Where in the world?

The Today Show on NBC began it's "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" series this week. It is an annual globe-trotting event for the host of the Today Show. This year the show has added a special feature. You can follow the clues and guess Matt's location. If you are correct you might even receive a personal call from Matt. In case you're wondering, I won't be tracking the journey (It makes me jealous of the travel). In hearing about the event, I can't help but turn the question inward. Where in the world is Paul? There is little doubt that I am on an exciting journey. I love Eugene Peterson's description of people of faith as "pilgrims" who spend our lives going someplace. We are going to God. The path for getting there is the way, Jesus. We seem to have a firm grasp on those facts. For most of us, the pace of the journey has increased. That brings challenges. The faster we travel, the more scenery we miss. The scenery? I am referring to the faces that greet us along the way. They inquire in different ways and with different expressions, "Where are you going?". How often do the questions fall to the ground as we go by?

Forgiveness

Is there a relationship between forgiveness and controlling our anger? Jesus seemed to link the two together in his teaching. Actually, He inserts the role of reconciliation. It seems to me that reconciliation requires forgiveness. Forgiveness begins in the heart. In the "sermon on the mount" Jesus instructs his followers to consider the hindrance that a messed up relationship causes in our worship. Jesus places a priority on initiative. This may be the toughest part of forgiveness. Who will take the first step? Are we willing to go to another? Do I wait on them to deserve my forgiveness? My experience with anger has taught me that while I am waiting for the other "guilty" party to move in my direction I am justifying my anger and my feelings. Consequently, I can convince myself that there is nothing for me to do but wait on them to wake up and realize that they are wrong. Meanwhile, my heart suffers. Taking the first step unlocks the door to peace. The first step may be literal or in some cases it may be a step that we take in our hearts. We may need to deal with our feelings before we are ready to go.

How do you see?

In an earlier post I suggested that it is good to live responsively. We should live in response to God's creative word. One of the most complex of the creative changes that God brings about in us has to do with our response to our surroundings. What do we see? How do we see? Who do we see? It is amazing how we can meet the same people and walk away with completely different impressions about them. Also, it is amazing how little we invest in seeing what God intends for us to see. One of the earliest casualties of our busy lives is compassion. As we become efficient and "professional" with our time management, we can lose the significance of the moments that God gives us. Recently I re-read some classic Henri Nouwen statements in "The Wonded Healer". His admonition for us as followers of Jesus is to bring out the best in others. He warns of the perils of observing people from a distance rather than seeing with God-given eyes of compassion. Of Christian leaders in the future he writes.."the danger is that his skillful diagnostic eye will become more an eye for distant and detailed analysis than the eye of a compassionate partner". Have you ever been guilty of sizing someone up and diagnosing what's wrong rather than giving place for the compassion of Christ to well up within you? I thought so...me too.

Live Responsively

What will guide my life this week? What will give focus to my speech and my choices? In a recent interview, Eugene Peterson referred to prayer as "answering speech". Peterson points out that in life the first word is spoken by God and all that we say or do is a response to His first word. That's an interesting way of approaching the week. Am I responding to God? Peterson reaches back to the creative word of God in the beginning and recognizes that God sets things in motion. What does it mean for me to live responsively? I consider that fact that God's creative activity has continued in my life. He has created a new heart in me. He has renewed my mind with creative energy. He has given me a new perspective with which to see the world around me. He has created new relationships in my life that He has ordained for His purposes. What is my response? Well, I need to answer His first words with gratitude and humilty. Why would He invest so much in my week? It gives new meaning to the Apostle Paul's words...redeem the time.

Relationship Check-up

I have many images of heaven that dance around my head. Of course, nothing is more important that being with God forever and ever. On a lighter note - I wonder if asparagus will taste like chocolate cake. I wonder if Snickers bars will be an excellent source of calcium and ice cream will be a miraculous "fat-burner"...And I wonder if flowers will grow like weeds. Weeds are incredible. Have you ever noticed that any type of plant that you hate has the most incredible root system. They refuse to die when it's dry. You can pull them up and they come back. Today I was pulling up some monkey grass for the one thousandth time. (I know it's not a weed, but I hate it). Not to worry, it will be back next week. It occurs to me that we should be like monkey grass. I don't mean we should emulate all of the annoying qualities. I'm talking about the root system. When I attempt to pull up my monkey grass, it is nearly impossible. The reason it is so difficult is the extensive root system. It seems that all my monkey grass is interconnected beneath the surface of the soil. I wonder how many relationships we have that connect us beneath the surface of our lives. Sometimes it seems that the pace of life has robbed us deep relationships. The pressure of our culture demands that we make friends on the fly. Yet our stability, our resiliency depends on healthy connections that are so much more than superficial acquaintances. They connect us. Take time to say thank you to a friend for being a friend.

Anger Management

There's a lot of talk about anger and hostility this week in light of the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech. In fact, I plan to speak about anger on Sunday morning at church. Anger is an amazing animal. I picture anger as a wild animal that makes it's way to our back door. We feed it and then we act shocked that it keeps coming back. Unfortunately, it's still a wild animal. (I realize that there is such a thing as righteous anger, but stay with me) Anger shows up early in the Bible. We are introduced to anger in the midst of the story of Cain and Abel. Abel gets good marks from God. Cain gets a failing grade. If we slow down long enough to digest the story we will notice that Cain also gets some great council from God. God tells Cain to beware of his sinful anger. My paraphrased version is this - either you will master it or it will master you. Here's where anger tends to go wrong. When we are angry (even when it is righteous anger) it is really hard to remember God's advice. Usually, we are too busy nursing our feelings and rehearsing the justification for our anger. In fact, one of the best strategies for mastering our anger is to step back and take a look at it for what it really is, gain clarity on what our next steps should be...and then starve it to death.

Dealing with the Sadness

How do you respond to the news that so many innocent lives have been taken? When I received word of the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday I felt sick. There are always more questions than answers and we are left to wonder "why?" and "what could have been?". Let us pray for all who are touched by this tragedy. God hears our prayers and delivers comfort and grace to those who are hurting. Sometimes these events affect our own sense of safety. That's understandable. It's tough when places we assume are safe are no longer safe. On a deeper level it is a reminder that we are not "safe" according to our external circumstance or location. "Safety" depends on our place with God. True "safety" is eternal and not temporary. It reaches beyond the events of this life. Preserve your relationship with God. I appreciate the words of Eugene Peterson and the way he encourages us to cherish our relationship with God in the midst of pain. He writes, "all the water in all the oceans cannot sink a ship unless it gets inside. Nor can all the trouble in the world harm us unless it gets within us. ..None of the things that happen to you, none of the troubles you encounter, have any power to get between you and God, dilute His grace in you, divert His will form you."

How's the weather

Is it Winter? Is it Spring? Is it Summer? Good questions that you may have asked in the past couple of weeks. The response of my flowers and shrubs is not encouraging. First they bloom, then they freeze. I'm sure they will be back. I'm not too worried. However, I think it is interesting that I have acted the least bit surprised by the weather. After all, it's East Tennesse. March-April in East Tennessee is supposed to be a mixture of all seasons. I remember one April when it snowed about five inches midway through the month. Our amazement at the changes in weather are not confined to the physical world. Sometimes changes in our lives seem to catch us off guard. There have been many times that I have moved from a time of rebirth and fruitfulness into a a quick freeze of outward evidence of the favor of God. What does it mean? That's a good question. Most of the time we spend more energy asking the questions and expressing our surprise than we do recognizing God's faithfulness through the changes.

Unhealthy Scripture?

Every now and then I plan a message that I know will get me in trouble. This week I will be talking about what it means to be "salt and light". Jesus makes it clear that we are supposed to have a positive influence on those around us. Our lives are supposed to make a difference. Nothing wrong with that. However, it is the illustration that gets me in trouble. I love salt. I am a "saltaholic " (made up word). I have been known to put salt on saltine crackers with peanut butter. Not so healthy. It's bad. My apologies to health conscious folks who are on low sodium diets...Sometimes when I am eating an apple, Nicholas will ask me for a bite - but, he has learned to ask whether I have put salt on it before he eats it. Well at least I don't have to be a low sodium follower of Chrsit. What would happen if I loved the saltiness that Jesus is describing that much? What if I craved influence for Jesus like I crave salt? That's what I plan to talk about this Sunday. Give it some thought. How much are you influencing those around you for good?

Knowing how to die and knowing how to live

Last night we reflected on the significance of the last sayings of Christ. I had an opportunity to talk about Jesus' saying: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. To me, these final words revealed a pure and total trust in the Father. Ultimately, Jesus entrusted His spirit into the Father's care. It seems to me that this is a model for living and dying. Is it possible to live without trust? Many times I have witnessed the toxicity that exists in marriages and families without trust. All too often I have been called into organizational meetings to try and remedy ills that were due to a lack of trust. Life without trust is not what God has in mind for us. If we spend our lives doubting God or denying His love for us, we distance ourselves from His power to transform us. Of course, God does not intend for us to live without trust. Nor does He intend for us to die without trusting Him. When Jesus spoke these words He knew that the Father's plan for Him on earth was finished. Also, He knew that the plan for the future was secure. His death was a sacrificial death for our sins. But, it was also a demonstration of the best way to die...trusting our heavenly Father.

Living like a Champion

OK, so thank goodness the NCAA basketball season is over. I have stayed up late for my last time. But, it was worth it to see the Lady Vols win their 7th National title last night. A couple of interesting side notes. First, Coach Pat Summit (the undisputed dean of women's basketball) said that this title was won in the off season with commitment in the weight room and practice. Second, this team did not always look like champions. Yet, they did not stop believing that they could come together and finish the job. I could not help but reflect on some earlier "failures" this year. I saw them at their worst. I was at the Duke game when the lady vols looked miserable. They fell behind by twenty points early in the game. That's right, the national champions did not score a point until Duke had jumped out to an embarrassing lead early in the game. And this was a home game for the Lady Vols. The similarities to our faith journey are striking. Sometimes (most times) our ability to win spiritual battles is gained in the "off season". Behind the scenes investments in the weight room of Bible study and prayer will pay off. Our commitment to believe that we will be victorious in the long run will sustain us (even when we feel like we are behind by twenty points). To quote the title of one of my favorite books, it really is "A long obedience in the same direction" that makes us disciples. I do plan on cutting down the net at the end of my journey.

Interesting Perspective

I'm heading to the eye doctor today for a laser procedure on my left eye. It seems that there is some cloudiness that has developed as a result of cataract surgery that I had a little over a year ago. It is supposed to be a very quick procedure and no restrictions afterward. I am not writing to bore anyone with a minor procedure - but it is significant in my life for the following reasons. I can easily remember many other eye procedures that were much more serious in my life. When I reflect on those difficult days I remember what it was like to be anxious and fearful. With this latest situation in my left eye (even before my diagnosis) I have noticed that I have not had the same kind of fear. I'm not sure I understand all the reasons why - but one thing I know for sure. God has helped me learn some lessons about trust. I am learning to trust the Lord. I am learning that God will be with me no matter what. If my heart belongs to Him then it follows that my eyes do too.