“I was blind but now I see.” I just got my first official pair of glasses in the mail yesterday.  I quickly opened the package to reveal my new set of eyes.  The first pair of glasses that I opened were brown, and I was confused at first because I specifically didn’t want brown glasses.  However, those were my wife’s pair and underneath that pair was another.  As I opened my case I had a sense of excitement and mystery as my 28 years of seeing the world in one way was about to come to an end.  I picked up my black “church planting glasses,” as my wife calls them, and put them over my eyes and was immediately floored by the results.  The world looked so much different, so clear, so precise. I was ecstatic to take a walk with Toby that night and look at the fine details on the neighboring houses, read the street signs, and admire God’s creation in a way that I haven’t since I got my Five Fingers.

As I walked I couldn’t help but wonder how long I had thought the world looked one way when it really looked another.  I didn’t think I needed new lenses in which to properly see the world, but apparently I did.  See, things started getting a little fuzzy in my right eye a couple years back.  I admit, I’m not a person that frequents doctor or hospital visits of any kind, unless of course my arm is falling off or if I accidentally stab myself with a knife (true story for another time).  However, I finally gave in to my wife’s request and went to see an eye doctor.  He confirmed that my right eye was in need of a new lens.  Even though I agreed with him, I wasn’t convinced that a new lens would make much difference.  I was wrong.

Worldview.  C.S.Lewis famously stated, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” I have an entirely new respect for this quote and the many others pertaining to the concept of our worldview being seen through new and different lenses.  We’re all jaded a bit.  Whether at times it’s from our nature or nurturing process can be debated, but there’s no question that you and I see the world in a specific way for specific reasons.  If everyone is at some level trying to answer the question of, “why are we here / for what purpose?” we shouldn’t be shocked that we come up with varying answers having grown up differently and having had different experiences. This is why C.S.Lewis’ quote is even more forthright and powerful.  Lewis knows that differing options on life’s most important questions is frustrating, and he is proclaiming that it is through Christianity, the lens of Scripture, that he will choose to view the world and the totality of creation.

When I place the new lenses of my black church planter glasses over my eyes I’m able to see the world differently.  Much the same, the more I study and interact with Scripture I’m able to see the world in a new way.  Many will fight the fact that they require a new lens, mostly because we believe that our way of viewing the world is better than Gods.  It will take humility to ask for a new pair, but we have a Savior ready to bestow them upon us if we are willing. I’m thankful for this daily physical reminder that should help me to recall that, “In the total expanse of human life there is not a single square inch of which the Christ, who alone is sovereign,does not declare,’That is mine!’” (A.Kuyper)

A Genuine Disciple…Has a Scripture Lens

Each Saturday my friend Wile E. Coyote and I would gather at my house and go through our routine.  Wile would run after a certain bird called the Road Runner.  We hated that dumb thing. Wile tried everything imaginable to capture him.  Physically exhausting and mentally draining activities went into our one goal, to kill the Road Runner.  Wile spent his entire life chasing that Road Runner, while I got over it after a couple years.  It was a futile cause, it’s as if God himself wanted the Road Runner to stay alive.  I’m still not sure how Wile stayed alive after falling off large cliffs, being crushed by numerous anvils, getting run over by a train, and even getting hit by a plane.  I’m sure it’s all real, since TV never lies, so consider me confused.

“Insanity:  doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”  This quote is attributed to Albert Einstein, however I question that his name wasn’t just later attached to this saying.  However, I wholeheartedly agree with this definition.  How many times do we find ourselves doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results? I do it all the time, and it drives me crazy when I finally come to realize that I’m doing it.  You know how many times I’ve tilled a strip in our backyard without putting new grass down and watering it properly?  Three, that’s how many.  You know how many times weeds have grown back in that dirt?  Three, that’s how many.  Stupid…Insane.  I’ve been wanting to lose 20lbs now for over a year, but have done absolutely nothing about it.  I just keep carrying on and hoping that one day I’ll wake up and it will have happened.  Stupid…Insane.

In Matthew 3, John the Baptist comes with a message of repentance.  A similar message that we see Jesus continue in Matthew 4.  Repentance, I’m sure most of us associate it with phrases like, “turning over,” “changing directions,” dying to self,” but today I want to view it as “anti-insanity.”  John the Baptist and Jesus are well aware that the kingdom has come near, and in light of God’s purposes being fulfilled in Jesus, people are being called to come to him and change the way in which they live (see Sermon on the Mount Matt 5-7).  People are living mostly for themselves, and obviously this hasn’t changed much over the past 2,000 years.  However, throughout history it’s clear that living in rhythm with God’s design for creation has heeded great results, while living out of that rhythm has only caused brokenness.  I find it darkly humorous when I read articles proclaiming that we need to trust in humanity more and that mankind holds the answers.  Humanity holds no answers without God’s wisdom/action.

“For things to change someone somewhere has to start acting differently.”  The world keeps doing the same things and expecting different results.  The church and scholarly institutions keep doing the same things and expecting different results.  I keep doing the same things and expecting different results.  We’re all insane and in great need of learning the art of repentance.  I believe this is why John and Jesus come with this message at the forefront.  In order to actually accept the grace that we have been given, in order to actually be capable of living differently, we must acknowledge that the things we have thought and the ways that we have lived are insane.  Humanity does not hold the answers, but in fact Jesus and His kingdom do.  Repentance than is anti-insanity, it is a continual process of redirecting the heart and mind to the purposes of our King. Like Wile we’ll probably find ourselves running back off the same cliffs, dropping anvils on our enemies, and possibly getting hit by a plane now and again.  However, we’ve been given a new avenue to go down.  We’ve been given insights into the foundations of creation.  We don’t have to continue pursuing the Road Runners in our lives, whatever they may be.  Now the question remains whether we’ll choose insanity or will we learn the art of repentance?

A Genuine Disciple…Learns Repentance

Have you ever purchased a lotto ticket?  Its been awhile since I have but I do recall buying a couple back in the day (whatever “the day” means for a 28 year old).  It can be somewhat of an adrenaline rush, at least for those of us who don’t do it very often.  By the way, I always found it interesting that so many people would only buy a ticket when the amount got across a certain threshold.  As if 20 million just wouldn’t be enough to make it worth your time.  Nope, I’ll hold out for that 120 million thank you very much!  Anyway, I’m not even sure if I actually checked my numbers the following day or not, so I could be one of those idiots that hasn’t claimed his fortune…we’ll never know.

Follow your heart.  The purchase of lotto tickets is just one reason why most of us shouldn’t follow our hearts.  The chances of you winning are so terrible that if you’re currently purchasing them…I encourage you to stop.  While most of the people I know look at purchasing lotto tickets as ridiculous and irresponsible, I’m pretty sure we could each pick apart one another’s lives and find areas where we make irresponsible decisions.  Many of these decisions are made because we followed our hearts.

I really enjoyed Larry’s message last sunday on “being thoughtful.” If you read my blog often you’ll note that I use this word rather liberally and I’m glad to see that it made its way into a sermon title.  Larry states:  “God wants us to love Him with our minds, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  So that we live His story, so that we know the fullness of His story and how we are to live out our place in that story, so that when hard times come we keep living it out rather than being overtaken completely by our emotions.” Tim Keller says that its kind of like an operation.  You believe the doctor when he tells you that there is nothing to worry about within the procedure.  You believe him that it is a routine surgery.  You believe that he is an expert in his field.  However, when you finally get into the room and see the knives and he begins making the incision, will you believe then?  Should you make a decision in that moment out of your head or heart? Our emotions can get the best of us and cause us to make some poor choices.  When we make decisions out of our own emotions without considering what God’s will/desires are, we live out of the wrong story.  We need to live out of a renewing mind.  One that is constantly being renewed with God’s Word, meditation, and discussion/life/discernment within His community.

If I’m down on my luck and need some money, buying a lotto ticket is a decision that has been created by following my heart or some might say emotions.  There is little logic to it, and I’m just throwing away the money I currently possess.  Maybe if we were a little more thoughtful, we’d make wiser decisions that would lead to life. Maybe we’d be able to remember the truths within the story that we live out of when difficult times come our way; When the doctor is about to make his incision.  The recognition, reverence, and fear of God is the root of wisdom and the beginning of knowledge.  The more our minds are renewed by this truth, the more we find ourselves captured in His story.

A Genuine Disciple…Renews their mind

I spent the morning at a local diner with a good friend of mine.  I’ve only known him for a little over 6 months, but it’s one of those friendships where now that they’re in your life you can’t imagine life without them.  We’ve been meeting every 2-3 weeks lately to discuss how we, as kingdom people, are to engage various areas of God’s good but fallen world.  Topics range from social media and communication to how we engage our workplaces.  Today, we discussed the area of food.

I’m always amazed by the different passions that God has given each of us.  My friend is a Hebrew Sensei, and his love for the Text has led him into a thoughtful look into the world of agriculture, ethical treatment and handling of our food sources, and sustainability in general.  He claims that unthoughtful consumption of food is engrained in our society.  We’ve created a society where most of us can flee even the possibility of having to be thoughtful about the food we purchase.  There is countless data from books and various scientific sources that will back up his claims.  In fact, we really don’t need these sources, but just to stop and really consider for a moment what we eat and where it comes from.  Also, we need to make sure our kingdom lenses don’t have any scratches in them before looking at this subject.  We must be open to God’s Word speaking to us concerning the issue of stewardship of His creation.  If you’re like me sometimes I find myself saying, “Another thing I need to engage, can’t I just be, continue on, eat, etc?!”  Fortunately for us, God doesn’t leave us to our lazy selves, but calls us to be thoughtful throughout the areas we are involved.  Everyone is involved in eating, so therefore, we are called to be thoughtful.

I fall shorter in this category than most of the others I’ve explored.  What I mean is that my actions don’t speak to proper cultivation, restoration, rest, etc within this area.  In fact, I didn’t even really consider this kingdom area until 6 months ago.  As I sat there explaining to him that I knew he was right, but that it was just so hard to “jump in,” my friend with a lot of compassion and grace offered some first steps.  Of which, I am grateful.

I’m aware that I spend a significant portion of my words discussing the importance of community.  This is just another example of why having kingdom-minded people, not just in our midst but directly attached to our hips, is necessary.  This is what sharpening one another looks like in action.  Many weeks back I challenged this same friend with some thoughts pertaining to social media.  Today, this same friend challenged me in this area of food.  Who knows, maybe next time we’ll solve the electronic or paper  book dilemma.  I’m not sure what our next meeting topic will be, but I do know that we will both journey together to be more faithful/thoughtful people in God’s good but fallen world.  All of us need these people.

A Genuine Disciple…Needs Community

Something that changes everything.  When I walked into the Apple store and bought my first Macbook, I thought for sure that that moment had changed everything.  Life as we all knew it would never be the same.  Generational chains of PC users were broken off in a single moment.  Countless blue screens would now be replaced with a spinning colorful ball.  With this newly found liberation the entire culture of my city would change forever.

Something that changes everything. It was something that changed the world forever.  It is still possibly the greatest social networking tool ever invented.  I’m of course talking about the Roman Roads.  These, now ancient, roads made it easy for people to travel from city to city, something that was very difficult to do prior to their construction.  People could converse, trade, educate, and explore like never before.  Whole new avenues of life had opened up to a mostly enclosed people.  It grew an empire, a civilization.  Communication, Military, Trade, and many other things have never been the same.  Today, we still daily depend on ideas and concepts that came from this social networking tool.

Roads are a good thing, they connect us, they build better communication, they expand our education, they allow us to reach more people, etc, etc, etc.  However, like every good thing, it can be easily corrupted.  The Roman roads were used by early Christians in spreading the gospel throughout the Roman empire.  In fact, the Roman roads were vital in the cause.  This is one of the widely acknowledged factors in the spread of the gospel and growth of the early church.  We also know that these same Roman roads were used to oppress and kill the Christians.  The same roads that were used to educate people on justice issues within an empire, were the same used to promote ruthless murder and unjust policy.  Historians will agree that the roads were used to both further justice and injustice.  The roads were a tool to be used, and it was up to various communities to choose how they’d use them.

Facebook & Twitter.  Something that changes everything.  I’ve been really struggling with this tool.  As I look at status updates, walls, media, tweets, etc…I wonder if we’re looking at another tool much like the Roman roads.  The humble are mixed in with the narcissistic.  The thoughtful are mixed in with the ignorant.  The gracious are mixed in with the abrasive.  Open-mindedness is mixed in with agendas.  Content with discontent.  Justice with injustice.  It’s a frustrating place for a Christian that is trying to discern how God would desire us to use this tool of social media for His glory (and I don’t mean posting verses that are taken out of context or in proving that the end of the world is near).  One glance at people’s updates reveals just some of our dirty laundry.  One would think that within these polar opposites Christians could be depended upon to be thoughtful and gracious people, but sadly many times the opposite is true.  I’m saddened to see many of us largely misusing the tool that has been given to us, and I wonder how many of us have even contemplated our usage of it.

Roads aren’t going away anytime soon.  They’re here to stay, and they’ll continually be used to further justice and injustice in this world.  Social Networks aren’t going away anytime soon.  They’ll continually be used to further justice and injustice in this world.  Christians must lead the way in being thoughtful, gracious, open-minded, content, and just.  Shouldn’t Micah 6:8 apply with the usage of this tool? Is it any different?  “He has shown you, O man, what is good.  What does the LORD require of you?  To do justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

A Genuine Disciple…Thoughtfully Communicates