Thomas: Disciple and Skeptic

Dictionary.com defines "Skeptic" like this:
"A person who questions the validity or authenticity of something purporting to be factual."

It also lists a bit of etymology on that word:

Origin:  1565–75: 
  Late Latin "scepticus" = thoughtful, inquiring
  Greek "skeptikós",  equivalent to "sképt" ( "esthai" ) = to consider, examine
     -- akin to "skopeîn" =  to look; to see ( "-scope" ) + ( "-ikos" ) or ( "-ic" )

Despite the "doubting Thomas" nickname he is so often known by, Thomas is, I think, the most inspiring figure of the 12 disciples of Jesus.  Consider these thoughts about "Didymus" ("the Twin", probably of Mathew):

-- He doesn't say much in the Gospels, perhaps because he is constantly and deeply pondering what is being said and done around him; perhaps he is waiting to see what develops further...

-- He is not the one impulsively jumping out of boats, or brashly declaring love for and loyalty to Jesus (only to deny Him later), or grabbing swords and swinging them around...

-- He is that "quiet one in the shadows"...  Knowing what he was thinking, I can imagine Jesus many times glancing over at Thomas and smiling to Himself...

-- Immediately after the Resurrection, he wasn't among the others who cowered in a private room "for fear of the Jews", perhaps because, in solitude, he needed to "process" (perhaps in great turmoil of mind and soul) what had just happened...

-- His 3 primary speeches in the Gospels are these:

    -- A quiet exhortation to "go and die" with Jesus in Judea (where they knew the Jews
        were anxious to capture and kill Jesus) -- John 11:16

    -- An honest inquiry into what "way" Jesus was talking about and how, then,
        to go "with" Him on that "way" -- John 14:5

    -- An insistence that the Resurrection claim be supported by thoroughly
        convincing evidence, and his reaction when a loving and compassionate
        risen Christ gives him that evidence -- John 20:25

It's clear that Thomas was someone who questioned things and examined the reasons behind them, but that did not make him a "doubter"; keep in mind, he was purposely and specifically hand-selected by Jesus Himself to be one of the 12!  Jesus, of course, knew Thomas' mind and heart and personality type completely and yet added him as a chosen Disciple. 

It can be assumed, then, that his inclusion in that intimate, inner circle was for some perfectly good reason.  I do not believe it was so that "doubters can see that their doubting is okay", but so that the Church can see and understand that Faith is never "blind".

More specifically, I believe Thomas "stuck to it" throughout the process, following Jesus and being known as one of His disciples, because it was Jesus HIMSELF that Thomas found so profoundly compelling, so irresistable, so Real.

In Jesus, Thomas saw more than a "movement", even more than just a Face and a Name, a Body and a Voice; I think Thomas was wise enough, and perhaps the first, to see GOD in Jesus, and he followed willingly to understand the mystery of what he was witnessing.  Following, but not foolishly.

Thomas was not a "doubter"; he was a thinker, a questioner, a Skeptic.
And, in the end, a Believer.

Justice for Trayvon?

There are thousands -- maybe millions -- of people across the country today (following the verdict of "Not Guilty" for George Zimmerman, who shot and killed Trayvon Martin 17 months ago) who are screaming for "justice" in that case...  A civil suit is sure to follow, probably driven, in part, by the current administration (who had a part in turning this case into a media circus)...

For anyone who cares, here is my own take on this entire situation:

Defining the Term

What IS "Justice", anyway?
This Wiki definition serves as a starting point... And this definition of "justice" at Dictionary.com is also instructive... What both boil down to is this:  Given the subset of Facts that ALL sides agree on (and that deserves its own entire post), what would have been THE RIGHT DECISION in this case?

Well of course there is a mountain of Data that both sides disagree on; the bottom line is that during what can be described as a "street fight", Zimmerman (by his own admission) produced a gun, and Trayvon was shot and killed...

Should the charge have been "negligent homocide"?  "Manslaughter"?  "Second degree / Third degree Murder"?

These (and other possibly applicable descriptions) are what the Court systems are made to hammer out; what the "man on the street" understands may be accurate or may be wildly askew of the correct definitions...

The point here is that if someone is going to cry for "Justice", they need to have some clear, legally-acceptable definition of what that term means... Otherwise, we're all just spouting our opinions...

For my part, as a very low-grade "man on the street", here's how I see it:

This was a clear case of Justice-being-done, on a Micro scale...

Whatever else anyone may say, the "Justice System" did its work in this case:
A potential "crime" occurred; the defendant was prosecuted, had a defense team, and the case went before a jury, overseen by a judge; the jury rendered its verdict; the defendant was acquitted.

Case closed.

The "Justice System" -- on a Micro scale -- worked.  This is America, and nobody questions the integrity of the jury or the guidance of the judge.  Compared to the "kangaroo courts" of other countries, our legal system did its work fairly and equitably in this case.

This was a clear case of IN-justice-being-done, on a Macro scale...

However, what can be described as "the Facts of the case" seem to indicate that an Injustice may have been done here:  No matter what view one takes as to how it started (or why) -- these are, in the bigger picture, irrelevant -- the drama arose when a "street fight" ensued between the two parties...

Fist-to-fist, man-to-man, it was just a street fight.  And the facts seem to bear out that Zimmerman was on the losing end of that battle, in a fight that he himself provoked by "following" Trayvon and probably -- at least in Trayvon's mind -- posing something of a threat to him.

Then a gun was produced, tipping the scales in favor of whomever was in control of that gun.  Zimmerman is on record as admitting that he fired the fatal shot -- a single shot -- into the chest of Martin, killing him.

One of the definitions of "Manslaughter" that I found HERE includes the idea that a person is guilty of Manslaughter if his actions were induced by "fright" or "terror"... even "desperation will suffice"...

Are these not, clearly, the components of Zimmerman's own testimony on this incident?  The idea of "overwhelming force", rising to the level of "deadly force" (by someone NOT a police officer, federal agent, or commissioned and trained "law enforcer" of any kind)  seems to be the singular Reality that bubbles up to the top of any account of this tragic incident...

Therefore, it seems to me that if the Prosecution had angled for the strictest definition of Manslaughter in this case, instead of "going for broke" in a politically-motivated scenario demanding a "murder" convinction, they would have had enough leverage to win a conviction -- and, probably, a  prison sentence -- for George Zimmerman.

So if we define "Justice" in a very broad sense as "Punishment befitting the Crime", Zimmerman should probably have been convicted of something like Manslaughter, since he (1) essentially provoked this incident, (2) got into a one-on-one fight where he was out-muscled, (3) and produced a gun and shot Trayvon dead  ...  Self-defense, when one is minding one's own business and is attacked (and may have to use a gun to protect oneself) is one thing; I believe this is a case where the line was crossed and the shooter was wrong.

So the "system" worked, but the prosecution failed.

And now America must once again wrestle with questions of Race, and Justice, and Truth.  Are such discussions even possible, given the current, highly-politicized, racially-divided America in which we live?

May cooler (and more thoughtful) heads prevail.

50 Today

Today is my 50th Birthday.

I wish I had some pithy comments, some wise and sage remarks I could make here, about "things I have learned" and so forth, at this half-century mark.

I don't.

I have made a lot of mistakes in my life; I've squandered a lot of opportunities; and whether we're talking about Careers, or Finances, or Marriage, or Parenting, or Personal Health, or even Spiritual Growth, I am near the bottom of the ladder as a "model of success" in any of these categories.

But here are a few things I CAN share, from this point along the trail that winds through the forest of Life, where I am stopping, today, to rest my feet, drink from my canteen, and look around for a bit:

(1)  "To believe with Certainty, one must begin by Doubting."  One's World View absolutely colors everything about Life; the wise person knows, then, to pursue Truth, and maintain and open mind and a willingness to hear all sides, throughout the life-long process of putting together a world view.  A closed mind is the darkest place in the universe.

I cling to the Christian world view with a skeptical hand, more sure than ever that it is the Truth even as I avoid much of what comprises typical "Christian culture".  My wife is a believer in Jesus, too, and my kids are finding their way; I pray for them often, especially in this regard...

I believe in the Truth of the Christian world view, and more so as each year passes.

(2)  Married Love -- deeper and more meaningful with each passing year -- is truly one of Life's greatest joys.  Marriage either makes you better or it makes you worse;  and if you miss its full potential (philosophically, spiritually, sexually, emotionally), well, that is really too bad...  That's not to say that Marriage is always "blissful"... It means Marriage is (or CAN be) growth-bearing.  Sometimes that growth is enjoyable, and sometimes it's not.  But growth is always GOOD.

I love my wife, Sharon, very deeply, and more so as each year passes.

(3) Kids are AWESOME.  Your children will generate a white-hot Love in your Soul that nothing else can do.  It's true, they make their Mom and Dad want to scream sometimes (and they will know that feeling, too, someday!), but Parenting, like Marriage, is a wonderful and growth-bearing experience.  And growth is always GOOD.

I love my daughter, Sarah, and my son, Sam, very deeply, and more so as each year passes.

(4) I enjoy the indulgences of a premium cigar and a quality beer, very much.  I enjoy these simple pleasures  mostly because they bring a certain Peace and a gentle Quietness to my Mind and Soul...

(5) Hockey is Life:  The struggle.  The pain.  The team-based structure.  The skill and grace.  The speed and passion.  And the reality that Life is mostly about the hard work of doing the right things, often the "small" things, over and over and over, all to get to that one comparatively short moment where you pick up the puck in the neutral zone, speed into the O-zone all alone, deke right, come back to your forehand left, and top-shelf it (for the Cup-winner, of course!)...  Life is mostly work.  Sometimes it's fun.

(6) If Hockey is Life, JAZZ is what it sounds like.  To those who understand, no explanation is necessary; to those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

(7)  Some people understand Reason, other people only understand the Stick.  I try to be the first kind.


I wonder what the NEXT 50 years will be like...

Love and Marriage - 3 Lessons

The first 15 years or so of my Marriage were, more often than not, some fairly rocky times; but I think I am more willing than ever, now, to admit that most of it was my own fault.

Dealing with my own "negative" issues (and I should always be vigilant against their re-appearance) in those years certainly helped resolve some of the things plaguing our Marriage, but just getting back to "neutral ground" is not, of course, the same thing as building up positive results in the "plus" column...

I didn't really begin to understand God's vision for Marriage (which is, I think, the very best model of what the Gospel is supposed to look like) until I learned a few things...

Three distinct "Lessons" have come to me as true "epiphanies", thoughts that have struck me like a bolt of lightning at the time and which I had to mull over for some weeks and months before their true impact began to take root.  These are things I wish the Marriage counselors we have gone to would have imparted to me, but perhaps they are more effective when learned on one's own, anyway...


SERVANTHOOD is the secret to a JOY-filled Marriage (and Life)
Some time roughly 3 years ago, stemming from some realization that I have now forgotten, I found myself starting to pro-actively find ways to SERVE my wife:  I would try to do things -- some little, some significant -- that I thought would be a blessing to her (like cleaning the kitchen, or backing up the car to the porch when it was raining so she wouldn't get soaked, or getting between her and a disobedient child, etc.), and I became more intent about listening to her, pretty much all the time, for more "clues" about what would delight her, and then I'd try my best to do those things.

I was washing the dishes one day, thinking of how pleased and delighted she would be with a sparkling kitchen, when all of a sudden it hit me that I was JOYFUL in that moment.  Not "pleased with myself"; not even thinking of myself at all, but instead, imagining HER delight and happiness and pleasure as she discovered a clean kitchen...

That is when I understood that it truly IS "more blessed to Give than to Receive" (Acts 20:35).  This was a significant Step in my understanding of  Marriage - and of the Gospel - and I began to realize, too, that our own "Happiness" is not (or should not be) the primary goal of our lives (THIS Lecture played a significant role in that development).

I thought I had finally discovered the "secret" to marital Joy; but it was only a beginning.


It's all in the APPROACH
I've heard wise folks say that "it's not enough to be Right"; still others have said, "They don't care how much you Know until they know how much you Care."  Both very true statements.  Even though I was trying to exercise this new Servanthood perspective, I was still often approaching my wife -- especially when something bothered me, or when I wanted to talk to her about my own side of things -- in the same old blunt, forceful, insistent, matter-of-fact, and sometimes dictatorial manner.

I was playing cards with my in-laws, out on the porch one afternoon, when I was thunder-struck by the realization that my APPROACH to her was all wrong.  I finally saw that if I had approached her, over the years, with kindness and tenderness and an attitude that communicated to her how precious she is to me, things would likely have gone far better in our relationship.  C.S. Lewis' golden sermon, "The Weight of Glory", also helped me see just how profoundly God Himself values my dear wife ("...you have never met a mere Mortal..."), and, slowly, my perspective on, and subsequently, my approach to my wife has begun to change.

Then just recently, something else dawned on me.


It takes Time to build EQUITY
I heard a speaker on Marriage say once that "it takes 10 'Goods' to compensate for 1 'Bad' in Marriage".  The Equity that many of us have in our houses is something that often takes years to build up; out of the blue, while I was pondering some things last week, this idea of "Equity" in my Marriage relationship dawned on me:  It's great that I'm serving my wife (and finding deep Joy in doing so); and changing my Approach to her has helped quite a lot, I believe...

But now I must continue on this course long enough, and consistently enough, that I can build up a cache of Love "Equity" in her mind and heart.  She needs to have, deep in her soul, a certain assuredness that my Love for her is deep and real and permanent.  I don't know that she doubts this, even now; but the point of all THREE of these "epiphanies" is that they represent -- in concert with each other -- a FOCUS, a Direction, that I need to continue to press onward toward, throughout the entire length of our Marriage.

I'm not a great husband, and who knows how well (or if) I'll live these 3 lessons out very well, in the future; and of course, there are a number of other things that go into making a Marriage work (...like Conflict Resolution skills... Patience when it seems like your spouse will NEVER change... Endurance to survive those long periods of Loneliness... etc...).  But I do know that Love is the central theme of the Gospel, and I cannot think of any better way to live that out than to persist at trying to Love my Wife well.

To be a Christian is to Love, and to be Human is to Fail (sometimes, as in my case, spectacularly).  But we have to keep trying, because this is where Forgiveness, and Humilty, and Compassion, and other virtues are learned and practiced. 

The work is often hard but the rewards are great...

"A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another."

-- John 13:34,35

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A Note about "Diversity"

One of the primary reasons that Mitt Romney - and, by extension, the Republican Party - lost the 2012 Election is that nearly all the dominant segments, or "People groups", of our modern culture appear to believe that he (and the GOP) does not represent them.  Voters, these days, seem to desire, above all else, that the government LOOK like them, SOUND like them, and VALIDATE their Person-hood (whatever they choose to make that mean).

If you weren't already aware of it, Minority groups throw much of their collective energy behind various "Diversity" campaigns, where "Diversity" usually means merely the PRESENCE of Persons of Color on school boards and Boards of Directors, in Governments (at every level), behind the Tellers desk at the Bank, and in any other place where they see (what they believe to be) a lack of "Diversity"...

But where is the sense in this?  Once the proper Seating arrangements are all made at the table, what then?  Isn't the MEAL, itself, a great deal more important than the Attendees list?  Indeed, if there IS no Meal, isn't the rainbow of Color all around the table a pointless achievement?

If a Black (or Female, or Gay) president ruins the country even as he is celebrated for "looking like" the electorate, is this a good thing?  If the Teller at the Bank often makes errors with my money, does it matter that she's Female?  Where is the value in having a Gay swimmer on the Olympic Swimming Team who rarely wins a meet?  The examples are endless, and the point is clear:  "Diversity" only has meaning if the PURPOSE of the organization, or the movement, or the establishment, or the country, or the business, is fulfilled...  Failure by a "diverse" group of people is still Failure.

Additionally, there have been numerous reports of how White -- and more qualified -- candidates for various things (a promotion at a Fire Department, acceptance into a Law school, and similar stories in recent news) have been spurned in favor of the Black or Female candidate, demonstrating that the quest for "Diversity" can become so spell-binding that it actually produces a new kind of Discrimination...

To all those who clamor for "Diversity", who have some primal Need to "see themselves reflected" in their leadership, I would pose this question:  Just before your beautiful, sweet, beloved Daughter were to be wheeled into a life-saving, critical Surgery, would you stop the hospital staff and insist that the Team of doctors working on her be comprised of a "Diverse" group of folks "just like you"?  I doubt it.  I think you would want, with all your heart and soul, to have the VERY BEST TEAM AVAILABLE for the operation, whether or not they were White or Black, Gay or Straight, Male or Female, Alien or Human.

"I just want my dear Daughter to be HEALTHY and HAPPY", you would say.

AMEN.

The same goes for all of these other concerns.  If Success can be achieved and still include the "Diversity" element, so much the better.

Not Feeling the Love?

     ...Love is not love

     Which alters when it alteration finds

     Or bends with the remover to remove:

     O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

     That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

     It is the star to every wandering bark,

     Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

     Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

     Within his bending sickle's compass come:

     Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

     But bears it out even to the edge of doom. 

           -- Shakespeare, Sonnet 116

Someone told me recently, in a conversation we were having about Marriage -- and about Love, in general -- that "when the passion is gone, that's it, it's time to move on."

I was stunned by this comment, coming from an older person whose opinions and thoughts I respect very much; and yet at the same time, the comment struck me as profoundly symptomatic of one of the fundamental problems in our culture, the idea that my own personal "Happiness" comes before everything else, including Virtue, even including the "Happiness" of other people, even (and sometimes especially) my spouse!

In contrast to this idea, the wisest among us recognize that not only is Virtue far more valuable than "Happiness" (HERE is an outstanding Lecture on that very topic), but also that True Love does not come and go depending on the shifting winds of "Happiness" nor on the wild fluctuations of our "Passions".

Specifically, the constancy, the permanency, and the strength of True Love find perhaps their deepest grounding in MARRIAGE.  Consider what a man and a woman commit themselves to when they say their Wedding Vows (and here I will paraphrase a fairly standard script):

I promise to ACT in a certain way toward you...
("To Have", "To Hold", "To Love", "To Cherish")

Through and despite any and all Circumstances of Life...
("Rich or Poor", "Health or Sickness", "Better or Worse")

For my entire Life, starting this very day until I die...
("From this Day forward" "Until Death parts us")

 

WOW.

"I promise you EVERYTHING, through ANYTHING, until I (or you) DIE."  Witnessed by a crowd, hallowed by the presence of a minister, and of the Bible (and of God, presumably), and sealed with a kiss, a ring, and a Contract.

WOW.

But notice something very important:  We never promise to go on FEELING the way we did on our Wedding Day!

In fact, the Vows themselves clearly allude to the reality that there will be many days where we do NOT "feel" the way we did on that day, and that there will be Circumstances throughout all of LIFE that will tempt us to think that the Marriage was "a big mistake"; we will realize, on MANY occasions, that we are not "Happy" anymore, that the "passion" has gone, and it is precisely at those moments that the Vows we took to one another become necessary...

"FEELINGS" come and go; "passions" rise and fall, wax and wane, and absolutely nobody can reasonably and practically promise to FEEL, decades from now, what he is feeling on any given day, including the Wedding Day.

For an excellent treatment of the idea of "Feelings" in Marriage, from the perspective of the Christian World View, read this chapter from "Mere Christianity" entitled, Christian Marriage.

...I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons, neither the present
nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God...
--Romans 8:38, 39

The Heart and Soul of the Gospel

Sometimes a writer, or speaker -- or someone who is both -- gets it SO RIGHT that no additional words are necessary.  If you want to understand the very Heart and Soul of the Christian Gospel, take some time today to watch this video and to contemplate what's being said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9-rMbYCOr4&feature=related

The Eternal Perspective of the Christian

There is a show on CBS called "Undercover Boss" in which the "boss" (often the CEO) of a company leaves the comfortable surroundings of his position and poses as "just another worker" in his company; the goal is to learn more specifically what life on the job is like for his workers... To appreciate their struggles, understand their work habits, gain knowledge with which to improve the company, and even to reward those he (or she) finds is serving the company well...

But it's only temporary: After cleaning port-a-johns, or plucking trash out of a conveyor line, or dealing with irate customers, or working long hours -- after enduring the rigors of his "typical" employees -- the CEO gets to clean up and go back to his corporate office, his golf game, and his sprawling house in the suburbs. The whole experience for him -- while insightful -- is nothing like the normal, comfortable, affluent life he can return to when the episode has been filmed. He can view the entire week with a certain detachment, knowing that this is not his true Reality -- not his normal Perspective -- and that soon he will return to a better life.

You can check out some of the episodes here...

It occurred to me today that the Christian is in a very similar position: Having had SONSHIP bestowed upon us by our adoption into the family of God, and because of God's great LOVE for us as expressed through the death and resurrection of Christ, Christians can live in the here-and-now with a stunning, new Eternal Perspective: We are destined for an eternity of Love and Joy and Gladness, a never-ending, wonderful Life of being completely, perfectly SATURATED with the Truth and Beauty and Goodness that are the very Nature of God Himself.

Christians should spend an enormous amount of time pondering what's ahead for us, because the more we can grasp it, the more we can wrap our minds around it, the more it changes our Perspective on the here-and-now: Everything that happens here on Earth -- whether it is death, or sickness, or misery of all sorts, as well as the good things in our lives -- is strictly temporary, and soon enough, this present world will vanish from sight and we will be taken away to be with God forever, celebrating as a family in a World we can hardly imagine.

Even now, we can begin to see "clues" or "hints" about that World if we're looking for them, and if we're asking God to show them to us. Indeed, God wants to change our hearts ("...be being transformed...") so that we can see and understand more and more of His Glory even now... But isn't it good to ponder the reality that this will all soon be over, and that we will then enjoy Life, REAL Life, with God, and that it will never end... ?

To the extent that we can practice viewing everything from this Eternal Perspective, we will be increasingly able to see, and understand, and be encouraged by the LOVE that calls us "sons".

Public Displays of Religion

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With all the hullabaloo recently over Tim Tebow and his very public prayers--
complete with his famous one-knee pose and augmented by his faith statements
virtually every time a microphone appears -- the topic of "Public Faith" has
gained renewed steam both in the media and in everyday conversation...

From bus and cab drivers who argue for the "right" to snarl traffic 3 times a day
to get out and kneel in the street to pray, to the name "Jesus" being banned from
City board meetings, to these "new Atheists" who are suing to remove all vestiges
of "faith" from public life... Seems like everyone has an axe to grind these days
on God, Religion, World Views, and nearly anything else that can be described in
terms of "morals" or "values" or "truth". "Heaven", or "Nirvana", or "Utopia",
it seems, all look drastically different from one person to the next...

Over against all this cacophony, and despite the pervasive Pluralism which typifies
modern life, I find that PUBLIC demonstrations of even the faith that I myself subscribe
to -- indeed, that I deeply believe to be the Absolute Truth -- make me... well...
uncomfortable.

My Skepticism (left over from my atheist years, and still a fundamental part of
how I pursue Truth) already causes me to quietly avoid much of what I see in
modern Christian faith and practice; but beyond that, even as a practicing Christian
myself, public prayers, public (unsolicited) declarations of faith in Jesus, being
confronted by (or watching someone else be confronted by) some "soul-winner"...
These things cause me to experience an odd sense of discomfort, embarrassment,
even uneasiness. It's not because I am "ashamed of the Gospel of Christ", as some
fundamentalist might bark at me; it's just that...

Well, picture this: You walk into a Starbucks and off in the corner are two
teenagers (a guy and a girl!) who are seriously "making out", as if they are
completely alone; they are, unfortunately, completely oblivious to the discomfort
they are causing in everyone else around them, completely absorbed in their selfish
behavior and seemingly unaware of the unspoken, shared sentiment hanging in the air:
"Get a room!"

So it is -- for me -- with regard to public displays of religion: It's one thing
to IDENTIFY oneself with a particular religion (say, a Jewish co-worker wearing a
Yarmulke, or a Muslim neighbor wearing a Hijab, or a Catholic friend displaying
a figurine of the Blessed Virgin on his dashboard); but to create what is essentially
a "worship moment" in a public place -- to publicly PRACTICE a religion -- is, to me,
a different thing, a mis-placed private thing, something that ought to be subordinated to the tastes and comforts of those in the immediate vicinity...
It's hardly "Christian" to completely disregard the feelings and sensibilities and
comforts of those around us so that we can perform some Christian act, eh?
Who are we fooling, here?

Would you pick your nose in public? Scratch yourself, pass gas, tug at your
underwear, or belch loudly, in a public place? Would you break out in song at
a funeral, or play Sousa marches at a wake? Why not? Well, because you want to
be the sort of considerate, humble, kind, thoughtful, and polite person who keeps
the thoughts and feelings and sensibilities of the people around you always at the
forefront of your mind; in a word, you don't want to be RUDE.

It is interesting to note that far more often than not, Jesus Himself prayed in
solitude, away from the crowds (and, today, we could add, cameras and microphones
and cell phones); the kneel-down, public prayer spectacle of Tebow -- sandwiched
between Dorritos commercials and "December to Remember" ads -- only serves to
expand the absolute Media circus we all have to put up with these days, which now,
unfortunately, includes "amazing!", "unbelievable!", YouTube-worthy attractions featuring
"all that religious stuff"...

What does the Bible say about Public Displays of Religion?

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Thoughts on the "Occupy" Rioting

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Riding the crest of broad news coverage lately has been this "movement"
known as "Occupy Wall Street", which is supposed to be some kind of
"people's action" against so-called "corporate greed", "wealth-hoarding",
and a number of other populist themes and ideals. But just as
the real aims, goals, and message of this "movement" are ambiguous,
murky, muddled, and fuzzy, I thought I'd post my own jumble of disconnected
thoughts on what this "movement" is... er... *Seems* to be... I guess?
Sort of? Maybe? Not sure...

One thing's for sure: It ain't no Tea Party

From the very start, this "movement" has been a rag-tag band of squatters,
who have taken over a park in New York near Wall Street and who have
decided to LIVE there, for the time being; reports are that sanitary conditions
are geting worse by the day, with participants urinating in the streets and
strewing their garbage in every direction. In addition, there are fights
and scuffles with local police on a daily basis, vandalism, public nudity,
even -- by some reports -- pot smoking and other drug use going on...
There is even a YouTube video showing a sympathetic Democratic congressman
who came down to speak to some of the rabble, but who was used, instead, as
the centerpiece of a mock-theatre skit intended to show how "ineffectual"
the government is; the congressman never got to speak and wandered away...

This weird, filthy, combative, drug-using mob-mixture has been joined by
all types of anarchists, Union thugs, scoff-laws and other crack-pots for
a street-festival style, political "mardis-gras" of sorts, but the MESSAGE,
if there is one, seems to be nearly impossible to pin down...

Contrast this to the Tea Party:
It's public gatherings have been almost universally calm, clean, peaceful,
and orderly, events which you could easily see your elderly loved ones
participating in and enjoying without fearing for their safety... The message
of the Tea Party has been CLEAR and CONCISE from the beginning; a quick Google search shows that from chapter to chapter, state to state, and from one Tea Party organization to another, the fundamental principles and themes of this movement have been, and are consistent; the Lists vary slightly, but they are all in agreement with these Core Values:

Free Enterprise beats Socialism
Government must be limited
Government spending must be frugal
The Constitution is our supreme guide

I actually agree with SOME of what OWS is supposedly about

To the extent that this quirky OWS "movement" -- and anyone else from the Left --
proclaims that the "Wealthy" ought to "pay their fair share", I completely AGREE
with them; everyone -- rich, poor, and everyone else -- should pay what they
OUGHT to pay (in Taxes), and nobody should have the benefit of Loopholes,
special Tax shelters, or any other mechanism that provides advantages that only
some people get to enjoy...

I also AGREE that the Federal Reserve is a HUGE part of the problem in this
country, and that it ought to be completely dismantled and gotten rid of;
control of the money supply, and the standard on which it is valued (the Gold
Standard), should be the domain of elected Government, not some non-elected,
above-the-law "private club" whose hidden ways-and-means (including heavy
international involvement) affect the financial health and well-being of
virtually all American citizens...

I also AGREE that it's just shameful that a few Executives
at the top levels of most of the world's wealthiest corporations enjoy
ridiculously LAVISH life-styles, funded by corporate profits, while the
"worker bees" of that organization have to struggle to make ends meet, worry
constantly about lay-offs (especially in this dismal economy), and know that
in any case, only a very few will EVER make it to the upper echelons in the organization:
There are only so many keys to the executive restrooms to go around, and
besides, who would want to tee off at the Country Club with
a RECEPTIONIST, anyway?? (Please note the Sarcasm in that last sentence).

The problem is, WHAT TO DO about it... The GUB-ment is absolutely the LAST entity
who should get their incompetent and money-wasting claws into the mix;
and you can't LEGISLATE Morality (as some on the Right have learned over the
years), forcing the Board of Directors at "Corporation X" to push more of the
Profits back down into the company... So what can be done, so that "Susie-Q
Employee" can enjoy more of the rewards that she helped create, by working hard
and doing her job well?? I honestly don't have an answer for that...

But only a Fool believes that if the Wealthy -- and Corporations -- were just
TAXED more, then more Americans could enjoy a higher standard of living via
Government programs. It's axiomatic that the more money the government takes in,
the more it spends, and usually in Deficit mode; so "Tax the Rich" won't have
any noticeable impact whatsoever on the general health, wealth and prosperity
of the OWS mob...

The Bad is drowning out the Good

Unfortunately, any GOOD that might be included in whatever one can make out as
the primary message of this so-called "movement" (which, not surprisingly, has
gone global by now) is being out-shouted by all the BAD associated with it:
The shouting and uproar is from those who've identified themselves as
Anarchists, and Socialists, and Free Loaders; many have been outspoken and
unabashed in their support of the classic Liberal
"Cradle-to-Grave-Government-Dependency" model,
demanding more Big Government spending (without, apparently, a single thought
about the 800-pound gorilla issue, the 14 trillion dollar National Debt);
add to this the disgusting and dangerous public behavior (urination, fights,
drug use, trash everywhere, smashed windows, etc. etc.) and the sum total
is that this so-called "movement" lost any serious consideration before
it was even off the launch pad...

It is, to put it simply, a Riot that will eventually have to be put down with,
probably, military intervention.

"The public is a ferocious beast; one must either chain it up
or flee from it." -- Voltaire

"A mob has many heads but no brains" -- Thomas Fuller

"Nothing is so contemptible as the sentiments of a mob" -- Seneca
"It is proof of a bad cause when it is applauded by a mob" -- Seneca

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Love is like a Pitching Machine

If you have ever had children and you live in Suburbia, you have probably
been exposed to youth Baseball, played by thousands of youngsters in ball
parks all over the country. A central object at baseball practice (and in
games, until the kids are old enough for real pitching) is the good ol'
Pitching Machine.

It's a pretty simple device, really: A large, rubber wheel spins constantly, and a short section of plastic tubing "feeds" baseballs onto the wheel at just the right speed and angle (and the wheel can be angled up or down, left and right), in order to deliver "perfect pitches" to the small Batter at the plate...

Electricity feeds the rubber wheel, keeping it in constant motion,
whether the coach is putting baseballs (from the bucket nearby) onto the wheel
or not; in this sense, the wheel is continuously ready, willing and able
to serve up pitches because it is always in motion; it never stops.

Well, True Love is an Attitude that is just like that: If LOVE is
in our hearts, if it is always already in motion, if we are continuously
ready to act on its momentum, then when opportunities to demonstrate
LOVE (in hundreds of ways that show Grace and Compassion and Kindness and
Courtesy and Respect and Deference and Generosity and Caring), we won't have to
"switch it on" or suddenly "change tracks in our mind" to now "focus" on
Loving someone; we will be already moving in that direction, indeed,
"primed" for whatever opportunities to practice and demonstrate True Love may
present themselves, all around us, every day...

And the more we practice our "swing", well, the greater our chances are for
hitting those home runs, or at least advancing the runner -- our Neighbor --
to the next base...

So where does this "constant Attitude of True Love" come from?

Attitudes are EFFECTS, not Causes; it follows, then, to examine Causes:
It begins with Thinking: "Seek wisdom, seek Understanding", Proverbs tells us;
How we THINK (and WHAT we Think) lays the groundwork for, and begins to set
in stone, what we BELIEVE. Then, our Beliefs -- reviewed, supported, grown,
and erected -- begin to produce in us certain ATTITUDES about the nature of
the thing being Believed, and very often, about the World in general.
The last bit is that it is most often our Attitudes which drive our BEHAVIORS.

Put simply, it looks like this:

THINKING establishes (or "causes") BELIEFS
BELIEFS foster (or "cause") ATTITUDES
ATTITUDES determine (or "cause") BEHAVIORS

So, logically, the first place to focus when we want to create an Attitude
of True Love inside ourselves (and this should be our constant prayer...
"God change me, fill me with Your Love and make me a conduit of Your Love
to those around me") is to go back to how we THINK, about God, about ourselves,
and about those around us...

Indeed, is this not the main purpose of going to church, of reading
the scriptures, of reading good Christian literature, and of surrounding
ourselves with mature, humble, spiritual Christian companionship? To bring us
back, again and again, to the TRUTH of God (Thinking), which can then buttress
or change) our Beliefs, and which then can change our ATTITUDES, resulting in
more mature, God-like Behaviors? "...be being made complete..."

So ponder the Pitching Wheel today. Ask yourself if, right now, in your Heart,
you have this "Attitude of Love", already in motion to imitate Christ,
by "taking the very nature of a servant" and by "washing one another's feet"...
If we don't find that Attitude pervading our hearts, it's time to Think,
deeply, about whether or not the Christ-life is alive in us.
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2 Problems with Materialism

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For the philosophically uninitiated, the philosophy of Materialism (and here I am
paraphrasing) suggests that the only plane of Reality is the physical world; indeed,
sometimes philosophers use the words "Physicalism" and "Materialism"
interchangeably...

Especially in matters of Mind, a strict Materialist will insist that what we refer
to as "Mind" is merely the emergent result of the physical workings of the Brain;
that a Thought, or an Emotion, is merely the result of the chemical and
physiological workings of the organ inside our skulls, and that anything like a
"Mind" (or any other "Force" or "Influence" on that "alleged Mind") is quite
literally traceable to areas in the Brain and the chemical and physiological
processes going on in that region...

Well there are two huge problems with that philosophy and the central role
it plays in many modern World Views:

Truth becomes Impossible
An internal combustion engine works by having Gasoline injected into, say, eight
cylinders; the spark plugs (powered by the battery) provide a "spark" that causes
the gas in the cylinder chamber to explode, forcing the cylinder downward, and a
spring brings it back up. If all the cylinders are "firing" properly, the
aggregate "energy" from the engine is fed into the transmission systems,
eventually finding its way to the wheels, which spin the tires, and the automobile
is put into motion. (This is a recap from a strict amateur on how this all works,
but I think I may have got the basic details right...)

Now, there is nothing whatsoever specially "TRUE" about any of these details;
you would not say that a properly-functioning engine produced some kind of
"statement" about Reality that is "True" (or "False"), and neither can anyone say
that the mechanical, physiological, chemical "firings" in the Brain produce any
kind of "Truth"; they simply DO what they DO, as physical properties; they do not
establish, by themselves, any kind of FACT.

Indeed, statements ABOUT these chemical processes can be "True" or "False,
but if nothing exists EXCEPT those processes, then even those statements lose
all meaning. A physical process cannot make any claims about itself; it just
DOES what it DOES, making no statements and offering no insights on Reality.

So Materialism defeats itself because even the very statement "The Material world
is all there is" is not something mere chemical processes would ever assert.
Something OUTSIDE of those processes -- something BEYOND the chemicals --
has to be *observing* those chemicals in order to arrive at conclusions ABOUT
those chemicals. TRUTH, then, becomes impossible in a purely Materialist world,
since NO "thought" (even about Materialism!) can rise above the physiology.

Localization assumes way too much
Quite a few modern atheist/materialist/naturalist/reductionist Neuro-Scientists
(and others who trumpet the conclusions of this group as some kind of "proof"
that "Science" has figured it all out) are claiming to have found the "God" part
of the Brain, and proudly demonstrate how their various tools -- advanced brain
scans, high-resolution MRIs, etc. -- can pinpoint parts of the Brain that
"light up" when the subject is said to be having some sort of "religious
experience"... "See, it's all just Brain activity!" they gloat...
This is sometimes called "Localization", the idea that certain experiences
*come from* and are *local to* certain portions of the Brain...

You can take a simple radio and apply various electronic tools to "track"
precisely where, in the circuitry, the Sound of your favorite radio station
seems to be occurring at any given moment; but does that mean, then, that the
SOUND originates from, and remains resident in, those electronic components?
Of course not: The Signal is coming from a radio tower somewhere near enough
to be picked up by the radio, and these electronic components ACT on it --
"modulate" it -- in various ways to present the Sound to your ears (we could
talk about Sound "only happening in your ears", too).

So while it may be true that a Neuro-Scientist's tools can identify WHERE in
the Brain certain functions occur, it does NOT follow, then, that those portions
of the Brain are RESPONSIBLE for the *production* of specific events.
Something -- like a Mind -- could be *operating on* or *passing through* that
portion of the Brain, which then lights up the Scientist's detection tools, but
the SOURCE of that activity may very well be something the Materialist simply
cannot capture, measure, or pin down...


I get a little weary of the scientific community dressing up their assumptions
in lofty rhetoric and then excoriating anyone who challenges those assumptions.

But then we Christians know precisely why they do it, don't we...
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Practicing the call to be "Slow to Speak"

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I'm not sure where I heard this, though I am sure that it was when
I was a youngster... And I've heard it a number of times, in various ways,
over the years: These are some great "Guidelines" to help us with the
spiritual discipline of being "slow to speak", as we're encouraged to do
in James 1:19. Indeed, if we were to devote a great deal of energy into
just these three guidelines -- "be quick to listen, slow to speak, and
slow to become angry" -- what a blessing we could be to those around us,
and in so doing, co-operate more fully with the work of the Holy Spirit
inside us and display the glory of Christ more evidently to the world...

So here are some "guidelines" that can help us rein in our speech:

Is it TRUE?
We obviously ought not run around spouting things that are not True;
the absolute Lies are the easy ones. But what about things we say
that we do not KNOW to be True, for certain? Have we got our Facts
quite right? How much of what we blather on about is mere opinion?
If it isn't TRUE, then it shouldn't be said.

Does it NEED to be said?
OK so fine, it's true that that co-worker is lazy, or that man over
there doesn't bathe and is a rather disgusting fellow; yes, it's true,
those comments were sarcastic, but does it not foment additional
animosity to point it out? Might it not be more gracious to let it go,
and let the speaker (hopefully) be impacted by the silence that follows
their caustic remarks? All those bitter opinions, all those cut-downs,
the snide remarks, the brow-beating, the under-the-breath comments in
judgment of someone else... Even if these are True, do they really
NEED to be said? How are they a blessing to anyone who hears them??
If it's True but doesn't NEED to be said, consider not saying it at all

Does it need to be said RIGHT NOW?
There are many, many times where a given comment or remark is
purely benign, or maybe even helpful, and would be a good thing to say,
but is NOW the right time to say it? If my brother is hunched over the
motor of his car and is obviously straining and grunting, trying to get
the wrench positioned just right and is putting all his energy into the
effort, should I choose that precise moment to offer help, distracting him
and forcing him to focus on something other than what he's working so
hard at? Might it not be better to WAIT a minute or two? What makes me
think that my comment or question (True, and Needed) needs to be spoken
right now, urgently, no matter what else may be going on with those
around me?
If it's True, and Needed, but doesn't need to be said RIGHT NOW,
consider waiting to say it until a more appropriate moment...

Can it be said NICELY?
So fine, this all-important Comment or Remark or (often rhetorical) Question
is True, it Needs to be said, and it needs to be said Right Now... Can it
at least be said Nicely? My daughter is going out of the house in an outfit
that her parents don't approve of; our son is making a pest of himself in
a group of people we're with; my assessment of the situation, and the comment
I want to make about it is TRUE, and yes it probably does NEED to be said,
and because of the timing of the situation, it does need to be said RIGHT NOW;
but can I not calm my rising anger a great deal, take one second to breathe,
formulate a firm-but-encouraging Instruction for her/him, and deliver it with
a tone more like a "coach" than like a tyrant? How much more of a blessing
could we be to those around us if we simply spoke more NICELY, and with more
GRACE injected into our words and tone?
If it's True, and it Needs to be said, and it needs to be said Right Now,
then at least try to find a Nice way to phrase and deliver it...

It's not difficult to see that the first of these would capture a great deal
of what we let flow out of our mouths every day; the second would filter out
another huge segment; the third would relieve those around us of our self-imposed
sense of "urgency" to speak; the fourth would render what is left over much
more like "apples of gold in pictures of silver" (or, "a word fitly spoken",
and again, "a gentle answer turns away wrath")... Proverbs has quite a bit
to say on this topic.

May God Himself help us to devote ourselves to following these simple
"guidelines" for how we manage that poisonous piece of flesh behind
our teeth...

"Those who consider themselves religious and yet
do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves,
and their religion is worthless." - James 1:26

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Natural vs. UN-Natural LOVE

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In thinking about our mandate to love God and to love those around us,
it's critical that we come to a deep understanding of what Love even means,
and that we dedicate ourselves to the life-long process of studying and
practicing Love... Make no mistake: The central theme and compelling directive
of the Gospel is LOVE; anything less is mere religion, and profits us nothing.

As I've noted here on TPoG before, there is perhaps no better Context in which
to understand and to practice True Love than Marriage; and in regard to this
"proving ground for Love", I had a realization yesterday that I don't think
I've ever had, before:

Married Love is UN-NATURAL.

I heard someone say recently that they know what "True Love" is, referencing
relationships with Siblings, Parents, and even that "first love" romance from
high school; but as I pondered this, I began to see a very clear difference
between these Loves and Husband-Wife love.

The Love one experiences for both Siblings and Parents is what might be called
"Natural Love", that is, it springs from a relationship in which we find ourselves
beginning at birth, having made no *choice* to Love and yet growing to feel,
naturally, the strength of a bond often described with the phrase, "blood is
thicker than water". We grow up in these relationships experiencing a deep filial
affection, a certain "you belong with me" connection that is, from the start,
a central part of our very identity; family ties are who we are, to a very
great degree, and while not all Family ties are necessarily loving and happy and
blessed, they are relationships we are born into, natural and normal
realities that define us throughout our entire lives...

Married Love, however, is NOT Natural, it is UN-Natural: It begins with a Contract
in which both parties vow that certain behaviors can be expected of them until
death parts them; it is the voluntary sealing of the relational "escape hatch" with
Vows that are meant to hold the relationship together specifically when one or the
other, or both, are desperately seeking a way out; and it is the life-long
determination of two deeply sinful and (often) wildly different parties to devote
themselves, BOTH of them, to building, strengthening, and deepening a Bond that is
designed to be "one flesh", a single, new "Super-person".

Contrary to Family love, Married love does NOT arise naturally, by definition; it is
NOT present from birth, and it is NOT an innate part of any of our identities; it
requires, like a garden, a tremendous amount of work, and maintenance, and care and
feeding, so that the couple can mutually enjoy the benefits of its Fruits.
The "weeds" of selfishness, and apathy, and indifference, and infidelity, and many
more, are a constant threat; and, tragically, its Bonds can be broken, by either
party at any time, whereas Family relationships cannot be, at least by definition,
ever be broken: We will ALWAYS be our Siblings' sibling, and our Parents' children,
no matter what any of us ever chooses to do...

Interesting, then, to consider that the relationship of Christ and His Church is
described, primarily, not as a "family" relationship but as a MARRIAGE relationship:
An UN-Natural relationship we must enter into by choice, from which we often stray,
and for which we must "die daily"... This UN-Natural Love requires commitment and
work and fidelity; and yet, ironically, its ultimate Fruit will, when we are finally
and perfectly Glorified, be the transformation of an UN-Natural Love into
a NATURAL Love, a Bond that will last for all eternity.

This then is the highest Love and the most dramatic of all, the epitome of
True Love, our deepest need and our greatest joy.
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Heaven, Hell, and Christian Love

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Just recently, a new book was released by popular evangelical icon Rob Bell,
entitled "Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person
Who Ever Lived". I've read the book twice, and I've read other Christian
who have reviewed the book... In addition, I've listened to Rob Bell himself
discuss the book, and I've read other works by Mr. Bell and seen a number of his
YouTube videos (he's very good with modern technology and the tools of what has
come to be known as "Social Media"), so I think I have a good handle on his basic
perspective on our Faith... Indeed, the themes of most of the current crop of
post-modern Christian "pop-culture" figures are strikingly similar:
Read or listen to one and you're sufficiently introduced to them all...

His central thesis is that both the Love that God offers the world through Christ,
and therefore "heaven", can be experienced in the here and now (as well as in the
"afterlife"), and conjointly, that "hell" begins for us as the suffering and pain
we experience in our lives right now... He claims to believe in a literal Heaven
and a literal Hell, based on his understanding of the Bible, but that seems to be
more or less where adherence to traditional doctrine on these topics ends.

In my view, and as I understand the fundamentals of our Faith, I think Mr. Bell's
position on these topics is dangerously close to "it-means-whatever-works-for-you"
Post-Modernism, most especially as it concerns what the Love of God is really about;
indeed, the book seems, to me, to be a classic example of this new "Social Gospel"
that has become so prevalent in modern times... A watered-down substitute for
Scriptural themes that attempts to sponge away the "nasty" stuff in favor of
interpretations that are nicer to hear... But, as in so many other areas of life,
Error is most pernicious when it has a bit of Truth mixed into it...

Based on what the Bible says, clearly, in plain Enlish (no Theology degree, or
slick YouTube video, required), we understand that God DOES love the entire world,
every man, woman and child who has ever lived; it's also clear that God is not
willing that ANY perish (that is, to CHOOSE to REJECT the cleansing from Sin
through the blood of Jesus, and to DENY His Deity and Lordship); indeed the Bible
is utterly explicit that SIN is the problem between God and Man; but since -- as
the Bible explains -- we are free to choose or reject God, there will in fact be
some who reject Jesus, and God's Love... That choice MUST, at some point, become
permanent, and when it does -- when that Soul has lost all Hope and when all
Goodness and Truth and Beauty are removed from its existence, and when that Soul's
SIN Nature is fully, tragically perfected -- that Soul will BE Hell-ish
and will be IN Hell.

Since even the most evil person alive on this planet at least has EVIDENCE of the
Goodness and Truth and Beauty of God around him -- though he may take no notice --
he is NOT, in fact, yet in Hell, no matter how evil his heart is; Hell is not only
the complete and profound REMOVAL of any hint of God... It is a state which -- no
matter HOW badly the Soul suffers there -- is still (stunningly) preferred by
the damned Soul, and so will be, forever... Souls in Hell cannot be rescued
because they WILL not be rescued...

Mr. Bell speaks very infrequently about the Biblical theme of SIN; as for Love,
he is rather weak on what God's Love for us MEANS: Ultimately, God loves us just
like a Father loves his children: We "accept" them and "Love" them the way they
are, right now, but on a deeper and wider level, our "Love" for them leaves us
UNSATISFIED with them in their current state and desiring for them the very BEST
"grown-up" they can ultimately be; we view our role as Parents as the chief
"agents" or "coaches" to help them GET there...

...so God's Love for us begins there: What is the ultimate "ME" I can possibly be?
Well, a Glorified SAINT, in the end: Perfected by God, radiating His Glory,
reflecting that Glory back to Him in a way that only I -- as a unique creation of
God -- can do, and thoroughly enjoying the process of doing so forever and ever.
When God is finished with me, I will BE Heaven-ish and I will be IN Heaven...

But even the most sanctified person alive on this planet still has, at least,
some trace of the SIN Nature inside him, and evidence of evil all around him,
and so is NOT, in fact, IN Heaven just yet; indeed, the Love of God inside us is
intended to motivate us to reach out in Love to each other, desiring very
passionately to help those around us move on toward becoming the Glorified
SAINT that God wants to make of THEM, too...

Mr. Bell's views reflect a trend in some modern Christian circles to dilute these
very strong Biblical themes and to apply them to a much broader audience; it seems
that he seeks to lessen the "sting" of the end result of rejecting Jesus, and to
minimize the impact of the concept of SIN by focusing on a somewhat vague,
egalitarian sense of "love"...

We should be on our guard against any tendency in us toward "itching ears",
hearing what we want to hear instead of what we NEED to hear, the strong meat
of the Scriptures. Part of what we read there is that most Souls will
reject the truth of the Gospel, in contrast to Mr. Bell's fundamental
position that ALL will, eventually, be saved...

But the Scriptures are very clear on these topics; we must continue, as millions
of Christians have, down through the centuries, to submit ourselves to their
teachings, no matter how difficult they may seem to be.
May God grant us more grace.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate
and broad is the road that leads to destruction,
and many enter through it.

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads
to life, and only a few find it." -- MAT 7:13-14

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Heaven Can Wait

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This 1978 film -- starring Warren Beatty -- was a rather comedic look at
what can happen when a trip to Heaven is postponed by other things...

For some Christians -- certainly for the stereo-typical Evangelist -- Heaven
CAN'T wait; indeed, the pitch most often heard, and repeated even among those
who have no interest in Christianity -- goes something like this:

"Accept Jesus and go to Heaven!" And often the reverse is added or implied:
"Refuse Jesus and go to... well... That Other Place."

Other versions include these: "Do you know where you will go when you die?"...
"It's okay, Grandpa, Grandma is in Heaven"...

This, however, is just like saying that Newlyweds look forward to their
Honeymoon so that they can enjoy nice hotel accommodations, which is,
of course, ridiculous: Newlyweds look forward to the Honeymoon with tremendous
anticipation so that they can be togehter, so that they can
consumate their marriage vows in every sense of the word; it's meant to
be an incredibly beautiful and private and intimate time of Bonding, in body
as well as mind and spirit and soul... Sure, the hotel accommodations are a part
of that mystical, magical, joyful time, but that is a secondary condition;
clearly, the focus is Togetherness.

No wonder, then, that Scripture describes the relationship between Christ and
His Church not in terms of geography, but in terms of Relationship,
most specifically a MARRIAGE relationship.

When we die, and after we are finally and eternally PERFECTED by our Bridegroom
and presented to Him, our highest and greatest Hope is to enjoy TOGETHERNESS
with Him for all eternity, NOT primarily to co-habitate with Him in nice accommodations...

To the extent that any Christian grounds their Hope on GEOGRAPHY in the after-life,
they are in very great danger of missing the whole point of becoming a Christian
at all: The process of Transformation, from a creature beset by Sin and Self and
into a Saint, fully glorified by God, reflecting HIS Truth and Goodness and Beauty
forever, in a way that only they -- as a Unique soul created by God Himself -- can do
once Glorification (Perfection) has been accomplished.

That Transformation can -- and should! -- be going on already in the heart of every
Christian. If a Christian is single-mindedly focused on Geography in the
"sweet by-and-by", they are likely to miss out on the JOY of enjoying the first-fruits
of that Transformation process in the here-and-now...
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How to Love God -- Part 1

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It doesn't take a great deal of studying the Christian faith to understand
that the central Theme of Christianity is LOVE, beginning with God's
unfailing, unflappable, passionate love for us, and then as a response, on
our part, by first loving God Himself and then loving one another in the
same way that we love ourselves... As a foundation for leaning how
to love God, consider these things:

-- The very Nature of God is a 3-way community of Love
which we call the "Trinity", or, Tri-Unity (Three-in-One)

-- God created Humankind because Love seeks to share Itself;
it spills out, overflows, and spreads Truth and Beauty and
Goodness in every direction; so God made Man in order to
continue sharing LOVE, with free-will Souls who could love Him
in return... in a relationship of Love...

-- This is not some weak, foolish love that ignores the hard
questions: All the blood sacrifices of the Old Testament were
foreshadows of the final sacrifice of the spotless Lamb of God,
an act that would settle forever the requirement for Justice
wherever there is Evil...

-- ... all because of God's profound, passionate, radical LOVE
for every human Soul that ever has or ever will exist... Each
of whom is a unique product of God's infinite, creative genius...

-- Isaiah 53 makes it clear that God has virtually NO INTEREST in
"religion" per se, but in Justice and Mercy, Self-Sacrifice and
Service to others...

-- To those who understand and accept that Love, God reveals, in
and through the Person of Jesus Christ, just two Commands:
LOVE Me, and LOVE those nearest to you even as you are
loving yourself.

-- Jesus Himself said that the HALLMARK of what would define
His disciples would be their LOVE for each other...

-- Paul wrote to the Corinthians that LOVE is the greatest of
the three Christian transcendentals; he went into great detail to
explain that even Faith and Hope are nothing compared to Love...

So it would seem patently clear that if we are "majoring on the majors and
minoring on the minors", we will understand that LOVE ought to be the
fundamental pillar around which we build our faith and our lives.


The best place to begin, then, is at the beginning:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your strength and with all your mind", and, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
(Luke 10:27, where Jesus quoted an aggregate of Old Testament sources)

So what does it mean? How do we love God?

Some believers would answer instantly, reflexively, along the lines of,
"Loving God means obeying Him." Well, there are some serious difficulties
with that answer:

Logical Circularity
We're to love God... fine, how? Obey Him. Great. Obedience means doing
what He has commanded; what has He commanded? First and foremost,
Love Him. Fine, so how do we do that? Well, obey Him.
And how do we do that...? (ad infinitum...)

You see the problem, I'm sure: If we answer the "how?" by saying that
loving God means (simply) "obeying" Him, we run into an endless cycle.
Furthermore, you can Obey without Loving, but you cannot Love without Obeying,
so it seems clear that obedience is predicated on Love, and the question
before us is how to Love God; in other words, we'll be obeying God WHEN we
have learned how to love Him, as PART of loving Him...

The next stage of that answer that some might give would be, "well, it means
obeying [all the other commands]"... But if God Himself has said [all the other
commands] boil down to just those TWO, we're right back where we started,
are we not? And didn't Jesus point out, to the Pharisees during His ministry,
the emptiness of following "the Law" without having a genuine love for God?
Jesus borrows a passage from Isaiah 29 and describes them this way:
"These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me"
(Mt. 15:8). It seems clear, then, that God isn't interested simply in
"obedience"; He wants LOVE, so loving God must mean something else...

The Heart
If I tell my son, "please clean the kitchen", and he does so, does that prove
that he loves me? If I tell my daughter to say "Thank You" when someone
pays her a compliment, does that prove that she is indeed thankful?

The obvious answer to both is "of course not." No, I want my son to
want to PLEASE his father by doing the things I ask; I want my daughter to
actually BE thankful when someone says something nice to her. The mere
ACT of cleaning, the mere WORDS "thank you", mean almost nothing to me
if their HEARTS are not in it... God isn't interested in mere "obedience",
He is interested in our hearts, and in our actually and truly and genuinely
LOVING Him, with our Hearts and Minds and Souls and Strengths...
In a word, COMPLETELY...


WOW.
So how do we do THAT?


It's no overstatement to say that I (as do many Christians, I'm sure) ponder
this thought constantly. I came across these helpful thoughts recently
as I've investigated this issue (click the bolded text to view)...

While I think the writer still misses the point, I was struck by the exploration
of the Greek words for "Love" that are used in these verses admonishing us
to love God... I know next to nothing about Greek, but I am impacted by the use
of this word "AGAPAO" ("ah-guh-PAH-oh"), a verb which, in many of its uses,
means "to be totally consumed with"... We are to be "totally consumed with"
God Himself, a Real Person... But how?

"Make Him Lord of your life"... These and other Christian catch-phrases don't
quite do it, I'm afraid; when you truly LOVE someone, you don't need to erect
philosophical banners over your life reminding you of that fact; you just
genuinely and truly and sincerely LOVE, and it comes out of you -- spills out --
all over the place, more and more naturally as the relationship grows...


OK, so how can we be actually and sincerely "totally consumed" with God,
a Person whom we have never seen, never met (not really), never heard
speak (not really), nor smelled, nor touched, and even have some difficulty
imagining?

Let's think on this for a bit,
and then go further in Part 2.

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The Gospel is like Warm Water

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These frigid days being experienced by nearly the entire Midwest
region of the country brings to mind an analogy of what the Gospel
is really like:

When you spend a lot of time outdoors in weather like this, you
of course get a sense that your hands are cold, but it's often a rather
vague sense, because your whole body -- including your hands -- has
acclimated to the cold and you're focused on whatever it is you're
doing (like putting out the trash or picking up those branches that
have fallen, or enjoying sledding with your kids)... You KNOW your hands
are cold, but you just kind of "accept" it as part of your condition...

But then you go inside and put your hands under the water faucet, with
the handle turned all the way to HOT... As the stream of water begins
to heat up, running over your hands, it actually HURTS at first; and actual
sharp PAINS shoot through your hands and you are tempted to pull away...

But you keep your hands under the water, and pain turns to tingling,
and tingling subsides into tepid, and tepid warms you up until your hands
begin to feel NORMAL again...

They turn back into a healthy shade of "pink", and you can even feel
that warmth spreading through your arms and even your whole body...

The Gospel is just like that: We don't perceive at first JUST HOW BADLY
we've frozen our souls; and the initial Treatment from a true understanding of
the Gospel brings PAIN at first; but the more we remain under its influence,
we sense our hearts warming, our minds opening up, our fears and frustrations
and prejudices and deep-seated Hate and Lust and Greed and Laziness being
exposed and soothed away... And we smile a grateful smile as we begin to enjoy
the warmth...

... and that thawed Heart begins to acknowledge God and the act of RESCUE
He is performing in us, a Rescue we didn't even know, really, that we needed
when we were galloping through the frozen Winter of the World and its paltry
and self-destructive amusements...

Letting that warmth change us forever, and sharing that warmth with others...
And someday experiencing COMPLETE warmth and eternal Enjoyments...
That's "The Rest of The Story", from the Christian's perspective.
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The Other Half of Forgiveness

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The Bible has a lot to say about Forgiveness and its central role
in the life of a Believer; Jesus Himself included it in the Lord's Prayer,
and He specifically told His disciples, "if you forgive men when they sin
against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not
forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Mathew 6:14,15

In my own spiritual journey, I've come to understand Forgiveness as an utterly
fundamental goal of the process of Sanctification in our lives,
along with Humility and Wisdom, and all three of those rooted and grounded in the
most supreme quality of all, LOVE Itself...

As I've pondered this, and read a great deal on it, I've come to understand that
there are really two halves to this idea of Forgiveness; most of us understand
the first, but perhaps few have contemplated the second:

Debt Relief
When we extend TRUE Forgiveness to someone, we are saying to them, "I permanently
waive any 'debt' that you owe to me for what you've said or done to me; I will not
attempt to 'get back at you' or otherwise and in any way try to 'punish' you or
make you feel 'guilty' for this offense."

Like so much of the Christian world view, this would seem to go totally contrary
to the World's perspective, which preaches that we have the "right" to exact
justice for harms we've suffered, to "get back" at someone, to "make them pay"
for what they've done... Sometimes, though, even the secular world understands
that this kind of retributive approach not only (a) eats away at one's soul, but
also (b) ignores the truth that we ALL sometimes do and/or say things that we, too,
need Forgiveness for...

This is a hard thing to do, most of the time -- to let go of our "right"
to "hit back" -- but it is fundamental to the Sanctification of our souls to
understand this requirement and to practice it daily. There is no way around it.

Restoration
Some years ago, someone I knew -- I'll call this person "Pat" -- unleashed a
furious tirade against me over some inconsequential circumstance, saying horrible
things and non-verbally communicating a good deal of hostility and malice toward me,
wild-eyed and waving arms... It was quite a sight...

The next morning, Pat came to me, teary-eyed, noting the bad behavior and expressing
remorse over it; for my part, I wanted to share, in that moment, how the behavior
had made me feel and what some of the real circumstances were that had apparently
"caused" the tirade... I didn't get 2 sentences out before Pat's expression changed
to a hardened, patronizing glare, and the rebuke I received was, "I've said I was
sorry, now YOU need to Forgive..."

It became immediately apparent that Pat's only goal was to be absolved of Guilt,
to have me apply salve to a stinging conscience, only so that Pat could feel
better... The "apology" really had nothing to do with me at all; I was only a
player in Pat's quest to obtain personal peace and a restored view of Self...

Well of course I had already forgiven Pat the night before, almost as soon as
it happened (as we become more and more aware of our OWN desperate need for
continual Forgiveness, it becomes easier and easier to Forgive others quickly
and sincerely)... But what Pat's reaction made me realize was that Pat had no
interest in RELATIONSHIP, either before or after the incident...

In many human relationships, and certainly in our relationship to God,
the "second half" of Forgiveness -- the GOAL of Forgiveness -- is the beginning
of RESTORATION of that relationship...

Restoration is the process (and sometimes it may be a long process) of building
back the Trust that was damaged by the behavior, to arrive once again at the level
of Intimacy that the relationship is intended to provide... God certainly FORGIVES
us when we sin, and He is even willing to expedite the Restoration process, I have
to believe, but we might do well to ask ourselves, when we ask for
"Forgiveness", do we really intend to then move on toward Restoration?
Is it relationship with God that we seek, or mere absolution of our own feelings
of Guilt?

Thanks be to God that Jesus took on the Guilt and then the Punishment
for our sins, and one day (as part of the completion of our Sanctification)
our Sinfulness will be ripped away (and I believe it's going to be painful), but
for now, we can enjoy Forgiveness when we ask God for it sincerely, and we can even
begin, just a little bit, to enjoy something like Relationship to Him, in this life,
if perhaps shrouded in mystery, for now...
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Why Illegal Immigration is a Big Deal

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There has been lots of news coverage of Arizona and its new
Illegal Immigration law for the past few months, and it seems,
if FaceBook and the Blogosphere are any indication, that there
are a good many Red Herring opinions and views being tossed
about in the public square... Here's my own attempt to put the
issue in the light of Common Sense (not so common in today's
highly-charged political environment)...

Let's say you own a large apartment complex. You've invested
a great deal of your time and money in this real estate venture,
and for a long time everything went well: Your Tenants are,
for the most part, just what you'd hope for: They all have
jobs, they obey the by-laws they signed when they first came
to you, they keep their units in good condition, and (perhaps
most importantly) they pay the Rent on time.

In addition to providing them a nice place to live, you're
successful enough in this venture to provide -- using a small
portion of their Rent and other Dues -- a pool, a clubhouse,
and even Group Rate insurance for the complex as a whole.
The local police and fire services are good, there are 2
"Urgent Care" facilities nearby that welcome your Tenants,
and the entire complex has gained a reputation as being one
of the nicest places to live in your city.

Then trouble develops in this paradise: You find that some
of the newer Tenants are sneaking in their relatives, and units
that (by law and in practical terms) are meant for 6 people are
now occupied by 12; some are violating your "No Pets" policy
by harboring dogs and cats, and your visits to some of their
units smell of urine and dog-hair; you find ample evidence of
children in the sections clearly designated as "adults only",
and you even suspect drug activity going on here and there.

Then things get worse: Local police have begun to be called
on a regular basis because you are discovering break-ins in the
middle of the night to a number of your units, many of which are
encouraged and abetted by the Tenants themselves!

At great cost to you, you erect a Privacy fence around your
entire complex, and you post "No Trespassing" signs aplenty,
but to your dismay you find intruders climbing the fence, or
cutting their way through it, not only in the middle of the night
but more often now right in broad daylight!

Squatters are now frequently busting their way into vacant units,
your "good" Tenants are either moving out or cowering in their
units out of fear -- as guns and violence are now more prevalent
than ever -- and the situation is CLEARLY out of control as more
and more invaders flood into the complex...

NOW,

Just how LONG could you be in business in a situation like that?
Would there not be an immediate need to address this crisis and
put a stop to this? Can you agree that continued invasions and
lawlessness along these lines will ultimately DESTROY this complex?

Nobody is saying that the squatters -- the invaders -- are not
human beings, and perhaps SOME of them are trespassing ILLEGALLY
into your complex because they want to work for some of your Tenants;
but how can you tell which is which? And isn't it TRUE that you
want A) only those who are SUPPOSED to be there (have signed a contract
with you and can pay the rent) to be there? and B) if they want
to "work" inside the complex, they should AT LEAST come through
the FRONT GATE and do things in an HONEST and LEGAL way???

I simply cannot understand the mindset that LOOKS THE OTHER WAY
as throngs of Illegals flood into this country, consume resources,
and (at worst) are bent, many of them, on carrying out their
nefarious intentions. Does NATIONAL SECURITY not mean anything??
Does the physical safety and security of LEGAL Americans along
our southern border not MATTER to the bleeding-hearts who see these
Illegals as poor, hungry "victims" who only seek to "work"?
Is there any naivte so profound as this?

And instead of protecting its CITIZENS, the current administration
is SUING Arizona for trying to enforce a FEDERAL law that has been
on the books for 70 years. It seems the leadership of the country
has completely lost its mind.

I don't know what the end of all this will be, but as the
destruction of America accelerates, one can only shake ones head
in disbelief and dismay. NOTHING is being done about the problem
and more Washington "committees" and "meetings" on so-called
"Immigration Reform" will never stop a single bullet. It's time
for real Leadership again in this country.

One more point:

Some are saying, "We're a nation of immigrants", which of course
is true; but there is Immigration that helps, enriches, expands,
and contributes to our melting-pot nation; THIS situation is
NOT that kind of Immigration, and it's a disgrace to those who
endured so much, for so long, to at last reach our shores LEGALLY
to call it such.
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