More from "Magpies"... 3rd Installment, Magpies
April 07, 2009
Deep calls to deep…
For a spiritual trailblazer, the urge to dive into the rushing current is almost an insatiable call. We are driven, pulled and desiring of the sense of being overtaken.
Many leaders replace zeal with format and dogma in an attempt to explain and even plan for the next flood. It has been an experiment in broken “water retention unit” storage. Our Christian worship experiences fall into two categories, the charismatic and the fundamental. The problem has been that both groups have been willing to make their own fire. We have all at some point made a schedule for God which we intend for him to keep.
It is the difference between hotel art and a masterpiece. One is cranked out routinely for the sake of a pay off. The other comes when it comes. The Mona Lisa took Leonardo Davinci years to complete. Bob Ross churned out great looking landscapes in a half an hour. I love looking at both. I appreciate the talent in both. I am only moved by one. Dawn has told me that when it comes time for dinner she is in a “win-win” position. She will get an overwhelmingly positive response from both a beef wellington and a hot dog. I do know the difference though.
Don’t get me wrong. The formulaic approach to worship was not originally without romance. Recently however, those systems for getting wet have fallen under the gaze of critics, rather than the stare of lovers. A new type of believer, hungry for the thrill of the new experience with God has mistaken a kind of god-lust for love.
We need to remember, the modern church, for all of its unbending patterns, for all of its dissension and division, has done too much for us, to be scrapped by us. There is much we can take on our trip with us. The missions’ movement was birthed from the patterns and plans of the Christian desire to evangelize. God’s Word said “Go!” and we did. Should I say, “They did?” Millions continue to come to know Christ because of the systematic approaches to world evangelism. Don’t forget that the Gospel is still the center of our faith.
Methodic study and discipleship sparked a love for God’s Word and a hunger for the difficult and deep teachings of God. We need that on our trip as a guide regarding God’s direction. After all, touring without a map is really a bad thing if you can’t find water. There are a lot of things we need on the trip that we shouldn’t throw away because somebody else said we need them. My pursuit of the inspired experience does not mean that I search for it without maps and advice. This journey is not to be exclusively personal either. I struggle with the fact that many of the mavericks who are looking to write the next new chapter feel that they are alone in that desire. It should be what each believer is called to.
In working with teenage students I have discovered that sixteen year old guys feel compelled to prove their worthiness by ignoring their mother’s advice to wear a coat when the thermometer dips into frigid. I know that most of these guys think to themselves, at some point, “Man. It’s cold. I wish I had a coat.”
Our spiritual quest should never be about proving our worth or self sufficiency. Wisdom is always wise. Truth is always true. Facts change. Truth doesn’t. Arrogance is always arrogance.
Most of us began our relationship with Jesus through a pattern which made it clear for us, and allowed us to exercise our first steps of baby faith. We believed that God cared and that He could change and save us. It was too incredible a moment to discount through the eyes of caustic, malcontented or stagnant appraisal. It was used by our God and He loved us through these attempts at making God’s love seem understandable. He will love the next generation of followers through our limited attempts as well.
There just seems to be so little memory of the beauty that the church has brought to Christianity over the last hundred years. There is so little gracious talk when we begin to speak of the errors of the big, bad mega-church. There is very seldom a celebration of the accomplishments of God through these machines. The next generation needs to pay heed to the spiritual successes as well as the failures or else the movement which follows is likely to repeat the negatives and throw away the positives. In this era of searching for new spiritual connectedness, each person will still need the same distribution of grace toward their intentions. God reaching man is always a matter of miracle as opposed to method or meditation.
I became aware of the fact that I would need as much of God’s grace and guidance in directing our new course as did those who selected the last course. In the middle of my study one day I stumbled onto a verse that suddenly meant a lot to me.
11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 12
We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him,
according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12
Did you catch that? God has got my back! He is taking my flawed offerings and is not only giving me credit for the attempt, but making up the difference as well! That is what has always happened. God allows us the opportunity to stumble around in an attempt at being a good husband or father. He has given me permission to lead His people spiritually, and just in case I am not sure of what I am doing, He fulfills my call and often completes my task. He allows us to make it up as we feel prompted by him. He makes up the gap between my inability to communicate His love to someone that needs to find Christ and their heart! It is one of the greatest miracles and gifts of our personal God. God takes words which cannot communicate eternal value, spoken by a mouth made of skin and muscle, and translates them to the eternal souls of people.
It was my experience long before it became my knowledge.
This last Christmas my daughters and I went shopping for my wife Dawn. It was a trip which took slightly less time than the trip for the Donner party through the Sierra Nevada range. We went into the Nice Smelly Bath Stuff Store. My three girls sampled everything. They wanted me to sample everything. My olfactory sense was on overload. After a half an hour I needed smelling salts and a stiff venti Cappuccino.
Maddie, Raegan and Lauren made their selections and began to root through their Christmas stash in order to extract the appropriate dollar amount and handed it to me. You see, we have a formal understanding about gifts. We want them to be good for the people we love. For those of you receiving a Chia Pet TM from us… well, let’s just say that it’s not so much a reflection of our love as it is our humor. Even those gifts that make you scratch your head and wonder, “Why would someone who loves me, give me haggus for my birthday?” are generally given out of some form of thoughtful concern. We as humans often have a residual of God’s nature evident when it comes to giving gifts. “Re-gifters” have the least amount of God’s nature left on them. In any case, it is because of this principle that my girls bring their gifts to me first. They know that in a pinch, I’ll make up the difference.
After what seemed like eight hours, my ladies brought their selections to me. My eldest had closely tabulated the exact cost in accordance with her for-ordained gifting budget. She handed me the exact amount and may have even expected change. My second-born had labored to find the exact gift in her head and handed me a clump of ones and asked if it would be enough. My youngest, simply handed me her entire purse and expected me to work out the details.
The message was clear for them. Dad will make up the difference. Just like our lives. Just like our spirituality. Just like our journeys to work through change. Just like our attempts to know God more deeply. God reaches into his pockets and pays everything which we cannot.
Some explorers come to him with the exact amount of what they think this part of the journey will cost. Some bring him a stash of resources and an ideal picture of what the perfect gift will be. Some hand him everything and trust. It is all his grace. It is all his provision. It is all his plan.
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This is my favorite so far. It speaks to me personally for where I’m at right now. It brings a wave of peace over me because I can be ok with the fact that I won’t ever be enough. God isn’t asking me to be. His glory and power can shine through the holes in my life creating something more beautiful than what I could ever attempt on my own.