Strays on the Porch:Its Direction not Perfection that Counts
Today I laughed so hard I cried.
Around mid-morning I visited Sanford. He was on the porch, with his seven (I counted them.) dogs. He loves his dogs. They are all strays, but he cares for them. He’s got a tender heart that way.
Sanford has come a long way since I first met him ten years ago at his sixty-third birthday party. He kept then, as he does now, a gray stubble of whiskers and wears a ball cap. He was wearing his hat that day, and dancing as his guests cheered him on. I thought he would surely fall and hurt himself. He never did, although he was drunker than anyone I’ve ever seen in my life. But that was then and today Sanford is sober. I like him, a lot.
Today, we had coffee together. He makes instant coffee. Terrible stuff. Out of his kindness, he even bought some creamer for me. It helps, but not enough. Today, I loaded the cup with creamer and we talked. That’s when he started telling me about his neighbor’s teenage son. That’s when I laughed so hard.
“I tell you,” he began, “That’s the awfullest sight (speaking of the boy) I ever saw. That kid beats it all. He’ll break anything. Why, he drove the riding lawn mower into the mailbox the other day and knocked it plum over!”
I chuckled because I’d heard others tell of the boy’s recklessness.
“Then his mommy got on it and mowed. I was watching when the kid got off the mower. He walked straight over there and got the push mower. You know what he done? He no sooner had it started than he pushed that thing right up over the metal meter box--and it a good 4 or 5 inches above the ground level! Warped the shaft on that mower. I’d say ruined it for good.”
The way he was telling it, I was ear to ear grins at this point and had a little tearing at the corners. I think this added fuel to his flame, because he become more animated, even standing up, and continued with enthusiasm.
“You won’t believe me, but sure ‘nuff that kid come over here and asked to use MY mower! Course, I let him have it and he pushed that thing directly (pronounced DIE-wreck-tly) over to that chunk of cement sticking up out of the ground over yonder and ran my mower up over it! Don't believe me? Look. Over there lay the bent blade. Warped the shaft on my mower too.”
More tears and side holding.
“Guess you heard (pronounced hear-d) about his driving? The first week his folks gave him that Toyota, the kid drove it to school and hit a parked car! The very first day! Well, they got it fixed for him, you know. The next week he drove the Toyota with the oil light on till it overheated and froze the motor plum up. Just ruined it! I tell you, the kid would tear up an anvil just to keep from having to work.”
(Beats me what the work ethic comment had to do with anything, but the exageration about tearing up the anvil sent me rolling.)
I know this boy. In his defence, he’s a good kid, but it does seem that accidents find him. For example, this summer he drove by a short term mission group we were hosting. To his credit, he was moving at a snail’s pace, but being a little on the short side he had to strain to see over the dash. He was stretching his neck to full extention, making sure he was clearing our vehicles parked along the narrow side road when suddenly the rear end of his truck lifted about three feet off the ground! Though he’d avoided our vehicles, he’d not seen the place along his side of the road where recent rains had eaten away the edge of the pavement. His tire had plunged into the hole. The sudden drop and stop lifted the back of the pickup into the air.
Stunned and panicked, he jumped from the car, “Oh no! My Dad is going to kill me!” he said. “Why do these things always happen to me?!”
I consoled, "I’ll talk to your dad and vouch for your having been trying to be careful. That hole was hard to see, and its hard driving around all these vehicles parked along here.”
We pulled him free with another truck and he was soon on his way. After talking with Sanford today, I now understand the boy's comment about “things” happening to him.
Do any of you feel a little like this young man: like you can’t seem to get the ‘christian-thing’ right? Deep inside, being honest with yourself, do fear that when your Heavenly Dad finds out, He is going to kill you?!
Hey, all of us have fallen short of God’s ideals, but listen: Jesus goes to the Father on our behalf saying, “I’ll vouch for him. He was trying, and it’s hard living around all those temptations down there.”
The question He has for us is just one, “Are you trying with your whole heart?”
If so, then I imagine we’ll one day find a place on God’s porch where all we strays are welcomed and loved and where we’ll enjoy hearty laughter for eternity. I hope Sanford is there. I'm sure his coffee won't be.
"But now a different way of being right with God, apart from perfect obedience to law, is available to us. We are made right in God's sight by relying on Jesus. For all of us have failed to perfectly obey God's standards. Yet God, in His gracious kindness, declares, 'Everything is okay', because Jesus has spoken for us and worked it out with Our Father." --Romans 3:21-25 (paraphrase mine)
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Beyond the Rituals:Letting God Reign in Our Lives
The Metronome: Rhythm for Life
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” –Hebrews 13:8
I like music, but I don’t like all music--especially what I call, “Idiot-Music”.
I know. I know. I’m supposed to be “Open minded. Flexible. A creative thinker etc.”, but the fact is I don’t like music that is chaotic, scrambled, rhythm less, haphazard. I like order. Music, true music, has a beat that is orderly. Random screaming lacks order and it bespeaks a problem….with the ‘musician’.
The metronome is a wonderful little device that some of these chaos-musicians (oxymoron), need to discover. If you aren’t a musician you may not know that the metronome is a rhythm keeping device. It tocks at a consistent rate. No matter whether the musician plays too fast or too slow, the metronome remains the same.
This morning the sun rose at our place around 6:40 a.m. The fog was heavy, only allowing a brief glow from the sun. Then, the curtain closed and the sunrise was cloaked beneath the foggy blanket. Though I didn’t see it clearly, I know the sun rose fully. It does so consistently.
The Fall season is coming. Though warmish still, weather in Tennessee is gradually cooling and nights are stretching. It will be freezing by January or February. Benjamin, my 10 year old, asked me when it would snow this year. I took a shot at, "Between Thanksgiving and Christmas." Though guessing about this year's first snow I am solidly confident that it will not snow here next June. I’m confident because a summer-snow is not the pattern of nature. Nature is more consistent than that.
Life itself has a flow that is regular: day-night, wake-sleep, birth-death, generation-generation, body-spirit. Consistency is, I believe, a virtue. It is, after all one of God’s character qualities—therefore, it has to be a virtue. As such, we should desire it.
Jesus is “the same” yesterday, today and forever. Autos is the Greek word. It is translated “he, she, it, himself, herself, itself, the same one”. Jesus is autos. He is himself yesterday, today and forever. He is the same one today as he was yesterday and as he will be tomorrow. He is unchanged. He is consistent.
“I, the LORD, do not change” (Malachi 3:6). The Hebrew word means ‘do again, disguise, pretend, change’. God is saying that He is who he is and isn’t fooling us. What we see is what we do and will get-- no pretending, no presenting himself again differently.
When the guards came to arrest Jesus he said, “I am he.” He went on to explain, “I taught in your temple. Why do you come out to me with spears?” Inferring, “I have always been a peaceful, law abiding citizen, why would I be any different now?” He was and is consistent.
God is consistent. Christians should be consistent. I know we aren’t (can’t be) perfect, but we can become, or at least persistent in our pursuit of becoming, consistent. The New Life, if relegated to occasional rituals (Sunday meetings, Easter holy-days, Meal-time prayers, daily devotional rituals etal), is out of sinc with God’s metronome. That’s why it produces a sense of tension, interruption, frustration, and fatigue. It’s like Idiot Music that no one likes-- except wierd, out-of-sinc people like Big-Haired TV Evangelist types, and empty women who get warm fuzzies from doing ‘church stuff’, or from being into whatever is currently ‘Sooooo wonderful!’. (Please understand what I mean by those comparisons and what I DON’T mean.)
The New Life, to make my point, is non-compartmentalized. It’s 24/7. It goes on at all times. It is at the store, the job, weekends, when you buy things, when you are listening, watching, reading, writing, talking. It is yesterday, today and forever. Tock, tock, tock, tock like a metronome.
Let’s begin to pray that we can get in, and stay in, rhythm with God. The music will be delightful….. and sane.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” –Hebrews 13:8
I like music, but I don’t like all music--especially what I call, “Idiot-Music”.
I know. I know. I’m supposed to be “Open minded. Flexible. A creative thinker etc.”, but the fact is I don’t like music that is chaotic, scrambled, rhythm less, haphazard. I like order. Music, true music, has a beat that is orderly. Random screaming lacks order and it bespeaks a problem….with the ‘musician’.
The metronome is a wonderful little device that some of these chaos-musicians (oxymoron), need to discover. If you aren’t a musician you may not know that the metronome is a rhythm keeping device. It tocks at a consistent rate. No matter whether the musician plays too fast or too slow, the metronome remains the same.
This morning the sun rose at our place around 6:40 a.m. The fog was heavy, only allowing a brief glow from the sun. Then, the curtain closed and the sunrise was cloaked beneath the foggy blanket. Though I didn’t see it clearly, I know the sun rose fully. It does so consistently.
The Fall season is coming. Though warmish still, weather in Tennessee is gradually cooling and nights are stretching. It will be freezing by January or February. Benjamin, my 10 year old, asked me when it would snow this year. I took a shot at, "Between Thanksgiving and Christmas." Though guessing about this year's first snow I am solidly confident that it will not snow here next June. I’m confident because a summer-snow is not the pattern of nature. Nature is more consistent than that.
Life itself has a flow that is regular: day-night, wake-sleep, birth-death, generation-generation, body-spirit. Consistency is, I believe, a virtue. It is, after all one of God’s character qualities—therefore, it has to be a virtue. As such, we should desire it.
Jesus is “the same” yesterday, today and forever. Autos is the Greek word. It is translated “he, she, it, himself, herself, itself, the same one”. Jesus is autos. He is himself yesterday, today and forever. He is the same one today as he was yesterday and as he will be tomorrow. He is unchanged. He is consistent.
“I, the LORD, do not change” (Malachi 3:6). The Hebrew word means ‘do again, disguise, pretend, change’. God is saying that He is who he is and isn’t fooling us. What we see is what we do and will get-- no pretending, no presenting himself again differently.
When the guards came to arrest Jesus he said, “I am he.” He went on to explain, “I taught in your temple. Why do you come out to me with spears?” Inferring, “I have always been a peaceful, law abiding citizen, why would I be any different now?” He was and is consistent.
God is consistent. Christians should be consistent. I know we aren’t (can’t be) perfect, but we can become, or at least persistent in our pursuit of becoming, consistent. The New Life, if relegated to occasional rituals (Sunday meetings, Easter holy-days, Meal-time prayers, daily devotional rituals etal), is out of sinc with God’s metronome. That’s why it produces a sense of tension, interruption, frustration, and fatigue. It’s like Idiot Music that no one likes-- except wierd, out-of-sinc people like Big-Haired TV Evangelist types, and empty women who get warm fuzzies from doing ‘church stuff’, or from being into whatever is currently ‘Sooooo wonderful!’. (Please understand what I mean by those comparisons and what I DON’T mean.)
The New Life, to make my point, is non-compartmentalized. It’s 24/7. It goes on at all times. It is at the store, the job, weekends, when you buy things, when you are listening, watching, reading, writing, talking. It is yesterday, today and forever. Tock, tock, tock, tock like a metronome.
Let’s begin to pray that we can get in, and stay in, rhythm with God. The music will be delightful….. and sane.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Speak Where The Bible Speaks...
"Speak where the Bible Speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent."
I was out for a jog this morning when this quote entered my mind. I have heard this sentence since I was a boy and thought it to be good. This morning, I didn't like it.
Not liking this mantra that I have been immersed in for many years did not come bring any sense of relief or comfort. In fact, my not liking this quote disrtupted my comfort. I have counted on this one for years. It was sure. It was safe. It was right. And if it wasn't right, nothing else seemed righter (righter?).
However, my discomfort did not lead me back to embracing this quote full on, but rather left me treading water.
OK, let's take a look at the quote and see what the good and the troubling parts of it are.
Good:
1. Safe Bet. If you want to say that what is in the Bible is God's Word, then this quote is safe. If that's all you want to say.
2. Consumable. There is next to no one who cannot understand and digest this simple sentence. Its simplicity is really quite genius. It almost sounds like a Rick Warren slogan.
3. Clear. Its clarity is remarkable. There is no gray area whatsoever. It is so easy to do, at least it is so easy to believe you're doing it. There is only one variable with which to deal.
4. Comfortable. It provides a very settled feeling. There is no more work or discernment that needs ot be done. All of that struggling and wrestling is taken care of. There is so much that does not even have to be thought about.
I am sure there is other good to it, but we'll leave it at that.
Trouble:
1. Reductionistic. Even though Jesus said, in the Bible, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age," and even though Jesus said, in the Bible, "I will send the Comforter," and many other things, "Speak where the Bible speaks..." does not allow for the ever present Jesus, the Counselor (Holy Spirit as I understand the passage) to tell us anything besides, "read the Bible." This quote has effectively muted God for just under 2000 years.
2. Not Biblical. No where in the Bible does it say that the Bible is all there is to God's Word. Oh sure, someone is going pull out, "do not add or take away...," but to say that means the Bible is the sum of God's Word and God does not, will not, and cannot speak in any other way is such a ridiculous stretch of scripture that it would be speaking where the Bible does not speak.
3. Who's been talking to me? I believe God has spoken to me. I'm not one of those people who gets to hear the audible voice of God. I probably don't enough faith to hear it an live. However, I have heard God speak in dreams, in "coincidence," in wise words from friends the people I trust, in circumstance, in emotion, in thought. I have had instance when I spoke words of insight and wisdom to people that I was in no way capable of on my own. I wondered where that came from. Did God speak through me, or am I just that smart? If you know me and heard what I said, it would be easy to understand that it was God and not me.
4. Why pray? If God is done talking, then he's done answering prayer. There is no need to pray, just read the Bible. If it's all in there, then what's the point in praying? God's just going to point his finger at the Bible anyway.
5. Inhibits Growth. A people without struggle is a people without growth. When making sense of life, the Bible is helpful, but it is not all there is. In a way, the Bible can get in between a person and God. I am not saying it is wrong, but I am saying that God wants us to love Him more than anything else.
6. Promotes idol worship. That got your attention. :-) The Bible is one of God's creations, ranking in the top 5 of all things created, but any created thing getting between a person and God or viewed by a person as being in the place of God is, in fact, an enemy to God. We make an idol of one of God's creations, the Bible.
7. Return to the Old Law. If we cannot engage with the living God directly, then the Bible isn't true. Jesus came to "tear down the curtain," (a thing separating God and humanity) and make the Holy of Holies available to us all. If we have to funnel all interactions, relationship, and everything through the Bible, then the Bible itself becomes the curtain Jesus came to remove. Although Jesus tore the curtain, we got our sewing kits out an repaired it.
I'll stop there, although I could go on. My point is this: The Bible is some of God's word. It isn't pretty and it is isn't even safe. But "safe, who said anything about safe?"
I was out for a jog this morning when this quote entered my mind. I have heard this sentence since I was a boy and thought it to be good. This morning, I didn't like it.
Not liking this mantra that I have been immersed in for many years did not come bring any sense of relief or comfort. In fact, my not liking this quote disrtupted my comfort. I have counted on this one for years. It was sure. It was safe. It was right. And if it wasn't right, nothing else seemed righter (righter?).
However, my discomfort did not lead me back to embracing this quote full on, but rather left me treading water.
OK, let's take a look at the quote and see what the good and the troubling parts of it are.
Good:
1. Safe Bet. If you want to say that what is in the Bible is God's Word, then this quote is safe. If that's all you want to say.
2. Consumable. There is next to no one who cannot understand and digest this simple sentence. Its simplicity is really quite genius. It almost sounds like a Rick Warren slogan.
3. Clear. Its clarity is remarkable. There is no gray area whatsoever. It is so easy to do, at least it is so easy to believe you're doing it. There is only one variable with which to deal.
4. Comfortable. It provides a very settled feeling. There is no more work or discernment that needs ot be done. All of that struggling and wrestling is taken care of. There is so much that does not even have to be thought about.
I am sure there is other good to it, but we'll leave it at that.
Trouble:
1. Reductionistic. Even though Jesus said, in the Bible, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age," and even though Jesus said, in the Bible, "I will send the Comforter," and many other things, "Speak where the Bible speaks..." does not allow for the ever present Jesus, the Counselor (Holy Spirit as I understand the passage) to tell us anything besides, "read the Bible." This quote has effectively muted God for just under 2000 years.
2. Not Biblical. No where in the Bible does it say that the Bible is all there is to God's Word. Oh sure, someone is going pull out, "do not add or take away...," but to say that means the Bible is the sum of God's Word and God does not, will not, and cannot speak in any other way is such a ridiculous stretch of scripture that it would be speaking where the Bible does not speak.
3. Who's been talking to me? I believe God has spoken to me. I'm not one of those people who gets to hear the audible voice of God. I probably don't enough faith to hear it an live. However, I have heard God speak in dreams, in "coincidence," in wise words from friends the people I trust, in circumstance, in emotion, in thought. I have had instance when I spoke words of insight and wisdom to people that I was in no way capable of on my own. I wondered where that came from. Did God speak through me, or am I just that smart? If you know me and heard what I said, it would be easy to understand that it was God and not me.
4. Why pray? If God is done talking, then he's done answering prayer. There is no need to pray, just read the Bible. If it's all in there, then what's the point in praying? God's just going to point his finger at the Bible anyway.
5. Inhibits Growth. A people without struggle is a people without growth. When making sense of life, the Bible is helpful, but it is not all there is. In a way, the Bible can get in between a person and God. I am not saying it is wrong, but I am saying that God wants us to love Him more than anything else.
6. Promotes idol worship. That got your attention. :-) The Bible is one of God's creations, ranking in the top 5 of all things created, but any created thing getting between a person and God or viewed by a person as being in the place of God is, in fact, an enemy to God. We make an idol of one of God's creations, the Bible.
7. Return to the Old Law. If we cannot engage with the living God directly, then the Bible isn't true. Jesus came to "tear down the curtain," (a thing separating God and humanity) and make the Holy of Holies available to us all. If we have to funnel all interactions, relationship, and everything through the Bible, then the Bible itself becomes the curtain Jesus came to remove. Although Jesus tore the curtain, we got our sewing kits out an repaired it.
I'll stop there, although I could go on. My point is this: The Bible is some of God's word. It isn't pretty and it is isn't even safe. But "safe, who said anything about safe?"
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Supersize or Downsize My Christian Life
The Gospel of Mark and Polytheism: Supersize or Downsize Me?
By Ron Clark, Portland, OR
Polytheism is a word we do not think about to often. The word means “many gods.” The term suggests that an individual believes and worships more than one God or Lord. We do not meet many people who are polytheists, here in America, so most of us understand worship as a one on one relationship with a god or divine being. Balance is a word we do understand. Balance means that everything is equal, in harmony, or in order.
When Jesus called his disciples he called working men. Peter and Anderew were fishing and he call ed them to follow him (Mark 1:14-18). They dropped their nets. James and John were sewing/fixing their torn nets after a night of fishing. They dropped their nets (Mark 1:19-20). Matthew was working collecting taxes (Mark 2:13-14). He abandoned his calculator (maybe without even turning it off).
I remember when I was converted I was taught that these verses showed us that "Jesus calls working people." If you want something done, get someone who is busy. If you ask a busy person to do it, they will find the time and do it quickly. If someone has the time, they will not follow Jesus. If they are not working, they will not be spiritual. 20% of the people in the church do 80% of the work. This was my philosophy when I became a Christian. This was my ethic.
Then I began to study with people, baptize people, and help Christians heal and return to the front line. I found out something. 20% of the people do 80% of the work because we only ask the same 20% to work. We assume that the 80% may not work so we don't find something for them to do--unlike the guy in Matthew who invited everyone to work in the vineyard. I also found that the 20% were already maxed out--but worked on adrenaline and guilt. I am a recovering adrenalinaholic and guilt user (well not really--still struggling with addiction). Yet I continued to use the 20% and ask them over and over again to work. This, in spite of the fact that I was needing to learn to set boundaries and say "No to Adrenaline and Guilt Drugs." Then I began to hear from people that they didn't have time for God. That they were burned out. That they were tired and empty in their spirituality. My solution--"Jesus called working people--work it out." There we go, drive old Satan away--idle hands and idle minds are the devil's workshops.
In a world of polythesim worshipping many gods was very complex. Life was about balance and keeping everything and every god happy. Worshippers lived somewhat in fear and tried to keep many plates (gods) in their favor. The call to monotheism (one god) was both risky and more simpler. To follow one god meant that you risked ticking all the other gods off. But it provided a sense of peace and rest. One god meant that everything you needed came from one source. It was sort of Walmart god (one stop shopping). When Yahweh tells Israel that they were to be completely devoted to Him it was not one more thing to do--it was the only thing to do. When Jesus called the disciples to follow him, it made their life less complicated. One God and one Lord did not "supersize" or "complicate" one's life. It downsized it. God was not trying to make our lives more complicated, He was trying to make them simpler. Jesus was not piling another plate on a crowded schedule, he was calling them to downsize.
The call to follow Jesus is a chance to downsize, rest, and put things into perspective. The call to follow Jesus is not meant to make us "busier," "stressed out," or "adrenaline junkies." The call was not even meant to make guilty people guiltier. It was and is meant to give us peace. Maybe that is what it means to "repent and believe the good news" (Mark 1:15).
What think ye?
By Ron Clark, Portland, OR
Polytheism is a word we do not think about to often. The word means “many gods.” The term suggests that an individual believes and worships more than one God or Lord. We do not meet many people who are polytheists, here in America, so most of us understand worship as a one on one relationship with a god or divine being. Balance is a word we do understand. Balance means that everything is equal, in harmony, or in order.
When Jesus called his disciples he called working men. Peter and Anderew were fishing and he call ed them to follow him (Mark 1:14-18). They dropped their nets. James and John were sewing/fixing their torn nets after a night of fishing. They dropped their nets (Mark 1:19-20). Matthew was working collecting taxes (Mark 2:13-14). He abandoned his calculator (maybe without even turning it off).
I remember when I was converted I was taught that these verses showed us that "Jesus calls working people." If you want something done, get someone who is busy. If you ask a busy person to do it, they will find the time and do it quickly. If someone has the time, they will not follow Jesus. If they are not working, they will not be spiritual. 20% of the people in the church do 80% of the work. This was my philosophy when I became a Christian. This was my ethic.
Then I began to study with people, baptize people, and help Christians heal and return to the front line. I found out something. 20% of the people do 80% of the work because we only ask the same 20% to work. We assume that the 80% may not work so we don't find something for them to do--unlike the guy in Matthew who invited everyone to work in the vineyard. I also found that the 20% were already maxed out--but worked on adrenaline and guilt. I am a recovering adrenalinaholic and guilt user (well not really--still struggling with addiction). Yet I continued to use the 20% and ask them over and over again to work. This, in spite of the fact that I was needing to learn to set boundaries and say "No to Adrenaline and Guilt Drugs." Then I began to hear from people that they didn't have time for God. That they were burned out. That they were tired and empty in their spirituality. My solution--"Jesus called working people--work it out." There we go, drive old Satan away--idle hands and idle minds are the devil's workshops.
In a world of polythesim worshipping many gods was very complex. Life was about balance and keeping everything and every god happy. Worshippers lived somewhat in fear and tried to keep many plates (gods) in their favor. The call to monotheism (one god) was both risky and more simpler. To follow one god meant that you risked ticking all the other gods off. But it provided a sense of peace and rest. One god meant that everything you needed came from one source. It was sort of Walmart god (one stop shopping). When Yahweh tells Israel that they were to be completely devoted to Him it was not one more thing to do--it was the only thing to do. When Jesus called the disciples to follow him, it made their life less complicated. One God and one Lord did not "supersize" or "complicate" one's life. It downsized it. God was not trying to make our lives more complicated, He was trying to make them simpler. Jesus was not piling another plate on a crowded schedule, he was calling them to downsize.
The call to follow Jesus is a chance to downsize, rest, and put things into perspective. The call to follow Jesus is not meant to make us "busier," "stressed out," or "adrenaline junkies." The call was not even meant to make guilty people guiltier. It was and is meant to give us peace. Maybe that is what it means to "repent and believe the good news" (Mark 1:15).
What think ye?
Monday, September 19, 2005
Beyond the Rituals:Letting God Reign in Our Lives
“The Development of Faith is Frightening.”
By
Stephen Meeks
The scent of acacia pollen is bittersweet and strong in the early morning. That’s when they begin -- in the early morning.
Smoke rising from cooking fires snakes its way through thatched roofs and strikes at the dawn. It is the beginning of an African day, and they are turning boys into men.
Frightened fifteen and sixteen year olds, naked and shivering, smeared with mud, stand at attention. Today they are to become murenik (men/warriors), and join their Fathers on the distant side of an invisible bridge.
The chasm of transition from boyhood to manhood is intimidating. Young hearts approach the chasm's edge holding their breath and hoping for the courage to cross. Old hearts on the opposite bank pray that their sons will be brave.
A motiriot (initiated leader) instructs the boys, "Step where I step".
Caked mud dries and draws in the noonday sun, but the boys do not notice. They do not notice the crowd, the heat, the wild dove piping out her song, or the pounding in their hearts. Oblivious to embarassment, fatigue, thirst, or hunger they follow their motiriot as the hours advance under an oversized sky.
Eyes fixed, initiates follow their leader across the chasm of their inner doubts and fears, until, in the night, they unflinchingly brave the pain of circumcision and pass onto the side of their Fathers; greeting the morning as men.
There are spiritual passages in life-- situations and circumstances we face that shove us to the edge of dizzying decisions. Sometimes the edge drops with a nauseating steepness, and updrafts of doubt roar, "It held for them, but who can guarantee the bridge will hold for you!?” On the far bank, the Hebrews writer says we have a group of encouraging witnesses assuring us that God will lead safely through. They pray for our bravery.
Those mud-covered African boys know the secret to success. With riveted attention they march in the tracks of their motiriot. Ignoring the heat, the discomfort, the dangers they fix their attention on the steps of their teacher-- trusting him completely.
That's what faith is. Though faint with fear and dizzy with doubt, faith is releasing our life onto God's character -- following His lead, trusting Him completely.
Do you risk dismissal or demotion if you don’t follow an unethical directive at work? Do you fear being ‘paraded’ before your friends if you don't at least pretend to agree with their humanistic views? Might you loose the one you love if you obey God’s will for chastity? This is the precipice.
The depth of the chasm, the strength of the updrafts, nor the sway of the bridge really matter. The question is will you trust that God is able? That He is near? That He is good? That He is involved? The decision to trust-- regardless of consequence -- is what turns boys into men and it is what transforms belief (belonging even to demons) into faith (belonging only to disciples).
Times are different. Cultures are different. Customs are different, but the path is the same -- steep, treacherous. Faith is following Him through these frightening times of testing, these rites of passage. There is no other way to become God's man.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..." Hebrews 12:2
By
Stephen Meeks
The scent of acacia pollen is bittersweet and strong in the early morning. That’s when they begin -- in the early morning.
Smoke rising from cooking fires snakes its way through thatched roofs and strikes at the dawn. It is the beginning of an African day, and they are turning boys into men.
Frightened fifteen and sixteen year olds, naked and shivering, smeared with mud, stand at attention. Today they are to become murenik (men/warriors), and join their Fathers on the distant side of an invisible bridge.
The chasm of transition from boyhood to manhood is intimidating. Young hearts approach the chasm's edge holding their breath and hoping for the courage to cross. Old hearts on the opposite bank pray that their sons will be brave.
A motiriot (initiated leader) instructs the boys, "Step where I step".
Caked mud dries and draws in the noonday sun, but the boys do not notice. They do not notice the crowd, the heat, the wild dove piping out her song, or the pounding in their hearts. Oblivious to embarassment, fatigue, thirst, or hunger they follow their motiriot as the hours advance under an oversized sky.
Eyes fixed, initiates follow their leader across the chasm of their inner doubts and fears, until, in the night, they unflinchingly brave the pain of circumcision and pass onto the side of their Fathers; greeting the morning as men.
There are spiritual passages in life-- situations and circumstances we face that shove us to the edge of dizzying decisions. Sometimes the edge drops with a nauseating steepness, and updrafts of doubt roar, "It held for them, but who can guarantee the bridge will hold for you!?” On the far bank, the Hebrews writer says we have a group of encouraging witnesses assuring us that God will lead safely through. They pray for our bravery.
Those mud-covered African boys know the secret to success. With riveted attention they march in the tracks of their motiriot. Ignoring the heat, the discomfort, the dangers they fix their attention on the steps of their teacher-- trusting him completely.
That's what faith is. Though faint with fear and dizzy with doubt, faith is releasing our life onto God's character -- following His lead, trusting Him completely.
Do you risk dismissal or demotion if you don’t follow an unethical directive at work? Do you fear being ‘paraded’ before your friends if you don't at least pretend to agree with their humanistic views? Might you loose the one you love if you obey God’s will for chastity? This is the precipice.
The depth of the chasm, the strength of the updrafts, nor the sway of the bridge really matter. The question is will you trust that God is able? That He is near? That He is good? That He is involved? The decision to trust-- regardless of consequence -- is what turns boys into men and it is what transforms belief (belonging even to demons) into faith (belonging only to disciples).
Times are different. Cultures are different. Customs are different, but the path is the same -- steep, treacherous. Faith is following Him through these frightening times of testing, these rites of passage. There is no other way to become God's man.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..." Hebrews 12:2
Healing the Demoniac
The Gospel of Mark and Polytheism: Healing the Demoniac
by Ron Clark, Portland, OR
Polytheism is a word we do not think about to often. The word means “many gods.” The term suggests that an individual believes and worships more than one God or Lord. We do not meet many people who are polytheists, here in America, so most of us understand worship as a one on one relationship with a god or divine being.
Balance is a word we do understand. Balance means that everything is equal, in harmony, or in order. Balance in a polytheistic world meant that everything, good or evil, had its place and location in the world. Worship was not about praising one God, it was about keeping all the gods happy. Balance was not achieved through peace and harmony, it was achieved through manipulation, power, control, and covering your bases. This, above all, must have been exhausting.
In Mark 5 Jesus came to an area that had this form of balance. In a polytheistic society you kept the evil forces on your side (unless you wanted to curse someone) and the good forces on your side. It was even important to keep evil at bay, out of sight, out of mind. Hence we have a demoniac running around outside the city and howling around the graves and hills (where shrines tend to be). He is separated from the city. He could not be controlled so they let him run outside the city and become self destructive (Mark 5:1-5). This is convenient. Keep the bad guy with all the demons outside the city and we can continue in peace. This was balance. Yet, Jesus had a way of disrupting balance. A commitment to one God tends to do that. Just as King Josiah disrupted everyone’s system of balance, so Jesus came to seek and save (not drive out) those who are lost. Jesus exercised complete control on the demoniac and gave the many evil spirits permission to destroy the pigs (see what I mean by upsetting balance). In the minds of the people, the demons are now in the water and you never know what will happen next. His power was so strong that the people were afraid of him and begged him to go away from the whole region (Mark 5:17).
I could never understand why they did this—other than maybe they were afraid he would affect more livestock. Actually, he disturbed their nice, controlled, and balanced way of life. As long as they had a man they could call evil, they could send him away and go about their normal existence. Hearing the howls of the demoniac reminded them that evil was outside the camp and far from their safe environment.
My wife Lori and I have been in ministry for over 17 years. We began working with women and children who were victims of domestic violence in 1992. We learned to protect them and the theology behind their suffering, pain, and empowerment. In 1998 God moved us to Portland where Lori continued the work with victims and I learned how to help the abusive men. The batterer intervention counselors (most of them secular) taught me to have compassion on these men and understand how to help them by calling them to accountability. After a couple years of this training I again read the story of the demoniac. I came face to face with my own fears of these men and the realization that they are convenient demoniacs in our society.
We do not have room for these men in our cities. We drive them out, along with pedophiles and sexual addicts. I am not making excuses for their behavior--I am questioning whether we have a nice system of balance set up. As long as we demonize them and send them away we don't have to believe that evil is still among us. While they howl outside the city we publically warn people to beware of these evil creatures, not acknowledging that we all have the potential (living in a different family or place or lifestyle) to be evil, controlling, and abusive. I have had to acknowledge my own tendencies for power and control and struggle with sexual temptations as a man in a socieity that degrades women and children.
Are we any different than the citizens of Gerasa? And yet the command is still the same. "Go and tell everyone what the Lord has done for you..." The demoniacs of our age are still to be held accountable. Abusive men are called to display repentance to all and validate those whom they have destroyed by their language, fists, and attitudes rather than jump on the boat and flee with Jesus. Pedophiles must return to face their sins, their victims, and show people that repentance is more than a statement, it is a life long committment to Jesus. Sexual addicts must face the pain of those they hurt and show that women are not objects, but humans worthy of respect and love who are created in the image of Almighty God. The Savior is the same. He goes where we fear to go and has a habit of upsetting our nice balanced system of evil and good. He reminds us that evil (not flesh and blood) is to be confronted, challenged, and driven away. That all forms of evil should be faced and those under its power healed so that they can be "sitting, clothed, and in their right minds." He challenges us to embrace the demoniac and call him to repentance and health. He calls us to stop seeing evil as geographical or social and accept that it is pathological. He calls us to search out those howling among the tombs and give them a reason to sing. My Jesus loves us all and all of us includes all of them!!!!!
What think ye?
by Ron Clark, Portland, OR
Polytheism is a word we do not think about to often. The word means “many gods.” The term suggests that an individual believes and worships more than one God or Lord. We do not meet many people who are polytheists, here in America, so most of us understand worship as a one on one relationship with a god or divine being.
Balance is a word we do understand. Balance means that everything is equal, in harmony, or in order. Balance in a polytheistic world meant that everything, good or evil, had its place and location in the world. Worship was not about praising one God, it was about keeping all the gods happy. Balance was not achieved through peace and harmony, it was achieved through manipulation, power, control, and covering your bases. This, above all, must have been exhausting.
In Mark 5 Jesus came to an area that had this form of balance. In a polytheistic society you kept the evil forces on your side (unless you wanted to curse someone) and the good forces on your side. It was even important to keep evil at bay, out of sight, out of mind. Hence we have a demoniac running around outside the city and howling around the graves and hills (where shrines tend to be). He is separated from the city. He could not be controlled so they let him run outside the city and become self destructive (Mark 5:1-5). This is convenient. Keep the bad guy with all the demons outside the city and we can continue in peace. This was balance. Yet, Jesus had a way of disrupting balance. A commitment to one God tends to do that. Just as King Josiah disrupted everyone’s system of balance, so Jesus came to seek and save (not drive out) those who are lost. Jesus exercised complete control on the demoniac and gave the many evil spirits permission to destroy the pigs (see what I mean by upsetting balance). In the minds of the people, the demons are now in the water and you never know what will happen next. His power was so strong that the people were afraid of him and begged him to go away from the whole region (Mark 5:17).
I could never understand why they did this—other than maybe they were afraid he would affect more livestock. Actually, he disturbed their nice, controlled, and balanced way of life. As long as they had a man they could call evil, they could send him away and go about their normal existence. Hearing the howls of the demoniac reminded them that evil was outside the camp and far from their safe environment.
My wife Lori and I have been in ministry for over 17 years. We began working with women and children who were victims of domestic violence in 1992. We learned to protect them and the theology behind their suffering, pain, and empowerment. In 1998 God moved us to Portland where Lori continued the work with victims and I learned how to help the abusive men. The batterer intervention counselors (most of them secular) taught me to have compassion on these men and understand how to help them by calling them to accountability. After a couple years of this training I again read the story of the demoniac. I came face to face with my own fears of these men and the realization that they are convenient demoniacs in our society.
We do not have room for these men in our cities. We drive them out, along with pedophiles and sexual addicts. I am not making excuses for their behavior--I am questioning whether we have a nice system of balance set up. As long as we demonize them and send them away we don't have to believe that evil is still among us. While they howl outside the city we publically warn people to beware of these evil creatures, not acknowledging that we all have the potential (living in a different family or place or lifestyle) to be evil, controlling, and abusive. I have had to acknowledge my own tendencies for power and control and struggle with sexual temptations as a man in a socieity that degrades women and children.
Are we any different than the citizens of Gerasa? And yet the command is still the same. "Go and tell everyone what the Lord has done for you..." The demoniacs of our age are still to be held accountable. Abusive men are called to display repentance to all and validate those whom they have destroyed by their language, fists, and attitudes rather than jump on the boat and flee with Jesus. Pedophiles must return to face their sins, their victims, and show people that repentance is more than a statement, it is a life long committment to Jesus. Sexual addicts must face the pain of those they hurt and show that women are not objects, but humans worthy of respect and love who are created in the image of Almighty God. The Savior is the same. He goes where we fear to go and has a habit of upsetting our nice balanced system of evil and good. He reminds us that evil (not flesh and blood) is to be confronted, challenged, and driven away. That all forms of evil should be faced and those under its power healed so that they can be "sitting, clothed, and in their right minds." He challenges us to embrace the demoniac and call him to repentance and health. He calls us to stop seeing evil as geographical or social and accept that it is pathological. He calls us to search out those howling among the tombs and give them a reason to sing. My Jesus loves us all and all of us includes all of them!!!!!
What think ye?
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