. If one condition existed, that called for a particular response. If another condition, that called for something very different.
If you weren’t careful (and sometimes, even if you were), you might include a test statement that resulted in the computer doing the same test over and over and over. In programming terms, it’s called an “infinite loop.”  As a novice programmer there was only one solution: find the mistake and correct it.
I wonder how many people feel like their life has been caught in an “infinite loop.” Something is going on in the background that seems to be consuming more and more of their energy; but is not helping them move toward their goals. It is keeping them from experiencing the joy they crave. How would you gracefully help them find the mistake and correct it?
That’s another important step in sharing your faith.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Scandalous Grace


You never wanted it to be this way. Indeed, you spent hours making sure this would never happen. You thought you had planned for every contingency—bad weather, car trouble, sudden illness. What you had not planned for was that all of them would converge and completely derail your efforts to make your deadline.
After pulling an all-nighter, here you are—dressed in your most professional suit—waiting to submit the work you have been laboring on for months. The deadline passed two days ago; but you are hoping you can find a compelling way to plead your case. What do you have to say to convince the person who stands behind the counter to accept what you have to give?
Someone unlocks the door and you walk briskly across the room. You lay your package on the counter and begin to tell your story. You begin at the beginning—talking about when you first learned about the project and decided you wanted to participate. You recount your careful scheduling of the various parts of the assignment —detailing the way you made allowances for interruptions. You chronicle all your troubles—the hurricane, the busted alternator, the respiratory infection that became pneumonia.  You make sure to point out that all of these setbacks were predicaments over which you had no control.
Your adjudicator listens patiently. Once you finish, she reaches for the package, smiles and says, “Thank you! I’m sure there will be no problem.”
You turn to walk away surprised at how easy it was. Just before you get to the door some guy in dirty blue jeans and a worn out t-shirt stumbles into the office. You can tell he had a rough night, too; but not like yours. His bleary eyes and distinct aroma tell a different story.
As he slouches toward the counter, you notice that he has a package in his hand, too. It looks almost as rough and tattered as its owner. He plops it in the same spot where you had carefully placed yours, and slurs, “Well, here it is.” You wait to see what happens next.
The woman behind the counter reaches for the package, smiles and says, “Thank you! I’m sure there will be no problem.”
“No way,” you think. “Scandalous!”
Consider this: “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). Yes, God’s great love is scandalously good news.