The Long Defeat

When I saw this title to an article in a magazine called RADIANT, I thought, "yeah, that sounds about right" so I decided to read on and see what Sara Groves had to say. In the end, although the title sounds pretty discouraging, it is actually an encouraging piece. The pullout quote is this..."There are many losing battles worth investing, in, simply because winning is not the point." Interesting. Winning is not the point??? I guess to summarize we need to do the right thing whether success, as currently defined in social, economic or human terms, is part of the equation or not. What must be realized, though, is this endeavor is tiring, costly and at times, lonely. The most well known example used is Mother Teresa. We see her as someone who accomplished great things - and she did - but the problem in Calcutta still exists. The battle has not been won. I am also sure she had many days where she was tired, wondered if it was all worth it and felt pretty alone, and that's okay. We can't help but believe that for every person she touched, it was worth it. Now...the question is, do I think it is worth it? Let's face it. Doing the easy thing is, well, easier. Many times it doesn't seem as tiring and most of the time it is probably a lot less lonely. So where is the encouraging part? I guess to me it is knowing that it is okay to question and wonder. Maybe it is better for us that we can't go through a list of accomplishments and revel in the successes we have had and feel like our job here on earth is done. I don't think that is the way it is supposed to be. I think the big thing in all of this is that we need others to encourage us. We need people to say that in light of eternity, fighting the battle, even if it is a battle within, is more than worth it.

Trying to keep the hope alive...
JAH

Holiness and Such

"We're tempted by moralism because we've forgotten what God wants at the center." This quote begins the article Holy to the Core by Joel Scandrett in the May 2007 issue of CHRISTIANITY TODAY. I had read this article last month and then recently read it again. It emphasized that the mot basic meaning of the word "holy" is to be "set apart" or "dedicated" to God - to BELONG to God. I wanted to share some of the "underlinings" I made.

* While we've cast off old, legalistic notions of holiness, we've merely replaced them with private, moralistic notions. We act as if holiness were either outdated or something that characterizes only a small (if important) part of our lives.

*Prior to any consideration of morality, biblical holiness describes a unique relationship that God has established and desires with his people. This relationship has moral ramifications, but it precedes moral behavior. Before we are ever called to be good, we are called to be holy. Unless we rightly understand and affirm the primacy of this relationship, we fall into the inevitable trap of reducing holiness to mere morality.

*Contrary, then, to any notion of mere moral conformity, true holiness is a grateful collaboration with God in seeking to live out the form of human life that he intends.

*More than any other American value, the notion that we are the masters and proprietors of our own lives stands in direct opposition to our call to be set apart to God.

*So endemic is this narcissism that many American Christians see Jesus as little more than a means of augmenting their sense of self, either as a source of "health and prosperity" or of emotional "well-being." In either case, the self is allowed to continue as its own spiritual center, rather than taking its proper place in orbit around Jesus Christ, its true center.

*The call of God comes not to isolated individuals, but to a people: The people of Israel in the Old Testament and the people of Jesus, Jew and Gentile, in the New Testament.

*...we must never forget that the church is God-created, non-negotiable reality of which all disciples of Jesus are a part and to which we are called to commit and submit.

*There is no such thing as love for God that does not include love for God's people.

*To be set part as a member of Christ's bride is to participate in the church's worship.

*We are set apart as the church for the sake of others.

*To be holy, to be set apart to God, is never an end in itself but is always for the sake of the world.

To me, holiness would seem to be a completely unattainable state of perfection. Because of this, I always wondered why God would say, "Be Holy as I am Holy". But given this line of thought, holiness as setting yourself aside for God, it would be attainable. That is a scary thought - a more "no excuses" thought. We all want to use the reasoning that as mere humans, we just have to try hard to be good and nice and then God, because of Jesus, will understand when we totally mess everything up. Could it be that there is more required of us than that? Is this part of what it means to be crucified with Christ - being dead to our own desires and alive to His? How can it be any other way....

Birthdays and Travels

First of all, today is our son Isaac's 19th birthday. By this time on that day, I was feeling pretty certain that things were going to be moving along pretty quickly. I remember calling my mom to watch Carrie and calling Dan at work to tell him to come home. I didn't sleep the entire night before - I guess it was a burst of energy. I still remember seeing Isaac for the first time. He had little swirls in his hair and he had long arms and fingers. He was a pretty mellow baby and that has carried through in his life. I cannot imagine having a finer son. It has been a joy watching him grow and seeing all of the stages he has went through in this life so far. Isaac started off incredibly shy and, although he has become much more outgoing, I can still see that shyness there...deep down. Thanks for nineteen great years, Isaac. You always said when you were little that you never wanted to grow up. You said your best day was to be at home. Funny how things change, but the change has been great. I look forward to seeing all that life brings your way and all that you bring to life.

Today we get to go to Nashville and I am really looking forward to the trip. It is always a great place to visit - walking around downtown is just great. Plus, we get to see a fantastic band and visit with some people that will be coming from all over the place. Lots of good stories to be heard...

Guess that is about it for this Friday morning.

Peace and hope to all -
JAH