Nothing

As the days grow longer and school gets out for the summer I feel a certain dread come upon me.  It is not a dread of hot days or summer hailstorms.  It is not even the dread “slow” days at church as people are gone for vacation.

It is the dread of hearing one word spoken over and over and over again by my children.  The word?  “Nothing.”  I’ll walk into the garage to find that the girls have stacked boxes and bins precariously atop one anther in order to get something that is out of reach.  I’ll ask, “What are you doing?”  To which they will reply, “nothing.”  And yet that will only be the beginning for throughout the summer I’m guaranteed to hear at least 3487 times that there is “nothing” to do, “nothing” that interests them, “nothing” to play with, “nothing” to learn.  Nothing.  In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if “nothing” is the most misused word in the entire language.  While I can’t speak for the rest of the world, in my home “nothing” looks a lot like everything!  There are countless things to do and learn and play with.  And believe me, when my girls are out of sight they definitely are not up to “nothing.”

To be honest there is often a lot of “nothing” that feels a lot like something in my life.  Sometimes when Julie is really quiet I’ll ask her, “what’s wrong?”  If she answers “nothing” then things are about to get ugly.  In fact, there may be no greater warning in the world that “something” is going on than to have someone tell you it’s “nothing.”

For some reason though, it got me to wondering if perhaps that’s not always a bad thing.  Maybe there are times when nothing can mean everything and I mean everything.

I’ve had a couple of opportunities over the years, both in Denver and in Dallas, to worship with some urban Christian communities made up almost entirely of homeless or poverty stricken people.  On each of those occasions I’ve left with a profound sense that something very special had taken place even though to all outward appearances it may have seemed like nothing.  These groups of Christians usually met in the sparsest of places, never actually their own, and worship with the most minimal of things.  No screens, no hymnals, no organ, no band, no altar or pulpit, sometimes a guitar but really almost nothing.  Yet despite that, the joy they felt together receiving the promises and gifts of God was tangible.  The Holy Spirit was mightily at work among them as many were baptized, heard our Lord’s Words of forgiveness and even received his supper.  I experienced this weird transcendent feeling as if I was either at the very first Christian worship service in Jerusalem 2000 years ago OR at the very last one at some future time in heaven. 

Each time that has happened I’ve come away thinking of Paul’s words to the Corinthians about what it means to be a servant of Christ.

“Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: … through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report;

genuine, yet regarded as impostors;

known, yet regarded as unknown;

dying, and yet we live on;

beaten, and yet not killed; 

sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;

poor, yet making many rich;

having nothing, and yet possessing everything.  

 (2 Corinthians 6:4, 8-11)

And of course it’s that last one that really gets me… having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

What Paul is saying goes beyond being poetic and witty.  He is speaking about a deep and profound truth.  It is a truth, a revelation that there is so much more to our lives.  It is a truth that speaks not simple platitudes like “everything happens for a reason” or “God never gives us more than we can stand.”  But true truth, truth like Jesus’, “I am the way, the truth and the life” kind of truth.  For while each of us has countless things for which to be thankful, the truth is that the things we have accumulated and collected amount to nothing.  For the more we approach God in our “nothingness”; no pride, no excuses, no moralism, no self centeredness, the more we will find that he has already given us everything in His Son.  Nothing is more certain or more sure than that.

The Old has Gone; The New Has Come

The month of March brought together an eclectic number of experiences for me, culminating into an epiphany of sorts. 

A pastor friend of mine emailed me asking me to give one sentence on what Easter means to me.  (I think he was just being lazy and trying to get us to write his Easter sermon. ;)  And since he was being lazy I decided to be lazy too, I didn’t give him one sentence but one word, “new.”

I too have been preparing for Holy week and our celebration of The Resurrection of Our Lord.  I was working on things like our Sunrise Service, planning the usual things like our responsive “Alleluia, Christ is Risen!  He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!”  Much of the Christian church continues to use that responsive for all 7 Sundays during the season of Easter.  I usually stop using it about the 3^rd Sunday of Easter, because it gets so repetitive, stale and boring.

In the meantime, a dear couple in our church has been going through a very difficult time.  Pat Haverstick has been in hospice care as her body succumbed to the effects of cancer and amyloidosis. As I visited Pat and her husband Mike over that time, I had a number of occasions to talk with them and of course share what our Lord had to say in his word.  On one occasion we read 2 Corinthians 4:16 – 5:9.

“16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  5:1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.  2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.  4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  7 We live by faith, not by sight.  8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”

Immediately when I finished reading that passage Pat said to me, “I want to save that one.”  I knew exactly what she meant because I felt the same way.

A few days later we celebrated the gifts of God in Sunday worship and the epistle lesson was again from 2 Corinthians 5 and I was particularly stuck by verse 17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

As I visited Pat and Mike over the following week something very strange began to take place.  Each time I was with them I could actually “see” the truth of this Bible verse.  For as Pat’s body seemed to get weaker with each passing visit, her trust in Jesus seemed to get stronger and stronger.  As Mike watched his beautiful and generous wife grow more frail each day, I saw his confidence in the promises of Jesus become more solid day by day.  Until it finally dawned on me.  This is what it looks like.  This is what it means.  “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! “  It does not mean life is easy or perfect or pain free.  But it does mean that old way of death and pain and sorrow is gone and the way of life, the new way in Jesus, is taking over.

On Sunday March 17^th at approximately 3:20 pm, Pat closed her eyes on this world and opened them to see the face of Jesus welcoming her into his arms.  And in my mind he said something like this, “Welcome Pat, the old has gone and the new has come.”

As I sat at my desk finishing some Easter services the next morning I came across my Sunrise service with its usual responsive “Alleluia, Christ is Risen!  He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!” and suddenly it didn’t seem so repetitive and stale and boring.  In fact, I’ve decided to put it back in all my services for the season of Easter.  And I don’t know what the congregation will be thinking but I know what I will.  I’ll be thinking of Pat.  I’ll be thinking of Eunice, Jerry and Charles.  I’ll be thinking of all of God’s saints that he has called home.  And I’ll be thinking, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! “

My question now is do I need to email my friend back and tell him what Easter really means to me?  If so then I know what I’d tell him.  It means that the old way of pain and sorrow and death is gone.  And the new way of peace and joy and life has come.  I’d tell him that I know its not perfect yet, I know there is still pain and sorrow and death.  I’d tell him that the Resurrection of Jesus doesn’t mean that I, and the people I love, won’t suffer and one day die.  But I’d tell him the Resurrection of Jesus does mean that suffering and death are ending and that new life, real life, life in Christ is here.  And I’d also tell him I’ve seen a hint of what it looks like and I can’t wait until I see it completely when Jesus returns.

“He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Rev. 21:5)

Put On

Well it is that time of year again - the time when people dress up in silly costumes and go door to door in order to blackmail folks out of candy.  Yes, Halloween is right around the corner and in the Jacoby household we like to have fun with our costumes.  Somehow we got into this cycle where the girls get to pick our costume theme one year and then I get to choose the following year (otherwise I end up dressing as a princess ever year!).

Well it all got me to wondering about how it is that people pick their costumes.  Are they trying to say something about who they are by what they put on this one day a year?  What does it mean if they dress as a super hero or famous celebrity?  What does it mean if they dress as an object, say…. an iPhone 5?  And what does it mean if they dress as something dark and scary?  Should I be worried about being alone in a dark room with them?

If I we were honest about it, we’d have to admit that we say something about ourselves by whatever it is we choose to put on.  You know the clichés; The Clothes Make the Man, Dress for Success and the Power Suit.  Often we put on clothes that declare our allegiance to our favorite sports team, favorite beverage or even our favorite label.

And while all of this might be fine, I do wonder if we’ve ever thought about what we are trying to cover up?  I don’t mean just our bodies, but are we trying to hide from the world who we really are on the inside?  Because just imagine what it would be like if everyone could see into our hearts?  This is how Paul described it in Colossians 3

“⁸ But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹ Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”

If only it were that easy.  If only we could simply put off our old selfish, broken, angry, fearful ways and put on something new, something clean and perfect and whole.  If only it were as easy as taking off an old robe and putting on a new suit.  If only we could end each day by taking off all the selfish things we’ve said, thought or done and throw them in the hamper and wake up the next day to put on a new and perfect life.

Well the amazing thing is that having been baptized in the name of the Triune God we can.  We can end each day with the assurance that God has forgiven all of our wrongs of the day and we can wake up to put on a new self each and every day.  That is the rest of what Paul had to say in Colossians 3.

“¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

So no matter what you choose to put on this Halloween or each day of your life, remember who you are as a baptized child of God.  You have put off the old self and put on the new self in Jesus Christ… and you look great if you ask me!

Super Daddy

One of my favorite comics of the past decade was Calvin and Hobbes. This cartoon followed the adventures of a young boy and his pet (stuffed?) tiger. One of the most memorable story lines in the comics was when Calvin would ask his father a question and his father, not knowing the answer, would make one up. In particular I remember a strip where Calvin asks his dad how they know the load limits on bridges, to which his father replies, “They drive bigger and bigger trucks over the bridge until it breaks. Then they weigh the last truck and rebuild the bridge.”

I had a particular fondness for these storylines because I grew up in a house with a father who did the same thing. So it is no wonder that I have had my own personal amusement doing the same thing with my two daughters. Quite often they will ask me a question and I will make up the answer. Apparently this has become a family tradition that is passed down from generation to generation but it is a tradition to which we have added our own little flair. Now after receiving an answer one of the girls will normally ask, “how do you know that?” To which I reply “I’m Super Daddy!” I accompany this statement with a Superman pose (hands on hips and chest puffed out). One of them usually says something like “you’re the stronger than the whole world.” To which the other will correct, “except for God.” “Right except for God and Jesus” answers the other.

I must admit that as they have grown up I’ve very much enjoyed being Super Daddy in their eyes. It is an amazing thing to be a hero to your children. To have them come to you with any problem or fear or need and firmly believe in their heart that you can help them is nothing short of remarkable. And I wish I could, I wish I could do anything they needed. The problem of course, is that as they’ve gotten older I’ve begun to let them down.

It starts simply enough, one-day one of them asks if I can lift a car or tree out of the ground? Next it is can I make someone at school stop picking on her? The final failure is when I can’t make their hurt or fear or pain go away. Sometimes being Super Daddy is a tough job. It would be a lot easier if I really were a perfect father.

Which makes me wonder what it would be like to be a perfect father… and wonder what it would be like to have a perfect father. Which of course makes me think of God.

At the end of His Sermon on the Mount Jesus says an amazing thing about our heavenly Father. “ "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7-11)

I find this to be amazing because Jesus describes God as a Father who loves to do anything he can for his children. Jesus describes Him as a Father who loves to have His children come to him with every problem or fear or need. And because He actually is the perfect Father he can do something about it. He can make the hurt and fear and pain go away. He can and He does.

Today is Father’s Day and I’m positive that included in our family’s celebration I will get a card or two addressed to Super Daddy. And it will make me smile and feel grateful that I am still Super Daddy for another year, at least in the eyes of my daughters. It will remind me of my father and how even when he didn’t have an answer he always tried to do what he could. But it will also remind me of the perfect Father that I have in heaven, the one who does anything for me. Including sending His very own Son to save me…. to make the hurt and fear and pain go away.

Happy Father’s Day!

Super Daddy

The Smile

Today I went to a funeral.  Not an uncommon event for me since I’ve officiated somewhere close to 75 over the past decade and a half.  But today was different because I went to the funeral of a…  Of a what?  Teacher, Mentor, Guide… Friend?  None of these words seem to be the right words when I think of this man, which is ironic because one of the things he imparted to me was a love of words.  And now I find myself at a loss for words.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I was at the funeral of Glen Kirch today and I was mad.  But I wasn’t mad in the way some funeral mourners are mad, I wasn’t mad at God.  I was mad at myself.  A few weeks ago I heard from an old classmate that Glen was in the hospital although he didn’t know which hospital.  So I spent the afternoon calling around to see if anyone could tell me where.  After a few hours I gave up thinking that I’d see some old teaching colleagues of Glen’s the next day and they’d be able to tell me where he was.  And I was right.  I ran into a number of people who knew where he was.  But what none of us knew was that almost at that very moment Glen had left his earthly home for his heavenly one.  I was too late to see him, too late to tell him what an amazing gift he had been, too late to introduce him to my family.  Too late.

At the funeral we were asked to think of one word to describe Glen, which was kind of ridiculous because no one word could personify who he was.  Still, as a wordsmith I think Glen would have liked that little assignment.  And every single word that people mentioned were good words.  But the word that came into my mind was a word that described what I saw in my mind whenever I thought of Glen.  That word was “smile.” 

I have to search long and hard in my mind to come up with a memory of Glen Kirch that does not include his smile.  He smiled the day that I convinced our English class to turn all of the desks around to face the back of the room after he had stepped out.  One day a classmate was gone from school, he had gone on a family vacation to Hawaii.  As Mr. Kirch took role call he asked about the missing student and I said, “He’s getting leied in Hawaii.”  Mr. Kirch just smiled (although I believe that was one of the few occasions he was at a loss for words.)  I think it is safe to say that all of my memories of him include his smile.

So I sat at Glen’s funeral mad at myself for waiting too long yet surrounded by pictures of him with his smile.  And thinking about him with his smile, thinking about what kind of man was behind that smile suddenly made me smile.  Which is what I needed at the moment.  I needed to smile and I needed to think of Glen’s smile.  Because there was a part of me that reacted to his death by thinking that the world was literally a worse place without him in it.  With his passing, something that was truly special, truly great, truly beautiful was gone. 

One of the very first things I learned from Mr. Kirch was a love of words.  And not just a love of words but a love of true words.  I learned from Glen to read everything, from the newspaper to a great novel, always searching for the words that were true.  Because as much as Glen loved words he loved THE Word even more.  And taught me, even though I hardly realized it at the time, that all truth is God’s truth, that all true words are reflections of the true Word.  And that has literally changed my life. 

All of that made me realize that the world was not a worse place now with Glen gone.  Far from it, in fact just the opposite.  The world was a far better place because of him.  All you needed to do was look around the church and see the countless people he had touched over the years.  And I suddenly thought of some of the true Word of which Glen was so fond. “Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:8-12)

There is something very “right” to me when I picture Glen in heaven, Glen seeing the truth completely, no longer dimly as in a mirror.  There is something true about the picture I see of Glen, known as he is fully known, and smiling.  But even more there is something real about God’s unconditional love that re-made Glen into the person he was.

So today I left the funeral of a friend thinking of his smile but even more, thinking of the love that was behind that smile.  It was a love that I know was not perfect but it was a profound love nonetheless.  It was a love for Jesus and all He created, it was a love for all of God’s children no matter how smart or pretty or cool they were.  It was a love that I believe everyone who ever met him experienced.  It was a love that was never perfect… until now.

And while I regret not introducing Glen to my family I left today trying to imitate his smile.  Tomorrow I’ll try imitating the love behind it.

(Note – Any writing errors in the above, whether grammatical or stylistic, is solely the fault of the student and not the teacher)

Glen Kirch – 11/10/33 – 6/18/09 - ∞

Failure

I’ve been thinking about failure a lot lately. I’m not thinking about trying to fail, instead I’m trying to decide if I have already failed. To be honest it isn’t something I like thinking about, probably most people don’t. But I may be more predisposed to dislike failure than some of you.
• First, I am a guy.
• Second, I am a first-born guy in my family - if you put any stock in the birth order thing.
• Finally, I’ve been professionally trained in the “find success in any failure” technique and have many years of practice.

So to begin with I ask myself if I feel like a failure? The answer to that is yes. There are plenty of moments in the day when I feel like a failure. I fail to be the husband I want to be all the time. As a father I have countless moments each day where I flash to the future and see one of my daughters on a therapist's couch saying things like, “Well, when I would spill my juice at the dinner table my dad’s head would explode…” I very deliberately do not have a “Jesus” fish or cross on my car since at least once a day I comment on the relative driving skills of a fellow driver. Usually a comment on their mental capacity (“moron”) or an anatomical comment ("drive like you’ve got a pair") is the mode of my failure.

I fail to take care of myself as I should. I fail to take care of my family; I forgot my sister’s birthday this year, again. I fail to follow and sometimes I fail to lead. I almost always fail to see the point. I fail to communicate….”which is the way he wants it, well he gets it.”

But I also realize failure is a perspective from a specific point in time. Abraham Lincoln failed 47 times (or whatever it was) until he “succeeded”. So yes I know that what seems like failure at the time can just mean you’re not finished yet. But I also know that plenty of people, probably most people, actually fail. We run into them everyday, people who have clearly failed but they don’t even know it. So what is the difference between “not finished yet” and “failed but don’t know it”?

Lot’s of times my daughters will bring me something they are coloring or drawing. “Daddy look at my picture, what do you think?” “It’s very nice, I like it. That giraffe sure has short legs though” I’ll respond. “Daddy, that’s not a giraffe. It’s ants carrying a picnic basket with a giant corn dog in it.” “Sorry, I thought those spots on the corn dog made it look like a giraffe.” “Well I’m not finished with it yet!”

If I made a list of where I should be, of what I should be, nothing is where I’d like it. In every area I am either “not finished yet” or I “failed and don’t know it.” Realistically there is very little difference. And in many instances it doesn’t really matter.

In the Bible there is the well-known “Love” chapter, Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians, where he says a lot of very cool things about love. One of the best is “love never fails.” (I. Cor. 13:8a) For years I’ve thought about that statement and been faced with the harsh truth that my love does fail, a lot. Too often if I’m honest.

Even though I know that chapter is about God’s love it is hard for me not think about how my love fails. Skipping over the usual platitudes I’m learning what it is like to fail - professionally, personally, emotionally and even physically. I’m not who I was and I am not who I’m supposed to be. I’ve failed at every single thing I’ve tried. And if some of those failures are “not yet finished” that’s fine. If some of those are “failed but doesn’t know it” then I’m probably better of not knowing it.

If I think about it in terms of God’s love it is very awesome, even comforting. His never fails. It doesn’t say “His love isn’t finished yet” but His “love never fails”. His love never fails even though I do, even though my love fails. I don’t know what it is like to love with an unfailing love but I do know what it is like to be loved with an unfailing love.

The love that never fails is the love that I receive and not the love that I give, I’m convinced of that. The love that never fails is in my wife’s smile, my girl’s kisses and the dog’s wet nose when I come home. That unfailing love is in all the little things around me because they are all part of that never failing love my Father has for me. They are all small ways in which God reminds me “you are not finished yet.”

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12)

Want to go deeper? Check out Philippians Chapter 3.

Free

A few weeks ago the whole family went out to dinner. We went through the usual routine of placing our order including beverages of choice. Milk and/or water for the girls, Dr. Pepper for me and Julie drinks Diet Coke. In the appropriate amount of time the waitress brings our drinks. Julie and I both notice that the waitress has taken the time to put two straws in mine and one straw in hers. This is good because there are few things on this earth as horrifying as lifting a carbonated beverage to your lips expecting it to be Dr. Pepper and then tasting Diet Coke!

One problem though, she still mixed up the drinks which Julie and I discovered as we took simultaneous sips and then simultaneously handed our drinks to the other followed by simultaneously making what I call “the Face.” There are few things on this earth as powerful as “the Face.” This non-verbal form of communication carries with it such loathing, such judgment, such derision that could be classified as a form of torture or even mental abuse. If you think I’m exaggerating then you’ve never been on the receiving end of “the Face.”

Julie and I both made “the Face”, not at each other or the waitress but more at the repulsive drinks held by the other. Then we each took a sip of our preferred beverage (addiction?) which was followed by a sigh of deep contentment and a smile, in that order. And as soon as this little ritual was done I was struck with the thought, “what must the people watching us be thinking?” That thought was followed almost immediately by the answer, “probably nothing, it’s probably happened to them lots of times before.”

Ok, so what if someone from another place was watching, like another country? Better yet what if it was someone from a different planet or time who didn’t know about dark colored carbonated beverages, what if they were watching? Because to the outsider those two drinks look exactly the same. Even in clear glass it is hard to tell the two apart. I spent the better part of a morning trying to track down the chemical difference between the two, to no avail. But a quick look at the ingredients lists many of the same. And I bet that if you never had tasted a carbonated beverage before, both of them would cause you to make “the Face.” But over the years I’ve become accustomed to and comfortable with Dr. Pepper.

But it made wonder if perhaps there are other areas of my life in which I behave the same way. Do I have strong convictions about something or have I simply grown accustomed to them? Lots of those things I would classify as important and insist that one is fundamentally better than the other... But lately I ask myself how do I know that for sure, perhaps it is just what is comfortable.

For many years I’ve been a regular voter in a particular political party and to varying degrees felt strongly about that. But to be honest I’m beginning to think they are about as different as Dr. Pepper is different from Diet Coke. There are some VERY big difference between the GOP and DNC but in the end they both seem to succeed in “leading” our country to the same degree. Their effectiveness seems to be the same as Dr. Pepper and Diet Coke’s effectiveness in hydration – the taste of one is familiar and the other deserves “the Face” but they both are worthless as a replacement for water.

And if I can somehow be tricked into equating the “familiar” with correct in soft drinks and political parties where else might I go astray? For years I’ve been making “the Face” at all the things that have been changing but shouldn’t have been changing, or so I thought. But lately I’ve begun to wonder if I even know how to use “the Face.”

There is one verse in the Bible that I haven’t been able to get out of my head lately. It is from Galatians 5:1 and in it St. Paul says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” And in that particular letter St. Paul is writing to correct a bunch people who believed that Christians had to “follow” the Old Testament in order to be a Christian, in particular they taught that a Christian man must be circumcised.

Read Galatians 5

Now of course there is a lot background to that story but it in the end it comes down to a group of people believing that they could not have a relationship with God in any way except as how they always had. In fact, they didn’t believe anyone could have a relationship with God expect by how THEY had a relationship with Him.

Now St. Paul would be the first one to deny any sort of “relative” approach to God, like the modern day “all paths lead to the same place” kind of thing. But what is interesting is that he is warning this group of Christians of the opposite extreme, don’t think God is defined by your rules and regulations.

I’ve spent a lot of my life making “the Face” at changes in this world. I’ve hollered about the good old days, I’ve pounded my fist about tradition and the value of what has been handed down in the past. And I still believe that is true. But now I’m trying to be on the lookout from the other side. I’m keeping an eye open for the part of me that makes the traditional, or what is comfortable and familiar, a rule - that turns it into law. And I don’t like being a slave to the law. I like being free. I like knowing that Christ came to set me free.

I love knowing that God wants me to be free, that he has set me free! Free from fear and pain and failure. Free from having to get God to love me by what I do or don’t do. Free from wondering when I’ve done enough or what happens when I fail. I love being free. But what I’m still learning is how to live free. And not free as in “I do whatever I want” but free as in “I love being free so much that I want others to be free.”

And if I’m going to do that then I’m going to have to figure out the difference between what is better and what is familiar, what is right and what is comfortable. I might even have to retire “the Face”… Someday.