Houston, We Have a Problem

The truth is, we as Christians have a problem:
Our Bible commands us to be loving, forgiving, and practice humility. However, the world sees Christians as arrogant, angry, and hypocritical. How did this happen? We're missing the mark severely, and not only does it reflect poorly upon us, but it also reflects poorly on Christ and hurts our ability to affect the world. 

I feel like Ghandi summed it up pretty well by saying, "I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

Frankly, this should break our hearts. We say that we love our neighbors (When Jesus said neighbor, it was code for everyone), but the world doesn't see it. The world doesn't see that we love them, in fact many people feel as though Christians are hateful. 
This issue has come up a lot in the recent Gay Marriage debate. Christians have gotten up in arms saying that gay couples should not be allowed to be married. This isn't meant to be a political debate, or even a gay marriage debate, but rather my focus is on how we as Christians are handling the situation. 

The common Christian mantra has become, "Love the sinner, hate the sin." That is a great philosophy on paper, but the problem is that these "sinners" don't feel loved by Christians. Generally speaking, gay couples and supporters of gay marriage feel like Christians hate them and target them as being worse sinners than everyone else (that's a whole other blog post for a future time). But Christians insist that it is not the sinner that they are targeting, but rather the sinful act, so why do gays feel like Christians hate them? Where is the disconnect? 

I believe that the key that we so often miss is that love is a verb. Words of love don't carry any weight if they aren't followed up by loving actions. Love is expressed through words, but shown through actions. Christians may claim to love the sinner, but how do we show it? Weither we as Christians are supporting gay marriage or fighting against it, we need to adjust the way that we show our love for our neighbors. I don't have an nice clean answer for how to fix this, but we are obviously missing the mark. Our every action as Christians needs to be drivin by love, because it is through love that we reflect the grace of Christ in our lives. 

Because at the end of the day everything we do as Christians is absolutely worthless if we do not love. It doesn't matter if we have great worship services, nice church buildings, give to missions, or even bring many to Christ if we don't love those around us. We have failed if we don't love. 

1 Corinthians 13 is commonly used during weddings to talk about the love of a married couple, but that wasn't even close to what Paul was talking about. Paul was writing to the Corinthian church about the way that they were not loving their neighbors. They were failing to love the non-church members of Corinth and even those within the church; they were failing to show Christ's love to those around them. If we read it in the light of how we as Christians interact with our world, it blows my mind.  

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.  For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

It's easy to say we love our neighbors, but what happens when that love becomes difficult or inconvenient? What happens when love needs to become more than just a word? It is easy to love those that look nice, smell nice, have the same political views as us, and share a similar theology. However, what happens when our neighbor doesn't believe what we believe, or acts in ways that we consider sinful? Do we still love them then? How do we show it?  Because at the end of the day everything we do as Christians is absolutely worthless if we do not love. Even if we say that we love sinners but we do not show it with action, the world will always see Christians as hypocritical, angry, and hateful.  

Masks

Preface:

I would like to say that this isn't something that is comfortable for me to share; no one likes to feel vulnerable. That being said, I write this in the hopes that it could help someone else through things that I am trying to figure out. 

Mask: (n) anything that disguises or conceals; disguise

A mask is something that we wear in order to disguise or hide our identity. In other words, we wear masks to either hide who or what we are, or to make it seem like we are something completely else. Something that I have learned over the years through my experiences with myself and with people close to me is that whether we know it or not, we are all constantly wearing masks in our daily lives. All of us, at one level or another put up a front in order to appear a certain way to others.

We want to appear to have it all together; to appear happy, spiritual, and on top of our game. You see, we've bought into this lie that we have to constantly look perfect. We have bought into this lie that we have to constantly compare ourselves to others. We have to be smart enough, happy enough, good enough. 

However, how do we reconcile that with the fact that God is trying to shape us into the image of His Son? How can we address the problem areas in our lives if we are constantly pretending that they don't exist? God wants to shape us, and yet we continue to wear these masks. 

The truth is, I'm terrified to take off my mask. I'm terrified because I know what lies beneath. I don't want other people to see what's inside, because I know that under my mask lies a scared little boy who is horrified of never being good enough. A little boy who is worried that after I have given all that I have to offer, I will still come up short. I won't be good enough, I won't be spiritual enough, I wont be smart enough. 

You see, I've bought into this lie that I have to be this certain person, and I have to reach this certain level of "good enough." I keep comparing myself to others, and at the end of the day, I hate what I see in the mirror because all I see is junk. I see the short comings, I see the failures, and I see character flaws. I see that scared little boy who never feels like he will be good enough. 

But that's just it: God doesn't create junk. God isn't sitting there thinking, "Wow Dave, I really wish you would be more like (insert name)." No, God created me, and I am fearfully and wonderfully made. He loves me. He doesn't just love the exterior me who pretends to have it all together, but He loves all of me; even the scared, broken little boy who I try so desperately to hide. 

He has been there the whole time, telling me, "You're good enough." He says that in spite of my faults, and in spite of my short comings. That beings said, He loves me too much to let me stay this way. 

You see, He created us with a vision in mind, and He is constantly working to shape us into His image. He wants to remove the parts of our lives that aren't from Him (our anger, our lust, our doubts, etc.), and in order to do that we have to confront those areas. That includes taking off our personal masks, not so much for others, but so we can come to terms with the real us. 

Unfortunately, this is a process that I am currently working through, so I don't some kind of inspiring conclusion to wrap this al up and say how wonderful of an experience it all is. I don't have a step-by-step process in how to feel good enough, or on how to become more Christ-like. All I know is that at the end of the day, I will always come up short in my comparisons to those around me. If I keep comparing myself to others, I will never be good enough. However, God doesn't create junk. He loves me just the way I am, but He loves me too much to let me stay in this state. He will keep shaping me until I look like Him. 

The Difference Between Knowing and Feeling

There is a big difference between knowing and feeling. In fact, that is the whole reason that I started this blog in the first place. There is a gap between our head and our hearts; between knowing and feeling.
Often times, there are periods in our lives when we know things, but although they may be real in our heads, we struggle to feel these truths in our hearts.

There are times when life throws us a curveball, and the life that we thought we knew looks nothing like we see around us.
There are times when everything hits the fan, and it becomes difficult to see how God could be at work in the chaos.
There are times when life's circumstances become so overwhelming that we wonder if God will really get us to the other side of the storm.

These situations are when our knowledge comes into play; when the things that we know matter more than the things that we feel. Previously, I spoke about the valleys in our lives, and how, unfortunately, they are unavoidable. We will go through chaotic, stressful, or even painful times in our lives. During these periods its easy to want to run away from our problems. In these times it becomes easy to run away because the truth that we thought we knew doesn't feel so concrete anymore.

For these reasons, we learn that the most important part of a valley is the mountain peak that we just descended from. It is on the mountain tops that we learn about the providence, knowledge, and trustworthiness of God. We learn these things in hopes of engraining them in our minds.
It is similar to when we were younger and our teachers made us memorize the multiplication tables because they claimed that we would not always be able to use a calculator to get the answer. There would come times where we would be faced with a problem, and we had to rely on what we had learned from the past.

We learn these lessons so that when all hell breaks loose upon our lives and we don't feel the truth of these lessons in our hearts, we can rely upon the knowledge we have gained upon the mountain tops. In the valley, it is easy to not feel God's presence, but we are able to know that He is there in spite of the doubt. In the midst of hardship, it may be difficult to have the confidence to know that God will come through in the end, and even though our hearts may be filled with pain and doubt, we can rest in the knowledge that He will provide.

There is a gap between the head and the heart, and it is never more noticeable than in the valleys of our lives. During these times, we must focus on the lessons that we have learned on the mountain top, because we will very rarely feel these truths in our hearts.

Heroes

"Heroes aren't born in the final chapter, but rather they are shaped and molded by the tribulations of the plot."

This has been a phrase that has been running through my head for the past week or so. When we read books, the heroes always reach their peak of glory at the end of the story. They save the day, defeat their inner demons, and win the heart of a beautiful girl. However, they weren't always at this glorious point in their lives where they are admirable heroes. 

Bilbo started off weak, Katniss began terrified, and Edmund Pevensie began his tale as a selfish little boy. The heroes never start off the story in the same manner that they finish it. Their greatness has to be earned. These heroes weren't just magically transformed into the captivating characters that save the day, but rather they have to shaped and molded by the tribulations of the plot. Bilbo had to persevere through the goblin caves, Katniss had to survive the Hunger Games, and Edmund had to face the consequences of betraying his siblings. Each character had valleys in his or her life that they had to battle through. These valleys were a time of trial, but also times of great growth which left them stronger and more prepared for the events which laid ahead of them. 

Each of us must also face the inevitable moments when we must pass through these dark valleys. It is not a matter of whether the storms will come, but rather when. We will have our own metaphorical goblin caves or Hunger Games to battle through, but when we come face to face with these hard times we are also face a choice: we can either feel sorry for ourselves and wait for them to be over, or we can pick ourselves up, persevere, and grow. 

The trials of life will come. We don't choose pain, sorrow, or darkness; unfortunately they choose us. However, we can choose how we react to them. These valleys in our lives can simply be dark times in our lives, or they can be dark times that grow us. James speaks on this in chapter 1:2-4 when he says, "Count it all joy, my bothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.(ESV)"

Without rain, and storms, and clouds there can never be any growth. That being said, I am fully aware that it is one thing to talk about growing in the valleys, and considering trials to be pure joy and opportunities of growth, and it is completely different to try and apply this to our own personal periods of darkness. When approached correctly, these periods can be times where you grow stronger as a person and in your faith. In Romans 5:3-4 Paul says, "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. (ESV)"

One day, after you have emerged victoriously from the depths of your valley, you'll be able to look back at your own story. You'll be able to see how you persevered, and emerged stronger than ever before. Because, just like the heroes of the stories we read, we can't automatically emerge as heroes, but rather we are shaped and molded by the tribulations of our own story. 

Live Your Life

“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart...Respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.

Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.

When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.

When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”

~ Chief Tecumseh

Experiences.

Our lives are a myriad of experiences. We are consistently going through the highs and lows of this journey we call life. One of the things that has really been pressed on me lately has been how these experiences shape us. As humans, we tend to focus on the good or bad aspects of our lives, but I think that our lives are more than series of good or bad events. Instead, I think that our lives are more like a set of trials. Each trail we take gets us to the next one. Life is one giant journey. I am the person I am today because of the trails that I took in the past; either chosen or presented to me.

A Dream

Standing before me was a large crowd, and behind them stood two crosses standing erect against the skyline. From the crowd emerged Jesus, and as He approached me I asked him, "What's going on here?" He responded by telling me that He was about to die for me.
I didn't understand. Why? This I not how it should be. He shouldn't have to die for me. It is my sin, not His. I pleaded with Him to let me take my punishment; let me take the condemnation that I deserved.
At first, He didn't respond. He just wrapped His arms around me and squeezed tight. Then He whispered, "Bro, I've got this. I love you so much that I would rather be beaten and killed than have you spend eternity apart from me. I want you with me forever. I love you. This is my pleasure; my gift."
Then He gave me one last hug, turned, and walked back towards the crowd where my sin was placed on His shoulders.
He took the punishment that was mine so that I could find forgiveness. His death brings me life. For that, it is my responsibility and pleasure to live a life that brings Him glory; a life that shares His love.