Weary

So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matt 6:34

I had a lot of ideas about a blog post this week, but as you can tell it is getting out a little later than usual.  Main reason?  Well, life just gets in the way sometimes.  This has been one of those weeks.  When I sit still for even just a moment my heart leaks the silent words, “I’m weary.”  Nothing more seems to come.  Just that. 

I’m weary.  As I write this, there are a thousand things that should be attended to.  You know the feeling... weary. 
So what of it?  Taking a nice long siesta is not on the books.  I suppose part of the problem is that I am carrying too much.  I was only meant to carry today’s load.  Not tomorrow’s or next weeks.  Just today’s.   After all, it has enough trouble of its own – right?

 I am borrowing a boat load of concerns from tomorrow...well actually, from the entire next month!  Of course I’m weary.  The graces needed for those days have not been afforded to me yet.  They will be given at the due time.  My concerns have weighed me down and pull me out of that sweet place of abiding with God.  This worried-gluttoned heart has spoiled like left over manna. Today’s graces are for TODAY’S events. 

What if I take up the work and grace for today like the Israelites took up manna in the wilderness - Careful to take only what is needed?  What if I leave unneeded worries on the ground, to pick up later - trusting God for a fresh supply of grace in the morning?   I suppose that is a much better way to stay close to God and move graciously through each demand as it comes.  So I am going to stretch my legs a bit and learn these unforced rhythms of grace that come from Him. 

One moment, one step, one helping of manna at a time, and this empty cup that sits longing to be filled... will be.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Alternative Cultures

The other day an article was shared on Facebook titled, “Why successful People Leave Their Loser Friends Behind.”   In it, the post recommended exploiting people for personal gain, saying that in order to be successful you must “surround yourself with people who are only going to lift you higher”.  If they cannot do that, then spend no more than 5 minutes with them. There are many points in the article that have been shared at “success” conferences for decades…we've probably heard them at Christian conferences too, after all, that’s the world in which we live, right? 

 And what’s wrong with wanting to be successful?  Most churches I know of want to experience success.  We often measure it based on attendance or relevance to what can be offered elsewhere, like concerts, charismatic speakers, etc. This particular article was about personal success and it was shared by a Christian teacher working at a Christian school.  It caused me to wonder how much our Christian culture has become like the world instead of like Christ. 

How different are we?  When the world looks in on us, does being Christian still mean living like Christ – loving unconditionally, being presenters of truth and justice, full of Grace and Mercy?  Are we a culture that goes beyond the appetite for the material and temporal to offer what is sure and unseen?  Can I do more than simply tell someone about Christ because I actually have experiential knowledge of Him? Is that knowledge changing me?...Is it changing the Christian culture in which I live? And can I lead someone else there? Or has being “Christian” come to mean something different because we aren’t much different from the world? 

I once heard someone say there was too much “Jesus talk” in the church service.  It was too spiritual and we should do something relevant to attract people. Another quipped that being Christian wasn't just about being Christ-like.  Now I might be mistaken, but I'm fairly certain the world has the corner on the market on everything BUT Jesus, and Jesus is what they need.  The problem is, Jesus is not necessarily who we have or what we’ve become.  

Dallas Willard once said, "To be conformed to a sick culture means to become sick ourselves."  Wise Solomon says, “Bad company corrupts good morals.”   While this might be used wrongly to justify the things mentioned in the above article on success, I suspect it actually means something entirely different.

As I look at the way Jesus lived, I am not convinced His plan was to be relevant to the world.  He said things like, don’t degrade yourself or others with adulterous thoughts, people are worth more than that.  Turn the other cheek when struck, let Christ even the score.  He said you have to lose your life to actually find it.  He said bear each others' burdens, consider others better than yourself.  Jesus lived differently and He offered a different life to those He encountered.  He gave the woman at the well different water and she drank deeply from the life of Christ....and she was changed.

so I wonder, have I ever really “left it all" or lost my life to His? Have I ever drank deeply from His well of life-giving water? If I did, how would it change me, and how would it change my culture?

The Apostle Paul mentions, among other things, being committed to each other in brotherly love.  At the beginning of this post, most cringed to read about dismissing a person after 5 minutes.  We cringe because intuitively we know it’s wrong.  But if we are honest, we would have to say we probably do it.  We just don’t advertise it. Maybe that's because we don't understand why it's wrong.  Maybe we need to understand better that dismissing goes against the spirit of God to love and mars the dignity of another’s soul.  It is a grievous act and ought to be acknowledged as such.  Sometimes I need to be reminded that when I commit myself to love without anything in return, I begin to catch a glimpse of God’s beautiful Kingdom life and wake up to a whole new reality. 

This reality is an alternative culture brought into a world otherwise dominated by power, money, materialism, greed, sex, you name it.  No matter the century, this beautiful, alternative life is available to you and me.   We can step into it and begin to live, and I mean really LIVE.  It is a place where we aren't driven by the need to succeed,  to shop until we drop, We don't have to search endlessly for romance, or spend precious resources keeping up our image or getting even…Instead we can seek to love others well, live life simply, and keep on the journey towards God together.  It’s not perfect and by no means a utopia.  In fact, it’s pretty messy and requires exorbitant amounts of God's strength and grace, but we will be happier people for it! Its the way every human being was meant to live.  To live any other way is to live inhuman.

^“Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom… Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor” – James 3:13-18

So I guess what I am asking is this: How can our Christian settings, albeit families, schools or churches, begin to provide an alternative culture for people looking for Jesus?  What must we do to let His Kingdom reign right where we are with those standing right next to us?  In the end, that is a life well lived….that is success.  And it does not happen on the backs of other people but it is accomplished as we seek to love God and others by taking up our cross daily to follow him.

Feasting

OK…Slight change-up NEXT week the post called “Alternative Realities” will be posted this week is simply a follow-up from last week and an invitation to come away from your ADHD world and be with Jesus…after all we can’t WWJD unless we spend time with Him.

When I was a young teenager I spent a short time dealing with Anorexia.  Over time I became quite weak.  I entered high school weighing a whopping 83 pounds.  Now one would think that food is the logical option at this point but it took me a while to be convinced of its benefits.   At the time, I like the "advantages" of starving myself.  I actually found a sense of identity in them.  But with some time and a little help I began to eat again and found  life was better when I nourished my body.

If life is found in the pause instead of the sprint ( as was said in the last post) I wonder if we might at times starve our soul like some starve their bodies.  It seems that to live the good life means going 100 mph to fit every "enriching activity" in to the day.  By the end of the day, instead of sharing a meal we simply pass out at the table.  It is at this point that "food" is the logical option.   As much as our bodies were made to be nourished by a hearty meal so was our soul.  “God prepares a table before us”  and we are invited to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” ...To "feast" on Jesus, who is the broken bread and poured out wine (Ps 23 & 34; Luke 22)

So how does one feast on God and nourish the soul instead of doing a face-plant at the table?  It begins the same way it did for me as I dealt with anorexia.  I had to first realize I was starving myself and it was doing harm.  The ear-marks for it were listless-ness, foggy thinking, and a sense of isolation.  

At the risk of seemingly adding to the to-do list I will say this: If your time with God is close to nil, you are starving your soul and doing harm.  This is not a guilt trip and by the end I think you will find it is also not another item to add to your to-do list.  This is just me trying to keep it real...you see, our soul has similar alarms as our body does.   I am sure I’m not the only one who may feel spiritually “listless” once -in-a-while.  Sometimes, the thought of investing in anything spiritual sounds exhausting so I don’t.   Have you ever wanted to “be more spiritual” but can’t seem to find any focus?  Ever feel like your head is about to explode if you don’t get some space from things?  But you cant get space because your schedule is so crowded running from one thing to the next you barely have time to breath.  It’s like there’s this wonderful land out there and occasionally you catch a glimpse of it through the fog, but something keeps it veiled and just out of reach.  you'd like to find it but these things that sound-off in our soul...this inward chaos?  We are held captive by them.... and we begin to wonder if this far-off wonderland is just an illusion which means this is as good as life gets.

Sound familiar?  STOP.  Stop the rat-race that has befriended you and pause.  Breathe in and breathe out….literally! Those things that you're doing that identify you?...They don't make you who you are, God does.  So wait quietly for Him to come near…He will…don’t you worry.  It is in the pause that we feast on God's love so find ways to encounter Him.

If you love nature then go outside.  Look for God’s whisper in the bird song or sunrise, if you love books, find one and read it.  Since it is God you are seeking I suggest finding one that speaks well of Him, like the Bible, or one written by someone who’s encountered him and can share it.  Do you love music? Then turn on the worship and let it fill the room.  If you don't think you have time, you're wrong.  I will be that bold to assure you that the One who holds time in his hands has as His deepest desire to share time with you.  So take five, take ten, or take a whole day if you can.  ...Just come, come and feast...

“If you are starving and can find nothing to satisfy your hunger, then come.  Come, and you will be filled.”  Jeanne Guyon

 “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  - Jesus

Living WWJD In an ADHD World

OK, I confess.  While I have never been officially tested, my friends would concur, I am prone to Attention Deficit Disorder.  There.  I said it.  Surprise!  But really, honestly, hasn't that prognosis become about as normal as a setting on our dishwasher?  "Normal", "quick", "delicate", "extra dry", "slightly distracted", "somewhat unpredictable"...."Squirrel!" (to steal a quote from the movie Up) Maybe the diagnosis is true.  Maybe it's not.  The real question I am asking is this:  How can I live more intentional in an increasingly distracted world?  And I don't think one needs to be A.D.D. or A.D.H.D. to wonder the same thing.  I think somewhere deep down we are all asking something like that.  How do we live...better?


It’s weird really, A.D.H.D has become quite a phenomenon - The inability to hold focus, constant activity, moving from one thing to the next, lack of impulse control, anger management issues - It sounds like A.D.H.D. has made its way into our world more than we realize.  Is this life - laden with distractions, 'pleasure' seeking, and busyness - really working?

One look at the world around us - including the world within the walls of the church - and it's clear our A.D.H.D. approach is not working.  If it was, the use of anti-depressants would not be on the rise as it is.  Crime would not be the back-drop of most evening news reports, and divorce would be less not more frequent.  Lawsuits would be the exception not the norm.  Obesity would not be an epidemic.  Credit cards would not be maxed out from trips to the mall, Disneyland, or weekly "pedis". Parents wouldn't be lost in a sea of sporting events that consume their every waking hour.   Our 4 year olds Birthday party would not have to be "pintrest"...then Facebooked...then instagramed. (I'm going to share a secret with you...4 year olds don't care if their favors were made from recycled jars decoupaged in vintage fabric and filled with homemade organic treats....they just don't.) Nope our A.D.H.D. approach has not served us well.  Distractions are rarely the answer...they only pretend to soothe a bleeding (or bored)soul...a soul that's screaming for something more...for something better.


So...WWJD (what would Jesus do)? Because I really do want to DWJWD (Do what Jesus would do)... Of all people, HE seemed to focused on the things that matter.  He was busy but not distracted.  I don't think He was very bored either because He was going about His Father's work.  Yet, when life came at Him at break-neck speed He was at the ready... present and conversational.  For instance, when the bleeding woman caught the edge of His garment He paused.  If ever there was a moment for a man to "vacate the premises" and find something else to do, that was it!  But Jesus stayed.  He talked with the woman (shameful as it was at the time) and received her story. He didn't have to, according to scripture she was healed the moment she touched His robe.  By most "A.D.H.D-world" standards, His job was done and the next "thing" was waiting...Snap to it! But by WWJD standards, maybe the job wasn't finished.  Maybe the biggest miracle was the conversation between the Divine King of kings and a forgotten woman who longed for healing ...for dignity ...for friendship.  So much would have missed had Jesus "squirreled" off to the next thing instead of pausing his steps for a moment to take a closer look.

 Maybe life is found in the pause ...instead of the sprint

When I am distracted I tend to neglect relationships and sadly that means people too.  I move from one bright shiny object to the next. I see it glisten in the distance and something in me is driven to find its pleasure; pleasure that wears off soon after, so I move on to the next distraction. On and on it goes, satisfying for a moment, maybe even a season, but in the end leaving me more empty than when I started. That's what distractions do.  They give the illusion of satisfaction while secretly denying the soul.  
What would happen if we stopped our sprint to the next "drug of choice" and paused to touch the hem of His garment - if even only for a moment?  Would we be changed? Would our soul stop its bleeding? Would we be surprised by the conversation we encounter with Christ?  Would a piece of regenerated life awaken within us?...maybe life is found in the pause instead of the sprint.


WWJD?....He would pause.  He would be indifferent to the things that seduce a glance to steal our gaze.  He, instead, would gaze deeply into the heart of God through the waking of a sunrise, or the stillness of a prayer, He would delight in the joy of a child or the playfulness of a puppy. He would  notice the tug on His robe and, like He did with that woman, be at the ready...present and conversational; capturing the divine eternal moments that simply show up without trend or demand. He would welcome them with glad submission and... join in.

I want to do the same.  I want to DWJWD and find more than what this A.D.H.D world can ever offer.


Next post: Sunday, June 13 - "Alternative Realities"