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Thursday, 05 November 2009

  • Enjoy

    I was sitting on a plane recently when the glorious cart of beverages was finally pulled into the aisle. It had been about six hours since my last meal (a long time for yours truly), so I was hungry, thirsty and tired. A nice, cold drink was just what the doctor in my mind ordered.

    The stewardess handed me my two beverages (I was thirsty and if they're not going to give me snacks I figure they owe me as much liquid as I desire), but before she left me to quaff it all down, she said something I've heard many times before in this situation but found utterly strange for the first time in my life:

    "Enjoy."

    How could I not? Why does this lady deem it necessary to bid me enjoy something that I clearly will without her telling me? How could a tired, hungry, thirsty man stuffed in an uncomfortable environment fail to relish this experience?

    And herein lies the throbbing ache: Despite the loudest, most convincing of exhortations, I am always failing to ENJOY...

    ...this...
    ...that...
    ...you.

    I'm sorry.

    "The biggest problem in our marriage is that she wants me around. And I can't even accept that? I don't think I can accept pure love." - Pete, from "Knocked Up"

    "Why do you mean so much to me? Help me to find words to explain. Why do I mean so much to you, that you should command me to love you? And if I fail to love you, you are angry and threaten me with great sorrow, as if not to love you were not sorrow enough in itself. Have pity on me and help me, O Lord my God. Tell me why you mean so much to me." - Saint Augustine

Thursday, 15 October 2009

  • When I was your age...

    If I had a child today, these are some of the things I'd say after "When I was your age..."
    ...we used landline phones."
    ...we used landline phone modems to get onto the Internet."
    ...AOL was popular."
    ...we didn't have Google."
    ...we didn't use cell phones."
    ...we used pay phones."
    ...we listened to cassette tapes."
    ...we used paper maps."
    When I was younger I'd scoff at older people who said anything that started with "When I was your age..." Yes, we've all heard about our elders who had to walk 14 miles, in the snow, without shoes, without a jacket, just to get to school. This type of storytelling is parodied all the time.

    I kind of got it before but I really get it now. The reason for sharing these anecdotes is to exhort the younger listener to seriously, soberly, accurately value what they have now because though they have become easier to approach, the values of the actual things themselves have not changed.

    And this is what I've learned this week about the enthralling book of Leviticus.
    1:1 The Lord called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock.

    3 “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. 4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. 5 Then he shall kill the bull before the Lord, and Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood and throw the blood against the sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 6 Then he shall flay the burnt offering and cut it into pieces, 7 and the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 And Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat, on the wood that is on the fire on the altar; 9 but its entrails and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

    10 “If his gift for a burnt offering is from the flock, from the sheep or goats, he shall bring a male without blemish, 11 and he shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. 12 And he shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood that is on the fire on the altar, 13 but the entrails and the legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

    14 “If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or pigeons. 15 And the priest shall bring it to the altar and wring off its head and burn it on the altar. Its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. 16 He shall remove its crop with its contents and cast it beside the altar on the east side, in the place for ashes. 17 He shall tear it open by its wings, but shall not sever it completely. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
    I probably sinned by sarcastically using the word "enthralling" to describe Leviticus because I barely meant it. But what makes Leviticus at least a tad bit interesting to me now is that I am beginning to understand that the 17 verses of the first chapter of this book translate (approximately) into, "When I was your age..."

    In other words, this is something like God trying to convey to us, today, how He still values sin and its severity. This has not changed, though thanks to Christ's life, death and resurrection we are now freed from the need to physically deal with our sin in such hands-on, slimy, bloody fashion.

    Our elders have a valid point: we've devalued things. The incredible advancements of technology and innovation have hurt us maybe as much as they've helped us. Communication, interaction, landscapes, entertainment, discovery and so much more have turned from being significant events to merely being casual, convenient accessories today. Their worth has waned because of the very things that make them more accessible.

    God help us if we've allowed this to happen with our understanding and valuation of the foulness of our sin and, as a result, the beauty of our salvation. Both should enable us to deem the other more seriously.
    "Lord Jesus Christ, I admit that I am weaker and more sinful than I ever before believed, but, through you, I am more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. I thank you for paying my debt, bearing my punishment and offering forgiveness. I turn from my sin and receive you as Savior. Amen." - Tim Keller

Wednesday, 09 September 2009

  • Bolt, Wikus, Saul and greatness

    * Bolt only became great when he left the fake world where he was fake great.

    * Wikus van der Merwe only acted greatly after he was forced to leave his normal life behind and embrace his otherness.

    * Saul received the Spirit of God and "another heart" after "he turned his back to leave Samuel." (1 Samuel 10:9-10)

    I mention these three examples because they all reveal something that seems to ring true everywhere, every time - that in order to start on the path to greatness, you are required to leave behind the familiar, to trade the comfortable for the unknown.

    The key is that this exchange and transition only begins the path to higher ground - it never guarantees it.

    However, once we've moved on into that better realm we must heed Saul's example in 1 Samuel 15.

    (It's here that I must borrow from some things I typed nearly four years ago.)

    This chapter is the story of God commanding Saul to destroy the Amalekites, and to "devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey." (1 Samuel 15:3) To keep a long story short, Saul obeys God's command - but not fully. He does kill the Amalekites, but in the process he spared the king, sheep, cattle and "all that was good." Saul's idea was to sacrifice the sheep and cattle to God at Gilgal.

    God says that he "regretted" making Saul king because of his disobedience. Saul tried explaining his disobedience, but Samuel replies:

    "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
    as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
    Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
    and to listen than the fat of rams.
    For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
    and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
    Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
    he has also rejected you from being king."
    - 1 Sam. 15:22-23

    In the end, Samuel killed King Agag, mourned for Saul and never saw him again for the rest of his life.

    (I didn't fully capture the essence of this chapter in this dinky summary, but please read it for yourself before reading on. It's really quite sad and moving.)

    There are so many applications and insights in chapter 15, but the one that stands out most to me is this: Saul preserved "good things" that he thought could be better used to glorify God and, in the process, disobeyed and grieved God.

    I think many times we do the same. The LORD commands us to utterly destroy or turn our backs on certain aspects of our lives - bad habits, friends, relationships, etc. But when we do so it's inevitable that we hold on to certain things that we think can be used rather than destroyed or neglected. Basically, like Saul, we think that we know better than God.

    It is every Christian's struggle to fully obey the LORD, wholeheartedly, without any reserve or queries. We never, ever know better than He does, no matter how much of a waste His demand may seem to be.

    How do we know this?

    The Gospel, of course.

    Did Christ really have to die? I mean, couldn't God have spared Him? Imagine all of the great things Jesus could have done on this earth if He had lived a full life span. Why waste such a precious commodity? Jesus should have exercised that free will of His and avoided the cross. He could have done so much more.

    Good logic, good intentions, no? Just like Saul's logic and intentions.

    Consider then, what would have been the outcome if good logic and good intentions prevailed over God's will on Calvary? I think the answer is fairly powerful - and haunting.

    In the end, with much humility and reverence, we must lay our pride aside and confess and believe, wholeheartedly, that God is always right. In a world, in a "Christian" culture, that has become so liberal and unbiblical, perverted with excessive laxness and "grace," obedience is something that has lost its meaning and importance, but we must not fall into that trap. We must obey no matter how illogical the demands may seem at the time. Obedience is what God delights in. It is "better than sacrifice."

    Is there something or someone that God is telling you to lay aside, to "utterly destroy?" If so, you have a very important choice ahead of you. You will be either more like Saul or more like Christ depending on the decision you make.

    Saul's decision led to his dethroning.

    Christ's decision led to his eternal enthroning at the right hand of God.

    Saul found his path toward greatness when he turned his back to leave Samuel, but lost it "as Samuel turned to go away." (1 Samuel 15:27) From there on, as we know, Saul was stuck on a terrible downward spiral.

    So, it seems, the first few miles of our path are lined with the bricks of denial and departure from what we know. It also seems that the rest of it is lined with the same - frequent denial and departure from what we thought was good, sensible and better - until the end is reached in an eternity filled with acceptance and arrival.

Wednesday, 05 August 2009

  • The prodigal sprinkler, or the prodigal God

    There has been a phenomenon that I have noticed many times this summer here in Evanston, Ill. Here is a picture of an example:

    There are many front lawns and patches of grass in this town and virtually all of them are quite small. Yet, for whatever reason, the caretakers of these tiny squares of grass seem to love placing normal-sized sprinklers on them. As you can expect, this makes for funny scenes of humans waiting for an opening to quickly pass by the water that the sprinklers inevitably spray onto walkways. For many, it's a nuisance; for some, it's an occasion for a patient smile.

    Does the grass get watered? Yes. Would smaller sprinklers do this too, without watering surrounding walkways and spraying water on passersby? Yes.

    This reminded me of God and his people.

    It seems to me that I oftentimes find myself believing that God's fount of salvation and redemption in my life is only meant for me, for my improvement, healing and help. But what I fail to realize, in simple terms, is that the outflows of this fount, of its Source, are much larger than I care to perceive.

    It also seems to me that this fount is meant just as much for the passersby in my life as for me. For many in this fallen world it will be a cause for curious pity that I should have had such a wasteful sprinkler installed on my lawn, in what they will think to be ignorance and misunderstanding. For others, it will be a plain nuisance. But I trust that for a few it will be cause, at the very least, to pause and smile, and at the very most, to inquire about how to install a sprinkler with a similarly wasteful range and spring of their own.

    Concrete and pavement are watered by the sprinkler's wasteful flow,
    In hopes that through the cracks, hidden seeds into beautiful flowers will grow.

    “Joseph is a fruitful bough,
    a fruitful bough by a spring;
    his branches run over the wall."
    - Genesis 49:22 (ESV)

Tuesday, 07 July 2009

woowhee

  • Visit woowhee's Xanga Site
    • Name: Jason
    • Birthday: 2/21/1982
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    • Member Since: 3/9/2003

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