Kids

 An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, and said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.’  Jesus

To welcome a child means to accept a child in love. It means to see the child as a whole, not only what s/he appears to be now - childish behaviors, immature, "goofy," and learning adult games - but who s/he is as a person that will one day go to school, have a job, have children of their own,  talk politics, share Christ with you, and be revealed in glory. When you welcome a child, you welcome her/him as a person of equal dignity and respect.

Thinking about family traditions that we didn't have

You must not eat with it anything leavened. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it—the bread of affliction—because you came out of the land of Egypt in great haste, so that all the days of your life you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt.
                                                                                            Deuteronomy 16: 3


For a long time I had not thought about the reason why the bread for the Passover feast was unleavened. But when I read this passage a couple of days ago, I was reminded that the bread was unleavened because they were in a hurry. They couldn't wait for the bread to rise. I think the lesson is: when God saves you, move! Get out of your oppression - now! Don't wait.

Every year Hebrew families would reenact this event giving parents an opportunity to tell their children about what God had done for them, why they were eating unleavened bread, and how they escaped Egypt with their lives. Jesus saw the meaning of his own death in this event. Looking forward to his resurrection and the time of new creation before he returned as King, he told his disciples to remember their salvation in the celebration of this event.

I know that as Christians we go to church and "take the Lord's Supper" on a weekly basis to remind us what Jesus did for us, the new covenant of forgiveness that we enjoy, and the fact that we are now family in the Body of Christ. It is the celebration of our salvation, our escape from sin, and, most of all, it is the celebration of the love of our Savior, Jesus the Christ. But as good as all that is in church,  I wish I had done something more "in family" - like the Hebrew people. I think that there must have been something particularly faith-strengthening in the family celebration of salvation that teaches children and reminds parents of the truths of their salvation.

What do you think? Do you think that we Americans who are not much for traditions - especially religious family traditions - can start traditions that teach and reinforce faith?

How to face failure, how to face the end

Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.... And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. John 13


I love this passage - it mesmerizes me and I am so thankful for it. First, it tells me what I need to be doing until the end: loving the people that God has put into my life.

Second, it tells me how to do it: serve others like a slave, taking no concern for how I might look.

Third, it tells me the key to keeping focus when things get tough: remember that I have come from God, that I have been given "all things" and that I am going to God.

Isn't it amazing that Jesus was able to focus on the fact that he "had everything" when by all appearances, he had nothing? He was shamed and humiliated on the cross, stripped of every possession, and tortured. Looking at him, you would say that he was a complete, pathetic failure with no one beside him other than criminals.

And yet.

He knew that he had everything.

He knew where he had come from.

He knew where he was going.

So he just kept on loving.

And serving.

Dying,

He lived

And lives still.

This is our pattern and our hope.

Praise Him!

Thinking about church, community, our kids and all their families

Aunt Jan's funeral was yesterday. It was sad, moving, and glorious. Lots of crying and laughter, just like most funerals of the saints.

There was a lot of talk about the Rylie church that was the home church for Aunt Jan and Uncle Jack and mom and dad for about 60 years now. It is the church that they helped to found and where I and many of those at the funeral "grew up;" A lot of the talk was about all the good that came out of that small community, often in spite of our religious beliefs. We talked about how Rylie's saving grace was the love shown in the strength of the relationships: people stayed in the same place, were involved in each others lives, and "showed up" at each others' significant events - marriage, funerals, hospital stays, etc. I would also add that, for me, another saving grace was the emphasis at Rylie on God as our ultimate authority and the fact that the Bible was his Word, the revealing of his will. We were taught and believed that God was to be taken seriously - more seriously than anything else; therefore, pay attention to his word. This was a great thing for me, because ultimately, God used these tenets of faith to help deconstruct for me some awfully bad theology that we lived with.

Here's the thing. As great as the gift of Rylie was to us, and as great as it was to have for my entire childhood this small community of people as supports in our lives, it is God who works to produce what we need and he does that through a variety of different family, church and social situations.

I did not give my children the same church, home and school situation that I enjoyed. We did not have the same kind of lifelong friends that my parents had with Jack and Jan, going to church with them week after week, in the same place for 60 years or so. But I think that our kids did receive other spiritual advantages because of their childhood situations. They in turn will not be able to give their kids all the same advantages that they enjoyed, but they will bless their children with different blessings.

Here is the key I think for blessing our children. First, understand that it is through God that all blessings flow. He is the source of all blessings and throughout his long history with his people he has found ways to bless through all kinds of different cultural and social situations. Then, bathe everything that you do in love: love God with all your heart, always seeking to do his will, and love your neighbor as God has loved you. If you do this - and you will make mistakes and you will experience "sin interference"- still, God will bless your children's lives just as you were blessed, your parents before you, and their parents before them.

Praise be to Him!

Musings Along the Road

There's a story of Elisha in a city surrounded by enemy armies who have come looking for him. Elijah's servant is terrified. So Elisha asks God, "O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see." (2 Kings 6: 17). The servant’s eyes are opened, and he sees the hills surrounding the city filled with "horses and chariots of fire." The curtain has been drawn back, the veil between heaven and our dimension has been ripped apart, and for a brief moment an earthling sees Reality as it is.

I love the "walking along the road to Emmaus" story. Two are walking along the road on the Sunday after Jesus' death (husband and wife? two friends? family members?). Then Jesus "comes near" (a fast walker?). But they don't recognize him. They talk about Jesus' death and their own disappointments, grief and surprise at the talk that some had seen Jesus alive. He sets them straight - they haven't understood that all this was "necessary." They all stop and eat, and, Jesus, still the stranger, praying, then breaking the bread to begin their meal. Then, an electrifying moment of recognition - it's Jesus! But just as quickly, he's gone. The curtain has been drawn back, the veil between heaven and our dimension has been ripped apart, and for a brief moment new creation has been fully in view.

I was on the road to Commerce praying and thanking God for the wonders he has given us. I was imagining the creation as it is, raising its branches, shining in light, shouting its praises, bursting into song to the Lord of Glory. And I begin to wonder if the Amish were right after all. 

The Amish do not participate in "modern practices." They drive buggies instead of cars. They dress plainly and live according to rules that seem to rule out most if not all industrial products and practices. Probably because of my religious background, I had always thought they must be the ultimate restoration legalists, trying to live their lives according to first century rules, like the Rechabites of Jeremiah's time who seem to believe that the only true way to live was to live in tents like Abraham had done. 

But what if the Amish have stumbled on to a way of living that recognizes reality: the earth is the Lord's and all that is in it? That one day, the groaning creation will "will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God?" That right now it would be a good time to take care of the earth by living according to different kinds of goals and values? Maybe producing the most at all costs is not the ultimate value in life? Have they stumbled onto the fulfillment of the first command to take care of creation?

After a demented man entered one of their schoolhouses and massacred their children, the Amish community went to that man's family to grieve with them and offer their forgiveness and compassion. Even our mass media was "in shock and awe." But I am wondering - maybe a people who have not been blinded by compulsive consumerism and its justifications and rationalizations have learned to see more clearly the things that are important, eternal, and real.

What do you think about when you are hurt?

But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.”

                                                                              Luke 23: 28 - 29

Jesus has been up all night through five different trials, has been deserted by his closest friends, and subjected to horrific abuse and torture. And when he hears the women of Jerusalem, his heart is touched by their cries. He sees what is happening to him and what is going to happen to the people of Jerusalem through the lenses of the Old Testament prophesy and his compassion is for these women.

He is not thinking about his rights.
He is not concerned about the injustices that he is suffering.
He is not focused on the wickedness of his enemies.
His mind is filled with the plight of those who will be there in 70 A.D. when the Romans will completely destroy Jerusalem after one of the worst historical sieges that has ever occurred.

When I think of how incensed I can become when I am the victim of someone's wrongdoing or thoughtlessness and how the sense of injustice "against me" can completely fill my mind and then think of Jesus in this passage, I am humbled. He doesn't just teach us God's way, he shows us.

Who are you listening to?

But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. 
                                                                       Luke 23: 23

"The sqeaky wheel gets the grease."

Somehow it seems way too trivial to think of Jesus's death coming as the result of "the squeaky-wheel-gets-the grease" adage coming true. It trivializes something very profound and dangerous. Pilate listens to the crowd and makes the worst mistake of his life.

Talking with a friend the other day who brought up something that I saw happen a lot
in my work at Dallas Christian School. Bosses seemed to make their choices based
on who had caught their ear at the time. Instead of listening to everyone to see all the
different perspectives and then acting out of principle and consideration of what is
good and right for all, their decisions seemed to be determined by who had just caught
their ear. If a person(s) came to them with a lot of passion and a lot of clout, the boss
would make his decision accordingly. Just like Pilate.

So who do you listen to?

Find a time and a place in your life where you listen very carefully to the One who you should listen to.

The One who never will lead you wrong.
Who always advises in love.
Who is wise above all.
Who you want to be like,
No matter who is yelling at you and all around you,
Make your decisions based on His voice.
Turn off the other clamor.
It is just noise.

It is so important who you are listening to.