Law vs. Grace … Pain vs. Healing

 

I’ll admit my mind is a jumble of thoughts as I type this. Between my Sunday morning study book by Rebecca McLaughlin (the second one of her's I’ve done), the message series at MRPC from Romans (Andy Lewis is doing an incredible job of unpacking it), and some personal challenges I’m working through, I have a lot to process. And that’s not a bad thing as it forces me to consider what is truly important and worthy of my attention.

Romans can be a confusing letter. Often, the ones attempting to lead others through it seem poorly equipped to do so. It can come off as harsh more often than not, as if Paul has a score to settle. At least that’s how I view it. So, I welcomed this series because I knew I’d get a fresh look at the letter and all it has to offer. Today was no exception as we delved into Romans 3. It built on last week, naturally, where we were told we can belong before we believe. The illustration given was that of circumcision. Apt portrayal of the idea to be sure, and it resonated (especially since it was communion Sunday).

Today’s teaching centered on verses I had memorized long ago. But the points made was that the absence of righteousness is often bound up in additional weight we willingly take on. The original Law was there to illustrate an “impossible standard” we couldn’t achieve. Instead of seeing that for what it is, we ended up piling on more rules that made things look even more difficult … or impossible. In doing so, we missed the point. The Law always points to Grace. The example used today was one of gifting you a luxury yacht. We’d have to sell it immediately to pay the taxes because we know we can’t afford it in any way (to own or operate). Yet Father God has gifted us the ultimate luxury we cannot afford through our Divine Brother. Then he goes further and pays the taxes, upkeep, and guarantees all future costs are covered. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Grace explained that way. We bring nothing, and that’s the way it needs to be.

Turning attention to the McLaughlin book (“Confronting Jesus”), the chapter today spoke to me more than usual. The author was candidly talking about a cancer scare intermingled with times Jesus performed healing and interacted with people. The focus of the chapter was that healing now isn’t promised. Pain now actually is. But we usually don’t like to hear that. In some attempt to make sense of the pain, perhaps we’ll pile on more rules and laws to explain things. But in doing so, we miss the point. This isn’t the end game … it never was. There is True Healing in the end. And there is a massive amount of Grace to get us through until we can experience that first hand.

I can tend to let my thoughts and imagination run wild if I don’t choose to focus on the right things. Grace and Healing are always the goal. Both are promised and available, but not usually on our terms. Paul knew that and, if you unpack Romans the right way, that’s what comes through. It’s worth considering in the midst of my struggle. I am accepted and belong while I grow my belief and understanding.

The Carmax God

For a great number of us, we ultimately want a relationship with God that looks more like a deal at Carmax than what, in reality, is far messier and unknown. If that doesn’t set easily with you, I’ll ask that you stick with me. If you “get where I’m going” I’ll ask the same thing … 

 I owe this post to Andy Lewis, the Senior Teaching Pastor at Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church (Greenville, SC). I “attend” there Sunday mornings as a regular practice and am blessed to sit under his teaching (as well as others who share that ministry). This came up a few weeks ago as part of his message where Abraham negotiated with God about the coming destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Most of you will be familiar with that passage, so I won’t go into the details. That story itself isn’t my point anyway, but it did get me to thinking.

There are multiple stories in our Bible where an individual interacts directly with God and intercedes (maybe even begs) for a different outcome than has been laid out. Abraham did it in this instance. Moses did it when God said he’d wipe out all the Israelites. David’s Psalms are full of this kind of dialog. Job (associated with my current Sunday morning book) went through it. Our Divine Older Brother himself searched for “a way out” at his darkest moment. None of them were ready to just sign the “Carmax deal” that offered one set of outcomes … take it or leave it … no negotiating, no questions. And no need to deal with any of that pesky “mystery” either.

That’s what struck me as Andy took us through this passage. Abraham didn’t presume God wouldn’t “change his mind” and proceeded to ask for that. He went to bat (primarily for his nephew Lot) and sought a different outcome than the deal on the table would indicate. He knew God wasn’t the “Carmax God” and acted accordingly. He was willing to embrace the mystery and mess of actually interacting with the Father. And he did it with full expectation that God would listen and may actually change.

And please don’t hear what I’m not saying … you won’t find me in the “just pray harder” camp nor will I bow to the “it’s all in God’s hands/will” crowd. Both of those are non-biblical interpretations that either put too much on us or make us more like robots. Again, look at what Jesus did in the Garden where he clearly asked for something different but accepted that ultimately God would work the best “good” out of it all. If you go back to the beginning of this blog and understand why my late brother Mike called it “the Crooked Path”, you’ll probably get my perspective a bit better.

One more thought from Andy this morning that really prompted me to write this down. The message came from 1 Peter (part of a brief series) and the point that really struck me was that Jesus already took on the full weight of Death so that we would only have to pass through the shadow of death. That just reinforced what I read in Keller’s book today. It doesn’t absolve us from engaging God, but it does give us a calm assurance that the winning is already done, even while still shrouded in mystery.

Jonah and Imago Dei for 2020

So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” (Jonah 1:6, ESV)

Wait a minute ... a single verse from the story of Jonah is what we get for a concept as big as "Imago Dei"? Not the verses from Genesis about creation? Just this one? Has the Crooked Path traveler fallen and hit his head? Fair questions (if you are even thinking along those lines), but the parallels are direct and clear when you add the context today that prompted this particular post. Here's how we got to this point ...

My pastor is currently taking us on a tour through Jonah and we're in the first chapter of the story. I've studied the story many times and even taught on it. The context and original setting are fascinating as they highlight a Jewish literary genre known as the "listening circle" (credit to the late Dr. Jim Grier - I really wish I could find the tapes from decades ago). In that setting, the Jewish listener was expected to interact with the teller, hissing and booing at any person outside their circle and cheering the would-be hero that was Jonah their prophet. But the whole story flips almost instantly as most of us know and becomes a stark illustration of a man who knew better running from a God who has given him a direct task.

Fast forward to the boat in the severe storm and this rebuke from the captain. He shouts at Jonah to wake him up and essentially echoes God's original call to Jonah which asks, in more modern terms, "Who is your neighbor? Don't you have any concern for anyone but yourself?" And we all know Jonah's answer from the time God called all the way through his pouting and sulking above the city of Nineveh when God didn't rain down a nuclear holocaust on it.

Jonah repeatedly answers he only sees his neighbor as "his own people - the Jews" and anyone else is outside of that circle, they are "other". He's put himself in a very bad position when you think about his job as a prophet and the fact that God specifically asked him to rise above his own prejudice and definition of a neighbor. Consider Jesus' thoughts on this in the story of the Good Samaritan who most certainly was a cultural "other" in that day. How did that play out with a 1st century Jewish audience?


Oh how far we've come ... we view all this stuff we're seeing as "sad thing, but not my problem since it isn't impacting me specifically or directly". That's the Enemy slipping in to denigrate Imago Dei (click that link for a bit of an academic, but solid definition) in every single person around me. That's one of the biggest lies impacting us today. We've lost any sense of compassionate empathy for others ... and God weeps at that loss every bit as much as for those who have not come to realize their own heart bears his image.

The Crooked Path is not a solitary one by any means. It was never meant to be. God designed us for community with himself and with others. One of our intended callings is to reach across to the "others" we find so we can help them see Imago Dei in themselves and be a part in leading them to a life that is worthy of that image, one that looks like something other than death or a dead end. It's becoming an increasing challenge to me as I navigate today's life and headlines. Maybe you are seeing something similar.

Imago Dei in 2020 is still God's thumbprint on the human soul. That makes LIFE matter and should lead me to consider when any particular segment of lives is oppressed, I need to stand up and call that out. It's not applying some special treatment ... it's honoring Imago Dei in those who far too many play they Jonah card on and treat them as something less than they are.

The One Thing

"And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.' So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, 'He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.' And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, 'Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 

'For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.'" (Luke 19:5-10, ESV)

One of the best lines from the Billy Crystal movie City Slickers is where the grizzled trail boss Curly tells Crystal's character that live boils down to "one thing" and that it's up to him to find what that is for himself. It's meant to be a life lesson in the midst of a comedy and the point eventually is driven home during the movie.

When Jesus calls Zacchaeus down from the sycamore tree, he sits down with him and, in the middle of the drama around them, lays out his own simple "one thing" - to get back the family God created. That is the clear, unequivocal reason Jesus took on human form and did what he was about to do in the next couple chapters of Luke's account.

I wrote about this several years ago using three "R's" (because that's what a preacher's kid strives to do, right?). I laid out the eternal plan for a Rescue, a Redemption, and a Restoration in that post. I was reminded of it when I heard this passage in Luke and checked the notes I had taken at some point. I've referred to "two hinges" of Jesus' birth and death as vital to "setting the door" so he could ultimately kick it wide open at the resurrection. All of this is a part of the "one thing" plan - to seek out and save what God lost.

I find the marvelous simplicity of this to be overwhelming at times. While my Crooked Path may be littered with my attempts at finding my purpose, I am, led by a Father and accompanied by a Divine Brother who never waver from their goal. They sought me out so they could bring me back. I am the living example of their One Thing.

Life On The "Dash"

"How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog — it’s here a little while, then it’s gone."

(James 4:12, NLT)

I filled in the final date on that image today. We'd been waiting for "that call" since last weekend and it finally came. 92+ years seems like a long "dash" when you consider it from a mortal perspective. She lost her husband over 33 years ago. She's watched two sons die before her. There were nine of us kids in total, 19 grand kids (plus a couple that never saw life on Earth), and the fourth generation (and beyond) gets hard to count.

Yet, in the bigger perspective of things, those years are like the morning fog James described. And now Mom is experiencing eternity, drawing fresh, full breaths in an already renewed body. She left what we think of as life this morning, and is now at the beginning of LIFE!

And, yes, I firmly believe she has seen Dad for the first time in three decades. I'd say there's pretty clear indication of that type of reunion. While we may like to project what that looked like, embracing my brothers Mike and Steve in their whole state, I also wrote about that another time and don't believe she really has any thought for what she left behind. They are all just a little awed to be in the Presence together. It's what we hope for, isn't it?

I was out on errands today twice and saw two reminders of the cyclical nature of things. The first, before Mom died, was the wheat fields. They are starting to turn. They've got tracks in them from that tall, skinny-wheeled tractor. It won't be long until the combines sweep through followed by the rectangle balers.

The second was round hay bales. There's just something about them that makes me smile. And they appear almost as if by magic, marking each cutting cycle of the local hay. I even saw one crew offloading them from a trailer, but many more sit in the field where just a few days ago the hay lay cut and flattened on the ground. Such is the cycle of things where I live. I actually got to see them made in the field behind us one year - very fun to watch.

Mom left her Crooked Path life on the dash when she stamped May 16, 2020 on the right side of it. I'm sure it now seems like a fleeting memory given what she's experiencing. For my siblings, my family, and I - we continue on our own dashes. And they are Crooked, though they may look straight at first. That's how God intends life to happen. And today, he took another permanent resident to their final Home. I'm sad, but I'm okay with that. And it's giving me pause to think about life again - a fleeting life "on the dash" that is a gift given for me to use.

I love you, Mom. Glad you are finally Home.

Able and Willing

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. 

(Jude vv. 24-25, ESV)

I heard this verse a week ago as the focal text of the weekly message. As I read along, a couple of thoughts came to me and I wanted to capture them as part of a blog post.

First, the text says "able" and that's all well and good. But there is an underlying and implied "willing" that is also essential. That's why I threw together the graphic I used to introduce this post. You see, if God is only "able" but isn't "willing", that puts him in the category of a tyrant or despot ... or perhaps a puppet master. Frankly, that runs contrary to everything we've read and learned about him.

Similarly, being "willing" but not "able" puts us in the hands of a merely wishful God who really wants to do something for and with us, but he's just not up to the task. He'd do it if he could, but he's not able to.

So that wonderful, somewhat mystical combination of "able and willing" really strikes at the heart of the matter. That's the type of God I want to choose to put my trust and hope in. And make no mistake, it is still a choice.

The other word that caught my attention is "blameless". That's a very powerful word. In choosing to accept and embrace what God is able and willing to do, I am now presented, as the NLT renders it, "without a single fault". The connotation here is the same as a completely flawless diamond - no blemish intern or external, perfect in color, cut, and quality. That's the promise - the very essence - of Jesus' finished work in the New Covenant.

The Crooked Path is filled with twists and turns, trials and tribulations. But when I focus on what God is able and willing to do for me, I know the temporary challenges can be endured because there is something far better in store for me. That's the kind of hope and assurance I need during these current difficult times and every day.

Plan B?

Actually, it's a bit of an intentionally "trick" question. What prompted it is thinking about the situation we're all facing (same storm/different boats) and something I saw talking about that old topic - God's Sovereignty. So no out-of-context verse on this one today (nope, not even about "plans" from Jeremiah). Just my thoughts that I've gathered through the years.

First, let's get one thing straight. I still believe God sees and knows all. I realize some who knew me in the past (like 40+ years ago) may think I've gone off the deep end where my belief system is concerned. That's not for a big, public discussion but I'd be happy to entertain some individual chats about it (Zoom away!)

This is about what I used to hear (and subscribed to) about "perfect will vs. permissive will". Essentially, that's a Plan A with a Plan B contingency. As I now understand it, that's a fictional invention of people who try to explain away problems and challenges they just can't comprehend. But to me, that's the point - some of them are incomprehensible to begin with. And I'm fine with that.

It comes down to my belief that God is God and I'm not privy to everything he knows, does, or sees. Rather than a continuum of time, I view it as a circle with God in the center, present at every point in what we experience as "time" and cognizant of it all. From that position - and that's where he's always been - he enacts his Great Story that begins with his first gift to us of Free Will. Our choices, while they impact our lives, don't change him, his perspective, or his Great Story of Redemption. He doesn't force us, or demand from us. Instead, he's there in the midst of our choices and the resulting consequences.

I see our current situation from the same perspective. Yes, we're in the midst of a terrible battle against a disease. People are dying and more will. People will have financial and emotional challenges. Many will play the "if only we had ..." game and drive themselves to frustration. But while, in general, "hope is not a strategy" I can say with a calm assurance that Hope is still present because I base it in the one who is at the center. And he's not a weak God waiting on our choice so he can alter his plan. There is no "Plan B". In the great mystery that is God, it was always Plan A - the Great Story of Redemption.

May you find some comfort in the Hope that God's Sovereignty isn't some manipulative or weak attribute. No, it's strong, it's mysterious beyond our imagination, and it is the foundation of Hope in a difficult time I think of as the Crooked Path.

Water But No Ocean

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.

Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.

(Revelation 21:1, 22:1-2, NLT)

If you've ever watched the end of the movie "The Book of Eli" you'll doubtless remember the part where Denzel Washington's main character dictates the words of the Bible as his last mortal act. The overall backdrop of an an apocalyptic world has been used many times and the lack of water (or nothing but water) plays a role very often. As Eli begins with the Genesis story of Beginnings, the words are familiar to many of us. Water plays a primary role and is a source of Life as God calls it forth.

Basic science today would tell us that water - especially our oceans - play a major role in sustaining life as we know it. The oceans provide food, cleansing, and all manner of function in our world. We rarely think about it, but given they cover somewhere near seventy-five percent of the surface, they are a constant major presence. We've seen the impact of oil spills, red tides, and a myriad of other changes and felt that impact. Hurricanes are born in the oceans and, when they leave that source of energy, they rather quickly spin out. It's simple and it has basis in our Great Story as well ... Oceans play a major part in Life.

But the story of the End and New Beginning brings out a powerful statement. What John saw states there is no ocean in the New Order of things. It's gone, just as what we now know as Heaven and Earth are gone. And when the latter two are born New, the Ocean isn't a part of it. The way I read it, the reason is simple ... God directly provides and sustains Life in a new way. The described River of Life flows from him as the source. Frankly, that's a rather simple idea that kind of blows my mind in context. It may or may not be water, but it is teeming with Life.

And one more thing. That Life feeds the growth of entire groves of Life Trees with a very special purpose - they provide healing medicine for the nations. Think about that, especially in this very difficult time we are facing. Life flowing in the midst of everything growing and sustaining more life that brings permanent healing.

We are definitely in some wild turns of the Crooked Path. Some of us are bearing up well, some are struggling mightily. But there is an end, albeit resulting in a different "normal" than what we've known. And beyond that? There is a promise of Life ... a truly different and sustaining Life that provides constant, renewed healing and joy. May that Hope sustain you in the dark hours you face.

Very Important Things

A flood of "very important things" comes at us every day, every hour, every minute. Some of them are truly important, if not urgent. Some of them are masquerading as important and they just want to get our attention - or perhaps divert it - from something that actually matters. That's what I'm thinking about on this Easter Morning, 2018. Three things I heard, read and thought today converged in my heart and mind to bring me back to a center of importance.

In 1 Corinthians 15, verse 3 (ESV), Paul emphasizes the importance of this particular section of his letter by saying, "I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received" and then goes on to talk about the importance of the Resurrection of Jesus. I heard this today as part of an Easter message. It set me off taking notes and considering a couple other things that came across my desk and mind today.

Paul is emphasizing the idea that this concept of Christ's resurrection is absolutely central to the Gospel. Everything leads up to that singular event. It kicked down the door set on the two hinges of incarnation and crucifixion and forever changed the "rules". This concept equates Christ's death to the scriptural requirement for atonement under the Law. Yet it goes far beyond that temporal sacrifice that wouldn't last. It provides a permanent solution to the age old problem of persistent sin and death. It provides a completed substitutionary  propitiation - a replacement of my life for that of Jesus. Paul basically "doubles down" on this statement in verse 14 where he pens a contrary statement that if the resurrection didn't happen, then all of life is vain (Solomon's chasing of the wind).

John Eldridge, in his book All Things New tells us that "Jesus Christ is the forerunner for the Great Renewal, “the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead” (Colossians 1:18). He died, as everyone has and will. But on the third day he was raised to life, leaving his grave clothes folded neatly in the tomb. (A very touching detail, I might add, as if to say, “And that’s that,” like a man putting away his flannel pajamas now that winter is past.) Easter morning Jesus walked out of the grave radiantly alive, restored, and everyone recognized him. The “new” Jesus is not someone or something else now; he is the Jesus they loved and knew. He walks with them, had meals with them—just like before. The most striking thing about the post-resurrection activities of Jesus is that they were so remarkably ordinary." I think that rather succinctly describes the one who the late Brennan Manning referred to so often as "Easter Man".

My Crooked Path means something more than a life lived well to me because I walk it beside the Easter Man, my Divine Brother Jesus. On a bright Easter morning, that ought to put a smile on my face in a very genuine way. The Resurrection ushers in the assurance of the Great Renewal. Easter Man, the ultimate "super hero" blew the doors off Death once and for all. 

The traditional French Easter greeting, "L'amour de Dieu est folie!" rings true. That Love of God which looks like "folly" to those who choose not to believe looks like life to me. I can live with that ... I truly can.

He is Risen Indeed!!

A Tale of Two Conch Shells

These two conch shells come to be courtesy of a friend. They arrived in my friends possession via some rather unusual circumstances that I'd like to share with you. The one on the left was an answer to a desperate cry. The other was a spontaneous response accompanied by what must have been a laugh. Here's the Tale of Two Conch Shells.

My friend grew up knowing God had placed a call, you might say a deep yearning, for service. When the time came, my friend answered the call and was met with some life circumstances that would have crushed many of us. During the long journey back from those rather dark times, my friend was walking along a beach reflecting on life and asked our Father to provide a conch shell as a symbol that he was listening and knew the depth of my friend's pain.

Conch shells along the Atlantic coast do show up, but they are very often chipped and broken ... much like my friend felt at the darkest times. Coming across a perfectly formed one still in tact "in the wild" is a rare thing, especially one the size of that in the picture above. Yet our Father heard this deep, groaning for a simple but very special gift and you can see the results - one perfect conch shell.

My friend's life has taken many twists and turns to this point, but the latest adventure starts with six weeks helping out others on the other side of the Atlantic from where the first shell was given. That brings us to the second shell. It was recently acquired thousands of miles away from a man who had a bag full of them. My friend selected the one on right and, in that very moment, heard the Father laugh with delight to bring things full circle.

We all have our tales of "two conch shells" and the journeys that lead us to encounter them. Too often, we are in such deep pain or so self-absorbed that we don't look for those little miracles that our Father loves to place in our paths. We miss the miracle of the ordinary which, in cases like my friends, has very extraordinary results. We miss it because we don't look for it, we don't have time for it, and we often don't believe it exists. Yet it does! The proof is in the picture above.

The Crooked Path winds through life's ups and downs in a unique way for each of us. As you travel your own version, don't forget that you have a Father who delights in you. Ask him for a "perfect conch shell" and see what he provides. He is the Giver of all good gifts like my friend's two conch shells. Then see how he takes that simple beauty and multiplies it to lift you up and so you can help point others to him.

Never Forsaken

You can probably just make them out in the center of the picture.  That bit of yellow is a tiny beak and there are three more in that nest.  They are nestled in the middle of one of our flourishing rose bushes at the back of the house.  My wife found them the other day while she was doing some pruning to clip off what the dreaded Japanese Beetles had devoured.  And, as she cut away stems, she uncovered four beaks open and arching toward the sound she made, thinking they were going to get fed.

I've been out to check on them a few times.  I have no idea what kind of bird they are.  I saw the mother bird as she flitted away and perched on a nearby fence.  I had seen her before and thought she was a Killdeer ... but they lay their eggs on the ground.  It may have curtailed the pruning on that bush (Sharon put back some of the clippings to give them a little cover), but it also made me think about a principal that I often take for granted.

Had the trimming gone a little further, there could have easily been contact with the nest or even the baby birds.  Even though there were gloves involved, that contact could have altered the situation to the point where the mother, dutiful as she might be, would forsake the nest and I, at some point, would have to remove it all with the lifeless forms still there in their pin feathers.  Happily, that isn't the case as the mother has been spotted numerous times and we'll now leave it alone (except for a few more pictures and careful observation).  That's the way nature works ... birds will forsake a nest regardless of the work they put into it and the fact that the baby birds are their own offspring.  Contact leads to contamination and that results in abandonment.

God, on the other hand, has given us a promise to never leave us or forsake us.  And he makes this promise unilaterally without any regard for whatever might come in contact with us and attempt to "contaminate" our lives.  His Fatherhood and Love know no boundaries in their pursuit of us.  Our nest will never be abandoned ... we have his word on that.  So when I consider the birds in my yard (who will only be there for a couple weeks) and how they might have been orphaned and met an untimely end, I can also consider that God is completely faithful to his promise and I will never meet the same fate.  I will never be forsaken.

The Crooked Path is unpredictable as it winds through life.  I often have no idea what I will come in contact with or what will come in contact with me.  But I don't ever need to worry that my Father will leave me to my own devices.  He has promised to be right there, even in the darkest point of the journey.  He has promised I will never be forsaken.  Never.

On Justice and Punishment

Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”  She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”  (John 8:10-11, ESV)

I had a somewhat odd thought the other day (not uncommon if you know me at all).  I was thinking of an old Sunday School song and it struck me how theologically incorrect I now find it to be.  The words are simple and harmless enough and, perhaps, you feel like I'm reading too much into it.  But I distinctly hear something in the tone of "Oh Be Careful Little ..." where the refrain tells us about God looking down to say it is in love, but in reality it's a warning that he is looking down and ready to zap us with punishment if our little hands (or feet or ears or whatever) don't straighten up and fly right.  That, my friends, is a message of punishment - the same root word as punitive.  And it couldn't be farther from the truth about God's Justice through Christ.

In my recent studies from Tim Keller's "Encounters with Jesus", I've been reading the chapter he titled "Two Advocates".  The whole book has been a great read, but something in this chapter stuck out even more.  We're fairly used to calling the Holy Spirit an Advocate, but Jesus tells his disciples he is sending another Advocate.  This means that Jesus is the First Advocate and has a distinctly different role for us as he fulfills that duty.

Advocate is a legal term telling us we have clear and authoritative representation.  Our Advocate (the First one, Jesus) sits beside the Father and represents us and our case.  As he does this, he isn't begging for Mercy at all - rather he is claiming Justice.  He can rightly do that because the Law has been fulfilled (Keller points out that the Law is now actually on our side of the scales rather than against us).  As such, we cannot be found guilty and no punishment can be exacted, for that would mean our crimes were paid for twice.  Justice was fulfilled completely and is no longer in question.

That's why I love the passage I noted earlier.  The woman is given Mercy because Justice will be fulfilled by the very one who stands in front of her.  No further punishment will be required - EVER!  And, as a result, he exhorts her to live a life worthy of that gift and know her future is secure.

The Crooked Path is full of twists and turns, rises and ruts, monotony and surprises.  But it is also paved with Justice done once for all time ... and the very thought of punishment ought never to enter my mind as I travel.

Cue Sunrise and Resurrection

Rise again, yes, you will rise again,

My dust, after brief rest!

Immortal life! Immortal life

Will He, who called you, grant you.

To bloom again, you were sown!

The Lord of the Harvest goes

And gathers like sheaves,

Us, who died.

O believe, my heart, believe:

Nothing will be lost to you!

Yours, yes, yours is what you longed for,

Yours what you loved,

What you fought for!

Gustav Mahler (Symphony 2 – Resurrection)

I ran across a blog post by someone I’d never met, nor had I read his work.  The link came to me via a friend and, after reading what John Pletcher wrote in reaction to seeing “Beauty and the Beast” I was prompted to write about our Great Hope.  Given we are past the mid-point in Lent, I thought it was appropriate.  I won’t be able to link this out on my own social networks until after Easter, but I wanted to write while the thoughts were still fresh in my mind.  Thank you, John, for the e-mail exchange and encouragement.

The poem above represents the sum total of choral lyrics for Mahler’s 2^nd Symphony.  I had the privilege of participating once and the memory has stuck with me.  I won’t comment or cast any suspicions on Mahler’s intent, but I will say his words and the timing during the symphony provide a truly dynamic experience.  You see, the choir sits silent on stage for about the first 100 minutes (no intermission for the piece).  Then, in very low tones, and usually in German, the lyrics resonate the with the sheer anticipation of a resurrection.  As I read John Pletcher’s piece, recalled the Mahler and reflected on the book I’m teaching from (Keller’s “Encounters with Jesus”), the hope of resurrection swelled within me.

It truly is a “tale as old as time” … in fact, The Story pre-dates time.  It’s an eternal theme that culminates in resurrection and a complete restoration (at least, that’s how I read the end of Revelation).  We are invited to be swept up in the words of the Rabbi who tells Martha and Mary, “I AM the Resurrection”.  This is what he demonstrates to Mary Magdalene when he gently speaks her name, inviting her to believe that he has indeed resurrected.  And it’s all juxtaposed against the crucial angst he felt as he, quite literally, begged the Father to find another way.

Yet, and if the Lenten season reminds us of nothing else it should remind us of this, he completed what we could not do for ourselves.  He resurrected so that we can have a part in the resurrection ourselves.  We can’t earn it or finagle it in any way.  We bring zero – we’re completely dead.  He breathes Life into us so we can sing, as we travel the Crooked Path, “Rise again, yes, rise again!”  That’s where the path is leading for all those who will but travel it willingly.

Life Matters

Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly.  But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” (Jonah 4:10-11, NLT)

I’ve been writing this particular post in my head for quite some time and decided I should finally assemble and post it.  The final thoughts started to come together about a month ago when I listened to a message that referenced Jonah’s story.  It’s one that has kind of fascinated me, especially once I got past the flannelgraph version.  

The scene is on a hill overlooking Nineveh.  Jonah has finally done what he’s been asked to do, yet his heart obviously wasn’t in the job.  Or, more accurately, he didn’t have God’s heart for people or the value of life.  He’s mad that God didn’t go nuclear on the city and God confronts him regarding the value of the lives of those people – and the value of life.  Jonah, you see, is quite the bigot and thinks that only the privileged and chosen should be redeemed.  Everyone else can, quite literally, go to hell in a handbasket.

So, amidst the continuous barrage of “fill-in-the-blank lives matter” I started thinking about the whole concept.  I think at the heart of the problem is a human condition that, much like Jonah, fails to recognize that life (not just lives) matters.  Everything else is an extension of that and so, when I don’t value the life in someone else – regardless of their color or creed or whatever – I fail to see life the way God looks at it.  If I really believe he is the Creator and that all human life bears his Image, it ought to make me act and react differently to others.  It ought to help me curb my anger and indifference and realize that, much like those lives in Nineveh, there are people out there who don’t know up from down, left from right or evil from good.  And the LIFE in those people bears the Image of the Almighty.

The Crooked Path is a journey and I will have the opportunity to influence and lift up many people.  Some of them will be the most disenfranchised and dejected people I’ve ever met, and to them I need to pay extra special attention.  It may be that God has placed me there because of the great value he sees in their life and has given me the grand opportunity to help them see their Creator, perhaps for the first time.

Simplicity and Wonder Beyond Comprehension

Over two-thousand years have come and gone.  The world changes, yet it remains very much the same.  Man searches for something he can own and master, something he can lay claim to as his own.  Yet for all our seeking and scheming, we find ourselves poor and often slaves to what we thought would bring us satisfaction.  We invent complexity thinking it will bring about change, but it only breeds more complexity and the same frustration.

Simplicity - the kind that brings us to our knees in reverent wonder beyond what we can begin to comprehend - that's what can satisfy.  It comes to us quietly, gently - much like that Baby did so long ago.  Into a world full of struggle, war and unrest, Emmanuel becomes God with us in the most tangible way.  We struggle with it because it seems, well, too simple.  It doesn't fit our model of how things should work.  But it fits the Father's model of how he Loves us ... and that's all that matters.

Imaging young Mary, humming softly to Jesus in the dark, dank cave stall.  Carved out from the noise and bustle of Bethlehem at tax time, she sits quietly, holding and comforting a newborn.  Joseph chats with the shepherds and the tale about angels is told over and over.  But back behind some feed sacks, hung as a makeshift nursery, Mary tends to the Child.  The Promise of God come in ultimate simplicity and yet with wonder beyond comprehension.

From the heart of my Crooked Path to all who read this, I offer this musical gift.  I think it represents the simplicity Mary so readily embraced and I pray all of us will do the same.

Unscheduled Appointments

I'm remembering an unscheduled appointment that changed my life pretty dramatically.  Thirty years ago on October 25, right around 2:15, events started in motion that I still remember so vividly even now.  It started with a rather frantic phone call from someone looking to find my mother.  Very shortly after that, Mom called and said, very simply and plainly, "He's gone."  With those words, I learned my Dad had slipped beyond the boundaries of Earth and joined the ranks of Heaven.  I think about his passing every year, but this being thirty years from the day he died, it's kind of an "anniversary milestone".

And it got me thinking about appointments.  They are the result of planning, for the most part.  Some are more meticulous than others when they set and track appointments.  Some make them and then completely forget about them until they get a reminder message (or are late).  They come in all types, some that I make and some that others make for me.  But they share a common trait ... they are planned interruptions asking me to focus on something specific.

But then there are the unscheduled appointments.  The "curves" life throws at us with little or no warning.  Maybe they are pleasant surprises (the party my wife threw for me on October 24th thirty years ago certainly was) or perhaps they force us to make decisions we'd rather skip or at least put off.  The only constant, from my perspective, is that they happen ... and they happen to all of us.

That's part of life on the Crooked Path.  It isn't that old straight and narrow one from the Sunday School lesson.  It's a winding path full of rises and valleys.  It forces us to trust in our Divine Brother as guide when we can't see what is around the next bend.  It's a journey of faith and experience and it's really more enjoyable when we can't plan every step.  It's a wild adventure where our Father invites us to follow and trust, even though the unscheduled appointments break our hearts.  It isn't easy; it is messy; and it's definitely worth it - scheduled or not.

That's Not Your Name

That's not your name!

The name and identity you see as looming over you is false. It's a lie from the enemy. That's what Communion is telling you. That's why we are commanded to do it in remembrance of what Jesus did. He gave us a true identity in himself and a new name - beloved child!

Each time we come to the Lord's Table we have the opportunity to learn again who we are and where The Story is taking us. We are anticipated in a future that calls to us across time and space. And we are invited to live now under our new identity with full anticipation of what is still to come.

We would do well to study the story from John 8 about the woman the Pharisees threw into the middle of the Master's teaching session. They called her by one name while he used a different one. They named her Caught Red Handed Adulteress. He called her Uncondemned Daughter.

When he told her what her real name was he called her to live a life in the fullness of who she was in God's Reverse Economy. He freed her to live in a way she never imagined possible. And when you combine that with all the other promises made you know she is not alone in this effort.

Yet the lie has been perpetuated for centuries ... even longer.  The very religious among us would seek to drag us back down and make us grovel and beg for the forgiveness that is already there.  They would gloss over the core concept that everyone - our enemies included - are named "God's Image Bearers".  They use the false names to divide when the call of the Master is to unite instead.  The call to live in the grace and freedom intended - the way it was planned all along.

That call extends to all of us. We're given the opportunity to refocus and re-center on what really matters ... on who we really are. That's a gift we should never take lightly or overlook. It's a chance to pause along the Crooked Path and remember the call of our Master to join him in the journey as brother and sister, knowing where it leads with great confidence.


And if you look at your travel papers, they have your new name on them. That lie of an old name is nowhere to be found! 

God's Reverse Economy

During my recent study of Bob Goff’s “Love Does”, I became familiar with a phrase he used very often – God’s Reverse Economy.  It seems to stick with me and continues to give me a different perspective on my life and what I see around me.  When I combined those thoughts with some messages my own pastor brought over the past few weeks, I was challenged to write this Crooked Path post.

In God’s Reverse Economy, it isn't about what we think are the "right" things. Important or not they are at best secondary to being with the Teacher.  We're not students as much as we are apprentices. Yet it goes beyond that. We are looking to learn how to live LIFE.  We are to be cultural insiders looking for opportunities to engage as the Body of Christ.  And, in the end, Love does what it should and must do.

The Reverse Economy isn't just what we do it becomes who we are. We assume Jesus's identity as our own and live that way.  The Eternal Godhead creates us in His Image not out of boredom or loneliness or some other misguided reason. He does it as an intentional expression of Himself in every way and then invites us to embrace Him and His passion and compassion for a Creation that walked away.

In God's Reverse Economy we willingly give up all we think is valuable to invest in what we can never "own" in any other way.  When we come to that perspective and embrace it as our own, we participate in the Redemption that cost Him everything of true value.

We are made for a purpose. There is an answer to the question of "Why am I here?" and it doesn't look like what we think it does. In fact, it is far simpler than any of that. God's nature and His Law is designed to draw us to Him in a constant manner. It is an enabling thing that gives us Jesus' perspective and Life so we avoid Death and its associated burden and dead end.  In this way, only the Reverse Economy ever produces lasting value and worth.  

This means living in a state of community, not isolation.  When we reject the true community God offers, we create our own economy that will always fail. It may even look prosperous briefly but that fades and we're left with empty hands and a bankrupt soul.  What this means for us is obedience. That's not a complicated thing, but it is hard. It willingly walks away from the false and temporal nature of our economy and submits to God's Reverse Economy. It grows in faith and trust that Father God is there at the head of the Crooked Path and our Divine Brother Jesus walks with us. And even when it looks and feels contrary to our "natural instincts" we still trust and obey. 

Again - not a complicated thing … just a hard thing for us to do.  It looks and sounds like foolishness. It is always disruptive to the presumed status quo.  That’s why it is a Reverse Economy and can be nothing else.

As I ponder all this on the Crooked Path, I’m reminded of the story we read in John 9 regarding the blind man Jesus healed.  When questioned about his past and who might have been “responsible” for him being blind, he gave a perfect answer that reflects God’s Reverse Economy.  My paraphrase of the man’s response to the Pharisees goes something like this:

“I won't speculate on any of that.

I'll stick to what I know to be the facts.

Yesterday I was blind. Today I can see.”

Know this, my friends, and take it to heart.  We are known completely and loved without condition.  No one can tattletale on us with some deep dark secret that will catch God off guard and cause him to stop loving us.  That’s the Reverse Economy and I want more of it, not some fake substitute.  This leads to LIFE and that's the only thing worth sharing with others.

Story First

This has been rolling around in my head for quite some time and it’s time to get it from there to this blog.  As I start, know that I’m not looking for validation on what I’m thinking and I’m certainly open to discussion (if not debate).  My intent here is to continue processing what I’ve learned as I continue my journey along this Crooked Path.

I took a challenge from my family to do something for Lent this year.  I reinstated my annual “listen through the Bible” and chose to only play that in the car during any drives during the Lenten cycle.   To date, I’m into Paul’s letters and should wrap up before very long.  What this venture has reminded me is that our Bible is Story first and foremost … and everything else after that.

I’ve heard people say it is history or a “manual for life” or a dozen other equally diverse things.  Some of them are rather absurd when you think about them.  And what they do is water down and take away from what I’ve come to believe very deeply is the point of what God has revealed and continues to give us.  It starts with a massive story arc that reaches from before time until after and focuses on the redemptive nature of God.

In thinking about the Bible as Story, I have to align everything I read with everything else contained in it.  As such, nothing will ever truly contradict or be out of synch with anything else.  It’s about context, pretext and subtext of the narrative and it all points back to the focal point of Redemption with heavy emphasis on Reconciliation.  One friend who had been to seminary described this position as meta-narrative theology and I’ve become very comfortable with that position. 

The literary flow of what we read supports the Bible as Story as well.  So much of it is presented as dialogue in so many ways.  The writing shows reflective thought gathered over time.  John wrote his pieces of the Story decades after they happened.  Luke was presenting first-person accounts gathered over years of journeying with Jesus and Paul.  Ruth and Esther read more like novels than anything else.  Paul’s writings were entire letters, usually emphasizing one or two themes.  And when I listen to (or read) large portions of the Story, I get better perspective on where things fit and how they align with that much bigger idea of Redemption.

Once you’ve framed it as Story, you can look at the two distinctive chapters we know as Covenants.  The first one is the Covenant God made as part of the Old Testament.  In short, it set God’s “gold standard” that he knew was impossible to keep.  It was, after a fashion, a classic literary setup.  It paved the way for the second one in which Jesus did what no other created human could accomplish with the first covenant.  He fulfilled it completely and, rather than nullifying it, gave his completion to us.  God’s standards hadn’t changed – rather God new viewed us as his own beloved children because of what our Divine Older Brother had done on our behalf.  That’s a pretty awesome plot twist if you ask me!  And it’s completely consistent with the Story and the very character of God.

So especially in a year where we’ve seen so much happen  in our country and around the world, I’d caution everyone not to pull out small passages (or worse single verses) of the Bible and try to interpret news headlines or apply them to events in some particular way that suits your own point of view.  We’ve been doing that for far too long (yes, I remember 1976) and I think it’s high time to step way back and embrace the Story again.  That’s what guides us on the Crooked Path.  Remember (and thanks to Matt Hammett of Flood Church for this thought), the Bible was written for us … not to us.

And if you really want just a simple verse that’s nearly impossible to take out of context, skip the single verses from Chronicles or Jeremiah or Revelation and consider the following timeless thoughts from God through one of his trusted spokesmen …

“But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women.  It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously – take God seriously.”  (Micah 6:8, The Message)

Fireflies Make Me Smile

I've been doing more walking lately, trying to take some control over what a half century old body needs to keep functioning properly.  Some of these walks have been in the evening as sunset fades to dusk and twilight erupts around my neighborhood.  I'm in a rural part of my county with only a few, simple street lights on my road.  There are several patches of dense brush and growth that provide a home to some of God's simplest creatures.

Among the rabbits and squirrels and even bats, there are plenty of fireflies, especially in those areas with denser brush and some swampy grass.  A humid night (and we have plenty of those) brings out these glowing orbs in flight and that's what prompted me to write this post.

I'm a believer in an intentionally created world.  I'm not one tied to the whole "young Earth" mantra and I think there are a lot of complexities in the whole equation that we're just not supposed to figure out.  Some I know will argue that everything has a specific purpose; some will advocate for progressive states that transform over long periods of time.  In answer to all of them, I'll offer my little friends, the fireflies in my neighborhood.

They live for just a couple of months, don't bite me and provide hours of endless joy to children who love to catch them in jars.  The more mischievous of us may or may not have caught a couple and smashed them on our noses to get a little glow effect ourselves.  But, as I've been walking and seeing them, I've asked, "What purpose do they serve?"  My answer seems to be a mix of "none" and "everything" ... let me explain that.

Fireflies are a manifestation of God's whimsy.  They are here to make children of all ages smile.  Nothing specific of grand about that purpose, and yet it is oh so vital to our existence.  In such an act of creative craziness, my Father tells me in no uncertain terms that he loves me and that life is here for me to enjoy.  It's up to me to choose to embrace that opportunity and smile as a result.

The Crooked Path provides many opportunities to stop and take in scenes that normally go unnoticed.  My encouragement to you today is to be more intentional about finding those scenes ... and to go for a walk in the warm, humid evening so you can smile at the fireflies.  That is, after all, why they are here.