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Posts Tagged ‘love’

Witness to the Light

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , on May 5, 2009| 1 Comment »

John 1:8b-9
…he [John] came only as a witness to the light.[NIV] That was the true Light which gives light to every man [and woman] coming into the world. [NKJV]

John the Baptizer was a witness to “the true Light.” He began his ministry because it was important to tell everyone about the light. They had forgotten about the light. They could not longer see the light in each other. Just talking about the light brought light into a dark place.

As human beings, I believe we are all given light. Made in God’s image, we are bequeathed the light. But, what do we do with it? Do we hide it under a bushel? Do we distort it? Do we ignore it? And what about the light of others?

Over the last few months I’ve been really interested in the concept of the “sacred other.” It is my belief now that this sacredness is the same as the light that is within each one of us. Accepting Christ is not about accepting the light; we have that already. But the light of Christ fuels our personal light and shines brighter. Light is the root of love.

To witness to the light is to recognize light in others and fuel that fire with the light of Christ. Like John, we are to tell our stories. As we follow the way of Christ, our stories carry light.

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Eternal Words of Jesus

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 29, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Luke 21:33
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Jesus’ words are eternal. Jesus’ message, then, is also eternal. No matter how one might interpret the passages in this chapter of Luke about the end times and whether or not the signs have already happened or will still happen… well, that’s not my point today. No, I just want to highlight the other aspect of this passage which is even more important: Jesus’ eternal words, in the face of the passing away of both heaven and earth, two distinct dimensions of life, will remain. Pure truth will survive. Love will stand. Mercy will triumph over justice. Light will shine brighter than any darkness. Hope and faith will remain.

It is indeed the new heaven and the new earth and that idea is beyond anything we can fathom.

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A Callous Heart

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , on April 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Matthew 13:15
For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.

A callous is formed on the skin when it is exposed to repetitive activities and the body lays down an additional layer of skin to protect a specific area. Usually, our skin is constantly regenerating by sloughing off old cells and growing new ones. But this repetitive activity prevents the skin from sloughing off.

When a callous forms on the hands of a worker or on the fingertips of a musician, it’s a good thing. It makes it easier to do those repetitive tasks without injury. But, when the heart is calloused, it is no longer able to feel compassion, empathy, or love. The heart is calloused by repetitive hurt, betrayal, and sorrow. Our natural tendency is to “protect” ourselves from further hurt, and so we allow the callouses to form. But, the way of Christ is full of paradoxes and this is another one.

We are called upon to keep the heart open. When we allow those callouses to form on the heart, we miss God. We miss seeing what we are to see and hearing what we are meant to hear. Without a doubt, this is one of the greatest challenges of being committed to the way of Jesus… an authentic Christian.

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See How You Are

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , on April 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Matthew 7:3
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

My daughter has picked up this phrase from friends at school. It’s said lightheartedly, but it’s always said when someone doesn’t do what she asks. It’s drawing attention to an action (or lack thereof) that is not lining up with her expectation or request. I’m still working on a comeback.

In the end, this pointing out is just another way of adding fuel to a flame. I think we are all saying this in our hearts when we have made a judgment against others. One way to catch these judgments is whenever we use the words of extreme generalizations like “never” or “always.” (Example: my husband “never” compliments me. Today, my husband does not compliment me when I went to extra effort to look nice: See how you are… you “never” compliment me.) It’s like we are building up the evidence to “make our case” … but to what end?

Wouldn’t it be lovely if, instead, we could use the same phrase when it’s a good thing: oh, he remembered to take out the trash, oh, she remembered my birthday, oh, he went the extra mile to help me, and so on. How powerful it could be to build the evidence for good.

Today, help me “see” how others really are… let me find the moments that are edifying and uplifting and to tell them so. “See how you are”… and thank you for being you in my life.

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Customized Temptations

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , on April 21, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Matthew 4:1
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

The only desert temptations we hear about are the ones Jesus must have told to the disciples. We will never know if there were more. But Matthew’s report is that there were at least three and they are recorded as happening after his 40 days of fasting in the desert. The three temptations were 1) turning stones into bread for food; 2) throwing himself off a parapet (of the temple) to be saved, “hopefully,” by angels; and 3) earthly power and authority in exchange for worshiping Satan.

I believe these three temptations are specific to Jesus and what He could expect to encounter again and again in his ministry: the challenges of the body, challenges of faith, and challenges of power (or simply put, temptations of the body, soul & mind). I think it’s foolish to think that this was the only time Jesus encountered temptations. And the same is for us.

We are confronted in these same areas, but the temptations may look slightly different. In my own body, I struggle with body image, food, and aging. In my soul, I struggle with my faith in the face of difficult circumstances, self-condemnation, and hardness of heart (secret places of the heart). In my mind, I struggle with control, judgments of others, and disappointment. My “enemy” is more than happy to provide specific, customized temptations in each of these areas. It is one reason God calls us to daily prayer to prepare our bodies, souls & minds for the assaults of the day.

Keep me mindful this day, Lord, that you alone are worthy of worship. I trust your love. I give thanks for your Word.

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He Was Condemned

Posted in Lent, tagged , , on April 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Matthew 26:64-66
“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,” they answered.

It was all pre-meditated. The Sanhedrin knew that Jesus would be there that night; that they were to gather and condemn him, one way or another. To them, it was necessary. And so, in the end, it wouldn’t have mattered what Jesus said … or didn’t say. Their minds were made up ahead of time. They had their expectations and they merely waited to hear something… anything, that would confirm their suspicions.

We need to watch out for preconceived ideas. If we enter a situation or meet a new person with a negative expectation, it’s hard to see or hear with openness. How much better to walk into a room and prepare your heart by expecting the Lord to be near (Phil 4:5). If He is truly near, then there is always someone to meet, something to see, or a moment of value.

If you discover that you are the one who has “pre-judged” someone else, then ask forgiveness… for it is a great sin, not the least of which is pride.

And, at the same time, we must remember that predispositions happen both ways. Someone may have a biased view of YOU! I think, if you become aware of it, keep silent, for there is nothing you can say to change that kind of misconception. If someone wants to find reason to condemn you, they will. Any set of actions can be misinterpreted. If you are innocent under these circumstance, keep silent.

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Love the Lord Your God

Posted in Lent, tagged , , , , on March 18, 2009| 1 Comment »

Mark 12:28
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

Foundational to everything and yet, we seem to behave as though this is beyond us. Is God difficult to love? Is it because we continue anthropomorphizing God as one of us? Oh, but God did offer us the anthropomorphic version of Self in Christ Jesus. Is Jesus difficult to love? Oh, and when the Holy Spirit is present… primarily within us, is the Holy Spirit difficult to love?

Love, the verb! Love is action. Love is trust. Love is a choice. Nike seemed to get the point in their advertising: Just Do It!

Today, I choose to love God … and I’m guessing God will appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and circumstances.

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