By Default

The default mode of the heart of every human being is to try to earn a place at God’s table. That is what we would do if we were left to ourselves and we weren’t paying attention to our own hearts.

Strangely, that is true of every human being. Even those human beings who haven’t yet surrendered themselves to trusting Jesus. Even those human beings who deny that there is a God who lovingly made them and wouldn’t give much thought to him. We have the double-minded ability to both defy God and make demands on him at the same time.

So, we human beings default to trying to work for our value and our place. We selfishly and slavishly spend our energy doing, doing, doing with the vain hope that it will earn us something…that we would finally be good enough, smart enough, and that (doggonit) someone would like us. Like us enough to give us a place at the table.

(Thanks for the wise words, Mr. Smalley)

So the clear commands of scripture seem to be the pathway to being accepted by God. If we do them, keep working, keep striving, keep sacrificing, then eventually we will have done enough to either earn a place at the table or be able to demand one. We become a human doing rather than the human being, defined by our actions and easily forgetting that God has bigger and deeper desires for us.

He is not primarily looking at the scope of our works the but the state of our hearts. He knows that all we do flows out of all of who we are, so he goes after our hearts. If he transforms our hearts to be like His Son’s heart then what will naturally follow (by default) is the kind of life his Son lived (lives!)

We are invited to trust the Father so our default more would be like the Son’s. The default mode of Jesus’ heart, always loving, and always knowing we are Beloved by the Father like he is.

"Living My Truth"

“Wes, Do you just WANT to believe?”

Sometimes I am startled at how different our not-yet-believing friends think than we do. Honestly, I don’t want to admit the difference. It is a lot of work to understand how another person perceives the world.

And work makes me tired.

Sitting outside of a fast food restaurant with my friend, he decided to drop the politeness and share what he really thinks about my trust in Jesus though one simple question. Essentially, he was asking “Wes, don’t you think you are just lying to yourself so that you don’t have to deal with the realities of life? Don’t you think you just want this Jesus stuff so badly that you have convinced yourself of it…even if it isn’t true?”

Sounds more like a statement than a question, right?

He hit on something we all tend to do: lie to ourselves. Find convenient lies that make us feel better about doing our selfish desires. But, those lies never hold up. Even if we push the truth deep down and ignore it, like that pea under all of those mattresses the princess slept on, it makes us anxious…keeps us squirming until we acknowledge it.

These kinds of lies are common to all people. Common and convenient. They are also corrosive to our soul that we are trying to protect.

My friend asked me a question. So I decided to answer him. (I don’t think he really wanted the answer, but he asked!) I said to him “Yes, I WANT to believe! I want to believe that Jesus is the truth. But, my desire has nothing to do with the Truth. Just because I want something to be a certain way it doesn’t mean that it actually is that way.”

Then I said the thing I hope is a “pea” to him: “Jesus is the Truth whether I want him to be or not, whether I like it or not. It is because he is the Ultimate Reality that I want my desires to get on board with him.” (Something like that, anyway. Probably goofier than that.)

James 1:16 starts with the phrase “Do not be deceived…” The Spirit is calling out to us through God’s word to pay attention to our desires that might lead us to lie to ourselves. But more than that, the Spirit is drawing us closer to Jesus so that we might be willing to have our corrosive lies exposed…so that we might find freedom in loving the Truth.

Out of Moderation

It is “common sense” to be moderate. No one wants to be compared with people who fly planes into buildings.

Common sense is a way of thinking that most people assume to be true. Common sense is what “everyone knows.” We don’t often question it because sometimes it is good. (“Good people don’t hurt other people.”) 

We live in a world of destructive extremes. We see unhinged people doing unhinged things in the name of their political philosophy, their “cause”, or their religion. We only need to watch the news to see over-zealous people using violence, and destruction, and political manipulation in order to further their “extremist” views.

It seems as if common sense tells us to stay moderate and fit in so that we will not be considered “extreme.” Just fit in. Be nice. You can be a Christian (if that works for you), but don’t go too deep into what you believe. If you actually take Jesus’ seriously then you might go off the deep end, be unhinged.

Jesus challenged the common sense of his day and he challenges the common sense of ours. 

Jesus’ kind of love is never meant to be moderate. Neither is love for Jesus. Is it possible that common sense is wrong? Maybe what the world needs is people who dive deeper into the deep end of the pool, not people who safely stay dry.

There is nothing moderate about Jesus’ love for people. If he showed the moderation that we often admire or aspire to, then he would have lived his life tucked away quietly in Nazareth, never challenging the “common sense” of the day or risking his safety in order to speak the truth in love.

A moderate love stays safe from a cross, but also stays safe from the joy of being immersed in the mission of the Father. It was not zealotry or unhingedness, or extremism that lead Jesus to his sacrificial death- it was the unreserved fullness of his love. It was his loved lived out for his Father and for people. 

Love is never moderate. Wise, yes. Smart, yes. Never moderate. Always lavish. Always abundant and never fearfully reserved.

Why do I write this? Because it relates to the passage we will talk about tomorrow night, but there is something more than that. My heart’s desire is that we would live a life of unreserved love, unhindered by the (selfish) moderation this world expects of us and free to find the deepest joy we can ever have this side of Eternity.

Jesus invites out of extremism and moderation. He invites us into his kind of love.

That's Not Where it Ends

“… When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

That’s an encouraging way to start, right? Now you might be thinking “This sounds depressing. Should I keep reading?”

If we stop there we miss the entire point…and the best part. We will miss the part that our hearts look for, long for.

Bonhoeffer was an early 20th century German pastor and theologian. He wrote those words during the rise of the Third Reich when the Nazis were seeking to gain more power in the country by pressuring influential Christians into joining the Nazi movement. There was great pressure to join the “winning” side (whether willingly or through coercion) and many of those influential Christians supported Hitler seeking political power and security. Many justified themselves by thinking that they could do more good by being in Berlin’s good favor than resisting the evil empire.

Bonhoeffer found Jesus more compelling than Hitler and resisted (leading others to resist with him)…all the way to his death in the Flossenburg concentration camp. What it meant to trust and follow Jesus in Germany in the 30’s and 40’s meant that a faith-filled person might have to stand firm while others are willingly giving in. For Bonhoeffer (and many, many others) to trust Jesus by following him meant losing their lives. It meant that they would “come and die.”

Bonhoeffer’s courage did not come from his own will. His words did not come from his own creativity. What he had came from Jesus’ invitation to relationship in passages like Luke 9:23: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

If that were the whole story, though, it wouldn’t be enough. Not nearly enough.

Hear more of Jesus’ heart in the next verse: “For whoever would save his life will lose it [pause isn’t that what we are all trying to stay away from…loss? Keep reading…] but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” I bolded the last part because it is so easy to read over, but it is crucial! 

The goal isn’t to revel in a martyr’s death, constantly being defeated, but proud that we sacrificed. No, Jesus’ invitation is to find the life we long for in following him, even if that means loss in the process.

Let me say that another way: Jesus’ invitation is to the fullest possible life with him even if that means that we may lose lesser loves.

Jesus calls us to come and die, yes. He calls us to his cross. He is clear about that. He is also clear that the cross is never the end. Behind every crucifixion is a resurrection that makes the loss more than worth it.

Bonhoeffer’s quote above is often quoted, but I don’t ever remember hearing someone quote the words right before “come and die”: “…the cross is not a terrible end to an otherwise god fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” 

The cross is not the goal. Communion with Jesus is. That is what Jesus said. That is what Jesus invites us to. No emotionally healthy person wants to suffer, but every sane person who understands the beautiful promise of communion with Jesus would follow him wherever he goes, at whatever cost.

This might be too long already for someone to read while trying to scour the internet for inspirational or interesting thoughts, but let me make one statement more before I finish this.

When Jesus calls us to lose our lives in order to find them that also includes our work. I might even say that it is primarily through our work that Jesus invites us to come and die. It starts in our attitude towards work and towards those we work among. What if Jesus calls us to come and die (and therefore find real life!) in the everyday, mundane, often mindless action of our work? It is possible that the reason why we have the work that we have is to picture for the people we work around how this promise of the “found life” causes us to treat people radically different than we are expected to treat them. The promise of a fuller, richer life compels us to lay down our lives for another rather than to step on them to try to find a better life.

Jesus’ invitation is to come and die, but dying is not the point. The point is to enter into the life we have always longed for, through the kind of death Jesus died. So many have looked at their own cross and turned away because the loss seemed too great. Jesus invites us to look through the cross to a life with him that makes the real pain and loss of our own cross seem like it didn’t seem like loss in comparison.

The cross is not where it ends. Keep reading, and swell with hope at the best part of Jesus’ invitation to come and die with him.

Meet Jesus at the Corner

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Frederick Buechner

There are an estimated 7.8 billion people in the world. If some determined (crazy) person decided to count one person per second until they counted every living human on our planet right now it would take them 247+ years to do so. No sleeping, no eating, no vacations. Just counting. That breaks my brain to think about it.

Want to know something even more brain breaking? Every one of us thinks differently what matters to us. There are (at least) 7,800,000,000 differing ideas about what matters most in the world. Religions are built on asking questions about what matters most. Philosophers write essays in journals trying to clarify what they think has ultimate meaning. Scientists use the scientific method to ask questions and find what matters in the details of nature. All of us have some sort of thought about these things and all of us think at least somewhat differently. 

Whew. That is exhausting to think about. I think I need a break from trying to write this.

“How does this brain breaking way of thinking relate to our work?” you might ask.Thanks for asking. This is how: our work matters more and more when it relates more and more to what matters most. We all have our ideas of what matters most, but something somewhere has to matter most, right? More than our opinions or desires or preferences.

What if what matters most to the One who made us all, mattered most to us?

What if our work connected with what is on His heart, what he loves? What if we did, along with Jesus, what matters most to him?

Let me say it this way: our work matters most when we have Jesus’ heart in the way we do our work. I believe our work always matters, but it matters more and more as we relate to Jesus more and more and live out his heart more and more. Deeper. More meaningful. More life giving. More eternally focused.

You might wonder, “how can we know what matters to Jesus?” Here is the good news! He straight up tells us. No mysterious words. No cryptic statements. He shares his heart clearly and meaningfully. He shares his mission statement…where Jesus’ deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.

Now the question is: how will we respond to what he says?

I know not all 7.8 billion people would agree with these things (see the second paragraph, above), but I want all 7.8 billion people to experience the goodness of it.

Hiding our Unrest

(reference Luke 14:1-6)

I would imagine that if I saw Jesus walking down the streets of my 1st century village without hearing news about him that he would not have caught my attention. He probably wasn't significantly taller than others that would make him an imposing figure. He probably didn't have leading man looks that made heads turn or a deep, resonant voice that made people want to listen to him.

In every way, he probably looked- I don't know- average. That seems to be the way God works: takes the lowly, the average, and the unnoticed to do powerful things that could never be credited to shallow attributes.

So when he came to sit down for dinner among religious rulers, I would guess they they felt a sense of relief when he came in the room. The relief of sizing up an opponent and seeing that your adversary isn't "all that." Maybe they thought: "This should be a quick win... It isn't even a fair fight."

But, Jesus didn't come to fight like they expected. He came to bring rest. It didn't matter if it was a "fair fight" because they weren't even playing the same game.

They wanted to expose the "lies" Jesus was telling to lead people astray. They wanted to tame Jesus or shame Jesus and blame Jesus so that they could keep their position of moral authority in people's eyes (especially their own).

Jesus didn't come to dinner to play that game. He didn't come to quarrel with their theology, but restore their heart. But, as is always the case, he had to start with what would disrupt the way they thought about themselves and expose their motives.

None of us wants to see what is really inside us. That's dangerous and uncomfortable. We are often satisfied (though scared) at the way we perceive ourselves...the way we hope we are. But, Jesus is too loving to let us deceive ourselves about our hearts and who we really are. He is willing to shine a light on what we might hide from others (and ourselves) in order to deal with the selfish unrest inside of us.

Jesus will lovingly expose what we want to hide so that we can find rest rest from our soul-wearying work of treasuring our sin. It is this type of love that either draws people to him in love or causes people to double-down on their unrest and work to rid their lives of him. The Pharisees in the story could have found rest and freedom in trusting Jesus, but chose a different way. The way that exposed what was really in their hearts: they wanted Jesus to die...and would work towards it.

Radiating Rest

In 1963 in Greenville, South Carolina the Fox Theater opened on a Sunday. On a Sunday! Scandalous, right?! For some the world was unraveling. Much of what they cared about was quickly being taken over by people who would rather go to the movies or buy alcohol or have their children in soccer games than take time for "sabbathing."

In their book, Resident Aliens, Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon talk about how they saw the world changing when the Fox Theater defied the Blue Laws and opened on a Sunday evening. To the authors, it felt like freedom to go see a John Wayne moving picture. To many others, it felt like their values were lost in a movement they couldn't control...a movement away from something they considered "sacred."

We might snicker at Blue Laws. I wonder, though, if the reason that they went out of fashion was because they lost their meaning. Long before they were pushed back on and theaters openly resisted, the reason they existed was forgotten.

I am not advocating for a resurgence of Blue Laws (though some, surprisingly, are), but a resurgence of remembering the meaning behind them.

The purpose was to give people a chance to rest from their work. Now we have to compete with a day of rest. Now there’s no day on the calendar that is set aside to recover. We have to work to rest. Spend energy. Reshape our calendars...and our thinking.

With so many options to keep us busy and working and occupied is there room for rest? Is there room for Sabbath? The people sitting around with at the table with Jesus on the Sabbath had missed the point. Their hearts had loved the law itself rather than the meaning behind it.

Can we actually rest from our work so we can rest in our work? In that, is it possible to radiate Jesus' rest so that we can love the restless people around in a way that they would enter into Jesus rest along with us?

You are not what you produce. You are who the Father says you are. And, if you are in Christ, you are his beloved child.

Pause Here

Being busy is a badge of honor. Have you noticed that?

If we are busy we can scurry away from things that we don't want to face. If I am "busy" I have a reason not to confront that hard issue with a trusted friend. If I am busy I don't have to make time in my life for a new friendship. If I am busy I don't have to slow down enough to face the hard truth that I define myself by how much I accomplish.

I often just don't feel "right unless" I have a list of things to do...whether I am doing them or not.

What is also true about my busy-ness is that I use up too much adrenaline in pursuing some sort of work and rarely let my body rest. That striving after accomplishment is a tyrant we welcome to rule our souls.

Jesus invites us to rest from our work. He invites us to listen to him and find restoration in our weariness. He invites us to his table to meet with him, eat with him, laugh with him, and find that our soul is recreated in the process.

Sunday evening we will meet together to take a break from the busy-ness of all of our business. We will share his meal (Communion, the Lord's Supper) together while we recreate, rest, and remember.

Join us, not as something to add to your busy schedule, but as a time where we allow Jesus to do what he promised he would do in the midst of our work: he will give us his rest. (see Matthew 11:28-30)

Defy our Defiance

It is often subtle, but it is always with us. It is often celebrated, but it is always destructive. It motivates us to seek out "our rights" even if our rights run over and crush the rights of others. So often, we might be moved by it, and think that it is a beautiful virtue to treasure not a characteristic to grieve.

We are defiant people... and we enjoy it that way.

Let me ask this question: how would you respond if someone asked you to submit? Not necessarily submitting to them, but being submissive in general.

What rises up in us immediately after considering the question is telling. What floods our thoughts tells us what is in our hearts.

Ephesians 5:21 describes the heart of a group of people who work together and relate together under the leadership of the Spirit of God: "submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ."*

To "submit" is an ugly word to us. We have seen those who have used another's submission to take advantage of them, to gain selfish power over them. It seems unjust. It may even seem un-American.

But, is it good? "Good" like things were in the Garden of Eden "good." Of course, people will take advantage of another's submission. People will think of submitting as weak. We may feel like we will be someone's doormat to wipe their muddy boots on...or ignore altogether. (Really, who ever notices their doormat?)

This is not an invitation to lose your identity or dignity so someone else can feel a sense of power. This is an invitation to be a part of restoring what was lost in work and relationships. It was defiance that motivated the Man and the Woman to eat from the forbidden tree. It is only humility that can recreate what was lost on that day.

Notice that it says "submit to one another" before the text commands any one group to submit to another. That changes everything! When God's Spirit infuses Jesus's life in us as we live our lives in community with others, what He creates is a group of people who work together and relate together, flavored by Jesus' humility.

This humility defies our defiance...and undermines the sin that erodes at everything that really is "good" like the "good" in the Garden.

Another way to put it: God wants to give us good in our relationships and our work by giving us the heart of Jesus to serve one another. The freedom we long for is not found in demanding that we get our rights, but in being set free from the tyranny of always having to get our way.

There is a freedom that is so free that it gives us the ability to defy our defiance and submit to one another. Because Jesus knew his identity as a Child of an accepting Father and knew his power as the One who has all authority in heaven and on earth, he could freely submit himself to the Father’s will and give himself as a servant to defiant people. The freedom that Jesus has, he shares with us. That freedom is a gift he gives to us that makes us want to let go of any desire to keep our rights. Jesus’ freedom shows us that the defiant freedom we fight for is not freedom enough.

When Work Isn't "Good"

It is quiet outside as I write. I don't notice that my neighbor is watering his little patch of Eden until he coughs a few times. Everything is still and deceptively peaceful.

Today is Saturday morning. For many, it is a day off. Today might be a day where the only work that gets done is is hobby work: work that is done for fun. My neighbor isn't gardening because his family needs the food, but because he likes being outside and getting his hand's dirty. (His "I love sushi" shirt gives me a hint that they eat more than what they grow).

It is hard to believe from the view I have on a calm morning that there is something profoundly wrong with our work. The ease of Eden and full delight of work has given way to toil and the feeling of futility. My neighbor's grunts and groans tell me that the amount of work he has put in to his garden is frustratingly more than what he is getting out of it.

"It is what it is" is often our attitude with work. It is a kind of defense mechanism so that we can somehow emotionally survive the dissatisfaction. We have settled in to working for the weekend...looking for escapes from the feelings of failure....accepting the necessary sacrifice of work until we retire or expire. We reflect that looking forward to work is a luxury that some others may get to enjoy, but not many of us.

[Even as I type this I am struggling to find the right words, spelling those words wrong (Thank you red squiggly line for being under the word) and being concerned about whether this communicates at all or is too long or if anyone would read it and be helped.]

When someone asks us about our work we have to quickly decide if we want to share the real story of how it feels like we are frustratingly running though waist deep water to accomplish what we need to accomplish while feeling like an imposter who doesn't deserve our paycheck or position or to say everything is fine.

Each of us has a deep, heart questions about our work. Questions that linger as we toil though the ups and downs of our occupations: is this what work was meant to be? Am I being punished for something I don't know about? Am I the only one who feels this way? Why doesn't my garden just do what I planned it to do?

(That last one might just be for my gardening neighbor)

We don’t live in the Garden of Eden any more, but we were made for it. Because we live outside our home, we feel like everything is off…including our work. We till the soil and plant what we think will be satisfaction, but reap mostly failure, insecurity, toil, annoyance, and futility. We still want to work a nourishing garden, but have seemingly lost our directions to find that garden

But what if this was all on purpose…something God designed? Even in the brokenness of our work and our world there is a reason for our emptiness and ineffectiveness? What if it is because we are working to find our satisfaction in work rather than in Jesus himself. What is the toil is a reminder to have a heart of repentance that leads to something better than we would have desired in the first place?

The fact that our work is no longer “good” like we experienced in Eden is a gift to draw us into seeking something more than Eden…the One whose satisfying beauty was only seen as a reflection in Eden, but makes himself available to be fully known in the person of Jesus.

Good Work

It's that double Sunday night anxiety that would often get me. You know what I am talking about, right? First, it is the thought that the next day (Monday, dreaded Monday) is coming quickly, along with all of the work that was left undone on Friday. Second, it is the lament of "Where did the weekend go?" It seems as if every clock we have laughs at us on the weekend, taunting us by showing just how fast they can go.

Maybe thats a tad dramatic. Maybe.

We tend to have a strained relationship with work. When it comes to our occupation, some days we watch the clock impatiently and barely make it though the end of the day. (Hey clock, where is that weekend speed when we need you on a Tuesday afternoon?!) When it comes to work at home, there is always something to be done. Laundry piles grow bigger while we watch and dust bunnies seem to multiply when we don't.

But there is also the feeling of satisfaction when that project is finally finished. It was completed. The problem was solved. A sense of accomplishment fills us and- maybe- a sense of winning a battle. At the end of it all we can say that it was good.

"Good." Hmmmmmm. Can work really be good? When it so often seems like punishment, can work actually be helpful, satisfying, and good? What is the purpose of work? What does God think about work?

The answer to those questions can be found in a simple phrase spoken at the dawn of our existence: "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good..." (Genesis 1:31)

Work is intended to be good. Not “average” or “tolerable,” but good. Soul nourishing good. Creating beauty in an ugly world good. Knowing the pleasure of God good. Just as God created then stood back and enjoyed all that he had done, we can join him in work that is- in the best possible, non-selfish sense- good.

The Everyday Reality of the Resurrection

Have you noticed that we live in a skeptical city? Really, a skeptical world. Long gone are the days will mystery and miracles were part of the fabric and language of our society. Such things are now thought of as for those who don't want to "grow up" or face reality.

Many around us put the resurrection of Jesus in the category of a well-meaning myth...a nice idea to base a holiday on, but not a life.

Resurrection is foreign to us. Even those who are honest, authentic followers of Jesus have a hard time with the come-back-from-the-deadness of Jesus. Our only experiences with death have been the grief and finality of losing someone we loved. Heart-rending loss. The awareness that this loved one who was laughing one day had no breath in them another day. It is over. Done. They aren't touchable, hug-able, or next to us any longer.

One who has come back from the dead is not our everyday reality.

Resurrection is too distant. Too "unreal." Too mystical for lives that demand us to be practical. Even if we aren't skeptical about the historicity of Jesus' resurrection, we might be skeptical of the practicality of it. Does the resurrection make a difference? A real difference and not just a pie-in-the-sky religious difference?

What if the truth that Jesus is alive changes everything in our lives? What if his life is the source of our own fullness of life?

The Deep Things of God (part 2!)

1 Peter 2:2–3: Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

It is fun watching my girls grow up. Because they are 9 years apart in age, they are in very different stages of their growth. While one is talking about deodorant brands and debating who her "quarantine BFF" is the other is learning what it means to ask for a banana and making time in her busy schedule to snuggle up to her mommy.

Evie is starting to tell us (in not-so-subtle ways) that she knows more than we do. Sophie is soaking in everything we tell her and wanting to know more.

Stages of growth.

It seems to me that our Spiritual growth (yes, that is a capital "S") is at least similar. When we first put our trust in Jesus we want to know him, to know his ways. We are hungry to understand his perspective on ourselves and his world. We know how much we need him. The gospel really is "good news" to us because we have tasted how good God as to an undeserving person like us. We hold in tension that we can be simultaneously undeserving and dearly loved and honored.

But, instead of going deeper into the heart of God, we might think we are growing up in moving away from the simplicity of the gospel. We might think maturity means moving into understanding the so-called "deeper things" like the systems of end-time prophesies or whether we are an Arminians or a Calvinists. We start using obnoxiously big theological words over dinner with friends to prove our maturity to others...or even ourselves.

As we drift away from what drew us to Jesus in the first place we start to subtly think about "the gospel" as what draws us to salvation, but we ultimately leave behind. Like a 9 year old might look at a daily bottle feeding or diaper change- we grow out of "childish" things on on to more mature things.

But what if the "first" thing we knew about our God is what makes us more mature? (Let's call that "pure spiritual milk") What if our life in Jesus doesn't just begin with the gospel, but maturity is letting the truth of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection power affect us more and more each day? If what we call the gospel is the expression of God's deepest heart, then what if subtly saying "I am over that childish stuff" is merely a sign of not knowing what we do not know?

What if real life is plunging the depths of what brought us to Jesus in the first place...that what seemed like a shallow puddle of his character is, actually, a deep ocean of his heart?

The Deep Things of God (Part 1?)

Job 11:7: “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? (ESV)

Though these words were spoken by a less-than-empathetic friend of the suffering Job, the question is still legitimate.

There is a mystery in God. Though there is nothing about him he hasn't already revealed to us in Jesus, the depth of what he has shown us of his heart is an adventure for us to explore. (And, frankly, we will never exhausted the depth of who he is, but it will be fun trying!)

When we pray, we explore. Yes, he hears and responds. The world is changed through that, and so are we. But, also, we get to explore the heart of God as we deliberately spend time in his presence.

Not Normal at All

“It’s Not Fair!”

When you hear a child use the phrase "its not fair," you know what comes next. It's like it is hardwired into us. You may want to say it now. Let's do it altogether. 1….2....3: "Life's not fair!" (That helps a little, doesn’t it?)

We want children to know from an early age that things won't always work out like we hope them to workout. Things won't be as we think they should. Failure, disappointment, frustration, and injustice are the realities of life. Whether it is being misunderstood in a tense conversation or being passed over for a promotion by someone less qualified or getting a report that your illness is the "C' word, we know the things in life don't seem fair.

Some respond in outward protest to make their voice heard. Some respond in loud cynicism. Some respond with in quiet, hopeless, resignation that is just watching the clock (or TV) until the unfairness of life passes by.

No, its not fair. But, what if what seems so "normal" is actually not normal at all? What if every sickness, every broken relationship, every injustice done from person to person, every corrupted or broken heart is abnormal?

We get a glimpse of this with Jesus among the crowds who came to him. With his strong, but gentle touch a disease that a woman suffered from dissipates as if it had never affected her body. With merely his (authoritative) presence, the powers of darkness tormenting a person flee in fear.

Jesus enters into the unfair world we crafted and is creating all things back into his "normal"- an overwhelming world of goodness. That is hard to imagine. Too good to be true, maybe. But, could that be real…one person’s heart at a time?

Revelation 21:5: And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

One Heart and Soul

We don't gather for church. We gather as the church. That may seem like playing with words, but it makes a significant difference. Its the small words that usually make the biggest difference.

There are a lot of phrases in God's word that seem foreign or hard and at the top of my list is a phrase that seems simple at first: "One another." Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Eph. 4:32) Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thess. 5:1) Then read through Romans 12. It's saturated with one anothering.

Understanding it isn't the foreign part. Living it is.

There is an assumption in the text that our very middle class, individualistically-minded lives might miss: the people who are the Church were to be together. I mean together together. One heart and one soul...even when not in one place.

Now, being together in person is hard (and, maybe, unwise) right now, but one anothering transcends place and time. Don't read into "one another" that it is when we go to the church building together. To do so misses the point. This is why it is foreign and hard: all the one anotherings are the joyful overflow of our hearts that cannot be limited to a time and place.

In Jesus, we are connected to one another. Like family, but more than family. One heart and one soul...even if we don't fully understand it.

Those kinds of relationships are what we were made for. This is the kind of community that the Spirit is creating in us. This is God bringing his kingdom.

Where They Were Going: A Journey for their Hearts

There were long walks and long days. They didn't have an itinerary and, even if they did, it wouldn't really tell them where they were going.

Jesus had compellingly invited each of them to "follow" him. Each of these men chose to go after him for their own reasons, but they did go after him. Mile after mile, city after city, sermon after sermon they stuck with him, with every day being drawn into something more than being a learner, but being astonished by their Master's life.

Jesus' words were authoritative and full of grace. He seemed to open up and new kind of world for them when he spoke, one they had seemingly forgotten. The way he came close to the untouchable leper and sat down to dinner with society's rejected ones demonstrated a heart that was extraordinarily free to love people sincerely.

This is not the way they would have gone if they had chosen where they were going. They would have comfortably stayed away from those Jesus spent time with and would probably never have missed the experience.

Though Jesus took them to places and people they would not have gone to otherwise, that wasn't the ultimate goal of what it meant to follow him. He wasn't merely after their obedience, he was taking them into his heart. By inviting them to stay with him he was daily demonstrating the core of who he is: Jesus heart was the wellspring of his life.

These men were invited to follow Jesus so they they could know his heart...and their hearts be transformed in the process. (By the way, the same is true for us)

The Heart of Our Lives

Proverbs 4:23: "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

"Follow your heart." - Every Disney movie and romantic comedy ever.

I am a heart guy. That can mean a lot of things to different people, but for me it means I can be a sentimental sap. I would often keep trinkets that had dreamy nostalgic value way longer than I probably should have. Like the folded up note I found in my desk in third grade, torn from a spiral notebook and full of writing in different colored pens. (Yep, I can still picture it well.) On the page was the handwriting of a cute re-headed girl named Rebecca St. Germain who I would often think about when I should have been paying attention to my multiplication flashcards. I kept that note for at least a couple of years, even after she moved to Minnesota. I continued to dream about what could have been, though I never really made any effort to talk to her.

I think I liked the feeling of puppy love over actually caring about a person. That's what I mean by "heart guy."

But is that what God means by the heart? Maybe in part, but that sentimentality is definitely not all "heart" means. It has to mean more than that, right?!

Though there is no dictionary definition of "heart" in the bible, there are many descriptions. Proverbs 4:23 comes close to a definition though: the heart is where everything we say, think, and do comes from. If you will forgive me for saying it this way, the "heart" is the heart of our lives...the core of who we are...the source of our identity.

It is also where we meet with God...or rebel against him.

So we will begin this Sunday evening a series of messages on "The Heart of Our Lives" to understand our hearts, God's heart, and the mission that God has given us as the overflow of our hearts.

The Hearts of Many Will Be Revealed: A Christmas Meditation

From Luke 2: 21-35

Entering Jerusalem

Many times in their lives they had walked up to the gates of this city. The city stood tall on the hill as did the walls that enclosed it, an imposing site to all, especially to those who loved her.

This pilgrimage was different though. It wasn’t just that they were coming from Bethlehem instead of Nazareth, but because they were coming with a new purpose. Their present was filled with thoughts of the past, but most of their musings were drawn to the future. Their future (and the futures of many others) was with them, asleep in his mother’s arms as they journeyed uphill.

They were hardly noticed as they approached the gate. Soldiers stood vigilant. Traders that had come from the north and the south pressed through the gates (along with all of the others who had business in town) bringing their goods in with hopes of making a good living. The scene was commonplace, as were the people. Work went on during this day as every other day and apart from a surprise appearance from a dignitary making an official visit, not much would stop the hum of everyday life. As this weary family entered the hallowed city, no one stopped to notice them. In the eyes of these city dwellers, nothing important had happened.

It was remarkable that such a young child could sleep though the clamoring of city life. Often changing sounds were startling to the young mom. The call of the vendor selling his wares. The discussion of elders judging a dispute. A poor man asking for alms. An over-confident religious man praying his practiced prayers on the corner of the street. His mom held him closer, covering his ears in a desperate attempt to give him (and her) a few more minutes of the sleep they both needed him to have.

They were headed to the temple to fulfill the commands of their God. Enough time had passed since the little boy’s birth and they were ready. This is what their parents had done, and their parents before them, and their parents before them. Each had placed their feet in the same hallowed ground that Mary and Joseph now walked on. The heritage was more than history…is was a heritage that was defined by God’s promises to rescue and redeem his people. A promise that this couple (and many who had lived and died before them) had waited for so long see fulfilled.

Simeon the Seer

As this couple walked through Jerusalem’s streets and alleyways unrecognized, another man was also walking the city unnoticed. Simeon was different. No one could escape the truth that Simeon was no escapist dreaming his life away, but a man who could see how the “real world” could become the “just world” that he looked forward to. A simple man, Simeon had the gift of hearing the echos of Eden in the discord of his Jewish life.

Waiting is hard for any person, even those who know that they have something meaningful to wait on. The God of Israel had spoken through his prophets that an anointed one would come who would bring wholeness to God’s people, but time had passed and the promise that seemed so strong and substantive had diminished in the hearts of God’s chosen people during that time. What once inspired hope to wait had, for many, become mere legend; inspiring stories to tell children before bed, but surely not something that would actually happen. Could Simeon’s hope of a Just Kingdom make any difference at all in a world ruled over by those who used power to dominate and not to serve?

Somewhere in the quiet moments of his waiting life the Holy Spirit spoke to him (to him!) And strengthened his heart with a personal promise: that he himself would get to see the Lord’s Messiah before his life was over. Hope settles a man’s soul to wait patiently for what he knows will happen. He knew he was one day closer to meeting face to face with the One who would change the “real world” and the lives of all who lived in it.

Providence often looks like coincidence, but those with the eyes of faith can see a well thought out plan. As Simeon stood in the temple complex, waiting, he noticed a young couple with a child in their arms making a slow ascent up the steps to the temple. They weren’t the type of people who would turn your head. There really wasn’t anything about them that stood out, except their countenance. Trying not to stare and (maybe) scare them off, he watched them as they went through the ritual cleansing before coming deeper in.

The Introduction

Simeon approached the couple as they finished their customary washing. As he walked toward them the questions that came to anyone’s mind before meeting strangers came to his “How do I approach them?” “What do I have to say to them?” “Am I as crazy as I feel?”

But, a strange confidence seemed to push out his doubts and draw him towards the family. The first thing he noticed was their eyes. They were the eyes of people who have not seen many days, but they have seen a lot in their days. They were also the eyes of parents who hadn’t slept through the night in a long while.

“Peace be to you! May God’s light shine on you and your family.”

The couple was obviously startled, but responded kindly to the aged stranger. “And God’s peace be to you, sir.” said the husband.

“My name is Simeon. You have a beautiful child. What is the child’s name?”

Mary spoke with an unfiltered pride, “His name is Jesus.” She turned her attention back to her cooing child.

“Ah, a baby boy! You must be proud.”

“Yes, weary, but proud.” Joseph responded with a slow smile.

There was a silence between them as Simeon gazed at the boy.

The Recognition

To fill the awkward silence Joseph offered more: “Our family is from the region of Galilee and the town of Nazareth. We look forward to when we can head home.”

“Ah, where are you staying in the meantime?”

“Bethlehem” Joseph quipped. “Bethlehem is the home of my ancestors. We came because of the Emperor’s census like so many others.” And, nodding towards Jesus, he said “Bethlehem is where he was born.”

Simeon stood, quietly, thoughtfully. He stared off into some unseen distance, taking in what he was seeing and hearing.

“Bethlehem, did you say?”

“Yes” said Mary with a nimble chuckle. “It is a lovely place to visit, but visiting for 6 weeks is quite enough time. Our family int he north is waiting to meet the little one.”

Simeon considered these things again and, just as he knew he should come to the temple on this day he suddenly knew why. This sojourning couple carried a mystery. A secret they couldn’t explain…and no one would believe… even if they could stand on the tower walls and tell all of Jerusalem.

Simeon muttered to himself: “Of course, it all makes sense. Of course. Bethlehem. The city of David, The City of the promised king. The Chosen One. This child is the Promised One I have waited so long to see”

Simeon turned to Mary with tears forming in his eyes “May I hold him?’

With a nod and an approving smile, Mary placed her treasure in Simeon’s arms.

Though he was not much of a speaker he could not hold back the words that God had put in his heart so long ago and with all of the fervor of a song he said,

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentile and for glory to your people Israel.”

He held in his hands the One who would save Israel. He held in his hands a child that would bless the nations of the world. But, how could this be? Mystery of all mysteries. God’s salvation is so…vulnerable! The fullness of God in the hands of a mere man!

The little one grew uncomfortable with unfamiliar hands and he began to whimper and cry the weak cry of a new born. Simeon shook with joy as he placed the baby back in the arms of his marveling mother.

Mary’s Marveling

Mary gazed at her boy, amazed at what she just heard from this stranger. First the angels, now, here in the temple, another messenger. She loved her son as any mother would, but she also revered him…placed her hope in all that he represented to her and her people. God’s mysteries are surely wonderful. How can a person not marvel at all of this?!

As a stunned Joseph and Mary looked at Simeon, they noticed a hint of a somberness that had not yet been there. Simeon was not a religious leader or a Rabbi of Israel’s people, but in that moment the Spirit of God had chosen him to share words that would ever define the life of the child. In a region ruled by a foreign power, in a city revered for its concentration of religious power, a short distance from the symbol of God’s power, Simeon spoke his final words to the family:

“Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will piece through your own soul also) so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

And with a knowing and somber smile, he left them in peace.

Joy and Solemnity

Mary and Joseph looked at the child again. The man’s words had changed them. Their hope wasn’t diminished, but it was transformed. They knew their God’s thoughts were higher than their own, but it was hard for them to comprehend just how much higher.

Jesus was more than they knew. Simeon’s cryptic words were somehow true and, at the same time, distant. What could they mean?

The young family turned to walk back toward Bethlehem, not knowing what was ahead of each of them, but (somehow) knowing they could trust the One who started them on this journey because he would be with them though it. After all, this baby was proof that God was with them.

What could they have known?

Could they have known that in a relatively short time Simeon’s words would come to be real?

They couldn’t have known that soon their Jesus would stir up the jealousy of a king who, in his wrath, steal the lives of innocent children just to keep his power. Herod’s heart would stone be revealed.

They couldn’t have known how those who were known to be “lost souls” (and knew it themselves) would want to come to sit around a table with Jesus and taste the grace he spoke authentically about. Their real heart would be revealed.

They could not have understood that those who were too willing to pray on street corners in order to boast of their own goodness would one day try to rid themselves of the threat Jesus was to their identity. The thoughts of their hearts would be revealed.

Though they may have understood that Jesus was their King, their Messiah, They could not have understood that Jesus’ kingdom would not be defined by war horses and sharpened swords, but though a message of hope and a life laid down for his enemies…in order to reveal people’s hearts.

They would come to see that their Child’s presence alone would reveal the hearts of all of those who were present with him. In his light nothing is hidden. In his love, nothing is left ruined.

Jesus kingdom is not of this world…he exposes it…and transforms it.

They could not fully understand their child, but they would.

Hearts Revealed

Years later, among a raucous crowd outside of this very same city in view of the very same temple, everything that Simeon had said to Mary would come true in front of her eyes. Again she was weary. Again, she felt wonder. But this time it was the weariness and wonder that comes through pain.

The son she carried, nursed through illness, helped take his first steps, watched grow in wisdom and stature over all her years with him would be lifted up above her, crucified underneath a mocking sign that stated “This is Jesus, King of the Jews.” Her soul had been pierced along with her son. On that cross, Jesus’ heart had been fully revealed.

John 3:16-17 says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (ESV)

Jesus’ kingdom would not be located on ornate thrones, but it would be a kingdom located in the hearts of those who trust him.

Christmas may be about many things…but ultimately it is about God humbling himself and living among us, revealing his heart to us. Living among those who had no place for him in their own lives. Living among those who despised him. Living among those who needed him.

The heart of Christmas is about the thoughts of Jesus’ heart, revealed.

Glimpses into the Coming Kingdom

"Is everything sad going to come untrue?" Samwise Gamgee in JRR Tolkien's Return of the King

Sometimes when I know I will have a long phone call, I will take a walk. I can focus better and, at the same time, get some precious time outside. With hardly anyone out because of the restrictions I had the sidewalks mostly to myself. But, somewhere around mile 3, another man came towards me on the sidewalk without a mask and without a sense that others were around him. As he got closer it wasn't hard to see that this man's life has not been easy. He talked loudly to either himself or people in his own mind, walking erratically as if the sidewalk was moving up and down and his feet couldn't catch up with the movement.

I didn't know this man's background. Don't know how his parent's cared for him (or didn't) or the trouble he willingly got into in the past (or didn't), but what I did know is that this man has a name. That name is known by his Creator and (though this brings up questions) lovingly crafted in God's image.

I gave him the sidewalk and let him pass. As he did questions flooded my mind in his wake. Questions that all began with either "why God?" or "When God?”

"Why are things like they are?" "When will You make them different?"

There are no simple answers. The reasons behind our brokenness are as complicated as we broken people ourselves.

Though many of my questions that arise as I walk next to men like this will not be answered on this side of eternity, one thing we can know for sure: God entered the world he created in order to restore the world (especially the people he made) back into wholeness and beauty.

This is why Jesus came. With every person he encountered he pushed back the dominion of darkness and the regime of destruction. His miracles were signs that can cause us to wonder at both the depth in which we are twisted, broken and the power of Jesus to undo all the sad things we have created because of it.

When Jesus meets with a person, that person gets a glimpse of restoration for not only men like my neighbor on the sidewalk, but all of us. He is making everything that is sad come untrue.