Blog
Monday, June 22, 2020
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” —James 1:17-18
The God of the Bible—the Father of the Son, Jesus Christ—is a gift-giving Father. The motivating attribute of God that we see throughout the scriptures is that God desires for human beings and all of creation to thrive. In God’s view of the world, things are good when life is marked by health, joy, peace, justice, and love.
It’s worth remembering that God is free. We have no inherent standing to demand anything of God. God is free to create and design and order and interact with the world in any way he chooses. We cannot bind God’s freedom in any way.
So it is in absolute freedom that God chooses to be the God he is. God chooses to long for human thriving. God chooses to be with us in our suffering, to motivate us toward compassion and justice, to give us everything we need.
God in Christ, in absolute freedom, even chose to personally suffer for us to accomplish for us what we could not accomplish for ourselves. God chose to bind himself to humanity, giving us the gift of his very self.
It is when we in turn act with generosity, using the gifts we’ve been given to give good gifts to others, that we truly reflect the image of God to one another. God entrusts us with gifts and gives us freedom to use them (or not use them) as we please. But when we fail to use our gifts for the sake of others’ well-being, we destroy the image of God within ourselves. When we see what we’ve been given as gifts to grasp and hoard, rather than as gifts to be given away, we are alienated from ourselves.
The good news is that it is not all that complicated to be a part of God’s family. Our Father’s family is marked by receiving what he has given and in turn being generous givers to others. And these others, at the same time, are receiving gifts from our Father and being generous givers to others (which includes us). This is our family work. When we bear fruit in this way, we are a manifestation of God’s good creation. It’s simple good news that you can put to use, right now!
Friday, June 19, 2020
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. —Psalm 32:8
Several months ago, Dan introduced me to a website called Skillshare, which I only checked out in earnest once we all had to stay at home. Skillshare is an online learning community where artists offer classes on whatever creative thing they’re equipped to teach. I’ve always liked dabbling artistically, but in adulthood, I’ve felt mostly ill-equipped, under-developed, and uncertain how to grow, so I’ve entered into these courses with both eagerness and trepidation. A week ago, I did a beginners’ course on how to use Procreate, a digital illustration app. Beyond my expectations, this course was pure enjoyment. It was one of those rare and wonderful occasions where you just want to soak up all there is to learn, where hours pass in an instant. I’m far from being an expert (really, really far!), but it feels good to know how to do some things I didn’t know how to do a couple of weeks ago. What made this a powerful learning experience mostly came down to the instructor: 1) she understood my position as a beginner, and 2) she invited me to learn by imitating what she did.
These verses from Psalm 32 are about God’s instruction. They remind us of God’s teaching style:
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you. (Psalm 32:8-9)
Look at that stark and beautiful contrast! God’s instruction isn’t forceful, controlling, or manipulative; God’s instruction guides, counsels, and watches over. God works with us patiently, leading us through an ongoing process that leaves us changed.
And because of Jesus, we have a teacher who 1) understands our position as humans, and 2) invites us to learn through imitation. When we observe our teacher and try doing what he did, we are changed for the better. As time passes, we can say we know some things we didn’t know before.
Paul captures it well in Ephesians 5:1. He encourages us to learn through imitation when he says, “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Today, may you have the humility of a beginner who’s ready to learn from a good instructor who guides, counsels, and watches over you. May you observe how Jesus loves, and learn through imitation of him. May you take joy in your process of growth, trusting that your Heavenly Father does, too!
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing – Psalm 100:2
I really enjoy going to see bands play live and I especially enjoy it when it’s a band I really like. There is a direct correlation between the amount I like a band and the percentage of lyrics I have memorized and I am able to sing along with. So depending on who I’m going to see, there could be anywhere between a few hundred to few thousand other people singing along at the same time. It’s just a really joyful experience to hear a bunch of people connecting over the same words, same tune, same thing.
So, when I was looking at today’s verse I just locked on to the word “singing.” Because for me, I think that one of the more disappointing things about not being able to worship in the same room on Sunday morning is not singing together. Being around all of you is an encouragement to me. Getting to add my voice to a larger group of much better voices during worship, is a highlight in my week.
As I did some reading about this verse, I found the way the word “worship” is used to be interesting. The Hebrew word that we define in English as “worship” would be best understood as some blurred combination of “worship” and “service.”
You could think about it this way…
Because God is GOD (and I’m not), my worship is an act of service to God. But also, the service I do for God (think Jesus in Matthew 25 saying “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did for me”) is an act of worship.
While this doesn’t replace the joy or gladness I experience when singing with all of you, it does remind me that there is a whole other component of worship that I can still be engaging with even when we are not together. That to “worship with gladness” is to wake up each day turning from the failings of yesterday and taking steps to bring my actions into alignment with my words (whether they are spoken or sung).
May each one of us embrace today as an opportunity to worship with gladness as we patiently await the day we can again hear one another’s voices as we come into God’s presence with singing.
