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Want to know something messed up? Whenever I get sick I tend to imagine God sitting on His throne scoffing at me saying, “He made his bed, now he can lie in it.” as though He takes pleasure when we suffer. Theologically, sickness is a byproduct of sin. That said, God has every right to kick us when we’re down or make an example of us when we are ill or reaping the consequences of our life choices (or someone elses). Yet, this week, as I’ve wished I could be the sick one instead of my little guy I’ve learned what God is really like.

Samuel has been sick for the last three days. Monday, he threw up everywhere. Tuesday, it seemed to subside - no throw ups - he seemed more like his fun little self. Today, throwing up and exhausted again. He’s falling asleep pretty much everywhere and his tummy hurts. *sigh* And I think I just heard a sigh from heaven, too.

God does not enjoy this. It’s true - He loves us too much, He would rather be the sick one and this is exactly what He became for us. In Christ, we are healed from our sickness (all sickness and all sin). He is always redeeming what doesn’t deserve redemption. That’s His work - not looking away from us in our sin and sickness or sweeping it under the rug (which would be the opposite of redemption). He looks right at us and, as I’ve heard it said, “He doesn’t blush.” His mind is made up that He will make us well again.

We become more like God when we do the things to prevent sickness (more rest, wear a coat, eat well, exercise, repentance, keep praying…) and join Him in finding the sick and helping them become well.

• Are you sick with sin?
  
• Do you trust God to make you well again?
  
• How do you stay well?
• Can the sick around you become well or do they just receive pity?

Yes. That’s right. I’m in need of a pedicure. Why? Because someone’s going to see my feet today and I want them to look beautiful - beautiful like the feet of Christ. When I look at Christ, I see the One who loves, gives, and gives even more and then loves again. There’s a pattern there and when I really look at the words of Jesus and His life’s narrative this pattern embeds itself into my life. This is the season of Advent and like no other year, I am compelled to reach others with the love of Christ.

Isaiah 52:7 | How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

My prayer tonight this morning is to have feet beautiful in the ways of the Gospel. Beautiful because of where they take me - to deliver good news. Peace is the presence of love where hate or indifference are prevalent and I am the presence of that love! Good tidings look like a smile and when I bring one it spreads! Salvation is found in no one else but Jesus and my story of salvation may be the prologue to someone else’s today. My feet are will be beautiful this season because I will make it known by the words of my mouth amplified by my life that God reigns.

So… who’s good with feet?

I’m fascinated by how the meaning of a word can change over time. Look at how the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defines the word politic. If you look at the state of our government and the how many of us work together (or don’t for that matter) and live together in community (especially the Church community), we’ve shifted from the term’s more robust definition to its lesser, more self-serving applications.

politic

1. Wise; prudent and sagacious in devising and pursuing measures adapted to promote the public welfare; applied to persons; as a politic prince.
2. Well devised and adapted to the public prosperity; applied to things.
3. Ingenious in devising and pursuing any scheme of personal or national aggrandizement, without regard to the morality of the measure; cunning; artful; sagacious in adapting means to the end, whether good or evil.
4. Well devised; adapted to its end, right or wrong.

Did you see that progression? We start promoting public welfare (wholeness and health) and prosperity (success) and then shift to personal or national aggrandizement (self-exaltation) by adapting any means to our end regardless of right or wrong. To put it plainly, most anything we call political today has more to do with serving yourself than serving others. Oval office, City Council, church board, office politics, your personal relationships… we all have a politic.

• What is your politic? Which definition applies to you?
• In you work and life, who do you serve?
• Public welfare. Jesus came so we may have life and have it to the full.
  Are you living it? Are you giving it?
• How do you see this word when you look at our presidential candidates? 

What would you think if I showed you some burdensome, heavy, rough and awkward object of torture and pain, told you to carry said object up a hill where I would then attach you to it in the most painful of manner so I could watch you die a slow and humiliating death? Would you carry it? You know someone’s done this before and he said all of us must do the same… at least, if we’re going to follow him.

Being Christ’s disciple includes carrying your own cross.

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.  {Luke 9:23-24}

I’ve never made the common mistake of assuming everything in my life (now that I believe in Christ) will be easy. From the start, I’ve gathered there are some elements to the Christian life involving difficulty or trial (ah, the catchall word = “trial”). My understanding of these trials, however, has lacked a connection with the sufferings of Jesus. Having lived thirty years in anonymity without constant fear or threat to his life (as far as we know), Jesus stepped out from this ordinary existence into the extraordinary, revolutionary, and missional lifestyle of his final three years. You can believe (look at the Gospels, near the end) it wasn’t all roses, talk show gigs, and conference-speaking engagements. Jesus laid down his life for all who would come and find the gift worth having (and even those who would refuse it). Doing so included even the daunting task of carrying his own instrument of execution. Being Jesus killed Jesus. What do you think happens to his followers?

Here is the truth. Living the alternative life Christ makes available under his management of reality will inevitably put us in the way of danger. I’ve always known this. But I’ve also always minimized it. Minimalism is a veiled form of denial. It causes me to say things like, God would never want me to live there because it’s unsafe - or - nothing bad will happen to me because I am doing God’s work when in reality it may be God’s intention (or concession) to reveal his powerful love through me in an unsafe place or cultivate deep-rooted, effectual change in my heart and soul through some bad stuff.

There are many Christ-followers who have come before us and found their life not only in ethereal experiences of beauty (conversion, baptism, indwelling of the Spirit, Jason Upton concert) but also in the ugly, unwanted hurts (death, loss, sickness, persecution, betrayal, mugging). Some who have suffered include Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Abraham Bentar, The Apostle Paul, Mother Theresa and many more around the world who live in the places where people do what they must without the luxury of doing as they please. Come to think of it, this may be why so much of what we call Christianity here in the West is shallow and uninspiring - we have removed Christ from his sufferings - made him a consultant, given him a desk and a Bluetooth, and done our best to fit his life into ours.

Self-preservation tactics are, in essence, selfishness. These people (and many others like them) chose to suffer and live with danger to eternally etch the name of Christ onto the hard concrete of their world. We also, must be willing to take up and carry with courage the things that could kill us. Just as Christ’s life, mission, and meaning were leveraged for all time on a cross - our ministry will be made real and far-reaching when we are willing to die to make it so - and even help bear the load.

• Do certain dangers deter you from the thing God is moving you to do right now?
• Is there a limit to the suffering you will endure for the Gospel - for Jesus?
• What burden do you carry today? Can you see a way for it to bring redemption to someone else?
• Will you join me in repenting of choosing comfort over justice and love and asking God to do His will regardless of what happens to us?
  (We are all falling short of Christ’s selfless sacrifice here.)

Still looking at Luke 9 where Jesus calls people to come and follow Him into an alternative life. Knowing His purpose and why He came and joined humanity - redemption of humanity - our first steps as disciples of Jesus will include learning to say “no” to the hunger pangs of our bodies and hearts in order to say “yes” to the desires of God’s heart which will make our soul thrive.

Being His disciple involves denying yourself.

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves…
(v. 23)

Everyday we, the followers of Jesus and even those who care nothing for Christ, will come up to the borders of life with the choice to serve ourselves or to serve others. You really can’t do both. Though, the illusion of doing so is quite popular and we’ve all mastered it. Yet, we all really know the motivations and tendencies of our own hearts. Do I really care about this person?

You should notice I didn’t add a third category. There is no such trichotomy: serve yourself, serve others, or serve God. Serving others is impossible without God. Every cause, every act of charity or philanthropy, every good deed will carry with it a self-address stamped invitation to return the favor - either by providing good publiciity/reputation, gratitude, accolades. It’s easy to help people who obviously need the help. It is the person I’ve considered my enemy who will by no means give anything in return but still needs nothing more than my mercy whom I must serve.

This is self-denial: love someone who doesn’t care a thing about you.

Here is where we find Christ and His story. While not many of us could say we hate Him (or hated), none could deny we cared very little for Jesus. But at this time, while our hearts were indifferent and distant from God, He denied himself of His glory and power to bring us near to Him.

Therefore, His disciples must follow and do the same.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. John 15:12-14

Remember those “No Fear” T-shirts, bumper stickers, and decals everyone used to display so proudly back in the ’90s.  I do.  Being a bit of a typography nut, I was always a little annoyed by the jagged edges and this-is-a-good-name-for-an-energy-drink design of the No Fear mantra.  Design tastes aside, the logo/message was clear and menacing.  If I held any preconceived notions of fearfulness about the driver of that enormous, heavy-duty pickup truck speeding past me on a country road, the No Fear decal on the rear window would set me straight:

“This guy’s not afraid of anything!  In fact, I should probably be afraid of him.  I wonder if he goes to the gym?  Of course he does!  And his bench press must be somewhere in the don’t-mess-with-me range.  Wow.  I wish I was him.  Then, maybe I wouldn’t be so afraid.”

Honestly, many of the people toting a No Fear emblem are/were likely to be very strong and fearless.  At least, fearless of most things.  Yet, everyone has something they’re afraid of.  Even the bear-wrestling types can find fear in the smallest things.  I, for one, cannot stand insects.  Seriously, leave me alone in a room with a bunch of badgers and I’ll fight them off with gusto - let one stinging insect (or even one that just looks kinda mean) near me and I’ll freak! (For anyone who shares my feelings for insects, you should seriously watch this video - and proceed to cry.)

Many of the fears we hold are irrational fears - meaning, our intense fear is out of proportion with the actual danger of the thing we fear.  Most fears are really expressions of the greater fear we all have - fear of death.  When I think about insects, my fear is not necessarily being stung (though it hurts).  My fear is being stung enough times to kill me!  The same is likely true of most of your fears.  This fear of death can become the dictator of our entire life if we’ll allow it.  I’ve known individuals so fearful of hurt they cannot speak or connect with other people in anyway.  Often, abuses or tragedy in a person’s life can create an unshakeable fear of this kind.

So, are we meant to remain paralyzed and contained by our fears - the fear of death?  No. While all humanity is prone to fear death at every turn and possibility, Jesus came and lives to set people free from fear.  How does He do it?  By facing what we all fear most - head on.

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.  Hebrews 2:14-15

His incarnation - that is, joining humanity - made it possible for Christ to die a human death.  He faced the same fear of death you and I face everyday.  Then, Jesus did it.  He died a gruesome and dishonorable death.  Fear loses its strength, however, in the next scene.  Jesus is resurrected.  His fearless submission to an unwarranted death at the hands of fearful humanity is given power when He comes back to life.

Jesus invites us to share in this death so we can also share in His resurrection and life - conquering the fear of death - even death by insects!

• What are you afraid of?
• Is your fear irrational?
• Do you fear death?
• Have you asked Jesus to release you from fear?
• “Perfect love drives out fear…” Does your love overcome your fears?

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Genesis 1:1-2

Hovering.  Wow.  Can you imagine the Spirit of God hovering?  I always try to imagine it when I listen to this song, but I’m sure I don’t do it justice in my mind.  When God set out to create the earth, He started with something formless and empty and this is very much how He finds us.  Then, just as in the beginning, the Lord of all creation speaks and light enters our life.  He speaks again, and the sky over our heads is formed.  Once more - water and dry land.

The creativity of God is really quite amazing.  Everyday, the Lord undertakes the task of forming and speaking life into our formless and empty hearts.  As the earth came alive, our hearts begin to beat again with love.  God is still creating.  God is still speaking light into the world.

God created… God creates.

• How do you identify with the Creation story?
• Is this just as real in your life or have you yet to begin formation in Christ?
• Empty.  Would that describe you?
• Light.  How has God brought light into you?

Yesterday I found this gallery by Jack Radcliffe on Behance Network. The images are selections from photos of his daughter Alison he’s taken over the past 25 years. Take a moment and scroll through the pictures. They’re very well done. As you watch Alison through the years and kind of hear the story being told through these shots you’re likely to find a life of ups, downs, joy, and anguish. Alison has not led a simple, carefree life. Even in her smile you see a grimace of pain and over the span of three or four poses she passes from naive innocence to what I can only describe as the sharp edge of life. She has certainly not taken the safe and popular route, but you can also deduce that she has yet to find what she’s looking for. Her journey is still a very young one, spotted and distressed, but very beautiful. What reaches me most about these photos and the story they tell is how the photographer, Alison’s father, couldn’t help but capture the inner beauty he saw in his daughter. As she stood there with thick mascara, cigarette-in-mouth, with what looks like a boyfriend, he had to long for his little girl. Yet, he couldn’t help himself. In his eyes, she was just as beautiful as ever - and worthy to be captured on film.

As Ruth and I prepare for the arrival of our daughter Addison, I’ve been reflecting on my expectations for her. Little Addi will be a joy to me. I already know that. What I’m not so sure of is how I’ll handle all the growing up she’s planning on doing. While I know she will make me so proud, I also realize that she’ll make mistakes, she’ll fall in love a few hundred times, she’ll fall on her face and look up to me with tears in her eyes, which will then bring tears to my eyes. I can’t deny these things, they’re inevitable. But my prayer is that, as a father, I would be like Jack the photographer who, in my opinion, revealed something of the character of God as he photographed Alison over 25 years. He values her - regardless of the dress she’s wearing. Just as God continues to lavish His love upon us though we rarely return the favor so equitably, Addison will know her father as the one that always loves, always offers his hand, and always finds joy in his daughter.

Last night (Christmas Night), we (me, Ruth, Sam, and Alex) were hungry. Not wanting to cook we ventured out on a little adventure… to Waffle House. Yes, you heard right. We went to Waffle House for Christmas dinner - and it was GREAT! Over double-waffles, hash browns and eggs we enjoyed each other’s company and hopefully made this Christmas a little brighter for someone. You see, our server was just two hours into her 12-hour shift that would keep her behind the counter until 6:00 this morning. Her eyes were red and heavy (she also worked the same hours on Christmas Eve) and though she did everything she could to remain cheery and cordial, you could tell she wished she was somewhere else - maybe with her two kids who she told us all about. We asked her how her Christmas was going so far and she said it was “fine” and that she’d be opening presents with her kids on the day after Christmas since they are with “their dad” right now. She said she was heading to the stores the day after Christmas to buy presents because of all the after-Christmas sales. Something told me that she wouldn’t be able to give the kids very much this year and you could tell that Billie Jean was just having a hard year. Her coworkers seemed to look down their nose at her and seemed to treat her like a child - this was very strange. Well, you get the picture. We knew why we came to Waffle House that night. Samuel was on his game like any other day charming everyone that walked in the door the server said we could bring him back anytime. We left her a great tip (everything I had in my wallet - yes, there was money in my wallet!) and hopefully, we see her again at the ole Casa de Waffle in the future. Glad we went!

Jesus, we pray for our server and ask that you would be the Light of this season for her. May she and her family be blessed and may this year be a good one for her. May you, Christ, be the Centerpiece to a beautiful feast in her home next Christmas.

Today, I listened to a podcast from Emergent Village featuring Scot McKnight called “The Whole Gospel” (click here to download). Scot is coming to my seminary next month to speak at our Theological Summit and also to do few additional lectures. The main thrust of the podcast is that we must treat the Gospel as more than a series of propositions - more than just a listing of truth but a meaningful revolution of hope through Christ. McKnight points out the hunger of our current and upcoming generations to find out if the Gospel really works - that the world is looking to see if Christ really does transform individuals, families, and communities. They are looking for the image of Christ in the people that bear His name - Christian. McKnight went on in the podcast to liken the Gospel to music: To the average person, the lines, notation, and symbols of a sheet of music have little meaning - they are an abstract and even irrelevant noise. It is not until a skilled musician takes the sheet of music and performs the piece that it has any real connection with anyone - but at this point, it’s value is made known and the hearer can understand how all of those lines and notes really work. Listen to the lyrics of The Rocket Summer’s song “So Much Love”…

You got so much love in you
You got so much love in you
I’m amazed that I’m talkin’ to you
You look like the songs that I’ve heard my whole life coming true

For many people, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is like an old song - like one of those songs we played in a piano recital. We worked so hard to remember all of those notes and nuances so we could perform flawlessly at the recital - years later, we probably couldn’t recall more than a couple measures. This shouldn’t be, according to McKnight. The Gospel is meant to be seen and heard and felt and experienced and documented and remembered everyday. The Gospel is found not in a policy, or ideology, or proposition - but in a man, Jesus. Christ is the the coming true of all of those songs. In Him, we see the Gospel in the flesh - and His followers (you and me) are called to carry on this performance - the song isn’t over.

I also recently saw a music video for Sara Groves‘ newest song, “I Saw What I Saw”. The video includes footage from her trip to Rwanda where she met people who have suffered such hardship and injustice only to respond with such grace and love. The final line of the song goes like this…

Your courage asks me what I’m afraid of…
And what I know of love…
And what I know of God

This is the Gospel - people that are fearless in their love just as Christ is fearless.

Father, I pray that you would release me from all fear - especially the fear that stops me from extending Christ to others. May I learn to love people that have nothing to give back to me - and even those for which loving may cost me everything.

Here’s the video I’m talking about…