When the Best Is Not Good Enough

Whether you are looking for a new doctor, a new mechanic or a new restaurant, there is one question that will undoubtedly be at the top of your list: “Are they good?” Once you find several candidates your consultants convince you meet your basic criteria, then you begin the sifting process: “Who’s the best?”

Some people may be glad that grocery stores have begun to package their produce. It does make things go more quickly when you can just pick up a bag of potatoes or onions or cherries. On the other hand, when you find yourself in front of bin full of fresh peaches or apples or green beans, do you take the first few that are closest to you or do you carefully pick and choose until you have the few you believe are the best ones there?

The level of performance of professional athletes is truly remarkable—almost superhuman. Day after day they perform at levels that most people find difficult to imagine. In fact, it would be unreasonable to expect even a reasonably fit person to match a pro athlete on almost any skill that was their specialty. Nevertheless, when the pros compete against one another—even when the difference in their performance may only be able to be measured in millimeters or fractions of a second—it is the one who comes out on top who is proclaimed the best.

Indeed, we have become so obsessed with “the best” that we may be in danger of losing an appreciation for what it means to be good.

One day after Jesus had spent some time answering the questions of his antagonists, a young man ran up to Jesus with a sincere request. To show his appreciation and respect for Jesus and the way that he handled himself with both the powerful and the weak, this young man addressed Jesus as a “good teacher.” So I imagine he was quite surprised when Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? . . . Only God is truly good” (Mark 10:18).

Have you ever considered the proposition that God may be less interested in what you are doing to make yourself better than he is in how you are allowing the light of his love to make you good?

Perhaps you should.

More than Words

If you were to ask a few friends to describe their church, you should expect most of them to say, “It’s a friendly church.” While I hope most of the churches in your area are friendly, not everyone can be “above average.” To really learn something about the quality of their relationships, you might ask some questions about the ways people are encouraged to share deeply about the joys and challenges in their life. Do they encourage one another to openly praise and appreciate each other’s particular contribution and talents? What happens when two people or two groups experience conflict? What do they do for fun? How often do they laugh together?

While people may say they value a particular virtue or characteristic, it is their behavior that truly reveals how strongly it operates as a controlling principle in their life. In other words, what you do speaks louder than what you say.

Very few people would want anyone to think they were unkind. Given that; isn’t it amazing how many unkind people you meet every day? These are the people who tend to notice—and comment and complain about—the faults of others. They almost always see other people with critical eyes.

So how can tell if you are really kind or if it’s just wishful thinking? You may want to ask yourself a few questions: How often has it been your experience that your presence has encouraged other people? Do many folks tell you that they feel at home with you? Do you see the needs that others overlook? Do you like to make other people’s lives more pleasant by taking care of the small details of life? How easy is it to be friendly to people who are not very friendly to you? Do you find it difficult to minister to people when you cannot expect anything in return?

Kindness expresses itself through the many simple details of life and relationships: being interested in others, giving gifts, showing attention, listening to people, remembering names. Kindness radiates an atmosphere of grace—God’s grace. As God floods your life with the light of his love, may you reflect the light of that love into the lives of others, so they may truly experience kindness that is more than words.

No Need to Hurry

Everyone knows that it never pays to be in a hurry. Since you were a child you’ve heard, “Haste makes waste.” You know how feeling rushed leads to careless mistakes: keys dropped, papers torn, fenders dented. You get a little bit behind, start running a little late, and soon you find yourself hurtling headlong, out of control, breathless through the moments of your days.

Saint Jerome is reported to have said, “Haste is of the devil.” Undoubtedly, you have experienced the graceless, chaotic torment that grows in the rush to get more done in less time. Centuries later Carl Jung added his opinion, “Hurry is not of the devil, hurry is the devil.”

Paul tells the church in Corinth, “Love is patient” (1 Corinthians 13:4). Of course, that is not all he says about love; but Paul knows that patience is a vital element in showing others the kind of love God has shown us. Paul reminds the Romans that God has shown patience since the time he entered into a special relationship with Abraham—a patience that has endured one offense after another (Romans 9). Indeed, God’s patience is a revelation of the way God’s justice and his grace work together to teach us about his love.

Let me ask you to imagine what would happen if you began to reflect that kind of patience to those around you. How would it change the nature of your relationship with your children? How would it alter your conversations with your spouse? What about your interactions at work? On the way to work? When you are shopping?

Patience doesn’t give up on getting anything accomplished. It is not fatalism; but it is the willingness to give yourself and others time to grow into the people God longs for them to be. It is a perseverance that works toward seeing God’s will become reality.

I pray that day by day the church may become a community of believers who are committed to showing the combination of mercy and determination through which people may experience the enduring love of God. I hope you’ll take the time to let this characteristic of God’s love grow in your life.

There’s no need to hurry.

A Place to Thrive

There is no denying that some people seem to thrive on conflict. Wherever they go, they seem unusually adept at sowing dissension. Their preferred negotiating strategy is confrontation. They seem poised to contest every rivalry. Their path is marked by turmoil, discord, and confusion.

When you look more closely at the pattern of their lives, you may discover that they have a very low regard for the truth. Indeed, they are prone to play fast and loose with the facts. They see nothing wrong with withholding information that might weaken their position. If they can deceive their opponent, they seize that opportunity without hesitation.

Others who create division are focused entirely on their own welfare. They do not feel compelled to abide by the rules; although they may be quick to call their opponent to account for some minor infraction, if they believe it will benefit their cause. There is no hint of compassion in their understanding of justice. For them “justice” is whatever they can get away with.

You will be hard-pressed to find any evidence of grace in the lives of those who are always stirring things up. They may insist that others accept their point of view, but they have little regard—and even less sympathy—for the opinions of others. Mercy is a sign of weakness to them. They are always poised for the attack.

While you may be tempted to blame “those people” for the lack of peace in your life, it may be more helpful to work on improving your own primary relationships. You may want to consider your own tendency to create discord. A commitment to embrace grace, truth, and justice is an important step. In Psalm 85:10 “peace” is placed in the midst of these three key terms for understanding God’s love: “Grace and truth meet together; justice and peace kiss each other.”

Jesus wanted his followers to experience the reconciling love of God: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27). In Matthew 5:9 Jesus blesses the peacemakers and promises them that they will be called “children of God.”

The truth is that people actually thrive where there is peace—God’s peace—the kind of peace that grows in the light of God’s love. May those who follow Christ allow that light to shine in their midst.

The Joy of the Lord

Whenever folks begin to consider the fruit of the Spirit, there is a real temptation to consider them as virtues to be developed. Perhaps you find yourself saying, “I need to work on that one!” Or you begin to think of a member of your family, a neighbor, or a coworker who you wish would consider spending some effort acquiring one of these character traits to their personal development to-do list.

Years ago Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote, “Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.” If you have ever committed yourself to “pursuing happiness,” then you know how unsatisfying that endeavor can be. So many activities seem promising at first. They may fascinate for a while. They may even distract you from some of the more painful experiences in your life momentarily. Eventually, though, you find yourself no more happy—just a little more tired and with a few less dollars in your wallet.

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 joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These qualities of God’s love in you are evidence of presence of God’s power at work in your life. While there are certainly ways that we can frustrate God’s presence and power in our lives, we cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit in our own strength.

Some people find it helpful to think of God’s love as light pouring into their lives. If you think of it this way, then your purpose is to reflect the light of God to the rest of the world. That means you aren’t responsible for generating the light, but for reflecting it. That raises the question, “What is keeping people from seeing the light of God reflected in me?”

Nehemiah reminded the remnant of those returning from exile, “the joy of the Lord is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10). As the fruit of God’s love grows in you may you experience joy in every moment of your life. May it not be dependent on your circumstances or your prospects; but entirely on your faith in God’s gracious love for you.

Reflecting the Light of Love

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.

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!