Once there was a frog who worried about what other frogs thought. He didn't want other frogs to think he was foolish because of the way he hopped. So, in order that no one would think he was foolish because of the way he hopped, he didn't hop. Instead, he developed this sort of waddle-walk to get around.
In the morning, he would waddle-walk from his little nest on the bank of the pond down to the water to go for a swim. Then he would waddle-walk his way to a rotten log that was his favorite place to catch and eat all sorts of bugs. In the afternoon he would head over to the field to get some sun. Of course he would waddle-walk his way there, because he didn't want anyone to think he was foolish because of the way he hopped.
One day, some of his friends told him about a new pond they discovered over on the other side of the highway. They told him that it had the coolest water and the most fantastic bugs! Then they hopped off to go swimming at their newly found pond.
Of course the frog wanted to go, too. So he began waddle-walking his way toward the highway. It took him quite a while to get there, since waddle-walking was not a particularly fast mode of transportation. But it was the only way the frog was willing to get around because he didn't want anyone to think he was foolish because of the way he hopped.
He finally got to the edge of the highway and looked across the two lanes of blacktop to the grass on the other side. He took a deep breath and began the slow process of waddle-walking his way across. Wow, the road was hot! If only there was a way to keep his feet from touching the ground so much as he waddle-walked his way across. However, he didn't want anyone to think he was foolish because of the way he hopped, so he continued to waddle-walk his way across.
Just then a large truck appeared at the top of the hill and it was coming at him extremely fast! Two large sets of double wide tires bore directly down on the frog, closer, closer, closer... There was no way he would be able to waddle-walk his way to the other side of the highway in time! He began to head back in the direction he came, maybe he could make it to the first side before the truck got to him. WHOOSH! The truck passed directly over the frog, wheels zooming by on either side of him. That was close!
He quickly waddle-walked the rest of the way to the far side of the road. Luckily, there was no more traffic and he made it safely across. That's when he realized that the grass he saw from the other side of the road was separated from the road by a large, rocky ditch. The ditch looked awfully treacherous from the road... lots of loose rocks and stones to get a foot caught in.
Just then, a small rabbit appeared on the far side of the ditch. The bunny launched himself into the air. The frog watched with rapt attention as the bunny sailed through the air, legs outstretched; ears back, streaming in the wind. The bunny effortlessly landed out in the middle of the road. In one hop, the bunny had cleared the ditch and most of one of the lanes of the highway. 'Wow,' thought the frog, 'that was amazing.'
Then a car swerved to miss the bunny and ran over the frog. And so no one ever thought the frog was foolish because of the way he hopped.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A Bowl of Stew
In the Bible, there's a story of two brothers: Esau and his younger brother Jacob. Esau is a manly man. He hunts. He's hairy. He has sun-worn, leather like skin. Jacob is more of a homebody. He does some cooking. He hangs out with his mom.
One day, Esau is out hunting. Apparently he doesn't do very well, because he's out for a really long time. When he comes back to camp he's famished. It just so happens that Jacob was busy making some stew while Esau was out hunting. So, Esau comes into the tent and demands some stew from Jacob. Jacob, being a crafty soul says, 'Sure, but first sell me your birthright.'
You have to understand that Esau was the grandson of Abraham. Abraham was the man with whom God made a covenant that he would receive his own land, a land of abundance. This promise was to be fulfilled through Abraham's lineage. Abraham's son Isaac would inherit the promises of God and Isaac's son in turn would inherit them. The promise of God's blessing. Esau was the first born son of Isaac.
And so Esau's choice was this: the promises of God or a bowl of stew. He chooses the stew.
A ridiculous story. Who would choose something so mundane over God?
We are all given a birthright. Through Jesus we are able to have an intimate relationship with God. Unhindered access to the Creator of the Universe. And yet, everyday we make choices that destoy that relationship.
Success at work. Peace at home. More money. A few moments of pleasure. Small things. Small choices made in an instant. Things that are not really that valuable. But the price we pay is enormous.
The promises of God for a bowl of stew. What price are you selling your birthright for?
One day, Esau is out hunting. Apparently he doesn't do very well, because he's out for a really long time. When he comes back to camp he's famished. It just so happens that Jacob was busy making some stew while Esau was out hunting. So, Esau comes into the tent and demands some stew from Jacob. Jacob, being a crafty soul says, 'Sure, but first sell me your birthright.'
You have to understand that Esau was the grandson of Abraham. Abraham was the man with whom God made a covenant that he would receive his own land, a land of abundance. This promise was to be fulfilled through Abraham's lineage. Abraham's son Isaac would inherit the promises of God and Isaac's son in turn would inherit them. The promise of God's blessing. Esau was the first born son of Isaac.
And so Esau's choice was this: the promises of God or a bowl of stew. He chooses the stew.
A ridiculous story. Who would choose something so mundane over God?
We are all given a birthright. Through Jesus we are able to have an intimate relationship with God. Unhindered access to the Creator of the Universe. And yet, everyday we make choices that destoy that relationship.
Success at work. Peace at home. More money. A few moments of pleasure. Small things. Small choices made in an instant. Things that are not really that valuable. But the price we pay is enormous.
The promises of God for a bowl of stew. What price are you selling your birthright for?
Monday, March 9, 2009
Thrill Rides
A few years ago I went to California for a friend's wedding. After the wedding, a group of us found ourselves with some time on our hands, so we went to some theme parks over the course of a couple of days.
The first park we went to was Disneyland. Disneyland does a fantastic job of creating an atmosphere around each ride. Each ride has a theme and they do a lot of work to tie everything back to that theme. While you're waiting in line for the jungle tour there's a soundtrack that plays animal noises, talking animatronic characters that increase the anticipation and even the mundane things like the handrails look like vines to fit into the ethos of the ride. Every ride has an atmoshpere and a feeling around it.
The next day we went to Six Flags: Magic Mountain. Six Flags is not great at pulling off themes. Sure, they have a couple of statues here and there and cool signs for their rides, but no soundtracks, no vine-like handrails and no talking parrots. Mostly they just have bare bones roller coasters. Steel support structures sticking out of the ground with chain link fences to keep you out of the dangerous places and metal tubing handrails to keep people in line.
But I've got to tell you, I like Six Flags better. Sure, Disney is great at creating atmosphere, sticking to a theme down to the tiniest details, but the rides themselves aren't all that great. Mostly they're just some kind of theme-related car that goes through a series of theme-related scenes. Six Flags on the other hand stinks at outward appearance, but the rides themselves are awesome. Gut-wrenching, breath-catching, stomach-dropping rollercoasters that drop, flip, spin you in multiple directions at once. Bare bones coasters that while you're heading up that first hill make you look up and wonder, "What have I gotten myself into?"
We spend a lot of time trying to make our lives look good. Trying to tie everything neatly back to the theme that we've chosen to define ourselves: soccer mom, power executive, family man, church goer. Maybe we need to strip all that back to the bare bones of steel and chain link fence. To live a life that's not simply a movement from one theme-related scene to another. To live a thrill ride life. The kind of gut-wrenching, breath-catching, stomach-dropping life that makes us look up and wonder, "What have I gotten myself into?"
The first park we went to was Disneyland. Disneyland does a fantastic job of creating an atmosphere around each ride. Each ride has a theme and they do a lot of work to tie everything back to that theme. While you're waiting in line for the jungle tour there's a soundtrack that plays animal noises, talking animatronic characters that increase the anticipation and even the mundane things like the handrails look like vines to fit into the ethos of the ride. Every ride has an atmoshpere and a feeling around it.
The next day we went to Six Flags: Magic Mountain. Six Flags is not great at pulling off themes. Sure, they have a couple of statues here and there and cool signs for their rides, but no soundtracks, no vine-like handrails and no talking parrots. Mostly they just have bare bones roller coasters. Steel support structures sticking out of the ground with chain link fences to keep you out of the dangerous places and metal tubing handrails to keep people in line.
But I've got to tell you, I like Six Flags better. Sure, Disney is great at creating atmosphere, sticking to a theme down to the tiniest details, but the rides themselves aren't all that great. Mostly they're just some kind of theme-related car that goes through a series of theme-related scenes. Six Flags on the other hand stinks at outward appearance, but the rides themselves are awesome. Gut-wrenching, breath-catching, stomach-dropping rollercoasters that drop, flip, spin you in multiple directions at once. Bare bones coasters that while you're heading up that first hill make you look up and wonder, "What have I gotten myself into?"
We spend a lot of time trying to make our lives look good. Trying to tie everything neatly back to the theme that we've chosen to define ourselves: soccer mom, power executive, family man, church goer. Maybe we need to strip all that back to the bare bones of steel and chain link fence. To live a life that's not simply a movement from one theme-related scene to another. To live a thrill ride life. The kind of gut-wrenching, breath-catching, stomach-dropping life that makes us look up and wonder, "What have I gotten myself into?"
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The Wizard of Oz
Which character from the Wizard of Oz do you most identify with?
There's the lion, afraid of everything; afraid to act, afraid to do. There's the scarecrow, going through life without really knowing what's going on, happy to be ignorant. Or maybe not happy, but at least willing. The tinman, cold and emotionless, distant from life. And then there's Dorothy. She's the helpless one, unable to make decisions without someone else's help.
Which one are you?
Me, I identify with the Wizard. The Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz. Wise and All-Knowing, Feared by all, dispensing wisdom and knowledge from his Great Tower in the Emerald City. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...who is really just a man with a microphone behind a curtain. Not really powerful. Just a man, living in fear of the day that someone pulls back the curtain and he is exposed for the fraud that he is.
A man who is not really that wise. All he knows is that we're all not really who we seem to be. The lion really isn't a coward. The scarecrow has some wisdom himself and the tinman has a heart afterall. And Dorothy, well she had the means to get home all along. And there's no place like home.
There's the lion, afraid of everything; afraid to act, afraid to do. There's the scarecrow, going through life without really knowing what's going on, happy to be ignorant. Or maybe not happy, but at least willing. The tinman, cold and emotionless, distant from life. And then there's Dorothy. She's the helpless one, unable to make decisions without someone else's help.
Which one are you?
Me, I identify with the Wizard. The Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz. Wise and All-Knowing, Feared by all, dispensing wisdom and knowledge from his Great Tower in the Emerald City. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...who is really just a man with a microphone behind a curtain. Not really powerful. Just a man, living in fear of the day that someone pulls back the curtain and he is exposed for the fraud that he is.
A man who is not really that wise. All he knows is that we're all not really who we seem to be. The lion really isn't a coward. The scarecrow has some wisdom himself and the tinman has a heart afterall. And Dorothy, well she had the means to get home all along. And there's no place like home.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
What We Know
I was at an event recently where the participants started out in chairs, but the majority of the event took place with them moving around to different stations. At the end of the time, the participants returned to the chairs for a brief wrap-up.
I noticed that when they returned to the chairs, even though they had spent more than an hour moving about and interacting with different people, almost everyone returned to the same chair that they started from.
Why is it that we tend to follow this pattern? Why do we always return to what we know? Even back to destructive patterns and habits. Is it because it's more comfortable to deal with what we know? Maybe it's because it's easier, there is less thinking required. Maybe we're not really as creative as we think.
One time, Jesus came across a man who had been sick for 38 years. He asked the man, 'Do you want to get well?' For the longest time, I thought this was just a rhetorical question, of course the man wanted to get well. Or did he? He was sick for 38 years. What else did he know? What would happen if he did get well? How then would he live?
How long have you been living with that problem? That habit? That thing you know you need to change, but haven't? What would happen if it was changed, different, gone? How then will you live?
Do you want to get well?
I noticed that when they returned to the chairs, even though they had spent more than an hour moving about and interacting with different people, almost everyone returned to the same chair that they started from.
Why is it that we tend to follow this pattern? Why do we always return to what we know? Even back to destructive patterns and habits. Is it because it's more comfortable to deal with what we know? Maybe it's because it's easier, there is less thinking required. Maybe we're not really as creative as we think.
One time, Jesus came across a man who had been sick for 38 years. He asked the man, 'Do you want to get well?' For the longest time, I thought this was just a rhetorical question, of course the man wanted to get well. Or did he? He was sick for 38 years. What else did he know? What would happen if he did get well? How then would he live?
How long have you been living with that problem? That habit? That thing you know you need to change, but haven't? What would happen if it was changed, different, gone? How then will you live?
Do you want to get well?
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Gethsemane
The battle for your soul was not decided hill of Golgotha. Yes, the battle was won when Jesus died on the cross in your place. But that's not where the battle was decided. The outcome of the battle for your soul was decided on the previous evening on another hill outside of Jerusalem.
The battle was decided on when Jesus fell on his face, sweat blood and cried out to God, 'Let this cup pass from me!' It was his last chance to say to God, 'I don't want to go through with this.' He expressed his deepest, most honest feelings - the cross, the horrible, painful death he faced was not his choice; if there was any other way...please let there be another way.
But then he said, 'Not my will, but yours be done.' The battle for your soul was won on Golgotha, but it was decided on Gethsemane. It was decided when Jesus knew what had to be done and chose to do it. The beating, the thorns, the whip, the scorn, the insults, the nails were all extraneous because the decision had already been made. Jesus knew there was only one way to save you and he decided that whatever it took, that's what he would do. Long before he faced the Sanhedrin, long before Pilate turned him over to be crucified, it was decided.
The battle for your soul will not be decided in a moment of temptation. Long before that moment comes, you know what has to be done, and you have a choice to make. It's the choice you make now to do whatever it takes that will decide the battle. What will you choose?
The battle was decided on when Jesus fell on his face, sweat blood and cried out to God, 'Let this cup pass from me!' It was his last chance to say to God, 'I don't want to go through with this.' He expressed his deepest, most honest feelings - the cross, the horrible, painful death he faced was not his choice; if there was any other way...please let there be another way.
But then he said, 'Not my will, but yours be done.' The battle for your soul was won on Golgotha, but it was decided on Gethsemane. It was decided when Jesus knew what had to be done and chose to do it. The beating, the thorns, the whip, the scorn, the insults, the nails were all extraneous because the decision had already been made. Jesus knew there was only one way to save you and he decided that whatever it took, that's what he would do. Long before he faced the Sanhedrin, long before Pilate turned him over to be crucified, it was decided.
The battle for your soul will not be decided in a moment of temptation. Long before that moment comes, you know what has to be done, and you have a choice to make. It's the choice you make now to do whatever it takes that will decide the battle. What will you choose?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Comfort of Not Knowing
When I was younger, I used to sleep with the closet door open. Most kids prefer to sleep with the closet door closed, because they don't want to know what creepy thing is in there. And if they do think something is coming after them, they pull the covers up over their head and hide, as if a thin layer of blankets will stop the claws of a horrible monster. Me, I would stay awake with the closet door open, blankets up to my nose, staring into the dark because I wanted to see it coming.
But I do understand why kids pull the blankets over their heads. It's because there's a certain comfort in not knowing. When you don't know for sure what's coming, you can imagine the best thing...or the worst thing.
When I was in high school, I had a crush on a girl named Shelly. She was a close friend of mine, but I didn't tell her how I felt for a really long time. Before I told her, I could imagine all sorts of things. I could imagine that she was feeling the same way, that she was head over heels in love with me and she was just waiting for me to say something. Or, I could imagine that she didn't feel the same way at all; that she would recoil in horror or burst out laughing. I spent a lot of time going back and forth between these two possibilities. I was comfortable living in this tension; in a world where both the best possible and the worst imaginable could be true, and knew that in knowing the truth, both worlds would be shattered and only the mundane actual would exist.
Many of us live life like this. With the covers pulled up over our heads, not wanting to see what's coming. The news could be the best possible or the worst imaginable. It's how a lot of people deal with God and what happens after you die too.
Me, I want to see it coming.
But I do understand why kids pull the blankets over their heads. It's because there's a certain comfort in not knowing. When you don't know for sure what's coming, you can imagine the best thing...or the worst thing.
When I was in high school, I had a crush on a girl named Shelly. She was a close friend of mine, but I didn't tell her how I felt for a really long time. Before I told her, I could imagine all sorts of things. I could imagine that she was feeling the same way, that she was head over heels in love with me and she was just waiting for me to say something. Or, I could imagine that she didn't feel the same way at all; that she would recoil in horror or burst out laughing. I spent a lot of time going back and forth between these two possibilities. I was comfortable living in this tension; in a world where both the best possible and the worst imaginable could be true, and knew that in knowing the truth, both worlds would be shattered and only the mundane actual would exist.
Many of us live life like this. With the covers pulled up over our heads, not wanting to see what's coming. The news could be the best possible or the worst imaginable. It's how a lot of people deal with God and what happens after you die too.
Me, I want to see it coming.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Miracles
If you believe in God, you have to believe in miracles. To believe in God means that you believe in something that is outside the natural laws of the universe. If you believe in God, but believe that he does not exist beyond the laws of physics, then that is the same as not believing in God. Therefore, if you believe there is a God, then you believe that something exists beyond the laws of physics, hence you believe in miracles.
And if you believe that God created the universe, then you believe that he determined the laws of physics; that he decided that the acceleration of gravity would be 9.98 meters per second per second; that the charges of one proton and one electron would balance each other out and to throw in some neutrally charged particles to add some extra weight. He decided that all things would be subject to these laws and then he pulled the cord and began things spinning in perfect harmony. If he determined these laws when he created the universe, then he himself is not subject to the laws of the universe. He can work outside of them, since he worked just fine before they were created.
Therefore, if you believe in God, you must believe in miracles.
The fundemental issue we have with miracles, then, is not God's ability to achieve them--it is his willingness. God can do something miraculous, but will he? God could heal me, but will he? God can stop this war, but is he willing? God could change my life...if he wanted to.
The real issue here is: how important are we to God? Does he care about my health? My family? My life?
Yes, I believe that God can do miracles in my life. But, does he want to? That is the question with which I struggle.
And if you believe that God created the universe, then you believe that he determined the laws of physics; that he decided that the acceleration of gravity would be 9.98 meters per second per second; that the charges of one proton and one electron would balance each other out and to throw in some neutrally charged particles to add some extra weight. He decided that all things would be subject to these laws and then he pulled the cord and began things spinning in perfect harmony. If he determined these laws when he created the universe, then he himself is not subject to the laws of the universe. He can work outside of them, since he worked just fine before they were created.
Therefore, if you believe in God, you must believe in miracles.
The fundemental issue we have with miracles, then, is not God's ability to achieve them--it is his willingness. God can do something miraculous, but will he? God could heal me, but will he? God can stop this war, but is he willing? God could change my life...if he wanted to.
The real issue here is: how important are we to God? Does he care about my health? My family? My life?
Yes, I believe that God can do miracles in my life. But, does he want to? That is the question with which I struggle.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Struggles with God
A lot of people think of the Bible as a book of rules. Others think of it as a book filled with good advice. What the Bible really is, is a story. It's a story of encouragement for broken and hurting people who continuously fail. It's a story of encouragement, because that's the kind of people that appear in the Bible-the kind of people that God uses.
A king that gives into lust, gets a girl pregnant and kills her husband to cover it up. A man adopted into privilege who murders and then spends forty years hiding in the desert. A woman divorced multiple times and ostracized from her community. These are the people that God chooses to represent him in this world.
In the book of Genesis God gives his chosen people a name-'Israel'. A name that in hebrew means 'one who struggles with God'. It's an unusual name to give to the people who are to take his message into the world.
Maybe God's trying to tell us something. Maybe he's trying to tell us that we don't have to live perfectly to live with him. To live with God means to struggle with him.
That is what we are called to be. Not perfect, not sinless. Simply 'God strugglers'.
A king that gives into lust, gets a girl pregnant and kills her husband to cover it up. A man adopted into privilege who murders and then spends forty years hiding in the desert. A woman divorced multiple times and ostracized from her community. These are the people that God chooses to represent him in this world.
In the book of Genesis God gives his chosen people a name-'Israel'. A name that in hebrew means 'one who struggles with God'. It's an unusual name to give to the people who are to take his message into the world.
Maybe God's trying to tell us something. Maybe he's trying to tell us that we don't have to live perfectly to live with him. To live with God means to struggle with him.
That is what we are called to be. Not perfect, not sinless. Simply 'God strugglers'.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)