Catching The Christmas Spirit

I have long had a difficult time with Christmas, but that has been changing.

Three short years ago, I considered writing a letter of surrender, addressing it to pagans.  Christians have been accused of hijacking their holiday, trying to claim Christmas as a day to celebrate Christ's birth.  I wanted to tell them that I was sorry.  We have been unable to make it our own holiday anyway and they might as we'll take it back and celebrate winter solstice.  Christmas, by and large had remained an overtly materialistic and pagan holiday, even in our modern day, resembling very little a holiday to celebrate the light of the world.  

In the last couple of years, that has been changing.  And strangely enough, the very reasons why many are beginning to question Christmas' validity in our culture, are the same reasons my own fondness grows.

More and more, Christmas is being recognized as a Christian holiday.    It's less politically correct to wish Merry Christmas than it was even three years  ago.  Can't you see?  We won!  It's taken about 2013 years, but Christmas is finally ours!  For so long, it has been a mixed slurry of commercial hedonism and idolatry, but at long last, it's being recognized as a Christian thing.

I'm also hearing much more about how Christmas is hard for a lot of people.  This too I find to be tremendously encouraging.  That is precisely what light is meant to do; to expose injustice for what it is.  Christmas might be harder for you because you lost your dad last year, your parents split up or your wife walked out on you.  (If I sound insensitive, please know that my family is not beyond those hardships.) Christmas didn't kill your dad, run away with your wife or break up your parents.  It's not Christmas' fault.  Consider this - The reason it hurts more at Christmas, is because Christmas is good.  May two-four doesn't bring on the same feelings, because it isn't really a time for anything authentically good.

If it gets any better, I might even wear a Santa hat.  If you don't like Christmas, I'm okay with that.  God sent His Son, because He wants the whole world to be saved.  You might not want the same.  Strangely enough, I am quite fine with it.

PS. And to the pagans, I wasn't there when Christmas began, but if we really did take it from you, I truly am sorry.  If that is the case, were it in my power, I would gladly give it back.

Ulvin - The Infected Planet

Deep in the heart of outer space, hangs a planet named Ulvin. It is not too unlike many of the planets we have seen in our stories of science fiction. Her people are appropriately known as the Ulvinites. Depending on your definition of what it means to be advanced, you might call them an advanced race, or you might not. They have yet to discover time travel, or make the Star Wars jump to light speed. They do however have a complex social system of government, law and order.

The Ulvinites are a rather complex creature. They are neither warlike, nor peaceful. Many would call them a violent and savage race, but they also exhibit a strong desire for peace. For all of her diversity, culture and governance, a great tragedy has befallen this solitary globe: It has been infected by a great disease.

There is great debate among Ulvin’s people as to how the sickness came to be, when it came and what to call it. Since I have the great privilege of observing them from the outside, I will name the disease, as I am above that particular debate. I have named it Ofraxia. After hearing of their plight, I have rather strong convictions about when it came to be, although, I don’t believe it’s worthwhile at this time to be dragged into that conversation. I am quite certain of how they contracted the disorder, and if time allows, I might go there.

For all that is arguable about Ofraxia, much is known for certain. Ofraxia is a virus which is contracted at birth, and as such, is carried by absolutely every citizen on the planet. Research has not yet shown whether it attacks their young since conception, but once the child is born, there is no hope for escape. The symptoms vary from patient to patient, but the prognosis is always the same - Death.

Some of them are taken rather quickly. Others live long enough to live semi-productive lives, finding work, recreation and even having families of their own. Death itself takes on different forms. Many die from horrible fleshly mutations, which can develop slowly over time, but bring them to the grave quite painfully. A great number of them die suddenly as some component of their body fails to perform its respective function.

Knowing about Ofraxia helps us to understand Ulvin’s commitment to medical care and research. Out of their distress, their political institutions are known to spend as much as 50% of their budget on fighting it. They have made great strides in medical knowledge over the past 1,000 years, even eliminating a few death strains, but have yet to find a cure. It is my understanding that the disease is completely incurable, but I am more than happy to see them try.

It is one thing to look upon Ulvin’s plight as an outsider. It is quite another to walk among them. I am certain that the very first people who were infected knew quite well that they had received a horror. No one remembers the time when it came to be, although there are stories still circulating of that fateful day. There are some who claim to have a written account of the original infestation, but those accounts are so old, that very few trust the source, and believing has become a matter of faith.

In the thousands of years since, living with the disease has become a regular part of life for them, since there is not a single soul who remembers otherwise. They have surrendered to the thought, that this is just the way life was meant to be. They have had no other experience, neither their fathers, not their forefathers before them.

The most peculiar thing about the Ulvinites, is that a great many (in fact, it might accurately be said of all of them) have developed a particular fondness for many of Ofraxia’s symptoms. It is true, that many of its manifestations can be quite pleasurable, if only for a short time. What most of them fail to realize, is how these symptoms work towards their very death. The normalcy of the virus has fooled them into thinking that it isn’t a problem at all.

A small sect among the Ulvinites has been circulating a rumor that a cure has been found. From our perspective, we would think the remedy would be received with open arms. Still, there are three great obstacles which hinder the development of the cure. It’s not a matter of funding, as I have mentioned how they use much of their financial resources in battling the death which awaits them. The established drug companies have little interest in opposing the cure, and government health care bureaucracy has not impeded its promotion either. The greatest opposition to the cure has been the cost of the cure, the normalcy of the disease and the pleasure of some of the symptoms. I will briefly discuss each of these obstacles.

The first hurdle for the cure is the cost. The cure is both free, and costly at the same time. It is an interesting side note that the one who originally gave them the cure, gave up his own life in its discovery. (A cost which few other researchers are willing to pay) This original researcher was very adamant however that the cure be given at no cost to those who are willing to receive it. The cure is thereby dispensed at no charge, other than the patient living a life of thankfulness to the one who gave them the cure. So it is costly in that the patient is required to place their trust in the cure, which is much more expensive than it would initially appear.

The cure isn’t the kind of cure the people of Ulvin are looking for. I have mentioned Ofraxia to be incurable, and it really is, in the sense that death still awaits those who have accepted treatment. The cure merely cancels the disease. It does not negate the consequence of death. Its victims still die, which leads Ulvinites to seriously question whether the cure is any kind of cure at all. It certainly isn’t the kind of medicine their own researchers have been looking for. They would much rather find a pill.

The second hurdle for the cure, is the normalcy of Ofraxia itself. Since everyone in Ulvin has it, they live their lives, not only thinking that it is acceptable, but everything is as it should be. Not one Ulvinite has ever known anyone without the disease. How then could they know any different? Never having known or seen life without the sickness, it has become offensive even to speak of Ofraxia as an ailment. Because of this, many proponents of the cure have been killed, simply for claiming to have found the solution.

Finally, not only have the Ulvinites grown accustomed to the sickness, many have developed a strange fondness for it. The original cure giver says that the symptoms are vile and disgraceful, where many patients have even grown to be proud of the virus they carry. They brag to their friends and enjoy telling heroic stories about the way Ofraxia has shown up in their lives. Their interests are therefore in direct conflict with the cure itself.

When such people are informed with the diagnosis, they respond as one would expect. They may naturally become very agitated and angry. Others grow to be very sad, even depressed. Some have been known to take their own lives. How would you respond if you were informed that the thing you love so much, were in fact a terminal disorder?

If you were an Ulvinite, would you want the cure?

I haven’t told you a story of a civilization who lived a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. This isn’t a made up world likened to Lewis’ Narnia or Tolkien’s Middle Earth. The tale I tell is true. To understand the story I have spun, you may want to read this again, and before you do, here is the key;

Ulvin is earth

Ofraxia is our separation from God

Sin is the symptom

Jesus is both the cure, and the original researcher.

Is This What You Were Looking For?

Several years ago, my wife and I had the privilege of being invited to the baptism of a young man who had been mildly involved in our youth group. He had since moved on to be a part of a different church in the area. It was a blessed day, with a blessed service, a blessed guest speaker and a blessed message. We gave him a personalized New Living Translation Bible, letting him know what a privilege it was to know him.

In that blessed hour, there was one thing I found to be rather odd. During his testimony, he shared how thankful he was for his new church, how there he had found the answers he was looking for to life’s big questions. It seemed like a wonderful thing to say on such a grand day. I don’t believe it was jealousy which thought his statement to be odd. I was overjoyed to see him follow Christ’s example in baptism, and if someone else was better able to get the job done, I wanted to commend my superior.

What I found strange was that in my time with him, he never asked any questions. If real answers were what he was really looking for, why did he never ask? As best I knew, the things I had given him were the very things found in scripture. I really was happy though. So I shook his hand, gave him a hug, told him how pleased I was with his decision to follow Christ, and that I loved him.

There is a problem with looking for answers. We generally discover what we set out to find. Obviously, the answers he had found didn’t quite do the trick. Within a couple of years, he had become a hardcore, conspiracy chasing atheist. So much for the new church with the better answers.

Looking for answers isn’t such a horror. Searching for answers is a good thing. I get this uncomfortable chill when I hear the phrase, ‘the answers I was looking for’.

Just because an answer satisfies you, does NOT make it true. In my career, (and maybe quite unfortunately in my calling) I have grown to be rather proficient at giving people ‘the answers they are looking for’. You may well know that I am the assistant manager at an automotive repair shop. I do everything I can to be forthcoming about what we are really doing to the vehicles our customers bring to us. The greatest challenge to maintaining that trust, comes with our provinces drive clean program.

If you live in southern Ontario, and follow the program in the media, you’ll know it has proven to be a terribly unpopular program. As a front counter person, I receive the brunt of the general public’s dissatisfaction. I have learned (unfortunately) to be very adept at giving people the kind of ‘answers they are looking for’.

Call me a coward. I deserve it. I’ve just given up. I tried giving the straight truth, but when I do, they complain to my boss that I’m short with them or insensitive. When my customer has an answer they are looking for, I have NEVER been able win the conversation. If I’m going to fight, lose absolutely every battle , and then be called short and insensitive, I just can’t see the hope of giving perfectly true answers. If there was a glimmer of hope, either of conveying truth, or living without fear of being labeled insensitive, I might be able to reclaim some of my personal integrity.

I’ll give you a plain example. Customer B’s car failed its emission test because its transmission isn’t shifting properly. Mr. B gets angry with me saying, “It’s a transmission code. That has nothing to do with my vehicle’s emissions.” If one in my position were to be upfront with Mr. B, he would say, “Actually sir. If the transmission isn’t shifting right, it will burn more fuel, thereby increasing CO2 emissions, and all other pollutants your vehicle produces.” There have been several occasions where I have explained it as such. Never has such a response been the kind of answer they were looking for. They walk away angry, thinking that I’m mean, and just want to take their money.

I have given up the fight. Please pray someday I will take up the fight again. The question I now normally ask myself is, “What kind of answer is Mr. B ‘looking for?’” I then tell him, “I don’t know why the government counts that as a problem in their emission testing program.” Then the strangest of things happens: It’s almost a miracle. Having found the answer he was looking for, he lets me fix his car, pays me, shakes my hand and walks out of the garage thinking I am such a swell guy. He walks away thinking I’m his friend, and the government is the devil.

What I’m sharing with you isn’t isolated to auto repair. Looking for answers that satisfy us is, in all likelihood, just as prevalent, and even more dangerous for our spiritual well being. We are a species who tend to accept what sounds agreeable to us, and reject what does not. The research we perform generally reflects the answers we were hoping to find from the onset. I was reading an interview of a well known Christian author who had just written his latest work. His claim for the book, was that it used scripture to develop a strong case for his thesis. Is that respectable? Should scripture be used as a thing to develop a case? I’m not about to expose the man. He is in fact among the more sound theologians of our day, and neither am I above using scripture for such a purpose.

God warned us in His word, through Paul speaking to Timothy, “a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.” 2Timothy 4:3 I don’t know exactly what time Paul was referring to, but it certainly does describe our era.

Paul described a day when people would do what they want to do, and in order to feel okay about their lives, would gather teachers to themselves who would tell them what they want to hear. The internet has provided for us unprecedented wealth to accomplish just that. Before the printing press, we were limited to whoever was within earshot. We are now able, not only to buy our favorite books, but from the privacy of our own homes, download messages or sermons from whoever best suits our preference.

Are you an atheist? There is a plethora of information available that will help you to find encouragement in your course. Do you like muscle cars? Lots of stuff there too. Yet, car enthusiasts and atheists do not make up a significant segment of my readership. How about Christians type people?

I have confessed to you, that I have become proficient at giving the answers people ‘are looking for’ in my workplace. I’m wondering if I have subconsciously learned to do the same in my calling. This is a confession, not justification.

Whenever I hear 2Timothy 4:3 being quoted, it is normally in reference to individuals who want to indulge in good old fashioned wine women and song. The very thing that does the ear tickling varies completely from ear to ear, on person to person. If I want to tickle your ears, I will tell you very different things than if I am speaking with your neighbor. If I want to tickle the ears of a charismatic Christian, I will say other things to a cessationist Christian. (And yes. I believe Christ-ians might be found in both camps. May it also be said that neither have embraced me.)

As with my career, there are fears to be faced if we are to be forthcoming about where we truly stand. If I tell the charismatic that I have not been blessed with the gift of tongues, depending on the kind of charismatic I’m speaking with, they might make me feel I am either immature in my faith, or even that I have not yet been baptized in the Holy Spirit. If I tell the cessationist that I see no biblical account where the works of the Holy Spirit died with the 12 apostles, I fear being called a heretic. Which do you think I fear more? I am secure enough in my walk and have witnessed the work of the Holy Spirit changing me. Being labeled a heretic by those who think like me is tougher.

Beyond our fears, there are very real consequences to be faced if we fail to give others the ‘answers they are looking for’. If you accuse someone of immorality, very different things will happen than if you challenge the Pharisee.

If you challenge the immoral, they could fall into depression, or even suicide. Or they could take it out on you. You could be charged with violating their human rights. They might rally their likeminded counterparts in an attempt to bring your business to financial ruin. I’m not sure why this happens. I have yet to intentionally rally behind such a cause. My hunch is that they just want to ruin you, but maybe they are thinking it could change your mind. I’m not sure.

If you challenge the Pharisee, you run the risk of being blackballed. You will carry the mark of Cain for the remainder of your days. You will be called ungodly, irreverent, a heretic, hellbound, and unless you repent (and by repent, I do not mean a turning from sin. I mean, you submit to them) your name will be smeared across the internet. And even though our Lord never seemed to sanction widespread public defamation, you will publicly carry the title of a wolf, and imposter.

Which is worse for you? At least if I were to be sued by the immoral person, I’d have the comfort of doing what I thought to be right. Contrasting to the backdrop of the Pharisees, there is something about their ways which have the outward appearance of being the higher ground. A Godly conscience has a more difficult time bearing up under the name of a heretic, than poverty.

I haven’t written you an essay. I am selling you nothing. As usual, I am challenging us to ask a question. Are you looking for truth, or when you open the book or the browser, is there an answer you are looking for?

Relating Together

I have said that we are like God, in so much as we are three person people. Actually, it was not I who said it, but scripture itself tells us that we were made to be like Them (God). All I have said, is that since we are three person people, it isn’t too far beyond our understanding to conceive that God is also a three person God. It would be dangerous to take it farther than that.

We were made to be like God, not Him made to be like us. It therefore becomes dangerous to look at us, or anything on earth for that matter, and speak at length, claiming He is precisely like what we have observed here in the created world. Neither can we say with complete confidence, by observing what we are, how we are like Him, because who we are, is not who we were meant to me.

I share this now, because after writing my last entry, I received a much anticipated response, and the reason I expected it, was because I had thought the very same things myself.

“So are your saying Jesus is like our Body, the Holy Spirit is like our Spirit, and God is like our mind?”

I really don’t know how far to go with it. Yes. Jesus had a body, just as you and I have bodies, just as our bodies are us. The Bible tells us just as much saying, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.” Colossians 1:15 I guess I have to say God does have a body, and Jesus is the visible embodiment of His person, yet it’s much more complicated than that.

One doesn’t have to dig very far into the Bible to notice that even Jesus, the bodily, visible person, has a makeup which goes well beyond our own. The rest of Colossians 1:15 tells us, “He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation”. Figure that one out. Christ existed before creation. Depending on how many people this reaches, there are numerous people who figure they have all the answers, who might feel they are able to explain it clearly to me. If it’s a sin to be cynical of such individuals, the day may come when I will have to repent of my cynicism.

The person of Jesus we are told existed before creation. This raises all manner of questions. Where was He before AD 1? What form did He take? Whatever form he held, what happened to it when he became a baby? As if those questions aren’t big enough to handle, looking at the post resurrected Christ presents even more peculiar challenges. We are forced to consider a Jesus who appears out of nowhere, passes through walls and flies up into the sky. It would seem that when we meet Him at the judgment, we will also view him in some kind of bodily form.

Our bodies may have been meant to resemble His visible image, but they are most certainly not like His in the fullest sense. We were made to have eternal bodies (I’m not convinced we were ever intended to walk through walls and fly up in the sky) and the promise for believers is that someday, we will. Receiving imperishable bodies is one of the very things Christians look forward to, and the hope is that these new bodies will be far beyond what we currently possess, in a similar fashion as that of Christ himself.

If The Father were to be likened to ‘the mind’ part of God, I don’t think I can even begin to draw a parallel in any literal sense, although, if we look at how The Father and The Son interact, it might shed light on both how wretched we are, as well as what we were meant to be.

“So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” John 5:19

There is a unity between the Father and the Son which should typify the unity between our own mind and our own body. The Son, we are told, can do nothing by himself. He does only what He sees the Father doing. Jesus tells us he does what the Father does, yet His actions go well beyond simply doing as His Father does. The type of unity Christ has with the Father, is the kind of oneness where He simply cannot do anything by Himself.

My body and mind don’t suffer from the same relationship with one another, especially between my mouth and my mind. I know I’m not alone. In James, we’re reminded of how people are able to tame all manner of wild animals, but no one has been able to tame the tongue. My biggest failures come when I’m caught off my guard. When I’m sitting down to write a letter or a blog post, my mind and my body are in decent sync. I have time to think, to process and to act.

Catch me in a tight situation and my mouth will say things on its own. In the moment, it is more prone to speak a lie, thinking in some hideous fashion, the lie will protect my integrity. How hypocritical is that? And after the lie has been spoken, my mind speaks to myself, “That was really dumb. What were you thinking?”

That kind of thing doesn’t happen between the Father and the Son. The Son does what the Father does, and says the words the Father would have Him say. That relationship, the workings between our mind and our body, should ideally be the same. Should they not? We shouldn’t have to speak to ourselves, “That was a very horrible thing to say. That was a really stupid thing you just did. You can be such a jerk.” Our mind and our body should be one, just as the Son and the Father are one.

Did you catch that? I just brought in the spirit without even thinking. As my pastor says, (and I am certain that he is right) there is an internal dialogue that goes on between our mind and our spirit. It may be that the spirit part of ourselves is the person of us which is most like its own respective person of God. God is Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is God.

Thanks to medical science, we know a reasonable amount about the human body. We also know a little bit about the mind. When it comes to the mechanics of how our spirits interact with our minds and bodies, it is admittedly a matter of having faith in what we see in scripture.

It would seem that a spirit is not meant to exist on its own, that it is intended to live in union with a body. Some people need proof before they believe anything. If you are that type, you’ll be rather disappointed in me. I’m not your author. I don’t have proof, and I don’t much care if you believe me, or if I’m even right on this point. Yet, it’s not too crazy is it? How about reversing the statement? Can a body live once its spirit has left?

There are two passages that comes to mind in this case. One is where is where Jesus drives out the Legion, and the other when Christ was speaking to the Pharisees. If you care to check these out for yourself, these stories can be found in Mark 5:1-20 and Matthew 12:43-45 respectively. For a spirit, (an evil Spirit anyway) living apart from a body is likened to spending time in the desert. So when Jesus drives the Legion out of the man, they ask, no, they beg Him to send him into a herd of pigs. Judging by what happens to the pigs, I’d assume it’s better to be living in a body that also has a sound mind.

It’s just a thought, but what if the experience of being a Spirit without a body, is exactly what scripture describes as being hell. Why else would Legion beg? As I said. It’s just a thought. Don’t take it too far. Believers are promised a resurrected body after they finish this life. There is no similar promise for nonbelievers that I have found. What will it be like to spend eternity without a
body, or a sound mind? I think a lot of people will find out in time.

God’s Spirit is different from ours in His capacity in at least a couple of ways. For one, it’s the only Spirit capable of living inside another person, without messing up the individual. Whenever we find someone with a demon living in them, it’s really not a good thing. If you’ve ever met a demon possessed person, it’s really quite frightening. I’ve known people who have such encounters, but as for me, I’ll do just fine if I go through life without the experience. When the Holy Spirit comes to live in a person, we call it regeneration, the subject being indwelt by His Spirit becoming more loving, kind, gentle, peaceful, patient, good and faithful.

The Holy Spirit is also able to exist in multiple persons. My spirit cannot. Neither do I know of any examples where an evil spirit is able to indwell multiple persons at any given time. The Holy Spirit however, lives in me. He also lives in my wife, and from what I can tell, my children. (My children say they believe, and from what I see in them, I tend to believe it.) He literally lives in all who have authentically received Christ.

There is however one apparent limitation to the Holy Spirit I do not understand. For some strange reason, the Holy Spirit wasn’t able to indwell people while Jesus walked among them, and Jesus told us as much. Shortly before being arrested, Jesus said to His disciples, “it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.” John 16:7 All right. Maybe it’s not a limitation. Jesus didn’t say the Holy Spirit ‘can’t’ come unless He goes to the Father. He only said that He won’t come. I’m not sure why this was so. I only know that it was. Ask your personal favorite theologian if you want to answer that kind of question.

I’ve spoken on some rather weird things haven’t I? I’ve done all of this, not to impress you. I haven’t even pretended to have all of the answers. My hope, was to bring to life how even though we were made to be ‘like’ God, He is not like us. What do you think of a God who is greater than what we have seen here in this life? Does it make you want to share in the things He has promised to His children? An imperishable body sounds just fine to me.

Three In One (Not So Hard To Believe)

           There are many aspects of the Christian faith that seem beyond reason or explanation and it’s because of this, many might be persuaded to either reject the truths or the faith altogether.  A great many of us are so arrogant, that if we cannot personally be convinced of a matter, then the conclusion we reach is that the matter itself must not be true.

What such a person is saying, is that they are the ultimate decipherer of truth in the universe, and if they cannot be convinced, then it is simply not so. I once had a coworkers say just as much.  “If something can be proven to me, then I’ll believe it.  If it can’t be proven, then I don’t believe it.”  If you knew the man, you would know he believed a lot of things that have not been proven.  If he were to be more accurate in his phrasing he would have said, “If I can be convinced of something, then I will believe it.”

                One of the greatest unreasonable things that Christians believe, is the very person of God Himself.  They (or we, depending on whether you count yourself among them) describe Him as being a God of three persons.  Different terms are used to describe it, such as three in one, triune or the trinity.

                I have heard different explanations and each of them prove to be deficient in some way.  I have believed in the three in one God, even though I don’t completely understand it all.  Some might think me stupid or a moron for accepting something I do not understand.  When I read atheist writings, they often describe Christians as a people of little intellect.  If you believe me to be such a person, I am fine with that.  I am also fine if you are the type who thinks that anything beyond your understanding must not exist.

 When we speak of the trinity, we speak of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.    We say that The Father is God.  We say that Jesus, the Son, is God.  We go on to say that the Holy Spirit is God. We go farther to say that they can be collectively described as God.  As for this trinity, I’m certain that we ourselves are the very best illustration of His three in one identity, and I believe this for two reasons.  The first reason is scripture itself, and the second reason is the very practicality of what we represent as that illustration.

                “Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us...”” Genesis 1:26

                I am known to be neither a scholar, nor a theologian, so if you have heard a better explanation from your favourite Bible teacher, then go with the illustration they have given you.  In a very literal sense, we human beings were made to be like “them”, and the “them” being the three person God.

                So the story we read of our creation isn’t that of a singular person creating something entirely different than that of Himself.  I have just said two fairly significant things.  I have said, as I see here in scripture that God is not alone, in that He speaks to and with Himself as, “us”.  I have also said that we are “like” Him, and that Him, being both Him, and “them”.  There is one other element of this short passage that I don’t wish to overlook.  It is also very apparent that He is uniquely aware of His three personages.

                If we humans are like Him, then we are the best examples in this world of what His person is and is not.  He is not a dog who made a race of kittens.  Neither is He a space lizard who made a world of tin soldiers.  I have heard much more learned Christians say this is what He did, that He made an entirely different kind of creature than that of Himself.  I just don’t see it.  We were made to be like Him, and if you are following closely to what I am saying, you might be ready for what I am about to say next.

                You, are a three in one person.

                What I’m sharing here isn’t anything all that new or radical among Christians, even though I have yet to hear it explained in this way.  As I walk through how it works, I believe all people will follow me on some level, and even many people who are not Christians might see how practical it is to view ourselves as three in one.  We are not the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as God is, but we are body, mind and spirit.  We are not God, or little God’s but we are the part of creation which best resembles Him.

The Body

I think all people of all beliefs would agree with me that we have a body.  I have a body.  If you are reading this, you have a body.  In fact, everyone I have ever met has a body.  Even though I “have” a body, I don’t speak of it in the same way that I do when I say that I “have” a car.

I do have a car.  I own the car.  I pay for it.  I fix it.  I licence it, drive it and put fuel in the tank.  I also have a wife, yet having her is much different than having a car.  I do not own her, renew her license or fill her with gasoline, but we do belong to each other and do many wonderful things.  Forgive me if I do not elaborate too much on the wonderful things we do together.

When it comes to my body, there is a much more personal way that I “have” it, to where I don’t even describe it as something I have at all.  When I look in the mirror, I never look at it thinking, “There is the body that belongs to me.”  No.  I look in the mirror thinking it’s me.  You no doubt think the same.  When you look at me, you probably don’t say to yourself, “Hey!  There is Kevin’s body!!”  You are much more likely to say, “Hey!  There is Kevin!!”

At least, that’s how I see you.  If I say that I saw you today, it is because I saw your body, and I make no distinction between that, your spirit or your mind.  Your body is you, even though it isn’t all that you are. There is much more to you than your body, which is why pornography is so revolting, in that it reduces people to being bodies alone.

The Mind

                I’m certain that all people will also agree with me on this point, that we have minds.  There may be some people we think to be brainless, but that’s more a thing of insult than actual fact.  So even a person who believes absolutely nothing about spiritual things would have to see we are at least two in one beings.

                Just as we have bodies, we also have minds.  And just as our bodies are not objects to be owned, neither are our minds.  I am not a physician, but our minds are very much intertwined with our bodies.  Our thinking generally takes place in our brain.  When we allow our body parts to do the thinking and directing for us, horrible things can come of it.

                My mind may work different than your mind.  If that is the case, I think you are the abnormal one.  When my mind thinks of itself, it does not think of itself as being my mind.  My mind thinks of and refers to itself as “me”.  The thoughts I have are not my body’s thoughts.  My mind says its thoughts are my thoughts.  After all, it is me.  It has a very different function than my body, but it’s me.  My body and my fingers are tying out this letter, but as you read it, you aren’t thinking, “Gee.  What a great letter Kevin’s body has typed out.” 

                My body did not come up with this letter, and neither should it get the credit for it.  I came up with these ideas in my mind, which is both me, yet is completely at work with and intertwined with my body.

The Spirit

                This is where I will lose a lot of people in this world, and to be honest, describing how we can recognize and acknowledge our spirit is a challenge.  Many see nothing about us beyond our mind and body, but Christians, along with a great many others acknowledge a spiritual dimension to who we are.  As Christians, it appears that we were created to live.  To explain it another way, there is a person of us that will exist forever.  That person, is our spirit.

                Recognizing and connecting with the eternal me is tougher than recognizing our bodies or the work of our minds, and it can be a painful exercise for anyone who wants to live life for themselves, without regard for what eternity might hold for them.

                God is aware of His three in one person in a way that we are not, and I guess that is why we have such a challenge understanding Him as triune. Our spirit connects quite intimately with our minds, to where it is difficult even to notice their interaction.   Our spirit is eternal, so it thinks, acts and reasons with an eternal perspective.  I will do my best to give a few examples of how we can recognize its person.

                When I was young, I clearly remember wanting to reach the upper kitchen cupboard.  My mom would keep the cookies in that cupboard, because I assume she knew I couldn’t reach them there.  Even at 4 years of age, I felt that there was an injustice about the situation.  Just because I was 4, I shouldn’t be limited to this small frame I was living in.  It wasn’t fair that a grown woman was able to reach the cookies, and I could not.  My spirit never reasoned with my mind thinking, “I’m only 4 years old.  So it’s only right that I can’t reach the cookies.”  Instead, my spirit objected saying, “Why must I be limited to this mortal frame?  I am an eternal being!  I need cookies now!!!”

                The same thing happens at the other end of life.  When I talk to seniors, they speak of a similar injustice.  Their bodies ache.  They can’t run or even walk like they once did, but they don’t think old thoughts.   Being eternal, our Spirit remains constant, despite how young or old our bodies may be.   Being rooted in eternity himself, it is our spirit who cries out when we lose a loved one.

                My body is me.  My mind is me.  My Spirit is me.  And in spite of the fact that my spirit might be the most difficult to recognize, it is likely the me who has the most right to claim to be me.  Since we are three in one creatures, it shouldn’t be unreasonable to accept that God is three in one, particularly because we were in fact made to be like Them (us).

I'm Not Being Fed

               This past week, I ended up deleting a Facebook post of mine which seemed to be devolving into a nonsensical argument.  I had asked the question, “Is there a “church”, whose people never say that they are, “not being fed?”   The conversation went well beyond the scope of the original question.

                I guess it’s my fault.  I intentionally ask questions that probe directly into the matters we wrestle through, both as believers, and simply as human creatures.  If I ask questions of that nature, I shouldn’t expect anything but what comes of them, and if I pursue this further, then I should expect more of the same.

                Many of you who read my writings are the kind of people who have been heard saying, “I’m not being fed.”  So please don’t think I’m taking personal aim at you.  You are not alone.  Please also know that I am not God, so I may very well be wrong about how I see things. 

                When we talk about being fed, what we are supposed to be referring to as Christians, is being taught The Word of God.  There are other ways to describe it, but that’s basically what it comes down to.  Teaching through God’s word is supposed to be a big part of what pastors and teachers do in the church.  I don’t believe there are many of us who would disagree with that.  There is more that a pastor is called to, but it certainly is a big part of the role.

                I told you I wasn’t God.  What I say next might be one place where I am completely off.

                I often find that the people who are the most vocal about what should be taught, are rarely the same individuals who have been called to be pastors themselves.  Granted, there are pastors who come across as if they know exactly what other pastors ought to teach.  That’s why I chose the word, “often”.  It is not always the case.

                Yet don’t worry.  This isn’t the only area of human life where we see the same kinds of complaints.  If you live in a family, you might have made similar observations.  So I will ask you this question;

                In a family, who is more apt to express dissatisfaction with the meal, the one who made it or the ones who are served?

                Those who are called to teaching the Word of God or feeding, normally know well enough the weight of the task, to where they have either the decency, humility or compassion to hold their tongue when they don’t particularly like the taste of what is served to them.  As for food, I don’t know what it’s like to come up with meal ideas night after night, nor prepare them evening after evening, but I have found it best to be thankful for my meal, even when I’m not all that crazy about it.  My children however don’t always share such discretion.

                If our pastor does not teach the word of God, if he twists it, endorses sin or teaches some way to be made right with God other than Christ, then we are indeed being fed a poison.  If that’s the case, you have the devil in your midst, and it might be best to have a lynching.   If we aren’t crazy about the delivery, if we’ve already heard it all from him or if it isn’t always presented in our personal context, we are being fed.  We might not like the meal, but it isn’t a matter of starving to death.  We just don’t particularly enjoy eating manna week after week.  Who does?  Take comfort.  The Israelites didn’t much like it either.

                This brings me to the second observation that I may be wrong about.  When I hear, “I’m not being fed”, it tends to come from someone who already knows what they want.  Sure.  That may sound mean, but if you think on it, is there any other possibility?  How else can the statement be made unless the person has some idea of what he wishes the meal to be?

                I have yet to hear a new believer claim to be malnourished.  Perhaps I am wrong though.  Perhaps the people who make such claims really don’t know what they need.  Maybe they are very immature in their faith and have no clue of what is best for them, and fail to recognize a roast beef dinner when it sits before them.  You decide.  Which could it be?  Are they mature enough to know what they need, or do they need such matters decided for them?  How often is it the third?  How often are they authentically not being taught the things of God? 

                The answer to these questions will vary completely from person to person and church to church.  I imagine that sometimes, I am wrong about people.  Sometimes they are not as mature as I believe them to be.  Sometimes I may be right about them, and they really are mature, to the point where they should be teaching others.  In other times, they really may be starved, where rather than walking through The Word, their teachers harp on personal favorite doctrines week after week, year after year.

                You can take or leave everything I’ve shared with you so far.  Whether anyone is sound in their faith or whether they are not, is not my call to make.  I do have one thing to ask of you, and before I ask it, I beg for your understanding.

                You might be the kind of person who knows everything.  If you are a mom, maybe you never have to ask your husband or kids what they would like for supper.  If you are a man, please know that you are allowed to make food too.  I’m not saying who should make food.  I am speaking from my personal context.  Whether a man or a woman, you have it all together and you always know what to make.  So here is the bit of compassion that I hope you will have for the less fortunate.

                Not everyone shares your certainty in their respective roles.  There are many people who ask the question, “What should I make for supper?” who really don’t know what should be made.  They know that something needs to be made, and that thing is food.  What they lack the conviction of, is what kind of food should be made?

Likewise, there are many pastors who know what is to be taught, and the very thing is the Bible itself.  So that is what they set out to do.   What they wrestle through, is which topic or passage to share from it.  Sure.  If you were that pastor or teacher, I know you would know.  I’m speaking on behalf of those of us who do not have that same assurance. 

If you could see in their hearts, you might see a people who desperately want to share precisely what you need to hear, even as God Himself would have them speak it.  And although they know that you prefer your favorite Bible teachers and authors, they still long to have that special word to speak on what you are going through today. 

I’m not a real pastor, but since they rarely defend their own cause, I’ll end by speaking on their behalf.  We know for certain you need to be fed the Scriptures.  We do not however know exactly what passage or topic suits your palate the best, nor should we.  If we did, the temptation to try and tickle your personal ear would be far too great to resist.

Unreasonable, Unmet Expectations

               A couple of old friends of mine posted an article about Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke’s MTV performance, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.  The article was speaking against people who were offended at Miley’s crotch grabbing, but fine with Robin’s contribution to the world’s rape culture.  What kept going through my mind was this question, “Who was the article written to?”

                I mean, seriously.  What kind of sick, demented freak would be fine with Robin’s Blurred Lines, and have issues with Miley?  All of the people I know take just as much issue with the hump-er, as the hump-ee.

                I do my personal best to understand people, and looking at what I see in the media, it does seem that Miley has taken more heat than Alan Thicke for rubbing their unmentionables.  Part of it is simply the injustice itself, the injustice that women tend to be easier targets.  Our world gives more leeway for men to indulge themselves.  But is that the target of the article?  Who are the people that are offended at Miley, but fine with Robin?  I wanted to know. 

Let’s Call Them, Them

                I can’t call them we, because I’m not among them, and neither do I know anyone who would be fine with what Robin Thicke represents.  I have a sneaking suspicion however, that They might be a certain kind of Christian.  It’s just a guess, but suppose that They are.

                Christians really don’t belong to this world, but there is something in most of Them that kind of wants to participate in the general goings on of this planet.  They don’t really want to boycott absolutely everything.  They would like very much to have cable/satellite or internet TV, collect DVD’s and download music on iTunes.  Really.  There is so much filth in this world, they are almost searching for something acceptable.

                So when a young Hanna Montana comes on the scene, in a strange way, many of them are more than happy to embrace her.  Perhaps that was their great folly.  Although quite superficial, glittery and seeking fame, she seemed clean enough, which made her tolerable.  She was even said to be a Christian (whatever that means), so it must be acceptable for your kids to listen to.  Right?

                That doesn’t answer it.  Does it?  Why?  Why would someone be upset at Miley, but tolerate Robin?  Why, why, why?   Allow me to answer with a phrase:

Unreasonable, Unmet Expectations

                They had hoped for more from Myley Cyrus.  Apparently she was a Christian.  It’s not like there are a lot of Christian laws on this sort of thing, but dry humping really isn’t something that is done in most churches on a Sunday morning.  Not the ones I have been to anyway.

                They had wanted Miley Cyrus to be someone they could embrace.  Never have they held similar hopes for Robin Thicke.  It was pretty much assumed from the beginning that he was a dog.  The public isn’t really outraged when a drug dealing thug shoots a police officer, or when a Muslim kills a cartoonist.  It’s kind of what you expect.  The public outrage comes when police kill a citizen, a Christian burns a Koran, or a priest molests a child, because those things are out of place.

I’m not an American, but I kind of wonder if what They see in Miley, in a way highlights the greater disappointment They have with Their own nation.  America isn’t Heaven, but isn’t there a desire in many Americans, which hoped their country would be better than the rest of the world?  They had wanted a place that’s clean, but it has ended up just as filthy, if not more so, than any other place on earth.  (I would say that it is filthier)  So what They see in Miley, brings to mind not only the immorality of celebrity culture, but the very failure of Their nation, and perhaps even that of Their own families.

                It was unreasonable for anyone to have hoped for Miley to be anything but what she is.  She is the very embodiment of what MTV hopes to produce.  Robin embodies it for the male gender, but he is what we all expected him to be.  Their expectations for Miley however were different.

              

As For Me...

                I’ve talked a lot about Them.  How about me?  Do you wonder where I stand?

                Mostly I just have a lot of questions.  I wonder why feminists are not more disdainful about how one of their own would play her part in blurring the lines between consent and rape.  I wonder how wretched we have to become, before we realize that something is dreadfully wrong.  It used to be offensive when Elvis shook his hips.  I wonder what the next step down will be.  I wonder when men will become men.  I wonder how much lower we can sink before we fall apart.  More importantly,

                How much more can we degrade ourselves?  (Yes.  BOTH men AND women)



PS - And if you are the one who wrote the original article....How about it?  Are They your Them?  Who were you writing to?

Setting The World On Fire

   Both of these songs sing about setting the world on fire.  What's the difference?

 

 

 

 

You can say what you want about Christianity; that they are a bunch of rule following, gay haters.  What I know for sure, is that before I knew Jesus, I really wanted to see the world burn.  And judging by the kind of music our culture produces, I know I wasn't alone in that.  Here is another song from back in the day.  (And if you need more examples of music that highlights our darker tendencies, I can provide more.  There is no shortage.)

 

 

 

The Second Rate Christian

                A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of speaking at my home church.  After the “service”, I had the usual compliments, but one hit closest to an issue that’s often on my heart;

                “I don’t think you should be an elder.  I think we should hire you to be on staff.”

                Since responding to my calling in Christ, I have often thought that I should be in career ministry, and have frequently been encouraged the same, by many I trust.  I suppose it’s something I’ll continue to toy with.  I often wonder if I’m some kind of second class Christian, never quite good enough to make it as a real pastor.

                After church this morning, I spoke with a guy who travels around with his guitar, making his living as a musical worship leader.  I asked him how he transitioned between having a “real job”, to making his living on the road.  He encouraged me with these words;

                “Making your living like you do, allows you a kind of freedom that I don’t have.  I have to write and play music that people will want to buy.  There is a freedom you enjoy which enables you to write whatever you sense you are called to write.”

                I don’t write near as much as I used to.  I find that my efforts in ministry are demanded more elsewhere, but his words helped me to put my calling into perspective once again.

                This afternoon, my wife and I spent our afternoon with many of the people we met while at The University of Guelph.  I might not have a church, or a book club, but every time I get together with either my friends, or my family, I leave with the same kind of thought. 

                “I love them.  And I want nothing more than to spend eternity with them in the presence of Christ.”

                This might not sound evangelical.  I’m fine if the world wants little to do with Jesus.  The world keeps telling me to “keep my religion to myself”, so I assume that it has little reservation about spending eternity apart from Him.  What else am I to assume?  I cannot handle the thought however, that anyone in my life would end up in the pit, because I failed to be open about the things of God with them.

                It’s okay if I don’t have my own church.  It’s okay if Chapters doesn’t carry Alien Love.  If you consider me to be your friend, I am overjoyed at the role you have given me in your life.

Between Flesh and Spirit

   I have had a few people ask to have access to the message from Sunday, July 21.

Here is the link.

Between Flesh and Spirit

Impressed?

1 Corinthians 2:1-2

            When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan.  For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.

            This was the evening’s reading with my children, and if you know what my day was like, you might find it to be either coincidental, or divine.

            Today I had the privilege of delivering the message at my home church.  I am an automotive mechanic by trade, and as far as my speaking goes, you might refer to it as a calling.  This passage in Corinthians reminds me of some advice my pastor gave me in preparation for the message today;

            “You know Kevin, some people, when they get to speak at a church; they really try to impress their listeners.  But all a church really wants is for you to be who you are.”

            In a way, I’m thankful that I don’t know how to impress people even if I wanted to.   I don’t know any lofty words, and have forgotten the ones that I have looked up in the past.  I have never been accused of possessing impressive wisdom.  However, the TOUGHT of impressing people is something that I struggle with.

            Being asked to speak on occasion isn’t the same as having to pastor a church.  I have weeks and weeks to meditate, prepare, study, reflect and rehearse.  Night after night, I usually practice while splashing around in my bubble bath.  So by the time I have the mic, I should be polished more than if I were I to speak on a weekly basis.  

            I share this with you so that you know how I struggle.  That’s why, when you tell me, “Good job!”, I feel compelled to make sure you know that it’s Him.  Not me.  It is a great privilege to be employed in the service of the King of Kings.  As you continue to walk through life, I pray you have seen much of Him, and little of me.

 

        

I Know

                It used to burn me.  My dad would try to tell me something and I’d reply, “Yeah.  I know.”  Without fail, he’d inform me, “No.  You don’t know.  If you really knew, then I wouldn’t have to be telling you.”

                In marriage, in our faith, and in the workplace, the phenomenon is the same, and it’s why I spend very little time trying to tell people how to live their lives.  I made the mistake this afternoon of trying to tell a fellow mechanic about some very basic emission principles.  I wasted about 10 minutes of my life, because he already had the answers.  Oddly though.  He walked away completely incapable of getting to the bottom of the problem.

At Work

I don’t always have the right answers for other people’s problems, and neither do you, but even when we really do, there is a stubbornness that is impossible to overcome, no matter how clear you are.

                In my career, I have tried to train several apprentice mechanics, and I’ve given up trying to hold anyone’s hand. Earlier on, I’d tell apprentice after apprentice how to do things.  And nearly every time, they’d completely ruin it get it wrong.  So many times they’d tell me, “I tried it your way Kevin and it just didn’t work.”

                Even when we receive authentic words of wisdom, there is a stubborn spirit that wants to try just hard enough to be able to say, “Your way doesn’t work.”

                Seriously.  How many of you like to be shown where you’re wrong?  Do you really like taking orders from someone who knows better than you?  How about spiritually?  Do you want to know where you sin?

                In Marriage

                My wife had a friend who was having a difficult time in her marriage.  It isn’t like all of our advice was top notch or anything.  We aren’t nearly as authoritative as the kind of people who write online articles.  We did know a few basics though and did the best we could.

                From our perspective, she really seemed like she was doing the things that we recommended.  It wasn’t until years later that we discovered she was no different than the apprentice mechanic who put in just enough effort to make it look like he was doing as he was told.

                In time, she told us how she just needed to submit to her husband’s authority.  From our perspective she seemed like she had.  She did what her husband asked.  She made him supper every night.  From the outside, anyone would think that she was submitting in the way that a believer is called.  In her heart however, she confessed that she only did what she did in some attempt to get him to shape up.

                How teachable are you?  I fight almost everything I read, other than the things that I agree with.  If it’s written in The Huffington Post, I’ll find something I don’t like, even if it’s just the font.  How capable are you in recognizing truth for what it is, no matter how palatable it would seem?

                We are a creature that lives to instinctively defend whatever position we currently hold.  We defend our sin.  We defend our ideology.  We defend our actions.  What would life look like, if rather than finding evidence to support our thesis, or make our point, we began to seek out the truth?  After all, what else can set us free?