Down by the Sea: Part 2

God created us to engage in a relationship with Him.  The only way we can enjoy this relationship, which is to live forever with God, is to walk with God in the tension of God's Sovereignty/Human responsibility (GS/HR).  As with all tensions, it can be uncomfortable for us to remain in it.  But also as with all tensions, if one chooses to relieve the discomfort by eliminating, or reducing one side or both of the tension, both sides are completely lost.  When one undermines the GS/HR tension in some way, both the proper relationship with God is destroyed, and consequently any proper relationships we have with each other.

If I choose to believe God will impute His love into me as I passively sit by, then I have effectively eliminated the HR side of the GS/HR tension, and all relationships crumble.  Love cannot be coerced--either kindly or not.  Thus, if we attempt to remain totally passive, there will be no pure relationship between us and God--the relationship He created us to have--and the relationships we will have between each will necessarily grow more destructive.

If we swing the pendulum the other way to avoid the tension, and believe God expects us to find our own way, and will some day decide if we did our best or not and reward us with a relationship with Him, we should see the only basis ultimately for relationships we involve ourselves would be standards set by ourselves.  Perhaps this is comfortable, but doomed to failure because only God can set the standard for us to relate with Him and others because He created us, and only God is love.  Consequently, once again, if we remove ourselves from the tension of GS/HR, all relationships come crashing down.

Perhaps an analogy is in order.  I propose we take a little trip down by the sea and find out what we might learn there about all this.  In simplistic terms (please don't get all technical on me) the seashore is comprised of 1) a tidal pool, 2) breakers, and 3) the tide.

For our purposes, the tide is the force symbolizing  the relationship God has created us for.  God wants us to enter "the swim," so to speak.

One way we never enter the swim is when we sit in a tidal pool.  Even though the pool is quiet, restful, and comfortable, as long as we remain in it, we won't go anywhere.  We might feel the effects of the tide, as the pool fills and drains with the flow and ebb of the tide; and we might believe that by experiencing these effects we are actually a part of the tide.  But we would be mistaken; the tide is much much more than its effects; we delude ourselves if we believe otherwise, and keep ourselves out of the swim.

Now, we could take on the breakers, and make great sport of taming them through our prowess and athleticism.  We might feel very alive as we courageously struggle against the tumult.  We likely feel the draw of the tide as part of all the powerful sensations surging around us.  Tragically though, we become so caught up in our own efforts, we not only lose sight of the beauty and power of the tide, we actually fight against it, and even boast in our overcoming it.  In the end, we feel exhausted, frustrated, and disillusioned from the monotony of our efforts; we languish in the pounding surf.  It all becomes no more for us than as the old Bard penned, "Much ado about nothing."

When we feel the pull of the tide and allow ourselves to be taken into it,we actually enter the swim.  We become a part of something much bigger than ourselves.  We don't know where it will take us, but the endless discovery becomes for us a pure delight.  We must keep ourselves from being drawn away from the tide by fear or the many other distractions we chance upon along the journey.  We involve ourselves in this way with the tide, but it is the tide that carries us; it is the inexorable current that pulls us ever onward--not ourselves.

In the same way, we only engage in the pure relationships God created for us to enjoy with Him and consequently with each other when we willingly give into the the pull of God's love, and love Him back by obeying Him.  By so remaining within the tension of GS/HR we are caught up in the very love binding the Trinity.  The beauty, meaning, and life we find within the swim of God's love is beyond all dimensions because the living, Good, and creator God is eternal.

Come on! Join me down by the sea.  Then let's jump in, and let it carry us away into all its vastness.

Down by the Sea: Part 1

Our God and Creator is truly awesome, breathtakingly beautiful, mind-boggling, inscrutable, and good. That opening sentence is probably the granddaddy understatement of all time.

Think about it.  God creates us.  Therefore, we as with all life forms are contingent beings: we fully depend on God for life.  Yet, unlike all other lifeforms, God endowed human beings with the capability to enter into a personal relationship with God.  By personal I mean when God dwells with us and us with God at the level of intimacy known for all eternity within the God-head, shared between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  God didn't create us in just the basal sense of contingency, but with a nature able to share God's nature, and also comprehend what such a relationship means--eventually, anyway.  God created us for the possibility of us calling God, Abba, Father--Daddy.

But God doesn't fabricate such a relationship between God and us--although God could--because then it would be only a mere facsimile of what God is seeking.  One could aspire to riding horses one day.  But if one decided to make good one's dream by purchasing a hobby-horse--and it might be a very excellent 3-D printing of a real horse--and took to riding it, one would still be only dreaming.  No, for the relationship God wants, both parties must freely choose to enter into it.

The force binding together the three persons of the Trinity in relationship is the same that must bind us in relationship with God, for the relationship to be genuine.  The binding force is love.  And for love to be genuine it must be freely given and received, and received to be freely given back again.  I particularly like the above hobby-horse analogy because executing good and genuine horseback riding necessarily involves a relationship between the rider and the horse.  True love always entails a translation between the lovers, not a transaction.  One might program the hobby-horse to respond a certain way to each stimulus from the rider, but the response would be the same every time--that's how transactions work.  A real horse may not always respond the same to stimuli from the rider--sometimes its because the horse sees something the rider doesn't--that's how translations work.

If we don't engage in the relationship with God in the purity of God's love, we will never engage in the relationships God intended for us to have between each other, because the same love is required.  This is why there are so many destructive relationships in the world, because so few of us enjoy the necessary relationship with God.  We spend our lives attempting to wing it, treating love as if it were a transaction, rather than something much deeper, powerful, and selfless.  Only God can teach us such love because only God is love.

What is critical, then, for the relationships God seeks first between Himself and us, and then consequentially between you and me, to blossom, grow, and become intrinsic to us is for us to walk with God in the tension of God's sovereignty and Human Responsibility (GS/HR).

Next week we'll venture down by the sea, and unpack this perhaps startling claim.

A Valentine for my girl...

My Dearest, Sara,

In an ever darkening world that seems to be closing in on itself with every turn of the gravure, a few beacons are found guiding the lost, tormented, angry, marginalized, confused, sad, and weary to the port of safety and comfort of truth.  Some who spot these lights on the distant shore as they fearfully attempt to navigate the tempest, choose to flee farther into the darkness above the deep waters, where distinctions blur beyond recognition; believing their security lies in the vast tumultuous desert; only to discover--and often too late--the solitude to be mean consolation, exacting an astronomical price.

Some will go towards the light.  And while the journey is arduous, fraught with the terrors of rocks, shallows, wind, and undertow, they come to their peaceful haven: a secluded cove far exceeding their expectations in hope.  And like a mother who holds her newborn for the first time, the pain of their flight is soon forgotten.  Such voyagers cannot express their gratitude for the chance to bask in the warm light; nor can they express the wonder of it, except to say it is there they want to stay.

You are such a light, my darling.  Because you love Jesus and strive to do His will, His light radiates out of you--brilliant and manifest.  You don't notice it, and so it shines even brighter.  Others see it, and long to enter your nimbus, and rest in the love so elusive in this grim world.

From the moment I first met you, I've noticed this aura of splendor adorning your loveliness.  And no matter how troubled I might be, I always find solace in your presence.  Why God should love me so much to allow me to share in your life, I cannot know.  I love you, deeply, my beautiful girl.  And I will as long as I draw breath both here and from the rarefied atmosphere past west.

Love always and forever, even into the age.

TCH

Sports are a Window to Us

It has always been a love/hate relationship between me and sports.  In the early days, I think my father secretly wanted athletic sons.  Mainly because he is such a good athlete.  Alas, he had to be content having sons who are artists and thinkers, instead.  Actually, he has always been proud of what his sons have become, even though they never lettered in any sport.

I used to enjoy playing B-ball until in grad school it went from a nice friendly game for fellowship and exercise to an excuse to beat each other up.  Later, I joined the church league, thinking things would be different.  Even though there was less physical aggression, I felt the constant need to apologize for every error I made.  So even in the weekly informal venue under the auspices of the church, the name of the game was still win at all cost.  I get that.  Of course, when one plays a game, one wants to win.  But certainly a situation of friendly competition for the sole purpose of affording a bunch of middle aged men a fun way to get some exercise, shouldn't become a crucible of humiliation.  Yet it always seems to go there.  I guess there are enough guys in these games secretly trying to fulfill some sports fantasy, so any impediment to their glory is summarily put down.

I have since left all team sports and stayed with tennis.  I ain't any good at that, either, but no one seems to care much.

At this point, I could easily wax philosophical about sports, but I shall restrain myself.  I will say this: team sports such as baseball, B-ball, football, and hockey--to name a few--are microcosms of human society; sports are a window to us.  And I suspect this is one of the main reasons sports thoroughly captivate us, even to the tune of billions of dollars, annually.

I recently witnessed two events illustrating what I mean by sports being a window to us.

The first case was during the end of the initial playoff game between the Packers and Vikings.  The Pack was five yards from the goal and victory.  But one of the Green Bay players responded in an unsportsmanlike manner to some trash talk and more than likely physical intimidation by his opponent, resulting in a fifteen yard penalty for the Pack and the lose of the game.

The second case occurred during a recent pairing of the Detroit Red-wings and the Calgary Flames.  No doubt precipitated by trash talk and "spirited" checking, the Red-wings player threw off his gloves and started pummeling his opponent, who, I might add, gladly and predictably returned the favor.  Despite a cooling off period in the sin-bin, the aggression persisted--although perhaps more subtly--leaving the Red-wings frequently out-manned on the ice, and at least from my perspective, enabling The Flames to defeat them, 4 to 1.

Okay, so what's the point?  After all, brawling in professional team sports is part of the entertainment factor, isn't it?  I won't go there.  The point is it is us; it is all of us.  Whether in our work place, our home, on the street, or even in our churches, if someone insults us in some way--it doesn't matter how--our first inclination is to retaliate.  We may not haul off and belt the person, but invariably we look for some way to get even.  More often than not we do it through passive-aggression, where we carefully create alliances by promulgating our own brand of trash talk.  Rarely do we actually confront the person in question; even rarer do we perhaps consider if anything they had said to us--irrespective of how poorly it had been delivered--actually might be true, or at least partially so.  No, we are hell-bent on getting our pound of flesh, with the result of escalating disunity, suspicions, mistrust, cliques, bad-feelings, and in some cases, outright violence.  Warring has been the preferred way to peace in human society for eons.  Hasn't anyone noticed the promised peace has never materialized?

Perhaps it is time to learn from our beloved sporting events that the eye-for-an-eye approach to resolving conflicts fails every time.  Jesus teaches us that the only way to peace is through the very counter-intuitive response of loving our enemies.  Such is the way of His kingdom; such is the only way to the lasting peace we all claim we want.  Yet we don't believe Jesus because His way is too strange, too foreign to our sensibilities.  Our way of doing things always fails, but no matter, it somehow feels right.  Loving our enemies seems the coward's way out.  I agree the energy barrier to doing it Jesus' way feels pretty insurmountable, but the few times I have witnessed the outcome of following Jesus' lead, the promised peace is there and it lasts.

The two players I mentioned earlier didn't need to hug and kiss their opponents in response to their insults.  No, but they could have shaken off the insults, and responded instead by playing all the better. Their opponents might continue in their taunting, but in the end they will go away feeling pretty small--especially when they see how superior skill and execution ultimately wins the game, not intimidation.

All of us on nearly a daily basis are confronted by unpleasant people.  It does no good to argue with Jesus on the basis of the very rare situation of someone putting a gun to our head.  We are far more likely to face betrayal, character assassination, and snubbing than life and death confrontations.  And as counter-intuitive as it is, we need to love the perpetrators instead of responding in kind.  We need to step back and ask ourselves what might be causing the person to act the way he or she does, and then look for an opportunity to lovingly address the real issue.  Often times the result will be life-long friendships.  And such success stories are infectious.  Others who are on the side watching these encounters unfold--and rest assured, people are always watching--will likely try it our for themselves when the situation arises.  And peace and solidarity will began to multiply.  There are no guarantees, of course, some people are just plain mean.  But if we continue to answer their evil with more evil, I guarantee the outcome will be intensified hostilities instead of peace.

You might be thinking at this point, can't you sit back and enjoy a good ball-game with the rest of us; must you be so dour?   Take heart, I definitely get into watching sports of all flavors.  I jump up and down, stomp, scream, shout, and pout with the best of them.  And I even sometimes secretly want to be a sports hero.  I'm definitely human.  But it doesn't hurt on occasion to ponder the many object lessons afforded us through sports. Because sports are a window to us.

Catch the Beauty

If you have been a parent of teenagers you'll understand what I am taliking about.  Your son or daughter--it isn't a gender issue--would go one way, when you want them to go the other.  They would text friends, play games, watch movies, and sleep, when you want them to focus on school work, volunteer to clean their rooms, or even the bathrooms--we have perhaps lost all sense of proportion--and begin to aspire to a future where they have some significant place--to begin to show some ambition.  But they won't have it--at least not without boatloads of resistance.

From your point of view, their disinterest defies all logic and reason, especially in the face of such a fast paced, competitive world.  You might find yourself admonishing them about the pointlessness of endless textual prattle over the cyber airwaves, and how they cannot expect to survive into adulthood on a regimen of starch and cola.

You have forgotten how it was when you were their age.  The technology was different, but not the carefree, distracted, and wreakless abandon of giggly youth.  Then again, perhaps you remember your misspent youth all too well, and are desperate to save them from the same tortured path.

So you craft rules and consequences to guide their way towards the golden ring, and hold them to the straight and narrow road.  You find yourself constantly and tirelessly reminding them to attend to a litany of details critical to a safe and effective launch into the outer space of adulthood.  And they, with equal fervor and resolve, counter your every move with a roll of the eyes and judiciously executed patronizing.

In final desparation you might sit them down and appeal to them.  You might start by explaining how much you want them to enjoy an adult life replete with opportunity and personal satisfaction--where they will soar like an eagle--powerful, majestic, confident, independent, and free.  You might even confess that the rules you have imposed are probably exasperating and maybe even somewhat arbitrary, and definitely not always fun--okay, never fun.  But you urge them to try to see where it is you are leading them.  You ask them to trust you because you see clearly what is ahead of them, even though they cannot.  Someday they will look back and discover all the hassle has been worth it, and it is a joy to be on the otherside and to have arrived there the best way.

I was talking with a couple of friends on different occassions, recently, who both voiced frustration with themselves in failing to do what God would want them to do.  I could relate.  Then it came to me.  God is not so interested in us obsessing on the rules--although they are important--and He certainly finds no pleasure in seeing us suffer the consequences of our disobedience.  No, God wants us to see this beautiful thing He has created and is now restoring.  He wants to capture our imaginations and show us a truly lovely, awesomely (in its truest meaning) beautiful reality we can join Him in, forever.  God is appealing to us to see His rules as guideposts to a place and state we are still too young to totally comprehend.

"Listen, my son and my daughter," He implores, "as I let you in on my thoughts and purposes.  See how wonderous and beautiful they are.  Know that behind the curtain is not a pretense, but an infinitely vast beauty.  I am infinite and what I have for you to share with me is necessarily infinite; we must walk together forever for you to apprenhend it.  Indeed, that is a part of the wonder of it: where we are going will always burst ahead of you with new vistas of endless potential and purpose. I know it's difficult; I fully understand your frustrations;  I see how easily failure can overwhelm you; it seems to be one step forward and two steps backward.  But,try to see what we are attempting to accomplish; try to glimpse the incredible beauty I have created for us to dwell together.  Yes, you will need to endure growing pains, but know I have provided for everything you will need for the arduous journey ahead.  Trust Me.  Keep looking to Me for your strength.  Seek Me to dress the wounds you will incur on yourself; I will forgive you.  Ask me to salve the injuries others shall inflict on you.  Forgive them as I have forgiven you. Depend on Me to protect you from what is really harmful.  And one day you will awaken to the most glorious, breathtaking, inexpressible beauty of all: when you perfectly share My very nature.  Think about what I am doing.  Catch the beauty!"

The hike in God's kingdom is long and daunting, as God's kingdom light slowly quenches the darkness of the current world kingdom and turns its ugliness of blacks and greys into a beuaty of vibrant colors.  See what a beautiful new world God has recreated at great cost.  Gasp in utter awe as God's kingdom beauty unfolds before you like the most colorful, resplendent flower before a dawning sun.  Catch the beauty!

The Salieri Syndrome

The eighties in many ways was a lost decade for me.  It was then I began raising a family and building my career.  I was too busy to notice much of the cultural developments going on around me in those days, particularly in the pop music scene.  I did watch Fame and the Cosby Show religiously every week; so I hadn’t completely isolated myself.  I also went to movies on occasion.  Probably my favorite film from that decade, and one that has made my personal best list is Amadeus.

They would have had to have really messed Amadeus up, bringing it to the screen, for it not to make my list.  Amadeus encompasses much of what I have liked for about as long as I can remember. Mozart has been my favorite composer ever since reading a biography of him called, The Wonder Boy, when I was in the third grade.  And as you might predict, I adore classical music.  And of course, I am a student of history.  Amadeus couldn’t miss, and Forman’s  picture didn’t disappoint us.  Indeed, Amadeus took eight academy awards in 1985, including best picture, best director (Forman), and best actor (Abraham).

As with all great works of art, Amadeus teaches us something about the human condition.  What it has taught me is what I have affectionately dubbed, The Salieri Syndrome.

Antonio Salieri was a real composer who lived contemporaneously with Mozart.  A legend arose after Mozart’s death claiming Salieri had poisoned Mozart out of jealousy.  The story gained legs because of the mysterious circumstances that had surrounded the commissioning of Mozart’s Requiem Mass, which would be his last and also unfinished work.  Salieri was purported to have been the anonymous patron in question, and allegedly his intent was to claim the piece as his own after eliminating Mozart.  The legend has been kept alive by the playwright, Pushkin, and more recently, Peter Shaffer, whose play Forman adapted to the screen.  The legend makes for great drama, but is almost certainly a myth.

However, The Salieri Syndrome (hereafter called The Syndrome) is all too true.  At its heart, The Syndrome is what I describe as coveting your neighbor’s purpose.

As the story has been told, Salieri aspired to become a famous composer, and did, indeed, attain to a high degree of fame as court composer in late 18^th century Vienna.  Being a religious man, Salieri likely attributed much of his success to God’s favor.  So far, so good.  But the appearance of Mozart would soon cast a shadow of doubt over Salieri’s healthy perspective.  Salieri had enough giftedness to recognize Mozart’s greater gift.  This point was driven home in the film when Salieri told a Priest, who was hearing the story, something to the effect of, “I looked through the bars of the music and beheld an absolute beauty.”

Unfortunately for Salieri, instead of thanking God for having given Mozart such an awesome gift, Salieri began to resent the fact God had not so gifted him; Salieri started to covet Mozart’s purpose.

And see what happened as this covetousness took hold within Salieri’s heart.  First, Salieri could no longer enjoy the fruit of God’s gift to him.  Many people were blessed by Salieri’s compositions; his works were celebrated by the public and awarded by the Emperor.  But perhaps more importantly, Salieri became a highly regarded and sought after teacher.  God had given Antonio a position and a platform in that society.  Salieri had the attention of a great many people.  He was in the enviable vantage point to shine the light of God’s love and grace across a vast expanse of needy people.  Instead, because he allowed The Syndrome to infect his heart, Mozart’s purpose quickly blinded Antonio to his own accomplishments and his own purpose.  Salieri would end up squandering his God-given opportunities by exploiting them in an attempt to bring ruin upon Mozart.  As I said, the tale is fiction, but The Syndrome it portrays is a tragic reality of human nature.

The second ramification of The Syndrome for poor Salieri was it stunted his growth.  Salieri’s relationship with Mozart afforded Salieri a tremendous opportunity to learn from one of the great musical geniuses.  True, Mozart was no great teacher; yet Salieri had enough innate talent to hone his own compositional skills through his close association with Mozart, just by soaking in Mozart’s many instructions, comments, and ideas.  Sadly, consumed by The Syndrome, Salieri cheated himself of a rare chance by attempting to steal Mozart’s purpose for himself.  What a colossal and horrible lie it is to take what belongs to someone else and actually believe it has become one’s own.

Nothing robs us of the real joy we can have with our Creator more than all the various ways we attempt to live other people’s lives.  Instead, of being whom God created us to be, we allow ourselves to become sickened by The Salieri Syndrome.  And this choice diminishes both ourselves and the rest of the world.

A Living Tribute to a Dear Friend

Every so often a person enters your life who makes a significant positive impact.  My dear wife, Sara, is one such person in my own life.  I cannot imagine my life without her.  But others have come in and out of my life over the years who have also made a positive difference.  Some of these old friends who had drifted away because of life changes, have since reentered my life in a new season for us.  That's what I've observed about true friendships, you can always go home again and pick up as if you had only departed company the night before.

Now, a dear friend, mentor, and pastor of twelve years has retired to move away to a new venue in another place.  And he will be sorely missed by all of us he has left behind, here, and especially me.

Dr. Harry Shields was the one who married Sara and I.  The simple transforming truth--a teaching and preaching concept championed by him over his august career--he gave us and those in attendance on that beautiful, sunny, warm afternoon through his homily  has been instrumental in keeping our marriage strong and healthy all these years; it was this: "Keep your eyes fixed on the conductor."  Sara and I have never forgotten this--not that Harry would let us, because the message of keeping our full attention on Christ has been central to all of his teaching.  And rightly so, because Christ is the core of the Gospel.  Thus, it isn't the transforming truth that has sustained our marriage, but the transforming power of our living Lord.

I will miss the post-service discussions with Harry in the cool serenity of the empty sanctuary.  Many times Harry and I have conversed about theology, new book titles, family issues, church issues, or even humorous anecdotes in this setting.  How can one begin to assign a value to such a simple joy of two kindred spirits in conversation?  It cannot be done; it is priceless.

Perhaps you find all of that rather dull and uninteresting.  But it is such encounters which make the more exciting experiences of life meaningful and vivid, and make the more terrifying moments bearable.

Indeed, a great lie is the notion to live means to keep one's self in a perpetual heightened state of varied distractions--from rockus music, roller coaster rides of all sorts of flavors, to a smorgasbord of stimulants to feed and gratify--and yes, multiply--our appetites.  The vast majority of humanity see living like a wall of mail slots you sometimes see behind the desk in posh hotels; life to most people these days is making sure each little cubbyhole has been filled; our culture has described it as the bucket list to be checked off before death.  Not that there is anything wrong with running the rapids once and awhile; the mistake is to believe this is the whole of what it means to live.  No, real living is found in the quiet, honest, and transparent relationships that begin between us and God and then proceed between each of us under His direction.  It is these encounters filling in and around the adventures of life that nourish us for growth.  And the health they engender is eternal.

Harry is a great man because he has never forgotten the primacy of relationships and has faithfully modeled the principle for us. Harry's determination to foster and  maintain  relationships under the auspices of the Christ has made him an extraordinary human being.  For this reason, as is also true of my wife, you want to be around him; because the power of love is so evident, you will always find certain rest in his presence.

People such as Harry and my wife have discovered that the universe was created by God who is both infinite and relational, and so the universe will not function short of healthy relationships; the cubbyhole philosophy just won't cut it.  As Harry has modeled for us, healthy relationships take time and an investment of ourselves because that is what true love is.  The cubbyhole mentality might have a compartment labeled, "relationships," but sadly, all one will likely find there is a bunch of associations.  The "cubbyholist" views relationships as nothing more than just one more thing to fill out his or her life.

The truth is, relationships are life.  For relationships to be right, we must first be in a right relationship with our creator; it can be no other way.  This is why God entered our world: to first restore our relationship with Him so our relationships with each other can be restored, and His creation can then be brought back to the state He intended it to be, all along.

Thank you, Harry, for not only tirelessly preaching this great principle of kingdom life, but for consistently practicing your preaching.  God has taught Sara and I and many others much through you; we will miss having you at church this Sunday.  No doubt, God will send someone else to teach us other important lessons.  Just know how much you are and have been appreciated.

Fortunately it doesn't need to end there for any of us.  Harry has put together a personal website where we can all go and learn more trhough him..  Check outat  caringforsouls.com.