Generous Justice

I have been reading in Timothy Keller's "Generous Justice". Keller notes "there is a direct relationship between a person’s grasp and experience of God’s grace, and his or her heart for justice and the poor". It is a comment that hits home with me. I have recently commented to a group of students that the greatest change that I have experienced in my faith has been my understanding of grace. I can only hope that Keller's statement is true in my life. He makes a good point. As we experience God's grace and understand how God saturates our lives with gifts that we could never earn or deserve, it should cultivate generosity in our hearts. I say that "it should" because we have to combat our tendency toward selfishness. As we grasp and experience God's grace, we must choose to recognize the nature of His grace. His grace makes us ambassadors. The Bible makes it clear that we are "stewards".

Peace

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7

I was studying in Philippians this week. This particular verse has been a favorite of mine for a long time. The idea that God's peace can guard our hearts and minds has been a source of great comfort to me in some of my most difficult times in life. Along with the comforting message of this verse, I have often recognized that God's peace is so amazing that it is indescribable. In other words, God's peace is beyond "my understanding". As I read this passage this week, I thought about the deep truth in that statement. Not only is God's peace beyond measure, it really is beyond undertanding. At first, this may sound like subtle twist on the message of this verse. However, at times this can be a hindrance to the peace we crave. Sometimes our desire to "understand" our situation or "understand" how God can give peace actually hinders us from receiving God's peace. If I require "understanding" in all things, I will forfeit God's peace. I'm not saying that we shouldn't seek to gain understanding. But, if we wait until we understand everything we will never discover what it means to trust God.

Oh No

I must confess that I was reading highlights from Gabe Lyons' book "The Next Christians" electronically when I came across the following quote: "More technology leads to more distractions from faith practices". OK Gabe, but I bought your book on my Kindle. All kidding aside, (mostly) I agree with Gabe. Technology has a real tendency to creep up on us and steal our quiet moments. It can consume our opportunities to be still and meditate. Too often the promises that technology will simplify are veiled enticements of complication. So here I am sharing my thoughts on a blog. Yet, I think I have Gabe on this one. My blog is a "faith practice" for me. Writing is a way to journal my thoughts and ponder my spirituality. Not only that, it is a way to share with a community. What does this mean? Well, with every blessing comes responsibility. We must become more and more intentional about preparing the next generation for technological stewardship. Technology can take us away from God or become an increasingly useful tool to develop our relationship with God and share with others.