Peas and thank you, Glenn!
Posted on: January 1, 2012
Back in college, a friend and I had a conversation one day about ships and shoes and sealing wax and cabbages and ….. peas. I grew up with a dad who never met a food he didn’t like. Oh, he’d admit that some he liked better than others, but the concept of “not liking” a food was totally outside his comprehension. This meant that we kids were raised with the expectation that WE would like all foods….. sooner or later. “I’ve tried it a million times and I DON’T LIKE IT!!!” we would politely screech. “But maybe THIS TIME you will!” was his never-changing reply. No quarter given. Unless it sent you into anaphylactic shock, you were expected to eat it.
He wanted us kids to be adventurous eaters, welcoming all foods, as easy to please as he himself was. Admirable goal. However, the effect his method had on me was quite the opposite of what he intended. I reached adulthood a terribly picky eater, with sharply defined lists of Foods I Like (a not terribly long list) and Foods I Do NOT Like (a veeeery long list, indeed!). I could go to a potluck at church with tables brimming over with dishes of every variety, and barely find enough “safe” food to fill my plate. No anonymous casseroles for me, thank you! And that one looks like it might have something strange in it. I don’t recognize that vegetable. … You get the idea.
For some reason, my intense resentment against my dad’s insistence on liking everything, and on eating things which I already knew I didn’t like distilled itself most distinctly in a hatred of …. Little. Green. Peas. I hated them with a passion usually reserved for black mold, athlete’s foot, or lice. Early in my friendship with Glenn at Whitworth, he had revealed to me that he, too, found the tiny, round things repulsive. Nothing like a shared hatred to cement a growing camaraderie, right? So, imagine my surprise – no, shock – when one day I discovered him eating peas. Deliberately. On purpose. With willful, though not suicidal, intent. When I asked him for an explanation, he gave an intriguing reply. “I’m trying to get away from thinking about foods only in terms of what I ‘like’ or ‘don’t like’. I’m trying to just train myself to think, ‘Ok, this is just what peas taste like.’”
I confess that, at the time, I didn’t really get it, and I can’t say it had much impact on my eating habits. At least, not consciously. But over the last ten years or so, little by little, I have been breaking out of my food prison, and those wise words of my friend have come back to me many a time. In particular, I set myself the task of revisiting those foods that I was so sure I Did Not Like, to simply explore “What do those foods taste like, anyway?” You see, for most of them, it had been so long since I actually even tried them that I had no idea! The results have been pretty fun. Many of those previously-rejected foods I have discovered I now like. Even LOVE. Cherries, avocados, figs, kiwi, oh, my! Some foods I have confirmed the reason they were on my Do Not Like List in the first place. Even the smell of canned salmon still makes me ill. A host of other foods I have found that I can eat with equanimity by simply accepting that “this is what this food tastes like”. I even gave peas a chance, and found that, cooked right, they’re not bad. I’m still not the adventurous eater my dad was, and I don’t expect I ever will be. That’s ok. I’m me, not him. But at least now I when I go to a potluck, I’m not worried about starving! I’m gaining food freedom.
I’m finding a wider application of this principle as well. Not surprisingly, food isn’t the only area of life wherein I have been so busy consigning things to specific positive or negative categories based solely on my own bias that I haven’t had time to learn to simply appreciate them for what they are. People. Music. The way people dress. Decisions people make. By concentrating on evaluating these so that I can categorize them to a “Like” or “Do Not Like”, “approve” or “do not approve” I think I’ve missed out on a lot of life.
Obviously, some people I will immediately feel an attraction to, and some I will feel repulsed by, but the most important thing about someone shouldn’t be whether or not I like him, but who he IS. I have found that I can learn to appreciate many good characteristics of someone that I don’t feel any particular affinity for. I can even appreciate abilities of people I can’t stand when I look farther than just the fact that I don’t like them. And for those few who I do not like and are consistently obnoxious, accepting that that is simply the way they are frees me from feeling in any way “surprised” at their actions and stops them from being able to control me by jerking my emotional chain.
I know all the reasons many people are prejudiced against tattoos, and I’ll agree that there are a lot of really ugly tatts out there. For a lot of years, I had a reaction of “Ugh. I don’t like tattoos.” But in more recent years, I have learned to appreciate the beauty of the art that is in many of them, and more importantly, I have found that engaging someone in the “whys” of their ink can give me important insights into their life. If all I do is say, “I don’t like tattoos”, then I have shut the door. Tattoos are just art on PEOPLE. Ordinary people. I don’t want to give a tattoo the power to blind me to the person wearing it.
I don’t enjoy my son’s screaming mimi (Christian!) rock music – but if just say, “I don’t like it. It’s bad. It’s not really music.” I’ve shut the door on ever being able to learn to appreciate what it is about the music that my son LIKES. If I can accept the music as being what it is – “This is just what this music sounds like” – perhaps I can find a new way to relate to my son. (…OK, there’s gotta be another way!!)
I have enough to do in this life without wasting so much time worrying about other people’s business, and whether I “like” or “do not like” what they’ve done. In this new year ahead, I want to learn to just appreciate the experiences of life more and more, in and of themselves. Whether I “like” it or not, I want to taste the flavor of life in all its fullness!
Happy New Year! Peas, choy and loaves to all!
The End From the Beginnning
Posted on: December 25, 2011
How calm an image, mother and child,
Mary, oh, so meek and mild,
Jesus, chubby infant sweet
With pudgy baby hands and feet.
A soft glow the atmosphere seems to fill,
A scene to treasure, peaceful and still.
How unwillingly our eyes are turned
To a scene where angry crowds are churned.
No more the mother’s fond embrace;
Rough wooden beams her arms replace.
No swaddling clothes, so warm and soft;
Hard nails hold His naked body aloft.
No angels singing God’s praises are there;
Rather, taunts, jeers and curses fill the air.
Once worshipped by shepherds on bended knee,
Now hailed by soldiers with mockery.
The tender infant, now grown to a man,
Takes on the role that only He can.
Yet again the scene changes, and now behold
Another part of the story is told.
No cows lowing heard, nor shouts of the crowd;
A silence profound fills the sepulcher’s shroud
In the still air, no foul stench of fear or of death;
The burial spices give their sweet-scented breath.
Once laid in a manger, now laid in a tomb,
The death of Christ brings unto Death its own doom!
The grave cannot hold Him, however it tries.
He bursts its bonds, rises, ascends to the skies!
Only one scene is left to finish the story
When Christ, the Messiah, returns in His glory.
No more the sweet Babe of the Bethlehem stall,
But this time the King of Kings, Lord over all.
The end from the very beginning was known:
The manger was but one small step toward His throne.
Susie Aasen, 2005
A BLESSED CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!
Permission to reprint given as long as the author’s name and source are included in the transmission.
Script writing
Posted on: December 21, 2011
Most people don’t believe in fairy tales. At least, they’d certainly tell you that they don’t. But lately I’ve been thinking about how often we do, in fact, have a script planned out for how our life is supposed to turn out. Some of us get pretty detailed in building our castles in the air. God’s supposed to get me into This University, where He’s supposed to find me a wife/husband who is blond, cute, and rich, then He’ll get me this job, in this city, paying this much, and then He’ll give us the correct number and gender of children at the correct timing. We will never fight, our kids will never rebel, we’ll never get seriously ill, we’ll never have money troubles, we’ll always have a great church, and we’ll reach the end of our life looking back and just marveling at how good God was to us.
Sounds ridiculous, huh? No one would really expect that, would they? Probably not – at least, not in so many words. But I’ll bet if we were really honest, we all have far more specific expectations than we might admit to, or even be aware of. Want to know the quickest way of finding out what we do actually expect? Have something go the other way!! When we find ourselves with that “Wait a minute! That’s not how it was supposed to be!” reaction, it’s a sure bet that we just hit an unrealized expectation. Our script just got edited.
Last Sunday’s sermon happened to tangentially bring up the Matthew passage where Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” In context, He was speaking of material goods, those that may be stolen, eaten by moths or rusted, though in application we broaden the sense to non-material items of value. But hearing the passage this time, in conjunction with these other ponderings of late, I was struck anew by the reverse implications of the verse: we can tell what we treasure most by where we have most set our hearts.
We all pray “Thy will be done”, but if we look at our response to life’s events, I think we can gain insight into what we are truly treasuring. When things are going the way we want them to, of course, it can be difficult to tell if we’re treasuring God’s will being done or treasuring getting to have our way, but when things go off-script, and our dancing sugar plums explode, it becomes very clear where our heart is. If what we are actually valuing is having our own way, we are in trouble!
When God took away all the blessings He had given Job, Job’s wife told him to just go ahead and curse God and die. She must have thought that God had to be awfully mad at Job to do all those nasty things to him, and, if He was that mad, He was probably only waiting for one slight provocation more to squash him like a bug. Job cursing him? Yeah, that should do the trick! Get the suffering over with. If honoring God didn’t get Job the “right” outcome to the story, then forget the honoring God stuff! Her reaction to God’s actions prove that she saw God as capricious and vengeful, and that she had her heart set on having things her way. She didn’t understand God at all. But Job did! Job said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” I’m sure Job had had his own ideas of what the rest of his life was “supposed” to play out like, visions of his kids and grandkids and his growing financial empire. Yet Job acknowledged God’s right to do with and to him whatever He would. Job didn’t hold any idea that God OWED it to him to continue his future as his past had been. It wasn’t that Job wasn’t upset, or didn’t ask God about what was going on. He was, and he did. However, Job’s reaction to God’s actions prove that he saw God as infinitely Trustworthy, and that Job had his heart set on God having HIS way, whether or not he, Job, understood it. He understood God’s freedom to change the script!
When things in our life aren’t going according to script, we have the same choice as Job: to trust “though He slay me”, and be upheld through our trials, or to “curse God and die”, denying ourselves His fellowship and help. But we’ll only be ready to make Job’s choice if we have first set our hearts to treasure what Job did: the will of God. If our heart is set right, last-minute script changes won’t throw us for a loop, because we’ll remember that it’s HIS script, not ours, anyway.
If you must write a script, at least use a pencil, not a Sharpie! (Just remember, God’s eraser works on BOTH!)
The freedom to fail
Posted on: December 17, 2011
I’m back from our visit to our son, daughter-in-love and newest granddaughter. I’ll spare you all the panegyrics over how adorable she is; take them as read! Although our oldest daughter has had two kids, they live here in town, so although we got to see them much sooner after birth, and more frequently after, this visit was different because we spent four days in my son’s apartment. Much more intense! And boy, did it bring back memories of those first days of our own parenting adventure – the feeling of being in over our heads, in totally unfamiliar territory, with little confidence in our ability to parent this morsel of humanity. It’s been a few weeks shy of 27 years since then, and our adventure with our five kids has taken us to places we had no idea even existed. As is not uncommon, I find myself wishing I could go back and parent then with what I know now. I can’t do that, of course, but I want to share one thing that I wish I had learned a lot sooner. So here is a letter to my son and daughter-in-love, or anyone still in that journey:
Dear Phil and Brooke,
Welcome to the wonderful, crazy, scary world that is parenthood! You have no idea just what you’re in for now. Which is probably a good thing.
I have every confidence that you two are going to be great parents. You take your parenting role very seriously, giving thought to your course of action rather than simply acting on the impulse of the moment. Already you are recognizing the dying to self that good parenting requires. You are seeking the counsel of those with more experience, which is wise, but you are maintaining an independent judgment of the fitness of that counsel for your own situation, which is wiser still. Above all, you have hearts devoted to the Lord and are leaning on Him for wisdom, desiring to do what is right. Yes, you are going to be great parents.
You are also going to fail. There will be times when you put your desires above Evie’s needs. You will be impatient. You will speak in haste. You will choose the convenient over the constructive. You will ignore things you should correct and punish actions that were foolish but not disobedient. You will over-react. You will make bad decisions. In these and many other ways, you WILL fail. Welcome to parenthood!
That may not sound very encouraging, but if you can accept the inevitability of your own failures just as fully and as matter-of-factly as God does, you will have deprived the Enemy of his greatest weapons against you in the parenting venture – the fear of failure. As long as you are afraid of failure, you will be living in the Prison of Perfection – not the freedom Christ died to give you.
You see, the Enemy wants you to keep focusing on trying to be perfect. He’ll use the “if you parent ‘right’, then your kids will turn out ‘good’” lie. Sadly, even the Christian community has bought into this fallacy. You probably already read my post on the misuse of the Proverbs verse on “Train up a child”, so I won’t repeat the arguments here. I’ll just say this: There has only been ONE Perfect Parent in all of history, and HIS kids got kicked out of Eden! Trying to be the perfect parent won’t guarantee the outcome for your kids.
The Enemy says you should try to be perfect so you won’t disappoint God. But this is bogus as well. Isn’t it funny how we say that we know we’re not perfect, yet we get so upset with ourselves when confronted with the proof of it? We really do expect ourselves to be better than we are, and when our reality doesn’t meet those expectations, the result is disappointment. But God cannot be disappointed! God has no expectations other than reality. He knows even more clearly than we do just how sinful we are. Think of Jesus calmly telling Peter of the betrayal to come. There was no frostiness to His voice. No “how COULD you!” shaming tone. Jesus wasn’t shocked or disappointed at what Peter was about to do. SIN IS WHY JESUS WAS HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE. It’s HIS righteousness in us that He wants to see perfected – not our own. Our own self-improvement projects are all doomed to fail. HE’s the Professional!
Part of striving for perfection means that when we fail, we have to wear guilt like a hair shirt until we are rubbed raw and bleeding. The truth is that there’s no guilt TO wear, because Jesus already wore it. “There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.” No condemnation. Period. If God does not condemn us, how dare we condemn ourselves? We need to confess our sin to restore fellowship, but the forgiveness is already granted. Every action has its consequence, and so will our failures – but our failures don’t take God out of the equation. When Jesus told Peter, “You’re going to betray me”, He also told him, “…and when you turn back, strengthen your brothers.” Jesus was already looking beyond the failure to what use He was going to make out of it. When the Word promises that “in all things God works for the good of those that love Him” – “all things” includes our failures. Don’t ever give yourselves credit for being able to force Him into Eternal Plan B, as if you can somehow fail badly enough to screw up eternity. You can’t.
I don’t mean to sound like I think it doesn’t matter what you do as parents. Obviously, I want you to be the best and wisest and all that that you can be, and provide as little fodder for the therapists as possible. These are my grandkids we’re talking about you raising, after all. It is, however, especially for their sake that I hope it is the LORD you will take seriously, not yourselves. My grandkids don’t need your perfection; they won’t be perfect themselves. They need to see the God Who is bigger than their failures, and they’ll see Him best by seeing Him through you. Immerse yourselves in His mercy, grab onto His grace, frolic in His forgiveness, rest in His resourcefulness!
You’re going to be great parents, and you’re going to fail. And neither is what matters. You’re free to fail because HE NEVER WILL.
Back next week
Posted on: December 6, 2011
Just a note that I won’t be posting for about at least a week. We’re off to visit our son, daughter-in-love, and newest granddaughter. I’ll try to think of something good for when I get back!
Timber-r-r-r-r-r
Posted on: December 5, 2011
The Pacific NW has been one of the timber capitals of the world since white settlers first came here. Harvest now is far below what it was in its heyday, but logging trucks still roam the freeways, lumber mills are on the endangered list but not extinct, and the ports still ship forests of poles overseas. Around these parts, when you say “log”, it creates a clear picture. Which is why Jesus’ words about “specks” in our brother’s eye and “logs” in our own evokes quite the visual image.
So, I have this friend named Moe. (OK, that’s not really his name, but in this kind of literature, it’s ok to pretend and make up names so readers won’t know who you’re talking about. At least, most of them won’t. Some may guess, I suppose, but I can’t help that, because I have to tell HIS story or the rest of what I say won’t make sense.) anyway… Moe has a job where he interfaces with the public a lot. I enjoy listening to him talk about some of the interesting encounters God has arranged for him. Moe actually prays before work and ASKS God to set up these things, and he talks about feelings of purpose in his being there for them. But when Moe talks about his boss, or his work schedule… that’s another story. Then he’s pretty much just any other employee griping about work.
So, the other day I was thinking about Moe and his attitudes. With the “wisdom” we’re always ‘blessed’ with when it comes to passing judgment on others, I was thinking that maybe I should just have a quiet word with him and point out how much more effective his witness might be if he took a more godly attitude. Yes, sir, I was in feeling very upright and spiritual. Gonna help set my brother straight, you bet. For his own good, absolutely. Well…
God sighed, chuckled, shook His head, and started up a little conversation. “So, my beloved child… you think Moe’s got a problem, do you?’
“Oh, yeah. You’ve shown it to me quite clearly.”
“Oh… I have, have I? Hmm. Be that as it may… Tell me what you think the issue is.”
“Well, you see, from the way Moe complains about his boss, it seems pretty obvious that he isn’t praying for him. After all, You told us to pray for our enemies, for those who persecute us, or do us harm, and to do good to those who do us evil, didn’t you?”
“You’re certainly right. I did.”
“Moe runs his boss down pretty freely when he’s with our group. I know all kinds of details about they guy – none to his credit. I don’t think that’s very respectful.”
“Quite possibly not. I’m glad you’ve noticed this. Now I have a question for you.”
“Umm… ok.” I always get nervous when God asks me questions.
“Your husband has a job, doesn’t he?”
Oh, good – an easy one to answer. “Yes, he does, and you know how thankful I am that he has one with all the uncertainties of these times!”
“And what’s the management like there?”
“Lord, YOU know – they’re awful. I mean, really, really awful. If there’s a bad decision to make, they’ll make it. If there’s a way to shaft the employees, they’ll…”
“You’re right. I DO know. So I have another question for you. How long since you prayed for them?”
Boy, He never hesitates with getting up close and personal, does He? “Um… well… er…. ah… recently? Sometime? Yes, that’s it. I’m sure I’ve prayed for them sometime!”
“Uh-huh. And how long since you badmouthed them to someone?”
“Can I plead the fifth?”
“No. That’s not in My constitution.”
“Oh, all right then. A couple of days ago when my cousin was here.”
“And before that?”
“At the grocery store. … Bible study. … Church. … On the chat loop. … In a letter. …. Can I stop now? I get the point.”
“OK. Let’s talk about what you think Moe’s other issue is. You were thinking of telling him he should think of his work differently?”
Whew. A chance to redeem myself! “Yeah. He gripes and complains about his work schedule as if You had nothing to do with it. Surely he understands that You are in charge of that, too. And no matter how grueling it is, he can trust that You’ll get him through it – or get him through the consequences of NOT getting through it!”
“Sounds reasonable. Now back to Rob’s job.”
Uh-oh. Turning it back on me again! Red alert! “What about it?”
“I hear they’re running the department pretty badly.”
Oh, good. I was on solid ground here. (I’m pretty slow sometimes!) “Boy, howdy, are they! It’s terrible! The workers are expected to keep up with all the new technologies and systems without any training. They’re cutting personnel and pay and increasing our benefit costs and there’s this ridiculous new building they have to work in that …”
He went for the jugular.
“Yeah, you know, I went on vacation to Bermuda for a few years and just got back and was horrified at what they’d done while I was gone! I mean, if I’d been around, I never would have let those kinds of things happen. It’s not as if I could ever have any purpose in those kinds of trials and frustrations, using them to conform Rob to the image of my Son or anything like that.”
Oh, boy. I walked right into that one, didn’t I? “Wait a minute! That’s not what I meant.”
“But that’s JUST what you’re accusing Joe of! Come on, doesn’t your complaining about all these things sound like you are accusing me of being asleep at the wheel?”
By now, I’m sure my face was blushing fire-engine red. “Well, now that you put it that way…. sure.”
“And am I the only one you’ve shared these complaints with?
“Ummmmm….. no.”
“No is right, kiddo! You’ve been as free in those complaints as in talking about the management. How long has it been since you read I Thess. 5:18? ‘Give thanks in all circumstances.'”
“Yesterday, actually. I was thinking …. of …. Moe.”
“But when you think of yourself, where did you find a footnote that said, ‘unless you don’t LIKE the circumstances’?”
“Um…. Hezekiah 3:11b?”
“Har har. There isn’t one and you know it. I said ALL and I mean ALL.”
“Well, like I said before, I’ve always been thankful that Rob has a job! Isn’t that enough?”
“Nope. Being thankful for A job isn’t the same as being thankful for THIS job. Don’t you believe that if I’d wanted him someplace else I could have arranged to move him any time I wanted??”
“Well…. yeah.”
“So, you’ve prayed for me to move him, and I’ve said ‘no’. What does that tell you?”
“That he’s where you want him to be?”
“You got it! And if he’s where I want him to be, is that something to complain about?”
Sigh. “No. … But …. well …. can’t I even talk about them at all? After all, they are hard things to deal with.”
“Sure you can talk about them. You just can’t complain about them. You can ask for prayer about them for you to have a godly response. You can even ask for Me to change them, as long as you’re ready to accept whatever answer I give. But I think you’ll find that the more you do what I’ve told you to do – praying for ‘enemies’ like the nefarious management and thanking Me in all circumstances – the less you’ll feel the need to even talk about them. …. Now, about Moe?”
By now, of course, I was feeling pretty low – lower than a snake’s bellybutton in a wagon rut, as the old saying goes. Moe’s issue? Ha! A speck of dust floating on the breeze. Mine? One big, ugly, so-big-you-coud-drive-a-bus-through, old-growth California redwood! Oh, yeah, it was definitely log harvesting time. “Wow, Lord, I’ve been really blind, huh?”
“Not the first time, dearheart. That’s why you need a Saviour, you know.”
“I’m sorry! Thank you for forgiving me for my own wrong attitudes, and for being self-righteous about Moe’s. And thanks for keeping me from having that talk with Moe! It would have been a sin against him to do it…. Not to mention making an even bigger slice of humble pie to eat.”
“Seeing better without that log in your eye?”
“Oh, yeah. But I have a feeling this isn’t the last of these logs you need to harvest.”
“It’s not, but we’ll deal with them as you’re ready. This is part of conforming YOU, you know. I’m happy to do it!”
So… anyone need some firewood?
Ever read Fox’s Book of Martyrs? I confess I haven’t. Not the whole thing, anyway – just enough excerpts to curdle my blood. I’ve also read a number of accounts of modern martyrs of the faith. There are more who have died for Christ’s sake in the last century than in all the time since Christ’s own death. With that in mind, I now turn to the plight of the poor American Christian who must endure the persecution of ….. The Annual Christmas War.
I expect to hear the first salvo any minute now: some Christian complaining because the world is disrespecting Christmas. “Why can’t the clerks say ‘Merry CHRISTMAS’ instead of “Happy Holidays’?!!!” “Why won’t schools sing songs about JESUS?!!!!” “Put CHRIST back in CHRISTMAS!!!!” “Why can’t we have a Nativity in the Capitol?!!!” “Don’t they know how stupid it sounds to call a Christmas tree a ‘holiday tree’?” It gets more strident with every December that passes. It makes me shake my head, it really does. It’s so senseless!
To complain about the world not keeping Christmas is to fault the world for not celebrating that which it has NO REASON to celebrate in the first place. The Bible makes plain that the world loves darkness instead of light (John 3:19), suppresses the truth by its wickedness (Ro. 1:18), is futile in its thinking and its heart is darkened (Ro. 1:21), is filled with every kind of wickedness and is a God-hater (Ro. 1:29, 30), it has rejected the truth and followed evil (Ro. 2:8). Those in the world walk totally and completely in the flesh, which is hostile to God, and does not – and CANNOT – submit to God’s law. The world stands already damned. (John 3:18) It has every reason in this world to hate, loathe, and detest Christ Himself, let alone give a fig about some “holy” day His followers have chosen to declare. The world can’t “put Christ back in Christmas”, because for them, He was never there.
Since the world can’t celebrate Christmas, those in the world who want to celebrate a form of Christmas substitute other versions created in man’s likeness. Stuffmas is the celebration of gifts. Since affluenza is the defining characteristic of American culture, it should be no surprise that this time of year is when it is seen in its most acute form. There’s the celebration of Santa Day, usually accompanied by Rudoph, Frosty, and the rest of the gang. The modern American Santa is the incarnation of works righteousness. Santa is a God-figure, or at least, God as many wish He would be: an all-seeing and all-knowing miracle worker, giving rewards to those who are “good” and punishment to those who are “bad” – but really, such a jovial and kindly old man that we know he couldn’t ever truly be angry, but will look on most offenses with a wink and a nod. Many in the world don’t mind celebrating Sweet Baby Jesus Day; after all, who doesn’t love babies, all helpless and innocent and inoffensive? For most who celebrate this day, the babe in the manger is eternally an infant, never growing up. Even for those who think about the fact that the baby became a man, they will acknowledge Him only as a “good man” or “wise teacher”. They cannot face the reality of Jesus as LORD. The plethora of “feel good” movies celebrating the “”True Meaning of Christmas Day” are all about generosity, sharing, caring, and giving of oneself, often self-righteously repudiating Stuffmas while occasionally embracing Sweet Baby Jesus Day. When stripped to their basic premise, however, all are making a statement about man’s essential goodness. That is, deep down, we’re all really good people, and would be warm, kind, generous, and loving if we just opened ourselves up and let our inner goodness shine. All four of these celebrations are pretty poor subsitutes for celebrating the birth of the Messiah; but they’re the best the world can do.
To complain about the world not keeping Christmas is to fault the world for not acting as if OUR holiday were the only one that mattered. America has never been as homogeneous as some would like to believe, but certainly by now no one should carry any illusions as to our uniformity. Christmas – even the world’s forms of it – is NOT the only holiday going on at this time of year, and especially for those in the marketplace, there is a vested interest in trying to appease all sides. Christmas-purists may be offended by a “Happy Holidays” greeting, but NON-celebrators feel no differently about “Merry Christmas!” – and if the former say, “Well, they shouldn’t be so sensitive; it doesn’t hurt them to hear ‘Merry Christmas'”, the reverse is just as true. Or maybe businesses should just rotate their greetings? “Merry Christmas!”, “Happy Hanukkah!”, “Happy Kwanzaa!”, “Happy Bodhi Day!”, “Happy Winter Solstice!”, “Happy Eid al-Adha!” and “Happy winter!” for the atheist. I really pity the poor clerks who are on the front lines, having to follow the manager’s directive because he is the one signing their paycheck, but getting huffed at by purists upset because they didn’t get the “Merry Christmas!” they wanted.
But even if those of general Christian tradition were the majority, would that make it right to insist that everyone do things ONLY our way? Having lived in an area of extreme religious influence, and myself being in the very definite minority, I can tell you that, sure, as the minority, you may choose not to make a fuss about it and just “live with it” if you see no way of changing things; it won’t kill you. But I can just as certainly tell you this: having their will imposed on you in that way will NEVER make you look favorably on them, will NEVER give you warm, fuzzy feelings about what they believe, and will NEVER make you want to be like them. Having our way at the expense of others…. doesn’t sound very much like Jesus, does it?
To complain about the world not keeping Christmas is to fault the world for not doing that which we ourselves are not commanded to do. The celebration of Christ’s birth is not sacred. That is, such a celebration is nowhere commanded – nor even hinted at – in Scripture. We therefore have the freedom in Christ to celebrate or not celebrate; celebrating doesn’t make us “holier” and not celebrating (and there are many Christians who do not!) does not make us “less spiritual”. The celebration of Christmas is entirely a man-created thing. Yes, Christ was born, and yes, without Him having been born He could not have lived and died and risen, but there is nothing that says we have to have a celebration of that birth. If there is nothing that says we have to celebrate the birth, there is most assuredly nothing that defines just what that celebration must look like! Thus, every culture that has been touched by Christianity has developed its own cultural traditions, every denomination has its own traditions – there is no right or wrong. We do not have any grounds on which to dictate to anyone else what they should or should not do to celebrate. If we have not that right even within the Body, which is celebrating true Christmas, why on earth should we feel it incumbent on ourselves to correct the WORLD which is not even celebrating Christmas at all?
To complain about the world not keeping Christmas is to waste our time, our energy, and our witness! The world can’t ruin our Christmas, but WE can; nothing the world does can stop us from celebrating Christmas, but every minute we spend huffing and grumbling about how someone else isn’t celebrating Christmas like we think they should is a minute we haven’t spent celebrating Christmas, either. I don’t think it hurts Jesus’ feelings that the world doesn’t join in the birthday party we hold in His honor – but I can’t help wonder if it doesn’t grieve Him that so many Christians, by their militancy about the subject, give the world so little cause to want to see what it is we’re celebrating! If we set ourselves to use every opportunity to speak to the reality of Christ and His power in our lives, His love for sinners, His forgiveness of sins, the cross as well as the crèche, keeping our cheer no matter what the perceived “offence”, having compassion for those who have so little to celebrate, I think our celebration of Christmas will present a winsome witness that will give real meaning to our “Merry Christmas!”
Let the world do what it will. We have the Christ!
P.S.
Posted on: November 23, 2011
That phone call I spoke of yesterday came not too long after I did my post….. and mom and baby are doing fine! Evelyn Jane’s birth necessitated a C-section, but she made it. Brooke is recovering. My son’s voice has taken on new tones never heard before – a swelling of pride mixed with awe. Thanks be to God for this amazing gift!!!!
Thanks all the same
Posted on: November 22, 2011
Luke tells us that Christ gave thanks before distributing the bread for the feeding of the five thousand. All the synoptic gospels record that at the Last Supper, Christ gave thanks as He broke the bread and gave the cup. The Psalms are full of verses that begin “O give thanks unto the Lord….” Paul told the believers in Thessalonica to “give thanks in all circumstances”, and the Philippians he instructed to present their prayers “with thanksgiving.” Thanksgiving is an integral part of the believer’s faith life.
As I write this, I am waiting for a phone call. My daughter-in-law is in labor with their firstborn. The baby is 11 days overdue. They went to the hospital 11 hours ago. Things have not gone well. None of my five births were like this. My daughter’s two births were also pretty easy. This was supposed to be another “we’re going to the hospital now” followed a few hours later by a cheerful “She’s here!”. It is anything but. Our darling Brooke isn’t having that wonderful, rosy natural birth experience we all wanted her to have. Quite frankly, to use our son’s word, so far it’s terrible. Brooke has had horrendous pain, and is exhausted, her body giving out. I wonder if it will end in a C-section. A phrase keeps coming to mind from an Anne of Green Gables series book that refers to childbirth as “the passage perilous”. We are 350 miles away, which somehow makes the waiting harder for me. Not that we could “do” anything if we were there, of course, but somehow just being closer would feel like doing something. And…. the awful thought slithers in, dark and whispering, “If something bad happens, I’d BE there to help my son bear it…” We know there are many, many people praying – but God doesn’t answer prayers by a popularity contest. Fear nudges its toes through the door.
How do we respond to situations like this? I’ve been praying a lot, of course. But I haven’t been remembering to do this thing that Scripture is clear about: give thanks. We are to give the same thanks no matter what the situation, no matter what the outcome. We don’t just give thanks that “it could have been worse”. If our thanks only come for what we have, because we might have had LESS, then we’ve missed the point. We give thanks because what we have from God does not change. The truly worst can NEVER happen: He will never leave us or forsake us. No matter what happens to us, nothing can separate us from His presence. He is WITH Brooke in that labor room. Nothing can separate us from His compassion. As Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb even though He knew He was about to raise him from the dead, I believe God is weeping at the ordeal His daughter is undergoing; He makes use even of the results of the Fall, but, oh, how it grieves Him to see His world suffering. We give thanks because nothing can overcome us that is greater than His ability to get us through. No matter how difficult this birth, He is able to sustain Brooke through it. If the I-don’t-want-to-think-about-it were to happen and we were to lose mother or child, He will carry us through that loss and enable us to stand through the days ahead. Giving thanks doesn’t mean that my fear disappears, but it does make it assume a different demeanor.
God willing, that phone will ring any minute with news that Evelyn Jane has joined us and that mother and daughter are doing fine, and this Thanksgiving Day will see us giving thanks for the blessing of a new granddaughter. But whatever He wills for that situation, I know what He wills for ME: that come what may, I WILL be giving Him thanks.
For the Christian, thanksgiving isn’t an option – it’s a given!
Rise and fall
Posted on: November 13, 2011
Years ago, about this time of year, driving by a street corner well-supplied with campaign signs, I pondered whether those proliferating signs grow from seeds or bulbs. “Neither,” my mom dead-panned. “They come from nuts.”
So, we’ve come through another Election Day. I always have mixed reactions. On the one hand, I am deeply thankful for the privilege we have in this country of voting. There are millions of people the world over who would give anything to be able to do so. It is a responsibility that should be taken seriously. On the other hand… most of the time, I hold my nose while I cast my ballot!
Doing my chronological Bible-through-the-year reading, I spent until nearly October reading the Old Testament. Reading the Samuels, Chronicles, Kings and then the prophets, one thing stood out: kingdoms rise, and kingdoms fall. Amazing insight there, I know. But really, when you stop to think about it, and consider all of history, that pretty much sums it up. Kingdoms rise, and kingdoms fall. Within their very rising lie the seeds of their own destruction. No matter how strong or advanced. No matter how good or evil. Sooner or later, ashes, ashes, they all fall down. It doesn’t take particular punitive action by God, though there are times He has taken such. Just as consumption of the wrong foods will lead to ill-health, not as punitive action by God, but as the natural consequences to the laws of nature that were set in motion when sin entered the world, the natural consequences of the sin that lies in the nature of man are enough to guarantee the crumbling of any earthly kingdom. God uses the kingdoms of the earth to serve His purposes for their season, and then they fade into the mists of time.
There is no reason not to expect the same thing for America. America has many virtues, beyond question, but no matter how sound the theory behind America’s government and economic systems or how high the principles on which they were founded, no matter what veneer of Judeo-Christian morality American has worn, no matter what “Christian nation” label she has claimed for herself, from the very start we have been a country as full of sin as any other. We’ve always had our full complement of greed, pride, deceit, immorality, all the usual culprits. Our story is shot through with slavery, indentured servitude, poor treatment of women and children, the oppression and even genocide of native peoples, discrimination against immigrants, sweatshop and child labor, political fraud. Even once legal slavery was abolished, the de facto enslavement and oppression of blacks continued – and if you think it’s gone today, try reading up on our “justice” system as it relates to blacks. We’ve traded in some of those older evils for new ones, many of which shock us with their blatantcy. Truly, what is evil is called good, and good, evil, reminiscent of Rome at her height. (Or her depth, depending on how you want to put it!) But although they are different lyrics, it’s the same melody. It may sound louder, but it’s the same sin song as ever – and Christians are not immune to humming along.
My point isn’t that America is going to fall so we may as well give up. Not at all. Knowing that it will NOT last forever should put all the more urgency to our making full use of our freedom while we still have it. As long as we have the freedom to influence our government for good, we have every responsibility to do so. While there is still good for this country to be doing in the world, there is every reason to fight for her. The point is that no matter how many ways God has used this country to forward His kingdom, we must not confuse the two and try to cling to the one as if it were the other. Like Abraham, we should be making our home here “like a stranger in a foreign country … looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God.” (Heb. 11:10) We should make use of political means as we may, but we must always keep proper perspective about it and not let ourselves get so tangled up in patriotism and politics that we forget that these things are simply temporary. We need to be faithfully living out our calling to “live in a manner worthy of the gospel”, living as a people of Hope – a Hope that lies not in what happens in American politics, nor in leaders who are mere men, but is centered in the God Who has been working all of history toward one end, and one end only: to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. (Eph. 1:10)
Kingdoms rise, and kingdoms fall – blessed be the Name of the Lord!
the susie solution 