Trading Innocence

There was a time of honest innocence
Where life was fine, my God was near
But then I got this wicked notion
To trade my innocence and lose my ignorance

I could not accept who God had made me
It's often difficult to be a creature
So I reached out and took from that tree
The fruit of knowledge, oh curiosity!

Here I stand in a garden full of trees
I hold in my hand, the only fruit not for me
Oh dear God, when will I see?
True strength embraces innocence; that's humility

True Humility

True humility is not primarily right action; it's a right mindset, a proper heart-orientation, and a healthy dependence on God and others. For this reason, acting humble is less important than being humble.

True humility is not found in reaching down to someone else's level. If you think you're doing someone a favor by bending down to help them, you are not truly humble. A humble person doesn't treat others as less than himself, but sees them as more than himself. "...in humility count others as more significant than yourselves" (Phil. 2:3). 

True humility acknowledges it's own ignorance and hesitates to teach others. A humble person earnestly seeks the right words to help someone, but willingly admits when they just don't know. They are not quick to impose their opinions on others. "...let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger..." (Js. 1:19). This 'I'm right' pride often leads to heated disputes. 

True humility listens to others and learns from others. It is a student and not a teacher. It takes the 'weakest' of Christian brothers and willingly declares, "You have the Spirit of God in you. I will listen to your words and allow God to teach me things from you." (Personally, I've had God teach me through unbelievers, much less a Spirit-indwelt son of God).

I ask you to stop thinking of yourself as greater than others. Search out why you might think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, and pray that God would give you a proper view of yourself.

"Whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant" (Mark 10:43). 

Firey Words

In many ways, words are like fire. The thing about fire is that it can be used for good or for evil. When contained and controlled fire can be used for good things like providing warmth, creating weaponry, or signaling for help. However, fire that is not under control can be extremely harmful. It can easily spread and become a huge and deadly forest fire. We all know that words can be very dangerous and hurtful. And all too often its damage spreads like wild fire. James describes this effect, "Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evils among the parts of the body" (James 3:5-6). However, words are not always a bad thing. Words can and should be used positively to build people up, spread the good news, and warn people of danger. Only when the tongue is under control can it function this way. Self-control is a result of the work of the Holy Spirit and must be given to us by God. Therefore, let us pray for God's mercy to give us gracious and edifying speech that does not harm others. "Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad" (Proverbs 12:25).

Deep Friendships; Shallow Soil

In times past, I've begun to see the value in the mundane, seemingly pointless, aspects of life. After all, how much of you friendships are formed from 'insignificant' things like shopping, sports, eating breakfast, sitting in a room doing nothing together, watching tv, eating lunch, doing yard-work, eating dinner, and even arguing?

One of my closest relationships is with my twin, Ben. Our deep conversations have been limited, and I can't think of a time (before I left for college) that we talked directly about God or the Bible, at least conversationally. Our friendship is formed on sports, food, stories about work, video games, ping-pong, fighting, etc.

Also, working with disabled people has helped build my appreciation for the 'little things' in life. I would consider JL from His Works as a really good friend. However, our friendship is founded on the fact that I can interpret what he ate for dinner last night. That makes him so happy. All of a sudden, such a meaningless conversation carries a lot of meaning.

In the end, I want to learn to appreciate and capture the small moments in life. After all, deep friendships are often founded in shallow soil. I want to learn to insert truths about God, the Bible, the Church, and the  Christian faith into my life. I want these things to become ingrained with the ordinary; an integral part of who I am and how I live. I don't want to separate the spiritual with the ordinary and I don't want to enjoy the ordinary without the spiritual.

I think one of the reasons I enjoyed Waiting for Godot so much is because the friendship between Estragon and Vladamir was so much like my relationship with Ben all those years. We never did anything significant together, yet nothing could pull us apart.

"Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" - 1 Corinthians 10:31

The Relevance of Resurrection

Many things shake our lives. It seems as though a catastrophe waits around every corner. The question is, "when life begins to shake you like a little boy shakes his etch-a-sketch, what will you do?" 

Two passages in Scripture point directly to the hope of the resurrection as the grounds for standing firm through all of life's hardships. 

The first is Philippians 3:20-4:1. Our citizenship is in heaven, not on earth. If heaven is our home, when was the last time you got homesick? Never forget, we do not belong here. Don't allow yourself to get too comfortable in this world. Never stop groaning with an eager longing to become a new creation. Remember, that one day Christ will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the very power that enables him to subject all things to himself! That power will not fail, we will indeed become like him. No matter what this life brings. Therefore, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. 

The second is 1 Corinthians 15:54-58. What is the worse thing that can happen to you? Death? Death has been defeated by Christ in his resurrection. It has no victory. It has no sting. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. Christ will reward every action in the next life. There is no wasted faithfulness. It will be worth it. It will not be in vain.

The only reason we have any hope is that Christ has risen from the dead. This should not be made sideline doctrine, placed on the mantle for everyone to see. It should be one of the most relevant aspects of our thoughts and desires. This is our only hope. You are a seed that will one day die and grow into something much different...much more grand. Praise God that Christ is risen! 

Daily Sacrifice

God deserves the best we have to offer. Leviticus helps show that. Animal sacrifices should be 'a male without blemish,' and grain offerings should be of fine flour. God doesn't want or deserve our second best.

It is important to note that while God requires our best, He doesn't even need our offering. If he were hungry, he would not tell us, for the world and all its fullness are his (cf. Ps. 50:12). Yes, God wants the cream of your crop, but he doesn't care about what your crop is. If you're not rich enough to give a lamb or a goat, He's perfectly happy with the two birds that you bring.

I'm just thankful that the 'best' we have to offer is actually accepted by God who owns everything. Now that's grace. Our good deeds have been prepared for us. Christ frees us to walk in them. The Spirit empowers us to obedience. It's amazing with all that God gives us that He can still call it our obedience and our faithfulness. So whatever your task is today, do it as unto the Lord.

Pleasure and Pain

The more I think about the world, the more I realize how brilliantly and intricately everything has been crafted by God.

Think about the fact that humans experience pleasure. There are things in life that genuinely make us happy. Anything from hugging someone you love, eating a piece of chocolate cake, riding a bike down a steep hill, or singing your favorite song. There are so many things in life that bring us pleasure!

However, no matter how much pleasure we experience on this earth, it never seems to be enough to satisfy us. It only builds in us the desire for more. More happiness. More joy.

And then there's pain, suffering, anguish. Anything from the loss of a loved one to a stubbed toe. We know from suffering that things in this world are not as they ought to be. Things could get better. Things should get better.

What if God created us so that we could only experience pain and suffering? When offered an eternity in heaven, we would probably respond with complacency. You see, the only reason we desire heaven is because we've already had a small taste of 'heaven on earth.' We can only desire everlasting joy because God has given us a very real taste of temporal joy. When you take a bite of cake, you are building a category of 'joy,' which God uses to point us to him.

What if God created us so that we could only experience pleasure? When offered an eternity in heaven, we would probably pass it up. Why would you choose heaven if you were perfectly happy on earth?

God has designed us as creatures who experience both pleasure and pain. Heaven draws us because it is in God's presence that we have fullness of joy. Already knowing what partial joy is, of course we're ready to experience joy in its fullness. Heaven also draws us because God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Not only will we have more of the good experiences in life, but we will lose all of the bad experiences.

So there you have it. Both pleasure and pain should instill in us a desire for heaven. I think that one without the other would make things very strange and difficult. Praise God for His wisdom!