Two kinds of ‘success’

Two books stand next to each other on my nightstand. One touts the importance of big dreams that invite the blessings of God, emphasizing earthly success as a measure for a good life. The other tells stories of brokenness inviting us to find the abundance of life by standing with the bruised, the sad, the ‘less than perfect’ people, sharing the fellowship of Christ’s Cross with them.  They present two different views of the Christian life with the first having a definite natural appeal in its promise of ‘more’ and ‘bigger.’  The second one inspired me, causing deep reflection, drawing me close to Jesus and leaving me deeply disturbed.

There is not a second’s doubt in my mind that the true way of Christ is not found in more of my Self, no matter how noble the aspirations I claim in His Name. He is found among those who ‘hunger and thirst’ for God’s grace because they know they are hopelessly sin-broken apart from His healing touch!

How easy it is to idealize a life given to sharing human sorrow, standing with people who are suffering, being willing to face up to our own broken and sinful places.  But, in reality, authenticity and compassion is a painful, costly, bloody business.  We need look no further than the life of Savior to understand this. His love did not move Him to send an offering or to write a blog about the need for change.  He entered fully into His own Creation, ultimately becoming sin for us, dying in ignominy to save us. His story is far removed from the re-interpreted “Christianity” that attempts to sanctify the American dream of self-fulfillment by making the Spirit’s power a tool to build our kingdoms.

God invites us to take up our cross and there, in death, to find a new abundance- defined by intimacy with Him, by the grace we find in Him alone. It is a narrow Way, by Christ Jesus’ own word, and few find it. The appeal of being accepted as one of the beautiful and whole, of enjoying influence and esteem, is a glittering lure that drags us from the blood-stained ground at the foot of the Cross. Our instinct of self-preservation makes us ask, “Why would I stand with the homeless, the lonely, the rejected, the poor and powerless, the dysfunctional?” Just a step further, we distance ourselves by making the plight of the broken their fault for if we can blame them, we can judge them, and we can leave them to sleep in the bed which they have made for themselves.

But, alas, the witness of Scripture stands against us for the Word leaves no exception where it says, ”all have sinned and fallen short.” Some of us may be a little better at concealing our broken, but we are all desperately in need of the Cross. True life is found there, abundance of grace, peace with God a free gift, not a merit badge for high acheivers.

At the end of time, when all is revealed, when the Great Reversal;  the last first, the first last – is made plain, I want to be standing where I will hear the commendation of the only One whose judgment matters.   In a word from the Word Jesus shows what God will commend. May He clear our vision and lead us to live whole and holy lives near the Cross.

 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
For
I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me,
I was sick and you looked after me,
I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’" (Matthew 25:31-40, NIV)

___________

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my vision

O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me

Save that Thou art

Thou my best thought

By day or by night

Waking or sleeping

Thy presence my light

High King of heaven

When vict'ry is won

May I reach heaven's joys

O bright heaven's Sun

Heart of my own heart

Whatever befall

Still be my vision

O Ruler of all

Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne

© Words: Public Domain

When you pray (and we all do)

Letter writing is becoming something of a lost art in this age of texts, tweets, and emojis. Putting our thoughts together in a way that makes complete sentences that flow into whole paragraphs is not as common as it once was. Does this effect the way in that we pray? Are we substituting ‘texts’ thrown to the heavens for thoughtful encounters with God? 

I do appreciate the instant nature of our mode of communication. I use messaging and texting dozens of times each day to connect with others, to confirm meetings, to just say “Hi!”  But, I also know when I need to sit down and write a real letter or pick up the phone for an actual conversation. Do you pray earnestly, heart and mind engaged with God?

Peter, James, John and the other disciples saw the rich intimate prayer conversations of Jesus and they made this request, “Teach us to pray.”   He responded with a framework for prayer that Christians have universally used since the birth of the Church. “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’" (Matthew 6:9-13, NIV)  So much meaning in so few words!

Jesus taught that we need to begin by thinking of Who we are talking to, just like a good letter writer thinks of her recipient.  “Our Father.”   We come to a Person, who loves us, with purpose for our existence, with complete provision for us. Our prayer begins by setting us in the context of His family, for He is ours, not just mine.  We pray in a way that invites us to know Him relationally.  Then, He reminds us that our prayers, while addressed to our Father are formed around profound reverence. “Hallowed be your name.”  We recognize that He is revered, respected, and majestic and that our high calling is to make Him known to the world in a way that invites their worship. And, that is just the first few words!

As we pray we step fully into His rule, inviting His kingdom to come and His will to be done. What part of me resists His will? Where do I desire my way more than His way? How do I surrender to Him and fall in step with the Spirit?  So many of my prayers are shaped less by desiring His Kingdom than by wanting Him to make my agenda happen, to make my life work the way in which I desire.

Even as we yearn for His rule, we are invited to pray about the ‘dailys’ of our lives;  the ordinary stuff of each day.  He is our Bread! That deep longing for strength, He satisfies. That confounding problem, He is the answer. That challenging child, He can show the way to love. That broken heart, He can heal it.  So, we carry our need to Him and ask, in faith, for what He provides.

Jesus taught us to recognize our sin and the sins of others in this prayer, but not with shame, nor with hate. Instead, He establishes a connection between our grace and His. We choose grace, He gives it. We let go of our offense, our rage, our Self – and He reaches out to hold our heart secure in His unfailing love.  Forgive me as I forgive!  He asks us to pray with honesty about the state of our heart. We must not brush quickly past this line. He reveals that when we build self-protective walls around our hurting Self, we block the very Love that could heal us. It is such a hard part of the prayer, isn’t it?

And, we recognize our humanity as we pray for a road that keeps us from the lure of temptation and the seduction of Evil!  Oh, yes, God does not ‘tempt’ us as we think of the word, but He does allow us to be tested so that our faith is refined, so that our desperate need for Him is made clear to us.  Jesus knew that few things make us more ugly before God than self-righteousness so He taught us to pray confessionally, to acknowledge our frailty and to entreat His powerful advocacy on our behalf.

In the middle of life today, there will be a place for those quick prayers, those texts to Heaven.  Hopefully there will also be time for more thoughtful engagement with the Father, holy and majestic in prayer that profoundly changes us.

"With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are.
Set the world right; Do what’s best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge! You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes. "
 (Matthew 6:9-13, The Message)

Keeping an eye on the clock

Football is a complex game. Most of the attention is focused on the plays, the defense, the quarterback’s ability to throw a good pass. Often forgotten is the strategy of managing the clock. The game is limited to 60 minutes of playing time so part of getting a win is making sure that the team ‘owns’ the ball. Timeouts become strategic tools to “stop the clock” to allow for additional plays. “Running out the clock” keeps the ball out of the hands of the other team.

This life we are living here on earth is not infinite. Knowing that we need to keep an eye on the clock! In one of His more difficult messages to fully understand Jesus told us to be aware of the limits of our time. “Look at a fig tree. Any tree for that matter. When the leaves begin to show, one look tells you that summer is right around the corner. The same here—when you see these things happen, you know God’s kingdom is about here. Don’t brush this off: I’m not just saying this for some future generation, but for this one, too—these things will happen. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won’t wear out. “But be on your guard. Don’t let the sharp edge of your expectation get dulled by parties and drinking and shopping. Otherwise, that Day is going to take you by complete surprise, spring on you suddenly like a trap, for it’s going to come on everyone, everywhere, at once. So, whatever you do, don’t go to sleep at the switch. Pray constantly that you will have the strength and wits to make it through everything that’s coming and end up on your feet before the Son of Man.”  (Luke 21:29-36, The Message)

What words. Don’t lose sight of the main fact by digging too deeply in to the details. Jesus tells us that time for us is not an infinite resource. This world is on God’s clock and He has declared a moment when the Kingdom will be fully realized by the coming of the Lord.  Mysterious? Yes, it is.  Christ will return in majesty, the second coming not to save but to bring all things to account before the Just Judge. That passage, however, should renew our understanding that our destiny is eternal.  The win for us is not living here forever but rather in knowing the promise of His welcome at the moment of our own entry into the Kingdom.   

Despite being surrounded by changing seasons, aging people, and things that wear out or become obsolete so many of us manage to deny the reality of the clock. Somehow we convince ourselves that there will always be a tomorrow.  We need not become obsessed with mortality, nor should we be so enthralled with the promise of the Second Coming of Christ that we fail to live fully in this moment. Remember this – the best use of today will be shaped by being fully aware of the clock.

Are you ‘killing time?’ What a waste.

Are you ‘making the most of every opportunity?’  This is the way to know God’s favor.

Are you praying for the coming of the King?

Here is a word from the Word.  Lord, use these words to help us to be aware of the times and to live so that we can welcome You at a moment’s notice.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace."
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, NIV)

__________

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Come Thou long expected Jesus

Born to set Thy people free

From our fears and sins release us

Let us find our rest in Thee

Israel's strength and consolation

Hope of all the earth Thou art

Dear desire of every nation

Joy of every longing heart

Born Thy people to deliver

Born a child and yet a King

Born to reign in us forever

Now Thy gracious Kingdom bring

By Thine own eternal Spirit

Rule in all our hearts alone

By Thine all sufficient merit

Raise us to Thy glorious throne

Charles Wesley | Rowland Hugh Prichard

© Words: Public Domain