Do I Surprise You?

So a few nights ago, I went out to Nashville with my buddy Will to catch the Umphrey's McGee show at War Memorial Auditorium. That it was Umphrey's McGee doesn't really have any bearing on the story, I just thought I would throw that out for those of you who actually know who Umphrey's McGee is, so you could be jealous. (As you all should.)

While we were standing in line for our tickets, we got to talking to this guy - well, OK, he got to talking to us - who really liked letting us know just how connected he was. He said he was college buddies with the guys in the opening band, and would have been on the guest list if he'd wanted to, but he felt like paying for his ticket to support his friends. He pointed out a name on one of the bronze plaques commemorating all of the soldiers from Tennessee who died in WWI, and proudly said, "Well, there it is! Cunningham!" (or whatever his last name was, I forget), as though Will and I should have already known who this guy was. As time went on, he kept name-dropping all these people he'd worked with, places he'd gone, how much he paid for the rarer brands of Scotch he had in his cabinet back home...

But then he started talking about his break-up with his girlfriend. They'd broken up two months ago, and he was showing incredible maturity and restraint by not just immediately seducing any of the dozens - nay, scores! - of eager, nubile women he could have easily attained at any moment. Instead, he told us, he was taking some time off from the dating scene. After all, he knows they'll wind up back together eventually. And besides, he's still good friends with her father, since, as he pointed out to us, "he's a Christian, I'm a Christian, we're both Christian men, so there's been a reconciliation..."

Now... PLEASE don't think that I'm making any sort of judgment call on this guy. There was nothing about his behavior in the 30 minutes or so that Will and I were waiting in line with him that was characteristically un-Christian. He was kind of long winded, maybe, but hey, so was Paul. I definitely don't have any problem with Christians drinking, and there's nothing in the world wrong with a Christian being at an Umphrey's McGee show.

But at the same time, I was surprised when he just dropped that tidbit on me. It's not so much that there was anything in his behavior that made me think he wasn't a Christian, it's just that there was absolutely nothing about his behavior that made me think he was a Christian.

I really hope people aren't surprised when I tell them I'm a Christian. I really hope it makes sense. I really hope they don't even need me to tell them!

People are consistently surprised when they find out I'm an Eagle Scout. Honestly, I can see how that happens.

People are consistently surprised when they find out I'm actually a pretty good cook. This is an absolute mystery to me.

But I really hope my faith comes as no surprise to people. I am striving to present an endless, selfless, deep, genuine love to everyone I meet - a "love that surpasses knowledge."

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

- Ephesians 5:1-2

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?

- II Corinthians 2:14-16

So here's how that's all coming out in my life right now.

I am becoming less and less of a jerk with each passing day, and quite frankly, it's exhilarating.

I am becoming more and more of the guy I've always wanted people to think I already was. I'm more patient, more sympathetic and empathetic, more generous, more self-controlled, more gentle... All around nicer! I'm just becoming a nicer guy! And it's fantastic!

I'm telling you all this not to boast in my own accomplishments, or in any way to glorify myself, but to sincerely give all credit and praise to God for the work He has done, is doing, and will continue to do in me.

I look at the guy I was five years ago, the guy I was three years ago, the guy I was one year ago, the guy I was yesterday, and I see so many parts of my life where God has refused to let me stay the same, even if I was perfectly content to do just that.

I've been through some pain, but that pain served to buff out my rough spots. I've been through some really high points, but those high points served to show me how well my life can work when I have love on my mind and Christ in my heart. I've been through some really hectic, frenetic, manically busy spots, but being so busy served to show me that there are some things I don't need to worry about, because God has it taken care of already. I've been through some really slow, dull, empty stretches, but those slow periods served to teach me the value of meditation and time alone with God.

So why am I telling you? What good does it do you? Well... I don't really know.

I hope my testimony can be a point of hope for you in your walk with God. Maybe you're already beyond where I am right now, or you're getting there with me, and this is simply an opportunity for you to join me in thanking God for the transformative work He does in all of us when we open up to Him. If you're not quite there yet - if you're still struggling to allow God's will to supersede your own, if you're still having a hard time hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit over your own voice - then I hope this can serve as a point of encouragement for you. I hope that you can see where God has brought me in my walk with Him, and let that show you that you can walk just as far, and even farther.

You CAN have an intimate, personal, vibrant relationship with God. Believe me. If I can do it, anybody can. If God can take me - arrogant, skeptical, impulsive, greedy, selfish, impatient, lustful and bitter as I was - and turn me into a new man - a more humble, more faithful, more self-controlled, more generous, more selfless, more patient, more pure and more joyous man - then He can certainly do it with you, or anyone else for that matter.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me faithful, appointing me to His service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

- I Timothy 1:12-17

I can take no credit - and don't want to anyway - for the changes that are coming around in me. The glory belongs entirely to God, who reconciled me to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ, and who guides me in His Will for me through His Holy Spirit.

I want to be Christ to the world around me. I want to show everyone I come in contact with the same love that has been shown to me. I want to build a reputation as a man singularly dedicated to the expansion of the Kingdom of God. I want to love, share, teach, preach, reach, serve, feed, clothe, visit... I want to do it all. I want to be God's conduit. I want to be unstoppable.

My friend Corwin and I have had a couple of conversations lately that have led us to an idea we're both really fond of. It's sad to say that in today's world we are not unfamiliar with religious extremists who are willing to die violent suicidal deaths, taking out groups of innocents and themselves as well in the name of their faith.

But what if we had that same zeal? What if we had that same unstoppable, fanatical faith that would lead us to sacrifice our own lives? And what if, instead of sacrificing our lives in the name of violence and terror, we sacrificed our lives in the name of love and peace? What if we decided that we weren't going to be suicide bombers, but instead, suicide lovers? What if we decided, "OK, world... You know what? I am going to love you, no matter what. I am going to show you what love really looks like, even if it kills me."

I imagine that would be something of a surprise, wouldn't it?

Late Night Theology (orig. posted to Facebook)

This was originally posted as a note on my Facebook account on September 11, 2009, at 3:41 AM. So... Just remember that it was written at 3:41 AM and that should put a lot of things in perspective...

Luke 7:18-35

John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?' "

At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

After John's messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:

" 'I will send my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way before you.' I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

"To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:

" 'We played the flute for you,

and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge,

and you did not cry.' For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by all her children."

Emphases mine, of course.

But seriously.

Jesus said that. The Christ. The Son of God. The Alpha and the Omega. He Who Was Without Sin.

Jesus was called a drunkard by his contemporaries.

People don't call you a drunkard if you are a teetotaler.

So if Jesus Christ, the Son of Yahweh, the Most High God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob drank enough that the Pharisees felt like they could discredit His ministry by calling Him a drunkard...

WHO ON EARTH ARE WE to say that drinking is a sin?

I don't want to get on a rant about drinking - that's not my point here.

What I DO want to get on a rant about, however, is how we act when people don't fit OUR picture of OUR Christianity.

If you haven't read my sermon from July 26 of this year, you might wanna do that before you go any further. I know, it's kinda long, but hey - it's a sermon.

I've really been thinking on the stuff I wrote in that sermon lately. Ever since I wrote that sermon, actually. I look around and I see so many people trying so hard to live the best Christian lives that they know how to live, and then I see so many other people slamming them down for not being good enough, and that completely breaks my heart.

In Matthew 23 Jesus rips the Pharisees in half, saying that they "tie up heavy loads on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." What does that heavy load mean? The rest of the chapter paints a really clear picture: they had turned Judaism into a strict set of rules - laws! - that were impossible to keep. They made the search for God such an arduous task that God got lost in the details. If I may use a metaphor that I will never actually be able to relate to: following God under the Pharisees was like constantly being in labor but never actually having a kid.

And sometimes we still do that.

Sometimes we see people with their hair and their clothes and their tattoos and their piercings and their cigarettes and their beer bottles and their bumper stickers and their music and their past and their friends and their family and their whatever the smash else you want to think of and we automatically assume that there's no way that they're actually living out God's will for them.

Here's the thing about God's will for them: it's FOR THEM.

When we're trying to reach the lost, we love to tell them - and rightly so - that God accepts them just the way they are, that God already loves them, despite all their faults, and that God looks at what's on the inside, not the outside.

So why don't WE do that?

Why don't we take on the love of God? Why don't we just let everyone around us know that we're gonna love them, no matter what?

And please - don't think that I'm saying that our love for people has to go to a point that we simply allow sin to run unchecked in their lives. That's definitely not the case.

What IS the case is that we have to redefine what sin actually is.

Have you ever seen the movie "Pleasantville"? Remember when all the color started showing up and everybody went nuts? Remember when all the dads met at the bowling alley because it was the last black and white place in town, the last "safe" place?

Sometimes we as Christians forget that different isn't always a sin. In fact, it rarely is. Long haired freaky people can be just as Christian as close-cropped cookie-cutter suburbanites.

I'm not super focused right now. It's 3:35 AM. I'm kind of a lot tired. I'm just miffed, that's all.

Please - if you understand this, if you care about bringing people to Christ, or even bringing fellow Christians closer - help me spread this around. I'm trying so, so, so very hard to stop making people fit MY definition of what Christians look like, and I'll admit that my definition is already pretty loose compared to a lot of folks'. I'm trying to see people with the eyes of God. It's taking a lot of prayer, but when's that ever a bad thing?

I was once told by a man who should know way, way, way better than to ever say such incredibly horrible things that I was "putting too much trust in God." Those quotation marks are there for a reason, the man actually said that, to me, with his mouth, out loud, and meant it.

Holy blasphemy, Batman. That's just insanity.

And since then, I've tried to live my life with the understanding that it's impossible to put too much trust in God. He is, after all, GOD, and by definition, that pretty much means He's got it handled and really doesn't need your help figuring it out.

Leave comments, ask questions, tell me I'm wrong, tell me I'm right... Whatever. I'll reply. I want to go somewhere with this. I just needed to get it out into the open first.

I love you.