Tag / Bible

by Greg

Foreigners

I’ve been thinking about “home” a little bit recently. We were visiting family this weekend who live about an hour and a half from our home. I was thinking about how if we lived there, it wouldn’t ever quite feel like home. At least, to me. It would feel like we were always visiting. Never home.

A friend of ours is a native of Argentina, but also a citizen of Italy (and lived there for several years) and now resides here in New York. (Married to a US citizen.) So she has many homes, and in a way, often feels like she’s “not home”.

Home is interesting. It’s definitely a location, but it’s also a state of mind. The Bible says we who follow Jesus are foreigners. That we are never quite home. We read about the first disciples of Jesus today (the boys and I) who left everything at Jesus’ simple invitation to, “Come follow me.” He had no home, they had no home. They were travelers. Foreigners. Strangers.

Jen & I have also noticed recently how different we are. We are not like most of the people we know. Our priorities, what we want our family to live like, be like, look like. We’re different. We feel, quite often, like foreigners.

So, how do you endure that? I guess the way you do is to know that no matter where we are in this life we are always foreigners. We are never home. We belong somewhere else, and until we leave this life or Jesus comes back for us, we’ll always feel a little homesick.

With all the burdens of this foreign place that I am bearing lately, I am definitely “longing for home”. For peace. Rest. But, that time has not come yet.

For now, I enjoy the “home” that God has given me. My beautiful wife, and five amazing kids. And our little yellow house. 🙂 Oh that life were only that simple.

Perhaps it can be.

by Greg

Subtle Difference

Today the boys and I read the very familiar paragraph in Matthew where Jesus says with the Ask, Seek & Knock stuff. God wants us to come to him and he wants us to know that he’s listening. And that’s amazing.

But the part I noticed is something that I have also been thinking a bit about recently.

At the end of the paragraph, Jesus says, “Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about.” (Matthew 7:12)

I have said that many times to my kids, and that is really how I want to live my life. Thinking about other people like I’d want them to think about me. Treating them as I would want to be treated. I actually forgot that Jesus said “That’s what the Law & Prophets are all about” regarding this phrase. The other phrase I frequently use is “Love God, Love people.” which is taken from another time Jesus said that, “Everything God has said up until now is summed up by that.”

When he says that, it seems to me that we should listen.

But then, I have been challenged recently that thinking that way, and trying to live that way is still a bit religious. Though the motivation may not be from guilt, or a desire to earn God’s favor, it is still about what I do. How I must change. How I must be. And certainly, on one level, that is good and right. When we do what is right – the way life is supposed to be lived – then life is good, and things work out the best way they can. Mostly.

Could a possible (subtle) alternative could be to focus on our relationship with God, rather than what we do after that? Could it be an even more healthy view of the Kingdom if we could say, “I am loved, and so are you.” Do you see the subtle difference? I’m honestly not that sure I do, but a part of me does. The difference seems to be in the focus. One focus is still on what I can do, the other is focused on what God has done and is doing. He has restored our relationship, and he leads me every day, and he puts other people around me that I can love as I have been loved. Doesn’t he?

It could just be semantics, and I know that I am prone to thinking too much on things at times. But the funny thing is, the more I “think on” this, the simpler it gets. Perhaps that is the true way of the kingdom.

Live loved today. I think when we do, then we are best able to really love back, and love out.

by Greg

Relationality

This morning the boys and I continued our trek through the book of Matthew, with a tiny chunk from chapter five. I was just going to reference it, but I thought perhaps you might like to read the whole bit together for the context of what we saw in it today.

Matthew 5:21-25 (CEV)
You know that our ancestors were told, “Do not murder” and “A murderer must be brought to trial.” But I promise you that if you are angry with someone, you will have to stand trial. If you call someone a fool, you will be taken to court. And if you say that someone is worthless, you will be in danger of the fires of hell.

So if you are about to place your gift on the altar and remember that someone is angry with you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. Make peace with that person, then come back and offer your gift to God.

Before you are dragged into court, make friends with the person who has accused you of doing wrong. If you don’t, you will be handed over to the judge and then to the officer who will put you in jail.

Did you see it? What stood out to you about those three situations? I asked my boys, “What was the most important thing in all of those stories?”

At first they said excitedly, “Don’t be mad!” I said, “That’s part of it…” hoping they would continue. They did. And actually, not too many thoughts later, they hit on what I was probing for.

“Relationship,” said Ian. (At that point I knew that he has been listening to me before this morning.) 🙂 “That’s right! In each of these stories, the relationship was the most important!”

You and I have read that story, perhaps mainly that verse, many times over. Anger is the same as murder. Don’t call your brother a “fool”… or else! Don’t bring any offerings before you fix your argument with your brother. But in the bigger picture–the context–I saw that a common theme ran through all of the stories.

But before I get to that, did you notice who bears the relational “responsibility” in the second story? In the first story, Jesus says, “Don’t get mad at people.” While being so hard to obey it’s almost absurd, it’s certainly understandable. We all know it’s wrong, or at least no the best to treat someone badly in our anger. But who is the relational instigator in the second story? The one who is angry? No! The one with whom someone is angry!

This was a key piece for me. The first one makes sense because we’re good at trying to clean up our own act. That makes sense. It at least seems doable, whether it actually is, or not. But the second set of circumstances requires that the one who has not necessarily done any wrong be the one to correct the situation.

So if you are about to place your gift on the altar and remember that someone is angry with you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. Make peace with that person, then come back and offer your gift to God.

Doesn’t that sound like we’re putting people before God? And perhaps petty, selfish people as well? (It doesn’t say “admit that you were wrong” or anything like that. It just says go and make peace.) The paramount concern is not the “more spiritual” offering to God, but rather peace between brothers.

I told the boys that this is true for me as well. I love it when I see my kids getting along, having fun together. I love it even more when I see them making peace with each other (especially without my intervention). It brings me great joy to see peace, harmony, and genuine loving friendship between my children. And I’m sure (from this story Jesus told, and others) that the same is true of our Father.

When I noticed this relational priority, I sort of stepped back and looked at all three stories together. Sure enough, the thread through all three was that relationships are paramount. The first story says don’t cloud relationships with angry words. Get over yourself. The second story, as I’ve mentioned, focuses on the “responsibility” of the “innocent” person to initiate and maintain a peaceful relationship.

The third story is perhaps a more practical application of how relational we are, and may have been played out a bit later in the day. (No, I was not taken to court…)

In the third scene, we have Jesus saying that if we were to find ourselves in court, the best course of action is to make friends with our accuser. On the surface, that makes no sense! Especially if we are innocent, but even if we are not. They’re our accuser!!! These are not people we want to reach out to. But the practical side of this is, yes, we do. Jesus implies that if you do, you may avoid the consequences, they may not press charges.

A little relationality goes a long way…

Today I received an order from Amazon.com. They have Big Train Chai at the cheapest price around. When I run out, I usually order two packs of three bags of chai. (They only ship them in sets of three.) I get two because that qualifies it for free shipping as well. 🙂

When I very excitedly brought in my package from the super cold porch, I noticed that some powdered chai was pouring out the corners of the box! “Oh no!” I thought perhaps a bag had inadvertently been cut open somehow. I was hopeful that most of them were still intact.

I gingerly cut into the tape at the top of the box, opening it very slowly, checking for any evidence of the cut bag. I brushed off the powder from all of the bags (it had gotten all over everything, even though it was only at most a couple tablespoons of chai) and finally found the culprit. One bag had a very small opening, right near the crease in the bottom. No big deal, but I figured I’d call Amazon and see if they could replace that bag for me.

I got on the phone with a lady who did not speak much English, but seemed very willing to help. I explained my situation calmly, and just asked, “Is there any way you could ship me out one replacement bag? Do you need me to package up and return the defective one?” After a few quick questions – and my friendly answers – she said, “Wait a few moments, and I will process a replacement for you.”

I sat on hold for just a few moments, as she had requested, and sure enough, when she came back on the phone she gave me an order ID for the replacement chai! I was thrilled to be getting a little bit of bonus chai. (I really do love this stuff!)

Not long after hanging up the phone, I decided to check the order number at Amazon and see when it would be coming and exactly what they were shipping. What to my wondering eyes should appear, but THREE BAGS OF CHAI in my “recently placed orders”! Whoo-hooo!

Now, I don’t know that this lady did anything out of the ordinary. It could be standard policy to just ship the full “package” that was defective. (They do ship as individual bags, so certainly they could have shipped just one.) And I do not know for sure her motivations. But I’d like to think this is a living example of what I saw Jesus saying today.

Relationship is paramount. I was not being taken to court, but I was approaching a situation that did not merit an overly generous response. You can say it is good business to make sure the customer is satisfied, but if I had laid into the first person who answered, demanding a replacement (and/or more?) do you think that the customer service rep’s first thought would be to (happily) replace my item? Probably not. Probably there would be some resistance. I have tried the other way – justifiable anger – and I am here to say… it just don’t work.

We are made for relationality. If we live it, if we practice it, life goes better.

1 Thessalonians 5:13b (NIV)
Live in peace with each other.

There may be things that seem more important. (Including looking out for ourselves, or doing stuff for God.) But it would seem from these three stories Jesus told to his disciples that the thing that should top the list is to live in healthy, unbroken relationship with each other. And, be the initiator of that. Not just the recipient.

Relationality starts with me.

by Greg

Freedom

A couple times this weekend, the concept of freedom came up in conversation. It was in relation to the church, and life together as followers of Jesus. And really, it starts with life as an individual follower of Jesus.

When speaking with some friends who are equally saddened by the focus of the American church on numbers and programs and an institutional view of discipleship – and yet, who strangely feel the need to still be part of that social structure – we talked about freedom. One friend brought up the scripture where Jesus says he came to “set us free“. He said that it really helped him break out of the “need” – the obligation – to be at a worship service on Sunday mornings. He realized that he was not free. And God helped him realize that through that Scripture.

I think that’s true for a lot of people. And much beyond their attendance at weekly (or more frequent) worship gatherings. It does not mean that you are not free if you “go to church” on Sundays. It could, but it doesn’t inherently mean that. Where we lack freedom is in really understanding that God does not want us to live life out of obligations to him, but in relationship to him.

I was reading a little book to my boys that paraphrases scripture verses, and one we read last week was taken from the verse in Micah that says, “…and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” The last part caught my attention this time. What God “requires” is that we walk (humbly) with him. He wants us to just follow him. To be with him. Every day.

God doesn’t want us to always do what’s right just because it’s right. He wants us to learn to be like him. To live in the freedom of not having to perform for him, to earn his love, or his favor – or to avoid the fires of Hell. What he wants is for us to love as we have been loved. (Love God, and love your neighbor.)

All of the above “requirements” were also written/said during a time when Jesus had not completed the restoration of our relationship with Father God! That’s so great! While people were toiling under this idea that sacrifices and following rules would somehow “gain favor” with God, God was telling them, no… just be fair, just, merciful, and follow humbly in his steps. Pretty cool.

Yet today, even though Jesus has once and for all abolished the code of law that restricted and even enslaved us, we still live as slaves to sin and the law. We do not experience the freedom of his grace, and his full and complete love. We don’t live as children but as slaves (as that linked passage above refers to). That permeates every bit of how we relate to our Father, and I’m learning more and more that it’s not how he wants it to be.

He wants us to walk with him. He calls us friends. He has adopted us as his children, full heirs of everything he has. And he is not a Father who demands strict obedience at the end of a punishing hand, but the Father of the prodigal son who allows us to choose to follow him, to humbly receive his love and live in his freedom.

I’m not sure how we can really break out of the cycle of feeling the need to please him, or even the obligation to “get it right”, but oh how I long for that in me, and in you. Shame is a powerful thing over us, and causes us to submit to God out of obligation and out of a perceived relational “debt”. But there is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus. The Bible tells me so.

It also tells me this:

If the son has set you free, you are free indeed.

by Greg

The Goal of Parenting

Ian and DadEarlier this week I was thinking about being a parent. (A parent, not “apparent”…) I think I was processing some issues we’re working on with the kids. Maybe I still had some lingering thoughts in my head from a conversation we had with our friends last Sunday about the ups and downs of parenting. Whatever it was, I came to the conclusion—and told myself in my head—that, “The goal of parenting is to raise responsible adults, right?”

Is it?

I mean, sure… in a way, that is part of our responsibility. We get to train up our kids in the way they should go, as the Bible says. We help them learn how to think about other people around them, how to respect authority, how to be responsible with their time and their stuff. Even simple stuff like how to brush their teeth, use soap in the bathtub, and put their clothes in the dirty clothes basket.

(We’re still working on that one…)

But right after I thought what I thought above, I had an almost instant second thought, that seemed directly opposed to my first thought. It might not be, but it seemed like it when I thought it.

“Maybe it’s not. Maybe we’re just supposed to love them.”

The thought encompassed more than those words can. So much so that I literally was overwhelmed with emotion, right then and there. I began to think at that moment that all of the stuff I work so hard to train my children to is only secondary. Yes, maybe even the part about loving other people, and considering them even more than themselves. That is certainly important, as is all the stuff I mentioned above, but for a moment I realized that “the greatest of these is love.”

The Bible says that we love because he first loved us. I think that truth carries over to our kids, too. We have the capacity to love God, and love other people once we know and experience the love of our Father. Our kids are much the same. They know and experience our love—they know that they are loved—and so they can do the things we teach them to do, because they are loved. Otherwise, it’s not in their hearts. It’s just temporary adherence to rules.

See, I have a very, very special role in my kids’ lives. There are billions of people in this world. They are going to meet many of them. They are going to interact with many of them. They are going to have close relationships with a few of them. They will perhaps marry one of them. But I am their only dad. Ever. There is no one else who ever can be. That was decided when they were conceived.

Does that mean anything? Sort of. Sort of not. What you choose to do after that moment certainly has more impact on them. But this was my point. They will learn lots of things about life from lots of people. I’m glad I am able to get them started on that in a lot of ways. Happy to pass on what I have learned in my short three plus decades. But maybe the best thing I can pass on to my kids is the thing I am uniquely qualified to give them: my love.

Yes, I hope there are many people who love my kids. Completely, and unconditionally. But I am the only one who can offer them my love. I am Dad. They can either feel safe with Dad, and loved by Dad, and secure in who they are with Dad… or not. I think a lot of that is up to me, and maybe what I see as my priorities as a dad. I just said the other day that the one thing I want my kids to learn from me is to think about other people. That’s it. I just want them to be different than most people, by just noticing and thinking about others around them.

But I think my job is simpler. Yet, maybe harder.

Dad and kidsPerhaps the best things I can give my kids just start with me loving them. Yes, discipline is loving. I understand that. But it becomes meaningless, and so many parents lose the hearts of their kids (in part) because their priority is the life training, rather than the full acceptance and complete and unconditional loving of our kids. I don’t know that this is true, but I thought all of this in response to my own statement, “The goal of parenting is to raise responsible adults, right?”

Anyone can and will train our kids in the fundamentals of being a responsible adult. But no one else can be their Mom, or their Dad. I want my kids to know without a doubt that they can count on me—and my love—for anything, any time they need it. Resource-wise, I might not be able to, but me-wise… I can do that.

I am an emotional mess anytime there is a parent-child moment like that in a movie, or tv show, or book, or even between people I know. When I see, for example, a son realize how his dad would do absolutely anything for him to demonstrate his unconditional love, I feel the emotions welling up inside me. When the Dad gets a chance to show even just a little bit of how much he loves his kids… gets me every time. That’s what I want. I understand the emotions of those moments, because in real life, the best thing for me isn’t when I see my kids showing that they love me (although those are nice), it’s even way cooler when I see that my kids know they are loved, and they can actively trust my love.

I’m certain there is a balance in all of this, but that’s what priorities are, eh?

Maybe my #2 priority is to raise responsible adults, but my #1 priority—and that’s by a lot—is that my kids know without a doubt that Dad loves them, and always, always will. Period.

by Greg

Jesus Is Staying at MY House!

The boys and I are reading through the book of John now, and this morning we read the story of when Andrew met Jesus, and introduced his brother (Simon Peter) to the Messiah! He was very eager to let his brother know that he had found the Messiah. Not sure if he could have understood how Jesus thought of such a term, but he was certainly excited about it!

The part I thought was a bit different today was the strange question asked of Jesus. The new followers asked Jesus, “Teacher, where do you live?” So, he showed them. They came over to his house.

Ian thought that was as odd as I did, and reasoned that perhaps Jesus was staying with some friends. (Jesus said somewhere else that he had no “place to rest his head”, and we know that he’s on the road at this point, too.

The interesting thing was not that he was staying with friends, the interesting thing to me is how there’s no star power to Jesus. We have no account of him staying with the most important people of the day. We don’t know much about it. But to me, that’s what stands out.

When we talked about that, I thought in my head, “How cool would it be if Jesus stayed in our house??” But then I realized I was succumbing to “star power”.

Jesus is not concerned with popularity. He never sought the limelight, nor did he have “too little time” for people not on his agenda for the day. That’s so backwards from what we do today. Often elevating people to levels they should not have to maintain on their own.

It seems like having Jesus stay with you was an instant free ticket to heaven. Seems like someone housing him would have mentioned Jesus’ temporary place of residence. But, they don’t. And Jesus continues to be a transient.

It’s amazing how differently we all can see Jesus, and who he was, what he was doing here. That’s something I hope to get from reading through John again. I want to see Jesus for who he is, and learn more about him that I don’t already know. I want to see stuff that I have never seen before.

And I am confident that I will. I’ll try and share some of those nuggets with you here.

by Greg

In The Light

A couple things recently have reminded me of the letter in the Bible called first John. I was reminded of a verse I have written about here before. John tells us in that letter that we are taught by the Holy Spirit directly. We don’t need others to teach us. (NOTE: I wouldn’t say that he means they can’t, as I think he was mainly countering some people who were apparently saying something that made him write that. They must have been claiming that the people John was writing to needed to be taught about God through their teaching, and that they couldn’t know him on their own. Hmmm… sounds familiar…) Essentially though, he still does say that God is directly involved in teaching us. (Which some today would deny.)

The other thing that reminded me of the book of First John was thinking about “living in the light”, and what I used to call “holiness”. Holiness to me used to be defined mostly as doing (mostly) the right things. Of course I don’t always, and so I am not holy – only God is, eh? – but at times I could feel pretty good about myself because I was mostly “getting it right”. I was sorta-kinda “holy”. Living in the light.

But not too long ago I picked up the Bible we keep in the bathroom, and started reading First John, since it was on my mind. What I read was actually shocking to me. (So much so that I plan to read it again, and do a commentary here much like I began – and still hope to finish… 🙂 – on the book of Galatians.) I have always thought of 1st John as a rule-keepers book. “If you do [insert good deed here], then you are a child of God. If you do [insert bad deed here], then you are of the world, [and thus worthy only of hell]. But this time was different.

This time, I saw it not as a causal thing, but more as a statement of reality. And not just the black and white, right and wrong reality… something a bit different than I have ever seen. It seems that John is talking about those who understand the Kingdom and the things of God as those who are “in the Light” (he says early on that “God is Light”, and so, “in the Light” could be easily interpreted as “in God”). I have always assumed that phrase to mean, “in the right.” I mean mostly outwardly. Doing all the right things. But I think it might be something more. Something different.

When I read it this time, the contrast between light and darkness seemed more one of being able to see. In the dark, you can’t see. You don’t know what’s going on. You bump into stuff, and get hurt. If you turn on a light, you can see. Everything becomes much clearer in the light. You are more free to move around and stuff. In the dark, you mostly stumble around and feel your way around very slowly.

Could this be the picture John is trying to paint for us? Does being in the light just mean being in God, and seeing the world the way he does?

Maybe.

Anyway, the freedom I saw in reading through the whole book was incredible. It’s not about getting it right in order to be loved be God… we just are. If we live in the light – in him – we’ll see that, and know that more. We’ll just see, and be more free to move. I love that imagery.

Once I get through this barrage of new business, I really do want to do a line for line commentary on the book. So, stay tuned, and if you read along, I’d love your comments as well.

by Greg

They Killed God

Kirstie joined us for the morning Bible read today. She’s three, and says some really cute things. Perhaps the following is both cute, and insightful? 🙂

After reading the story of the first part of the night Jesus was arrested and taken before the Jewish leaders, then Pilate, and then Herod, we were talking about how crazy it was that they just blatantly lied about such well-known things. Jesus was a very public figure, but his accusers were at best twisting the truth, or just flat out lying about what he said and did. And it eventually got him killed.

And I guess Kirstie knows that, because without reading that today, she said, “They killed God.”

I smiled at her simplicity and replied, “Yep. Well, he let them kill him.” I continued, “Because somehow, when they did, he was able to beat the things that kills us, that destroy us.” (I meant sin and death, but didn’t figure a three year old would grasp such a thing.)

She responded without hesitation, “Yeah, then they don’t destroy us!” She even said it with a finality and even joy at the resolution of it. Then they don’t destroy us. What some people take 1000 pages to say in some theological treatise, my three year old understood, and summed up in two simple phrases.

They killed God. Then they don’t destroy us.

Perfect. 🙂

by Greg

Enough of That

So, today we read a little further in Luke (which is just a little later the same night that Jesus said “Enough sword talk!“) and would you believe that Jesus said it again? One of the disciples pulls out a sword when the mob comes to arrest Jesus (which, makes sense from what Jesus had just told them a little bit ago…) and he cuts off the ear of one of the dudes. That prompts and “Enough of that!” from Jesus, and it prompted this little dittie that I sang for the boys after we noticed a theme in what Jesus was saying…

Enjoy 🙂

Enough of That
Jesus said, “Get your sword”
Sell some stuff, if you must
The disciples said, “We’ve got two!”
But he said “Enough of that,
Yeah, Enought of that!”

What did he mean?
Oh what did he mean?
Enough of that

Late that night they came to get him
His disciples, well, they were listening
Drew their swords, chopped off an ear
He said enough of that
Yeah enough of that

What did he mean?
Oh what did he mean?
Enough of that
Enough of that

What do we learn from this little story?
Jesus does not like swords
Maybe he shouldn’t have used that example
He should have said buy a dog
Or a donkey

Enough of that
Enough of that
What did he mean?
Oh what did he mean?
Enough of that
Enough of that

Words & Music by Greg Campbell (and Jesus)
Copyright © 2007

by Greg

Didn’t He Just Say … ?

Jesus asked his disciples, “When I sent you out without a moneybag or a traveling bag or sandals, did you need anything?”

“No!” they answered.

Jesus told them, “But now, if you have a moneybag, take it with you. Also take a traveling bag, and if you don’t have a sword, sell some of your clothes and buy one. Do this because the Scriptures say, ‘He was considered a criminal.’ This was written about me, and it will soon come true.” The disciples said, “Lord, here are two swords!”

“Enough of that!” Jesus replied.

Luke 22:35-38

Didn’t he just say they should get a sword, even if they have to sell stuff to get one? And then, when they say, “Look! We have two!” he basically tells them they’re totally off track?

This one definitely perplexed me and the boys today. 🙂