Author: Frank

Evident to All

Frank

“…clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12)

“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” (1 Timothy 6:11)

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1 Peter 3:15-16)

This week’s blog carnival topic is gentleness. A topic that sounds easy enough and was certainly easy to do a simple word-search in Bible Gateway to get the above passages. But let the above sink in for a moment. Can these scriptures describe your attitude, your character? Does it describe your brothers and sisters in Christ around you? Sadly, I think this is a fruit of the Spirit we do not see often enough.

But we should. “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” (Philippians 4:5) Our gentleness should be seen. And not just at church on Sundays, but every day, in every circumstance. “All” includes the impatient reckless driver on the freeway, the restaurant server who is rude or indifferent, the others stuck in a long line at the grocery store who all have someplace better to be. “All” also includes the non-believers acting in ways contrary to our convictions, believers who do not subscribe to the exact same doctrine, those whose politics do not align with our own, and those who just sometimes make boneheaded decisions. “All” includes our spouses, our children, our mothers-in-law. “All” means all.

We should restore gently (Galatians 6:1), instruct gently (2 Timothy 2:25), and deal gently (Hebrews 5:2) with others. All these passages are about dealing with others’ sin. Because “we have all sinned” we should be that much more patient and gentle with others.

The book Living On the Edge breaks Romans 12 into five relationships: God, the world, ourselves, other believers, and the evil around us. It is this last relationship where gentleness can be most evident:

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary:
‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:14-21)

I will be going through this book over the next several weeks (and hopefully finding a way to tie in with the blog carnival at the same time!). I hope you come back as we break down Romans 12 so that we can grow in these relationships and prayerfully, ultimately, be gentle to all.

Work In Progress

Frank

Yesterday we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without this event, our faith would be worthless (1 Cor 15:14). And it is through his death that we die to our sins and through his resurrection that we are given a new life. (Rom 6:4). So now that we have new life, what do we do with it?

I believe the expectation is to build something with our lives. Paul gives an allegory in 1 Corinthians 13 about building on the foundation of Jesus. I’ve heard this applied to churches, but I believe the context demands it be applied to individuals. In other words, we cannot lean on our church for our faith and how we live our lives as Christians, it is up to each and every one of us at a personal level. An important point is found in verses 12-15 that what we build will be tested so we should build the best that we can. If not, “it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” (1 Cor 13:15) So how do we build?

A couple of years ago, my wife and I purchased a Do-It-Yourself enclosed patio kit. As advertised, it would only take a weekend or two with a small crew of a “few” people. Piece of cake right? So one weekend, I called my crew, laid out all the pieces, brought out all the tools, and stood there overwhelmed. None of us knew what to do. The patio slab has a downward grade so the walls won’t be even. The back wall of the house is stucco so the vertical beams that connect to the house leave up to two-inch gaps. The doors were too heavy to move. Not every piece fit. And on, and on. So we disbanded with our sanity intact, but my pride damaged. That “couple of weekends” project took a year of weekends and weekday evenings. What did I learn from this? Without help, without expertise, and without the right tools and materials, whatever I build will be burned up. So I learned. I just completed a swing set for my children. This took four days. But this time I had help, I had the tools, and I knew a little better what I was doing.

The same is true of our faith. Without help, without expertise, without the right tools and materials, we cannot hope to build anything of value. We try and try and get burned time and time again, but we learn. Many Christians are content with just showing up on Sundays and living their lives their way the rest of the week. Many also treat the resurrection of Jesus as the ends, not the means, of their relationship with God and take God’s grace for granted. What they build will be shown for what it is. But I do not believe it is meant to be this way. We know this verse by heart: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph 2:8-9) But we neglect the rest of this passage: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (v 10) We are a piece of work. We are incomplete. And we are meant to do something with the grace God has given us.

Over the next several weeks, I hope to give us the right tools and materials for us to build something of value for God. I will be going through the book, Living on the Edge, by Chip Ingram and using the online resources to lead a “virtual small group” in an exposition of Romans 12. I’ll be introducing the lesson the rest of this week and will dig in to Chapter 1 on Monday. You don’t need the book to follow along, but you do need an open and willing heart. Please join me the next few weeks to build something that will last.

Universal Donor

Frank

My blood-type is O-negative, meaning my blood can be used by anyone in need. Because of this I am diligent about donating regularly. I used to dread it, agonizing over the initial prick of the needle before the blood begins to flow. Now I treat it as routine. Some times go better than others, but when I gave a few weeks ago, I hardly felt it and was done before I knew it.

Once that pint was full, it was quickly whisked away and I will never see it again. I don’t know who needs it and I will never know who will use it. Will it be used during a critical surgery, or be on-hand during a childbirth? Will it save a life or sustain one? I often wonder, and I always pray my blood is put to the best, most needed use.

While my blood can be used by anyone, I am not as fortunate. I can only receive my own type, so I would be dependant on the sacrifice of another stranger if my own life was at risk. But not just any stranger, only one who has the perfect match for my blood-type; one who has perfect blood.

Jesus shed perfect blood. He knows us and knows our specific needs. He knows whether our bodies will accept or reject his transfusion. And while knowing it would be rejected, he donated anyway.

His donation was not the result of a prick from a needle, but from 39 lashes on his back, countless blows, a crown of thorns, nails in his hands and feet, and finally a spear in his side. Yet his blood was spilled voluntarily.

In his struggle, there was no transfusion that could save him. As his life poured out of his body, there were no paramedics to perform CPR or a Red Cross to provide blood. He gave his blood, his life, knowing that there was nothing any of us could give to save him. Our blood is not compatible with his. Still, he gave.

Jesus Christ, our Universal Donor.

“The blood of Jesus, His son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

Lunatic Fringe

Frank

A couple of weeks ago, Glenn Beck made a splash stating “social justice” is a codeword for communism and Nazism. While his words generated a flurry of responses from Christians, he was going somewhere with his train of thought even if it wasn’t articulated well. On the left extreme of the political spectrum is communism, where the government controls most everything. On the right extreme of the political spectrum is anarchism, where the government has no control. Interestingly, Nazism is towards the far right extreme, so Mr. Beck was self-contradictory. Obviously, most people fall somewhere in between.

Churches follow the same pattern. Many churches on the extreme of the Social Gospel feel it is the government’s responsibility to take care of the “alien, widow and orphan.” While most who subscribe to the Social Gospel stress that individuals and churches are responsible for this, falling left of center, but far from the extreme Glenn Beck describes. On the other side are anarchists, racists, and “Christian militias” like the one that made headlines yesterday.

The Muslim community is often criticised for not speaking out against radical Islam and terrorism. I would appreciate if Mr. Beck aimed his critical eye at radical Christianity also. Just like the argument that radical Islam does not represent the Muslim faith, Christian militias also do not represent the teachings of Christ.

The reality, which isn’t as attention grabbing as Glenn Beck’s comments, is that most churches are in between. We don’t get headlines for serving the poor, or leading others to Christ. Yet we are tempted to lean on our government to make the social changes we cannot (abortion, gay-marriage) instead of leaning on Christ and seeking his will. We’ll never get headlines that way, but I’d rather shine the light of Jesus to those immediately around me than bury that light by making the news doing something foolish.

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3)

Fast

Frank

I fasted yesterday. I don’t say that to boast, but rather to note that I don’t do it often. Maybe not often enough. But yesterday was too important not to. Some friends of ours had a court date over the custody of their adopted nine month-old daughter.

Since she was only two days old, this couple with two older boys, also adopted, has been the only family she’s known. Her birth mother had no objection to giving her up for adoption (having lost custody before to other children). And the birth father was unaware the mother was even pregnant. But that was then. Once the father did find out, he wanted to be involved, and has been fighting ever since. I don’t know anything about either parent other than that. But I do know the family that is on the verge of being ripped apart.

There’s nothing special about this court date. They’ve had others and they’ll likely have more. But our friends are tired. The weight of legal fees is multiplied by the economy reducing his hours and cutting her job. Tuesday they put their house on the market, unable to bear that additional weight. So my wife and I fasted yesterday. Only God knows what is best for this precious girl. But the prayer is for this just to be over.

My wife and I are especially sensitive to this. Both of us were adopted. Both under very different circumstances. In addition to these friends of ours, other couples we’re close to have adopted from China and have even adopted embryos. One of our good friends is a social worker for the Department of Child and Family Services. My wife teaches half-time in an “alternative” school, a PC way of saying her school is one step away from Juvie. She teaches the other half at an “urban” school (inner-city wouldn’t accurately describe it because of geography, but urban certainly describes its demographics) that will permanently close its doors at the end of the school year. So you might say we’re on the front lines of this battle for the health and welfare of these children.

It is the children who are at stake. I pray this baby girl has no recollection of this tug-of-war ever happening. I pray she never has to know. But I also pray that the bonding that has happened over the past year, that is so important developmentally, is not all for naught.

It is the children who are at stake. Tuesday I wrote about the faithfulness of God in context of the infidelity we see too frequently in our headlines. In each of these cases, Jesse James, Tiger Woods, John Edwards, children are sired and then transformed into gotcha headlines or publicity stunts. The media creates permanent memorials that will haunt these children the rest of their lives.

It is the children who are at stake. Every day a child is given up, either with the hope of a better life or out of despair of present circumstance, opposite sides to the same coin. Every day a child is born into a single-parent home. Boys raised without any father figures other than elder leadership in the neighborhood gang. Girls raised without the bonding they need to value their bodies so they spend the rest of their lives seeking that affirmation in any and every way.

It is the children who are at stake. The decisions we make. The relationships we have. The love we either share or willfully withhold. Abuse, either physical or verbal, and neglect or unavailability leave scars that do not heal.

It is the children who are at stake. Thank you JoAnne Bennett and Jeff Jordon for your battles to remind us. Thank you Lord for hearing our prayers. Thank you El Roi for seeing the need and answering our prayers by giving us clear instruction of what we must do to stop this cycle from repeating as it has for countless generations.

Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. (Isaiah 1:17)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

Tabloid Christianity

Frank

While not intentional, this week’s blog carnival topic, faithfulness, is timely and appropriate. You cannot even say the word without images of Tiger Woods or Sandra Bullock filling your mind. Sadly it’s become impossible to define the word without invoking its opposite. What should be the norm is overshadowed by tawdry headlines and tell-all confessions. I say “should” because faithfulness is God’s design. He instituted the sanctity of the marriage covenant to reflect his covenant to his nation, Israel. In fact, if you’re looking for headline-grabbers, look no further than the 28th book of the Bible. There you will see a scandalous relationship as an object lesson for why faithfulness is so important to God.

Like Hosea, we can learn from our own current events. Does it surprise anyone anymore to learn about a Hollywood celebrity having an affair with their co-star while shooting their latest blockbuster? If it does, it shouldn’t. What do you expect when you pull someone from their family, isolate them on location, and then reenact scene after scene of passionate words, warm embraces, and… well you know the rest of the story. It shouldn’t be a surprise when we see the same headlines for our favorite sports stars. They too, are on the road away from their families a majority of their season. It’s not “addiction” or some kind of god-complex that comes with being a celebrity that enables them to think they can get whatever they want. If it was, why isn’t every movie star and athlete an adulterer? Instead, it is the lack of keeping their roots deeply embedded in their homes and their families.

Just as adultery is anathema to God’s faithfulness, the root-causes can also apply to our own spirituality. Should we be surprised to stumble and fall when we’re not firmly rooted in God’s own word? When we spend days, if not weeks, months or years away from God, shouldn’t it follow that we’d have a love affair with the world? That is what’s so tragic about “Sunday Christianity.” A couple of hours a week cannot be expected to compete against a 40 hour work-week. A visit to church on holidays cannot stand against the hours of polluting our eyes and our ears with the filth that comes through our media. So we become unfaithful to our Lord. We have our affair. We have no regrets. Until it all comes crashing down. Then the paparazzi get their pictures, your face is on the front page, you lose sponsorships, you lose custody. Inexplicably your spouse takes you back. He cries over you. He caresses you. He forgives you. The Lord takes you back.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15)

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. (Revelation 2:4)

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:5)

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)

Counterintuitive

Frank

Today’s the big day. No, not the first day of spring (that was yesterday) or the last day of the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. Today is the day we’ll know whether or not our Federal Government will overhaul health care. I’m not going to use this space to pontificate one side or the other, though I do have strong opinions about it. In fact, it’s important to note here that those strong opinions are are independent of my faith. I have yet to understand why there is such emphasis by some religious organizations (I call out the American Center for Law and Justice specifically because they have been polluting my airwaves on this issue for months now) that this debate is a religious issue.

Oh, wait. I do understand. It’s all about abortions, the prime religious wedge-issue in politics. Even this issue though, I struggle to get up in arms over. I’ve talked about this before, argue that it is not a political issue, and note how it breaks my heart how this issue can drive people to the worst extremes. But now this wedge has grown so large as to scuttle any health care reform whatsoever. Yet as Christians, we should worry about the root-causes of abortions and some argue that passing health care reform would actually reduce this demand, despite whether there is government funding or not. A compelling case that reflects what should be our Christian attitude towards abortion.

But that is not the ends of the health care reform means. This is a complex issue and is about much, much more than abortions. I have family members who would benefit from this reform just as I have family members who would be hurt. There is no winner in this debate, I fear. As such, the appropriate response as Christians is not to fret over abortion, but to offer up prayers of wisdom for our elected officials at this critical time and remember that our purpose on this earth as Christians is not politics, but to “do the will of him who sent me“.

“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim 2:1-4)

Today Everyone is Irish

Frank

I’m a red head. And I was raised Catholic. It only seemed natural growing up to assume I was Irish. Being adopted added to my fantasy. I took a lot of pride in my Irish heritage, even to the point of working at Irish pubs for my two stints in the restaurant biz while in college.

Growing up, one of my best friends was of British heritage. And was Episcopalian. We would joke that if we lived in Northern Ireland, we would be bitter enemies. We would play war; I would be in the IRA while he would represent the Orange Order.

Turns out I’m not an Irish Catholic after all and the fantasy was left to childhood games. I have yet to go to the Emerald Isle while I’m grateful to live in a country of unprecedented religious freedom.

“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:26-27)

Who knows what my life would be like now if these fantasies were true? Would I have hated my best friend? I know my family would be very different. My relationship with God would likely be vastly different as well.

Today we all get to pretend we’re Irish. Even if we don’t look the part. So while it’s fun to pretend what is not, we should not forget to be grateful for what is.

Best Picture(s)

Frank

Tonight is the Academy Awards and we’re all anxious to see who comes out on top for Best Picture, Actor, Actress and Director. Because you know, we can’t face our day tomorrow without being told what movies and stars are the best. (/cynicism) I don’t really care too much. I don’t make it to too many movies in the theater, so I’m still watching last year’s nominees from my Netflix queue (just watched Julie and Julia Friday night, for example). So I can’t say I’m invested.

Instead a couple of days ago, the Arts and Faith online group released their list of Top 100 films. Moviefone has a great writeup reminding us that movies don’t have to be hyper-religious to be spiritual. The Bible Films blog notes that not too many are Bible-based and he hasn’t seen as many of the movies as past lists. Relevant has an article questioning why we watch movies? While, if you’re still interested in the Oscars, Hollywood Jesus lists the best Best Pictures. (Waiting to hear something on this list from Gareth Higgins, whose book How Movies Saved My Soul, offers a deeper look at movies we may take for granted.) Enjoy reading as you’re trudging through the boredom of best sound mixing tonight. (At least we have Steve Martin to look forward to)

Back to the list, I wholeheartedly agree with the choices of The Apostle and Magnolia. Personally I would add To End All Wars, Life As a House, and Tombstone (believe it or not, there are many lessons on character to be gleaned from that movie). And I admit, I have a domestic bias, but I do have on my “to see” list Jesus of Montreal and The Gospel of St Matthew and I may have to add some of these to my list as well.

As for tonight, it will be interesting to see how The Blind Side does as a not-really-but-really-Christian movie. Regardless, I agree with moviefone, that a movie doesn’t have to star Kirk Cameron or Stephen Baldwin to be edifying.