Some of you may have heard a story about me involving a time in which I was running in the arboretum late at night. You may have heard that, while on this particular run, I was maced by a random woman on the trail who proceeded to run away screaming after inflicting horrible pain upon my person. For those of you who have heard this story, I have something to tell you. I made it up. This is not a true story, rather a fabrication which I invented during my Sophomore (how fitting) year here at Western.
Why would I make up such a fantastical story? To be truthful, it was because I was rather insecure during my early time here at WWU and I found that people seemed to take more of an interest in me when I had some sort of zany story that made me easier to remember. At the heart of this desire to be noticed I believe was something which I think a great deal of us can relate to, that being the need to feel important, to have a prominent place in someone's mind. I, along with many other people, had and still continue to have a need to be remembered in some way, particularly one which leaves me as more just another "oh yeah that guy from that thing."
This desire can be seen in several different areas of our lives. We want to succeed, be it in the classroom, on the field, in the marketplace, what have you, so that we can be remembered as a winner. We want to be popular so that we can be remembered by a great many people, something which makes us feel more important. We even want to be able to cram the most marshmallows in our mouth and choke out the words "fluffy bunny" as we fail to draw our last breath through a Great Wall of Stay-Puffed (surely that would get us remembered by at least a couple more people).
For those who have some sense of the eternal life which is available through Christ, the above methods for seeking importance can sometimes seem silly, at least at times when they are pursued to an extreme. However, I think it is important to note that Christians are just as capable of pursuing very similar endeavors as these, though they have what we might think of as holier intentions behind them. We get in cute little competitions with ourselves about how well we pray, about how many people we can heal, encourage, prophesy over, whatever result comes from our particular gifting.
If we were to be honest with ourselves, I think that we would find very similar motivations lying at the heart of these various actions. We, as Christians, strive no less than those who don't yet know God to be remembered. Whether this be by God or by other people, we want to have our faith have meant something.
Sometimes, I don't think this is a bad thing. We should be faithful with the gifts we have been given, even if we don't necessarily feel like we are anything special. The gospel of Christ is one of which inspires us to act, not to simply sit around and revel in how much freedom we have. We should be actively involved in this world, desiring to do so as an expression of thanks for all that has been done for us.
The second we go from acting out of love and thankfulness to trying to be remembered, however, we miss a very important point. That point is, God does remember each of us. Me. You. Even that person watching you read this through that window. Phrases such as this have become cliche in some way in our society, something which (as I've already talked about some) we need to be working against. We are dealing the maker of the universe, the one who has spent all of human history actively involved in the lives of people, the very God who in the form of Jesus came to Earth that He might walk with us and in turn die for us The fact that He actually remembers is should be absolutely shocking in the most beautiful way.
Scripture paints the image that God knows us more intimately than we could ever know ourselves. I think it would do us all a world of good to stop worrying about how we can make sure we are going to be remembered, and instead start focusing on the beautiful thing that is the Truth that we don't have to try. God's spent thousands of years not forgetting people. I don't see why He would start now.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
The Worst Cliche Ever
Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
Based on the title of this post, some of you are probably offended at the fact that I would call something which is indeed the foundation of the Christian faith a cliche. I would ask, however, what was your knee-jerk reaction to that statement? Thinking back on how I have interacted with this Truth over my (very) short life as a Christian, I have found that more and more I see this as a point which is important, but doesn't necessarily need to be discussed at length. Jesus died. We're saved. We get it. Cool beans.
My thinking on this started at the small group which I am a part of here at WWU. Our topic for the night was what type of model we are given by God in terms of how we should love people. In response to the question of what is the most fundamental expression of God's love, one of the men in our group said, somewhat sheepishly, "Well, I guess the cross, but that kind of feels like cheating." He went on to say that the work on the cross was, "of course," extremely important, but it felt cheap to just say that and be done.
But shouldn't the cross be enough? Scripture, in particular the writings of Paul, is ripe with assertions that it is by what Jesus did on the cross, and only by that, that we have freedom from sin and the opportunity to join in fellowship with God. What happened to make it so that it feels like cheating to proclaim the most sacrificially loving act known?
Admittedly, it is important to recognize that the cross is not something which should be thrown around lightly. Jesus' work on the cross is a fact which has been misinterpreted and abused countless times, showing the potential dangers in not taking the time to understand (both in mind and soul) just what happened on that hill. However, I think this fact affirms that we should be focusing on the cross before we focus on anything else. Not only should we be recognizing what was done for us, but we should be honoring that sacrifice all the more by seeking to renew and grow our understanding of it each day.
So what has become of this incredibly important aspect of our faith? I would say to get an image of that, all that needs to be done is to tell both Christian and non-Christian alike about this fact and watch them roll their eyes with the underlying thought of "yeah, I've heard that one before," screaming from their disinterested faces. What should bring about expressions of shock, adoration, and wonder instead brings with it boredom. The most foundational aspect of our faith has become a footnote.
I know I don't want this to be the case in my life. I honestly hope that I can live each day with a growing understanding of just what was done for me as an individual and at the same time for all of humanity throughout time and space. This amazing work that, too often, we allow to be of little importance in the day-to-day living out of our faith is not only a beautiful gift, but also a model for how we are to love each other, with a heart to sacrifice all that we have to provide for those around us. To forget that would be incredibly dangerous.
In light of this, I want to urge myself, as well as anyone who would join with me, in reclaiming what Jesus did on the cross as the most important moment of both Christianity as a whole and our own lives. I truly believe that, if we can come to a better understanding of this Truth, we will be able to love the world in an infinitely more beautiful way, and join with God in rejoicing as people come to know that love, and at the same time come to know Him.
With His love and hopefully His grace,
Taylor
Based on the title of this post, some of you are probably offended at the fact that I would call something which is indeed the foundation of the Christian faith a cliche. I would ask, however, what was your knee-jerk reaction to that statement? Thinking back on how I have interacted with this Truth over my (very) short life as a Christian, I have found that more and more I see this as a point which is important, but doesn't necessarily need to be discussed at length. Jesus died. We're saved. We get it. Cool beans.
My thinking on this started at the small group which I am a part of here at WWU. Our topic for the night was what type of model we are given by God in terms of how we should love people. In response to the question of what is the most fundamental expression of God's love, one of the men in our group said, somewhat sheepishly, "Well, I guess the cross, but that kind of feels like cheating." He went on to say that the work on the cross was, "of course," extremely important, but it felt cheap to just say that and be done.
But shouldn't the cross be enough? Scripture, in particular the writings of Paul, is ripe with assertions that it is by what Jesus did on the cross, and only by that, that we have freedom from sin and the opportunity to join in fellowship with God. What happened to make it so that it feels like cheating to proclaim the most sacrificially loving act known?
Admittedly, it is important to recognize that the cross is not something which should be thrown around lightly. Jesus' work on the cross is a fact which has been misinterpreted and abused countless times, showing the potential dangers in not taking the time to understand (both in mind and soul) just what happened on that hill. However, I think this fact affirms that we should be focusing on the cross before we focus on anything else. Not only should we be recognizing what was done for us, but we should be honoring that sacrifice all the more by seeking to renew and grow our understanding of it each day.
So what has become of this incredibly important aspect of our faith? I would say to get an image of that, all that needs to be done is to tell both Christian and non-Christian alike about this fact and watch them roll their eyes with the underlying thought of "yeah, I've heard that one before," screaming from their disinterested faces. What should bring about expressions of shock, adoration, and wonder instead brings with it boredom. The most foundational aspect of our faith has become a footnote.
I know I don't want this to be the case in my life. I honestly hope that I can live each day with a growing understanding of just what was done for me as an individual and at the same time for all of humanity throughout time and space. This amazing work that, too often, we allow to be of little importance in the day-to-day living out of our faith is not only a beautiful gift, but also a model for how we are to love each other, with a heart to sacrifice all that we have to provide for those around us. To forget that would be incredibly dangerous.
In light of this, I want to urge myself, as well as anyone who would join with me, in reclaiming what Jesus did on the cross as the most important moment of both Christianity as a whole and our own lives. I truly believe that, if we can come to a better understanding of this Truth, we will be able to love the world in an infinitely more beautiful way, and join with God in rejoicing as people come to know that love, and at the same time come to know Him.
With His love and hopefully His grace,
Taylor
Monday, November 8, 2010
We've been riding this pendulum for two thousand years...
...and quite frankly I'm starting to get uncomfortable. Not just because sitting on a pendulum is not a terribly cozy position, but it is quite tiring swinging back and forth, back and forth with no sign of this painfully repetitive motion ever stopping.
What pendulum is this that I speak of, you ask? Why the pendulum of the Church, of course!
Perhaps more than any other institution in this world, the Christian Church is famous for swinging back and forth in the nature of the actions which it takes. This is not, of course, something owned by Christianity. We humans are wonderful at being indecisive. Combine this with our love of binaries (good vs evil, effective vs failure, pie vs cake), and we've established a joyous system in which when we see something going wrong we swing as fast as we can in the other direction, completely confident that if we do the opposite of the wrong thing we were doing we will undoubtedly find the solution to our woes.
For the Church, this process is particularly important, based on the fact that Christians get caught up in this about 137% more than other humans. I think the reason for this is that we have a whole other dimension to what we do here on this Earth. Not only are we trying not to hurt the people around us, stay alive, and keep things in our general vicinity from lighting on fire or getting eaten by bears, but we are also trying to please God. The last aspect of our lives is, bar none, the most important. It is also the most difficult to reconcile. Being that God's will can be hard to discern, it is even more tempting to begin running in the other direction when we see something going the slightest bit wrong, crying out the oh-so-spiritual justification of "It must not have been God's will!"
This over-eagerness to swing back and forth in terms of how we think we should interact with the world has done plenty of damage, with Christians finding fault on both sides of the arc and a hefty amount of division coming about as a result. Personally, I'm a bit tired of watching myself and those I call my brothers and sisters in Christ running back and forth, pulled by whoever happens to have the most convincing rhetoric in a particular moment.
But what to do? If the Church has been swinging back and forth since its birth as a body, is there any hope to stop this swinging and heal the rifts which the pendulum has ripped open? I honestly believe that there is. We, as a collective body, need to stop looking at the big shiny end that keeps swinging, and focus more on the pivot point that our faith has been resting on since the beginning. By refocusing on these foundational aspects of our faith, God's grace and the work which He did on the cross, we have the opportunity to begin the process of bringing His people together in a way that hasn't been seen since the time of Acts.
This isn't going to be an easy process. We have spent years becoming very, very good at arguing over small issues (for example, people spent a century fighting about what day Easter should be on). It has to begin on a small level, with each of us choosing to not allow relatively unimportant issues to separate what the Lord has joined together. In light of this, I want to invite each of you to join me in looking to the foundation of our faith, rather than the swinging pendulum of our own understanding. Personally, I'm excited to start living a life with less head swinging and more God following.
With His love and hopefully His grace,
Taylor
What pendulum is this that I speak of, you ask? Why the pendulum of the Church, of course!
Perhaps more than any other institution in this world, the Christian Church is famous for swinging back and forth in the nature of the actions which it takes. This is not, of course, something owned by Christianity. We humans are wonderful at being indecisive. Combine this with our love of binaries (good vs evil, effective vs failure, pie vs cake), and we've established a joyous system in which when we see something going wrong we swing as fast as we can in the other direction, completely confident that if we do the opposite of the wrong thing we were doing we will undoubtedly find the solution to our woes.
For the Church, this process is particularly important, based on the fact that Christians get caught up in this about 137% more than other humans. I think the reason for this is that we have a whole other dimension to what we do here on this Earth. Not only are we trying not to hurt the people around us, stay alive, and keep things in our general vicinity from lighting on fire or getting eaten by bears, but we are also trying to please God. The last aspect of our lives is, bar none, the most important. It is also the most difficult to reconcile. Being that God's will can be hard to discern, it is even more tempting to begin running in the other direction when we see something going the slightest bit wrong, crying out the oh-so-spiritual justification of "It must not have been God's will!"
This over-eagerness to swing back and forth in terms of how we think we should interact with the world has done plenty of damage, with Christians finding fault on both sides of the arc and a hefty amount of division coming about as a result. Personally, I'm a bit tired of watching myself and those I call my brothers and sisters in Christ running back and forth, pulled by whoever happens to have the most convincing rhetoric in a particular moment.
But what to do? If the Church has been swinging back and forth since its birth as a body, is there any hope to stop this swinging and heal the rifts which the pendulum has ripped open? I honestly believe that there is. We, as a collective body, need to stop looking at the big shiny end that keeps swinging, and focus more on the pivot point that our faith has been resting on since the beginning. By refocusing on these foundational aspects of our faith, God's grace and the work which He did on the cross, we have the opportunity to begin the process of bringing His people together in a way that hasn't been seen since the time of Acts.
This isn't going to be an easy process. We have spent years becoming very, very good at arguing over small issues (for example, people spent a century fighting about what day Easter should be on). It has to begin on a small level, with each of us choosing to not allow relatively unimportant issues to separate what the Lord has joined together. In light of this, I want to invite each of you to join me in looking to the foundation of our faith, rather than the swinging pendulum of our own understanding. Personally, I'm excited to start living a life with less head swinging and more God following.
With His love and hopefully His grace,
Taylor
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