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Thursday, 01 January 2009
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Old Thoughts for a New Year
Old Thoughts for a New Year
Some days I do think that Biblical teachings may still remain in our schools. Remember in grade school on the first day of class, we went over the rules? Now, for me, they were pretty much the same rules in different words each year. Perhaps my elementary experience was different from most, but I don’t think so. Here are some things that I learned long ago (and would do well to put into practice).
Share – This one dates back to preschool. It is the concept that it is kind and proper to share my toys and even my food in some cases. What would the world look like if started sharing what we’ve been given instead of hoarding gifts as if we would never get another?
Include – I have heard of several classrooms in which the students may not hand out invitations at school unless everyone is invited. Jesus teaches us how to throw a party and whom to invite. Check out those four gospels, you might be surprised by what you find.
Take care of yourself – There are two tones in which this rule may be presented: #1 Basic hygiene and self care (wash your hands, eat healthy food, get exercise, etc.) #2 refers to responsibilities. Get your work done. Also, do not tattle. In other words, remove the plank from your own eye before taking the speck from your brother’s (Matt. 7:5, Luke 6:42). And let he who has no sin cast the first stone (John 8:7).
Respect authority – This is none other than the 4th commandment. A school cannot function if students do not do what they are told, trusting that their leaders and caretakers are acting wisely and above manipulation.
Be nice – “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all” Hitting and name-calling are not allowed. (Ephesians 4:29)
I guess we could really sum it all into one rule, the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Sounds an awful lot like what Jesus said about loving our neighbors.
So, why is it that we seem to have forgotten or perhaps forsaken some things that used to be so important? If we value progress and education so much, why do we belittle what we are taught in school?
We say that math is not important. Really? Because Freddie and Fannie and several other debtors are wishing they had paid more attention in math. I know I do. Or maybe they are not, because the consequences have been removed from them by the government.
Eh, don’t worry about English. You already know how to speak it. Seriously? Stop and listen to someone sometime. We are constantly ending sentences with prepositions, using double negatives and not adding “–ly” to our adverbs. Every time I use Word I am amazed at how many green squiggly lines are under my writing. How confusing to some one trying to learn our language. No wonder we think English is so hard! We can’t understand the old writings, like government documents and foundational church teachings. So, we say those aren’t important either.
Neglect of science may have more extreme consequences later on, but right now it manifests itself in our ignorance that allows immorality and hatred. Controversies on issues such as abortion, stem cell research, origin of homosexuality, drug abuse on the body, obesity, racism, cloning – these should not be as hard as they are to understand and we should not be as uninformed as we are. Maybe if we understood biology a little better, we wouldn’t force our young women to be vaccinated for sexually transmitted diseases with vaccines that have had horrible, maybe deadly side effects. If you don’t believe me, research Gardisil.
History, now there is one that is catching up to us! For years and years we have griped about how unimportant the study of history is. Students whine, “I don’t care what happened hundreds of years ago to people I don’t know. I just care about now and what’s going to happen in the future.” Big mistake. If only we knew where we came from, if we understood the history of our nation, our world, our faith; then corruption in politics and the corporate church would have been stopped in their tracks. Now we are so far into this tangled web that we see no way out. We think we have no hope. Too bad we never listened in school when we were being taught about revolution, reform, economics and government structure.
Art, music, and foreign language are now nothing but electives. These aren’t important, but if you have a rare talent and the time to waste, have at it! How wrong. The beauty and culture of these arts has become an under-encouraged option. We push aside these essential arts so that we can spend time studying things we should have already learned in order to pass standardized tests for the glory of our school and country. Imagine your world without art, without your iPod, movies with no music, people without words to speak.
May we make a fresh start and return to the time-tested ways of life or create ways that are truly better in 2009.
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
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Love Shines Through the Mess
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
John 15:9-12
Jesus summarized all of the laws God had given to His people in two simple statements. He said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:34-40). So often we complicate our lives and our faith by adding on rules for living. We start arguments over “shoulds and should nots”. We waste our time debating intricate points of doctrine instead of sharing the precious and simple message of the gospel. If we are loving God and our neighbors, we don’t need any other rules. We won’t want to take anything from our neighbor—not his life, not his spouse, not his reputation, not anything that he owns. If we are loving God we won’t want to follow anyone or anything else. Any time we are not sure whether we should do something or not, ask the question, “Would someone who truly loves God and neighbor do this?” Some times its hard to answer that question. We need an example. Good news! We have one! Jesus set an example for us by His life as fully God and fully man. We are never without a role model for following God, because God is love.
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
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Currently Reading
Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV
By International Bible Society, Zondervan
see relatedWho's the Boss?
Exodus 3:6 - Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.Psalm 24:6 – “Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.”
Most often, when I hear the phrase “God of Jacob”, or any other reference to the great patriarch, my presupposition is just that - this man was a great patriarch. Well, after taking a course on the Old Testament, I realized a lot of new things about the life of Jacob. Starting out with his birth, when he grabbed the ankle of his firstborn twin brother, to later when he tricked Esau out of his birth right, Jacob was a schemer. Even once Jacob was married and had several children and was being blessed by God with prosperity; Jacob still liked to conspire. He and his uncle Laban had various rounds of deception throughout their time together. One of these times in particular got me thinking. In staff devotions this week, we looked at Genesis 30:25-43. At this point in Jacob’s life, he had been working for his Uncle Laban for several years. He has many sons already (this is right after Joseph’s birth) and he is ready to move away with his wife and children to start building up his own estate. So, Jacob talks to Laban and Laban asks that Jacob stay with him. The compromise concludes with Jacob and his family staying on Laban’s land, but Jacob can start building up his own flocks. In order to keep the flocks separate, Jacob makes this proposal: all of the pure and spotless lambs, those will be Laban’s, but those that are speckled or spotted or dark colored, those will be Jacob’s wages. Laban agrees to this, thinking he has the better deal – the pure spotless white lambs are worth much more than the others. However, Jacob does some strategic breeding and ends up with a lot of strong lambs that are speckled, spotted, or of dark color. Laban’s lambs are pure, but weak. Now the interesting thing about this is not so much the ends, but the means. The end result was that Jacob was prosperous and blessed by God. That is what God had already planned and promised to Jacob. How it came about is another story…
Okay, so in order to get the strong lambs from his uncle’s flocks, Jacob cuts stripes on branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. Then he places them at the drinking and mating areas of the strong lambs and not where the weak lambs drink and mate. I don’t really know how this could possibly be an effective way to breed animals. However, it was a superstition of the culture in that time, and that is the point I want to emphasize. Jacob acted according to superstition – and it worked! Or did it?
Another story about Jacob about which I used to have the wrong idea, is when he wrestled with God. At the end of the wrestling match, it appeared that Jacob had won, and he forced God to bless him before he would let God go! Now, everything I know about God tells me that He cannot be stopped by the strength of a man. This story is used as an example for a lesson on praying. Sometimes we wrestle a long time, seemingly with God, before getting an answer to a prayer. However, we are really wrestling ourselves. Once we have exhausted all of our own options, we are willing to let God do His will. I think that in the same way that God “let Jacob win” when they were wrestling (for lack of better terms), God also let Jacob think that he was fooling Laban and breeding strong sheep for himself. I think God let Jacob, the schemer, be distracted by his silly superstition and his own schemes so that He could do his will without the resistance that Jacob may have otherwise offered.
The reason I like this idea so much is because I can see it in my own life. I guess I would consider myself to be a schemer, or at least a planner. I often will go out looking for something that I will either get frustrated with when I can’t reach it, or have the wrong mindset about once I obtain it. Lately, I have seen that the best decisions I have made and most fruitful endeavors I have been a part of, have happened without me seeking out participation or answers. The first big leap of faith that is the most memorable to me is the decision to give up the dream of going to school at Seward to become a teacher and replacing that with a new dream and vocational training that I knew very little about. I didn’t seek out the deaconess vocation, it came to me while I was knocking on other doors (namely those of Dr. Rebecca Fisher and Thad Warren, or the programs of Lutheran education, DCE, or DCO). Some else took what they knew about me and my skills and interests and said, “hey Jennifer, check this out.” At this time (after the wrestling match!), I was at the mindset of realizing that something needed to change. The deaconess thing sounded great when I had no other options! But if I had been successful at everything I tried at Concordia Seward and completely content with how my life there was going, there is no way I would have even considered transferring after my freshman year to go to Chicago! But I literally remember this conversation in my head after determining that I wanted to be a deaconess – “River Forest has the only undergraduate deaconess program? (very brief pause) Okay! Let’s go!” and that was it. It was very uncharacteristic of me.
All of the activities that have been involved in and the friends that I have made at CUC, for the most part, were not specifically sought out by me. Sometimes I feel like I am doing so much that I never planned on doing, and yet, I feel like I am more myself. And by “myself”, I think I mean who God made me to be. I feel like God has had to distract me with a busy lifestyle in order for me to stop pestering him about what comes next. And by being so busy, I am getting so much accomplished! I am also enjoying living in the present much more than I used to.
*Warning: This is a bit of a tangent* Did you ever have braces? Did you ever get the glow-in-the-dark bands on them? Well, I did. And I found it really frustrating when everyone else could see them, but I couldn’t. After charging them up (smiling into a flashlight), I would ask another person if they could see the bands glowing. If they could, I would dash over to the nearest mirror, but the glow would not be there. But the friend would insist that they were still glowing! I was told that this is because mirrors reflect any light that hits them, so the background of the mirror is not ever completely dark. Glow-in-the-dark braces don’t glow if its not dark. Sometimes I think that we are (at least I am) like that. Unless I am in complete darkness, I won’t recognize the amazing light that is right under my nose. This might provide an insight of some sort into theodicy (the question of suffering) and the issue of depression. If that is the best way to get our focus on the right things, then God will allow the suffering or depression. Plus, it’s kind of a win-win situation. Not only does God finally get our attention, but He also lets Satan believe that he has a hold on one of God’s own. Only to have his dreams of total domination shattered right before his eyes as God pierces the darkness.
As far as the distraction goes, I don’t think that this is how God works with everyone. We are all created uniquely, and our Maker knows that. And so He deals with us individually. So, He may not have to distract you, just like He didn’t have to distract Abraham in order for his faith to be established. But Jacob, the schemer and sinner extraordinaire, needed some distraction in order to get the job done faithfully. So, when I think God being Jacob’s God too and consider the life of this patriarch, I see love, mercy, and grace in abundance.
Friday, 28 December 2007
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Currently Reading
The Cost of Discipleship
By Dietrich Bonhoeffer
see relatedBrother's Keeper
When I spend time with large quantities of family someone is continually looking for someone else. They will ask “where is your brother?” or “does your husband want another cup of coffee before I clean out the pot?” Then there is the inevitable punch line of “I’m not my brother’s keeper!” This catch phrase got me thinking, sure that is a witty and legitimate answer when cleaning up the kitchen or setting up a board game, but in the broader scope is this a good answer? To ponder this I had to go back to the origination of the phrase. The first recorded utterance of the phrase comes from the story of Cain and Abel, the first brothers. Cain kills his brother Abel out of jealousy and then when God asks Cain where his brother is, Cain replies that he is not responsible for his brother. But doesn’t God basically tell Cain that that is not a good answer? Perhaps Cain’s responsibility for his brother in general is not the issue at hand; perhaps I am shifting the focus off of the greater problem, murder and a deceitfully disrespectful answer to our righteous God. However, I would like to offer the suggestion that we pursue this underlying subject of our responsibility to our brother, or in the modern case, our neighbor.
Micah 6:8 points out that what God requires from us in our life is to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. I was told in an Old Testament course that this, along with Deuteronomy 6:4-5 is the basis of the faith of the Hebrews. They also had a strong devotion to caring for their widows and orphans. James has a lot to say about this in the first chapter [of the New Testament book of James]. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word, but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like (James 1:22-24).” I humbly suggest that we as Christians have lost the incentive to carry out this responsibility to our neighbor in the name of the principle of grace and abundant life. As Paul points out, (Romans 6:1-2 –“Should we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”), grace presents a tricky concept for us sinners when we try to apply this gift to the way that we live our life. Our sinful flesh has a hard time grasping the freedom from sin and guilt while being motivated to live a wholesome life. In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonheoffer reminds us that following Christ should change our life. There will be outward signs of our salvation. And why shouldn’t there be? When we reconcile a relationship between two people, our behavior changes. So, when we have been reconciled to God, should there not also be a change in how we behave? Bonhoeffer also mentions what he calls a “fatal double standard” in the church today. I would say that much of our apathy toward our neighbor could be attributed to this. Somewhere along the line of history (Bonhoeffer suggests that this came with the establishment of monasticism) the church has separated those who devote their lives to serving God with their entire lives from the rest of us common laity. Today we use this set up as an excuse to shirk our responsibilities and talk ourselves out of acting upon our Christian convictions. If I am a member of an organized church and/or give 10% of my earnings to the church or to a charity organization, then I am doing my part and am now free to go on with the rest of my life as I have planned it. I can let the missionaries and pastors and Christian school teachers reach the nations with the Word of God and teach the children our faith. After all, that’s their job isn’t it?
Now, in a sense, (because after all we aren’t made of money), we are offering God less than 10% of ourselves when He has asked us for 100%. Who would accept that? No one I know would be satisfied with that kind of devotion. So why do we expect our just and righteous God to be satisfied, even pleased with us for this? Furthermore, we become angry (out of jealousy) with those who are meeting the standards God has set up for our lives as his followers. We are now in the exact same situation as Cain (well, except for the murder thing, at least directly). We offer God much much less than he has asked for and then we expect to be rewarded. Then we look with resentment and anger upon our brother or neighbor, saying that they are showing us up by meeting the standards that God established for us. The standards are within our reach. For God does not test us beyond what we can bear (Corinthians 10:13) nor does he ask of us what we cannot give. He does not need our offerings and he doesn’t want our money IF we are not giving it for the right reasons. God is looking at our hearts, not our hands (Proverbs 4:23, 17:3, 21:2). However, our actions should reflect our heart. And our hearts should reflect Christ. It’s time to look at what that means and how we can start acting more and more like Christ (“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” – 2 Corinthians 3:18) What a blessing that Christ actually lived as a human and set a truly Godly example with his life. Christ spoke forgiveness, treated the sick, befriended the poor and lonely, and educated the people on how to live better lives and have confidence in God’s provision for their salvation. Are we doing this? We should be, but I daresay we are not. Or at least not to the degree at which we should be. What do you say, should we live what we profess from the church pew and go in peace and serve the Lord?
Sunday, 21 October 2007
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God's Provision and Care
Deuteronomy 32
3 I will proclaim the name of the LORD.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.5 They have acted corruptly toward him;
to their shame they are no longer his children,
but a warped and crooked generation. [a]6 Is this the way you repay the LORD,
O foolish and unwise people?
Is he not your Father, your Creator, [b]
who made you and formed you?7 Remember the days of old;
consider the generations long past.
Ask your father and he will tell you,
your elders, and they will explain to you.8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
when he divided all mankind,
he set up boundaries for the peoples
according to the number of the sons of Israel. [c]9 For the LORD's portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted inheritance.10 In a desert land he found him,
in a barren and howling waste.
He shielded him and cared for him;
he guarded him as the apple of his eye,11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,
that spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them on its pinions.12 The LORD alone led him;
no foreign god was with him.13 He made him ride on the heights of the land
and fed him with the fruit of the fields.
He nourished him with honey from the rock,
and with oil from the flinty crag,14 with curds and milk from herd and flock
and with fattened lambs and goats,
with choice rams of Bashan
and the finest kernels of wheat.
You drank the foaming blood of the grape.15 Jeshurun [d] grew fat and kicked;
filled with food, he became heavy and sleek.
He abandoned the God who made him
and rejected the Rock his Savior.The Israelites were given all they needed – they never had to worry about providing for themselves. God placed the manna on the ground for them and told them to pick it up and eat it. They didn’t even need to think about it – they just instinctively ate to survive. Then God led them into the Promised Land. They didn’t have a map. They didn’t have an ETA, no travel itinerary. God led them.
God is providing for me every day. I don’t have to worry about meeting my own needs. I’m still in the desert, but God is providing for my every need. Not all of my desires are met right now, but that is because it is not yet time. The Israelites wanted a stable home of their own, independent from foreign rule and oppression. However, God knew that they needed to learn to be dependent on Him first so that they would not grow spiritually fat and stagnant in the bountiful land he had prepared for them.
I also need to depend on God so that when he gives me what I ask for, I will not put all my love and trust into the blessing itself. The blessing itself cannot be perfect, because it is given in this sinful world which distorts all good things that God gives us.
Lord, may I not grow impatient and try to create my own good things or idolize the blessings you have given to me. May I not extend my time waiting in the desert by my own stubbornness, but fully rely on You who will completely provide and care for me. Amen.
jennlynne06
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- Name: jennifer
- Birthday: 11/24/1987
- Gender: Female
- Member Since: 8/21/2005
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About Me
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This is blog is not really about me anymore. It is bits and pieces that I feel like sharing from my spiritual journey. So, in a way it is more about God. Check out his autobiography.
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