A little something I wrote...

Here's something I wrote for my Discipleship class. It's a little long, but I think it might be worth your while. It was a "Lectio Divina" assignment and was probably one of the best assignments I've had yet this year! Here it is:

I started this meditative reading of Ephesians 2 by getting myself comfortable, clearing my mind and spending some time in prayer asking God to speak to me through the Text. I began reading, but soon found myself analyzing the Text and trying to figure out what it was saying. I was forced to stop myself and spend some more time in prayer. I needed to stop trying to think with my head so much and start listening with my heart. That is exactly what I prayed for and I was able to better listen to God after that.

I continued reading after spending some time in prayer and then re-read over Ephesians 2 multiple times, sometimes stopping to meditate or concentrate on segments of the passage. One of the first things that caught my attention was the fact that “gratifying sinful nature” is listed alongside “following the thoughts and desires” of that sinful nature. As I meditated on this, I realized that I need to be more careful with my “thoughts and desires.” Does “following [sinful] desires and thoughts” (Eph. 2:3) mean taking action on those thoughts? I don’t think so. I think that we can begin to “follow” our thoughts just by dwelling on them in our minds. I realized that I need to guard my mind and guard my heart better than I have been.

I also was really struck by verses 8 and 9. I feel they serve as a sort of “double reminder” for me.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Eph. 2:8)

When I contemplate this verse, it brings me comfort. Sometimes I base my Salvation on “how good” I’m doing in my life. Often I’m not doing too well (I’m a sinner and very imperfect). If my Salvation was “from myself,” I’d be in a lot of trouble most of the time. But there’s great news: “it is the gift of God”! It’s not based on my actions! While in one sense I feel that this verse is reminding me that I can’t earn my Salvation based on what I do, there is some even better news wrapped up in that; I can’t lose my Salvation by what I do. What good news!

There’s another good reminder in verse 9 though!

“Not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2:9)

When I am not feeling “humbled” by my sin, I can sometimes be pretty proud. I would say too proud might be a better way to say it. I can definitely have moments when I “boast”… not necessarily to God or to others, but to myself. I can convince myself that it is by my own power that I am defeating sin and in a way that I am “earning my way” by being good. It’s in those moments that I need this reminder. It’s not what I do that saves me, it’s what God does in me that saves me. Verse 10 provides a good follow up to the previous two verses.

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10)

It’s not that we should ignore works completely, because we were “created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” I can sometimes forget about the work that I was created to do by taking verse 9 too far. I think to myself, “Hey, it’s not by works that I’m saved! Why should I be caught up in works? I shouldn’t! So I’m not going to worry about that.” While some of that is good, verse 10 reminds me that there is a certain level of works that are good and that I was created to do.

Verses 11-13 seemed at first to have very little application to my life, but then I realized that they were very applicable! I’m a Gentile! Without Christ I would be “excluded from citizenship in Israel and [a foreigner] to the covenants of the promise.” (Eph. 2:12) I am by no means Jewish, so without Jesus there would be no way to Salvation for me! I wouldn’t be circumcised in the flesh, but more importantly I wouldn’t be circumcised in my heart. There is no way I could be part of the family of God apart from Jesus.

Verses 14-18 continue to expand on this idea. Through Christ, Jew and Gentile are brought together. We who were once separate are now made one; one in Christ’s body! What great news that is! But does it have any application to my life? I believe so! What does this look like for the different denominations and branches of Christianity? I believe it should put things in a different light. Christ came to reconcile Jews and Gentiles and to “put to death their hostility.” (Eph. 2:16) If Christ came to do that for Jews and Gentiles who were historically (and religiously) separate, how much more should that encourage us as Christians (who are, for the most part, historically and religiously ultimately from one background)! Why do we bicker over the small things when we should instead be united by Christ and His sacrifice?

In my own life I want to strive for unity with fellow believers. I want to be careful in my discussions to not be holding onto the small unimportant difference. Instead I want to focus on the point of unity, Jesus Christ. I also want to be sensitive to those who aren’t currently following Christ. I want to try and not view them as “non-Christians” and instead view them as future brothers and sisters in Christ. I can bet that the Jews had no idea that they would be joined together with the Gentiles in Christ. I wonder if they might have treated each other differently if they were able to see that future unification.

Ephesians 2 ends on an exciting not for me. I’m no longer a foreigner or alien to the family of God! I’m a part of the Church! That should have been impossible (me being a Gentile and outside of the covenant), but Jesus came and saved me! Yet again I say, what good news! This passage has breathed new life into me so to speak. It has given me a new love and appreciation for what Jesus did for me and has helped me to better see the importance of that sacrifice! Without Him, I’d be lost!

“And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Eph. 2:22)

God dwells by his spirit in the Church, and I am a part of the Church! I am a part of something much bigger… but I am an important individual in that community. Community. That’s something I don’t often think much about. I frequently focus on my “individual” faith, but faith was meant for community. It seems so clear to me in this passage! God isn’t dwelling in individuals but in the community of the Church. I need to keep that in mind, because it’s something I often forget and don’t give much importance to.

When I think about it, it seems that fairly consistently throughout the Bible God can be seen working in community. Rarely does God appear to be working solely in the life of the individual. You could argue that God works individually in Abraham’s life, but I would say that is for the purpose of beginning the redemption of mankind… the most fully encompassing community of them all! What I’ve pulled from this is that I want to try and be more intentional about living my faith out in community. In fact, I need to be more intentional about community. I believe that my spiritual growth has been partially stunted by not living in community as fully as I could. If God works best in community, then that’s where I want to be!

I also need to keep in mind though, that being a part of community doesn’t mean completely forgetting about myself. I need to be putting others first, but I also need to realize that I am an integral part of the community that God is working in. I believe that this should encourage a healthy sense of responsibility on my part; a responsibility not only to God, but also to the community and to myself. With this in mind, my actions have a much broader impact than I’ve believed up to this point. My sins (and also my successes) impact not only me, but also the faith community I’m living in! My spiritual health is important to the community, because it is a part of the community. When I view it that way, “my” spiritual life isn’t really mine at all! It is something that I have a part in, but it is also something that is owned by the faith community that I live and dialogue in. Along that same line, the spiritual lives of others in that community aren’t only their own; they are also partly mine. As such, I should take a more personal interest in the spiritual growth of others in my faith community and how their spiritual life impacts that of myself and the community.

This passage from Ephesians has really spoken to me. To be honest, God said much more to me through it than I originally expected. I tried to enter with an open mind, but I wasn’t sure how much God could speak to me through the passage I selected, and I was especially skeptical as to how it could relate to my life. I guess that God spoke to me through those doubts as well, though. I learned about the power of God’s word and the power of the Holy Spirit through this time of meditation. He has shown me that He can work through my doubts and more importantly with my doubts to teach me and form me spiritually. I hope that throughout this summer I will be able listen more carefully to the Holy Spirit in my daily life. I also hope that trying to live out my faith in community will help me in listening to the Holy Spirit and seeing God’s work in my life.

Technorati Tags: lectio divina, homework, ephesians

School...

I'm getting back into the swing of school and it's a little crazy to say the least. I'll blog when I can. That's about all I have to say for now.

PS3.... talk about the other extreme

Check this out.



This takes what my previous post on PS3 talked about to the other extreme. It made me smile and gave me some hope, though, and I hope it does the same for you.



You can also check out onedollarplaystation3.com to learn more about this guy and why he's doing it.





Technorati Tags: PS3, Charity, Giving

Longing

Well, I'm back home from Wheaton... and being back has started me thinking about something: the homesickness/nostalgia phenomenon. I don't know why, but it's something that intrigues me. We talked about this a bit in my Intro to Christian Education class, and I've been continuing to mull it over for the last few days. I think the thing that I find most interesting about homesickness/nostalgia is that I believe it points to something more: our longing for Heaven.



To some, this might seem like a stretch, but I don't really think it is. Looking at homesickness/nostalgia scientifically, it doesn't really make much sense (in my opinion). There is no evolutionary necessity for homesickness; longing for home wouldn't seem to help one survive. In fact, I find that daydreaming can often be distracting, and that goes against the rules of evolution in my mind. Of course the argument could be made that homesickness is a longing for a place of safety. In a lot of ways, though, Wheaton College is much more "safe" than back home. Not that I'm going to get "capped" walking the streets of WDM, but I don't feel that WDM is necessarily "safer" than the "Wheaton Bubble". What could be the purpose of our deep sense of longing then?



I believe that longing is one "tool" that God uses to woo us to himself (I think the definitions that dictionary.com provides are pretty interesting... so I included a link.). With the "nostalgia phenomenon", you find yourself longing for a time/place in your past. But re-visiting this place of the past in the present time doesn't usually bring satisfaction; things and people have changed and it isn't the same as you remember. I've come at least partly to this realization in my visits back to Naperville. Things have changed. Even the school, while not changing physically, has changed some of it's policies and character that in my mind made it what it was. What we are longing for in this world doesn't seem to satisfy, even though we so desperately expect it to.



So how does this relate to God wooing us? Has He simply created this unsatisfiable longing in us to make us discontent? In a way, yes. Through this longing that is "unquenchable", I believe that it is expected that we will be unsatisfied with this fallen world. But what else does it show? Just as hunger shows a need for food and thirst a need for water, I believe that this longing shows our need for Heaven. Heaven is what we are really longing for, and in our homesickness/nostalgia we are finding bits of Heaven in worldly things that we use to try and satisfy us. We are never fully satisfied, though, because they can't be "fully Heaven".



This next week I'm off to California, where I lived for four years near the beginning of my life. It will be interesting to see what memories match up to what I see and which ones fall short. I'm trying to prepare myself to be wooed by God, though, as I am sure I will see longings unsatisfied (things change after fifteen or so years, especially when the memories are from the perspective of a three-year-old). I want to try and keep in mind what I am really longing for, and I hope that by doing so, I will be able to better understand who God really is.





Technorati Tags: Longing, Heaven, Nostalgia, Childhood

Sheep or Goat?

Reading my Bible today, I revisited some verses that are familiar to many. It's the passage in Matthew where Jesus is talking about judgment day and how the "Sheep" will be separated from the "Goats". I'll just let you read it for yourself:

Matthew 25:31-46 (New International Version)

The Sheep and the Goats

31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

I was troubled by this passage as I read it today for one main reason: in my mind there is no distinction between believers and non-believers here. In fact, it seems to me that both the "sheep" and the "goats" are groups of Christians. I am persuaded to this conclusion by a few key elements of this passage.

First, both the "sheep" and the "goats" respond to Jesus by calling Him "Lord". For me this isn't solid evidence that both groups are followers of Christ, for in Philippians 2:9-11 it says:

9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

It is prophesied that at Judgment day, everyone will acknowledge that Christ is Lord. I think that the fact that both the "sheep" and "goats" call Christ "Lord" doesn't show that both were followers of Him in their lives. There is other evidence in this passage, though, which I believe points more clearly towards that.

The second piece of evidence I see is that both the "sheep" and the "goats" respond in nearly identical ways. Both don't see how they have either helped or mistreated their Lord, Jesus ("Lord, when did we see you hungry...?"). To me this hints toward the idea that both groups are Christians, because they are surprised (and seemingly excited/depressed, respectively) to learn that they had been serving (or not serving) Jesus. I feel that this suggests that they both desired to see/serve Jesus, but didn't think they were doing so in their earthly lives.

Lastly, but I believe most convincingly, is that salvation by faith is never mentioned in this passage, even in reference to the "sheep" who "are blessed by [the] Father." Clearly salvation by faith is stressed elsewhere in the Bible (Ephesians 2:8-9), and its lack of mention here suggests to me that their salvation by faith is to be assumed (they are already "saved"). If what I am seeing is right, then both the "sheep" and the "goats" are believers, but the "sheep" are being rewarded while the "goats" are being punished (even though they both trusted in Jesus).

Why is this passage so troubling to me? First, I don't believe in a "works based" salvation (again, Ephesians 2:8-9), but this passage seems to contradict that in some ways. According to this passage, there seems to be more than just belief in Jesus that is required in order to gain eternal life. Second, the punishment for not following through on helping "the least of these" is pretty severe! Eternal punishment? I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound good to me!

I'm still not quite sure what to make of this passage. What I've said is what I've been thinking about recently, but it is by no means a solid/immovable conclusion that I have come to. I'm still exploring this, but I have definitely been convicted into looking at my life and asking the question: "What am I doing to help 'the least of these'?" I hope that this might help you do the same and I also hope that this will open up some discussion so that we can try and figure this out together. One thing is for sure, though: when Judgment Day comes, I want to be standing on the side with the Sheep, and not with the Goats (and I'm sure you feel the same way). Well, there you have it. Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but school has been pretty intense lately. Maybe this will generate some response, though. I'd love to hear what you think!


Technorati Tags: salvation, questions, Christianity, Jesus

PS3... for $9,000?!?

So if you haven't heard, the new Playstation 3 (PS3) is out. The retail price is $499 for the 20 GB version and $599 for the 60GB version. That's quite a bit more than I'd be willing to spend on a game system. But wait, it doesn't end there. Since these game systems are in such high demand, some very clever entrepreneurs have set out to make some money. They took the pains to wait in line for the 24+ hours it took to get one of the first PS3's. After they bought this precious system, they turned around and sold it on eBay. But here's the catch: they weren't being sold for a mere $600. Instead, the auctions have been ending at an average of $2,000, with one auction even ending at $9,000! Before I go any further, I need to applaud those who had the foresight to wait in line and make this investment. I wish I had the time/patience/foresight to do the same. Seriously, these people were thinking... and as a result they made anywhere from $1,400-$8,400! Way to go! But what about the people that bought these PS3's for this outrageous price. My first reaction is to say: "What the heck were you thinking?!?!" I personally can find no way to justify spending $9,000 or even $600 on a game system. But, when I step back and think of it, the people that paid this money must have found a way to justify it somehow. I want to try and understand their reasoning.
As I start to think about reasons why someone might pay that much for a game system, the first thing that pops into my head is that maybe someone has a lot of money. If I was making multiple millions a year, I might seriously consider buying a PS3 for $9,000. If I was making that much money, $9,000 would be pocket change and I might not think twice about dropping it on a PS3. Not everyone has that kind of money, though, and assuming this person doesn't, then they would have to have different reasoning. Maybe they are a "hard-core" gamer, and they spend most of their time playing video games. Maybe they are frugal in other areas of their life, just so they can save up and buy video games and gaming systems. Whatever the reason, I can't completely discount it. I'm sure there are things that I spend money on that other people think is outrageous. I would like to look at what I believe a Christian response to this should look like though.

2 Corinthians 8:1-15 (NIV, My Emphasis)-

1And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. 6So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us^[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

8I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

10And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

13Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, 15as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."^[b]

The problem that I have when I think about someone spending $9,000 on a PS3 is that I feel that there are many better things that one could spend their money on. For example, for $5,390 you can fund the digging of a traditional well that provides safe water in a third world country. Or, for $3,500 you can educate 10 girls in China for a year. Finally, for $7,448 you can build four furnished Mongolian Ger's (traditional dwellings). When I see someone spending $9,000 on a PS3, I can't help wondering whether they could have spent that money on a more "worthwhile" cause and as a result had a much greater impact on the lives of others. Now I realize that having perfect equality in our society isn't realistically possible. America is a capitalistic society, and unless we suddenly swing to socialism, we won't come anywhere close to having equality among everyone and I don't know if that's what we should be striving for. I think that we could do much more to relieve the poverty, sickness, hunger and death of the world though, especially when we are so willing to spend $9,000 on a $600 product. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not in any way saying that I'm perfect in this area. In fact, I probably need to work on this the most. I can't ignore what is said in Proverbs 11:25 though: "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed" (NIV). If "he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed" then I would have to believe that the opposite would also be true: those that don't refresh themselves won't truly be refreshed. Dropping $9,000 on a PS3 might satisfy for a while, but what happens when something "bigger and better" comes out? The PS3 will no longer be enough, and you'll need to go out and by the new game system in order to be "satisfied". I want to seek to be the generous man that is talked about in Proverbs. I want to invest in things that will have a lasting impact: people. Material things will break, be thrown away and become obsolete. People matter, though. I want to spend my resources making a true difference, and I challenge you to think about this and consider doing the same.

Technorati Tags: PS3, Playstation, Ebay, materialism, Christianity

Taking a New Direction...

I've decided that I'm going to try taking this blog in a new/different direction than I originally intended. I'm going to be blogging from time to time and sharing my thoughts on the Christian response to various issues in our culture. Controversial: yes. Something that we shouldn't talk about: I don't think so. My point in these blogs isn't to try and offend anyone. I know that probably won't happen, but my intentions are not to go out and start attacking people for their views/actions. I'm hoping that these will get people thinking, and if not that, at least they will get me thinking. Well, just thought I should share that before I launch my blog into that direction. I'll be posting again soon.



-Garrett





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