Anorexic God

A great statement from David Wells in his book God in the Wasteland:

It is one of the defining marks of Our Time that God is now weightless. I do not mean by this that he is ethereal but rather that he has become unimportant. He rests upon the world so inconsequentially as not to be noticeable. He had lost his saliency for human life. Those who assure the pollsters of their belief in God’s existence may nonetheless consider him less interesting than television, his commands less authoritative that their appetites for affluence and influence, his judgments no more awe-inspiring than the evening news, and his truth less compelling than the advertisers’ sweet fog of flattery and lies. That is weightlessness. It is a condition we have assigned him after having nudged him out to the periphery of our secularized life.

God created us in His image, but humanity has constantly engaged in a reversal of the creative act: man creating God in his image. The gods of ancient Greek and Rome are alive and well as we develop concepts of deity which reflect our own depravity and weakness. It makes us feel more comfortable about “religious” things.

We have created an anorexic God, malnourished by our starving imaginations. It is no wonder that we have lost the concept of the glory of God. He is not truly awesome. Feats accomplished during the X-Games are awesome. God is awesome in that vein. Cool. Fun to look at. But not jaw-dropping in majesty. His wrath is not terrifying. He does not drive people to their knees.

Once we rediscover that God, we will rediscover genuine faith and the God of truth.

Turning Heads

I have been reading through John Piper’s book Don’t Waste Your Life lately and find myself underlining a lot of the text. Reading this work is a painful pleasure. The truth he proclaims convicts me and reveals my shortcomings. Nevertheless, I can’t stop reading it. I have some general differences theologically with Piper, but this book nails me to the wall because it deals with the practical nature of my faith. It moves from theology to biography.

The latest chapter has to do with living in a way that conveys our commitment to the centrality of Christ. Everyone is hypocritical to a degree. But most of us have a glaring disparity between what we say we believe and how we actually live. We might claim to have given our lives (lock, stock and barrel) to God, but we seek the path of comfort and least resistance more often than not. Our actual credo is unearthed as we live 24/7/365.

Piper writes, “if we look like our lives are devoted to getting and maintaining things, we will look like the world, and that will not make Christ look great.”

A couple paragraphs later he discusses the explosive truth hidden in 1st Peter 3:15:

“Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”

I have often wondered why that opportunity didn’t come around more often. Piper explains:

“Why don’t people ask us about our hope? The answer is probably that we look as if we hope in the same things they do.”

OUCH! Now you are getting personal, John! But thanks, John, I needed that. Giving glory to God means that I display the character of Christ so radiantly that people notice and inquire. Glorifying is shining. It is turning heads. Not toward self, but the Creator.

Cheap Joy

It is not at all surprising, in a culture of instant gratification, that we reach out rather indiscriminately for fulfillment. When we are tired, we grab coffee or a high-caffeine soda. When we are bored, we mash on the remote and surf through 96 channels of nonsense. When we seek mental stimulation, we take a seat before the keyboard and screen to glean the wisdom of cyberspace gurus. When we are anxious for something sensual, we settle for pornography or indiscriminate sexual liaisons. When we hurt, we numb ourselves with alcohol or some other substance.

We were created with a thirst for joy. But we often settle for the cheap version. It is not joy, but happiness. Happiness is a temporal fix, a momentary trickle of satisfaction that is based on happenings, not on a lasting, inner reality.

The tragedy of seeking cheap joy is that we cheat ourselves more than we might imagine. Consider the trade-off. Rely on a substance, an electronic image, or an uncommitted tryst to satisfy and the “joy” is instant, but short-lived.

But do the hard work of investing time in meditating on the things of God – reading and chewing on the words of God in the Bible, speaking to God in prayer, giving time to serve selflessly, pausing to worship the Creator – and the joy is delayed as we learn and deepen, but when it comes it is substantive, lasting and more dynamic than anything which costs less.

When I am tempted to take the easy route to joy the next time, I plan to turn off the TV, to log off the Internet, to ignore whatever other happening that promises instant peace, and instead, reach for something that satisfies for the long haul.

Life without technology. . . what a concept!

Wanting Your Needs

I remember reading some years ago that Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry defined his coaching strategy as getting a bunch of grown men to do what they don’t like to do so that they can achieve what they have always wanted to achieve. I think about that philosophy more every year. It came to mind again yesterday.

I was in discussion with some other church leaders about the difficulty of motivating people to walk more closely with Christ, especially in the areas of service and spiritual disciplines. It is a culture war. The self-imposed demands of schedules and the obsession with comfort and a consumer mentality have made it excruciatingly difficult for potential disciples to sacrifice time and energy for the mission of Jesus Christ. The problem is exacerbated by the difficulty of motivating people to take even a first step. If I am willing to just begin the journey of walking closer to Christ, I will discover the joy inherent and be moved to greater exploration of the adventure of discipleship.

Several areas seem key:

1. Start small: take the 2 or 3 willing Jesus-followers and nurture them. God can use even a small band of devoted followers to turn the world upside down.
2. Focus on the basics so that disciples are nurtured over the long haul. The development of discipline in attention to the Bible, in prayer, in fellowship and in worship is essential to spiritual health.
3. Draw followers of Christ into service that challenges them. The inadequacy they experience at first can be a powerful motivator for them to learn more in order to thrive and survive.
4. Exercise truth and love. Those you lead must feel assured that you have their back and want them to succeed.

This “back-to-the-drawing-board” viewpoint is refreshing to me right now.

Oh, yes. . . one more essential. Pray like everything depends on God, because it does.

Understanding Icebergs

Maybe it’s the heat. Maybe it’s our culture. Make a statement with any kind of bite to it, and watch the fur fly! Before the words have had time to sink into our brain cells, we snap back in response. I see it too often.

Communication is a two-way process and listeners rarely have the patience to do their part. The very concept of “understanding” is working to discern what “stands under” the words we have heard uttered. Each tongue is the tip of an iceberg or the peak of a mountain that is undergirded by a massive history of life experiences, cultural perspectives and genetic predispositions. Often the only way to comprehend the genuine intent of a statement is to ask some questions and do some biographical archaeology. It is easier for most listeners, though, to engage in a instantaneous, bizarre transplant, replacing the life experience of the speaker with our own- our assumptions crudely sewn to their tongue. A deadly mix, indeed.

Good communication is vitally linked to empathy. We will never understand the bitterness of certain people until we learn to appreciate the pain they have suffered. We will never understand the innovative bent of some people’s suggestions until we learn more about their personality or their experiences with stagnant processes. Life experience shapes speech more dramatically than we might suspect.

I have several friends who will periodically call on the phone and say something like, “So, how was he feeling today?” or “Well, what did she say about that?” That’s actually how the conversation starts. They give me no clue as to who or what they are talking about. I will be stunned in silence for a moment wracking my brain to comprehend what scenario is playing on the video screen of their mind. Sometimes I’ll figure it out before the silence goes too long. Sometimes I’m at a loss and I’ll just have to say, “Who/What are you talking about?”

What stands under our words is so important for comprehension. I have tried hard to listen slowly and respond even more slowly, asking as I go what lies beneath the message I’ve heard. I don’t want to just talk. I want to communicate.

One More Step

Today I turn another page. Forty-five years old and still feeling like I’m in college. I can’t kid myself into feeling as physically fit as I did at 20, but I’m not falling apart yet. I had my spirits lifted yesterday morning when the owner of a local cafe and I were engaged in conversation about kids going back to school. Yesterday our youngest began his senior year in high school and our oldest returns today to begin his second year in college. The owner remarked with astonishment “You don’t look old enough to have kids that old!” How right she is! My fantasy world continues. . .

Occasionally life provides epiphanies concerning the past and the future. They come as clarity is provided to pressing questions:

“What can I look back on with pride?”

“What have I left undone?”

“What will the next 10 years hold?”

“How can I become an even better learner and achiever?”

I have some regrets (I don’t believe that anyone goes through life without at least a few, despite what they say) and I have left plenty of things undone, but I can count more than a few accomplishments of which I am proud. And the blessings of God in my life are too numerous to list, so many of them in the form of relationships.

As for the future, I see great potential ahead as God helps me through some of my weaknesses and gives me His wisdom. Each year seems to clarify the things that really matter. It is as though my mind and life is impure gold ore placed on a slow heat from the time of my birth. Each year a little more dross rises to the surface and is skimmed away. The contents of the cauldron draws closer each year to gold of great value.

I suppose my greatest struggle is marrying wisdom with lifestyle. I see clearly how my life and the lives of others should be, but the current of the world usually runs counter to that direction. It is an intimidating challenge to paddle upstream. After floating so long in one direction, my paddling muscles are weak. Some days I merely hope to be able to turn the canoe around and at least be pointed in the right direction, even if the current pulls me backwards.

And then I remember, I don’t paddle alone. The last half of my life could eclipse the joy of the first half.

Portable Memorial

While using the walking trail in our town the other day I took some time to notice the array of trees planted along the way specifically in memory of someone. Each tree has a post before it topped by an engraved plate. The plate bears testimony to the memory of a loved one.

Memorials are so prevalent in our world that we almost become blinded to their presence. Living memorials like trees are a great way to remind others of the value of life. Memorials fashioned from granite declare the enduring legacy of someone from the past.

And then I thought of the memorial that I stop at each Sunday morning. It is the proclamation of a Man and His gift to the world. By the simple act of drinking a bit of grape juice and consuming a unleavened wafer, I am reminded of the sacrifice of God’s Son. I am reminded of supreme love. I am reminded of the cost of sin. I am challenged to evaluate my life and go deeper in my walk with God.

That memorial is also unlike most others in that it is not locked to a certain spot on the earth. Although the sacrifice of Jesus Christ happened on a hill outside Jerusalem, every week (probably every day) people gather in memory wherever they are, inspired and grateful. The memorial is portable because it transcends geography. It finds us. And it changes us.

What Was and What Is

The older I get and the more I observe followers of Jesus, the more critical I seem to become. Not of individuals as much as the “system.” I sense a growing disparity between the way the Church was and the way the Church is.

Following Christ has a simplicity about it that we tend to complicate. Christ came to give new life and so transform life in every dimension. A change of mind should alter attitudes, habits and, eventually, character. It’s not about attending this session or completing that course. Those are tools that might help on the way to maturity, but the core of the Christ-life is a revolution of the soul. To love what God loves and hate what He hates. And ultimately to pursue what He pursues.

I am struggling to be the disciple He desires me to be. I am seeking to lead God’s people to become the community He wants us to become. It is simple. But it is not easy.