The "DO" in truth!

Truth's not for admiring, reading, defending, writing or reciting; it's not for memorizing, analyzing, teaching or preaching; it's not for debating, writing, singing or spreading— it's for doing!

Truth's for doing! Truth's for doing at a personal ethical level; it's for doing in the presence of the poor and needy; it's for doing in the company of the emotional basket-cases whose hearts are fragmented. It's for doing at a congregational level when power struggles are so obvious; it's for doing before a world that's in awful need of seeing and hearing the gospel of salvation and reconciliation.

Call me blessed, or crazy, but I believe the above statement with all my heart. Now that Thanksgiving is over (which in reality it shouldn't be) I am getting ready for the weeks demands. I got my house cleaned, I bought food for the week for the entire family, and now I rest until day break for that is when I return to work. But I know someone who isn't getting ready for the weeks demands because she is lying in a hospital bed with half her brain dead. She got a brain aneurysm a few days before Thanksgiving, and now she lies and waits to see what the rest of her life is going to be like. So the saying says, "life goes on." No matter what happens to my friend, my life will go on, and hers too, for whether she dies or not, she will live eternally with our Savior Jesus Christ. But through this experience, I got to witness something wonderful. Though it wasn't a miracle, (though we  are still praying for one and would gladly accept one on her behalf) I got to witness truth in doing. 

The lady lying in the hospital is part of my small group from church. I got to interact with her only a handful of times, and in those handful of times, learned a great deal from her. She is a follower of Christ. But when I found out the news of what happened to her, it wasn't just something I read via e-mail and then expected to pray on my own time-although that is how it started.  Our group meets on Monday nights, and that Monday night after her incident was our Thanksgiving potluck. Our group leaders assured us that we should still have the potluck because it would be the best thing to do right now, as our friend would want that from us. But as her prognosis was unsure the next couple of days, it was suggested that we go to the hospital on Thanksgiving to support her family in prayer. At first, I wasn't sure what to expect, but gladly went. 

The waiting room was already full when we arrived, and when our friends sister saw us, she immediately began to cry. Everyone began to hug one another. And as we waited for the others to arrive we did our best to comfort her family who obviously was distressed about the situation. We found out that her condition was worse than we thought; the Dr. said she should have died when the aneurysm hit. So with tear filled eyes, and with so much telling us to be uncertain, to give up hope, we all gathered in a circle, held hands and prayed for a miracle; we prayed for one because we refused to believe in the uncertainty and to believe in the certainty of Him who gives us the hope. We didn't bow our heads in defeat, we bowed our heads in victory because we know that God will do His will for her and for all who love Him. We said our Amens, and then hung around for awhile. We offered the family our services- finances, baby-sitting, food, and whatever else they needed. 

Maybe you think I am boasting about this little thing we did on Thanksgiving, and you may be right. Maybe its because it isn't everyday where I see the face of Jesus comfort those in need.(Matt 25) It isn't everyday I witness what I witnessed on that day-I saw a group of believers DO the truth. I saw compassion, concern, and certainty. I saw faith, love and hope- and to me my friend, that is something to boast about when all you are used to is talk, talk, talk about truth and what Christians should do about our suffering world.  Sure our time together on that Thanksgiving day didn't make a difference to a person starving in Africa, and maybe it didn't make a difference to the other person just a few floors above us, but it made a difference to my friends family lives, and I know they saw Jesus in my small group. And it made a difference in me. You know you are in a good place when you start seeing the DO in truth. 

Something to think about

Here are some statistics I found interesting concerning Christian and Non-Christian life styles:

Lifestyle Gaps
In the recent book unChristian, the Barna Group has done some interesting research on how people perceive Christians. Much of the research focuses on the opinions of younger persons and people who are not Christian. The general conclusion of the Barna research is that young "outsiders" (non-Christians) and young Christians have a very negative view of the Christian brand. More specifically, they tend to see Christians as "unChristian" in their attitudes and behaviors.

One of the adjectives applied to Christians is that they are hypocritical. The data on this adjective is presented in Chapter 3 of unChristian. Here are some highlights from that research:

--84% of young "outsiders" (non-Christians) report personally knowing a Christian. However, only 15% of these individuals report seeing a qualitative lifestyle difference between the Christian they know and themselves.

--Engaging in the following lifestyle activities are statistically equivalent when comparing Christians with non-Christians:

gambling
visiting a pornographic website
stealing
consulting a medium or psychic
physically fighting
consuming alcohol to the point of intoxication
using an illegal, nonprescription drug
lying
getting back at someone (revenge)
saying mean things behind a person's back

--There are some differences between Christians and non-Christians. Christians are more likely to own a bible and go to church. Christians are less likely to use profanity, although not by much (26% Christian, 38% non-Christian). Christians are more likely to help a homeless person, but not by much (53% Christian, 45% non-Christian). Interestingly, Christians also differ from non-Christians in that Christian are less likely to recycle (68% to 79%).

Looking over all this data the authors of unChristian coin the term "lifestyle gap" as the root issue in perceptions of Christian hypocrisy. Specifically, there is a gap between the lifestyle Christians say they live versus the lives they actually live. Phrased negatively, non-Christians fail to see a lifestyle gap between themselves and their Christian friends. Being a Christian doesn't seem to have any impact upon how a person lives.

Hmmmm... my knee jerk reaction to reading this made me think how much we are a bunch of hypocrites and I suddenly became upset with how much Christians are dropping the ball; but then after thinking about it- it would make sense that the statistics would say what they say because we as Christians are the same as non-christians because we all came from the same place. Whether we grew up knowing Christian beliefs or not we are all human after all. Just because a person is a Christian does not mean they are suddenly the most moral and perfect human on the planet. God does not work moral miracles on people, (although sometimes I wish he would).  If anything Christians fall short of the glory of God and are sinners just the same as those who are not Christians. I think what upsets me is that the reason people are digging for statistics like this is because of our conduct: we say all the right things, know all the right answers, push our so called moral standards on everyone else, and act as if we are holier than thou-- so we have to be reminded that we are not perfect after all, even if it is through a mean like this little article. If anything this little article humbled me and made me realize that I have a long journey ahead of me. It also made me realize that I need more compassion in my life for others, especially for my fellow Christians.... if you know what I mean by that.

Just something to think about.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Tomorrow marks six years of marriage for my husband and I. It also marks six years we have been Christians. It is a very special day tomorrow. Lots of victorious days, and lots of not so victorious days, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. The beauty of hindsight is that you can really begin to appreciate the bad times more because you realize that through the hard times is where the love and unity grows the most. We've been through a lot together, and we are still going stronger than ever. There were days when we thought it was a mistake to have kids and get married, but then we come to our senses and realize that it is our kids and our marriage that make our life as rich as it is. Today's society makes it easy to just end a marriage and go on with one's life. I have to admit that sometimes it seems that my life would be easier and better if I would end our marriage so that I can get child support and baby-sitting when I need it so I can do my own thing, but again I come to my senses and realize that that kind of thinking is just selfish beyond words. 

My husband knows more about me than anybody else on the planet. To think that someone can know me like that and still love me is incomprehensible to me. He is there to wipe my tears even when the tears are uncalled for. He is there to listen to my complaints and sorrows even when they are not justified. He is there to offer a helping hand when I need it even when the help is undeserved. He is always giving me a reason to go on. When I feel like throwing in the towel, he motivates me by his love, to keep going. When I get up in the morning, I know that my day is going to be full of surprises because he is a part of it. Not a day goes by where we don't communicate to each other. We will call on our lunch breaks, text whenever we get a chance, and have long conversations at dinner and at bedtime, even though we should be sleeping. I have seen this man change from a scared boy to a confident God fearing man. My heart is full and complete because God has answered my deep desire--To have a life full of love and joy-- and its all thanks to God and His one and only son. 

When I watch my husband play with our children, my heart sings. When I watch him garden and do yard work, my heart sings. When he kisses me and holds me, my heart sings. When he reaches out and holds my hand, my heart sings. When he is going through a hard time and he seems irritable and depressed, my heart breaks, but in time, we always make it through. 

This year I dedicate a song called "You're Still The One" by Shania Twain to him. I dedicate this song because it says what I want to say. You're still the one I love, the one I run to, the one kiss good night, the one I still want; We beat the odds together, and I'm glad we didn't listen because look at what we would be missing! 

Just For Today

Just for today I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress becomingly, keep my voice low, be courteous, criticize not one bit. I won't find fault with anything, nor try to improve or regulate anybody but myself. 

Tough Burden to Carry

Its not always easy being a Christian. Maybe because its not always easy being right while everybody else is wrong....

I came from a group of believers where what we believed and being right was more important than our spiritual growth and how we treated others. In fact if you did not believe exactly as they did, then you were the outcast, disfellowshiped and shunned. I use to think that if I didn't have all the answers or if I didn't believe the "right" things about God then I would be less of a Christian and God looked down at me with disappointment and disbelief. So the more I tried to get all the answers and study the "right" beliefs the more empty I became inside--I was isolated from others because I couldn't associate with those who had different beliefs, sure I could hang out with them, but eventually if they didn't convert to my set of standards then eventually I would have to say good-bye to the relationship. My self-esteem was diminshing because no matter how hard I studied, or how much I served, it was just never enough. I became depressed and I turned into a person I did not want to be-self-righteous, arrogant and angry. It was hard to live being right all the time and yet knowing I still wasn't living up. The guilt, the shame, the jealousy, was eating me alive. I wanted to desperately reach out and let others know what was going on in my heart, but they couldn't hear it. "just keep studying, just keep praying, just keep doing what you are doing..." but the more I did, the more I empty I was becoming. I couldn't express my deep feelings because everytime we got together it was all about the text. There was no concern for what was really happening in our hearts, all that mattered was fine tuning our theology-making sure we had all our t's crossed and all our i's dotted.

It makes me cringe when I think about whats important in a Christians life. We would rather be right about a text that doesn't really apply to one's life than to reach out and lend an ear and offer some compassion.

I have to say that I was thrilled to find out that God does NOT want me to have all the answers. It thrilled me to know that God's grace not only covers my behavior, but my doctrine too. What an amazing God we serve....

What was it that Jesus said, "My burden is light, My yoke is easy...." or something like that....

A wonderful gift

Right now I am watching the sun set behind all the houses in my neighborhood. The clouds are glowing. The trees are swaying in the breeze. My children are watching some T.V. and my husband is working in the backyard. The world is going on around us doing its own thing. Yet my heart is content. I have everything I need. I have the love of God through and in Jesus and so that makes everything around me wonderful and mysterious and great. I should be worried about my family and our economic situation, but I am not. He will provide, He will take care of us. I should be working hard and staying busy to assure that I have accomplished something, but being still and knowing that He is God is priceless. I could go on about how horrible life is and wonder what the point of all of "it" is--but I won't, because I know that in this life, happiness and comfort is not the primary goal. There is no goal. It is being able to let life happen and know that you are not going to die because of a few hardships. It is letting God love you--allowing Him to take care of you. It is being able to sit and watch the world around you go crazy and angry while you are able to enjoy the beauty of the sun setting being confident that He will fulfill His word. Contentment in whatever circumstance is key to being able to have peace in your heart. Letting go of hurts and wrongs, and forgiving them, allows you to be free to have a life that brings joy and riches. What a wonderful gift He has given us! 

God show me how

When you love someone it is our responsibility to let them know when they are doing bad... right?  But what if you really are not sure, and they don't tell you- they refuse to open up to you but you can see that they are doing bad. How do you gently tell them that you are disappointed with their choices, and that they are clearly not in the right path? Where do you cross the fine line between grace and truth? But how am I to be clear that my path is right and theirs is wrong?  I know that Jesus says I have to take the speck out of my eye first before I pay any attention to my sister's speck, SO THAT I am able to help her take it out. But how do I know? How do I say? A letter, a phone call, face to face confrontation.... 

This discipline of accountability is not easy. God be with me....