Tag / God’s Nature

by Greg

Coverings

I came across a blog post today that was pretty interesting, and I thought I’d pass it along. Jen and I talked about it a bit tonight on our way home from the evening’s activities… it’s just interesting how we put stuff between us and God. It could be a person (pastor, accountability partner), or a group of people (elders, leaders), or … well, lots of stuff.

As the blog post says, the cross removed shame, and removed the need for a “covering”. You may not be familiar with that terminology, but basically it’s the idea that you need help living your life out with God. You need to be “accountable” to other believers. While there may be truth there, it’s the wrong approach. It puts something between you and God. This blog post/email has an interesting take on that.

by Greg

Love

The other night we got to spend the evening with our good friends. We don’t usually get to hang out with all of them together, so we decided to make a late night of it – and were welcomed to do so – and had a fantastic time. The kids played great together, and that allowed us adults to grab some drinks, and a little dessert and just talk about life together at the dining room table.

Earlier in the night, since my birthday was coming up, there was also a bit of a surprise birthday party! Another family was invited to join us (our friends’ neighbor) and then after dinner together, I was told to go in the other room and stay there. I knew something was up… 🙂 After a few minutes, a plate of chocolate chocolate chip cookies was brought in … with candles in it! 🙂 I found out later that was the plan all the time, disguised as a regular evening together as friends. It was fun. Really nice surprise. Even got presents! 🙂

Well, as the adults hung out after all of the other festivities, we got to talking about the people that God has put around us. We’d been sharing stories of what was in front of us at the moment, and a couple stories reminded me of something God seems to keep weaving through many different areas of my life.

We all have heard the verse of Scripture, “Now these three remain: Faith, Hope & Love. But the greatest of these is love.” It’s used many times at weddings, and of course, it’s true. But, at least for me, the fullness (and yet, simplicity) of that has escaped me.

Our friend was telling us how one of the people he works with told him that she feels comfortable talking with him. Different than other people. What God has been teaching me lately is just how life-changing love can be, and it sounded like this was an example of it. I don’t know for sure in this example, but I am pretty sure that this is the core of the gospel – the “Good News”.

“For God so loved the world…” is another famous quote, that just gets glossed over many times. But really, I think it’s the core of the gospel. It’s not the theological discussions, the Mosaic law, transubstantiation, or propitiation. It’s not the way that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice as well as our High Priest. There are certainly things that can be learned from all of these things, but really, life change only happens when we realize we are loved.

After all, God is love. It’s the core of who he is. And when we really get who we are to him, how he feels about us… we begin to be able to love as we have been loved. There is freedom that comes from knowing how much we are loved by our Father, and in that freedom – as opposed to obligation – we can truly love other people (out of the overflow of how we are loved by God) without agenda or any other “strings attached”.

We try so hard as Christians to plan and create opportunities to share the “good news” with people, but really, the intellectual arguments while they may be true, will not change lives. At least, not as much as real love will. It’s so simple, but so infrequently employed – mostly because most of us have still not really experienced the reality of God’s love. We may know it intellectually… academically. But until we really know it, the best we can do is to share our academic understanding of God and his love with people. Which usually just doesn’t cut it.

My point? I don’t really have one. Just sharing what God has been showing me. It’s not something you can just “fix” or “put into action”. You can’t just “feel more loved”. But when we do, freedom abounds. And in that freedom, we can love other people – which can begin to produce a changed life in them.

Pretty cool stuff.

It really is all about love.

(Just a fun link to a great album.) 🙂

by Greg

Not Like Us

I was thinking about life this morning, in the shower… as I usually do. Sometimes it’s the mundane “what do I have to do today” kind of stuff, other times it’s “meaning of life” kinda stuff. I suppose it was the latter today.

We’re still in a pretty good pinch financially. We have some temporary relief for the moment thanks to some incredible (and unsolicited) generosity of our friends and family. And for some reason, even when there seems to be a lead (a new client, interest in our trailer for sale, or any other possible income) they seem to fall through. It can be pretty frustrating…

What would cross my mind in years past would be that “God disciplines those he loves.” I would begin to search inside myself to find something about me, or something I was doing or not doing, that might be displeasing to God. That usually did not take very long. So, I would tell God I am sorry for that, and ask him to help me fix it, and I would assume that my repentant heart would curry God’s favor once again. (Meaning, whatever bad thing I was calling God’s discipline would be lifted from me.)

Sometimes that would happen, other times it would not. Certainly could not detect any sort of pattern. The only pattern I could discern was my repeated attempts to work my negative circumstances in life into some form of disciplinary action from my Father with a capital F.

But over the past many years, I have been learning of his grace – unconditional grace – and his way of dealing with us. It’s not do right, get good… do wrong, get bad. At least not always. Not that predictable. The one thing that I can count on is that he loves me. A lot. So many scriptures tell me that. A lot.

Still, we persist in this idea that if something is wrong, God is punishing us. (And sometimes we think the reverse, where good stuff means we must be doing “something right”, but usually we just take the credit ourselves for that.)

Is our sudden lack of income the result of some known or unknown sin in my life? Maybe Jen’s? If I repent of my current failures (of which there are many) will the money start flowing again? I obviously can’t know the answers to those questions, but I think I can see evidence that suggests the results will not be (necessarily) directly tied to my choices or actions in the immediate future. There may be consequences to my poor decisions, mistakes, failures, or general lack of wisdom and discrepancy. But, God does not seem to operate on a “if a = b then c” system.

God almost does the opposite. When the disobedient, unruly, lazy son asked for his share of his father’s inheritance… his dad gave it to him. He knew what his son would do with it, but he still gave it to him. And, he let his son go off and actually do what he knew he was going to do. How many of us could actually knowingly fund our children’s debauchery? And – even more – allow them to really go through with it? I’m not sure I could…

But God is way more patient that we are. God also sees way more of the big picture. He is not doting over every little thing we do wrong or don’t do right. He walks with us, and encourages us toward the good, and away from the bad. If we fail, he is there to pick us up. He’s not there to immediately punish us. He wants us to succeed. (Not in a “success deity” kind of way… in the Kingdom success kinda way. A very backwards way.)

All of this may not make too much sense, but I could see God working this through in my head and heart the other day (when I started this article) and wanted to write it down, and perhaps share it with you. You may think that bad circumstances in your life are God’s direct intervention to “teach you a lesson”! I can not know what he is doing (or not doing) in and for you. But I do know that he is teaching me to trust him. Trust his love, trust his goodness, trust his provision, trust his lead. I have been learning again through a tough financial time – a tough time to trust my Father – just what matters in life. It’s not my stuff. None of it. It’s the relationships he has placed me in. My family, my friends, my neighbors. All I need to do is trust and follow God’s lead (based on what I have learned of him, and seen him do in the past), and love the people whom he has placed around me. Every day there is another chance to learn.

And isn’t that true “discipline”?

by Greg

No Other Gods…

My neighbor has a blog (that I shant link, since I believe it is not a public blog…) and she was sharing some stuff about her (successful) endeavor to quit smoking. One line caught my eye. She likened her smoking to idolatry. Now, I don’t think that smoking by itself is a sin, or idolatrous. My neighbor says it is for her, and so, she is right. It’s something that gets in between her and God.

When she said that, I thought, “You know, that’s a cool way of thinking about idolatry.” God tells us to have no other gods before him. And “ta not to” worship idols. That is mostly meaningless to us today, because no one (not many?) actually build big ugly stone “idols” and offer sacrifices or bow and/or pray to them. Do they? So, it’s hard to connect with what God is saying there. But if you think of God’s ultimate goal for us is to reconcile us to him, in full relationship with him… he doesn’t want anything getting in the way of that full connection with him. (For our sake, not his.)

I remember hearing that nowadays an idol can be pretty much anything… a relationship, a favorite hobby, even just drinking Coke. And I think probably Sunday school teachers can take that a bit too far. But what my neighbor said helped me see that idea from a slightly different perspective. The badness is not that God is not getting all of us, and we’re somehow not measuring up… the badness is that whatever is distracting us from the fullness of the relationship he intends us to be in with him is limiting the Life we’re supposed to be living. That can be smoking, drinking, gossiping, even just the internet and checking e-mail? 🙂

You’ve heard it said that God wants all of us, and I believe that’s true… but I am not sure that I have completely understood that over the years. I think I understand that God’s motivation is not to be the cosmic Rule Enforcer, but rather, the friend and Father who only wants the best for us. I know I want that for my kids, and I am so flawed in my fatherhood it’s ridiculous. So if I can even know that love that wants my kids to have the fullest life possible… flawed as I am… how much greater is that desire in our perfect Father?

Anyhoo… thanks neighbor for some good thoughts on why God wants to get the stuff out of our life that gets between us and him. And congrats on six months. 🙂

by Greg

The Shack – Completed

The ShackI think I have mentioned a few times the book I was reading (and finished last night) The Shack? I know I did at least once. Well I finally finished it and though it came extremely highly recommended, it did not disappoint! I was impressed. 🙂 Usually such high praise as it received can only lead to the actual experience not measuring up to expectations.

But The Shack does.

I think what I most enjoyed about this very well-written story was the unexpectedness. There were times when I felt it was just what I was expecting, but more often what I thought was, “That’s a cool way to look at it…” The premise is that a man who has faced unbelievable tragedy, and feels far from God – really on purpose – is called to the location of a focal point of his pain to meet with God. And this is not the big shiny booming voice old guy you might expect. It’s a very cool look at God in his infinite – and personal – uniqueness.

The book even had a surprise ending! (At least to me!) I kept reading and reading last night as I couldn’t put it down. It’s a great story of redemption, how God brings life from death, and forgiveness, healing… just all the stuff God works in us. And as I said, very well written, so an easy read.

I want to get a copy to give to our library, so people can find it that way. And we may buy a copy or two to hand out to friends. Jen is reading our copy now, and Laura is in the queue.

Anyone else want to get in line? 🙂

I may continue to reference the book as I continue to process it. Till then, check it out for yourself at the links above.

by Greg

Our Only Rule Book

Our Only Rule Book?Inspired by recent readings, hearings and various thinkings floating through GregsHead, I have thought again about our push for being right. For knowing the truth and letting others “have it”. I read a column this morning by a local radio talk show guy who was certainly convinced that he had the “right” answer for what the church should be and do. (Now, I know… that’s his job… but still, furthers my point that we all love to be right.)

Maybe Christians are the worst at this. From early on, most of us are taught that there is a right, and definitely a wrong. Actually, many wrongs. We recently heard the Bible referred to as “our only Rule Book”. Ouch. Is that what it is? What about all the people who interpret it differently than you do? They have rules, too… just different from yours. In most cases (in the view of both parties) the other guy is wrong. And you’re right.

This obsession with being right actually removes us from relationship with other people. We focus so much on having and knowing the “truth” that we must first verify that those with whom we associate are “with us”, and “doctrinally correct”, and if not, we must instruct them accordingly. There is always a bit of an angst as errors in thinking must not be tolerated. At least when it comes to Christianity.

And there’s the rub. We have something (Christianity) that we need to protect, not Someone we want to introduce. An institution is defined. It has a Rule Book. It’s easy (at least, sort of) to protect and preserve. A Person is not. Someone who is alive and dynamic (yet the same “yesterday, today and forever”) is not easy to define, protect or preserve. Many have said, “You can’t keep God in a box.” Of course, they were probably referring to “the other guy’s box”… but, I believe that statement is true.

For some reason I was reminded of a strange rule we have made up today. Perhaps it’s due to hearing of marriages and other similar relationships dissolving for one reason or another. I remembered a “proof text” that many use for when it’s “OK” to divorce. Remember when Jesus said that divorce was bad… unlesssss… the WIFE has been unfaithful. Don’t you know that people (your intrepid author’s former self included) use that to say that if there has been infidelity (perhaps especially from the woman???) that divorce is OK. And hold mightily to the words Jesus said previously that divorce is always bad. Which, I believe is correct, since Jesus seemed to say it as truth… but we leave out the “context” part where something that’s bad might be better than something that’s worse.

On many such occasions, we take the Rule Book and we bash it over each other’s heads… saying my way is right. I got it from the Book! You must be wrong! (Even though our “adversary”) is many times doing exactly the same thing. They just view it differently.

I am coming to understand that it’s not my job to interpret the “Rules” for someone… for anyone else. My job is to be faithful to my understanding of what God wants from me, and then to love other people as I have been loved. Yes, sometimes love is “tough” and requires an uncomfortable confrontation – BETWEEN FRIENDS. It seems a confrontation is only effective (and then only sometimes) if relationship already exists. If not, why should the confronted change their “aberrant” behavior based on the “Rules” of a stranger?

The Bible is not a Rule Book. God doesn’t even want us to live by Rules. The Rules were fulfilled by Jesus. It is finished. That doesn’t mean it’s not good to live as God intended us to… certainly God’s law will last forever. BUT, we were never meant to keep the law… never able to do that. I’ve been reading Romans again, and Paul emphatically states that:

For no one is put right in God’s sight by doing what the Law requires; what the Law does is to make us know that we have sinned. But now God’s way of putting people right with himself has been revealed. It has nothing to do with law, even though the Law of Moses and the prophets gave their witness to it. God puts people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. God does this to all who believe in Christ, because there is no difference at all: everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence. But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free. … In this way God shows that he himself is righteous and that he puts right everyone who believes in Jesus. What, then, can we boast about? Nothing! And what is the reason for this? Is it that we obey the Law? No, but that we believe.

Taken from Rom 3:20-27, Good News Translation.

If you try to keep the Rules, and make others do the same, you’ll only be butting your head up against a wall that won’t ever be knocked down. We’re meant (I think) to live in the fullness of a restored relationship with our Creator, and then to love the other Createds he puts around us. Rules work perhaps in a computer program… where everything is always (supposed to be) the same. But when people are involved, Rules almost never work. We’re too unique. Principles, that can adjust to the context of a situation are more applicable, to be sure. But… maybe we could just make our only “rule” the rule to love everyone we meet, as we have been loved.

At least then the Rule Book would be a lot smaller. 🙂

by Greg

The Shack – Just Beginning

The ShackI read a few chapters of this book last night. It has come VERY highly recommended. I got a copy from the folks who are publishing it, for helping with their website. Actually, I have been worried it couldn’t possibly live up to all of the accolades it has received!

But, so far… it has.

Last night I finished chapter four (just starting really) and even though it was 2am, I couldn’t stop reading… it is definitely well written, and a sad but compelling story. (And I don’t think I’ve gotten to the good part yet!)

I know the book is about who God is even in horrible tragedy. I got to read what the tragedy was last night, and let me tell you… without giving too much away, it involves a little girl, and as a Dad… those are the worst kind. I definitely get very emotionally involved in stories about parents and kids, especially Dads and kids who are the same age as mine. 🙁

So, hoping I don’t have to face that sort of tragedy in person… I will read on and hope to catch a glimpse of God – perhaps a side I haven’t known, or yet needed to know – via the experiences of another believer. Should defintely be a good read.

Click through the links above (click the book if you like) and order your own copy. You can read chapter one on their site, too. I think it’s as good as advertised.

More when I am done, I’m sure…

by Greg

The Nature of Sin

I have been reminded again lately of some things I was thinking through with God a couple years ago. I wrote about it here, here, and here. Probably a bit more around and about there, too. In fact, it was one of the five major sections of the first book I published from this blog, A Journey Shared.

Most recently, I was reminded as Jen and I were listening to last week’s episode of The God Journey. Overall it was a very good discussion of remembering that Jesus has been tempted in every way as we are, and that though we are sin-stained, he still welcomes us completely. We don’t have to feel shame, but instead, freedom to move forward and walk in step with God – no matter how many “bumps” we may experience along the way.

So, my whole perspective on sin has been slowly changing over the past several years. I like how Wayne Jacobsen describes it as a “disease” (see his book He Loves Me, or the audio collection Transitions). The idea that sin is something that can control us, and that can kill us – like where Paul said that it is “sin in me” that does… something. Where sin is a “force” or something other than just a single misdeed. Or multiple, as the case may be.

I do beleive it’s both. I can think of scripture that seems to refer to “sin” as an individual act that is contrary to the nature of God. But I do believe it’s more. I believe the thing Jesus defeated through the cross was not our individual acts, but the thing that controls and enslaves us.

But the discussion on the podcast seemed to keep going back to the idea that sin was our individual decisions. And, though I liked the general direction of the discussion, it seemed to be focused on the maintenance angle still. Where we can just clean up things here and there, and then… (implied) we can earn a better standing with God. They did not say that exactly, but the way I heard it… that mentality was still there.

How do we find the balance between both viewpoints? Where sin is a disease that can kill us, that Jesus forever defeated on the cross. And, where sin is also the choice I make in one individual situation to do something that is not in the will or nature of God, or take something that God has not given to me? Can they co-exist?

I actually believe they can. But when I heard the discussion, both Jen and I felt that the fellows speaking were just reverting to the old performance mentality of “getting it right” with God. To me, that negates grace.

So as you can see, I’m still processing. Just thought I’d take a moment and share my current thoughts with you. Discuss below if you like.

by Greg

Oh, To Be Noticed

Julia & DadA few times today I noticed my infant daughter, and recognized her with a smile or just by saying her name. Obviously it was just a small gesture of kindness, but for some reason, it means the world to her. Maybe especially from Dad? But regardless of the one who is noticing, it was very easy to see that she enjoys being noticed.

Don’t we all? Even from such an early age, to be recognized just for being… it can be a lonely world inside yourself. So, to have another person stop what they are doing and focus their attention on you, even if only for a moment… it stirs up some pretty exciting emotions in my daughter, let me tell you! 🙂 She starts bouncing, and smiling so hard it seems her mouth might expand right off her face! It makes her day when you just notice her.

I thought that was cute. I hope to have many chances to “notice” her tomorrow. You should try it, too. I’m sure there’s someone tomorrow whom you will come across that you could “notice” with a smile, or a greeting, or even a conversation. I don’t know if it will make their day like it does Julia’s, but I’m sure it will be appreciated.

That’s why there are books about purpose and significance and all that jazz… it’s what we want. Maybe what we were made for. The cool thing is, we are noticed. Our Father notices everything about us. Our first, our last, and every moment in between. It’s easy to miss that sometimes. We feel unnoticed. Unimportant. Not sure if that’s what my 8 month old daughter feels, but it sure lights up her world – and her face! – when she does realize that she is significant enough to draw my attention, even for only a few seconds.

It does make a difference. It will be noticed.

by Greg

Fingernails and Jesus

fingernailThis morning as the boys and I were reading through John (our latest morning read) I was struck by a simple line that John (who is known as “The Baptist”) spoke. Regarding Jesus baptizing more people than he was at that moment, he replied, “No one can do anything unless God in heaven allows it.” Anything? Like, murdering, genocide, hatred, war, etc… those came quickly to mind as being part of “anything”. Now, I know that’s not what John was talking about, but it was a strange thing to read, to be sure. He was focusing more on the positive, that Jesus was doing a good thing (that was having some success, I suppose) was an indication that God was OK with it, since, no one can do anything unless God allows it.

I just found that an interesting thought to ponder this morning… as I do stuff, that falls under the “anything” label.

In other news… as I was chopping vegetables for our meal for this afternoon (which would also fall under that ubiquitous “anything” label), the knife slipped off of the veggies and landed firmly on my finger. Thankfully… God invented fingernails. (That’s not my finger in the photo, by the way…)

All is well, and I find myself marveling at God’s forethought once again. I even have a little knick where my finger would have been sliced open, if not off!

Good thing it wasn’t part of the “anything” God allowed me to do!