Becoming Youier

John Ortberg

 

I listened to John Ortberg as I drove to Seattle.  He spoke of walking in step with God, enabled to develop in the good ways that He intends.  One point Ortberg made was that some things about each person will never go away, because God intentionally created particular traits in each person.  Rather than being eliminated with spiritual growth, they will be redirected.  God is very intentional about creation, including the creation of each person's personality.

For example, before he met Christ, the Apostle Paul was a passionate, brilliant, zealous man, and he persecuted Christians.  After he met Christ, he was a brilliant, passionate, zealous man, and those traits were instrumental to the spread of the gospel.  In more recent times, Chuck Colson's drive, motivation and ambition led him to places of significant political influence and then to prison.  After he met Christ, his drive, motivation and ambition led him to make an incredibly positive difference through prison ministries.  Redemption is not replacement of the old, but its return to a better state.  Ortberg concludes that God works His redemption in the life of everyone who is aligned with the Holy Spirit.  "You won't just get holier, you will get you-ier," becoming more and more the excellent version of you that you were created to be.

I was listening to this sermon on the way to Seattle for a two-day workshop on Fierce Conversations.  "Fierce" is not about being bloody, cruel, or threatening, but robust, intense, strong, powerful, and passionate.  "Fierce" conversations are ones in which we stop pretending, when we refuse to take the easy way out, when we bypass the simplistic answers that really don't mean squat.  Fierce conversations are ones in which we function respectfully and without masks, showing up boldly as ourselves.  Truly fierce conversations create respectful space that encourages others to show up boldly as themselves, too.

Scott's "fierce" sounds to me like Ortberg's "you-ier," and both sound like Christ.

Christmas Season: First Sunday

In the Christian liturgical calendar, Christmas is not just one day, but twelve. December 26 marks the first Sunday of the Christmas season. Lectionary readings:
Isaiah 63:7-9
Psalm 148
Hebrews 2:10-18
Matthew 2:13-23
You can read them here.

Christmas

Remember that impossibly long song about the Twelve Days of Christmas? I never understood it as a kid, because we only had one day of Christmas. It seemed more like a song teachers made up to keep us busy when we were too excitable to learn. But there are indeed twelve days of Christmas, and today is the official start. Here are the Christmas readings:
Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalm 98
Hebrews 1:1-12
John 1:1-14
You can read them here.

Advent: Christmas Eve

Advent is a time of preparation, getting ready to celebrate the birth of Christ. The last day of the Advent season is Christmas Eve. It's one of those special days of focus, with these as lectionary readings:
Isaiah 62:6-12
Psalm 97
Titus 3:4-7
Luke 2:1-20
You can read them here.

Identity

"Who are you?"

There are many ways to answer this question, defining oneself by family relationships, friendships, work roles, culture, gender, ethnicity, preferences, skills, education, personality traits, sports teams, physical appearance, and so much more.  These can be an important to a sense of identity, and are certainly part of God's unique creative work in each of us.  But such descriptions cannot reach to the core.

Paul's letter to the Romans is an incredible work, articulating the foundations of grace, faith, and righteousness.  How does he begin such a letter?  He starts with the character of God and then his own identity in Christ.  Paul knew he was a servant, an apostle, set apart for God, one who has received grace.  His identity was in Christ, and only from that perspective could he begin to proclaim the gospel.

I am reminded of Jesus' words in John 13: "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist."  He took on the menial role of a servant who would customarily wash the feet -- likely they were dirty and smelly from walking along dirt paths -- of the guests before a meal.  Jesus knew who he was and he did not serve in spite of recognizing his divine nature, but because of it.

When we see clearly who God is, and who He invites us to be in Him, we create space for His transforming work to bring about great fruit in our lives.

Advent: Week 4

December 19 is the fourth Sunday of Advent. Lectionary readings:
Isaiah 7:10-16
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25
You can read them here.

Heart in the Bible

I've been reading a book about emotional health in the church.  Truthfully, I did not want to like this book.  The first time I picked it up, it was with rolling eyes.  After all, if we focus on doctrinal beliefs and how to apply those to our everyday actions, isn't that what really matters?

As it turns out, no, that is not all that really matters.

The Bible talks a lot about the heart.  For example, the Sermon on the Mount is filled with "You have heard it said [behavior], but I tell you [about the underlying heart issue]."  It addresses such topics as worry, grief, and anger.  Paul's famous description of love in I Corinthians 13 includes many feeling words.  And, of course, the Psalms give voice to a tremendous variety of human emotion.

Scazzero's writing has been challenging me quite a bit lately.  My tendency, like many in the Church, is to focus on intellect and behavior while neglecting the heart.  But to refuse to bring my emotional side to God for examination is to make a part of myself off-limits to God, closing myself off to His sanctifying work.

Bringing Gifts

When I was a child, we used to cut the annual gift catalogs into strips and make colorful paper-chain garland out of them.  Such mess-making destruction was normally frowned upon, so it felt like a fabulously fun privilege, and a little artsy, too.  Looking back now, I like the symbolism of creating nearly-free tree decorations while destroying catalogs intended to entice us toward spending money.

When I was a child, I learned the story of Christmas.  We heard about Mary and Joseph, the innkeeper, the shepherds, and various other characters.  (Of the various parts I played in the various Christmas plays, my favorite was the camel.  I don't remember whether it was a talking camel, but it was definitely a singing one.)

Among the characters of Christmas were the Magi, a.k.a. Wise Men.  Christmas plays usually showed three of them, each carrying a gift to Jesus -- gold, incense, and myrrh.  When I was a child, I didn't understand this.  I thought about the toys in the Christmas catalogs, and the "wise men" didn't seem too smart to me.  After all, who gives perfume and embalming materials to an infant?

As an adult, though, I have learned some of the symbolism and value of those gifts, and realize they were far more significant than a fun plastic toy.  In addition to their practical value for a struggling family, they were appropriate gifts for the King and foreshadowed the sacrificial death of Jesus.

As we were talking about getting ready for Christmas, a friend of mine described wanting to offer a gift to Jesus, like the Wise Men did.  It brought up the question: What would be an appropriate and desirable gift for the King?  This friend of mine talked personally about a shift in attitude that would be a very good gift for Christ this year.  When I was a child, I may have suggested a gift that was flashier, more fun, because "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child..." (I Corinthians 13:11)

When I was a child, I did not recognize the value of the gifts brought by the Magi many years ago, or by my friend more recently.  As as adult, though, as I approach God in this Advent season, I want to give the gift of genuine love described in I Corinthians 13:  "Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails..."

Love for his people -- all people -- is a great gift for our King.

Advent: Week 3

December 12 is the third Sunday of Advent. Lectionary readings:
Isaiah 35:1-10
Psalm 146:5-10 or Luke 1:47-55
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11
You can read them here.

What's Your Hurry?

My dad is generally unruffled.  He is deliberative and wise.  He considers situations with appropriate care and chooses how to respond.  He's the calm one in stressful situations.

Most of the time, anyway.

Apparently when my brother broke his leg and started yelling, my dad moved faster than any of us kids had ever seen.  There was something wrong with his son, and he was going to get there.  We are a priority to him, and when he heard Don's voice, he knew something was wrong, which created a sense of urgency.  He hurried.

Pastor Joel preached today on the "Grunts" in the Advent story: the shepherds.  Context is important, of course, so here is a really quick description of where we're at in the story...

Veronica lighting
the Advent candles

Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem for the census, and Mary gave birth to Jesus while there.  Shepherds in nearby fields were working as usual when an angel appeared and told them, "Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger."  Then, suddenly, there were many angels present and praising God.  When the angels left, the shepherds decided together to go to Bethlehem and check out for themselves what the angels had said.

"So they hurried off..." (Luke 2:16)

The shepherds had received some really good news, and Pastor Joel talked (audio available -- listen or download) about what they did with that news.  For me, in this season, one thing Joel said today particularly caught my attention:  The shepherds were urgent about what was important.

This time of year brings many things that feel urgent.  There are trees to put up, homes to decorate, parties to attend, cards to send, gifts to prepare, plans to finalize, and so forth.  Not to mention the usual (and unusual) responsibilities at home and work.  Not all of them are equally important, though.

I can be flexible on most of my to-do list, really, as long as I stay focused on what is most important.  The big two non-negotiables?  God and the people in my life.

There isn't much reason to hurry, really.  God has given me all the time I need to accomplish all that He has for me.  And that is enough.

Advent: Week 2

December 5 is the second Sunday of Advent. Lectionary readings:
Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Romans 15:4-13
Matthew 3:1-12
You can read them here.