TOO LITTLE LOVE

This summer sizzled with intense heat and little and late rains. As I saw how it sapped the great Lake Superior (as well as lesser lakes), and as I heard of the toll taken by crops with the predictions of rising food costs, I thought often of the prophet Elijah.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
Elijah has long been a kindred heart to mine. I love his reckless abandon to Yahweh as he sarcastically confronts the servants of Baal on proving beyond doubt the greatness of the One True God. I love his lonely independence and his zeal. These qualities I hold up as ideals for my own life to pursue.

But beyond all his successes, Elijah was—as Jesus' brother James wrote—"a man just like us." He suffered from depression after great victory. He threw a pity party that God had to crash. He grew weary and hungry.

But this is all history and not what I've been pondering. The significance of Elijah's story in today's drought is this: "he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." 

Did you catch it? Does it confound you as well? He prayed for his own discomfort!

Do you love God that much? Do I?

As the summer blazed and I watched the puffs of clouds in the sky, many times I cried out for God's mercy on our land. I love rain and all the goodness it brings—the greening of grass and flowers, the wafting fragrance through the air, the filling of the lakes, the feeling of its gentle touch falling on my face.

But what if God asked me to pray for drought? What if His good for our people required suffering so that we all might call on His name? Do I love Him enough to suffer three and a half years (or more) so that He might be praised?

Don't get me wrong. I don't actually think I'm a prophet or that this is my gift to call on Him for such a thing. It only serves to stir my heart with the question: do I love Him enough to suffer for His glory?

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOURSELF

19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

The world and the church today tout the word "tolerance" as the key to unity and peace. Is it?

Others have raised this question: Would you rather be tolerated or loved?

I understand the world's concern. In their desire to cling to their pseudo-independence, the conclusion has to be that each would leave the other alone. But in the church, is there room for tolerance?

Tolerance and mindless deference to the authority of state describe Germany in the 1930s and 40s. Precious few awoke in the church to "obey God rather than man."  The convenience of living a private "Christianity" outweighed the moral outcry of injustice and murder. They descended into their spiritual bunkers and withered to nothing.

The flip side of that extreme is judgement. The feeling that I can discern and, therefore, condemn your motives.

Both of these attitudes are such delicious concoctions of the enemy. How gloating and self-congratulating he must be as he looks at the West and our tug-of-war extremes!

James, in his book, (and as so many others in the Bible have taught) cries out against these polar mind-frames. He calls us neither to judge the motives of a brother nor to leave a fellow sinner to wander unchecked onto the edge of destruction without reaching out to catch him and pull him back.

WHAT'S THE CONCLUSION?
So what's the answer? I could not improve upon James' no-nonsense instructions.

1. Fill your life with God. 7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
2. Know your own sin & repent. 8Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded...10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.
3. Throw off worldly pursuits & pursue living out God's Word. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
4. Watch what you say. 26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
5. Your love for others will show by what you do and for God by what you avoid. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
6. Know God's mercy in your life & give that mercy to everyone else. 12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement!

Love is an action. Love is a pursuit. Love does not go on vacation, and its Source is God.

Only a Shadow of Good Things

Have you thought much about shadows?

It's interesting about shadows that they may closely resemble the object they portray or they may completely distort it. How truthfully they reveal the original object depends on the position of the sun.

To the eyes of children, a shadow may be the image of a loved parent returning to gather them up or it may be the distorted form of a monster creeping close to steal their soul.

"The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship." ~Hebrews 10:1

In one of C.S. Lewis' books (I believe, The Weight of Glory), he talks of the blandness of heaven as described in the Bible (and don't tell me you haven't thought so too). Shadows.

Have you ever thought or heard that the "God of the Old Testament" is an angry God unlike the "God of the New Testament"? Shadows.

Have you ever read all the do-nots or must-dos of the Bible and thought "how restricting!"? Shadows.

A shadow gives a glimpse of something real beyond what we see before us. A shadow may misshape, discolour, or appear to misrepresent the real object. But a shadow's purpose is not to show you the object. Its purpose is to make you aware that the object exists.

As with all analogies, there is a point of break down. With a shadow, more often than not, one can look up to see the exact object that is being projected in dark twisted shapes beneath it. With spiritual shadows, our looking up will be hereafter. The shadows are reminders that our faith is based on Something and not our own imagination.

In Hebrews 10, the author describes the law as "only a shadow of the good things that are to come." How many of us think of the law as pointing to hope of a good thing instead of something to avoid breaking or avoid being caught bending?

The author of Hebrews points to the fact that the law, as defined in the Old Testament, never could save those who followed it. It was a shadow of a better thing to come.

The bleating goats, baaing lambs and flapping birds, whose blood were shed as a reminder of the ugly consequences of our sin—could never save, but instead foreshadowed One whose blood would save.

The burning candles, bloody altars, daily bread, glittering temple, mysterious ceremonies, and hidden rooms—their services never ushered a soul into heaven, but they foreshadowed a Most Holy Place where Yahweh is truly enthroned and the Lamb has made an entrance for us to follow.

The world around us appears so real that the shadows of Scripture get lost in the darkness. Without constantly seeking out the Son, we forget the presence of shadows and, more importantly, the Object they represent. It is for this very reason, the author of Hebrews admonishes us:

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. ~Hebrews 10:23-25 (Emphasis added.)

Sometimes shadows look harsh and scary. We need to remind each other it is merely the skewed view caused by unseen elements. If we encourage this faith and hold to this hope, one day we'll see before us the Face of Love unmasked by shadows. 

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

I've been pondering a great deal about "respect." Perhaps you can discuss this with me, as I'd really rather this be a dialogue.

Many writers have written about men's need to be respected and women's need to be loved. Indeed the Bible said this a couple thousand years before our "Christian bestsellers." 

However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. (Ephesians 5:33)

(I tend to think that both sexes crave respect, but that it may come across differently for each. That could be a whole other discussion.)

The dictionary defines respect as: "esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability."

Much like worship, which is ingrained in the psyche of mankind, I think we all have a desire—not only to be respected but—to respect. This may be part of the reason we build our hopes in a person and are crushed by the reality. We strongly desire to think highly of, to trust in someone who proves unworthy.

Respect, for me, is harder than the dictionary makes it sound to nail down the full definition.

• There is the effort to give respect to someone no matter what you think of them. 
• You have respect of some sort for friends (or they wouldn't be friends) and family (at least some of them). 
• Then there are those few who you know and have the deepest respect for. 

(This again reminds me of the different types of love—trying to define it; however, the Bible dedicates a whole chapter to define love, but only gives a matter-of-fact nod to respect).

The peak of my pondering, if you will, is a discussion I had recently with my mother about three people where I live, who I think of with the highest respect. These are not men I believe to be flawless. They are not ones who I agree with 100%. They are, however, men with high values, proven character, and a gentle and humble spirit. They are ones who, if they gave me their word on something, I would truly expect they'd keep it (memory permitting).

When I mentioned my respect to one, he expressed his concern that he'd disappoint me, but then added that he hoped he'd recognise it immediately and make it right. Yes, that's exactly the attitude that makes me respect him in the first place!

So I conclude with my own definition of this "highest respect" and then await your response.

True respect is based on character and not perfection; therefore, it isn't lessened by mistakes or bad days.

Oh, that we might all grow in God toward humility, holiness, gentleness and compassion, and might, therefore, be men and women worthy of respect!

What About Me?

FOCUS
I remember once as a child asking God for something and using as my bargaining tool (whether or not it helped) that I rarely asked for anything for myself. Well my prayers have changed. I still love to pray for others, but find my mind often jumping back to my own heart-concerns or desires in the midst of my intercession.

Don't get me wrong. Sharing our burdens with the Lord is one of the things we're admonished throughout Scripture to do (Psalm 37:5, Psalm 55:22, Proverbs 16:3, Matthew 6:25-34, 1 Peter 5:7). It's just a matter of focus. And my focus is frequently off.

WHO'S IT ALL ABOUT?
John the Baptist's disciples were like me. When they baptized repentant Jews at the river and looked across at the crowd Jesus drew to be baptized, they complained to John. Instead of joining them in worrying about his declining position, John simple stated—

"He must become greater; I must become less." ~John 3:30

Jesus Himself did not come seeking the comforts, rewards, or accolades of this life. He told one would-be follower that He had "no place to lay His head." He knew that He was commissioned here for a short while and for a unique purpose. Even in this knowledge, He declared proudly His complete dependence on God the Father.

"I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does....for I seek not to please Myself but Him who sent Me. ~John 5:19, 30b 

WHO CALLS THE SHOTS?
If the perfect Son of God cannot afford to live independently from the Father, we—who are in constant need of putting to death the flesh—certainly cannot afford selfish independence.

Paul describes it this way:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

   Who, being in very nature^a God,

   did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

   but made Himself nothing,

   taking the very nature^b of a servant,

   being made in human likeness.

   And being found in appearance as a man,

   He humbled Himself

   and became obedient to death—

   even death on a cross! ~Philippians 2:5-8

To the Galatian church, Paul wrote—

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." (2:20)

If only this death to flesh was a once for all decision, but it's daily. By daily realizing life is "not about me" and daily recognizing our dependence on God for all that is good, we allow Christ to live through us.

When C.S. Lewis' wife, Joy, began the journey of discovering her own insignificance and remembering with shame how others must view her because of her past life, she concluded: "Who am I, that I shouldn't look like a fool?

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN'T GET IT RIGHT?
Lest we think that some people don't struggle with this, Paul shares his close-to-despairing cry—

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! ~Romans 7:24

What started me thinking about this today was an hour-long conversation I had with God on a walk in a graveyard. I realized how much my own desires have been distracting me from Him. THEY became my focus. (Or, in reality, I was my focus.) My wants consumed my thinking, led me on rabbit trails during prayer or reading. I knew, if my hopes failed (which personal experience has taught me to expect this type of dream to fail), my emotions would plummet. I had centred my energy around—not something bad, but having stolen my focus it became—an idol.

Even in "releasing" my grasp on this dream, my silly self betrayed partial motive. I had to also confess that in surrendering, something inside me hoped it might lead to God to reward me with what I wanted.

Oh, wretched one I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

WHAT'S THE ANSWER?
So what's the answer? What's the twelve-steps we need to take to master the old and put on the new? If Jesus death was in essence our own death to our old nature, then why do we still struggle with it?

In older times, Christians referred to the "mortification of the flesh." Their extreme view of this is not what I'm after. In, however, the realization that daily "I" am the enemy of my soul, the continual need to receive from God through His Word and give up "my rights" to Him prayer, and the understanding of my absolute need of Him to be my righteousness—this is the mortification we need. While we still live in this body, we will always need to engage in this battle.

Paul says in Romans 7:25 that in the mind we realize our need of God, but in our old nature we are slaves to sin. We must feed the new nature.

Keith Green, a popular 1960s Christian rock singer, wrestled constantly with surrender. In his song Draw Me, he cries:

Help me, oh help me, please help me my Jesus.
Save me from sins that I thought were all gone.
Kill me with kindness, and break through my blindness.
I know till I'm dead I can never live on.

So what about you? Am I the only one who struggles so much with self-centredness? What do you struggle with and what have you found that helps?
_______________________

If you haven't read it, I'd recommend reading the biography of Keith Green—No Compromise.
 

Is Your Faith Completely Naked?

My friend, Leesa Barnes, is hosting a blog series featuring faith-centered professionals providing advice on how to add more naked faith to your business.

These faith-centered workers are men and women who are bestselling publishers, success coaches, association directors, solopreneurs, online community managers, motivational speakers, professionals who have been on their own journey to add more faith to their sales, marketing and customer service.

Beginning on April 2, 2012, Leesa and her guest authors (including yours truly on April 4th) will provide you with tips over a 30-day period. You’ll also get action steps that you can take each day to help you on your journey to reintegrate more faith into your business. Whatever your work (paid or volunteer), you can benefit from these insights.

Are you ready to get naked with your faith?

Click here to add yourself to the announcement list so you can join the community of other faith-centered men and women.

K.R. Pent

Pure Power

Power. The word expresses something you are either under or are endeavouring to wield. It is the cause, humanly speaking, of the rise and fall of nations and empires.

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.  ~President Abraham Lincoln

Power is the vehicle with which one forces or guides others to fulfil one's will—for good or for evil. It may seem strange then that the Apostle Paul includes power as part of the inheritance (now) for Christians.

Paul writes to the believers in Ephesus sharing his prayer for them. He says he wishes for them to know, amongst other things, "[God's] incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He"—don't miss this!—"exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand..." (1:19-20)

Napoleon didn't have power like that. Hitler didn't either. They could kill and destroy, but they had no power of resurrection and heavenly enthronement. Their empires came to an end. Christ's reign has barely begun—in the light of eternity.

If this power is for us who have the Holy Spirit living inside, what does that mean?

The picture above is of windmills, which I pass on the way to my parents. What is significant about these sources of power is that they have no power in themselves. If their bolts were too tight so their arms would not spin, they would merely be towers of medal. Useless. But, as they yield to the strength of the wind, they pass along power to light homes, to milk cows, and to give comfort and help to those living around them.

As I mentioned in another post, my pastor has been preaching on (sin, but also) the fact that God created humans as dependent beings. In the fall, we chose a pseudo-independence thus cutting ourselves off from all that we need.

"When—Listen!—a necessarily dependent creature attempts to live independently, he cuts himself off from the very Source of true knowledge and experience, which can only come from God Himself...Man did not actually achieve independence when he sinned. Nothing changed in regard to that, b/c we are of necessity, by creation, dependent creatures. And so nothing has changed simply because we decided to go our own way...We simply cut ourselves off from the necessary and essential supply that we must have as dependent creatures. When a dependent creature tries to live independently it is a DISASTER." ~Dr. Rich Liverance

What does this have to do with power?

The point is this—we are like windmills. Unless we yield to the strength of the Spirit of Christ, we have no power on our own. As we realise our dependence—not a crutch, but full life-support—God pours His strength in us, turning on the light for whole communities—the SAME power that raised our Messiah from the dead.

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)

Once our dependence frees us to the "blowing" of the Spirit, we will experience this power at work in us. This is why the Apostle Paul gloried in his weakness.

And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Why did Paul boast of his weaknesses? Because it was by them that he realised his dependence on God. When he put his dependence on God, then God had the freedom to flow His power through Paul. As my dad would say, Paul learned to "plug himself into the Source." 

GETTING PERSONAL

What are the weaknesses with which you struggle? Do these weaknesses cause discouragement (like mine so often do to me)? Maybe that's because we are trying to be INDEPENDENT of God. Maybe we all need to realise—deep in the core of us—the truth we so glibly claim—our ONLY righteousness comes from Him.

PLUG INTO THE SOURCE

Let's lift our arms of dependence up to our Father and be moved by His power to change our world—one life at a time. 

Momentary Troubles Lead to Triumph

WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?
Most of us would not label any of our problems "light," even if we might recognise them as "momentary."

But the Apostle Paul said:

For our light and momentary troubles—Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers—are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
(2 Corinthians 4:17—2 Corinthians 11:25-26)

Reciting the reason why Paul responded to his trials as he did may be easy, but it's harder to apply, is it not?

Paul focused on Christ. He aimed for a reward in eternity, not one he could place on his trophy shelf now. He "gloried in weakness." He understood (as Peter did) that suffering for righteousness gives us—for the sake of illustration—tokens which we trade in for lasting treasure in heaven.

MIND RENEWAL
How could Paul view the troubles of life that wore him down physically, emotionally, mentally as merely "light and momentary"? He wrote this sentence just before it.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

How? If one is "wasting away," how can one be internally "renewed"?

Paul gives us a huge clue in Romans 12:2—

Don't copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

If God does the mind-changing, how does He do it?

The composer of Psalm 119 tells us:

How can a young man keep his way pure?

   By living according to Your word.

I seek You with all my heart;

   do not let me stray from Your commands.

I have hidden Your Word in my heart

   that I might not sin against You.

The longest Psalm in all Scripture focuses not on man's struggle or even God's triumph, but merely delighting in God's Word and pursuing Him constantly.

RENEWED "DAY BY DAY."

"That's what you do. You sell a big lie, and wrap it up in a truth to make it more palatable." ~ Sherlock Holmes

We've all heard it, and—having worked at a bank over ten years—I know it. You detect counterfeit not by studying it, but by studying the true item.

How many Christians study the Bible "day by day"?

How many Christians believe sex outside of marriage is normal? How many believe homosexuality is not a sin? How many lie or twist truths to avoid a consequence? How many church-going people act more vicious and unloving than an atheist down the street?  How many religious people divorce or are captive to pornography?

HOLISTIC CHRISTIANITY
Holistic care and holistic medicine have been catch words in our society recently. The writers of the Bible, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, could have coined the word "holistic" thousands of years before its recent popularity.

What the prophets taught, what the apostles taught, what Jesus taught—holistic Christianity (even if it was not called "Christianity" until years after Jesus resurrection, they all anticipated the solution in the Messiah).

What is holistic Christianity?

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 

The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.

He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Yahweh require of you—But to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. "

WHAT NOW?
To know it initially, to believe it cognitively is not enough.

We must continually inhale the fragrance of grace, hear the constant whispers of our Saviour, see the nail-scarred hands, savor the meat of the Word, remember the bondage of sin, and feel the embrace of forgiveness.

With this daily renewal, we can step out in love and forgive our enemies, do good to those who wrong us, and see what we suffer here as "light" compared to the surpassing greatness of what our Lord has done for us in the past and what is waiting for us—perhaps today!

(Need Help? If you need a little accountability or just a daily reminder, goTandem allows you to request a Bible passage be sent via text, phone, or email at whatever time or times of day you choose.

You can also ask to have someone call you to ask how you're doing with your reading. Ideally, we should each have a Christian friend to do this—and be one to another—but, if you don't, goTandem at least provides one for starters.)

Image: Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You're an Angel

Somebody posted the comment "You're an angel" on Facebook this past week, which started me thinking about people vs. angels.

Most people have an elementary understanding of angels (and it isn't my intention to do an in-depth analysis on angelology). Most know that there are good angels and "fallen angels."

With this knowledge, one can than deduce that there are "perfect" angels that do God's bidding or there are rebellious angels that fight against God.

Why is this significant?

Since this is true, that statement declares one of two things. If that "compliment" is to be taken seriously, either the person receiving it is perfect, never sinning, or is working for the devil.

You see, angels have no hope of salvation. Those who rebelled against God had no Saviour to take their punishment. The Apostle Peter said that "God did not spare angels when they sinned." But we who are less than angelic beings have a chance to repent (Hebrews 2).

Have you ever thought about that?

It's important to be grateful for the physical and material blessings of life when we see examples of those in ill health or impoverished circumstances. Yet we also should remember the grace given us by our Lord Jesus, who saw us as rebellious sinners and came down to die in our place.

Peter wrote that the prophets who prophesied about this salvation and also the angels longed to know this gift given to us. Because of its indescribable worth, he exhorts us—

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  (1 Peter 1:13-19)

This week, let's remind each other to live lives of gratitude for the Gift no other created being has been offered.

Stand and Fight

I don't remember my age—although I'm told I was four or five—but I remember vividly the day I asked Jesus into my life. I may have told it before, but such a day always bears repeating.

My sister, Connie, and I walked home one evening after church (we lived across the street). She asked me if I was a Christian. I told her yes. That night I lay in bed and analyzed my answer (I still do this with conversations) to make sure I had told her the truth. Since our father is a pastor, I've heard about Jesus while in my mother's womb. Yet, as I lay there, I realized He was not my Saviour.

It was as if a veil lifted from my eyes. One moment the state of my soul did not concern me. The next, I knew emphatically that I had not surrendered, but I needed to. No prayer. No special formula. God touched my eyes, and I could see.

Following up this moment, which I now claim as my conversion, I acted upon it by going into my parent's room and asking my father to lead me to Jesus. We knelt together and prayed, confessing my sins and my need of a Saviour. I waited three or four years before I had the courage to stand in obedience and  confess before our church that Jesus is my Lord and be baptised.

That was the easy part of my years as a Christian. I responded to a work of God in my heart. The hard part followed.

I have not had a rebellious life. I credit that partly to personality and a great deal to God's answering the prayers of my parents. I can't claim to have learned the hard way. In fact, my prayer has always been that I may learn the easiest way possible.

The battle for me is much more subtle. It's maybe like someone who grows up in a war zone. The bullets fly so continually around you that you begin to forget their significance, forget the threat they are to your life. Because I grew up dwelling on the spiritual life, it became easy to think going through the motions was good enough.

Don't get me wrong. I hate hypocrisy, so I run from anything that smacks of inauthenticity, even in myself; but it's not always so simple to see you've crossed that line. It wasn't bad things. No obvious breaking of the Ten Commandments.

It was the little things. The "lesser gods," as C.S. Lewis calls them. The gods that when given the place, block one's vision of Yahweh. 

Boredom, more than anything, is dangerous. The same Bible reading and prayer routine, when done as a routine, can lose significance. One can grow deaf. You know what I mean?

It hasn't been big moments or large chunks of time. Graciously, God gives me little "checks" to let me know I'm fading in my attention.

This thought came up while my mother and I were discussing a couple that not long ago was on fire for God, zealously attending Bible study and church. Now, they ski on Sunday, leave their Bibles on the shelf, and confess confusion that their daughters are going their own way.

I know how it must have started. At least, I think I do. You go to do the routine and wonder what's the point. You fail at the same things over and over all your life, what makes you think you're going to change now? Maybe, just maybe, you wonder if there isn't some easier way, some fun you're actually missing out on.

These have been fleeting thoughts, just enough to scare me back to reality. When I'm there, when my love for God is distant, I can do nothing, but tell Him. Tell Him the truth about where I am. Sometimes all I can say is "help."

The only solution for cold moments is to cry out to our Father. When we've put our guard down and the enemy points the gun in our face, only God can shoot him in the back and save us. There is no formula. No spiritual exercise.

The wonderful thing is, when we tell Him our failing, our wicked desires, He scoops us up in love. Instead of scolding us, because we've known better (we've told others the other side's not worth it), He blesses us with His grace because we called upon His Name.

His Name saved us in our first moments of rebirth, and it is the Name that will keep us till our dying breath.

Let's be on our guard then. Stand and fight!

Friendship is Unnecessary

"I have no duty to be anyone's Friend and no man in the world has a duty to be mine. No claims, no shadow of necessity. Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art, like the universe itself (for God did not need to create). It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival." ~C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

True friendship never begins as a duty. As Lewis says, it begins out of camaraderie in purposeful activity. It is the cherry on the Sunday (or the chocolate, whichever you prefer).

"Friends are not primarily absorbed in each other. It is when we are doing things together that friendship springs up—painting, sailing ships, praying, philosophizing, fighting shoulder to shoulder. Friends look in the same direction. Lovers look at each other: that is, in opposite directions." ~C.S. Lewis, Present Concerns

This arose in thought while contemplating the other characteristic (besides honesty) that I greatly admire—loyalty.

In ancient times, and indeed in some cultures today, your survival depended on the loyalty of your friends and of your family. If a traitor dwelt in your midst, your life's hourglass just ran out. You could not storm a castle, more-or-less defend one, if someone close to you divulged your secrets to the enemy. Numbers alone could not determine who won, as much as strategy and, underneath it all, loyalty.

To use a shady example: the old-time Mafia. In high school I became fascinated with studying them. I never glamorized it, yet (and please don't get me wrong) their code of loyalty always intrigued me. You sacrifice yourself before you become a "stooly" on "the family." 

I speak of the "old-time Mafia," because anyone who knows anything about them now knows betrayals, power-struggle-killings, anything is permissible. One writer compared the decline of any so-called "moral code" in the "family" with the United State's moral decline (Italy's problem is another story). As America moved father away from God and ethics, the crime syndicate moved away from their own "ethics." But I digress.

A better example: the spy world. Antonio J. Mendez, in his CIA autobiography The Master of Disguise, explained a deception he had pulled on his trainer, which almost cost him a job as an agent. He said: 

"I had violated a basic tenet in a profession where deception is the stock and trade: You never lie to or attempt to deceive a fellow officer in the service. Once you crossed this line, there was no going back. In what has been aptly termed a 'wilderness of mirrors,' a solid foundation of trust among colleagues had to exist."

How does this all swing back around to friendship?

The reality of my last post was neutralized by the grace of friends. The reality still existed, but these friends figuratively fought alongside me. Instead of wielding swords against an enemy, they shared a meal with laughter and good conversation. At another time I've shared a heart-disappointment, and my friend has offered to "fight him" for me. Neither of us took this offer with any seriousness. Yet, the sentiment is real. He's the defensive older brother I never had.

As Lewis explains in depth in The Four Loves, friendship is not a jealous love. Each friend brings out a side of another that no one else could draw out. If one friend dies, that part that he or she brought out of the other dies too.

No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. John 15:15

All this makes Jesus' statement to His disciples (and now to us) even more significant, don't you think? 

The value of noncompulsory-loyalty in friendship is balm for the soul. It is like glitter falling from heaven's golden streets. Every mile with a friend lightens the burden.

Honestly Me

One of the characteristics I've prized since I was a child—besides loyalty—is honesty. I can get along better with friends who are a little testy but I know where they stand, than ones always kind to my face but I never know how they feel.

Being a pursuer of honesty sure sounds virtuous, but it has a snag. How much is too much? 

This came up this summer. I had a roommate who was raised to believe that showing annoyance or even weariness is not acceptable. That one should always be pleasant.

I don't disagree that there is a point for this; one doesn't need to reveal every feeling nor should one. But there seems an element of dishonesty when one is upset by something someone has done, yet acts as if one is still on the best of terms with the other.

Because of this internal dilemma, I find I instinctively wish to avoid the person who has hurt me. This gives me time to figure out the storm within me and pray for peace. My reaction to a situation too is usually delayed. Anger or hurt often arises after a time of reflection. Dealing with this before being faced with the provocateur allows me to react in an honest, but appropriate matter.

Truthfully (since we're on that topic), if the hurt is deep, I would prefer to forgive them, but not ever have to face them again. Maybe I have done that in my past. 

Lately, God has brought several people into my life to humble me, yet He won't let me run from them. I'll have to face them again. I'll need to deal respectfully with them. Yet, I also want to be honest in my interaction and not treat them differently to their face than I feel behind their back. 

I know prayer is the best way to change an attitude, but it still isn't easy.

Have you wrestled with this? If so, what has helped you?