You Are Mine

A few days ago you were sitting with your friends and family around a stack of gifts waiting for someone to read your name and hand a brightly wrapped package to you. As you tore through the paper to see what was inside, perhaps you were thinking, “I hope this is something I want to keep.” If it was something that you really wanted or needed—and something that you now hoped you could use for a long time; your next thought may have been, “How can I make sure other people know it is mine?”

Some gifts may already be marked with your name or initials. They may be stitched through, engraved in, or written on. You may belong to a family where everyone has their own color; so even if everyone in the family got the same item, you know which one is yours because it’s your color.

If it’s not already marked, then you may just pull out a permanent marker and write your name on it. You may scratch your initials in some inconspicuous place. Some folks put their most cherished gifts in a case made especially for them. I make a practice of pulling the label off the package and sticking inside the gift so there is no question that it is mine.

Campers write their names in their clothes. Workers write their names on their tools. Travelers write their names on their luggage. Students write their names in their books. When you value the things you have, you find a way to make sure the world knows they are yours.

God sent Jesus into the world to let you know that he loves and values you. Consider these ways God reveals this love across the ages: “The Lord your God chose you to be his own treasured people” (Deuteronomy 7:6). “The Lord treasures the people who honor him, the people who wait for his faithful love” (Psalm 147:11). “You are precious in my eyes, you are honored, and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4).

When Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan, “A voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him’” (Matthew 3:17). Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize new believers so they would know whose they are; and, that God finds happiness in them, delights in them,  cherishes them, values them, treasures them, loves them, too.

Remember your baptism and be thankful!

Moving Beyond Wishes

There is something magical about putting together a “wish list.” You can let your imagination run wild, think of all the things you like to do and how the right accessory or piece of equipment or item of clothing would magnify your pleasure. Even if you consider that the someone who will be doing the shopping is on a budget, you’re never quite sure how generous they may be feeling; so it’s not that hard to throw constraint to wind and put something on your list that is particularly outlandish.

But wishes are just that: trial balloons you send up to see what might come to you if you open your hands wide enough and leave them out long enough…and maybe, put on a pouty face every now and then for good measure. While there may be a high correlation between what is on your “wish list” and what you find under the tree on Christmas morning, as you mature you begin to understand that there is more at work than your wishes. Indeed, wishes have very limited power.

While the shopping season may be fueled by “wish lists,” Advent is a season for contemplating hope. There may have been a time when you didn’t draw any distinction between “making a wish” and “being filled with hope.” Faith teaches us that hope has the power to sustain and transform—a power that wishes never have.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu replied to someone’s question about Nelson Mandela: “Was he a saint? Not if a saint is entirely flawless. I believe he was saintly because he inspired others powerfully and revealed in his character, transparently, many of God’s attributes of goodness: compassion, concern for others, desire for peace, forgiveness and reconciliation.”

I believe Nelson Mandela revealed God’s attributes because he was a man who was filled with hope. That is what gave him great power over his enemies even while they had him locked up in prison. That is what led him to practice reconciliation once he was released. Hope informed his life and transformed a nation.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

Slow Down

No matter what pace you are keeping—whether you are walking on the sidewalk, running at the park, or driving down the highway—other people are always passing you. Everyone is in such a hurry. You may wonder where they are going at such a breakneck pace, but you also have to admit that you feel the nagging temptation to speed up.

Lots of voices out there encourage you to move along, get more done, check more things off your list. Your boss keeps setting benchmarks closer to one another, so deadlines approach with alarming speed. Retailers and online vendors announce sales that end tomorrow, so you feel pressured to make the purchase today.  As the invitations and announcements pour in and your calendar fills with events and opportunities, you begin to wonder whether you are the one who is driving or the one who is driven.

In the midst of this pressure to hurry from place to place, task to task, person to person; it becomes increasingly difficult to discern what God is doing in your life. Peace on earth, hope of the ages, joy to the world, and the transforming power of love become little more than greeting card sentiments. In haste your “hallelujah” becomes “humbug.”

Advent comes as an invitation to slow down. It is a season of waiting and it reminds God’s people of the way God continues to complete the work of salvation in God’s good time. Together we linger over the reality of God’s patience with us and with all creation. We take the time to contemplate God’s marvelous grace which extends from generation to generation. We savor the complex richness of God’s unfathomable love.

As we move through this month toward the celebration of our Savior’s birth, let me invite you to rest a while. Resist the temptation to cram in every sale, concert, party, or parade; but consider carefully your opportunity to join the faithful who come to worship and adore the new born king.

Confessions of an Endurance Athlete

You may have noticed fewer runners out on the roads and in the parks the last few days. It’s been recovery week for me and for a few thousand other area runners who competed in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah Marathon & Half Marathon. Even with proper conditioning, nutrition, and equipment; running 26.2 miles takes a toll on the human body.

I heard of a few people who were planning on running the race without any significant training. I haven’t heard how that turned out for them; but I don’t imagine they had a very good result. On the other hand, there were thousands of people who crossed the finish line at Forsyth Park with grins on their faces and hands raised over their heads in celebration because they had done the long, hard work of preparation for race day.

They were teenagers, college students, young adults, and scores of others whose memories of those days are fading. They were school teachers, shop keepers, factory workers, and business professionals of all kinds. You could look at some of them and tell they were obviously athletic. Let’s just say, it would be very unlikely to find a picture of some of the other finishers on the cover a fitness magazine.

They may have had very different journeys to the starting line of Saturday’s event; but I am confident that those who finished well made the commitment months ago to avoid the distractions, to face the challenges, and to endure the struggles that would prepare them to accomplish what some of their own family and friends thought was impossible.

Let me confess that training for endurance events is not always fun. There have been times when I’ve wanted to ditch a workout or just quit all together; but I press on because there is something more important than another finishers’ medal that keeps me going.

Living a faithful life is an endurance event. Paul warned several congregations of the temptation to give up. There are distractions. You get tired. You face opposition—sometimes from the most unexpected people and at the most inopportune times; but to those who remain faithful—who persevere to the end—God has promised an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. Let us press on for that prize.

One Step at a Time

You have all heard the story. You have seen the picture. A strong, lean man dressed in an ordinary tunic is carrying a sheep on his shoulders. The flock is still some distance away. There may be some suggestion of danger lurking in the background; but, overall, you feel glad that disaster has been avoided and reunion is imminent.

Have you ever wondered how one sheep could wander off from the other ninety-nine? There have been quite a few times when I have become separated from my family at the mall or a theme park. Just a few of them. Lots of other people moving between us. Unfamiliar territory. But how do you get separated from such a big crowd in open country?

If you have asked that question, you probably got this answer: “One bite at a time.” That is the way it happens with sheep. They are pretty focused on first one clump of grass and then the next. The shepherd may lead them to the pasture; but once they are there, each sheep becomes intent on satisfying his or her appetite. When you are guided by your appetite, it is not unusual to lose your way. 

Your Invitation

Banquets present so many options they can feel more like work than a party. At the same time, it is not that unusual to feel trapped in an uncomfortable situation when you accept an invitation. You are never sure who else will be there, what will be on the menu, how long you will be expected to stay, or whether you are going to be asked to do something that you really don’t want to do.

Then there is often the dilemma of figuring out where to sit. Do you sit near the front where you see what is happening on the stage? Do you sit near the buffet line so you can slip back for seconds if you’re still hungry? Do you sit near the door so you can slip out if things get boring? Do you sit with the folks you know (but don’t really like) or do you take a chance and sit with strangers hoping to make some profitable contacts?

Other times you may not have much choice about where you sit. Your host has assigned the seating before you arrived. Then you are faced with the task of finding your place. There may be a chart you can check; otherwise, you find yourself with the awkward chore of wandering through the tables until you locate your designated seat for the evening.

With so many potentially uncomfortable situations it is not that difficult to understand why receiving an invitation to a banquet is marked with ambivalence. Is this going to be a great party or another wasted evening? Am I going to remember this event fondly for years or regret it for a lifetime?

I can’t tell you how to respond to every invitation, but there is one you can be certain will bless you every time. That is the invitation to join the Lord at his table. You may not feel like you have been blessed every time; but when you come to the Lord’s table, when you eat the bread and drink the wine; Christ gives you himself, the Holy Spirit gives you power, God gives you purpose and a mission.

“Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him.”

Come! 

Growing in Grace

Some days it is a challenge to do something that helps me become more like Christ. To do the things he would do. To say the words he would say. To love the way he would love. Let me confess, most days I find it impossible—in my own strength—to do anything that helps me become more like Christ.

When Wesley called people to pursue perfection or holiness or entire sanctification, he knew that he was calling them to something they could not accomplish on their own. Nevertheless, his deep conviction of the love of God helped him see that God provides resources for those who have faith in Jesus. These resources Wesley called the “means of grace.”

The means of grace are those spiritual disciplines that are described in Scripture and which have been practiced by people of faith for thousands of years. Wesley summarized them as “works of mercy” and “works of piety.” The “works of mercy” are doing no harm, avoiding evil, and doing all the good one can. Today these “works of mercy” are sometimes referred to as the “General Rules,” and may be described as acts of compassion and acts of justice. The “works of piety” include private and family prayer, searching the Scriptures, The Lord's Supper, the public worship of God, Christian conference, and fasting or abstinence.

Wesley believed "first, the Christian life is most fundamentally lived as a response to God's love for us. To know God truly is to experience that love. Second, our love for God and our neighbor are core affections, emotions, or tempers which govern the Christian life." The means of grace are the means to living out this love. As they are faithfully practiced, the relationships of love for God and for neighbor are nurtured.

The means of grace draw us out of ourselves and into the world as channels of God's love. They form us, by grace, into the image and likeness of Christ. They draw us closer to one another in love. As we are drawn closer to one another, we are drawn closer to Christ and become more like him.

That's the way the world is transformed!