11.21.2008

come back to Elfland - "we have sinned and grown old"

in a chapter on the "Ethics of Elfland," Chesterton talks about the monotony of the universe.  some say the monotony [the sun rising and setting, tide ebbing and flowing, cycle of water and life, etc] of the universe is proof that their isn't a creator.  the monotony shows us that all things are set and ordered and cannot be changed because their are Laws of nature in charge, not a creator.  he says, "The modern mind rests upon an assumption; an assumption that things that repeat themselves are dead."  there is no life, all things are determined and set in place.  there is no purpose.  there is no use in trying to fight against the system or choose a different path, for the whole world is set in motion and cannot be changed.  action is wound like a clock and let go to do what it must...

Chesterton argues against this sort of nihilistic view.  he says,

The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening,“Do it again” to the moon. It may be that he has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, our Father is younger than we.
wow.  i picture God, the Creator of all that is seen and unseen, almost giddy over the sun rising everyday; excited over each breath a human being, made in his image, takes; glowing when the snow falls and the flowers bloom.  he is, after all, the Creator, maker, and generator of all these things.  without God's divinely spoken word; without God's say, these things would not happen.  they don't happen because of Laws.  they happen because of God's will.

"we have sinned and grown old."  
Father, forgive us.  make us young again.  give us child-like faith.

11.17.2008

chesterton's "orthodoxy"


a student loaned me his copy of G.K. Chesterton's, Orthodoxy.  i'm into the 2nd chapter and so far i have to say i'm fascinated and ready to keep reading...

highlight thus far...the question, "what keeps people sane?"

the answer:

"Mysticism keeps men sane.  As long as you have mystery you have health, when you destroy mystery you create morbidity.  The ordinary man has always been sane because the ordinary man has always been a mystic.  He has permitted the twilight.  He has always had one foot in earth and the other in fairyland."

i'm excited to see where he's going with this.  i see "mystery" as a sort of throwback concept in recent years.  they say [i don't know who "they" are, so don't bother asking!] that younger evangelicals are embracing the mysterious elements of Christian faith.  younger folks are turning more and more to Orthodox and Catholic faith.  younger folks are interested in liturgy and the church year.  

is it true?  speaking as a younger evangelical who has interacted with many of my peers, YES.  we are seeking authenticity, and in that quest for authentic faith we are finding that entertainment driven expressions of faith and worship not only do not represent our hearts, but do not represent well the heart of the gospel.

have you seen this shift?  how are we doing with "mystery"?  are we fighting or embracing mystery?

personally, i'm enjoy keeping one foot in "fairyland"!

11.09.2008

a fascinating faith

i went down to Seattle tonight at Quest Church with some students and leaders from church to hear Shane Claiborne speak...










something to which Shane kept referring caught my attention and reminded me of a quote from his book, Jesus for President -
"God would save the world through fascination, by setting up an alternative society on the margins of the empire for the world to come and see what a society of love looks like.”
that word, fascination, keeps grabbing my attention...
Shane referred to Christianity as a religion that only works when it is embodied or lived

he used the passage from Luke 7 where John the Baptist is in prison and sends his disciples to ask Jesus whether he is really the Messiah.

how does Jesus respond?

[my paraphrase] "tell John what you see, tell him how i live"

how will people know if we're Christians? the way we live...

my question, sometime down the road, when my daughter asks why she can't have everything she wants and do all the things the other kids do, what will i say?

what will i have shown her? will i have shown her what it means to love Jesus? will she be equipped to show others about Christ?
update: you can find the audio at Eugene Cho's blog...

10.28.2008

biblical leadership

what is biblical leadership?
can we look at the Bible and the traits of biblical leaders to make decisions on how we are to vote?

you can try.

but then we come to this guy named Jesus...
John 13 tells us that Jesus has authority, he has power, and how does he use it?
he takes a towel and washes his disciples' feet...
look how John puts this statement about Jesus' authority immediately before the foot washing...

so you want a model of biblical leadership? you want the president to be a "biblical" leader?

let me ask you this, "will he wash your feet?"

when he has power, will he admit his faults? ask for forgiveness?
when he has keys to nuclear codes, will he turn the other cheek?
will he pray for his enemies?
will he consider the poor and needy?
will he live in harmoney with his neighbor?

10.21.2008

privilege, right, responsibility

the ongoing debate...HEALTH CARE...is it a Privilege, Right, or Responsibility?
this was the way a question was framed in one of the presidential debates...
i wonder, what is the Christian response?

some say privilege...really?
it's a privilege to have basic health care coverage in one of the wealthiest nations on earth? really? it's a privilege to be able to get well without going into debt? really?

only the privileged get to have access to the best health care?
only the privileged get speedy attention to their health needs?

surely the privileged must have done something special and significant to have achieved this status and earned this health care, right?

well, who are the privileged? people like me. but why am i one of them? why do i "deserve" these privileges? what makes me better? my skin color? my "hard work"? my education? my morals? my character? my voting record? my driving record? my citizenship? how did i become one of the "privileged"?

how does Christ deal with privilege?

10.09.2008

kindgom principles

"this king rules with a towel, not a sword...
in the kingdom of God we DESCEND into greatness."
-Shane Claiborne, Jesus for President
















tough concept:true concept...
but do we practice this kingdom principle?
not really.
honestly.
i rarely try and "descend" in life...

i mean:
who wants to "DESCEND" into anything?
who wants to lower themselves or their status?
who wants to see others be promoted while we stay put?
who wants to put others first when we know we are really more "worthy"?

the answer to the above questions? JESUS...
the kingdom of God is about downward mobility.
what?
Paul says in Philippians 2 that when Christ lowered himself, became human, became a servant, died on a cross, he was exalted to the highest place...
Christ was exalted to GREATNESS because he DESCENDED to be with us...
now we must follow our Savior and "descend into greatness."

good luck...

10.02.2008

readers and do-ers

back in the day, my Swedish ancestors were referred to as lasare, or "readers"...

they were asking, "Where is it written?"
they were devouring the Scriptures to find meaning; to find life
they were entering God's story and learning about who God is
they were turning their hearts to God
they were experiencing new life in Christ and the Church
they were serving their communities

these "readers" were not simply on a quest to find the hidden meaning in life. they were not trying to get a leg up on their opposition so they could thwart them in debate. they were finding God. they were experiencing new life.

but what's even better is that after experiencing this new life in Christ, they changed their lives. they served people around them. they walked the footpaths of their communities and looked for the hurting, the lost, the least of these. they built houses of mercy, hospitals, schools.

you see, they were not simply "readers", but they were do-ers as well. they saw that faith requires action; it requires obedience; it requires a change in attitude and behavior. faith in Christ transforms who we are. in some ways, faith in Christ helps us draw closer to the person God created us to be.

i wonder, are there any "reader" left? look at the list above...
are we asking, devouring the Word, entering the story, turning hearts to God, experiencing new life, and serving others?