Concrete & Sand... [2]

So what is behind the lunacy of my suggestion to make a life goal of following God in the sand rather than in concrete? Well, simply stated, life. And the Bible, and sin, and our weakness, and God’s faithfulness, and our power to choose.

Let’s be honest; life is difficult. The Bible does not hide this fact. Life is difficult because sin has done a number on us – far greater a number than we all too often realize I fear. We must also be clear, we are weak. And not only is this OK to admit, it is necessary if you are to follow God. Yet while we are weak, God is faithful. And when we acknowledge our weakness we can exercise our power to choose – and choose Him.

A reason I am suggesting a life goal of following God be made in the sand is because (and please recall the analogy disclaimer of yesterday) if you “draw a line in the sand,” so to say (or place your handprint and initials in sand, to keep with the concrete analogy of yesterday), and you want it to stay there (meaning you mean it), you have to revisit it daily. If your decision to follow God is made in concrete, you can mistakenly think that commitment will stand the test of time – no matter if you revisit it or not. Make no mistake about it, if you are going to resolutely follow God throughout your life, it is a commitment you will have to daily revisit.

A way of revisiting this commitment is through thanksgiving. In fact, I am becoming convinced that thanksgiving is the most fundamental thing we must do in following God. When you revisit your “line in the sand,” you further etch it as you recall what God has done for you. Yet in giving God thanks you dare not stop with what He has done for only you. You must also thank God for what He has done for others, for what He has done throughout history, and for what He has done to advance His Kingdom. Thanksgiving is tantamount to trust in God. And trust in God (or faith) is a prerequisite to following God. 

Another reason I am suggesting a life goal of following God be made in the sand is because your “line in the sand” will be met with challenges. We will call them the “storms of life.” What happens to a line in the sand during a storm? Yep, it gets washed away. At the least it becomes less noticeable. Have you ever been guilty of running away from God when things got difficult in your life? If you have not then congratulations, you and Jesus are the only ones to have never done that! In other words, of course you have. Yet if you know your commitment to follow God is in the sand, you know this commitment is susceptible and in danger of being washed away and forgotten when times get hard.

Let’s face it, pretty much all growth in life is through difficulty. Ever watch a baby learn to walk? It is humorous for us...but can be painful and frustrating for them. Ever watch world-class athletes? The grace and power and skill mask countless hours of grueling workouts and sacrifice. Ever watch a skilled laborer do their part in making a house? Have you ever considered their skills have come through hours of learning as well as having made many mistakes? The list of examples is endless. 

I think a reason why so many followers of Jesus are struggling and practically infants in their faith is because they do not embrace difficulty. When “life happens” and things get hard, they turn to a variety of things rather than to God (just to be clear, we have all done this). And all the while their line in the sand is beaten and all but washed away. Tragically, in place of the commitment to follow God (which includes relying on and trusting in Him), in deceptive ways mind you, comes a commitment to whatever they turned to in the time of difficulty (shopping, TV, giving into whatever thoughts enter their mind, eating, cutting, being busy, etc.). Yes, to keep our line in the sand – our commitment to follow God – we must revisit it daily. Indeed, often we need to revisit it multiple times a day, especially when the storms of life come. And let’s be honest, what day is totally “storm free” in your life?  

There are other reasons why I am suggesting a life goal of following God be made in the sand, but those will have to wait for another time.

Concrete & Sand... [1]

Some rather common wisdom concerning goals and achieving them is that you set your goal in concrete and make your plans in sand. Behind this thinking is the reality of life. Situations will arise, so how you plan to accomplish a given goal may have to change. It is obviously easier to change something in the sand than it is to change something etched in concrete. Furthermore, a goal made in concrete connotes a sense of permanence and stability.

Yet when it comes to following God, I am inviting you to consider with me the value of placing this life goal in the sand and leaving concrete out of the picture all together. Why would you even suggest this? Just read along please. Haven’t you ever read about the foolish and wise builders Jesus talked about? Which ones, those in Matthew 7 or those in Luke 14?  

Have you ever made (or seen) handprints in concrete? Examples with which I am familiar are agrarian (perhaps because not many children want to ‘immortalize’ their handprint with a name in the city limits). When the pad was poured for whatever (floor of a shop, approach to building, a sidewalk, etc.), a place was reserved for handprints in the concrete accompanied with initials (sometimes full names) and a date. It is kind of cool really. Yet, how often are those memorials (which is what they seem to be) forgotten? Oh to be sure, a person can revisit a site from their childhood and “remember when” if you will. Yet how often do the events of “remember when” come back to their mind without revisiting the site?   

Let the reader understand, this is an analogy. Analogies do not prove truth, they illustrate truth. Furthermore, all analogies will eventually break down at some point. So, let this be what it is – an analogy.

There are many who have “made a goal in concrete,” if you will, and have not revisited that goal in any substantial way for years. The intention is good: “I will be faithful to you as my wife/husband” or “I will follow God whole-heartedly” or “I am convicted, I will no longer ______”. A concrete resolve is made, with good intentions, but over time it is ignored. Granted, something might spur the person to “remember when,” but what follows the trip down memory lane is not set in concrete. Indeed, the trip can go a few ways. For some, it will embolden the person and they will recommit to their initial goal in concrete. After all, they meant what they said. For others, it will lead to the person being disheartened and defeated as they think, “Wow, a lot of good that commitment did me…just like a lot of other things in my life – F.A.I.L.U.R.E. – I may as well give up.” Yet they meant what they said as well... 

The above is not only unfortunate. It is also tragic. Worse yet, it is also reality day after day after day. What is the divorce rate in our culture? [And no, I am not saying a lack of commitment is behind all divorces – there are many factors] How many people have initially decided to follow God only to, at the least, wane in that commitment if not fall away? How many have been convicted that “this is the last time” only to return to it, or have it return – with a vengeance?

What if the goal was made in sand?  I realize I involved some other goals above, but I will now return to the life goal of following God – you can make the application for other life goals easy enough. Yet...Made in sand? What, like something that takes hardly any effort? Like something that can be easily washed away or eroded? To those inquiries I answer “No” and “Yes.” We will explore why next time… 

If I Were God...

If I were God, I think I would have done things differently.  Yes, I realize the foolishness of that statement.  However, if I were God, I think I would have done things differently.  


One thing the Bible clearly shows us is how, even in the midst of judgment, God is graceful.  E.g., after "the fall" Adam and Eve are not kicked out of Eden because God is vindictive, mean, or pulling a power play.  The Bible says, 22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life (Gen3:22-24).  They were kicked out because God did not want the crowning point of His creation living in a perpetually fallen state and continually succumbing to the temptation to prolong a life in which our relationship with Him has been distorted (let alone how we would be killing one another to have access to that means).  In other words, without this act of grace fallen humanity would seek to live forever in these fallen/earthly vessels and therefore never experience the joy of an unhindered relationship with our Creator.  


This pattern of God's grace woven into judgment is throughout the Bible - quite amazing I think.  Yet as far as me doing things differently if I were God, let us look at another event.  In Genesis 11 God confuses the common tongue of humanity and disperses them to fill the earth.  This is an act of grace because it puts humanity on track with God's original intention rather than densely populating one place (cf. Gen1:28; 11:2,4).  We need to face reality, people blatantly disobeying God living in close quarters is never a good thing.  It simply compounds problems.  Yet out of this judgment (with grace woven into it) comes another act of grace - God calls Abram.  Most reading this know the basics of how that story goes.  


And here is where I would do things differently.  I would not have waited so long to call Abram, well, at least one like Abram (if you know what I mean).  After all, how long was it from Noah to Abram?  Let alone from Adam and Eve to Abram?  I have no idea.  In fact, no one really knows for sure.  So I have a dilemma.  On one hand I would not have waited that long "to call Abram".  Yet on the other hand I know I am finite and do not see the bigger picture.  So where does that leave me?  Well, if I am wise, it leaves me wrestling with living within the God-given gift of limitations.  


It is so easy to think "God needs to do ______."  It is also common to think "Well, if I do not ______ then no one will."  Granted, there is nothing wrong with seeing an injustice and thinking God ought to do something about it.  Furthermore, there are likely times where if you do not act another will not.  Yet do these realities mean if God does not act in your time frame then He will never act?  Or that if you do not do something then God is incapable of raising up someone else?  


Do you see why the gift of limits is a difficult one?  Receiving the gift of limits means I must (continually) acknowledge I am not God; I do not know best.  Receiving the gift of limits means I must also trust God; His faithfulness has been continually proven.  Receiving the gift of limits just might also mean many questions we ask and get bogged down with might not be that important...or at least they pale in importance to the question of whether or not we trust God.  


Ah yes, limitations.  We all have them...not many of us enjoy them.  Yet to be a growing disciple of Jesus we must embrace them.  Interestingly, since inherent in receiving the gift of limits is trusting God, it means we again must take a serious look at what He says is best for us.  After all, what He says defines our limits; He knows best.   


Here are some Scriptures that deal with what we are to "put on" and "put off" (Rom13:12-14; Gal3:27; Eph4:17-24, 25-32; 6:11-20; Col3:5-17; 1Thess5:6-11; Heb12:1-2; Jas1:19-27; 1Pet2:1-3).  If we are serious about receiving God's gift of limits we will seek to "put on" and "put off" what He says.  OR...would you rather to continue playing the game of "If I Were God..."?  


In other words, would you rather continue to redefine your limits?





NOTE: 
Last August I started preaching through the gospel of Mark.  There was a short intermission for a focus on stewardship in November, a Sunday here and there have not been in Mark as well, but most of the time since last August we have been in Mark.  Then (along with a trip to Blessing Ranch in Colorado) I got to Mark 7 (particularly verses 20-23) in May.  Since that time we have been looking at issues of the heart.  After all, Jesus said that within our heart are all the problems of the world (cf. Mk7:21-22 and a list of 12 things, a Jewish number for completeness, that are evil and are within us).

So, with that in mind, plus using concepts from Peter Scazzero's The Emotionally Healthy Church, we have been looking at heart issues for the past several weeks.  This weekend we are looking at receiving the gift of limits.  This is a difficult topic for me...a few reflections you have likely already read.

A Picture is Worth...

For those of you who may have found this blog from the New Life Christian Church website (http://nlccoe.com/), you may wonder why the picture...and what exactly is it?

The main focus of the picture is the statue of the "Servant King" - I do not know if that is the official name for the statue, but that is what I am most recently calling it. It depicts Jesus washing Peter's feet (cf. John 13). Let me rephrase that, it depicts the King of kings and Lord of lords (also the One in Whom creation is held together-cf. Colossians 1, the Lion of the tribe of Judah...Who is also a slain Lamb-cf. Revelation 5, the Alpha & Omega- cf. Revelation 1:8; 22:12-13, etc.) doing an extremely lowly task (understatement) of washing the feet of not just anyone, but one He knows will deny even knowing Him before the rooster crows (Jn13:38). Oh if only THE CHURCH would emulate this... So much more to say, but then again a picture is worth...

The statue is on the campus of Lincoln Christian University (http://lincolnchristian.edu/). The photo was taken on the day I graduated from the Seminary there (5/15/10).

The little girl touching Jesus' hair is our daughter, Ellei. If her name looks weird that is OK (the meaning behind it is more than weird to our world) - it is pronounced just like Elle (el with a "long e" on the end). It is spelled that way because it is a transliteration of a Greek word which means "He is merciful" - the He obviously being God. A prayer of ours (Melissa and I) is Ellei will be shaped by the reality of God's mercy and she will continually share it with others in both her words and deeds...

So here you have our firstborn child reaching out and touching Jesus (think of the woman who was healed/saved by touching "the fringe of His garment" in Luke 8) as He is serving a boastful braggart who would soon deny Him (think of both those "in the world" and sadly even those in the church who focus on themselves, which is sadly all of us at times...). There is so much more to say, but then again a picture is worth...

(way more than a thousand words...)