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Posts Tagged ‘life’

Living the Life

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 10, 2011| 2 Comments »

Art by Ed Unitsky

What does the Godly life look like? And why would it be, that a person who is following in the way of Jesus, living out righteous, faith, love and peace, why would that cause persecution? It’s another type of contradiction.

II Timothy 3:12
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, . . .

I have seen people hold this scripture up as a banner when their particular political cause or moral stand is shot down or watered down or disregarded in some way. Some people have a litmus test like abortion or birth control or the death penalty or gay rights, and anything outside of their view is perceived as persecution: “right” being attacked by some liberal/left point of view.

There is one sect of believers who are known for door-to-door evangelism to the extreme and if people are rude to them or shut a door in their faces, they report that “persecution” to the team-faithful. It’s to be expected they say; they are living the life.

But where do we see anything like this in the life of Jesus? Our Man/God was so comfortable in his skin that He could be anywhere and talk with anyone without harsh judgments. The truth was in Him, the Spirit close by and available, the ability to love and connect with everyone was apparent. His persecution came later.

His persecution did not really begin until he revealed his identity, an identity that challenged the traditions of authority.

The poor did not persecute Jesus nor did self-professed sinners. The hungry and the needy did not persecute Jesus. Only those who had an agenda that was jeopardized by the long-awaited appearance of a Messiah who would turn their world upside down. Actually, even the Romans did not persecute Jesus until He was dumped into their legal system.

Living the life is more like the first thirty years of Jesus’s life — the silent years. Did Jesus love less in those years than he did in his public ministry? Did he care less, speak less, understand less? Or did he wake each day with the Shema Yisrael and with mindfulness toward the presence of God, and thereby simply live and serve his immediate world.

So, is there persecution in my life? And if there isn’t any, does that mean I am not living a Godly life? Am I too homogenized into the cares of this world? Am I holding on too tightly to my comforts?

Oh, I suppose I could take a political stand about this or that; I could march in the streets for one cause or another, but in the end, I would still come home to my middle class life, my credit cards, and my steak on the grill.

The chorus of the song below was framed and given to me many years ago and, in its simplicity, this is the only way I can see how to “live the life” right now, today.

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Body Splendor

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on July 1, 2010| 1 Comment »

I love the idea of splendor. The word speaks of expansiveness and beauty. And to think, all earthly bodies have splendor. It is unfortunate our culture has narrowed human body splendor to a few superficial ratings. And worse, we often abuse our own wonder-filled creation.

I Corinthians 15:40
There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.

The body is neither to be worshiped nor desecrated. It is a vessel, a sponge, a unique invention, a tool, and a living organism. It is a gift.

All bodies have great potential when born.

Our first abuse is our habit of limiting the body. In the same way we limit the body, we also limit the mind and the spirit. Why don’t we teach our children to recognize the body for all that it can be and do?

It’s a wonder for today. That’s all. A wonder.

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Body Seed

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Had some fun this morning thinking of my body as a seed being prepared for planting. Each seed is different. Each seed has its own characteristics and with each 3-D life event, the seed is affected (both good and bad). Each seed then creates a “plant” — a new entity.

I Corinthians 15:36b-37
What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

It never occurred to me before that a resurrected entity would have as much diversity (or more) than these human bodies we now have.

Really, until Jesus “revealed” himself to the disciples after resurrection, they didn’t really recognize him. He had to manifest something they could understand: the nail-driven hands and feet, the pierced side. But they certainly didn’t recognize his clothes or his features at first.

What else don’t we recognize? They say we “see what we want to see.” We see what we expect to see. For all we know, the resurrected guys are walking around among us. I’m just sayin’…

In the parable of the sower and the seed, the success of the seed had a great deal to do with environment and circumstances. Some of this environment we cannot control initially (caustic families, poverty, etc.) but as we mature, we are presented with more choices. We can actually seek change. We can look for good soil. The human seed does not have to be passive. And apparently, when a bunch of seeds get together they can really transform circumstances.

I know these are just flights of fancy, but word pictures are important because I cannot really fathom anything about this “other” world I have called “heaven” all my life. It’s not just a place . . . it’s a state of being.

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Small Deaths

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 6, 2010| 1 Comment »

As a believer, I am promised a new life when I accept Christ’s sacrifice (his death) as the propitiation (satisfactory compensation) for my sin. Although the sacrifice is enough, my ability to embrace the truth of it in daily life is wanting.

Romans 6:3, 5
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? . . . If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

I firmly believe the faith walk is a process. And although our beloved Messiah did everything necessary to repair the separation between God and us, I am still learning how to walk the new path (the Way). I struggle with the paradox: death = life. I tend to hold onto what is familiar instead of letting those parts of me die.

I understand in my head that I must be more like the seed that dies before the plant will grow. Instead, I keep trying to be the best seed I can be. I’m missing out on the real transformation.

But God is patient. My old nature, my old self, is in various partitions and states of renewal. Gradually, sections do die. And with each small death, new life finds root. This is sanctification, my rite of passage from death to life.

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