Friday, May 7, 2021

Is That Your Alarm? Maybe Not

My husband uses an alarm clock. I'm not referring to the alarm on his cell phone; I mean a bona fide, plug-it-in, glowing red numbers alarm clock. In fact, when the last one started to raise the white flag, I had a terrible time actually finding one. Yeah, he wasn't real keen on online ordering at that point either. Big surprise. There was a time, though, when we both awakened to an alarm. We worked different shifts, so we needed two separate sounds. He'd have some *beep, beep, beep*; I'd have some *wonk, wonk, wonk* -- two very different sounding alarms to distinguish one person's alarm from the other. Even though the other's sound might still awaken you from time to time, you knew not to pay it any mind, it wasn't talking to you.

This morning I was reading Colossians 2:11-12:

11 Also in Christ you had a different kind of circumcision, a circumcision not done by hands. It was through Christ’s circumcision, that is, His death, that you were made free from the power of your sinful self. 12 When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and you were raised up with Him through your faith in God’s power that was shown when he raised Christ from the dead. (NCV)

Briefly, physical circumcision was commanded by God to Abraham and his descendants as a sign of His covenant with them. In the New Testament, Paul uses the practice metaphorically, as in the circumcision of our heart (God's intent from the beginning): a symbol of our covenant through Christ as believers, having hearts set apart to God by the work of God's grace and our faith in it. The circumcision we receive through Christ's death frees us from the power of sin and death. Those things are cut away from us, like the flesh cut away through the practice of circumcision. Just as the flesh would never again be joined to the body, sin and death will never again be joined or made a part of us.

If you are a child of God through Christ, you are no longer a part of the world; you are no longer born in the flesh. The sheep of the Good Shepherd hear His voice, and are held in His hand and kept by Him for eternity. When the bank account is nearing zero (or maybe has gotten a bit past that point) and the image on that little slip of paper runs through your mind a dozen times a day, if you are praying and waiting on the Lord, you don't have to panic. That alarm is for the old worrisome you, and he's not here anymore. When a friend calls, and they want to talk about everything that went down at the latest AA meeting, you don't have to engage. That alarm is for the old gossiping you, and she doesn't live here anymore. When the dog is barking, and the kids are fighting, and the washing machine just went off balance, and your Zoom call starts in thirty seconds, you don't have to react. That alarm is for the old angry you, and he left when the Holy Spirit moved in. When traffic is backed up for the next six miles, you have got to use the bathroom, and the clown next to you keeps jackrabbitting from lane to lane -- getting nowhere except on your nerves -- you don't have to leave him there, and you don't have to communicate with him via hand signals. That alarm is for the impatient, unkind you, and she no long lives here. 

All those things that want to suck us in to the way we used to respond are someone else's alarm. We may have been like Pavlov's dog, responding every time we heard that bell; we might have reacted with every whiff of trouble or temptation, but believers in Christ listen to the Master's voice. The faithful follow the peace and gentleness and wisdom and grace He speaks, and are becoming like Him, speaking that language, as well. The alarms may never stop and on occasion, we may hear them and be tempted to respond, but if we belong to the Shepherd, His sheep hear His voice and follow.

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Leaving a Mark on Eternity

What is one of those things you know is hanging you up? Maye it's just something you keep hearing about or it keeps popping into your head throughout the day. The Bible tells us we are to "walk circumspectly." In other words, the things we say, think, and do matter. We need to look back and evaluate those things -- learn from our own history; we need to evaluate those things in real time, as we say, think, or do them; and we need to prepare, that the things we say, think and do might be of eternal worth.  

In my youth, I learned it was eat or be eaten in this world. Gain the upper hand, move to higher ground before your opponent. And, everyone was your opponent. I was the first one to volunteer for things. I worked to be the most well-rounded, signing up for every extracurricular or sport I could handle (and more than I could handle); I ran for class office and Student Council; I was National Honor Society and honor roll consistently. I taught and worked multiple jobs at a time. I made my children's clothing and costumes; ran them from one end of the county to the other; enrolled them in multiple extracurriculars and sports. I may have appeared selfless in service, industrious, and dedicated to learning. I may have appeared a wonderful leader and mentor. I may have appeared talented, a natural at being a mom. I was just gaining the upper hand. I was making my way to higher ground. It was all about me. In fact, if you'd offered me help, I would have turned it down. Oh, I complained enough about all I had to do, but I didn't need help.

The truth is, I needed help more than those I was "helping." The money I was raising for the school? I certainly wasn't going to raise it by myself. The object was to be a part of something -- not the whole. The children I was teaching? They weren't going to learn everything they needed to learn in one year or ten years, and they certainly weren't going to learn it all from me. My purpose was to teach them what God was instructing me to teach them, and to share a bit of me with them. How much more would they have learned if I'd been vulnerable and honest with them? How much would I have learned? What would have happened if I'd let someone do things their way and I simply went along for the ride? What would have happened if I'd not only admitted I needed help, but taken the help? 

A few years back, I wrote one of my children a book. I wanted them to know my story. Not because it's such a remarkable thing, but because it is one littered with mistakes and plenty of regrets. Because I have walked circumspectly, and there are times I did not like what I found. Because I have shut good people out and taken far too much on myself (and I want so desperately for my child to avoid those pitfalls). Because the key to all of this, is to understand life is not about simply living it the way we choose, living it absent of others, or even living it the "best" way -- as finite, broken human beings in our self-righteousness define "best." Really, what do we know about best? Life is so much better when lived in relationship with others -- loving them, serving them, and even being served by them -- and in relationship with the Servant King, the One who washed the feet of His betrayer, the One who spoke humility and forgiveness as He suffered the death of the cursed, the One who showed us all what is truly of eternal value.

Monday, May 3, 2021

How Do You Approach Jesus?

How do you approach Jesus? I guess how we approach Him depends on how we feel about Him. For instance, let's say you're walking down the street and you see a crowd. The crowd is moving like it's one body -- just this mass of humanity progressing down the street amoeba-like, shifting and flowing. Some run from the back, spin around, walking backward now at the front of the pack. Some are jumping and bouncing, calling out. There is One whose attention they seek. Who could it be? Suddenly, the crowd parts. You see Him! It's Jesus, and He is looking right at you! Take a minute now. Think about this. What do you do?

If Jesus is simply some rock star, some celeb, you might want to touch Him or ask for an autograph, snap a few selfies. You can speed on home and tell your family and friends. You tweet, you post it on your Insta. You met Him. Now let's check some Powerball numbers -- see if your lucky streak continues.

If Jesus is a Healer or a Waymaker, you might run on up, let Him know what's been going on with you; or "remind" Him of that thing you talked to Him about the other day -- the thing He hasn't fixed yet. You might tell Him "thanks" for all the stuff He's taken care of in the past; let Him know how you've told all your friends, and how sure you are He's gonna take care of this. You might tell Him you'll check in with Him in a day or two, see if there's anything else you can do to speed things up a bit.

If you think Jesus is a Judge, you might just slip on over behind that guy next to you, or duck into a nearby deli. Surely, He knows what you've been up to, and it's not exactly part of who He expects you to be. I mean, how could He want someone dirty like you working for Him? When you told Him you believed He had taken the penalty for your sin, when you said you wanted to follow Him and be like Him, you had no idea how tough it would be. You had no idea your friends would leave and your wife would threaten the same if you went through with that "pastor thing" you'd started talking about. You meant to be good; you really tried. Would He really call you out in front of all these people? Or would He just give you that "I'm really disappointed in you" look? 

But, if you see Jesus for who He is, if you have searched the Scriptures -- sure, you may have missed a day or two, but it's not about that; it's about really persevering, really working to get to know Him -- if you have read His words and spent some time thinking about them, maybe even memorizing them; if you have asked Him to show Himself to you; if you have gotten on your knees time after time, asking Him to show you how to love Him, asking Him to show you things you need to give up so you might be the true representative of His you were meant to be; if you have asked Him to then take those things; if you have thought about dark corners of your life that could use some Light; if you want a clean heart and joy that overflows to others because Jesus the Christ calls you friend -- well, then, you know. You have approached Him many times before, and maybe in many different ways, but you just know.