Why the Beginning Matters

Sometimes I wonder what the creation story would look like if I switched roles with the earth. Better yet, what if the earth was personified and talked back to God like Moses? We never get to hear what the earth was thinking when God was putting his creative skills to work during that week. I imagine it going something like this:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Earth: “God, thanks for making me and all, but can I ask you why you did it? I mean look at me! I feel so empty inside, this water consumes me from all ends and everything seems so bleak and dark, especially compared to the heavens. God help me! You didn’t really expect me to be like this forever did you?”

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Earth: “Whoa. It’s…it’s…breathtaking.”

From the scholars I’ve read there is no evidence that the earth ever talked back to God like that during creation; however, I wouldn’t put it past her. Yet the message shared in these first few verses expressing the nature of God is exceptionally clear:

God speaks, something happens.

When God speaks, something new, previously unimaginable, forms and leaves those nearby in awe.

Before God spoke light into being all that existed was a dark, formless world. And the earth would’ve never known what it was missing out on. The only thing previously acknowledged was its emptiness. If God didn’t intervene, I bet you the world would’ve probably needed counseling sessions for depression like symptoms and follow through with a 10-step plan for recovery, only to relapse in her sorrow and emptiness.

Instead, we see that God speaks into the darkness and creates light. God speaks into the formlessness of the world and creates structure. God speaks into the circumstances of the globe and creates something better than anyone else could imagine.

Our God still speaks today with that same power. The question now becomes: Are you letting Him speak into your life? Or are you too comfortable with the darkness, the chaos that ensues from a busy, fruitless, self-driven life?

Trust me, it’s difficult. God speaks into areas of our life that we were comfortable with and had accepted as fate. But if we allow God to speak, change will happen.

 And I promise you this change will be for the better. Much better than anything you ever imagined possible.

What an Idiot

Here’s what’s wrong with the world: 

           

The other day I saw my friend Caleb walking on the sidewalk with a McDonald’s bag in his hand.  I happen to know that he’s going through a difficult time in his life right now—nothing noticeable on the outside, but inside he’s getting tired.  He’s told me so.  As he walked by a trashcan he tossed his McDonald’s in it’s general direction, but missed, and kept going. 

            It was then that I saw another person I know, her name is Jean.  Jean is what you’d call an eco-freak; she’d sell her grandma into slavery to save a tree.  Unfortunately she’d just seen Caleb miss the trashcan and quickened her pace to kept catch up with him.  After she’d thrown the bag in the trash she said, “Hey, you missed your target, you know.”  Caleb turned around.  “So?”

Uh oh.

For at least three minutes Jean was in his face giving him a speech about the environment and what “people like you” are doing to it.  She said how he was dishonoring the earth in a way that meant, “you’re a criminal and I’m a saint.” Zero respect. It made me sick, but Caleb just stood there and took it—he didn’t say a word.  Finally, she finished her spiel as though rebuking a little kid, “Don’t you know that the way you treat creation is the way you treat the Creator?” 

“WHAT?  You’ve got to be kidding me”, I thought, “what an idiot!”

Doesn’t she get that he is creation?  And not just a part of it, but the very pinnacle; God’s own image.  Doesn’t she get that she is dishonoring him?  Her little rant stripped him of all dignity and she has the nerve to lecture him about disrespecting creation!  It’s people like her that are ruining the world. 

What an idiot. 

But here’s the problem:  The way you treat creation is the way you treat the Creator. 

You see, if she was wrong then so am I.  I hated her in those few minutes.  Not the way we usually think of hate, you know, the diabolical laughter kind you see on cartoons, but a subtler sort that gets annoyed when she’s around, that wouldn’t be sad to see her fail, that whispers, “what an idiot.”  This is hate too, and I’m guilty.

If there’s something wrong with her then there’s something wrong with me; something wrong with me for hating her.  It’s people like me that are ruining the world.  I hated Jean for hating Caleb, and you can hate me for it.  Before you know it the entire world is tied together in this crime against each other, against humanity, and against God.  Because the way you treat creation is the way you treat the Creator. 

If Jean’s guilty, then we’re all guilty, and that’s what makes hate so powerful.  Like Gandhi said, “An eye for an eyes makes the whole world blind.” 

But isn’t my hate justified because she hated him?  Can’t I hate the hater?  Not without making it right for someone else to hate me, and for someone else to hate them, and on and on ‘till all our hands are doused with blood.  This hatred of man—hatred of God—deserves death; I deserve death.  The whole planet hangs under the shadow of death because of hate. 

That’s what makes death so powerful.  That’s what’s wrong with the world. 

And that’s what makes Jesus’ love the ultimate power, the last laugh.  He said “love your enemies and pray for them.”  He said to love those who hate.  Even those who hate you. 

He looked hate in the face, took hate’s hand, and let hate lead him to his death. 

He loved hate. 

This was the first time anyone had ever loved like this.  Only this type of love is more powerful than hate (“For even sinners love their friends”).  Only this type of love is more powerful than death.  And so Jesus concurred death with the most secret, most sacred, undefeatable, insoluble, buzzer-beating, hell-robbing, death-defying, power of all—love.  And so he conquers me daily. 

Conquers my hate.  Conquers that subtle little whisper, “What an idiot.”

This is how the world was saved.

This is how to save the world.  

Why We Are Here

 I’m glad to see that you have made it here. Wandering through the dark, winding paths that exist throughout our world can easily lead a passerby astray. These paths encourage us to meander off the narrow, dimly lit road that we have been inspired to follow and called to pursue. The path we were made for. The weather is cold, dark and gray and the path from this point onward does not become any less treacherous. The woods that surround the paths are full of mysteries. Things that are dark and not well understood. You know this, for you are living through it.

But that is enough about where you have been. You are most likely wondering about where you have now come.  

This is a gathering place. 

A place of light and warmth. A place where faithful servants tend the campfires of truth, love and grace in a world which desperately needs it. Here you will find encouragement for the rest of your journey. By his grace may we provide tinder, a few logs, or maybe even a flame for you to carry, that you may move on from this place and go back into the wilderness to tend to a campfire of your own. Be encouraged brother, sister, for we move forward as one to fulfill lives of obedience to the creator who gives us hope.

Political Statement

There’s been a lot of criticism towards the younger generation in regard to their voter apathy.  They say that more people vote for American Idol than vote in the presidential elections. Why are so many young people choosing not to take part in politics?  Why are they shirking this great privilege and responsibility?  Is it because they’re lazy?  Is it because they are self-centered?  Is it because they just don’t care? 

I’d like to suggest something else:  Maybe we’re not getting involved in politics because you can see the same behavior in a first grade classroom, just without the suits and ties.  I’m being cruel.  Forgive me for making such a harsh statement—I apologize to all first graders for associating their behavior with what I’ve been seeing on T.V.

Why aren’t young people voting?  Maybe it’s because the very things I’m trying to teach in my classroom are contradicted in every single political commercial I’ve seen this year.  Things like, be kind, tell the truth, work together, don’t skew facts to get what you want, be respectful, be human.  Quite frankly, if my students were to behave like the potential leaders of our country, I would send them to the office…and I don’t mean the Oval Office.  Disgraceful is the only adjective that comes to mind when I watch a political debate. 

I mean seriously?  Seriously?!  I have watched two debates, nearly 3 hours worth, that could be boiled down to this single statement: “The other guy’s an idiot.”  Really, I’m not kidding.  This sums up what I’ve heard.  It’s what is really being said underneath what’s being said. 

Why aren’t young people voting? Maybe it’s because we’re so dang confused!  Both presidential candidates would have me believe the other is a lying fool (watch the debates and tell me I’m wrong), so who are we suppose to believe?  I have dear friends from both political perspectives who are equally convincing when explaining why their candidate should be elected.  “Research for yourself and come to a conclusion”, someone might suggest.  Oh, really, is it that easy?  Unfortunately I don’t have a big enough shovel to dig through all the crap that’s being propagated on both sides.  In the past weeks I have witnessed more dubious statistics tossed around than poo thrown in a monkey cage at the zoo.  And yes, from both parties.  7% this—42 million that—half of all so-and-so’s—1/3 of all bla, bla, blas.  Always contradicting the other and always backed by 300 studies.  I’m so lost it’s not even funny.

Alex Altman explains in the latest edition of TIME magazine, “As it stands, the very notions of fact and truth are employed in American politics as much to distort as to reveal. And until the voting public demands something else, not just from the politicians they oppose but also from the ones they support, there is little reason to suspect that will change.”

Why aren’t young people voting?  Maybe it’s because we’re sick of all the garbage and want something better, something respectable, something worth voting for (not just something worth voting against).  Should the person who is elected President really be chosen because the other guy was worse?  Should I tally up the misleading statements and vote for the candidate who lies less?  I laugh when I think of the Bible passage that instructs believers to think of things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy—does this mean we can’t get involved in politics?

In all seriousness, this generation has been repelled by the ugliness of the political world. The current situation has bred a generation of politically skeptical youth.  We are like teenagers fleeing an ugly home situation.

To be clear, I did not writing this article to suggest that avoiding the polls is the best way to deal with all the drama.  I am going to vote.  However, I am saying that if our Nation wants to see an increase in voter turnout in the future, it would be wise to change the game.  Is it too much to ask for an honest election in which the candidates do more than skew facts and degrade their opponent?  Is it out of the question for presidential possibilities to foster a campaign that doesn’t hinge on finger pointing and name-calling?  Is it possible to have an election that actually generates positive excitement about our country’s future? 

Until then, it’s safe to say more votes will be cast for the next American Idol than for the next President of the United States.  

Hi my name is...

An angel of the LORD came to Manoah to tell him that he would soon be the father of a child called Samson.  Overjoyed, Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?” The angel replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is pil’iy.”

The Hebrew word pil’iy is translated a few different ways:

Too wonderful to know.

Extraordinarily unknowable.

Incomprehensibly beautiful.

Whoa.  In other words, try swallowing a concept like eternity, or do your best to understand what it means that the universe is unending, going on for light years and light years and light years and light years and light years…and then, then you’ll be close to being ready to hear and comprehend my name.  Good luck. 

And to think, this is just an angel of the LORD.  How much more pil’iy is the Name of the one who spoke something into nothing, the one who has always been, the one who engineered every blade of grass in every back yard and every star in every solar system, the one who created even the angel that visited Manoah.  This God is pil’iy! 

I’m starting to understand why the LORD told Moses that His name is I AM.  What else could God say?  Moses had come from a nation in which god’s were conceivable, there names were knowable and familiar, even taking the forms of animals.  But our God? Nope.  Sorry, Moses, if you want me to give you a name by which you can comprehend my full nature, you’d better just tell the people that “ME” sent you.  I’m just ME.  Come and find out what that means. 

And since God’s revelation to Israel so many thousands of years ago, God’s people have not stopped learning just who He is. 

He is a God whose might turns the most powerful man on the earth into a sobbing baby in order to free His people.

He is a God whose majesty sets the mountain on fire.

He is a God whose secret whisper breaks the cedars, whose laughter organized the periodic table of elements, whose shout orchestrates the galaxies. 

He is a God whose established the matrix for creation. 

But the most incredible, the most wonderful, the most pil’iy aspect of His identity is this: He let tiny men spit in His face.  Literally.  He put on flesh like people put on pants, He allowed Himself to be imprisoned my matter, He let us whip Him, beat Him, spit in His face, and nail Him to a tree.  He died. God died like a wild boy at recess sprinting past no-man’s-land to steal the flag.  Our God undid death by dying before running back victorious with His prize in His hand.  This is my God.

Can you hear Him laughing now when Moses asks for His Name?  Uh…Moses, you’re just going to have to get to know me.  My Name is pil’iy. 

This is why the angels around the throne are covering their faces.  This is why heaven is forever; the character of God—the wonder, beauty, and glory of His Name will take just that long to experience.  This is why I love Him.