Ahh... "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." That pretty much describes the craziness that is my life. I have to intentionally choose to stop and look around every so often or I might miss some pretty significant parts of it. So after a fun-filled week in Houston (not really), a few final quotes and thoughts from Andy Stanley's book "The Grace of God" that I finished while seeing the sites in Texas (By sites, I mean the parking garage, the hotel, the office... exciting stuff like that.)- "The story of Jesus is the story of God drawing near to those who had been pulled away by sin and were subsequently pushed away by the self-righteous."
- "As if six hundred laws were not enough, they (the Pharisees) created additional lists of rituals to observe and behaviors to avoid to ensure that the existing laws weren't accidentally broken."
- "We have to give Nicodemus credit for remaining in the uncomfortable light Jesus was shining on his ignorance and confusion. It would have been easy for a leader of his stature to take cover behind his education and pedigree. No one would have blamed him if he had chosen to scurry away before even more of his categories were scrambled by this itinerant preacher. Nicodemus had devoted his entire life to learning, teaching and upholding a religious system that shaped his identity and gave his life purpose; yet he paused to consider the possibility that there was something he had missed."
- "If people aren't following, it's because someone's not leading."
- "What about obedience? What about disobedience? What about repeated misbehavior? What about bad habits? What about justice? What about repentance? But I chose to ignore that little voice because all the what-abouts are irrelevant to a discussion of grace. There's no connection at all... But almost grace is like almost true. If something is almost true, it isn't. It's this tension that makes grace so slippery. There's something in most of us that screams, It can't be that easy! But as much as we want to qualify grace, it can't be qualified. Jesus didn't try to balance grace and truth. He gave a full dose of both."
When was the last time you paused to consider that you might have missed something? Are you arrogant enough to say you have it all figured out? Not that we verbally say that very often, but we often act like it. Our rules, our system, our fill in the blank... let the uncomfortable light of Jesus shine on it for awhile. Yeah, that will scramble things, turn them upside down, and make you pause for just a minute. What is your identity tied to? What extra rules are you creating?
The what-abouts... the details we want explained to suit us... grace throws them out the window. We want to give qualified grace. We want to receive Jesus' grace. It is that easy, but it also that hard. Grace and truth cuts through all of it, but we still have a hard time accepting it and giving it. Are you willing to give it away this week? No qualifications of obedience, repentance or justice... just give grace away? It will be tough and possibly confusing, but aren't most things, if we try to live a life following Jesus. I bet it will be exciting as well. Most dangerous things are. Have an incredible week living in radical grace!
As I sit here figuring out how to put into words some of the things that I am learning, Joshua (my middle son) is laughing at the movie they are watching. That has to be one of my favorite sounds. He has one of those laughs that you can just tell how much he is enjoying himself. It is a loud, contagious laugh that just makes me smile to hear. One of those things that make a parent forget the frustrations that sometimes come with being a parent. Awesome sound that I hope I never quit hearing.
"Without warning, light was shining in the darkness. And it was blinding. Confusing. Threatening. Unnerving. As a diplomat, Nicodemus, was prepared to be, well, diplomatic. As a diplomat, you slowly ramp up to the real issues. The important issues. But Jesus, in his entirely undiplomatic fashion, went straight to the heart of the matter." (Andy Stanley's "The Grace of God") Sounds about right. Take it, turn it upside down, do the unexpected, and go right to the real issues. I've experienced it. Jesus doesn't follow our set rules for him. He isn't the diplomat who leaves you wondering what he is getting at. He goes straight to the heart. It catches us off guard because, well, it is so unlike what we usually experience. We tap dance around what needs to be said. We don't want to offend so we avoid shining the light on sin.
I am so blessed to have friends surrounding me who follow Jesus lead. Shortly after reading the above section about Nicodemus from Andy Stanley's book today, I had one of those encounters. A friend willing to risk realness and shine a light on my darkness. I was told I was missing humility in serving. I needed to serve my wife with humility, not out of pride. Unnerving - check. Right - check. Things turned upside down - check. Sounds like I encountered Jesus through my friend's words today. Funny how Jesus doesn't fit into the neat, little boxes we want to place him in. He goes straight to the heart of the matter. Wonder how many times I have been diplomatic, when I should have been loving? Are you willing to risk it? Are you willing to live a life in the unexpected? Willing to love and show grace when that doesn't make sense? Willing to serve with humility? Willing to be entirely undiplomatic and talk about the real issues? It may be a little unnerving, but man, what a refreshing way to live! So what are you going to choose to do? That is the real question. Sorry if it isn't very diplomatic.
Is simply surviving enough? I was talking with a friend last night and telling him how this last year has been the hardest one I can remember. It seems like nothing has been simple. Friendships that I thought were for the long haul have taken a detour. Finances that I thought were improving, have been stretched beyond what I could imagine. Things I've never questioned have been challenged. I've watched as marriages I thought were stable go through hard times and wonder if that could happen to me. I've been happy to just make it through the day without having wrecked my life or my family's at some points. It has been one of those years so far, but I don't think we were created to just survive. We have a purpose that we are to carry out and it isn't about survival. It is to love. Love God and love others. Survival focuses on me. Love focuses on others. So I don't think simply surviving is enough. No matter how slowly I limp through the process or how long this year seems to last, I have the choice to love through it all. Loving is more than simply making it through another day. It is showing grace when it seems like there should be punishment. It is giving even when it is unappreciated. It is listening when you would rather be doing something else. It is simply more than showing up for another day, it is the choice to keep fulfilling my purpose even when it is hard. Loving others especially when I don't feel like it."If the size of your vision for your life isn't intimidating to you, there's a good chance it's insulting to God." (Steven Furtick from "Sun Stand Still") I want this type of audacious faith. The type that says "if you're not daring to believe God for the impossible, you're sleeping through some of the best parts of your Christian life." I want the word audacious to describe how I live my life. (BTW, it is also one of my favorite words. Cool sound and more importantly an incredible way to live.) I don't want to simply survive, I want to live a life of audacious faith. I want words like grace, humility, and love to describe my life. I want God to use my life for way more than I am capable of. Simply making through another day doesn't seem to be enough any more. What about for you? Are you daring to believe God for the impossible? Can He do what you can't? Does the way you live reflect that?
Three thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head for the last couple of days.
- From Andy Stanley's book "The Grace of God" - "Jonah's sin was that his religion was really about him. While he eventually surrendered to the will of God, he never surrendered to the purposes of God in the world... He was grateful for God's multiple expressions of grace toward him but refused to celebrate God's grace toward the city. The moral of the story is pretty straightforward: receiving grace is often easier than dispensing it." How often does that play out in my life? One set of rules for me, but a different set for everyone else. I deserve grace (contradiction of terms because grace can't be earned), but what about the person who just offended me? What about the ex-boss? What about the person who took advantage of you? What about...
- Caught part of "Good Will Hunting" the other day. It is one of my favorite movies. I think I may know why now. (Besides liking Matt Damon movies and Robin Williams in this role.) I want to be like Robin Williams character and help someone grasp they have so much more potential than they realize. I want to make a difference. To be an influence. To wade through all of the bs and to challenge them to be more than mediocre.
- Today was about staying within today. Not being concerned (nice way of saying worried) about yesterday or what tomorrow will bring. Not worrying about what someone else will do as I can't control their actions. Not worrying about my past mistakes as I can't change what happened, but can do my best today.
It isn't a lack of knowledge. It is simply a lack of application. Let's do the things we already know that we are suppose to be doing. Once we have those ingrained in our lives, then we can move on to the next thing. Need a suggestion - be joyful always, love one another, pray without ceasing. That should keep us busy for awhile. Now let's just do it.
