Barrier Breaker

I ... was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. Gal 1:14

Paul was zealous and, sadly, we can also be zealous for traditions rather than God. Paul thought he was being true to God's calling but he was only trying to protect a form of religion that had been given to him by his ancestors. Those who are filled with zeal for Jesus will always be trampling on the toes of those who are zealous for traditions. We read of how the Pharisees reacted to Jesus and we think, "I would not have reacted that way." But, it is very, very easy to find ourselves in the place of a Pharisee. A Pharisee is not as concerned with people as with his idea of the law. Jesus touched lepers, he conversed with a Samaritan woman, he let women be his followers and sit at his feet with the men, and he even healed on the Sabbath. The Pharisees thought it would be better for the people to continue in their suffering rather than be healed by Jesus in a way that conflicted with their tradition. Lord, where is my heart? Jesus broke through all kinds of barriers of custom, tradition and culture in order to reach needy people with good news, healing, hope and God's love. In our culture, it is becoming more and more difficult to even speak Jesus' name. May God give us hunger, thirst and zeal to follow Jesus wherever and however He leads even if we feel uncomfortable breaking through some barrier of culture, custom or tradition.

Praying With Our Caps On

1 Cor 11:4 - Every man who has something on his head while praying, or prophesying, disgraces his head.

When it comes to Law, we can find both big rules and little rules. But, breaking a "little" rule is still breaking the Law. For example, it is common to see men remove their hats and caps whenever they are in prayer. 1 Cor 11:3, 7 and 8 provide a justification for this supposed rule. The justification itself is based on a spiritual principle and not on custom or culture. A related "rule" in the same section of Scripture, based on the same spiritual principle, states that women should not pray without a head covering. So, does wearing a hat while praying invalidate a man's prayer and place him in a state of sin? Is a woman in sin, if she never wears a head covering whether she is praying or not?

There are many, many possible rules that can be extracted from the New Testament. "Owe no man anything..", "A woman must remain silent in church..", "Greet one another with a kiss of love.." and whatever rule is your favorite. Yet, it is clearly stated and a basic principle in the New Testament, that the keeping of rules, the maintenance of appearance, and the mere saying of right words is of little or no value. What does matter, with infinite importance, is whether one is a new creation by the Holy Spirit.

Whether we speak or keep silent, wear our cap or remove it, and go in debt or not, is not right or wrong based on rules. These things are right or wrong based on Godly love. Godly love is the type of love that Jesus spoke of when He said, "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." We are clearly called to die for one another. In fact, we are called to die to self -- daily. As one small example, I personally believe that it is best for men and especially myself to not drink alcoholic beverages. But, a few years ago, my bride and I were visiting a family in China who were not believers. As a sign of hospitality, the elderly father offered me a drink of liquor. There have been many times over the years when I have turned down offers of beer, wine or whiskey. In this case, however, I sensed that rejection of his sign of hospitality would create a significant obstacle to the Good News. So, I accepted his offering, drank and expressed gratefulness. And, indeed, I was sincerely grateful for his generous spirit of hospitality.

In a way, the flesh prefers rules. By picking and choosing the rules to be obeyed, it is possible to create a framework wherein the flesh can justify itself to itself. Our salvation, however, is not dependent on our ability to obey one, ten or even hundreds of rules. Salvation is possible only through the cross of Christ and it is dependent on only one thing -- whether, by God's grace, we are a new creation in our spirit. It is by God's Spirit leading us to walk in the way of genuine love that we realize the proper behavior in a specific culture, context or situation. It is in the context of love of God and love of neighbor that the letters in the New Testament were written. And, the Way of Love is still the way to discover the behavior that will be best for spreading the Light of Christ, the Good News of Jesus and God's Kingdom into any environment or community. So, as children of God and followers of Christ, whether we pray with our caps on or off, let us choose the action which is motivated not by rules but by faith working through the love of Christ which is alive in our hearts.

Rom 13:10 -- "..love is the fulfillment of the law"

Gal 5:6 -- "..faith working through love"
Gal 6:12-16
Gal 5:14 -- "..the whole law is fulfilled in one word.." Rom 14.23 -- "..whatever is not from faith is sin."

Parental Temptation

Parents want to help their children avoid lack, hunger and pain. But, many times the young lions reject help and counsel. In times past, many parents themselves were young lions who made similar choices, suffered lack and hopefully learned to seek the Father who became their Lord and who is the Lover of their soul.

The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. (Psalm 34:10)

As parents, we want good things for our children and we especially want them to be pain free. A parenting course called "Love or Logic" described three types of parents. Many parents are "helicopter parents", who constantly rescue their children from consequences. Other parents are "drill-sergeant parents" who attempt to control the decisions and lives of their children to help them avoid mistakes. These parental attitudes are manifest very early in the life of each child. Personally, I tend to vacillate between these types. But, we are called to be "consultant parents" who are available as life consultants. At some level, all children, even babies, can begin to learn to live with the pain or reward of their own choices and can experience the option of seeking wise counsel.

God allows the consequences of wrong choices, sin, and evil to wash over this world. Out of all this, the best thing that can happen to us is one choice -- that we choose to seek and love Him. This love is available through Jesus but it is not genuine if it is forced on us. Until we choose to seek and to love God in every part of our life, we will suffer lack. Love is eagerly waiting and will come running as soon as we choose to turn toward Him. The parental temptation is to rescue or control, but finding wisdom and love of God is infinitely more important than avoiding pain.

The Wound That Brings Life

From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, (Rev 19)

As I waited in the dentist chair yesterday, I began to think about this image in Revelations. The army of Christ is dressed in white and sitting on white horses. At the head of the army is Jesus, the living Word of God. It struck me that it is significant that he is not holding the sword in his hand. The sharp sword is in his mouth and it is a double-edged sword that can divide between soul and spirit. This sword can pierce the inner heart and thoughts of a person and give a wound that gives life instead of death. This sword is God's Word of love, reconciliation and a call to a change of mind. When it pierces a person's heart, that person has the opportunity to be healed of their rebellion toward God.

The sword that man naturally desires and carries is the sword of force, fear and death. When we don't agree with someone, we are naturally tempted to threaten, hurt and kill. This can happen at various levels. For example, one level might happen in a marriage, "No more sex" or "I want a divorce". This level is the threat and action against a intimate relationship. Another level is to "excommunicate", to cut off a friendship or to leave someone out of family gatherings. There are other threats to jobs, finances, and freedom. And, there is force against the physical body. None of these types of force can equal the power of God's sword.

Man's sword can affect external behavior and it can bring pain, discouragement and fear. But, it can not bring life. In contrast, God's sword has the power to change the inner being and to bring light, hope, and life where there was darkness, despair and death. Care is required. This sword requires a grip of love. If we try to wield God's truth out of fear, hate or anger, then we drop God's sword and we are swinging a sword made by a man. Lovingly speak the truth of God to someone today and you might give a wound that brings life.

I Start Disappearing

Nevertheless let each one among you also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see to it that she respect her husband. (Ephesians 5)

We have a daughter who is a late communicator. Many people, whether because of Down Syndrome, autism, disease or injury, face challenges in learning to communicate in healthy ways. We're currently learning how to be more balanced, matched, playful and responding in our interactions with our daughter. A late communicator can often feel alone and misunderstood. A late communicator may actually be able to talk quite well but may not know how to interact socially. A book we are reading to help us with this interaction is, "Play to Talk" by James McDonald. It has a poem "Respond and I will Exist". It has the following line in it.

"When you do not respond to what I do with you,
I start disappearing"

This is a reality in all our relationships and especially in our marriage relationship and in our relationship with God. When we notice, talk with, play with and try to understand our spouse, they not only feel more loved but also more substantial and real. When we stop interacting, listening and playing then our wife begins to feel like she is disappearing from our world.

Our interactions and responses to God also reveal how much He is a reality in each of our lives. If I don't try to listen to Him and don't respond to Him in my daily life, how real is He to me?

May God help us to see how we can "communicate" better, how we can interact better with those who are at the center of our life. May He give us grace to give up unhealthy habits of interaction and learn to love.

Respond and I Will Exist

When you respond to the little things I do,
My little sounds or the way I play,
I feel alive. I feel I'm real.

When you do not respond to what I do with you,
I start disappearing,
And feel I should not do what I'm doing.

When you respond to me,
I feel okay, I feel I belong to you.
I feel we are real partners.

When you do not respond to me,
I feel alone
I feel you are gone.

I am going to learn more
When you respond to whatever I do,
And then show me what to do next.

I have to feel alive to learn,
I feel alive when you respond to me.
I bet you didn't know you were that important! -- James MacDonald