Some of the most important elements of life seem to defy definition. For instance, what is happiness? Perhaps you are satisfied with the description that Charles Schultz made popular years ago in his Peanuts comic strip: “Happiness is a warm puppy.”
The Peanuts gang also took a stab at defining love. In a collection of their combined efforts entitled, Love is Walking Hand in Hand, you’ll find such gems as “Love is mussing up someone’s hair” and “Love is loaning your best comic magazines.” While these sentiments may begin to communicate something about the nature of love, they certainly leave a lot to be desired.
Lots of other people from many walks of life—poets, philosophers, theologians, and academics—have attempted to define, describe and express this elemental emotion. Still we struggle with what it means to allow it to become the defining principle of our lives.
That is the challenge Jesus presents his followers when he gives them a “new” command: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). Even as he gives his followers this “new” command, Jesus also gives them a clue about a new way to live into it. Our standard for loving others is Jesus’ love for us.
When we begin to examine how Jesus put his love into action, we learn that love is more than making someone feel warm inside. It is more than just giving something to someone else. When Jesus expresses his love toward us, he doesn’t just give us something, he gives us himself. Therefore, the essence of the Christian understanding of love is that we give ourselves away. Love is an expression of the character of Jesus. He is calling us to reflect the light of his love to others.
Jesus showed his love by living a life that expressed truth, grace, and justice. He proved that he could be trusted. He accepted those whom others had cast aside. He showed compassion to those who had been treated unfairly. These expressions of love stood in stark contrast to the darkness that was the result of widespread deception, mercilessness, and injustice.
I hope you will engage in this challenge to more fully understand the love of Jesus because he promises, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35). By our love followers of Jesus will be recognized as God’s people. The result: many will be drawn to become disciples themselves.
That is a fruit worth cultivating.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
A Fruitful Harvest
One of the great pleasures of this time of year is walking down the row of a well-tended garden and harvesting produce. Whether you have done all the working of tilling and planting and weeding yourself, or if you are fortunate enough that someone else has invited you to harvest from the garden they have been caring for; it is deeply satisfying to find something that is ready to pick and put it in your basket.
The more carefully the garden has been tended, the more enjoyable it is to harvest the crop. It is quite obvious when a garden has not been weeded. In fact, if the weeds are allowed to grow, they make it hard to even determine where the rows have been planted. Of course, weeds use some of the same nutrients in the soil that the planted crops need, so those plants tend to be less vigorous and produce smaller fruit than they would if they didn’t have to compete with the weeds. Weeds also seem to invite pests to come and feast on the plants that are working to produce the fruit you hope to enjoy.
You know that God was the first gardener. He planted a garden in Eden and would take walks there with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. God would often inspire the prophets to remind the people of Israel of God’s care for them with the images of a garden. Many of Jesus’ parables refer to God’s work in the world as being like the work of one who tends a garden. Paul occasionally referred to his work of spreading the good news as part of the process of growing an abundant harvest.
This summer I hope that many gardens produce much fruit—lots of squash, tomatoes, beans and corn; but I have a deeper hope—that God will produce a great harvest of fruit in the lives of those he loves. Paul tells the community of believers in Galatia that God is working through the Holy Spirit to produce fruit in them. It is the fruit of love; and that love is expressed in peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
As we celebrate Pentecost and the sending of the Holy Spirit into the midst of the community of believers, we will begin to focus on the seed that God has planted and the ways we can cooperate with God as he tends the garden that is growing among us. I pray the family of faith at Garden City has the most fruitful summer ever!
The more carefully the garden has been tended, the more enjoyable it is to harvest the crop. It is quite obvious when a garden has not been weeded. In fact, if the weeds are allowed to grow, they make it hard to even determine where the rows have been planted. Of course, weeds use some of the same nutrients in the soil that the planted crops need, so those plants tend to be less vigorous and produce smaller fruit than they would if they didn’t have to compete with the weeds. Weeds also seem to invite pests to come and feast on the plants that are working to produce the fruit you hope to enjoy.
You know that God was the first gardener. He planted a garden in Eden and would take walks there with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. God would often inspire the prophets to remind the people of Israel of God’s care for them with the images of a garden. Many of Jesus’ parables refer to God’s work in the world as being like the work of one who tends a garden. Paul occasionally referred to his work of spreading the good news as part of the process of growing an abundant harvest.
This summer I hope that many gardens produce much fruit—lots of squash, tomatoes, beans and corn; but I have a deeper hope—that God will produce a great harvest of fruit in the lives of those he loves. Paul tells the community of believers in Galatia that God is working through the Holy Spirit to produce fruit in them. It is the fruit of love; and that love is expressed in peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
As we celebrate Pentecost and the sending of the Holy Spirit into the midst of the community of believers, we will begin to focus on the seed that God has planted and the ways we can cooperate with God as he tends the garden that is growing among us. I pray the family of faith at Garden City has the most fruitful summer ever!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Making Everything Right
“Everybody makes mistakes.”
The produce manager forgets to change the price of melons at all three places they are displayed. The person driving the big red pickup truck fails to signal—or even look—before they pull in front of you. Your spouse swears they told you about an event that conflicts with an appointment you’ve just made—one that will be even more difficult to change that it was to make. Yes, “everybody makes mistakes,” but sometimes you find yourself wishing they would make fewer mistakes that affect you.
Well, “nobody’s perfect.”
That is the logical corollary to the previous axiom. It is pretty easy to look at the people closest to us and come up quickly with a list of ways they could improve. Tabloid journalism thrives on the foibles of the rich and famous. As the presidential campaign starts to crank up, you can count on hearing more from the candidates about the faults of their rivals than about the virtues they possess.
We certainly have no problem affirming Paul’s claim, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It seems we run into the “fallenness” wherever we turn. Sometimes you may wonder how your life would be different if the people around you would just get their act together.
It is just at moments like that when it occurs to you that, perhaps, not all of the difficulties you encounter are the result of other people’s mistakes. Indeed, even though you have dedicated countless hours and heroic efforts at self-improvement, you have to admit that you are not perfect, either. Of course, you are not comfortable when other people point that out. In fact, you have become quite adept at explaining why you have made the choices you have—and, at times, still secretly believe that if it weren’t for a few inattentive or mean-spirited people; your life would be much closer to perfect than it is.
It is so easy to find yourself in a place of judgment and self-justification—and that is not a place of peace and rest. Indeed, it is an attitude which makes it very difficult to receive God’s blessing.
Even as Paul is reminding the Romans of their shortcomings, he is preparing them to hear this good news: “People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood” (3:24b). You are forgiven! That is God’s gift to you—and to the people who keep messing up around you.
It reminds Paul of Psalm 32: “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.”
I pray you may know more of that joy.
The produce manager forgets to change the price of melons at all three places they are displayed. The person driving the big red pickup truck fails to signal—or even look—before they pull in front of you. Your spouse swears they told you about an event that conflicts with an appointment you’ve just made—one that will be even more difficult to change that it was to make. Yes, “everybody makes mistakes,” but sometimes you find yourself wishing they would make fewer mistakes that affect you.
Well, “nobody’s perfect.”
That is the logical corollary to the previous axiom. It is pretty easy to look at the people closest to us and come up quickly with a list of ways they could improve. Tabloid journalism thrives on the foibles of the rich and famous. As the presidential campaign starts to crank up, you can count on hearing more from the candidates about the faults of their rivals than about the virtues they possess.
We certainly have no problem affirming Paul’s claim, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It seems we run into the “fallenness” wherever we turn. Sometimes you may wonder how your life would be different if the people around you would just get their act together.
It is just at moments like that when it occurs to you that, perhaps, not all of the difficulties you encounter are the result of other people’s mistakes. Indeed, even though you have dedicated countless hours and heroic efforts at self-improvement, you have to admit that you are not perfect, either. Of course, you are not comfortable when other people point that out. In fact, you have become quite adept at explaining why you have made the choices you have—and, at times, still secretly believe that if it weren’t for a few inattentive or mean-spirited people; your life would be much closer to perfect than it is.
It is so easy to find yourself in a place of judgment and self-justification—and that is not a place of peace and rest. Indeed, it is an attitude which makes it very difficult to receive God’s blessing.
Even as Paul is reminding the Romans of their shortcomings, he is preparing them to hear this good news: “People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood” (3:24b). You are forgiven! That is God’s gift to you—and to the people who keep messing up around you.
It reminds Paul of Psalm 32: “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.”
I pray you may know more of that joy.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
A Grace that Redeems
It’s been quite some time since I visited a pawn shop. Years ago I was looking for a guitar and several people suggested I might want to see what might be available in the local pawn shops. Almost every one had at least one guitar among all the other appliances, car stereos, and obsolete computers; but the stores were depressing.
When someone needs cash to take care of some pressing obligation, a pawn shop is a place where they can take an item they own and leave it as collateral for a short-term loan. The pawnbroker bases the amount of money he will loan to the customer based on how much he might get for it if the person is unable or unwilling to repay the loan. That means a guitar that may have originally sold for around $3,000 might secure a loan for $800 to $1,000.
Now if the person pawning their guitar isn’t able to repay the loan, the pawnbroker can sell it for $1,500 to $1,800 and make a pretty nice profit—and it would be a sweet deal for the person who was hoping to buy a quality instrument. Still, there is something about profiting from another person’s misfortune that just doesn’t sit right with me.
And looking around the pawn shop—in and among the used DVD’s, worn power tools, and first-generation video games—you spot a few real treasures. There’s a vintage ring that belonged to someone’s grandmother. Here’s a silver chest that was handed done several times. A porcelain statue someone carefully brought back with them from a once-in-a-lifetime journey sits on a shelf crowded cheap knickknacks.
Of course, the person who hocked that “treasure” knew what they were doing. They freely entered into the contract with the pawnbroker. Still, there’s a part of me that would like to be able to reunite some people with their “treasure”—that would love to hear them play sweet music again.
I imagine that is the way God feels when he sees one of his children who have “sold” themselves. The good news is that Christ came to pay the price to buy you back—no matter how deep your debt. You’ve been redeemed! Let that good news shape your new life in Christ!
When someone needs cash to take care of some pressing obligation, a pawn shop is a place where they can take an item they own and leave it as collateral for a short-term loan. The pawnbroker bases the amount of money he will loan to the customer based on how much he might get for it if the person is unable or unwilling to repay the loan. That means a guitar that may have originally sold for around $3,000 might secure a loan for $800 to $1,000.
Now if the person pawning their guitar isn’t able to repay the loan, the pawnbroker can sell it for $1,500 to $1,800 and make a pretty nice profit—and it would be a sweet deal for the person who was hoping to buy a quality instrument. Still, there is something about profiting from another person’s misfortune that just doesn’t sit right with me.
And looking around the pawn shop—in and among the used DVD’s, worn power tools, and first-generation video games—you spot a few real treasures. There’s a vintage ring that belonged to someone’s grandmother. Here’s a silver chest that was handed done several times. A porcelain statue someone carefully brought back with them from a once-in-a-lifetime journey sits on a shelf crowded cheap knickknacks.
Of course, the person who hocked that “treasure” knew what they were doing. They freely entered into the contract with the pawnbroker. Still, there’s a part of me that would like to be able to reunite some people with their “treasure”—that would love to hear them play sweet music again.
I imagine that is the way God feels when he sees one of his children who have “sold” themselves. The good news is that Christ came to pay the price to buy you back—no matter how deep your debt. You’ve been redeemed! Let that good news shape your new life in Christ!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Waiting for an Answer
Filling out an application can be a very exciting undertaking. Whether you are applying for a new job, hoping to enroll in a new school, or considering joining a new organization; as you answer each successive question, your imagination begins to anticipate what it will be like to be invited to participate in this new opportunity.
Perhaps you have also experienced the anxiety that grows as you move through the easy questions (like your name and address) to the ones that are difficult to answer (like “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”). Now you’re wondering how many other people are also applying for this opportunity. You might find yourself wishing you had been a little more friendly with your last boss or more focused in a couple of classes. Would it make your application stronger if you could list a couple of places where you had volunteered?
The time between submitting your application and receiving a decision becomes a place where both the excitement and the anxiety grow. You move back and forth between being confident that you are the person they’ve been looking for, to wondering why you ever thought you had a chance of being considered. You begin to think about who you might need to know, or where you might need to go, or what you might need to acquire, or how you might need to think to improve your chances of be accepted.
Whether you have an application you are waiting to hear back from or not, you may wonder if there is a place where you are accepted. Paul assures the believers in Rome that if they will only give themselves to God without reservation, God will accept their offering—because the grace of God is the proof that God accepts them.
May you accept the fact that you are accepted by a gracious God who wants you to experience a life that is good and pleasing and perfect; and may the knowledge of that acceptance give you peace with yourself, your neighbor, and your God.
Perhaps you have also experienced the anxiety that grows as you move through the easy questions (like your name and address) to the ones that are difficult to answer (like “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”). Now you’re wondering how many other people are also applying for this opportunity. You might find yourself wishing you had been a little more friendly with your last boss or more focused in a couple of classes. Would it make your application stronger if you could list a couple of places where you had volunteered?
The time between submitting your application and receiving a decision becomes a place where both the excitement and the anxiety grow. You move back and forth between being confident that you are the person they’ve been looking for, to wondering why you ever thought you had a chance of being considered. You begin to think about who you might need to know, or where you might need to go, or what you might need to acquire, or how you might need to think to improve your chances of be accepted.
Whether you have an application you are waiting to hear back from or not, you may wonder if there is a place where you are accepted. Paul assures the believers in Rome that if they will only give themselves to God without reservation, God will accept their offering—because the grace of God is the proof that God accepts them.
May you accept the fact that you are accepted by a gracious God who wants you to experience a life that is good and pleasing and perfect; and may the knowledge of that acceptance give you peace with yourself, your neighbor, and your God.
Friday, May 13, 2011
More than “Kindred Spirits” or “Bosom Friends”
As Matthew is leaving for the train station to pick up the young person they have arranged to come live with them, Marilla reminds him they have asked for a boy. They are both growing older and the work on the farm has become too much for them to do alone. There is a glut of orphans in Nova Scotia, so it seems to be the perfect solution.
When Matthew arrives at the station, the “boy” they have been sent turns out to be a slight, eleven-year-old girl. Anne Shirley quickly charms her way into Matthew’s heart. Marilla is much more difficult to convince; and Anne’s vivid imagination, flair for drama, and inclination to fill every silence with conversation nearly drives Marilla to distraction. Nevertheless, the Cuthbert’s decide to make a place in their home and in their lives for this peculiar young woman—and Green Gables is never the same.
While Anne of Green Gables focuses on the adventures and misadventures of Anne Shirley, her new wards, and the friends she makes as she moves into the community; it also presents a picture of adoption as the opportunity to experience a life that is full of promise. Because of her freckles and red hair, Anne thinks she is so unattractive that she could understand why the Cuthbert’s might not welcome her. In spite of her best efforts to do the right thing, Anne manages to make one profound blunder after another. She willingly admits that she deserves to be sent back to the orphanage.
In her imagination she has a fully developed picture of how miserable her life would be if that were to happen. Her dread of that possibility touches even the stoic heart of Marilla. As they all learn to live together as a family, we have the privilege of watching them each experience more of the abundance of life than they would have if they had decided not to stay faithful to their commitment to become one family.
Paul tells the Ephesians that, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (1:5). Perhaps you wonder if God would welcome you into his home. You may be afraid that some of the things you have done have ruined your chances of finding your place in God’s family. Let me assure you that God is ready to show you grace beyond measure—grace that will make you more than “kindred spirits” or “bosom friends”—grace that will enable you to believe that God truly is your Father.
When Matthew arrives at the station, the “boy” they have been sent turns out to be a slight, eleven-year-old girl. Anne Shirley quickly charms her way into Matthew’s heart. Marilla is much more difficult to convince; and Anne’s vivid imagination, flair for drama, and inclination to fill every silence with conversation nearly drives Marilla to distraction. Nevertheless, the Cuthbert’s decide to make a place in their home and in their lives for this peculiar young woman—and Green Gables is never the same.
While Anne of Green Gables focuses on the adventures and misadventures of Anne Shirley, her new wards, and the friends she makes as she moves into the community; it also presents a picture of adoption as the opportunity to experience a life that is full of promise. Because of her freckles and red hair, Anne thinks she is so unattractive that she could understand why the Cuthbert’s might not welcome her. In spite of her best efforts to do the right thing, Anne manages to make one profound blunder after another. She willingly admits that she deserves to be sent back to the orphanage.
In her imagination she has a fully developed picture of how miserable her life would be if that were to happen. Her dread of that possibility touches even the stoic heart of Marilla. As they all learn to live together as a family, we have the privilege of watching them each experience more of the abundance of life than they would have if they had decided not to stay faithful to their commitment to become one family.
Paul tells the Ephesians that, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (1:5). Perhaps you wonder if God would welcome you into his home. You may be afraid that some of the things you have done have ruined your chances of finding your place in God’s family. Let me assure you that God is ready to show you grace beyond measure—grace that will make you more than “kindred spirits” or “bosom friends”—grace that will enable you to believe that God truly is your Father.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Your Place on the Team
When was the last time you saw a group of kids standing around the ball field trying to decide who is going to be on whose team? I wonder if it ever happens these days with all the organized leagues and kids dressed in uniforms that rival the pro’s.
Perhaps you can remember playing in the front yard when one of your neighbors walked by and let you know there was going to be a game at the field in thirty minutes. You ran inside to tell your mom where you were headed, grabbed your glove, and took off.
Just a handful of kids were there when you arrived. You even wondered if there would be enough to make one team, let alone two. Within a few minutes a few more kids had showed up. A couple had a ball. Two or three bats appeared from somewhere. It was time for a game.
Now came one of the most significant—and anxiety-producing—events in your life. It was time to choose up sides. Somehow two kids (not always the oldest or the strongest, but usually) were standing on either side of home plate and pointing at one kid and then another, saying, “I choose you.”
If you were always one of the first couple of kids who were chosen, then you probably don’t remember that knot that started growing in your stomach as the “captains” continued to pick their teams and treat you as if you were invisible. Some of you will remember waving your hand as you tried to get the attention of the “captain” of the team you wanted to be on; and then turning away when it came time for the other “captain” to choose. Still, being chosen to be on the “wrong” team was better than being chosen last or—worse, yet—not being chosen at all.
It may not have begun on the ball field, but many people continue to carry that nagging question in the back of their minds, “Would anyone choose me?” It is a question that can trouble people in many different areas of their lives: professional, relational, and spiritual.
If this is a question that haunts you, hear this good news: God chooses you! Yes, God wants you to be on the team. Your new life in Jesus Christ means that you are not meant for the sidelines. God has a place for you in the game.
May you come to realize your value to God and your importance to the community of faith as you hear God say, “I choose you!”
Perhaps you can remember playing in the front yard when one of your neighbors walked by and let you know there was going to be a game at the field in thirty minutes. You ran inside to tell your mom where you were headed, grabbed your glove, and took off.
Just a handful of kids were there when you arrived. You even wondered if there would be enough to make one team, let alone two. Within a few minutes a few more kids had showed up. A couple had a ball. Two or three bats appeared from somewhere. It was time for a game.
Now came one of the most significant—and anxiety-producing—events in your life. It was time to choose up sides. Somehow two kids (not always the oldest or the strongest, but usually) were standing on either side of home plate and pointing at one kid and then another, saying, “I choose you.”
If you were always one of the first couple of kids who were chosen, then you probably don’t remember that knot that started growing in your stomach as the “captains” continued to pick their teams and treat you as if you were invisible. Some of you will remember waving your hand as you tried to get the attention of the “captain” of the team you wanted to be on; and then turning away when it came time for the other “captain” to choose. Still, being chosen to be on the “wrong” team was better than being chosen last or—worse, yet—not being chosen at all.
It may not have begun on the ball field, but many people continue to carry that nagging question in the back of their minds, “Would anyone choose me?” It is a question that can trouble people in many different areas of their lives: professional, relational, and spiritual.
If this is a question that haunts you, hear this good news: God chooses you! Yes, God wants you to be on the team. Your new life in Jesus Christ means that you are not meant for the sidelines. God has a place for you in the game.
May you come to realize your value to God and your importance to the community of faith as you hear God say, “I choose you!”
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