My grandma tells the true story of an east Texas pastor who is stopped at a check point on the highway while on his way to church. The pastor tells the trooper that he is running late to church. The trooper apologizes and says they will make the stop quick, but he would like to look in the trunk. When the pastor opens the trunk, the trooper notices that it is fully of empty glass beer bottles. The trooper closes the trunk and before sending the pastor on his way says “yall must have a lot of communion.”
Things do not always appear to be what they really are. What looks like an alcoholic pastor was really a pastor who picked up glass bottles for a disabled man who made art out of them. What appeared to be a crazy man in the desert turned out to be the one prophesized about, preparing the way of the Lord. What appeared to be a carpenter turned out to be the Son of God, the messiah.
I would say that I am not normal. Not that everyone else is the same, but that I am different than most people. I view certain things differently, live my life differently, and desire different things. However, because the difference is often not physical or tangible, things do not appear to be what they are. Words are misinterpreted, actions are not understood, intentions presumed incorrectly.
How does one accurately reflect what things really are? How does one explain to a trooper in a convincing way that all of the bottles are not yours? How do you convince someone of what your true intentions are? How do you tell the world what you mean when you do certain things?
I do not have the answer.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Things are not as they appear
Grass is Growing
Its time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
Its time to move on, its time to get going
For me, it is time to move on. I have spent the past two years teaching in Midland and am ready for something new. I am still waiting on the new thing to happen, but I am at least picking up my feet from where they have been.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Diversity through design, Unity through God
Ross King led worship. Ross was very popular with the youth group I attended in high school, so I was very familiar with him, though I hadn't heard him in several years. He was leading praise music so I didn't hear the songs of his I knew, but still enjoyed his leadership and music.
The message of the sermon was about the Church being one body. This semester, Grace has focused a lot on this topic as they built a new campus this year and are focusing being on one church with two locations. The text was taken from 1st Corinthians chapter 12, and Ephesians chapter 4 along with a few other various verses. This post will be taken from Brian Fisher's sermon.
First, unity in the church is to reflect unity in God. God is made up of three unique individual parts, that are all equally God and all one. The church is to reflect that.
Unity isn't uniformaty. Just becuase we call ourselves Christians doesn't mean that we all dress alike and act alike. We are all different. In 1st Corinthians, Paull writes about the Spirit of God giving each believer receiving gifts from God as the spirit chooses. In the psalms, which Paul quotes from in a different letter on the same subject, God gives gifts to all people, even nonbelievers, as he sees fit. God gives all of us gifts. We are to use those gifts for His kingdom, though we often do not.
Though unity isn't uniformaty, we must have certain similarities. In Christianity, our similarities are what are commonly referred to as essentials. These are the most basic beliefs in Christianity. These are often found in various creeds and belief statements. They define who God is and how we come to a relationship with him. These must be the same for all Christians. God is One, he is not Many. If we have different core beliefs about God, we are making him Many, not the One he is. All of us are following One Way, though we are Different people. One God, One Spirit, One Jesus, One Way.
If we do not have the same shared truth, we will not be united. I think a good example is the USA. In the United States, we are united with the goal of Democracy. By having the same goal, we have been able to overcome huge obstacles, such as the British in the 1770's, slavery in the 1860's, Nazism in the 1940's, discrimination in the 1960's. However, today, our goal is often 'unity and diversity.' This is often met with staunch resistance. I believe that if we as a country maintain our goal of democracy, unity will occur dispite our diversity. When we make divisions our goal though, we will reap what we desire.
Though it is imperative that we have unity and uniformity in essentials, our relationship with God will look different for each person. Some may find certain types of music styles help them worship more than others. Some may prefer wearing specific clothing to church in order to convey a sense of humbleness before God. Some may find it better to stand or sit or kneel throughout worship. This is OK! In non-essentials, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist faith, says that we have freedom. However, with our freedom comes tolerance. Tolerance means to put up with others. Though we may not like certain things about various Christians, we must still get along with them. We cannot let minor things (non essentials) cause division. This has happened and continues to happen, resulting in the hundreds, if not thousands, and denominations in the Christian church. Oh for the day when unity results in all worship the One together!
Why we must tolerate each other is because of the creativity and soverignty of God. God has made each of us unique, in His image, and the way we are to be. He has distributed gifts upon us as he wills. We must use our gifts to His glory. But none of us have all of the gifts necessary in the Body of Christ. Just as a body cannot survive with just a head or just a foot or just a heart, neither can the Body of Christ function with just certain gifts. It takes all of us combined to form the Body. We must respect each other because God made each of us.
This is something that I need to work on. It is easy for me to say, "that person is so annoying, I cannot stand them." This is certainly not respecting the person. Do I need to become best friends with them? Certainly not, there are some people I get along with some people I do not. However, I can at least respect the person for who God made them. I can still see the value that they bring to the Body.
This unity is the result of Love. John Wesley said that we must have unity in essentials, freedom in non-essentials, charity in all things. Paul mentions, after discussing the gifts that the spririt gives, that he will show us yet a greater way, Love. Paul also writes of fath, hope, and love, love will always remain. Our faith will become sight, our hope will become reality, but love will remain for eternity.
So with this knowledge, how is a Christian to respond? First, be content with how God made you. At the beginning of this blog, I wrote about contentment. Be OK with who God made you. However, do not become complacent. Continue to push farther! God made us how he wanted us, but rarely do we use his gifts and abilities to their fullest. Continue to strive for perfection in Christ and the person God made you to be. And most important, learn to live with one another by love.
Worship One, Love All, Together!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Listening to the words of Moses
You can read Psalm 90 in its entirety at this website, or by googling Psalm 90. We will take a look at a few passages from the psalm.
First, my contemplation on people who are briefly in your life. There have been many people who I have met once or spent a short amount of time with, only to never see or talk to them again. People who you meet and have a short conversation with or do something with. People who you wouldn't mind spending more time with, but never do. For whatever reason, we often come across people like this. We look back at the short time with them and remember it fondly or at least not being a bad time and wish it could have been longer.
3 You turn men back to dust,
saying, "Return to dust, O sons of men."
4 For a thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
5 You sweep men away in the sleep of death;
they are like the new grass of the morning-
6 though in the morning it springs up new,
by evening it is dry and withered.
Moses tells us that our lives are fleeting. From dust we came and to dust we shall return.
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
10 The length of our days is seventy years—
or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
Moses continues to talk about the shortness of life. 70 years, maybe 80 if we are strong. I find it interesting that this is written thousands of years ago, yet our lives really aren't that much longer. We consider people in their 70s to have lived a long life, if in the 80s or 90s, they have lived a very long life. The few that make it to 100 and considered great people. Thousands of years and all of our knowledge doesn't give us a life too much longer than in Moses' time. Granted he lived 120 years!
How quickly we pass away! One day here on earth, the next dead. Those who know us pass on and all the earth is left with of us is the dirt from our body. Last night at church, the pastor used an illustration of John Lennon. He mentioned that when talking with some of the college students about him, many didn't know who he was or only knew a few songs he wrote. A man as well known as John Lennon, even his memory passes away in only 20-30 years.
12 Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Relent, O LORD! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
Moses is constantly reminding us of the wrath of God, rightly being brought on us because of our sins. But at the end of the psalm, he tells us to count our days. Make the best of these days. Be welcoming of the work of the Lord and that he will establish the work of our hands.
We have few years on this earth. Some are given only a few years, some many, but more than 100, very few. Even then , 110 or 115 is the maximum for anyone to live today. We do not have many days. Make the most of them. Make the most of the time you do get to spend with people. That doesn't mean to cram as much into the time as possible, but to make the most of it. When you have to opportunity to spend time with someone who you may never see again, make the most of it. Sprinkle your conversation with grace and mercy. Allow God to work through your time, conversation, and action. Our days may be fleeting, but the work of the Lord echoes through eternity. Don't waste your time!
