WHY I’M A CHRISTIAN- PLAIN AND SIMPLE

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I want to follow Jesus, to be his disciple. There are two rules of the road that Jesus gave. Both are centered on and in God’s love.

Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

Not laws. Not rituals or ceremonies.

And what do we know about God through Jesus? Love. Self-giving intentional action for the well-being of another (to paraphrase author Thomas Oord).

Christianity as a religion has confused, disappointed, and turned away many people from following Jesus.

I wish we didn’t use that word at all. The first disciples simply used the term ‘the way’.

Jesus embodies the nature of God. Jesus is what God looks like.

Read the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (the first 4 books of the New Testament), 

not to find doctrines but to see Jesus loving others, loving us.

See Jesus serving and embracing the lost like you and me. 

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not shouting, “I’ve been saved!”
I’m whispering, “I get lost sometimes
That’s why I chose this way”

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I don’t speak with human pride
I’m confessing that I stumble –
needing God to be my guide

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not trying to be strong
I’m professing that I’m weak
and pray for strength to carry on

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not bragging of success
I’m admitting that I’ve failed
and cannot ever pay the debt

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I don’t think I know it all
I submit to my confusion
asking humbly to be taught

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not claiming to be perfect
My flaws are far too visible
but God believes I’m worth it

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I still feel the sting of pain
I have my share of heartache
which is why I seek God’s name

When I say, “I am a Christian”
I do not wish to judge
I have no authority
I only know I’m loved

Carol Wimmer 1988

EARTHBOUND

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The gravitational pull of earthly things is strong in my spirit. I know our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20), but worldly, fleshly life exerts a pull from which I find it hard to escape. 

Material possessions, judgmentalism (aka dualistic thinking), bodily hungers, anxiety, anger, impatience, and more. The list can be long, as many of us know.

It’s easy to keep a list of wrongs about others….and about myself. I’m so darn self-conscious of my own faults, regrets, and the feelings of others. The gravitational pull of earth’s (dare I say Satan’s) accusations is stronger than the love of God, who has embraced me, redeemed me, and loves me with an everlasting love.

I try to yield to the influence of his life in me. Try, too often unsuccessfully.

It’s like this: Christ dies for me and unlocks the cell door of the prison in which I find myself as a consequence of life’s miseries and my own sin. But he has forgiven that sin. His love is the key. The door is open. He bids me to come out to him, to live in his love. That little door is the narrow way of love. 

But I respond that I’ve grown so comfortable with my life in the 6×9 confined kingdom of my own making that the new life seems scary and, dare I say, dangerous. It’s more mysterious than my safe self-imposed haven.

Help me, Lord, to know and feel your love and life in me. Help me to slip the surly bonds of earthly life to soar to heights of love, living with and for you, right here, right now.  Let me have the desire to desire your love more than this confined life I feel right now. Amen.

The Honey Wagon-Revised with photo

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So…I’m in my study one day, having some quiet time, when outside my window I see a cesspool truck, aka, the ‘honeywagon’.

It’s laboring under a heavy load. I wonder where they are going to dump all that …stuff? Is there a gigantic toilet somewhere? Surely they aren’t going to dump it into the river, are they? I’m sure some of you know where it all goes, and most likely I’ll hear from you. So thank you in advance.

It brought to mind a Bible verse – funny how that works. Psalm 103:12: “As far as the east is from the west, that’s how far God removes our sin from us.”  So maybe the truck’s final destination is China? Anyway, whatever happens in our lives, God removes sin  – its stain, its smell, and its shame from us…takes it away….far away…it’s gone….outta here.

And once God forgives, he does not remember our sins (we could all take a lesson from that). “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). This isn’t a license to sin –  this is the Good News of God’s desire to make us brand new… every day brand new. We are then free to love God without wondering if he is thinking of us in any way other than as his beloved son or daughter. Remember, as Paul once wrote in 1Corinthians 13, ‘Love keeps no record of wrong.’

So off goes the honeywagon. Good riddance.

Grace in the Wilderness. 2009 redux.

THE HONEY WAGON

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So…I’m in my study one day, having some quiet time, when outside my window I see a cesspool truck, aka, the ‘honeywagon’.

It’s laboring under a heavy load. I wonder where they are going to dump all that …stuff? Is there a gigantic toilet somewhere? Surely they aren’t going to dump it into the river, are they? I’m sure some of you know where it all goes, and most likely I’ll hear from you. So thank you in advance.

It brought to mind a Bible verse – funny how that works. Psalm 103:12: “As far as the east is from the west, that’s how far God removes our sin from us.”  So maybe the truck’s final destination is China? Anyway, whatever happens in our lives, God removes sin  – its stain, its smell, and its shame from us…takes it away….far away…it’s gone….outta here.

And once God forgives, he does not remember our sins (we could all take a lesson from that). “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). This isn’t a license to sin –  this is the Good News of God’s desire to make us brand new… every day brand new. We are then free to love God without wondering if he is thinking of us in any way other than as his beloved son or daughter. Remember, as Paul once wrote in 1Corinthians 13, ‘Love keeps no record of wrong.’

So off goes the honeywagon. Good riddance.

Grace in the Wilderness. 2009 redux.

ASSISTED DYING

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Euthanasia. The term comes from the Greek: ‘good death’.

Last week, our dog Lucy was euthanized. At 20 years of age, she had become frail, sick, and immobile. We had the pleasure of Lucy’s company for 18 years, having rescued her from a kill shelter. We have lots of great memories and photos from our years together. 

But the time came for her merciful departure. We called a veterinarian who specializes in euthanasia at home. The doctor was experienced in such matters. She had what we call ‘great bedside manner’ with Lucy and a sensitive spirit with my wife and me. She took her time and included our other dog in the process.

Lucy was in her own bed. We gave her a last piece of chicken to eat, and the doctor proceeded to sedate her and finally to inject her with a medicine that would stop her heart. It was gentle, peaceful, and loving. We like to think she’s the leader of the pack somewhere in the new heavens and new earth.

This experience has led me to believe that providing a ‘good death’ is a right and merciful act for a human being who is in their final stage of life and experiencing intractable suffering. 

Some people may argue against taking one’s own life through professional assistance. But I think it is an act of mercy and love to care in such a way about a person. 

The Bible doesn’t give definitive guidance. It is, I believe, within God’s will for us to be merciful to another life by assisting that person in dying.

It is what I would want.

Suffering!?

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God doesn’t cause it, want it, or will it. God doesn’t need it, and it is not God’s will to allow it. Suffering is the result of evil and free will. Disease and natural disasters are part of the complexity of this world, affected by evil and our human decision to mistrust God. That is my personal belief after much study and prayer. I am still learning about this and am certainly open to other views.

God wants his creation to flourish and to live abundantly. God wants evil gone. All of this is demonstrated by Jesus, who healed, drove out demons, loved, forgave, and died to defeat the enemy, Satan. 

Look what God did on the cross. God took responsibility for all evil. God in Christ voluntarily suffered the full force of evil in order to free creation from evil (see Greg Boyd, ‘Is God to Blame?’ page 118).

God’s purpose is to heal and reconcile all creation to himself. That’s what God desires and that’s why Jesus came and died for us. In the book of Revelation, it says that there will be a healing for all the nations (Revelation 22).

But here’s the thing: God can and will work through all the suffering that goes on in the world. God will work with the church to bring the best out of the worst in order to give life to this creation. And by church, I do not mean a building, but rather the body, the fellowship of believers.

God’s power is love. It’s love that will last forever. It’s love by which we know God will never give up on his creation. Remember, before we existed, there was love among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; that love has been given to us who are willing to trust God and who do not follow the temptations of authority, power, greed, and such evil. God has enlisted the body of believers.

“10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ephesians 3, NIV)

God’s purpose has always been to bring creation back into relationship with himself as it was in the beginning:

“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Colossians 1:19-20 NIV

So now, amid the suffering we face in this world, we know that God’s love will prevail to strengthen us, mature us, and deepen our love for God and one another. God is pleased when this occurs. And finally, God is sending us the body of Christ to bring healing into this world. Many agents and agencies are called in this ‘fight’ against evil and suffering. May each one of us be one of those, to the glory of God.

TIME FOR OUR NIKES

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These are dark days for our nation and world. I’m sure there have been darker times but I live in this one. Jesus alludes to such days when he says that in the world we will have tribulation (John 16), that leaders will do terrible things, thinking they are doing good for the world.

Federal workers are being fired haphazardly. Compassion for marginalized people is sorely lacking in a nation known for caring for those here and overseas who are in need, and who lack food, water, and proper medical care. People are being sent back to hotbeds of violence and murder. I have a close friend in one of those countries who is afraid for her life each day, now with no hope of leaving her country. Authoritarian world leaders (including our own) believe themselves to be the Caesars of a new world order. 

Jesus knew this would happen. In John 16:33 he tells his disciples that they will experience stress, affliction, and persecution. But he goes on to say that he is now in the process of claiming God’s victory over the world. He goes so far as to tell us that it’s already been accomplished on the cross. It’s the D-Day scenario in the spiritual world. 

The Greek word for victory in this passage is NIKE. Nike was the god of speed, strength, and victory in ancient mythology.

Remember that Jesus says we WILL have tribulation; we are going through it, not around it. We are pushing ahead on behalf of those who cannot push for themselves, and we are speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. We strive against whatever evil raises its ugly head,d remembering that there are spiritual forces behind the flesh and blood leaders. And we must pray against hatred, war, greed, hurt, and divisiveness. Those are the schemes of Satan. 

Even as I write this people are putting on their NIKES to defend the vulnerable in our world. I have worked with those organizations, like Church World Service, and I know the good they do; how at each turn they are helping people in the world who so want to do for themselves and need help, not denigration and unkindness. At the same time, the leaders of our nation are calling good things, like helping the poor and hungry), evil. The prophet Isaiah spoke about this: ‘Woe to those who call good evil and evil good’ (Isaiah 5:20). No, this will not stand in the judgment of our God.

.

The Apostle Paul made it clear that there is only ONE LORD over this creation and his name is Jesus the Christ and he calls us to be servants, not tyrants. The natural inclination of some leaders, backed by the principalities of darkness, is earthly greed for power. We fail if we are silent. The Christian church and people like you and me need to be a witnesses against evil, pressing on to the higher way of helping those in need when the nation fails at that task. 

Now, Jesus and Paul didn’t expect the Caesars of the world or the Roman government to help the people. We the people are asked to do this in Jesus’ name. “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute” Proverbs 31:8-9. “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Be just and compassionate to each other. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not harbor evil in your hearts against your neighbor’” Zechariah 7:8-10.

We are called to a life of faith, hope, and service with Jesus in the here and now. He said when we do something good for the most needful in the world, we are doing that very thing for him. All people are made in God’s image. They should not be ignored, thrown away, treated unjustly or disparaged.

I AM AN AGNOSTIC CHRISTIAN

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The above statement is true because there is so much about which I am uncertain. I am a devoted follower of Jesus.  But, since Jesus’ time and teaching, so much dogma, interpretation and differences in thinking have made my head spin. I want to know God more deeply. I am curious about so much. I know that curiosity killed the cat, which is sad news for cat lovers, but that curiosity only leads me deeper into the love of God.

Some people outside Christianity may be curious, skeptical, or cynical. It doesn’t help when Christians say’ It’s a mystery, just believe, or all God’s will. No, not for me. I’ve seen and heard too much in this world NOT to ask questions. I believe that asking leads to receiving and seeking leads to finding and finding the depths of God’s will and life are on my bucket list.

Here’s a large sampling of my questions:

*Why is there such a violent image of God in the Old Testament compared to the loving Jesus in the New Testament?

*Why is there such suffering in our world when we clearly see Jesus heal suffering, and diseases and cast out the demonic? Is it God’s will that we suffer?

*What about heaven and hell? 

*Are our lives predetermined by God?

*Are the other religions wrong? Why do we think that a stated belief in Jesus is the only way to salvation?

*Is the Bible without error? Where did that doctrine even come from? Or is there a difference between inerrant (without error) and ‘inspired’? 

*Is there a possibility of purgatory after death? (purification)

*Does God ever stop trying to bring people into a relationship with himself, even after death?

*Are there things God cannot do unilaterally? 

*What about people who could not come to faith in this life? Will there be an opportunity after death?

*What about the devil? Was he defeated? Why is he still roaming around?

*What about the violence done in Jesus’ name? Was it ever morally right?

*Is our life a blueprint or a work in progress?

*Can gay marriage be within God’s plan at this point in time?

*The judgment. What is it really and how does judgment square with the love of God that keeps no record of wrongs and forgives the worst offenders like those who killed Jesus?

*Is there such a thing as luck, bad luck, or chance?

*Won’t God reconcile this whole creation back to himself at the end?

There is much more but my last question is this: Will I be judged for writing all this?

Yes, I am an agnostic follower of Jesus desiring to discover the God who loves me and, I believe, all creation. 

But as the old monk, Anselm, wrote –  “faith seeks understanding” and to understand is my goal.

Don’t be afraid to be curious or even skeptical. God loves that about us. That’s how relationships work.