Freedom is somewhat like oxygen. We don’t miss it unless we don’t have it.
Those of us celebrating the July 4th weekend in America have always had a relatively "free" life. However, even with the protections of the Constitution, we are not completely free to do as we please. (You can't cry "fire" in a crowded theater, for example.) But if you're interested in total personal freedom, I have an idea for you.
Did you know you could become the head of your own government and establish or eliminate any laws you please? It’s true. Simply live on a boat in international waters. Of course, you’ll have to provide your own drinking water, food, and so on. But you get to be in charge.
Wonder what it would be like to live in a place without rules and regulations? Most people understand that when we choose personal freedom, we lose the “perks” of a well-ordered society— a trade-off if one’s goal is liberty from man-made laws. But what about God’s laws? Are they in effect even in international waters?
That's one of the issues I'm pursuing in my second book, due out before Christmas, 2011. The idea of freedom in Christ vs. living in obedience to our Lord fascinates me. Are we free in Christ? If so, what does that freedom look like? Sometimes our freedom seems quite limited by life circumstances.
In March, following a vicious attack by two dogs, my Maltese poodle named Lily had to wear a cone-like plastic hood. This “party hat,” as my vet likes to call it, kept Lily from chewing her stitches, but it also limited her favorite activity—gnawing on a rawhide bone perched between her two front paws. From behind the hood, Lily's pleading eyes looked at me as though I were a monster.
“Just for another week,” I explained to Lily, scratching her ears and expecting her to understand. Forlorn and defeated, Lily rested her chin on the plastic prison. Even if she had understood, a week was a lifetime to a 15-month-old puppy.
When God's plan involves curtailing our activities—whether through difficulties of health or finances or family relationships—we must look at Him like Lily looked at me. We don't see His grand design for our lives, or something He's trying to teach us, or the necessity of His having to call a halt to our plans.
God’s plan from the beginning of time was to free humankind from prisons of self, sin, and the law. A perfect sacrifice—the incarnate God-man—would pay the eternal consequences of our human condition. That's the best kind of freedom we could ever want. And it's available to everyone, everywhere. Happy "independence day" for all who are "dependent" on God.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
The Biggest Adventure
Infidelity has been in the news a lot lately. Whether the person is in politics, business, or entertainment, commentators like to ask, What difference does it make—except to the family. If I had a genius investing my money, why would I care if he were cheating on his wife?
This response makes me scratch my head. If a person would "cheat" the mate he or she claimed to love more than anyone in the world—in effect, lead a double life—why would I trust him with my money? I've never quite understood that logic.
In addition, as a former counselor of eight years, I was trained to think that a person's public persona should match his or her private persona. It was called having an integrated psyche—being a whole, as opposed to a fragmented, personality. I suppose holistic or integrated personality systems are out-of-style now.
Another excuse pundits offer for infidelity goes like this: a person who has reached a certain pinnacle of success in a chosen field is bound to be a risk-taker. Why should the public expect anything less than risky behavior? These people crave adventure, excitement, the thrill of the chase.
I'm so glad my son Scott doesn't use this theory with his two-year-old son. Nathan loves to climb and jump. His mean 'ole Daddy puts restrictions on Nathan's adventurous, thrill-seeking behavior. Some objects are just off limits for climbing or jumping. Scott believes in setting boundaries while encouraging appropriate risk-taking. No adult should take risks without counting the costs.
I touch on this theme in my book, Living Between the Ditches: When God Makes No Sense. Layton, the main character is terribly hurt by the sting of his ex-wife's infidelity and doesn't know how to move past it. If you've read the book, you know the way the story progresses and the surprise Layton has in store.
Let me leave you with a thought from Bill Gothard: A gambler is a person of great faith. His or her faith is simply in the wrong object. Put your faith in God, and you will live the biggest adventure your mind can imagine. Your jack pot will last into eternity!
This response makes me scratch my head. If a person would "cheat" the mate he or she claimed to love more than anyone in the world—in effect, lead a double life—why would I trust him with my money? I've never quite understood that logic.
In addition, as a former counselor of eight years, I was trained to think that a person's public persona should match his or her private persona. It was called having an integrated psyche—being a whole, as opposed to a fragmented, personality. I suppose holistic or integrated personality systems are out-of-style now.
Another excuse pundits offer for infidelity goes like this: a person who has reached a certain pinnacle of success in a chosen field is bound to be a risk-taker. Why should the public expect anything less than risky behavior? These people crave adventure, excitement, the thrill of the chase.
I'm so glad my son Scott doesn't use this theory with his two-year-old son. Nathan loves to climb and jump. His mean 'ole Daddy puts restrictions on Nathan's adventurous, thrill-seeking behavior. Some objects are just off limits for climbing or jumping. Scott believes in setting boundaries while encouraging appropriate risk-taking. No adult should take risks without counting the costs.
I touch on this theme in my book, Living Between the Ditches: When God Makes No Sense. Layton, the main character is terribly hurt by the sting of his ex-wife's infidelity and doesn't know how to move past it. If you've read the book, you know the way the story progresses and the surprise Layton has in store.
Let me leave you with a thought from Bill Gothard: A gambler is a person of great faith. His or her faith is simply in the wrong object. Put your faith in God, and you will live the biggest adventure your mind can imagine. Your jack pot will last into eternity!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Going the Distance
Today I set back Eqyptian-American relationships by about two centuries. I was leaving my doctor's office and heading to my car when an Arab couple with a small child stopped me on the sidewalk to ask directions. They spoke very little English. I did make out that they had taken a bus to that location.
But they had a mapquest map with directions to where they were going. Nowhere did the sheet list the name of the place they were going—just the address. I asked what kind of business it was, and they could not tell me. Undaunted, I escorted them to my car and told them I would take them there. Showing great faith,they got in. (I had no car seat for the little girl. Surely, God would protect us!)
If you don't know Nashville, you would assume this address would be easy to find. However, it was right smack dab in the middle of the Baptist Hospital complex, which has grown like Topsy over the years. The street they were looking for dead-ends at the Baptist complex and then resumes. But, then, who knew?
After about 15 minutes of driving around, the man finally asked to be let out of my car. I knew I could not leave them where I had found them, so despite his protests—and by now having discovered the problem—I soldiered on. We came to a doctor's office building with the long-sought-after address, and I let them out. I don't know which of us was more grateful!
Finding your way in a city full of dead-ins reminds me of the many dead-ends on the narrow way to God's house. Short-lived pleasure, sinful habits, procrastination, bitterness, unforgiveness—the list goes on. Fortunately, we have a mapquest to heaven. It's printed in the Bible in John chapter 3 verse 16. And we have the Holy Spirit to guide us the distance. Thank you, Lord, for providing the Way!
But they had a mapquest map with directions to where they were going. Nowhere did the sheet list the name of the place they were going—just the address. I asked what kind of business it was, and they could not tell me. Undaunted, I escorted them to my car and told them I would take them there. Showing great faith,they got in. (I had no car seat for the little girl. Surely, God would protect us!)
If you don't know Nashville, you would assume this address would be easy to find. However, it was right smack dab in the middle of the Baptist Hospital complex, which has grown like Topsy over the years. The street they were looking for dead-ends at the Baptist complex and then resumes. But, then, who knew?
After about 15 minutes of driving around, the man finally asked to be let out of my car. I knew I could not leave them where I had found them, so despite his protests—and by now having discovered the problem—I soldiered on. We came to a doctor's office building with the long-sought-after address, and I let them out. I don't know which of us was more grateful!
Finding your way in a city full of dead-ins reminds me of the many dead-ends on the narrow way to God's house. Short-lived pleasure, sinful habits, procrastination, bitterness, unforgiveness—the list goes on. Fortunately, we have a mapquest to heaven. It's printed in the Bible in John chapter 3 verse 16. And we have the Holy Spirit to guide us the distance. Thank you, Lord, for providing the Way!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
The Most Important Thing in Life
"The most important thing in life is knowing God better." So said theologian and author Dr. Selwyn Hughes in his daily devotional booklet "Every Day with Jesus:The Character of God." Dr. Hughes, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at his home in Farnham, England, does more than make the statement. He explains why it is true. "If God is not our primary focus, then everything else will soon get out of focus."
Does his response sound churchey? Something you'd expect a devotional writer to say? But wait! He gets to the heart of the issue in his booklet's Introduction. "When given permission to dominate our thoughts, our personal matters become impossible to satisfy. We could speak of them all day long and never tire of their finest details." We become man-centered and not God-centered.
Yet when you read the Bible, the first words are "In the beginning God ... " The Bible is HIStory. It's about God seeking man, not man seeking God. It's message is not how to get to God but how God came to us! When we put ourselves first and God second, we become entrenched in our own self-absorbed, self-referenced lifestyle. And we lose focus.
Today I was on an airplane. I saw the tiny dots on planet Earth that we call houses, inhabited by even smaller people. Above it all, I witnessed their scurrying about in miniscule cars like rats in a maze of interstates and highways. How could any of them think the world revolved around them, yet the moment I landed, I lost my heavenly perspective. Life once again was all about me. I lost focus.
Surely, God watches every sparrow fall and counts the number of our hairs. We are not unimportant, but we are not all-important. If we are to know God, we must study His character. I tried to strike this theme in my book, Living Between the Ditches: When God Doesn't Make Sense. We can know God. God is mystery. By embracing both truths, we keep from living in the ditches of a self-focused life.
Does his response sound churchey? Something you'd expect a devotional writer to say? But wait! He gets to the heart of the issue in his booklet's Introduction. "When given permission to dominate our thoughts, our personal matters become impossible to satisfy. We could speak of them all day long and never tire of their finest details." We become man-centered and not God-centered.
Yet when you read the Bible, the first words are "In the beginning God ... " The Bible is HIStory. It's about God seeking man, not man seeking God. It's message is not how to get to God but how God came to us! When we put ourselves first and God second, we become entrenched in our own self-absorbed, self-referenced lifestyle. And we lose focus.
Today I was on an airplane. I saw the tiny dots on planet Earth that we call houses, inhabited by even smaller people. Above it all, I witnessed their scurrying about in miniscule cars like rats in a maze of interstates and highways. How could any of them think the world revolved around them, yet the moment I landed, I lost my heavenly perspective. Life once again was all about me. I lost focus.
Surely, God watches every sparrow fall and counts the number of our hairs. We are not unimportant, but we are not all-important. If we are to know God, we must study His character. I tried to strike this theme in my book, Living Between the Ditches: When God Doesn't Make Sense. We can know God. God is mystery. By embracing both truths, we keep from living in the ditches of a self-focused life.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Where Am I Going When I Die?
In the past few blogs, we've dealt with three of the major worldview questions: Where did I come from? What went wrong with the world? and Why am I here? The fourth question, Where am I going when I die? has poignant personal implications. This past weekend I watched the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards, who was buried next to her 16-year-old son, whom she had looked forward to seeing again in heaven. This weekend two friends of mine lost weeks-old babies. Most of us have someone who has gone before us with whom we want to reconnect in that life beyond our earthly dimension.
I had a vivid dream of heaven once. In fact, it was so vivid I swore it would change the way I lived my life, witnessed to others of God's love, and related to Him. And yet, when I hear of premature or untimely deaths, I forget the ecstasy of unconditional love in heaven and mourn with those who've experienced loss.
Layton Brooks was haunted by the specter of death. His father's untimely death had put the first chink in his relationship with God. Now the prospect of losing his mother gave him another stone to throw at his lop-sided view of a God who protects us from bad experiences. Losing Brianne would send him completely over the edge, lost in the morass faced by everyone who expects only good from God, never the bad. (See Job 2:10.)
If a person lives "right," Layton had concluded, God would come through for you. All of the points he'd earned through church services, Sunday School classes, and youth camps should count for something when God tallied the scorecard. "Stay out of trouble, and you'll be okay. Eat right, Exercise, floss. Be nice to people; they'll return the favor. That was the plan. When a person's faith is in a plan, it had better be a pretty good one because "the best laid plans of mice and men' ... well, they don't always work. Layton obviously placed faith in a plan that didn't work." (p. 92)
God's plan was to plant within us a longing for heaven—a deep knowing that this earth can't be all there is to life. The delights we experience here are brief foretastes of eternal delights that will fill all the voids, erase the pain, and heal the wounds of earth-bound living.
This life, while it has meaning and purpose, is preparation for life to come in heaven serving God without human limitations and completely free to worship Him in all His majesty and glory. PTL!
I had a vivid dream of heaven once. In fact, it was so vivid I swore it would change the way I lived my life, witnessed to others of God's love, and related to Him. And yet, when I hear of premature or untimely deaths, I forget the ecstasy of unconditional love in heaven and mourn with those who've experienced loss.
Layton Brooks was haunted by the specter of death. His father's untimely death had put the first chink in his relationship with God. Now the prospect of losing his mother gave him another stone to throw at his lop-sided view of a God who protects us from bad experiences. Losing Brianne would send him completely over the edge, lost in the morass faced by everyone who expects only good from God, never the bad. (See Job 2:10.)
If a person lives "right," Layton had concluded, God would come through for you. All of the points he'd earned through church services, Sunday School classes, and youth camps should count for something when God tallied the scorecard. "Stay out of trouble, and you'll be okay. Eat right, Exercise, floss. Be nice to people; they'll return the favor. That was the plan. When a person's faith is in a plan, it had better be a pretty good one because "the best laid plans of mice and men' ... well, they don't always work. Layton obviously placed faith in a plan that didn't work." (p. 92)
God's plan was to plant within us a longing for heaven—a deep knowing that this earth can't be all there is to life. The delights we experience here are brief foretastes of eternal delights that will fill all the voids, erase the pain, and heal the wounds of earth-bound living.
This life, while it has meaning and purpose, is preparation for life to come in heaven serving God without human limitations and completely free to worship Him in all His majesty and glory. PTL!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
View from the Top
What do we really know about God? Presupposing, of course, that there is a God. We've really only got two choices: God exists. There is no God. A third stance, called agnosticism, tries to take a middle, noncommittal approach. On a recent trip to Germany, a tour guide answered my question, "Do you believe in God?" by saying, "God. I have no opinion." Since an individual's world view begins and ends with his or her answer to the God question, the third option is a cop-out. The way we live and think about life tells any objective bystander whether or not we believe in God.
For example, what is your moral code? Where does it come from? Do you desire justice? Why? What makes you think you should get justice? Is there a Judgment Day someday? If not, who judges right from wrong? Are there absolutes? Is there such a thing as sin? Sin against whom? The questions are endless, but your answers reveal what you believe about God.
I'll save my arguments against atheism and agnosticism for another post. Then, of course, we've still got to answer "whose God?" Which God or gods is the real deal? My conclusion, based on much study--including science--and a lot of living, is that the only reliable God is the God of the Bible. And we know a lot about Him.
"God created the heavens and the earth." So the Bible begins. That means God existed before our universes in a timeless place beyond them. Only then could He create (and the Big Bang theory supports a beginning of the universe). The verb form used in the original language, "to create," never is used with a human subject. The first chapter of the first book of the Bible affirms human life was created "in God's image" separate and apart from the plant or animal kingdoms. And God is male and female.
God is also plural. "Let us make man in our image." The entirety of the Bible reveals God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All were involved in creation, although the first chapter of John's gospel highlights Jesus' role in creation.
God as instigator of life must have had a reason for doing so. He wanted relationship with us modeled after the relationship He shared with His Son and Spirit. A solitary God without other Persons wouldn't be capable of demonstrating love. He would merely stand above us as Judge. But God is love (read 1 John). How do we know? Because He sent His Son to die for our sins in order that our relationship, broken by sin, might be restored and we might someday live with Him forever.
The view from the top? He wants a relationship with you!
For example, what is your moral code? Where does it come from? Do you desire justice? Why? What makes you think you should get justice? Is there a Judgment Day someday? If not, who judges right from wrong? Are there absolutes? Is there such a thing as sin? Sin against whom? The questions are endless, but your answers reveal what you believe about God.
I'll save my arguments against atheism and agnosticism for another post. Then, of course, we've still got to answer "whose God?" Which God or gods is the real deal? My conclusion, based on much study--including science--and a lot of living, is that the only reliable God is the God of the Bible. And we know a lot about Him.
"God created the heavens and the earth." So the Bible begins. That means God existed before our universes in a timeless place beyond them. Only then could He create (and the Big Bang theory supports a beginning of the universe). The verb form used in the original language, "to create," never is used with a human subject. The first chapter of the first book of the Bible affirms human life was created "in God's image" separate and apart from the plant or animal kingdoms. And God is male and female.
God is also plural. "Let us make man in our image." The entirety of the Bible reveals God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All were involved in creation, although the first chapter of John's gospel highlights Jesus' role in creation.
God as instigator of life must have had a reason for doing so. He wanted relationship with us modeled after the relationship He shared with His Son and Spirit. A solitary God without other Persons wouldn't be capable of demonstrating love. He would merely stand above us as Judge. But God is love (read 1 John). How do we know? Because He sent His Son to die for our sins in order that our relationship, broken by sin, might be restored and we might someday live with Him forever.
The view from the top? He wants a relationship with you!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
What Went Wrong With the World?
In our last post, we mentioned several worldview questions that help us discover what we really believe. For example, the question, "Why am I here?" plays a key role in the marriage of Amy and Layton from my book, Living Between the Ditches: When God Makes No Sense. How Layton answers that question has a lot to do with whether or not God is knowable—someone with whom you can have a personal relationship—or whether God is far away, having distanced Himself from this planet long ago.
Layton also wrestles with a second worldview question: What went wrong with the world? And something is wrong here on earth or five major religions and countless other sects, cults, and traditions wouldn't all be telling us what to do about what's wrong!
As Layton suffers one setback after another, he looks for a source for all his troubles. Not so unusually, he finds a perfect scapegoat: God Himself! Layton concludes that God took from Him all that is valuable—his wife, his mom and dad, and now possibly his child. Lots of people blame God for their misfortunes. Layton is in good company. If God were truly on His throne, if He were in charge of the universe, and especially if He cared anything about me, He would have ... (fill in the blank).
Where did we get the idea that God owes us? Jeremiah compares this line of thinking with the pot telling the potter how to shape it. Job asked, "Shall we accept only good from God and not trouble?" Instead of asking for favors, Jesus said, "I do only what my Father tells me." Here was God's Son, without a permanent home and one tunic to His name, teaching people how to be happy (blessed) and telling them how much His Father loved Him! Obviously, Jesus' life doesn't support the contention that God owes us health, wealth, human companionship (His friends deserted Him), or long life.
So what is God's role, then, if not to please us? If God chose to reveal Himself to us (God seeking man rather than man seeking God), then God must have had something to tell us. Next post we'll talk about God's view of human life. Is life all about us or is it possibly all about Him?
Layton also wrestles with a second worldview question: What went wrong with the world? And something is wrong here on earth or five major religions and countless other sects, cults, and traditions wouldn't all be telling us what to do about what's wrong!
As Layton suffers one setback after another, he looks for a source for all his troubles. Not so unusually, he finds a perfect scapegoat: God Himself! Layton concludes that God took from Him all that is valuable—his wife, his mom and dad, and now possibly his child. Lots of people blame God for their misfortunes. Layton is in good company. If God were truly on His throne, if He were in charge of the universe, and especially if He cared anything about me, He would have ... (fill in the blank).
Where did we get the idea that God owes us? Jeremiah compares this line of thinking with the pot telling the potter how to shape it. Job asked, "Shall we accept only good from God and not trouble?" Instead of asking for favors, Jesus said, "I do only what my Father tells me." Here was God's Son, without a permanent home and one tunic to His name, teaching people how to be happy (blessed) and telling them how much His Father loved Him! Obviously, Jesus' life doesn't support the contention that God owes us health, wealth, human companionship (His friends deserted Him), or long life.
So what is God's role, then, if not to please us? If God chose to reveal Himself to us (God seeking man rather than man seeking God), then God must have had something to tell us. Next post we'll talk about God's view of human life. Is life all about us or is it possibly all about Him?
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