God's Eternal Purpose

             God's 

                       eternal 

                                   purpose

Individually, those are three very weighty words. Pair any two and the gravity causes you to pause in an orbit of thought. All three and I'm headed for a crash landing of prolonged contemplation.

But tonight, I'm under the g-force pressure of another weighty thought--the vehicle or means by which God announces that eternal purpose.

Image: Piyaphon / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Check out Ephesians 3:7-12. I hadn't seen this before. Did you know that we, corporately, are the vehicle for God's eternal purpose? That according to the eternal purpose of God, "the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places"--through the Church!!

The manifold wisdom of God is made known through the Church! Which begs the question, what is the Church? The Greek word just means congregation, or assembly--a gathering of people. And people gather around something. Congress gathers to make laws. Flash mobs gather to sing and dance in public places. What makes the Church different from Congress or or a flash mob, is that the Church gathers to remember and worship Jesus. Any and all people who get together in Jesus' name, inviting the Holy Spirit among them to come do what He does best--glorify Jesus (John 16:13-14)--those people are the Church, doctrinal preferences notwithstanding.

To reiterate, those who gather to glorify Jesus are the Church. The Church is the means by which God announces His eternal purpose.  The Church is made up of Christians--literally, little Christs. Other people gave the early Church the nickname Christians (Acts 11:26), because they represented Jesus in their conduct so fully, it was as if they were miniature Jesuses. What was it in their conduct that struck people so intently as to nickname them Christian? Well, Jesus said how His followers would be identified, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)

So to bring back around to where I started--how important is it that the people who gather in Jesus' name love each other? Crazy important! The Church is recognized as the Church by the love we show to one another. (And denominational allegiance is not a prerequisite for this love, by the way.) Through the Church, which is bound and recognized by love, the manifold wisdom of God is made known, and God's eternal purpose is accomplished.

They'll know we are Christians by our love.  The Church is recognized as the Body of Christ gathered through the way we live out our love for one another.  When the Church is recognized, God can then use it to proclaim His eternal purpose to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.  The Church is key.  And our love is key.

Wow. That's amazing. It seems fitting to borrow a benediction from John, the disciple whom Jesus loved: Therefore beloved, let us love one another.

God's Ice Cream Sandwich

I'm reading through Ephesians, and something grabs my attention.

"14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Eph 3:14-19

First, we need to be rooted and grounded in love. We need a nice, solid, thick, sturdy, trustworthy foundation of love to plant our feet on. That is the starting point.

Second, whilst standing on love, we need to be strengthened. In our inner most parts, our secret selves, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to enter and shore up the weak places. Anything in us that might buckle under pressure--wounds, lies, etc.--we need the Holy Spirit to enter, heal, and strengthen.

Then, and only then, are we ready. Then we can begin the process of comprehending the vast breadth and length and height and depth. Then we can know the love of Christ. And! And and and! Be filled with all the fullness of God!

Love, strengthen, love. That's one heck of an ice cream sandwich!

The Caucus Approacheth

We’re in an election cycle here in the U.S., and this Saturday is the Washington State Republican caucus.  Election cycles make me truly appreciate no having TV, as I get to avoid all of the sound bites ripped out of context and vicious, manipulative attack ads.  But, I do feel that I have a civic duty to be an informed voter.  Add to that my desire to have some idea of what’s going on in the world, and you get my reasoning for listening to my public radio station on my drive to work in the morning. 

At the end of January, it struck me that I heard something about Evangelical voters four out of five drives to work.  Oh, and did I mention how long my commute is? FIFTEEN MINUTES!  Yes, I drive four miles to work*.  And four out of five days, I hear something about the Evangelical voting bloc.  This is NPR Morning Edition, and broadcast across the U.S.  The Pacific Northwest is on the liberal side, and I often can’t help thinking how liberal people who aren’t Christian hear news stories about the Evangelical political agenda.  Am I glad that my fellow Christians are taking their faith seriously and acting on what they believe? Yes.  But the thing is, we’re voting for the President of the United States, not the Pastor of the United States.  By fighting politically to overturn Roe V Wade and put defense of marriage acts on the ballot, I think we go wrong in two ways.  First, that’s trying to legislate morality.  Laws point out crimes or sin, they don’t create righteousness.  It’s a heart change that is required, and no law is going to do that.  (Check out Romans and Galatians.)

Second, how does that song go? “They’ll know we are Christians by our Super PACs, by our Super PACS”?  No, we’re to be known for our love.  What I hear on NPR does not paint Evangelicals as loving.  You may claim that NPR has a slant against Christians.  I think, whether or not that’s true, it’s besides the point, since Christians seem to be giving NPR plenty of fodder for that supposed slant!  What if, instead of giving campaign contributions to the candidate that could shibboleth the best, saying what he knows a block of voters what to hear—we instead individually looked for ways to live out our beliefs with that money. 

Example:  You believe that abortion is horribly wrong.  Instead of giving money to a ballot measure restricting access to abortions, which is one step in the political game of getting it before the Supreme Court again, volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center.  Be involved with your kids, be those parents that other kids will seek out and talk to.  If there is a teen mom-to-be in your kids’ high school, and her parents kick her out, take her in.  Pay her medical bills.  Maybe you should adopt.  Or fund someone else’s adoption process.  Maybe if we each lived intentionally, acting on our beliefs in ways that cost us personally, maybe the news would have a 125% increase in the adoption rate to report on, instead of another protest at an abortion clinic. 

As Saturday approaches, consider, “To caucus or not to caucus?  Whether ‘tis nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous political pundits, or to take arms against the sea of political apathy.”  But also consider how you personally should put your beliefs into practice. 

[If you do want to caucus, it’s this Saturday from 10am, to about noon, and they recommend you get there at 9:30am to register, with your voter registration card.  You have to go to your caucus precinct, which you can look up here:  http://wsrpcaucus.tumblr.com/caucuslocator  .  I’m still undecided if I’m going.]

*[I know, that’s a silly distance to drive. But I’m not hard core enough to bike in the rainy winters here in the Pacific Northwest.]

Encouragement for Fasting

A word of encouragement to my Christian sisters and brothers, especially my CHC family.

When you start a running program, you feel like you're going to die and you wonder why you ever thought it would be a good idea to start running. Your heart feels like it will beat its way out of your chest, your lungs would scream at you if they could get enough air, and your joints creak their protest with every bone jarring pound from your feet meeting the pavement. BUT! But, but, but--if you push through, if you endure the pain, if you psych yourself up each morning to wake up and get running, then you reach a point where it is fun! You reach a point where once you push past that first mile of each run, you feel exhilarated and you think you could run that 10k no problem! You're still exerting yourself, you're still dog tired when you get home, but you're grinning ear to ear from the joy of it.

Fasting is like running. When you start, you feel like you're going to die. When normally you might forget to eat breakfast, on the day you start fasting you're somehow hungry before you wake up. Your stomach tells your brain there is no food and your brain protests by squeezing your head with a monster head ache. You're cold, tired, and cranky. BUT! But, but, but--if you push through, if you endure the pain, if you pray yourself up each morning and night, I promise you that you reach a point where it is fun! It is still hard, like running. It still requires effort. But, like running, once you push through that wall, there is nothing like it!

So, when you are called to a fast, be encouraged! I won't say, "You can do it!" because YOU can't. But that's the point of fasting, isn't it? Realizing our dependence on Jesus. It's a fun place it be! Honest! You'll be grinning ear to ear. :o)

(As always, I welcome questions or comments. Feel free to post below or send me a message!)

Chocolate Conflict Resolution

If you're looking for something fun to read, Alexander McCall Smith is the perfect author to turn to.  I've devoured the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series and the 44 Scotland Street series.  His books are sweet, you care about the characters, and there are satisfying story arcs. And there are gems of wisdom or fresh perspective liberally scattered about.  Below is one of the gems I ran across recently in The Importance of Being Seven, page 220.  For context, Bertie is a six year old boy with a controlling mother, to put it mildly.  Stuart is his dad, who is taking on his first fishing trip.  They are at a gas station, filling up with gas and provisions for the day.

'A good choice, Bertie,' said Stuart, as he came in to pay for the petrol. 'And how about some chocolate?'

Nobody had ever said that to Bertie before.  How about some chocolate? It was not a complex phrase, but its power, its sheer, overwhelming sense of gift and possibility filled Bertie with awe. Well might more of us say these words to others, and more frequently--how healing would that prove to be. 'Look, we've had our differences, but how about some chocolate?' Or: 'I'm so very sorry, how about some chocolate?' Or simply: 'Great to see you! How about some chocolate?'

 Now, I am a great lover of chocolate (65-70% cacao, with dried cherries or hazelnuts please), but I don't think that I truly realized its potential for greatness.  That chocolate carries with it a power, an "overwhelming sense of gift and possibility" that fills one with awe--beautiful! 

I say we start a movement.  Before the opening of the UN General Assembly, we place a chocolate bar at every seat.  We airlift chocolate to North Korea and Iran.  We urge Hershey's to make corporate donations of chocolate in equal proportions to Republicans and Democrats!  It's not just Charlie's rare golden ticket in the wrapping that fills us with a "sheer, overwhelming sense of gift and possibility"--it's the chocolate in every one!  I, for one, will be working on future conflict resolution with my new found tool, chocolate. 

Underneath

Since I wrote about axioms, I’ve been trying to reduce my world view down to its barest parts.  What are the foundational axioms upon which everything I believe rests?  How can I succinctly state the beginning from which I start to view and interact with the world?  It’s difficult.  

Which leads me to an interesting side thought—that we can’t live our lives like a geometry class.  (Which some people rejoice about!)  We don’t come out of the womb and are instantly handed our set of axioms.  Imagine the picture—baby comes out, doctor whacks your butt to make sure you’re breathing, cut the umbilical cord, and says, "Here are your four to six foundational principles, start figuring out the world outside the womb. Have a nice day!"  We don’t live a dry, clear cut, systematic theology.  You can’t.  Life is  messy.   We even come out messy, covered in blood.  You have to start in medias res, in the middle of things, and work out your world view from there. 

But, what if we are handed our axioms from the moment we exit the womb?  Do our surroundings and how we are brought up stamp our world view on us, like a plastic play dough mold?  I think so.  At least, our initial world view.  Hopefully we reach a point where we think about what we think about—come to the point of living an examined life.  At which point we choose to accept or reject the axioms of our parents, friends, teachers, media, leaders. 

So, tracing my way back from that rabbit trail—when I first started to try to encapsulate my axioms, I thought of an exercise to help boil down what you truly believed. 

• First, take out a blank piece of paper (or blank spreadsheet) and write out your schedule, every single thing you do in a day, adding what you do weekly, monthly, yearly.  Nothing is too mundane (really), just get it all down. 
• Second, next to each item, write why you do it.  Write the first thing that comes to you mind, don’t think too hard about it.  You can go back later and philosophize.  :o)
• Third, re-list the items on your list in the order of the time you spend on each one. 
• Finally, evaluate if the order in step three matches what you think your priorities should be. 

My idea behind this is that we will spend our time on what is important to us.  And what is important to us reveals what we truly believe.  With some reflection, we should be able to get to the axioms underneath.  What this exercise also shows is the difference between what we think we believe, and what our actions show that we believe. 

So what say you? Care to join me in this exercise?  For a lot of us this is Thanksgiving week, so in between turkey comas and crazed pre-dawn deal hunting, see if you can find some time to try the exercise out.  Let me know if you’re going to give it a go, and we’ll see what we find out!

Dogs and Fences

I didn't finish the blog post I was planning for today.  Here's why:

Meet my dog Stewie.  I got him from the pound, and they told me he was a black lab mix.  I'm guessing he's mixed with kangaroo, because he jumped my SIX FOOT HIGH fence a record four times this week!  (He also jumped the fence at the dog park twice, but he came back on his own in under two minutes each time.)  So this week I've spent a lot more time than I planned with my dog, the farm store, and my fence. 

I'm thinking about putting up an electric fence, but they are a.) costly and b.) complicated.  So while I weigh the pros and cons and feasibility, I'm putting about 18 inches of chicken wire on the top of my fence, all the way around (oh boy, won't my neighbors love me!).  I've been playing the proverbial whack-a-mole, putting chicken wire up in places where he has succeeded or tried jumping.  So I'm cutting to the chase and putting it up everywhere--and praying he doesn't figure out how to dig under the fence!

While I'm finishing the full implementation of the Stewie Containment System©, Stewie is always on the leash or tie out.  He's really pathetic on the tie out, just sitting at the end of it, looking at me pleadingly, with those big brown eyes.  I have to say, "No! You can't pull the cute card on me! This is for your own health and safety!"

While I was wrestling with the bamboo, chicken wire, and staple gun, thinking I should have grabbed my safety goggles so my eyes don't get poked out, it is interesting what verse popped in my head.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
   I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
   which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
   or it will not stay near you.
Psalm 32:8-9

In response to this verse, I think, "Exactly! If only Stewie would stay put, or learn to come when called, we could be out walking and playing, instead of me bleeding from bamboo splinters and chicken wire pokes.  Hmm, when was my last tetanus shot, anyway?"  Then I remember this is a psalm of David, not Dr. Doolittle, and it's addressed to me, not Stewie.  And I think, "Ouch," and not (only) because of splinters.  The horse and mule is without understanding, but it is implied that I am to have understanding.  What fences, what heavy handed hemming in of circumstance, do I try to escape?  How much more fun could God and I have if I yielded sooner?  Hmm.  I'll let you know how Stewie does with his fences, as I ponder how I'm doing with mine.