An Expressway Angel

Yesterday while driving home on  I-16 somewhere in the middle of nowhere, a tire blew on the camper.  I pulled over at Exit 27 which was the Jeffersonville Exit.  Jeffersonville is just one of those small towns which dot South Georgia.  Not much there anymore.  So, out there in the middle of nowhere I was getting the jack under the tire when a truck pulled up, a burly bearded guy pulled up with a truck of equipment and ready to help.  Within five minutes I was back on the road and he was on his way.  Unbelievably, he was the boss and owner of a truck and car shop in Jeffersonville.  He came and went like an angel.   

Over the recent years it has become our practice before leaving to ask for God's care as the trip is undertaken.  The prayer is usually a prayer asking God to keep us in a safe place each mile of the way.  Yesterday afternoon that morning prayer immediately came to mind and another one filled with gratitude was lifted toward the holy One who keeps us in His hands.  The road is like our life.  There is always around us the possibility of things going awry.  To know the care and blessing of God at the end of each day is a greater blessing than we often realize.    

It is good to know we are not alone.  It is good to know that goodness lingers in the places where we go.  It is good to know that care and provision often comes to us in surprising ways and through the most unlikely of circumstances.  Over and over I have found this to be true in the ordinary living of my days.  Yesterday, I was reminded of this as an expressway angel stopped to give help and care.  By the way, you may not believe it, but his name was Chris.

Thinking For Ourselves

Some folks are unforgettable.  Over the years of ministry there have been a lot of people whose paths have crossed mine.  There are times when I can vaguely remember the crossing, but somehow know it happened.  There are others who involved me in their struggles in such ways that they remain etched in the memory.  One such woman would come to our Sunday evening worship though she was a member of another church which she attended on Sunday morning.  She finally quit coming because her pastor told her she should not be exposing herself to Methodist doctrine.  When she told me her reason for stopping, I could only say, "Don't let other people to do your thinking."     

Of course, it is always easier said than done.  Most of us must confess to believing some things about our faith, not because we have examined a doctrine, but because someone else told us it was true.  Many of the things we grew up believing we continue to believe because we were told it was the right thing to believe.  And while some of the teaching people in our past may be trustworthy, it is still a good thing to figure out what we believe because we believe it to be true and not just because we were told it was true.    

A lot of us can remember this kind of faith struggle taking place when we left home and the church of our childhood for our first taste of life beyond the borders of such comfort and safety.  I remember those years well.  Before I got to the end of that season in my life I had thrown away much of what I had been taught to believe.  But, my real problem was not having anything to fill the spiritual vacuum I had created.  It took some years to come back to a strong sense of faith, but when I did it became more of what I looked at, thought about, and decided was true.  It is never a good idea to give someone else the power to do our thinking. 

The Original Self

The first two chapters of Genesis do not say anything about original sin, but they do speak volumes about original intentions.  Original intentions speak of the intended plan of God for the creation and the creatures like you and me.  At one point the Word says about the creation He had made with the words, "indeed, it was very good."  (Genesis 1:31)  As we read this section of original intentions, we see a picture of humanity before what is known as the Fall, before sin entered the picture, and before the original self given at creation was tainted and flawed with something which did not speak of the divine intention.    

The original self is that part of our inner essence which bears the hand print of the Creator.  Our original self is made in the likeness of the Lord God.  It is at this point in our being that we bear the likeness of the One who created us and brought us into this world.  We can never be as He is, but each one of us in some way bears the essence of our Creator within us from the moment of conception on through our life in the eternal home which He readies for us.    

Of course, the problem for us is that the original self is soon compromised and tainted by what might be called the false self.  The Genesis account speaks of an intimate, unique, and personal relationship with the God who is described as coming into the Garden in the evening.  Genesis speaks of that relationship as one framed by openness, transparency, empty of fear, and loving.  As we begin to choose what God does not intend, the false self begins to be the self through which we seek to relate to God, but in the change, everything changes.  We become afraid, seek to hide, and only express trust and love when it fits into our needs.  The brokenness with which we walk as we walk with our false self to guide is away from our original self and it is our openness to the grace of God and Christ Jesus which make us alive once again in such a way that we are at one with the One who has made us.  

Birthday Blog

Today marks another birthday.  I am not complaining, but they are piling up.  They are piling up to the point that there is more to remember in the past than there is to dream about for the future.  When I was a young man the years seemed like an inexhaustible resource, but now they are counted with much gratitude and hope that there are still some more to come.  Being seventy-three provides a different perspective than the one possessed by the young man I once knew to be me.     

Whenever a birthday comes, it always is a moment to pause and remember some of the ones who started the journey with me, but who were not blessed with the years that I have known.  I remember a high school friend who died when he was only thirty-three and after him there have been more who have come and gone leaving me still here.  To be honest I sometimes wonder why.  It is something I have never really answered, but asking is a reminder that even on the days which are filled with storm clouds, there is reason for gratefulness.   

My father never lived long enough to see children grown.  I have.  I have been blessed with over 50 years of marriage and five grandchildren.  There is still meaningful work to do.  God continues to be ever present in all that I do even though such a gift of presence is both the least deserved gift and the most treasured one of them all.  As I count another birthday come and gone, I am mostly grateful.   I am grateful for those who have shared it with me and for the Christ who called me to come along for the journey that will finally take me home.   

The Original Dilemma

This doctrinal business about original sin brings us to what we might be described as the original dilemma.  On the one hand there is the idea that we are born in sin in a way spoken of by the Psalmist when he said, :Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me."  (Psalms 51:5)  And then on the other side there is the Genesis story of creation which speaks of humankind being created in the image of God and as the section of the sixth day draws to an end, there is the word which says, "God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good."  (Genesis 1:31)     

Maybe it does not have to be one or the other.  Maybe it is more about both holding their own truth.  Regardless, sin does not seem to be a part of the human experience in the very beginning.  It appears that it came only after a measure of time had passed. What is certain though is that sin has in some way become a pervasive and powerful negative influence over humanity.    

The Apostle Paul with all of his propensity toward theological understanding spoke so well of the predicament common to us all as he wrote to the Roman Christians, "I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  in my flesh I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do."  (Romans 7:15, 18-19)  While we may not be able to get our mind completely about the origin of sin, the Apostle Paul spoke of the ongoing problem in a practical way that expresses how it is that we live and why we need the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  

Changes

Some might say I did not plan for retirement.  I did not plan any great things to accomplish like writing a book, or visiting all the national parks, or starting a furniture making business.  I just moved to a farm where there were  hay fields to manage, pecan trees to tend, gardens to hoe, and cows to feed.  While all those farm things do have a way of keeping a guy busy, they do not demand things on a schedule like churches have a way of doing.  Life is slower.  It lends itself to a different pace.  It creates time for thinking, or ruminating, a term I learned from watching the cows.     

What I did not count on was the way the slower lifestyle would cause major shifts in the theological foundation upon which I had walked for a life time.  Of course, it was not just the change in lifestyle, but also the experience of being immersed daily in the creation.  Doing thinking with creation speaking softly in every moment has a way of wearing down things which had been poured in concrete.  Experiencing God which had always been somewhat relative to the life and ministry of the church was replaced by an awareness that experiencing holy presence is only as far away as the next step and as close as the breath of wind which comes neath the branches of the trees.    

God is not everything.  God is not the trees or the growing grass that feeds the cow.  But, it is also true that God is in everything around us.  This is a way of saying that there is no where to go and there is nothing to see which does not hold within it the possibility of a moment of divine epiphany.  Signs of the Almighty abound and the holy Voice is constantly whispering through the things which have passed first through His creating hands.  All that is left for us to do is to seek the teaching Spirit who is eager to help us learn to see, to listen, and to know.  

Another Choice

When the story of the third chapter of Genesis begins and unfolds in the Word, it comes as a bit of jolt.  It might even be described as a surprise.  Who would think that after such a grand start such a terrible thing would happen?  No one would expect sin to show up with such devastating consequences, but it came creeping into the Garden to forever change the face of humanity's experience with its Creator God.  Traditional Biblical scholarship speaks of it as a kind of dark plague that infects the heart of every one born to breathe this earth's air.     

Original Sin is the first theological framework put around it sometime in the fifth century.  Since then ts has been a major plank in the church's doctrinal position.  This idea of human depravity had such a pervasive hold that at one time new born children were baptized quickly just in case they died soon after birth.  And while infants are no longer baptized because they might die in their sin, it remains a dominant doctrine within the traditional church.    

One of the verses in the New Testament which is used to support the total depravity of all of us is found in Romans 5:12 where the Words says, Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, so death spread to all because all have sinned."  With this word sin came to be understood as a deadly infection of the soul passed from one generation to another as surely as physical characteristics are passed genetically.  Another choice might be to say that sin came into the world because humanity chose to experience the horrible choice given to by the love of God, the choice of spurning the love of God and the choice of making love our absolute response to Him and His goodness.  To look closely at the story of the Garden couple and our own story makes such a viable explanation for the way sin has such a hold on the life of each one of us.      

The Wrong Choice

The wonderful story set forth in the first pages of Genesis is all too short.  The first two chapters take us to a world which could be characterized as the first description of the Kingdom of God.  And, then all of a sudden the world of Eden and paradise is shattered by the intrusion of sin.  When we started the reading, there was no way to anticipate sin would show up with such horror filled consequences, nor was it anything for which we were prepared to encounter.  One minute we read about paradise and the next minute we see shades of hell.     

The story in the third chapter of Genesis has often been simply subtitled, "The Fall"  It describes a horrible moment of brokenness which is captured in those words of the Creator as He sees that there is something different about the way the Garden of Eden couple are acting.  "What is this that you have done?"  He asks.  (Genesis 3:13)  The relationship is shattered and though there is forgiveness and restoration, life will never be the same again.  The Garden once unblemished and untainted has been used as an instrument to express disobedience, disregard, and disrespect for the Creator.   

But, the sin which hangs in the evening air is not the fault of the Garden, or even the talking snake, but the fault of the man and the woman as they exercised a choice which placed their wants and wishes ahead of the plans and desires of the Creator.  They substituted a life of total dependence on the care and provision of the Creator God for a life of dependence on themselves.  It is a choice we still have not been able to shake and get out from under.  

The Story of Choosing

God chooses to love us.  There have been times when it seemed that God had no choice but to love us because His nature is love.  To be true to His nature, He must love us.  He has no choice.  However, as time has slipped along, I am not so sure.  To love because there is no choice somehow seems to deny the essence of love.  And, then as we consider the coming of Christ into the world through the stable in Bethlehem, we see a choosing to express love given hands and feet.    

As those who are created in the essence of the Creator, this, too, is a part of who we are.  The choice of loving, or not loving, is at the core of our being.  When we read those early pages of the beginning story, it appears that sin came into the world through the crafty serpent, but, perhaps, there is more to consider than just the story created by the presence of a talking snake in the Garden of Eden.  When Eve and then Adam chose the way offered by the tempting serpent, the choice was not so much about eating or not eating fruit as it was about choosing to love the Lord God and His ways more than anything else.  

Theirs was not a dietary choice so much as it was an act of choosing to love, or not love God in that moment. It was a choice inherent within them as creatures created with the essence of God within them.  The capacity to love, or not love was within them even as it was in the One who brought them into being.  And so, they chose to express love, but by choosing not to love.  The rest of the story we know so well for we continue still to be characters in it.  

Human Nature

Human nature gets a bad rap.  It is blamed for all the bad stuff.  It is the explanation for our wrong choices.  It is what drags us down into the miry pit and the boggy clay of life.  It gets us in a mess.  If there is anything wrong, we can always say something like, "Well, I am only human."  Indeed, in our day human nature gets a bad rap.  It gets a bad rap because it is not our human nature which is the culprit.  Instead, it is just an easy way to explain away stuff in a way that makes the bad stuff seem justifiable.    

Someone needs to say, "It just ain't so!"  Human nature deserves better than a bad rap.  When we read the Genesis account of creation which introduces the unfolding story of the Creator and the human creatures He created, we read a Word which tells us that human nature is not inherently bad, or evil.  Instead of being bad, the Scripture includes it inside all that is created and described as "...indeed, it was very good."  (Genesis 1:31)   This human nature we want to blame for all the stuff that makes a mess out of living and causes us to know alienation from our Creator is not something bad, but good.    

What may be true is the primal human nature put in us through creation has become distorted.  It has become like a window that is flawed making everything viewed through it as something which it is not.  When God put this human nature inside of us, He did not create a sin mechanism, but a mechanism which would enable us to know Him, relate to Him, receive divine love and care from Him, and be the one means through which we would experience oneness with the One who put it there.  And while we may be broken in need of some restoration and while we may be wearing the name of sinner in need of redemption, we were created not for our brokenness, but for wholeness.       

Something Different

In the early verses of Genesis the writer speaks of the creation of humankind with the words, "'Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness...' " (Genesis 1:26)  What is obvious is the fact that there is nothing about these words which speak of a physical likeness.  We cannot look at ourselves in the mirror and think that God bears a nose on a face, or arms and legs on a bodily trunk.  There is not only more here than meets the eye, there is more here than the eye can see or comprehend.    

What is apparent is the reality that there are within each one of us invisible divine attributes which speak of the essence of the Creator Himself.  If the Creator God would finish His work of creation which included us and say, "...it was very good."  (Genesis 1:31), it is not a far reach to conclude that to be made of holy essence brings His goodness into the core of who we are.  Once when Jesus was called "Good Teacher," He responded by saying, "Why do you call me good?  No one is good but God alone."  (Mark 10:18)  To be created with the essence of God is to know that goodness is at the core of our being.  

Such may be a long way from some of the ways we have been taught to understand the essence of our being.  Many of us have listened a life time to teachers who were always reminding us of the word which David wrote in the 51st Psalm, "Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me."  (Psalm 51:5)   While it may be too hard for us to consider anything but this singular view of the human situation, the first chapter of  Genesis is surely an invitation to stretch our minds to include new and different possibilities.  

A Different View

The first two chapters of the book of Genesis give us a view of humanity different from the rest of the pages of the Sacred Word.  In those first words, human nature is unsullied with sin and while evil may be lurking, or creeping in the distant future, it has not yet infected the soul. There is something wonderfully idyllic and mysterious about this picture of humankind living in the Garden inside a warm, intimate, and comfortable relationship with the Creator.    

When we think of human nature we speak of the reason why our souls are soiled with the stain of sin.  Human nature is flawed, and frail, and susceptible to succumbing to the influence and power of evil.  It is the means through which sin is experienced, not the means through which the glory of God is made manifest in the human experience.  We are most likely to say that we sin because we are human.  It is our human nature that makes sin possible and a reality in our lives.   

These first two chapters, particularly the first one, offer a different perspective. As the Creation is completed there comes that Word of divine reflection in verse 21 which reads, "God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good."  This covers the light of the heavens, the rocks on the earth, the birds of the air, and men and women like you and me.  It is not a Word which declares that part of the created humankind is flawed, but that all of it is good.  It all bears the image of the Creator.  It all is created with the essence of the Creator.  The story told in the third chapter about evil and sin has not yet come to pass and what we see in the beginning is the goodness of God within the soul and spirit of the created humanity.  

From the Essence of God

Traditional Biblical scholarship maintains that God created everything out of nothing.  In other words, there was no pre-existent matter, or building blocks used by God to create the Creation.  The beginning verses of Genesis speak of this as they read, "...the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the earth and darkness covered the face of the deep..."  (Genesis 1:2)  Creation ex-nihilo is how the theologians speak of it as they declare that God created out of nothing.   

And while the biggest reason for this theological landing point has to do with affirming that nothing exists which God did not create, there is another thing to consider about the origin of the stuff and the life of the creation.  As we read a little further we come to verse 26 which says, "Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, according to our likeness...' "  Here is a Word which speaks to the possibility that the Creation itself bears the imprint of holy presence as well as the possibility that we were created not from nothing, but from something which points to the essence of God, the Creator.  Even as we bear the physical genetic makeup of our parents, so do we bear a kind of spiritual DNA which gives life to our soul.     

To some all of this may sound like a lot of theological hairsplitting that does not matter and there is certainly some truth in such a conclusion.  On the other hand, it is also a way of realizing that our origin, our beginning, our creation is filled with things which speak of the nature and the essence of the Creator.  Out of His goodness and out of His love we were created and there is within us the markings of such things as these which point to the essence of the Creator.  

Very Good

Beginning words are always important words.  The first words make first impressions.  The first words have the power to speak broadly of what is to come.  Any writer knows that the first words in a book, or a chapter, are crucial and require much thought before putting them to pen.  The first words in the Sacred Book we know as the Word of God are singularly important words.  At first glance it might seem that they simply a convey a creation account, and while they do, there is much more.     

Probably the most important thing those words do is to reveal something of the spirit and the nature of the Creator.  So many things stand within those verses as obvious truths, but surely one that stands head and shoulders high is the truth that the Creator is a God who is always doing good things.  As the creation moves from the invisible dimension into the visible realm, we constantly see those words which declare, "It was good." (Genesis 1)  And what may be most surprising to some is the word which comes after the completion of creation which included the creation of humankind.  It does not read, "It was good," but instead it reads, "...indeed, it was very good."  (Genesis 1:31)   

What makes us sit up and take notice of these words is the way our tradition has always affirmed that there is evil lurking in us even from the womb.  There seems to be something amiss as we encounter these words about the beginning.  Could it be that the womb of our mother is not a place so filled with sin?  Could it be that the act of procreation and conception is a blessed moment surprisingly filled with a third party, the presence of God?   Is there more to think about here than just the theological idea that we are born in sin, created in sin?  Given the fact that the Word says, :...indeed, it was very good," maybe we need to do a little more thinking.

Servant Leadership

When I was in Richmond Hill I got to know a fellow who was in our church, but also the Director of the local Magnolia Manor which provided care and ministry for Senior Adults.  Whenever he spoke of his style of leadership, he used the words "servant leadership."  As I watched him, I learned what it meant to lead and to be a servant in the process.  What I saw was a leader who was not tied to administrative stuff in the office which would have been easy enough to do, but someone who found no task to menial, no resident too bothersome, and no day without a purpose.    

Of course, the idea of servant leadership comes straight from the pages of the gospel.  No one needs a book written last week to understand it.  All anyone needs to do is to spend some time with Jesus in the pages of the Word.  While He always sought to live in obedience to the will of the Father in heaven, He also never shied away from offering whatever care was needed to someone in trouble or suffering.  In other words, for the servant leader, people are more important than the program, or taking care of personal ego.     

Giving consideration to what it means to model servant leadership in our own situation would be time well spent.  To embrace such a way of being present in the world would certainly put us more in step with the will, the intent, and the purpose of Jesus.  It is Jesus who the Holy Spirit seeks to make known in our lives.  The more we choose to live in submission to the Spirit, the more likely it is that we will walk naturally and spontaneously as one who offers leadership and serves at the same time.  

Serving the Church

Back in the early '70's when I was working to earn a seminary degree, it was not uncommon to hear a professor speak of those of us who were going out into the local church as the religious professional of the community, or the resident theologian.  It was something which tickled the ears of young theologians like myself who were looking for some kind of professional validation among other peer professionals.  Oddly, enough, there was not much talk about our going out to live as servants in the church, or in the world.  Occasionally, being a servant might be mentioned, but not so much that it became ingrained as a desired identity.  

And as ministry got underway with its advancements from the smaller church to the larger church, the concept of being a servant faded in the presence of budding ambition.  The larger church hired people to do some of the work of ministry so that ministry became compartmentalized and the pastor assigned had more time for the important things.  Interestingly enough, those important things were never more time to pray, more time to be immersed in the Word, more time to work at being a better preacher, more time for shepherd work,  and more time to visit the sick.  Instead, the psyche of the church in hiring more staff was to give the one at the top of the work pyramid more time to supervise and manage staff, more time to watch over the finances, more time to plan and build bigger buildings, and more time to grow into a CEO type instead of a servant to the church and its people.   

Of course, it is not just something which can be blamed on the church as some might like to do.  The choice of the individual pastor is always paramount.  We choose what we become.  If do overs were possible some of those who have become worn out preachers would be more intentional about going after the servant leader model exemplified by Jesus instead of the model imposed by the corporate marketplace.  Yet, the reality remains that it is never too late to pick up the towel and basin and serve the cause of Christ as a servant.   

Partners in Creation

We are creatures of the Creation.  We belong to it.  We are a part of it.  Nothing we do happens outside of its realm.  From before birth to the last day of our life on this earth and beyond, we are connected to it in a life giving way.  Not only are we a part of all that is created within the Creation, we were created to live in an active and caring relationship with the Creation.  The book of Genesis has words which read, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till and keep it....out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to man to see what he would call them..."  (Genesis 2:15, 19)      

When I was on the high school debate team back in the '60's, we talked about environmental concerns.  In these days the catch words relative to the care of the creation are framed in the issue of global warming.  In the days of the past the church used to have a Sunday set aside to focus on caring for the Creation.   In these days of being overwhelmed and baptized in the Creation every day, it seems that none of these emphases really capture the way the Creation invites and calls us to participate in a relationship with it.  

It is a focus which requires some effort on our part to see and understand because we live in a culture that sees Creation as a servant more than something with which we are to live as a caring partner.  Too often Creation is seen as the mother of all provision to be used to satisfy every personal whim and need.  With such a view so much is missed.  And, with such a view the Creation and those of us who are creatures are diminished.  

Sewing and Ironing

What we do not realize in the moment of growing up is the way our parents are teaching us lessons needed for living.  Some of those lessons may be verbal, but a lot of them are non-verbal unstructured moments of teaching and learning.  By the time I was ready to leave home for college, I had been in that classroom a long time.  It took a long time to realize how much I had learned at a time in my life when I thought I already knew most stuff.  Just before I left home, my mother gave me two final lessons which proved invaluable.  One was how to iron clothes and the second was how to sew on a button.   

It is surprising the things we remember from the days when we were learning what others were teaching. When young Timothy got one of his letters from his spiritual mentor, the Apostle Paul, he read simple straightforward words which must have stayed with him through a life time.  In one of the those teachings, he wrote, "But as for you, man of God,...pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith..."  (I Timothy 6:11)  What Timothy heard was a word which called him to avoid getting caught up in splitting spiritual hairs.  It was a word which called him to focus on things which characterize the essence of faithfully following after God.    

The Christian faith is not a complicated thing.  It centers on Christ.  It is rooted in faith in what cannot be seen.  Its foundation is love.  Grace is what holds it together.  It is as simple as sewing on a button and as uncomplicated as ironing a shirt.  It only gets complicated when we make it complicated.  

A Day With Purpose

Every day is a different day.  There are times when we are tempted to say that the day just brings around "the same old same old," but, of course, it is never true.  Even as a thousand pine trees planted in neat orderly rows look all alike to the casual observer, so might the present day seem like a calendar of days which have already come and gone.  As surely as close examination reveals that no two trees are alike, so it is with the days which have been given to us.    T

Those often quoted words from Ecclesiastes tell us this as they say, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven."  (Ecclesiastes 3:1)  And while the next seven verses of that section of Scripture list a number of different times which are common to the human experience, it is by no means an all inclusive list.  Every day is given for a reason.  There is within it a purpose to fulfill.  We may not think of the passing of each day in such terms, but it is surely true that what God gives and provides, He does so for a reason.   Our problem in seeing this reality and embracing it may be a reflection of our tendency to think in the grandiose.  

There are times when it seems that one of the most important things to be accomplished in a day is to take the phone and call a friend who is facing some difficulty, or stopping and speaking to someone even though we left home in a hurry to get somewhere.  Too often we fail to see some little moments of caring for another as the reason God has provided for us another day.  Some people may be at a place of feeling that they are not going to make it through the day and we may be God's way of answering a prayer prayed somewhere in their behalf.  Let is never be said there is a day without purpose.

The Change

A theological system which has served me for all my working years began to come unglued a bit a few years ago as I entered into the season of life known as retirement.  A number of things changed other than just a work schedule.  The church building which was so central to every waking moment was replaced by the wide open spaces of creation.  Preaching which had been the mainstay of ministry was taken away and in its place came a ministry which has centered on writing.  And without a schedule to keep and direct the days, there has been more time for activities like sitting, thinking, paying more attention to the present, and work that raised a sweat and left me with dirty hands.       

While all of this has left its mark, one of the primary change agents has been a growing awareness of the way God expresses Himself in a continuous manner through the things around me.  Much of this has grown out of exposure to the stream of Celtic spirituality.  It is a theological vein which reminds us that God is not simply experienced in and through the church, but in and through everything and everyone within creation.  Where as, it once seemed that the church was a holy place standing midst a secular and profane world, it has  become far more apparent that there is no place which does not bear the imprint of the Creator.   Or, to put it another way,  there is no place which is not holy.     

What has happened as this awareness has grown within my spirit is a deepened and more constant sense of holy presence.  Everywhere I walk it is in the midst of His presence and everything around me from living creatures to broken decaying limbs holds within it the possibility of being the Voice of God speaking in the moment.  Paying attention, seeing, and listening with faith filled expectation has ushered in a new way of knowing and experiencing the Holy One who has declared He is with us always.

The Trinity

The Trinity is a theological word which speaks to the reality that there is One God who expresses Himself in three ways.  It is also something which is problematic and confusing for a lot of folks who regard themselves as Christians.  The Scripture affirms there is One God.  Monotheism is a foundational plank in the theological system of traditional Christianity.  Yet, there is also this business about Father, Son, and Holy Spirit which seems to point toward a heresy of three Gods.     

As I look back over the faith I grew into as a young boy believer, I realize I was taught to address my prayers to God, or Lord.  And when it came time to end a prayer, the only right and proper way to end it was to conclude with the words, "in the name of Jesus."  After all in John 14:14 the Word reports that Jesus said, "If in my name, you ask for anything, I will do it."  Begin with God and end with Jesus and the prayer was complete.      

As the years passed and I ventured outside my traditional Methodist framework, it was disconcerting and confusing to hear people ending their prayers with words like, "in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Spirit."  What was easy to do in the beginning of the venture outside the church of my childhood was to dismiss such an ending as some unnecessary thing done only by Catholics and Episcopalians.  But, such thinking soon gave way to a growing appreciation of the mystery of the Trinity.  It took a while, longer than it should, but finally it came to me that there was value in praying with an awareness that affirming the three dimensions of the Trinity enlarged my understanding of God's presence in the world as well as the way He made Himself known within it.  

The Unseen Life

I grew up singing, "When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be..."  and when its number is called, I still enjoy singing that great song with all the fervor within me.  It is strange that heaven can sound so good, but hardly be mentioned except from the pulpit, but even then, only now and again.  It might be given a soft round of applause on Easter, but other than that single Sunday, it is likely not mentioned at all.    

The Scripture has a goodly share of references which either speak of it directly, or point us to the reality of life beyond this earthly life.  Most folks of our day put more stock in the witnesses of after-death experiences than the testimony of the gospel which tells us of Jesus' great victory over death.  For many the bright light of the after-death witnesses is more compelling and believable than the empty tomb witnessed by those first generation disciples of Jesus.    

As a boy growing up in a church next to a cemetery, it seemed logical to believe in the heaven.  As the years have added up to span over seven decades, it has become more and more logical to believe what the Scripture teaches about the life to come.  While all the things taught by the Scripture may not fit as tightly as a hand in a glove, the collected words about the plan of God for us after this life is done point toward a reality which though unseen is as real as any other part of the creation of the Creator.  Before we were born God had a plan for us to exist in an unseen dimension of life and surely that plan extends into the invisible and unseen part of creation that is out there for us when the last breath of earth's air is turned loose.  

Not Yet Given Gift

I have never been one to be obsessed with heaven.  It is not that I have not given it some thought.  It has been inside my world view for a long time.  When I was midway through my seventh year, my father left home one morning and did not return home to us, but was instead taken to a country cemetery near where he grew up, I started thinking about heaven.  My thoughts were not theological.  They were what seemed to me to be the only way to deal with this great upheaval in my life.    Back in those days of growing up, I came to a boyhood understanding that my father was no longer with us, he was not really in that country cemetery, but was instead in heaven.     

Over the years I have read some of the things written about heaven.  Some seemed to know more about it than I would ever dare to guess.  Others wrote at great lengths descriptions of the city with streets of gold.  It never really seemed important to know the particulars about heaven.  All I needed to know was it was there at the end of the road and that whatever that meant, it would be more than enough.   

In a recent reading of Hebrews, the Scripture spoke a Word which has lingered in my spirit for more than just a moment, "...they were strangers and foreigners on this earth...seeking a homeland...they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.  Therefore, God...has prepared a city for them."  (Hebrews 13:13-16)  Several things about heaven are obvious from those words.  One, it is more than I could ever deserve.  Secondly, the words of divine preparation speak not of a shack in the backwoods, but life inside a glorious community.  And, finally, the Words increase my hope and fill me with gratitude for this not yet given gift of divine grace.  

The Journey Home

When I started writing JourneyNotes back in 2008, I was led to a verse from Hebrews which seemed appropriate then, and far more appropriate now.  "The professed they were strangers and foreigners on the earth...seeking a homeland...they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly place."  (Hebrews 13:13-16)  It is set inside that great chapter which is like a roll call of the saints.  Abraham and Sarah are the two examples mentioned just ahead of this powerful and descriptive word about those who walk in faith with God.    

Back then the image of the life of faith as a journey was starting to unfold before me.  It was not something seen as clearly as it is in these days.  Instead, it was almost like a prophetic word given to me which I could not yet see, but which was just beyond the edge of my spiritual horizon.  It is not age or being closer to the day of my death which has shaped this awareness of the life of faith being a journey.  Instead, it speaks more of the place where the Spirit has been pulling me, leading me, and opening up in the deep places within my own spirit,    

The Words of the writer are so very true for all of us.  As those who believe in Christ and seek to follow in the direction He wants to take us, we know that so much of our life is lived out step with the values of the culture surrounding us.  We live in the world, to some measure we are shaped by it, but we are not of the world.  We do not belong to it even though we live in it.  To say "Yes" to the call of Christ on our life is to begin a journey in and through this world which takes us finally to the better country, to our home.     

No Reason for Apologies

When we think of things we might do for folks who are facing some kind of trouble, we often come to a moment of almost being apologetic that all we can do is pray.   Does this mean that prayer is not better than being able to cook a meal, or run errands, or do some needed yard work?  Certainly, we know that prayer is better than any of these things, but we usually think that there is more value in doing something that is visible instead of the act of praying which is always invisible.    

Actually, praying for someone is a very special gift.  The moments we set aside for prayer are precious times in that we are putting ourselves in a special sacred space with God our Father.  To take part of that time and devote it in an expression of concern and intercession is a gift beyond measure.  While we may not know the results of our praying, no prayers are unheard and wasted.  God may not respond to our praying in the way we would choose, but He always hears and He always responds in such a way as to bring good into the life of the one for whom we pray.    

The Word of God from beginning to end speaks of the value of praying.  Jesus taught us to pray not just in the model prayer we pray Sunday after Sunday, but through His teaching and His example.  Whenever we devote moments to prayer, we are entering into a special relationship that has unique and unparalleled results.  There is no reason to be apologetic for only being able to pray.  Instead, we should breathe a prayer of gratitude that God has provided a way for us to share in the good He is about in the lives of others.  

The Mystery

 Praying is something I have done for a long, long time.  I remember early prayers at age seven as I dealt with the sudden death of my father.  I remember prayers as a  boy out in a dog fennel field where I played as I figured God was up there in one of those big white puffy clouds.  And I remember prayers in more churches than I can begin to count and so many more prayers that were prayed in the quiet places where I sought God in moments of personal solitude.  I have prayed and prayed, but still it remains a mystery.   

Somewhere early in the days of ministry I began to learn about praying for others.  I offered pastoral prayers for the people of God from the pulpit and more prayers in the places where I gathered with others in their moments of desperation.  I did not always pray in those moments because I knew what was happening, but because I knew not what else to do.  It would seem after so many years and so much experience with this particular spiritual discipline that I could write a book, but it is one book I would never feel worthy or adequate to write.  

In the last few days and even this morning I was reminded of the reality of prayers being offered in my behalf.  It is always a humbling moment.  It is also a moment which has caused me to reflect back over the events of recent days with a realization that God has been at work in some of the hard things in my life.  And, even as I remember, I find a sense of wonder that causes me to ask if some of this is not the result of those prayers offered by some who are friends and some who are strangers.  Again, I do not know all the answers.  But, I am grateful.  I am grateful for the prayers which have been prayed and for the God who listens and surely somehow mysteriously uses them to create good in the difficult times of life.  

Be Kind

The Apostle Paul wrote such a practical, common sense, good Word when he wrote, "...be kind to one another..."  (Ephesians 4:32)  Actually, there is a lot of kindness out there in the world.  Some may only see the bad stuff which highlights the news these days, but it is still not hard to witness the kindness of folks for one another.  It happens in simple acts like holding a door open for someone, or picking up something another has dropped, or as was seen the other day, paying for the meal of a couple of soldiers who waited in line at a sandwich and soup place.    

There are times when we say outlandish things like, "the world is going to hell in a hand basket"  and indeed it does seem true at times.  But, regardless of the bad stuff, the goodness in folks is still a pervasive part of our culture.  Being kind to one another has a way of transcending cultural barriers like race, religion, nationality, and economic status.  When we see it being expressed around us, we are not always surprised by it because it is so commonplace, but surely there are other times when we are genuinely taken back by what we are privileged to witness.   

When the Apostle Paul wrote his admonition, he called the believers to choose kindness over such things as "bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with malice..."(Ephesians 4:31)  It is a good word for each one of us as individuals who seek to follow Christ and it is also a good word for us as we gather in places like churches and the marketplace.  The one thing which seems to get in the way of our ability to express kindness for one another is an ego which thinks far too much of itself.  A huge ego keeps us from living as a servant which is the mode of operation for those who choose to be kind to one another.  

The Safety of Home

The first sounds of the morning were soft moo's from a direction not normally heard.  It brought me to wide awake in a hurry.  Sure enough some of the cows had found a way to roam on the wrong side of the fence.  A sack of feed lured them back in the pasture and then came the work of repairing the fence.  After a couple of hours, shoulders aching from dancing with post hole diggers, putting down new post, stretching the wire, and a shirt full of sweat the job was done and it was time for breakfast.    

If Jesus had lived in cow country instead of a land where sheep grazed, He would not have been short of parables to tell about them.  Inside the pasture those cows have a safe place to live, grass for grazing, and a caretaker who looks after their interest and provides whatever they need.  Yet, they still will wander off to another place from time to time.   

It sounds all too familiar when we consider our own human predicament.  The safest place for any of us to live is inside the plan and the care of God.  He provides for us.  Even in hard times He is working to bring about good in our  lives.  His way is the best way for us; yet, we still decide to graze on the other side of the fence now and again.  Actually, too much.  But, fortunately, even more than I was this morning, He is always ready to do whatever it takes to bring us back to the safety of home.

God is Good

The one thing we never know about today is what it holds.  Oh, we make our plans.  We go to bed with thoughts about tomorrow and wake up ready to seek them out.  The Word of God reminds us that to live too far into the future is a foolish thing, but we lean strongly that way, nonetheless.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with planning.  It is a smart thing to do.  The only problem about making plans is not to become married to them.    

As we know they are forever changing.  It may be that what we plan is the way we walk, but when we look closely we are likely to see a step here and there that was not plan oriented and which may have actually been quite the surprise to us.  Some of our detours are blessings.  At the end of the day we are grateful for them.  Others seem like disaster unfolding and they are experienced more as chaos and disruption.    

The one thing we can know for sure about days when plans are lived out to perfection and days when plans are thrown in the ditch before the first step is that God still walks with us.  On those days filled with the sunshine of life going well, it is easy to see and affirm holy presence.  It is easy to say that "God is good."  And while it is not always be easy to see and know the presence of God in the days gone awry, it is still true that "God is good."  Circumstances do not change the goodness of God.  Actually, nothing changes the fact that He is both good and ever present with us.