I don't ever want to grow up.
When I say that - and I do a lot - I'm not saying that I relish childish immature attitudes or that I want to avoid having adult responsibilities.
But still...I don't want to grow up. Meaning that I don't ever want to stop looking at life like I did when I was a child. Life is an adventure, and it's fun. I want to relish that. I also want to always be growing, always learning new things, always in touch with the best of God's creation. More than anything else, I don't ever want to hesitate to do something big because I'm too old and set in my ways.
But this post isn't about doing anything big. It's about keeping that childlike playfulness, that attitude that keeps you energetic to try big things. And how, well, jealous I was of this group of friends.
My friend Caroline tweeted a link to this article that talked about some friends in their 40s who are still playing a game of Tag after 23 years. The same game. Rather than me trying to describe it, here's the article:
It Takes Planning, Caution to Avoid Being "It"
What fun! While I have no idea whether these guys get it when it comes to life in general, I can say they get it in one respect: Putting a little fun in your life and finding a way to stay in touch with old friends is a good thing.
Very few of us can jut around the country playing Tag with our college buddies. But I dare say we can all find ways to value relationships and put some adventure in our lives. Any ideas?
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
We Are Both
If you watch the show Once Upon A Time, you probably recognize the title of this blog post. And you're probably thinking - well, that's old!
You would be right. The phrase is from a ket scene in the October 7 episode. Through the magic of DVR, some friends and I just watched it for the first time a few days ago. And in it - in this scene - WE saw glimpses of the Creator's imprint on our lives.
Setting it up, the people of Storybrook, Maine are actually fairy tale characters who have been exiled to the real world through a curse. They have not been able to be everything they were intended to be because of the curse, but they have recently been liberated. Now they know who they are - but they are in danger of losing it if they cross a line. Enter Price Charming:
In this powerful scene, Charming helps the people see that they are the sum product of all their experiences, good and bad. To be everything they were meant to be, they had to be liberated from their blindness. But now that they have been, they don't need to forget their shackles. It's those shackles that taught them many lessons and helped them see themselves as they really were. To cross the line was to go back to to slavery...and to lose part of themselves.
Paul talks about our internal struggle in Romans 7. We have been set free through Jesus to live life as God intended. But indeed, we are both. We are the free citizens of God's kingdom that we were intended to be. But, in this life, we never completely lose the shadow of the weak, selfish people that needed to be rescued. It is through the struggle that God shapes us into the people we were created to be. Like Charming, Paul is exhorting us: Don't cross the line. Don't go back. Don't return to slavery. Embrace the new life of the kingdom even though there will be struggles.
People created to live in fellowship with our Creator; people who rebel against that and do things our own way. We are both. Our friends are both. This world is both.
But it won't always be. As it says in 1 Corinthians 15:57, thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus the Messiah!
You would be right. The phrase is from a ket scene in the October 7 episode. Through the magic of DVR, some friends and I just watched it for the first time a few days ago. And in it - in this scene - WE saw glimpses of the Creator's imprint on our lives.
Setting it up, the people of Storybrook, Maine are actually fairy tale characters who have been exiled to the real world through a curse. They have not been able to be everything they were intended to be because of the curse, but they have recently been liberated. Now they know who they are - but they are in danger of losing it if they cross a line. Enter Price Charming:
In this powerful scene, Charming helps the people see that they are the sum product of all their experiences, good and bad. To be everything they were meant to be, they had to be liberated from their blindness. But now that they have been, they don't need to forget their shackles. It's those shackles that taught them many lessons and helped them see themselves as they really were. To cross the line was to go back to to slavery...and to lose part of themselves.
Paul talks about our internal struggle in Romans 7. We have been set free through Jesus to live life as God intended. But indeed, we are both. We are the free citizens of God's kingdom that we were intended to be. But, in this life, we never completely lose the shadow of the weak, selfish people that needed to be rescued. It is through the struggle that God shapes us into the people we were created to be. Like Charming, Paul is exhorting us: Don't cross the line. Don't go back. Don't return to slavery. Embrace the new life of the kingdom even though there will be struggles.
People created to live in fellowship with our Creator; people who rebel against that and do things our own way. We are both. Our friends are both. This world is both.
But it won't always be. As it says in 1 Corinthians 15:57, thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus the Messiah!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
"Wax on, wax off"
Pain. Discouragement. Grief. Failure. Numbness.
Adversity.
We all face it, in one form or another. For some, it seems to be their entire life. For others, it hits them occasionally. For all of us, there are probably extended periods when we stare into the face of death, disease, losing a job, bankruptcy, or divorce.
Why isn't life easy? Why do we have to go through pain?
The more I think and read about this question (including study of the Scriptures), the more I believe that "why?" is the wrong question. The better question is, "How will God use it to shape us into what we were meant to be?"
There are lots of Bible passages where we see this. We see that Job, possibly the most afflicted man in history, never learns why; but, he does come through it with a better understanding of God's character. We see in Hebrews and James that adversity is used to shape us and produce godly character. We see in Romans that everything - everything - is designed to conform us into the image of Jesus.
And years ago I saw a great example in a classic movie: The Karate Kid (1984).
In this movie (the original, not the 2010 retelling), young Daniel is being picked on at his high school by some bullies. To defend himself, he begins to learn from an elderly man who knows the martial arts. He asks for lessons but gets something much different from Mr. Miyagi: task after task that makes him feel like he's being used as a personal handyman. Sand the floor. Wax the car. Paint the walls. The frustration builds until...
So, he learns that it all did have a point. As he went through hours and hours of manual labor - seemingly pointless except as a way for Miyagi to get his chores done - he was learning. His body was developing muscle memory that would help him defend himself.
_______________________
Whatever we are going through this very day, whatever struggles we have, may seem incredibly pointless. Why is work so hard? What doesn't she love me anymore? Why did she have to die? Why did I have to get sick? Why am I going through this?
I don't know why. I suspect I never will in this life, and neither will you. But I do know that God can use it to strengthen me, to build character, and to conform me to what he wants me to be. And if I let him, he will.
When pain comes next, I pray that I will have the strength to trust him and let it happen.
(For more on this topic, I recommend Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges.)
Adversity.
We all face it, in one form or another. For some, it seems to be their entire life. For others, it hits them occasionally. For all of us, there are probably extended periods when we stare into the face of death, disease, losing a job, bankruptcy, or divorce.
Why isn't life easy? Why do we have to go through pain?
The more I think and read about this question (including study of the Scriptures), the more I believe that "why?" is the wrong question. The better question is, "How will God use it to shape us into what we were meant to be?"
There are lots of Bible passages where we see this. We see that Job, possibly the most afflicted man in history, never learns why; but, he does come through it with a better understanding of God's character. We see in Hebrews and James that adversity is used to shape us and produce godly character. We see in Romans that everything - everything - is designed to conform us into the image of Jesus.
And years ago I saw a great example in a classic movie: The Karate Kid (1984).
In this movie (the original, not the 2010 retelling), young Daniel is being picked on at his high school by some bullies. To defend himself, he begins to learn from an elderly man who knows the martial arts. He asks for lessons but gets something much different from Mr. Miyagi: task after task that makes him feel like he's being used as a personal handyman. Sand the floor. Wax the car. Paint the walls. The frustration builds until...
So, he learns that it all did have a point. As he went through hours and hours of manual labor - seemingly pointless except as a way for Miyagi to get his chores done - he was learning. His body was developing muscle memory that would help him defend himself.
_______________________
Whatever we are going through this very day, whatever struggles we have, may seem incredibly pointless. Why is work so hard? What doesn't she love me anymore? Why did she have to die? Why did I have to get sick? Why am I going through this?
I don't know why. I suspect I never will in this life, and neither will you. But I do know that God can use it to strengthen me, to build character, and to conform me to what he wants me to be. And if I let him, he will.
When pain comes next, I pray that I will have the strength to trust him and let it happen.
(For more on this topic, I recommend Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges.)
Monday, January 21, 2013
A lot of people
Ok, in the category of "duh"...there are A LOT of people in the world.
Yeah, sometimes things you "know" just kind of hit you out of the blue. That happened to me as I was descending toward a landing in NYC Friday. I looked down at the rows and rows and rows and rows of house and thought, "Wow, that's a ton of people!"
Then of course, when I found myself walking down the streets of Manhattan it was even more obvious. You could fill stadiums just with the folks in the general vicinity of Times Square on a Saturday night.
It hit me one more time as I was sitting in a theatre seat waiting for a show. I thought about the fact that the show is performed 7-8 times per week and the place is packed every night. And this happens at dozens of theatre venues all over town. And in London. And in touring shows all over the world.
Yes, there are alot of people on this planet...
And God loves every one of them. He has a plan for our universe crafted from his infinite wisdom with perfect love, and executed by his unlimited power. When I think of how is able to work his purpose for each person in the world, considering all the permutations of how my actions affect you, and your actions affect him, and his actions affect her...and on and on...the mathematician in me blows a fuse. And yet that is exactly what he is able to do. In perfect wisdom with perfect love for every...single...one.
No wonder Paul wrote:
Wow...just wow.
Yeah, sometimes things you "know" just kind of hit you out of the blue. That happened to me as I was descending toward a landing in NYC Friday. I looked down at the rows and rows and rows and rows of house and thought, "Wow, that's a ton of people!"
Then of course, when I found myself walking down the streets of Manhattan it was even more obvious. You could fill stadiums just with the folks in the general vicinity of Times Square on a Saturday night.
It hit me one more time as I was sitting in a theatre seat waiting for a show. I thought about the fact that the show is performed 7-8 times per week and the place is packed every night. And this happens at dozens of theatre venues all over town. And in London. And in touring shows all over the world.
Yes, there are alot of people on this planet...
And God loves every one of them. He has a plan for our universe crafted from his infinite wisdom with perfect love, and executed by his unlimited power. When I think of how is able to work his purpose for each person in the world, considering all the permutations of how my actions affect you, and your actions affect him, and his actions affect her...and on and on...the mathematician in me blows a fuse. And yet that is exactly what he is able to do. In perfect wisdom with perfect love for every...single...one.
No wonder Paul wrote:
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33, NIV)Beyond tracing out indeed! Especially when you see how many people there are.
Wow...just wow.
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