Living with Praise

“I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious, minds praised most, while the cranks, misfits, and malcontents praised least. The good critics found something to praise in many imperfect works; the bad ones continually narrowed the list of books we might be allowed to read. The healthy and unaffected man, even if luxuriously brought up and widely experienced in good cookery, could praise a very modest meal: the dyspeptic and the snob found fault with all. Except where intolerably adverse circumstances interfere, praise almost seems to be inner health made audible.”
(C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms)

If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not trustworthy. There is another who testifies about me, and I know that the testimony he gives about me is true. . . .How can you believe when you accept each other’s praise and do not look for the praise that comes from the only God? 

(John 5:44, ISV)

And so they accused Jesus. . .

He gave a simple fact:

“I cannot be my own witness.

Not even to myself.
And yet . . .

there is One
who does testify
in my favor.”

It was true for Jesus,
and because of Jesus
it is true for me.

And here is where his story presses on mine.

Even when someone speaks
in my favor,
it only counts
if it agrees with the truth.

Like John was a brief light
to shine on Jesus,
even these witnesses
only matter
when they support
a weightier
Witness.

The true Witness
gives a will to the worker,
gives a word to the messenger,
and that is his testimony
to his servant.

The true Witness
has a real voice,
uses the Scripture well,
and overcomes death
with life.

But
we refuse.

Rather than accept
God’s love for us
in our hearts,
we accept the praise
of people
as the only real
testimony,
looking for love there.

We leave the Father
who longs to praise us
as his children.

And what child
does not seek
his father’s
praise?

Perhaps this is how
we know who
we belong to—
where we seek our praise.

Are we children of
this world,
trusting passions
as our guides?

Are we children of
the Father of lights,
seeking His praise,
just like our older
brother Jesus?

He is full of praise,
while this world
lives on criticism
and skepticism.

When we seek praise
from the world,
we will only find ourselves
accused.

And why not?

Our systems are mostly run
by the Accuser—
naming worth,
assessing value,
handing out praise
only to take it away.

Jesus is full of the praise
of God
and of us.

He does not let
a smoldering wick
go out.

He does not let
a bruised reed
snap.

Gentle and truthful
is his praise:
water in a dry land,
manna in the desert,
a strong hand to hold us up
when we are going under.

Oh, seek his praise!
Seek his praise!

Then this childhood we live will be full
of wonder and delight,

going hand in hand

and eye to eye

with our Maker.

---

Epiphany Experience

So our year begins.

How many of our resolutions
seek the world’s applause?

How many of our inner promises
are born out of the fear
of rejection and abandonment?

Isn’t this just another way
of seeking the praise of people?

What if we sought out
a kind Father to please?

What if our nature
demands such seeking?

What if our nature
inevitably forms
around such praise?

We need to seek God’s praise
because it is true.
We may also need to seek
God’s praise
because it is formative—
helping us to grow up in love
rather than tearing us down
through lies, distrust,
and empty flattery.

Today, quietly write down
three or four praise-worthy things
about your life—
small or large,
obvious or easily overlooked.

Think about gifts and opportunities
you have received
gratefully and whole-heartedly.

By welcoming God
and his goodness
into your life,
you will find God’s praise.

Live in these things
even as you live
for these things.

---

Prayer

Gentle Father,

Your praise comes
as we live
in your goodness:
the truth of it,
the rightness of it,
and the beauty of it.

Save us from our accusers—
within us and around us—
who wrongly define
what is praise-worthy
and then beat us
over the head with it,
molding us into this world’s
wickedness,
loneliness,
and mockery.

Lord, let your praise
be on our lips:
the praise of you,
the praise that comes from you.

Let it transform us
into the likeness of Jesus,
full of peace, love, and joy.

Amen.

God's Hidden Timing

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. (Luke 1:26-27) 

Advent begins not with spectacle, but with hidden timing—God waiting for faith to mature in quiet places before acting openly. Elizabeth stayed in seclusion for five months. The passage begins by drawing our attention to God’s timing: “In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary.” There is something deliberate and revealing about this timing. God’s action with Mary seems responsive to Elizabeth’s long season of hidden waiting.

Perhaps Elizabeth waited to see if this baby would survive. Perhaps she had known miscarriages before and wanted to confirm God’s word to her while living quietly with silent Zechariah. Both of them waited—maybe with doubts in their hearts. Perhaps they were familiar with this kind of anxiety and had learned disappointment from it. In the quiet, God seems to allow Elizabeth’s faith and hope to ripen, both for herself and for her coming meeting with Mary.

Elizabeth’s recorded words may reflect a slow recognition of God’s faithfulness to Zechariah. They may be the joy that finally emerged at the end of her seclusion: “In these days of seclusion he has shown his grace to me!” Now she could step into the joy of pregnancy rather than hide with the pain of loss from friends and family.

At this sacred moment in Elizabeth’s life, God sends Gabriel to Mary with both warning and hope. Mary is told that the Holy Spirit will overshadow her—echoing the Spirit hovering over the face of the deep at the beginning of creation. A new creation is beginning. God is gentle with his prophets and his people. He speaks with them before he acts, preparing them for what is to come. Mary’s faith was not blind; it was invited, informed, and sustained by God’s words to her.

Gabriel also gives Mary a gift of confirmation and companionship: “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age.” Another miraculous birth. God strengthens Mary’s faith not only with promises, but with signs, and not only with signs, but with companions. She would not walk this path alone. 

Advent often unfolds this way for us as well—faith growing quietly, out of view, before joy is ready to be shared. Much of God’s work in us happens before we feel permitted to rejoice. 

---

Prayer

Lord, you favored Mary with clear communication and faithful companions on her path of obedience. Favor us as well. We need your voice to make sense of our lives, and we need companions for the journey we walk with you. Meet us in our hidden seasons. Open our ears to your words and our eyes to the friends you place along our way. Amen.

---

Advent Action

You may not see an angel this season, but today listen carefully for God’s message through your conversations and encounters. Ask God to open your eyes to companions who are walking the Way of Jesus alongside you. Consider writing down one moment today when God’s message came through another person.

We Have the Mind of Christ

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,

if any comfort from his love,

if any fellowship with the Spirit,

if any tenderness and compassion

then make my joy complete

by being like-minded,

having the same love,

and being one in spirit and purpose.

(Paul, Philippians 2:1-2)

 

Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Paul, Romans 12:2)

 

For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of  God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may know what God has freely given us. . . . We have the mind of Christ. (Paul, 1 Corinthians 2:11,12,16)

 

 

The gospel has many expressions of the same reality. Some are more familiar than others. "God is light and there is no darkness in him." "For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son." "Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions." Perhaps we may also add this little phrase: "We have the mind of Christ."

True, we have much more than the mind of Christ. But we must be sure that we know that we do not have less. We do not merely have his deeds. We do not merely have his great intentions. We do not merely have his company. We also have his mind.

The mind of Christ is the entry point of discipleship and salvation. A disciple needs to do more than parrot his master, he needs to begin to share the master's thoughts and feelings if he is to have any hope of true imitation. Deliverance from this world is first and foremost an inner deliverance of the mind and spirit or else we end up with a merely external, behavioral faith.

The mind of Christ is the focal point of our discipleship and salvation. The watchword for the kingdom of God is "repentance" - metanoia- a turning, a rethinking about our thinking. This is how Jesus changes hearts. He enters through the mind, our thoughts and feelings. Our continuing repentance is a conversion of our thoughts and feelings to the thoughts and feelings of our Lord, our Master, Jesus.

We are given many of Jesus's thoughts through the Bible. If we want to know how and what Jesus thought, we need to become honest and open students of the Bible. There is no better resource. The Bible under the superintending Spirit will open up Jesus's feelings to us as well. Although the fruit of the Spirit is more than feelings, we recognize this fruit by the effect it has on our feelings: love that is joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, gentle, good, and self-controlled.

The problem with many current efforts and discipleship is the tendency to make our conformity to the mind of Christ a servant to another master, such as self-improvement, church attendance growth, material success, recognition by other people, relief from guilt, etc. When formation into Christ-likeness from the inside out becomes anything but the center and the only foundation, we end up pretending Christ-likeness while striving toward other goals. Our faith becomes hopelessly external.

 

The reason that "We have the mind of Christ" is such good news is accessibility. Through our special relationship with God opened up through Jesus, we have access to his mind. Through this access we experience deliverance from sin, wisdom for our days, direction for our life, and companionship through conversation. We find that Jesus did not come just to do something for us, but to open up his life to us to be with us even now.

 

How does enter into the mind of Christ? How do we become disciples who think and feel like our Master? What are the consequences if we neglect this access to the mind of Christ? What are our alternatives?

 

Lord Jesus, we know there are so many things that fight for our attention, some good and some not so good. We find ourselves like children, running here and there, maybe just playing in our lives instead of finding real meaning, joy, and rest. Open our hearts to the needed renewal of our minds and give us space to rest, learn, and grow. We look forward to great things from our Master! Amen.

Unexpected

Resurrection

is the answer

we weren’t expecting

when we called out

for relief.

New life

is not the hope

we looked for

when we wanted to rebuild

the old one.

Abundant life

is not getting our heart’s desire

but a new heart instead 

learning to desire

so much more.

This gift

may not be 

the expected one

but it is Jesus’s life

we are given

this day.

Finding Certainty

   “Keep that light before your eye, and go directly toward it, and then you shall see the gate, at which, when you knock, you will be told what you are to do.”

    So I saw in my dream that the man began to run. Now he had not run far from his own door when his wife and children, perceiving his departure, began to cry out to him so that he might return. But the man put his fingers in his ears and ran on crying, “Life, life, eternal life.” So he did not look behind him, but rather fled toward the middle of the plain. (Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress)

 In the Gospel of Luke he begins, "Many have undertaken. . . ." In spite of the many, we all need to undertake this brave venture for ourselves. In spite of the many, we must draw up our own accounts of what has been fulfilled in our lives, what our lives have been filled up with. In the end we all will enter into the account that Luke started from those who saw and heard God made flesh. Our accounts will tell of what we thought of that one account.

So we see that Luke explaining, "I myself have carefully investigated." So, we find we do not undertake this venture in spite of the many before us, but informed by them and even spurred on by them. This venture begins and continues with careful investigation. Those who seek will find. For those who knock, the door will be opened. We do not seek mere facts in order to be right, but signs of God's graceful hand in order to be rescued. And his work shines most brightly in the life, words, and presence of Jesus among us.

All of this, "so that you may know the certainty." The end result of this investigation is not only faith in God, but knowing God the Father and Jesus, whom he sent. Only then will we know we have been taught well. Only in this intimate relationship with Jesus can we find the certainty we long for, a place to stand in a sinking age.

What is the account of your life with God? Is he a forgotten memory, a distant light, or a true friend? How might Luke's account affect your account? What sort of things do you carefully investigate? What motivates you? Are you certain of anything? Do you think you can find certainty in anything?

What Binds It All Together

Your strong love, O True God, is precious.

     All people run for shelter under the shadow of your wings.

In your house, they eat and are full at your table.

     They drink from the river of your overflowing kindness.

You have the fountain of life that quenches our thirst.

     Your light has opened our eyes and awakened our souls.

(Psalm 36:7-9, The Voice)

The pursuit of satisfaction in a world where immediate gratification is top priority seems like it would be easy. If you want it, you not only can get it, you should get it. There is a moral imperative to getting it all. It is now right, good, and even healthy. And yet, we remained unsatisfied. Desire only leads to more desire.

The only way desire can lead to satisfaction is by taking a back seat. The two primary methods of pushing desire back are the essentials of the worship of the true God: thanksgiving and sacrifice. With thanksgiving we take our eyes off of what we want and what we have received to admire and take pleasure in the Giver of all such things. We can experience his love and find true satisfaction. 

With sacrifice, we have our desires frustrated by our own hand or by someone else's. Instead of responding with resistance and anger, we let go of the desire and cling to God the Rescuer. He saves us from run-away desire and focuses our eyes back on him and his ability to take care of us and fill us. We can experience the deep satisfaction of surrender to the One who loves us and that we adore.

All of this is only possible when God's love is the most precious thing in our lives. This is not love as a concept that we admire nor is it a transaction that we cash in. This love is an active experience that we live. We daily find shelter in this love. We sit at the table of conversation with this love. We find continuous kindness that quenches our thirst for deep acceptance. It is the fountain of life. It is the light in our eyes. This is what binds all the pages of desire and experience together into meaning - one soul, one life.

Nothing is sweeter than love,

Nothing higher, nothing stronger, nothing larger,

nothing more joyful, nothing fuller,

and nothing better in heaven or on earth.

For love descends from God,

and may not rest finally in anything less than God.

A lover of God flies high, runs swiftly, is merry in God,

is free in soul, gives all for all and has all in all,

rests in one high goodness above all things,

from whom all goodness flows and proceeds.

The lover of God beholds not only the gift,

but the giver above all gifts.

(from True Serenity, selections from The Imitation of Christ)

The Staff in Your Hands

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:10-14)

photo credit: AMBOO WHO?/FLICKR

The gospel
        sings from the pages
        of the Bible
        even in the Exodus:
"The Lord will fight for you;
you need only be still."

Why can I not
be still?

Be still, my child
         my beloved,
         my joy.
Be still and know
     that all you need is already there,
     that the battle's already won,
     that your life is a victory,
                          not a defeat.
Be still and know that I am God:
      I intend what is good

                    to be done in great ways.

      Your salvation today

               is part of my masterpiece

               as well as my master plan.

      Your enemies are real -

               they oppose you and me

               but you will overcome them.

               My wind is at your back,

               my staff is in your hands,

               their trap will become my path

               their army will become my triumph.

Lord, why can I not

          be still?

Your war has taken your peace.

Your fear has taken your hope.

Your doubt has taken your trust.

Your worry has displaced your prayer.

Surrender to the peace only I can give.

    Remember your hope.

        Build your trust.

            Come near in prayer.

And your stillness

                will lead you forward

                                      into victory.

A City Prepared for Me

They admitted they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-16)

I looked to the hills,

the mountains called out to me.

A spirit of wandering invaded my soul,

but with no spirit of fear in it,

rather a longing

for pilgrimmage.

A stranger to everyone,

I sometimes don't recognize myself,

when such longings find me

and I give them shelter.

They come

and beckon me onward.

They say, "You don't belong here."

Often I have let these voices

move me to self-pity

instead of energize me

to seek that far country,

that fair country,

which is my own

and which owns me.

No, the longing and its voice

calls me outward and onward

and I may need to pack and prepare

for this journey today,

but I do not need to hide and escape

like some criminal or refugee

running for my life

in fear and anguish.

That's not leaving at all

but just delving deeper

into what 

I need to leave behind.

I take in hand my staff,

the discplines that discipline me

for the long walk

by steadying my legs

and strengthening my hands

for a better place,

a richer country

with less things and worries

and more heart and hope.

It's not really a place at all

but finding my place.

The song of mountains and hills

calls out to me

and reminds me

that my place is elsewhere

not forever running away from

what is in front of me,

but running further on

a path set before me,

where the air crackles

with possibility,

where the ground itself moves

me forward,

and the sky announces,

"I am not ashamed of you

or ashamed to be yours."

Pilgrimmage

means there's a place ahead for me

in the here and now,

means I am a stranger

but not an outcast,

means there's a journey,

but not an escape,

means a city prepared for me

not one I have to build,

but one I need seek and discover.

The First Gleam of Dawn

 I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and who ever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? (Jesus, John 11:25)

Live

even though you are dying.

Live

in the twilight hours

between two ages.

 

Some say

"Life is not a dress rehearsal."

But it is!

In life we can get busy living

or we can get busy dying.

Practice makes perfect.

Is it sunrise

or sunset?

Will you embrace

the coming darkness

or the coming dawn?

Die.

Let it go.

Die

to whatever keeps you from life.

Die

even as you embrace life

in the One who lives.

His words to you

will speak you through

all manner of death

into resurrection.

His breath

to fill your lungs

and his belief

to keep your heart beating.

Always.

And forever.

 

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,

shining ever brighter till the full light of day. (Proverbs 4:18)

 

 

Make a Way

 I am the voice of one calling in the desert, "Make straight the way of the Lord." (John 1:23)

A desert may not be the best place to gather a crowd, but it may be the best place to make disciples. We can learn from being hot and hungry when the lessons are about real food and drink.

In preparing, we find our way. Perhaps the best preparation is realizing we what we are doing is not satisfying our hunger or thirst.

Before we hear a voice that calls, "Follow me," we will hear a voice that calls, "Make straight the way." Leaving one path will open our eyes to another one.

But beware of visuals. Often the voice calls out in the darkness. "Too much" and "too many" can clutter the way. The desert can open our ears and eyes to the silence and solitude it brings.

 

It is the dry places and times in our lives that need the water most. This is hard, because they are dry for a reason. But it is also easy, because the dry land drinks most readily.

 

All that is gold does not glitter;

Not all who wander are lost.

The old that is strong does not wither.

Deep roots are not reached by the frost. (Tolkien)

The Way Out

The snare has been broken,

  and we have escaped. 

-Psalm 124:7

Faith is reaching out

             to the hand

             that breaks the snare

             and sets us free

             to become

             who and what

             we were meant to be

             as individuals

             and as a people.

It begins with a trusted word

               of a distant place of hope

               and a means

               to travel there.

It is a quality more than a decision,

       a discovery more than a doctrine,

       a yearning with its careful calculation,

       and a road with its shining destination.

In the end, our faith is

          what we believe

          is the only way

          out

          of this mess.

What fault did your fathers find in me,

  that they strayed so far from me?

They followed worthless idols

  and became worthless themselves.

-Jeremiah 2:5

 

Now Is the Time

We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says,

"In the time of my favor I heard you,

  and in the day of salvation I helped you."

I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:1-2)

Implore. Urge. Now is the time. Is there a better time? What could keep us waiting? It is clear that God has not changed. His heart has always been for each of us and all of us. So what are we waiting for?

Maybe all we want is forgiveness. All we want is to be let off the hook. Really at the heart of that "forgiveness" is the desire to be rid of God, just to get him off our backs. The forgiveness that God offers is for reconciliation. It is to make things right between us. As a lexicon puts it: "to reestablish proper friendly interpersonal relations after these have been disrupted or broken." God does not want to just make us right and merely obedient; he wants to live with each and every one of us in a paradise where we can work and walk with him in the "cool of the day," just like old times.

This reconciliation goes even further. God would have us become his very own righteousness. He wants to re-form us into all that is so right and so good about God: becoming like Christ, full of love, joy, peace, hope, and faith. He wants to be with us and in us so that we might enter into "an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands," be "clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." (2 Corinthians 5:1,4) We will become all that we are supposed to be.

The day of salvation is today, not only after we leave these bodies ("tents"). Eternal life is a conversational relationship with the only true God and with Jesus Christ whom he sent. (John 17:3) Eternal life is the same thing as the abundant life promised by Jesus (John 10:10). Eternal life can start now and continue on forever. . . or not. Salvation is not merely an experience, but a whole string of experiences stretching into eternity. Salvation is a life or it is nothing at all.

What is it like to receive something in vain? It would be like taking a gift that someone gave you and putting it into permanent storage or even throwing it away. It would be like receiving an education and forgetting all that you learned or even undermining it in all you do. It would be like finding a treasure and keeping safe, but never investing or spending it. Is it possible for God's reconciliation to be shelved, forgotten, and left unspent? Tragically, it happens all the time.

Put simply, we may just not really want God or a relationship with him. We may want his favor and his gifts, but what Jesus really came to give was reconciliation. A relationship put right. Those who work with God try to make this opportunity known, as God has always been doing, holding open his arms, holding out his hands. He calls out to you, "Come home from that distant land. Follow me and learn me. Be filled with the kind of Spirit and life I have." "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17) What are you waiting for?

From Praise to Worship

 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,

  the name of the Lord is to be praised. (Psalm 113)

As nice as church services can be, as helpful as it is to have a time and place to gather with other Christ-learners, it is a disservice to this passage to think of a constant church service. Church services are potentially very helpful, but they are not life. Unfortunately, they are often places to identify with a certain ideology rather than walk with others with Jesus. Worship is identified as a church service will end up poisoning this text.

The other problem is that God may receive praise, but he is looking for worship. More specifically - he is looking for worshipers. We know mouths praise, but hearts worship. Jesus criticized some who drew near to God with their mouths while their hearts were far from him. This is the problem. How do we draw near with our hearts, worship him in spirit?

This may seem to contradict what was just said, but we can draw near with our mouths. When I was in high school, I could cuss the wallpaper off a wall, espcially at the video game arcade (what is that?). I wanted to stop cussing, so I began with my mouth. I changed the words into something less offensive. Then I began to just cuss on the inside. Then I just would get angry. Then I started dealing with my anger.

What happened? Well, when I cut off the automatic flow of anger that spewed out of my mouth, I became much more aware of its presence inside. I realized I was an angry person. I did not think that was inevitable because of Jesus and his teaching and his life and his words to me. So with his help I began to deal with my anger, my fear, and my distrust of God.

Similarly, in the opposite direction, if a person praises God all day long, and not just in front of other people, he will likely become aware of what is on the inside. Is there worship? Is there gratitude? If not, the praise will ring hollow and empty. Then that person is in a position to change. . . or give up. This is where to grace of God comes in: strength for change, mercy for failure.

Discipline is what you can do with your body to bring about change in your heart and soul. It's good to think about it, but not enough. It's good to talk about it, but not enough. Discipline is the nest where the Holy Spirit can roost in our lives. Without it, our relationship with God remains abstract and distracted. Our hearts end up far from him.

So the Psalmist emphasizes a moral imperative of God's worth and our need: worship and praise. Yet he also is speaking wisdom about how life is best lived. Discpline will destroy your life witht God if it becomes righteousness instead of wisdom. That is the trap of legalism, externalism. Instead of allowing discipline to eat you alive, learn how to be nourished and strengthed by your discipline. Become a Christ-learner more than a Christ-pleaser. He will be pleased with your learning. He will grow you from the inside out.

All Things Are Possible in the With-God Life

 With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God. (Mark 10:27)

The other day someone asked me if I was a positive person. I had trouble answering. Inside I feel full of doubt and distrust, but often when I open my mouth, I am compelled to say something good or even hopeful. I do not think this is all bad. Sometimes the words I need to hear come unexpectedly from my own mouth.

This verse, however, is not so much about positivity, but proximity. Most people are familiar with "all things are possible with God." I think we often say, "All things are possible for God," but that is not what this says or means. The Greek word para used with God in the dative has this sense: "with persons to denote proximity, as in Lk.9:47, being at home or in a household, and presence, fellowship, or sphere of influence." (TDNTA) Being with God is what makes all things possible for us.

On the other hand, being with humanity alone is what makes things impossible. It is not because people are bad necessarily, but because they are finite. The bad part comes when people do not recognize their finitude and do not seek God for his strength and grace. Instead we rely on ourselves and our movements and ideas to solve our problems.

History teaches us one important thing about humanity. Human problems cannot be solved by human solutions. We are not enough individually or corporately to handle the problems we have. It was never meant to be this way. This can make one hopeless or it can help one put hope and faith in the right place: in a life with God.

Sold for Nothing, Bought with Love

This is what the Lord says:

  "You were sold for nothing,

    and without money you will be redeemed." (Isaiah 52:3)

In the song in Oliver! when the orphan Oliver is being sold by the cruel overseer of the orphanage, he sings these words: "One boy, boy for sale, he's going cheap. . . ." For some reason this song comes to my mind at times. He's trying to get rid of Oliver and doesn't care how. Being "sold for nothing" is the story of this present age. How often have I sensed someone was eager to be rid of me? How often have I been eager to get rid of myself, selling my own birthright for nothing or worse?

How easily will I sell my integrity? Or my ability? Or my loved ones? I sell them for a small reprieve from pain or a few seconds of "looking good" or my own sense of importance. What a waste!

The irony is that I sell my life, my true self as God's beloved, for so little and I am not bought back in the same way at all. The payment is not in money or mere recompense, but in blood and sweat for my sake before I knew any better. I am not ransomed by paying back my debts, but by someone taking my side and my place. I am set free by another willing to be a slave and showing me how to serve, the "Servant of all."

And then, the irony deepens. I am set free to serve again, but to a different master. Instead of obsessive desire and overwhelming fear holding the whip, I am able to serve God and others with freedom and, therefore, love. In the end, we are redeemed not with money or suffering or punishment, but with an abiding love that will not let us go. It frees us and infects us at the same time, making us sick with a goodness like Jesus has, a goodness that flows from the inside out. 

Ears Ready for Planting

 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop - thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown. (Mark 4:20)

There are people you pour your life into and they just take and take and produce nothing. This does not stop us from continuing to fill that hole. Sometimes it is out of love. Sometimes it is out of habit. Sometimes it is merely a willfulness to make someone else into what we want.

The parable of the sower and the seed talks about such relationships. There are relationships like black holes, their are fair-weather friends, there are people who love beginnings, but have no interest in enduring to the end. But then there are some people who seem ready to hear and respond and grow. Here, the seed easily received by these people is a word from God. The smallest encouragement draws such people into deep feeling and great deeds. They do not seem to have been inoculated against Jesus and his words, but drink them like water in a desert.

Receptivity needs two wings to fly. One wing is knowing good news when we hear it. The offer to place the control of our lives under God does not sound like good news to everyone. That is because the other wing is not functioning correctly. We need to know what kind of person God is so we can understand what kind of control he desires. The scripture speaks of God like this:

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, 

  neither are my ways your ways," declares the Lord. . .

You shall go out with joy 

  and be led forth in peace.

The mountains and the hills will burst into song before you

  and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." (Isaiah 55)

It is also possible to know somewhat how good and great God is and not receive word from him. This is also flying with one wing. Such people usually try to walk with God merely from obeying commands and applying rules from the Bible to their life. The good news is that God's control is not like a writer with a pen, but like a father with his child. It is guidance with growth. God doesn't merely want people to do his will; he wants people who want to do his will with joy. This kind of shaping takes something more like raising a child than pounding on a stone.

This is shown clearly in Jesus. He came to do what his Father and he wanted to do. Ultimately the control was and is in his hands. But he did not come so much as a king who needed servants, but as a teacher of apprentices. His instructions to them were as detailed as they needed to be. They can only be carried out be someone who can both hear God personally and joyfully obey him. Without these two wings the good news of Jesus does not produce much fruit.

Child-like in Old Age

 Even to your old age and gray hairs

  I am he, I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

  I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Isaiah 46:4)

I may not be in my old age, but I have my share of gray hair. I guess we may never completely outgrow the desire to be someone's child. Although that can create a childish person, it may also be able to make someone more child-like.

As I get older I have had more obvious examples in which I have needed someone to sustain me, even someone to carry me and rescue me. Sometimes a sickness has taken all sense of pride from me with pain or incapacity. Sometimes I am faced with horrible problems in my family that I cannot face or fix. Sometimes I am hardly able to get out of bed in the morning from sheer weariness or despair. I find I can enter such moments in childish ways or in child-like ways. I can throw tantrums and kick and scream or I can grieve and cry out for help and comfort. They can be similar in appearance, but my heart is radically different in the midst of them.

Growth into child-like humility involves letting go of outcomes without giving up. It involves having a place to stand apart from my desires without disowning them. It involves learning how to love reality more than the illusions I weave. The God of peace can be found if we know how to seek him.