You are currently browsing the Bruce Smith weblog archives for October, 2009.
27. October 2009 by BruceSmith.
Toward the Story We Want To Live: making it happen
If you are a sports fan, as I am, you love watching ESPN’s Top Ten every night. Each day, as the sportscasters review the day, they show off the Top Ten plays from across the world of Sport. It could be Lebron James with a monster dunk or a crazy sick block, or Tiger holing in from out of the sand trap, or Roger Federer hitting an amazing “tweener” for a winner (or me doing the same!!), or perhaps, Drew Brees launching a 60 yard bomb to Colston for a touchdown. Whatever it is sportsfans love it! Why?
I think its because we see in those moments of glory just what the human body is capable of. In those few seconds captured in each scene we get a glimpse of the epic quest every human has lurking within the heart: the desire to do great, be great, live great, to be part of a great scene. Those moments point us to the artistry of sport, the thrill of majestic play, and the poetry of physicality. Its awesome, baby!
Maybe for you, its photography. If, like me, you are captured by a great still shot which captures an amazing landscape, a beautiful expression, or an unexpected glimpse of beauty, you know just how deeply the art of photography can touch you. For me, its all about the capturing of a moment which will never come again, but which can be revisited again and again as we look back and remember, and relive. Again, its all about the scene. I love the scenes represented by a great shot.
For others it may be a video clip, a music clip, a work of art, a ticket stub, a signed baseball, or anything else which captures a moment in life, a scene, in which life took one’s breath away even if for a moment. Those are the moments which cause us to soar, dream, reach for more, and long to live–bigger, better, fuller lives.
But how do we get there? How do we really live lives worth living? How does that story come alive for us? Does it just happen? Do some get there by luck? Are some just born into a better story? Is there a roadmap? Can anyone live in scenes full of glory?
I believe there is both a roadmap, and a way forward for all of us no matter where life has us at this present juncture. Whether we are on top of the world already, trapped in a prison cell, facing certain ruin, or somewhere in between, life is ripe with the potential of better, more, greater epic storied living. For the school teacher, the doctor, the lawyer, the landscaper, the writer, the real estate agent, the vet, the soldier, the student, the battered woman, the abused child, the prostitute, the drunk, the sexually addicted, the tennis pro, the sports agent, the mom, the dad, the single mom, the single dad, the cheated upon, the cheater, the pure, the defiled, the strong, the scared, the sinner, and the saint, and everyone else…the story you dreamed of, the story bigger than your dreams, the story in the heart of God for you…it can happen. It should happen.
First off, we have to take a good look at where we are and how we got there. What kind of scenes has your life been made of? Are the scenes ones you would like the God of the universe to play before you on video when you stand before Him? Are the scenes ones your mom would like to see? Your pastor? Your client? Your kids? Your spouse? Is your story made up of moments worth retelling? Reliving? Revisiting? Do you want your kids living the same kind of stories?
Step one in getting on the road toward the life God has for us is to be honest about our story. That honesty begins with ourselves. Sometimes we have to look in the mirror and say, “Wow, you have made a mess.” Then we need to make a determined commitment between us and God to surrender our mess over to Him and allow Him to have His way.
God knows our stories are less than they ought to be, and He knows whatever it is we have hidden or have attempted to hide from others and from ourselves. Somehow, we are even duped into thinking we can hide from Him. The good news is that God is for us, that Jesus gave His life for those ugly scenes, and that God is just waiting for us to open our hands and heart and say, “Here you go. Me and this mess are yours.” Simply put, this is what the Bible calls repentance. Its an acknowledgment of what we are, how we have failed, and a desire to turn away from it, and run toward God’s plans for our lives. Without this step, its just human effort, and no matter how superior we may be to other humans, it will never be enough to truly lift or complete the soul and its hungers.
Step two for getting us moving closer to that life we hunger for, and God is thrilled to give us, is a development of the ability to connect the dots. You remember those books from grade school? The ones where if you connect the dots properly a picture you never expected unfolded? Cool, eh? I loved those things. Our lives are a bit like that. The life of faith is a lot like that. God has a plan, an amazing, unexpected, and artistic plan for us. We have to trust that if we follow His agenda, and connect the dots through a life of obedience to Him, that He will bring about the unfolding of a picture beyond our wildest expectations. God has given us the the roadmap. Scriptural living is the new and improved connect the dots book. This is the one all those juvenile sketches pointed toward when we were young. God’s word, the Bible, given over several hundred years, and written by over 40 different authors, over various geographic regions, with amazing continuity and focus, with more evidence for its support than any recorded document in history, is the ultimate life puzzle unfolded. Its His story for us…its the dots connected cliff notes for life.
If we will take God up on His call to read His word and live it out (that is the connecting of the dots in daily life) we will see the big picture unfolding in grand ways. As we move along and connect more and more of the dots and follow His plan for family, finances, sexuality, friendship, worship, vocation, pleasure, desire, giving, trusting, forgiving, community building, and more, we find the scenes of our lives getting better and better, and we begin to see a bigger plan for us ultimately. That reality has the potential to capture us, inspire us and spur us on to an ever increasing quest for a big life.
The third step toward reaching that epic life, the life full of great scenes and big stories, is to live intentionally. This also helps us connect the dots and allows the overarching narrative of our lives to unfold as The Author above intends. If we merely live for the moment, react emotionally, or follow the party we will never know the value of an intentional and connected life. An intentional life keeps us on the course God intended for us. Following God’s plan in each relationship we choose and walk through, sets the stage for a great scene. It protects us from so much damage. God says that His kind of love unfolds in purity, faithfulness, and fidelity. When we get off course and draw our life on our own we disfigure the connect the dot plan and chaos ensues. Remember those connect the dot puzzles you got wrong in grade school? The helicopter that turned out like a deformed frog? The sailboat that looked like a one-legged bear? Pretty ridiculous! That is how our lives turn out when we abandon God’s plan for living. We look at it, others look at it, and we see what has the faint marks or hints of something discernible, but we know something is seriously amiss, off, disfigured.
Intentionally following God’s plan, the Bible, is the only sketch God blesses, the only one He will honor. To do otherwise would be to contradict His very character. And because He is perfect, He cannot do that. We can trust His bigger picture for us. He wants it to make sense, to work out, to be something of beauty. The call for Christians not to be “unequally yoked” (that is not to marry outside of true authentic Christ followership) is God’s clear path for a fulfilling life and marriage. He is for our fulfillment in marriage. He knows the person we marry will largely determine whether life on earth for us is heaven or hell, as one commentator has put it. This is true for every category of life–pleasure pursuits, sobriety, modesty, honesty, the kind of company we keep, the way we instruct our kids, …all of it is in view. He sees and knows it all. And He wants the world for us.
Lastly, if you want the kind of life God offers us all, if you desire to be able to look back on your life and remember epic scenes, if you want the people standing around your casket at your funeral to be telling stories worth telling, you have got to commit yourself to a life of continual transformation. As great screen writers will tell you, the most compelling characters in film are those who go through a process of change as they face obstacles and difficulty. Life transformation is critical to the success of character, plot, and story. The worst movies, the boring ones, are the ones where some character faces a life of ease and pleasure and mindless pursuits, thinks about nothing but the moment, and has no serious change take place within. Those movies bite! They don’t win awards, and people quickly forget them. We want more. We know we were created for more. Its the bigger stories that capture us.
This is a critical component of living the life God calls us to. He does not, will not, leave us as we are! Thank God! He calls every last one of us to a journey of ongoing change. It is true of every character revealed in scripture and it remains true today. Not only that, but as you read the scriptures you find that massive character transformation takes place in the biggest of personalities and heroes of faith. Those that endure great harassment, pain, and difficulty seem to be the one’s who change the most, and it is these who have the greatest influence on the lives of others, and who offer the critical clues of epic living to us all. Amidst great pain, up against seemingly immovable mountains, and enormous temptations, these are the men and women of faith who run to God for strength and purpose. And as they direct their quest toward goodness they find scene after scene connecting the dots and bringing about a picture of grace, redemption, love, meaning, unsurpassed joy, and God sized accomplishment.
That’s the life I want. What about you? Let’s get after it. Today. Now. May God grant it. Amen
Bruce Smith
optimuslife.org
soulstormwriter.com
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20. October 2009 by BruceSmith.
What a difference a good story makes
Stories. We love them, we live them. Some inspire us, some not so much. But we all have one. We all want to be part of one. Sometimes, the stories we are living are clear and compelling. Too often, the stories we see or live are less than epic and life giving.
Getting off a plane in Orlando this week, on my way to a conference and gearing up for a couple days of church leadership training and worship, I found myself thinking about the idea of story again. Wanting to follow up on what I had recently written regarding the stories we live, I had been thinking and taking notes on the plane ride over to Florida. With the creative juices flowing and my spirit all jacked up to write, I got to my hotel needing to eat, and looking for a spot to watch Monday Night Football for a bit before I jumped back into my studying and writing. And it was then, and there, in the hotel bar and cafe, that my story writing and thinking took on new life.
I had only been there, waiting for my food, amidst a crowd of clearly well to do and very successful people, for about ten minutes when I was officially “cougared” (if that is a word) by an an attractive fifty-something with more than a few “alterations”, pink leopard tights (no kidding), a tight fitting deeply cut sweater, and all too perfect skin (stretched perfect somehow). You get the picture, I think. Actually, it was an attempted “cougaring”, but a valid attempt nonetheless. She moved on to the bar tender very quickly, and gave her best effort on the guy who was, well, much younger than I for sure. Not sure how that one ended.
Just a couple minutes later, I was offered a chair by a more than friendly male in a very expensive suit with questionable motives. “This has been an interesting few minutes”, I thought to myself. And then, just a bit later, after eating and trying to make my way back to the room, while in the elevator, I was offered, by a too young too rich and too accomplished (and very drunk) trust fund baby, an invite to join in on a little pot smoking session. Yes, I declined. As another guy walked into the elevator, as I was leaving, his comment to his drinking buddy was, “Oh crap, its the wife calling. Do I have to answer this?” His buddy’s retort was, “I ignored the call from mine, get to it later…if you have to…we are in party mode! Let’s hit the bar.”
What a night! That was an active series of events by any standard. I knew then, this would be an interesting couple of days.
As I made it back to my room, and triple locked the door, I began to think to myself, going back into study and writing mode, “What kind of stories are those people living, really?” I thought about what life might look like for them internally, and relationally. Does life work with those ambitions and drives leading the way? I tried to play out the scenes in my head, even as I remembered the clear reality which shone in each of their eyes. Life did not look so fulfilling as I tried to see beyond the exterior. As I played the tape out realistically, my heart swelled with God-given grace, compassion, and sorrow, and I sincerely prayed that God might grant them the opportunity to find a bigger, better story…stories bigger than flings, drunkenness, the pursuit of wealth, and boundary-less living, even if each of them live that way only on the road. I have know many personally who live that way, and, sadly, those lives have never been characterized by meaning, significance or beauty. Far from it in reality.
The next morning I woke up, was running late, called a cab, and scrambled to get ready to make my way to the conference, which oddly enough, focused on leading unchurched people to consider a life of faith in Christ. The night before, in vivid fashion, I had seen just where people are and how adrift life is without Jesus at the helm. As I entered the auditorium, joining thousands of others, and with those and many others in mind, it was clear, really clear, this was a different place than I had been in last night, and this was a group with dramatically different stories. And what stories there were in this place! As I looked around, people watching, I wondered who these people were and from whence they came. What was their story?
As I spent the day meeting people, engaging in small groups and break out sessions between the large meeting events, I had the pleasure of hearing what God was doing in the lives of some very neat people. I had the conscious thought, “These people, by God’s grace, have been given the chance to live truly ‘storied’ lives”. And they were jumping in full throttle in many cases. Business people who were giving their own time and wealth to further the work of the church and the lives of others. Leaders who were giving their lives in prisons, soup kitchens, workplaces, teen venues, churches, juvenille detention centers, … .
Later in the evening, during a fantastic worship service, about twenty people were given the opportunity to share their journey to faith, their “faith story” as it were. And, again, the stories were amazing. One guy, after a life of rough living, lawless living, was thrown in prison, was there for a while, encountered a small group of Christians, came to faith in Christ, was prayed for one night at a meeting, and the very next day, unexpectedly was let out two years early! He is now living a vibrant life of faith and leading ministries in the church! What a story!! Another guy, who was a committed atheist for much of his life, was sexually abused as a child, hated most people in general, trusted no one, ignored his wife for twenty years, and rarely engaged anyone, came to faith in Jesus, found that he was able to forgive, saw his marriage renewed, was prayed for and received the ability to do portrait art (a talent he never had before), and now is living a vibrant joyous life of faith, and finding himself able to relate to others in healthy ways (a true miracle for him as he tells it).
The stories continued for a long long time. One woman, on drugs for depression for many years, sexually promiscuous and very lonely, feeling ugly and unworthy, and after having attempted suicide, came to faith in Christ, and now cannot stop leading others to Him with her infectious joy. Yet another woman, bright, educated, a psychoanalyst, after coming to faith, actually told of finally, for the first time, with a spiritual basis now undergirding her practice, feels like she can finally offer real healing to her patients after years of seeing her methods and thinking be very lacking in bringing about life change. She now feels more like she is living a story that matters than ever before.
There were many more great stories shared on this first night, too many to list. But so many were memorable. One couple, after living a dull, lonely, and average life at best, saw their marriage and life trajectories dramatically changed after both came to faith in Jesus and began to passionately pursue him together. They now are both actively engaged in the life of the church and in leading many to know God. After rejecting Christ for many years, they came to find He was actually the only one able to give them a story worth getting excited about, a marriage worth pursuing, and a life worth living.
At the end of day, as I write now, my heart is more hungry than ever to want all of God’s story which He has in mind for me. I, like you I am sure, long to be part of a story bigger than me. I want to live that epic life which I know He calls me to. I want to live more, love more, give more, know more, feel more, experience more, help more, educate more, inspire more, … I just want more of the story He wants for me. I want more in my family, in marriage, in ministry, in friendship, in writing, in meeting the needs of the poor, in ministering to those living broken lives. I want a life, and want to want it more, which clearly tells a story of God’s grace and love and transforming power. And I am more convinced today than I was yesterday, and hope to be more convinced tomorrow, and every day after that, that Jesus and the life He imparts to us, is the only way to living out that story. I want to embrace Him fully. He is my story.
So, here’s the bottom line. We all want a big story. We all desire to be filled with significance and meaning. Are we living a life which fuels that? Are our everyday encounters with others telling a story of a life ignited by God? When others fail us, is our response indicative of someone who has understood God’s story of love and patience and grace? When the bottom falls out are we confident enough in God’s story for us that we can trust that He has the road ahead already paved for us? When we are forced into new life directions and modes of behavior by the loving and strong hand of God, are we willing to let Jesus have His way in molding us and crafting His story for us? When He is moving us from the early days of knowing Him into deeper and more mature manners of living are we willing to let Him be Lord of our life, and not merely a “savior”? Are we ready to give Him all of it? Its the only way to a bigger and better story.
If we are to live a story of epic proportions it begins with submission to God’s call, and a wholehearted embrace of the life Jesus wants to design for us. Anything short of that will leave us wanting. What’s He calling you to? What’s He calling you away from? As I watched thousands of people today, all with a common story of God at work in them, I was struck how different the setting was. In a world awash in the throws of lust, pain, addiction, and all manner of emptiness, here were over 4,000 broken and healed people, people who had encountered Jesus, from all over the world, and after twelve hours of teaching, education, sharing, and learning, all they wanted to do was to stand, sing, raise their hands and hearts to God, and cry out to Him in thankfulness, hungering for more of His story. Twelve hours in, all this body of people touched by God wanted was more of Him. Now that’s a story worth being excited about.
What’s your story?
Bruce Smith
optimuslife.org
soulstormsite.com
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14. October 2009 by BruceSmith.
In Search of a Better Story
When is the last time you remember hearing, reading, watching, or even being part of a great story? There is something about a truly fantastic story isn’t there? They capture us. They make us dream. They make us long for more. They put a desire within us to be part of a bigger story ourselves.
But what kind of story actually grips us? Which stories do we remember? My guess is, if you are honest, its the stories that matter which catch you and keep you. Few thinking, intelligent, and sincere people get all amped up and feel butterflies inside watching empty stories about jokers who just live life for the moment, living it up, one party after another, one relationship after another, just blending in like the rest of the crowd.
Robert McKee, the master of story, and renown teacher of story, basically reduces story to the simple premise of character. It is the character, a character who desires something, faces obstacles, and finally gets there after a significant battle, who captures us. The quality of the character, and the significance of the goal play a huge role in the overall pull of a story. If the character has something we all admire or are drawn to and if the desires and goals of the character are admirable, and the challenges big…we tend to really engage and put our hearts into the story. Think of Schindler’s List or E.T. or Hotel Rowanda or The Pursuit of Happyness.
Here is what I have been thinking lately. What kind of story am I living? I have always thought on this theme really, but the question has been heightened for me at various periods in my life. Lately, it has been heightened again. One impetus for the question arising for me again is Donald Miller’s latest book which wrestles with this question. The book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, puts this quest for living a bigger story front and center. I stumbled across the book, however, as I was already contemplating the idea. I think one big factor in my consideration of the theme is the fact that two of my three kids are soon headed off to college. I find myself regularly asking, “Have I adequately inspired them to desire to live a great story?” “Will they go off and live the typical college life, the typical twenty-something experience…?” “Or will they really get after life and pursue big things?” “Will they know how to live a big story?” “Will they care?”
My fears are, that like too many, my kids will go off, be enamored with a world gone mad for pleasure and fun, and be drowned amidst the soul swallowing waves of passion and thoughtless living. My greatest pain, as I think about it, would be to see my kids settle for the average life, the life lived by all those around them. In actuality, its my greatest fear for me, and for everyone I encounter and care about. We live in a culture awash in the waters of passion, perversion, corruption, debasement, meaningless pleasure, and momentary reality. I want to be part of something bigger. I don’t want life as usual, relationships as usual, sex as usual, money as usual, entertainment as usual, parenting as usual, church as usual, … . I want to live outside the norm, I want the kind of life God promises me in the scriptures–life to the full. And I want this for my kids.
Here is the rub. Thinking about this lately, here is where my mind has gone.
If story, big, engaging, and life-inspiring story has elements of character, aspiration, goodness, obstacles, and dream making, why is my life not more like that? Why is my character not more like that which God calls me to? Why is my aspiration all too muted for things which matter (the poor, the orphaned, the widows, the sick, those spiritually deceived and lost), why do I view pettiness as obstacles, and why am I not accomplishing more? I honestly want to know the answer to these questions, and I want to live in the reality of those answers. I think most people do, but most hide from this reality.
How do we find the desire to live a bigger story? Where do we find grounding and adequate purpose for a bigger story? Where do we turn to to find an example of the kind of story we all hunger for in our most honest and transparent moments? I find, again and again, all those answers, and all the elements of big story, as I engage the scriptures, the Bible. Nowhere have I seen, read, contemplated such character, love, generosity, obstacle overcoming, and dream making story. I don’t see it in the lives of those we call “celebrity” (and honestly, after meeting several in my life, I have come to find very few who even remotely impress me or have anything I desire), I don’t see it on television, and too seldom find it in daily life.
Where I see the kind of story we all long for is in the scriptures and the men and women of faith whose lives unfold there. Likewise, I see the most inspiring hints of great story in the lives of those I know who are hungering for and moving toward a bigger faith story. Dentists I know who travel to dangerous countries to share the gospel and do medical work, hang-gliders I know who aspire to take their love of flying to to foreign lands and reach needy orphans and others, businessmen who donate huge sums of money and their talents in Africa to reach people of a different race, many of whom are dying with Aids. And I see the thirst for a bigger story in the lives of women who find a dream to assist the abused and broken and battered, and make an effort to build a place for them where they can find a new story. These are the lives I see which pull me toward a bigger story.
I am inspired to live a greater story also as I watch the lives of godly women who so utterly enjoy and cherish motherhood, marriage, faithfulness, purity, and worship that its contagious and undeniable. I am inspired toward my own pursuit of God’s story for me as I am privileged to live along side of lifelong friends who love me and are honest with me and remain devoted to me even when I fail. I am pulled toward a more honest pursuit of God’s story for me as I watch devoted men of God, despite enormous talent and charisma and penchant for business, give themselves to God and offer their labor for the Kingdom rather than for personal gain. And I am amazed and allured by the graciousness of God’s story displayed in the lives of Christians who, despite beauty, position, privilege, opportunity, or advantage, display integrity, devotion, humility, and service to others as they live daily life. Moreover, I am humbled and captivated by those few, who, despite great loss, failure, and trial, only seek a greater sense of gentleness of spirit, kindness, and love for life and others.
Donald Miller, in his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, tells of an interaction with a good friend of his whose daughter is just living a messy life. She has been found with pot in her room, is dating a less than desirable fellow, and is an emotional and relational wreck in the home. He tells his friend that his daughter is living a really bad story, and needs a new story. His friend, hit hard by this reality, takes it to heart and realizes his entire family is living a pretty lame story. They are just getting along, not taking much in, letting daily life just happen, and “making the best of things”. Determined to save his family and his daughter from this lousy story, one day he decides to take out a second mortgage on his home, and commit $25,000.00 to building an orphanage in Mexico! He did not discuss it, take a poll, or ask anyone what they thought. He just decided the story would be bigger or they would not go on. He jumped into a big story. The short version of the story is that, after his wife’s shock and daughter’s cries of “insanity”, his wife was turned on and loved him like never before, and his daughter fell in love with the idea, dropped her boyfriend, and decided the family should actually not just spend money on the building project, but they should go to Mexico and really get in the game! A new story had just begun!! I want that kind of story in my life. Don’t you? How? Ah, but how?
My hope and prayer for each of us as we read and ponder this idea of story, is that God would birth a renewed desire in each of us to live for something bigger. In reality, that something is a some One. Jesus, the Man who lived the greatest story the world has ever known, is the only aspiration strong enough to push us toward the kind of story God has in store for us. It is Christ alive within us, the Living Story, who gifts us with purity where we have settled for common road of our culture, patience where we are filled with anger and pettiness, love where we are consumed with selfish desires, sobriety where our story is replete with a lack of restraint, gentleness where our story is filled with abuse and disaster, poise where we have only chaos in our soul, depth where we are shallow, thoughtfulness where there is only reactionary behavior, service for others where we have sought only our own fun, generosity in place of greed, humility in place of arrogance, pursuit of purpose where we have only sought pleasure, and life and light where our souls have been dark and dying.
As the scriptures have suggested, Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, has come and offered the light of life. He offers those trapped in a dark story, a story without joy, hunger, love, and life, a bigger and better story. He brings character, purpose amidst the struggles, and direction for the future. He is our compass, our journey, our desire. Only the life whose story is caught up in Him shall have a journey big enough for an aching soul. He is our Mt. Everest, He is the screen play worth seeing, He is our longing, and He is our God. May His story, though the world may laugh, mock, despise, and label us fools, be our story. May He, in the truest sense, be our story. Oh, that He would be our plot, our narrative, our redemption, our healing, and our hope. My this story run through every word, every line, every expression, every scene in the drama of our lives. May the story of Christ secure our loves, our relationships, our drives, our ambitions, our goals, our dreams, our careers, our families, our music, our money, our marriages, our coaching, our teaching, our doctoring, our passions, our play, …our all. May our story be lived for an audience of One. May we find His character description for us, and live it to the full.
God give us a bigger story. Amen.
Bruce Smith
optimuslife.org
soulstormsite.com
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7. October 2009 by BruceSmith.
One Love? Yeah, but by whose definition?
You know the song? “One love…let’s get together n feel alright…”. Catchy tune, few would deny. Similar lyrics, of course, resound throughout the annals of musicology. The Beatles have covered the idea, U2, Bob Marley, and a host of others. Its all about the love, right? Right. …and wrong, it would appear, if logic holds. Or at least, “the love” must be defined.
Imagine this scene:
Mom wakes up, pours herself a cup of coffee, and as she is readying herself for the day her little ones, three of them, all under 10, come bounding into the kitchen. Each, within moments, announces their plan for the day. Sarah, a blue-eyed, golden fleeced, ball of personality says, “Mom, I am dropping out of school, leaving the second grade, and moving away with David, my third grade boyfriend. We are going to become movie stars! We love movies! And I love him. See ya.” Just behind her, comes Dylan, a tiger-like, energetic, and abrasive third grader, who announces, “Mom! Mom! Mom! Listen up! I no longer love you. I love Danny’s mom (his third grade friend’s mom), she’s smokin hot, loves to cook brownies for dinner, and let’s Danny walk around in his briefs whenever he wants. Cool. I am moving in with them. By the way, they live with three other families in a ‘community’ and they all love each other. They all love each other so much, they share daddies and mommies. I think I will be happier there. See ya.” Mom, with a cheery grin upon her face, as if nothing startling has happened, looks down at little Branson (her five year old), and says, “Well, my little Bran Muffin, what’s on your plate today? You leaving too?” Branson, wide-eyed and ready as ever, not missing a beat, proclaims, “Mommy, I’m not in school, I don’t care for movies too much, and you’re my favorite mommy…I just want to have fun with you. I love you Mommy.”
No, this scene did not really unfold, at least not that I observed. Yet, I think there are some truths to be drawn from it. What you will notice is that each of the little ones is pursuing a path because of “love”. Sarah, is in “love” with her older heart-throb, and with the movies, and the life offered to her there, so, she is setting off on her new path. Dylan, the little tiger, is in “love” with Danny’s hot mom, brownies, dressing down, way down, and the new loving community his friend’s family is a part of, and so, he is on his way. And Branson, the little tyke, just loves his mom, and wants to hang with her.
Now, I ask simply, whose love looks most realistic and promising? Moreover, whose “love” appears to be based in a reality which one can live by? Lastly, is it a stretch to suggest, that despite each little one’s proclamation of “love”, perhaps, one or more has no true concept of what love really is? Any sane person, I think, would have to suggest that Branson is more on target than the other two at this juncture in their young lives.
Going a bit further with this little episode on love, could we not suggest that the Mom in this scene would be totally remiss, a horrible example of parenthood even, should she not step in and make an all out attempt to explain reality and the nature of love to her little ones who are about to run headlong into ruin? Would she be considered a legitimate mother if she did not lay down some pretty clear guidelines and parental advice at this stage of the game? Would we consider her “loving” if she said nothing to Dylan and Sarah? If she just allowed them to “take their own journey”, would we hold her up as the picture of virtue, and model our parenting after her? I think not. Loving parenthood, if it is to be a reality, includes boundaries, discipline, and ultimatums.
So, with all due respect, why do we allow for similarly untenable modes of thought when it comes to spiritual issues? Why then do we assume, or choose to assume, that the God of the universe, The Divine Parent, should He exist, just allows anyone and everyone a wide-open, guideline-less, non-exclusive, personal choice or opinion when it comes to ultimate truth? Does this make sense? Logically? Are Dylan, Sarah, and Branson working on equally level and reasonable views of reality? Are each likely to “get to the same place in the end” if they continue on the paths they have chosen? I think not. But its their mind, their choice, their truth, right? Are each of their paths not all “one truth”? Clearly not. They are headed in different, very different directions. That much is obvious. No matter how many times they cry, “You have your truth, and I have mine!” …that will never hold water. Contradictory views cannot equal a same reality. We learn this in Pre K when pointing to colors and shapes and animals. All things are NOT the same. Different things are, well, different.
So here’s the deal. If human beings are to have any true and definitive sense whatsoever, of what is truly true, there must be a singular standard of measurement. This is just basic logic. As academics who study logic and debate know we can take it all the way back to Aristotle and Plato. Truth by definition, is exclusive. Those little runts are headed for disaster, plain and simple. And if no one tells them, ugly things will happen no matter how convinced in their own mind they may be of the “rightness” of their approach to life.
Jesus did in fact say, the historical record shows, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to God except through me”. Such a statement, if not true, is the epitome of arrogance and delusion. If true, the implications are, in the most literal sense, world defining for every person that has ever breathed. He was either a lunatic, liar, or who He said He was, Lord of heaven and earth. Think about that for a minute. We must make a choice about Him. There is no middle ground on this one. He did not leave that option open about Himself, and as C.S. Lewis has pointed out, He did not mean to.
Further, regarding a definition for “love”. The bible states, “God is love”. And, “Whoever has seen Jesus, has seen the Father (God)”. So, as logic holds, and as scripture points out in many other places, Jesus, being God, is Love. He is not a concept, He is living, breathing, active, resurrected, and literal Love in its definitive form. If we embrace this Love, then indeed, we have found the One Love. If we choose some other fuzzy, nice sounding, don’t push people too far, don’t inflict your ideas on me-type of “love” principle, …we have something different than love, no matter what we call it. If Jesus is God and God is Love, nothing else equals full and definitive Love. Simple and sound math.
However, if we, like errant toddlers, make an attempt to define our own loves and pursuits, we will, despite all convincing of ourselves, only fall upon false hopes which will lead us and leave us wanting in the deepest of ways. Just as those same toddlers had to live up to the reality that Math class presented them, 2+2=4 (always, and exclusively), so too we must realize, and be utterly thankful that the answer can be known, that Love has been defined and revealed by God, in Christ. We need look no further. If we understood this our souls would summersault in joy. God has shown us Himself, and has given us The Way!! We don’t have to grope in the dark. The One who created me, has shown Himself to me! Wow.
The cultural response, sadly, is typically one of disdain in regard to the suggestion that truth is exclusive. Yet, if we think it through, we should rejoice in this logical mandate. Who would find any joy in never knowing who one’s parents are or what their expectations are of them or how to please them? Who would be happy to know that nothing they believe about their parents is true? Who would be glad to find out that their parents are actually unknowable? Who would find anything but madness in the idea that they could never be sure if anything ever said about their parents was in fact reality? If we are to know our parents or anything for that matter, there must be a basis in reality. Why would we assume this is not true of God? If God exists, logic holds that He MUST be, singularly, the most important being in the universe. He, by definition, would have to be the cause of the universe being here. If He created it, then by virtue of His being God, there must have been some reason behind His creating act. If there is a reason behind His creative act of world making, then His creatures must have a purpose. If these creatures are here for a reason, a purpose, it would seem to hold that this Creator would want them to know their purpose. If He wanted them to know their purpose, then it would seem to hold that He would provide a way for them to know such purpose. And basic parenting and logic would hold that if such a Creator, Divine Parent wanted them to know their purpose, then He would take great measure to make it known. He would not, it seems fair to suggest, offer them thousands of conflicting options. (And make no mistake, all other religious systems differ greatly not only from Christianity, but from one another. All claim exclusive rights to truth, even those that exclusively claim a non-exclusive approach) A loving God, a loving parent, wants the kids to be able to know, love, and walk in intimacy and depth of relationship, based upon reality and truth.
Here is the most important thing we miss in attempting to run from the reality of exclusive truth. Well, first, let’s be clear, no one, not even the truth denier, actually maintains that truth is not exclusive. If you state exclusively that truth is not exclusive, what have you done? Duh. You have made an exclusive truth statement. The very attempt to deny exclusivity, must embrace the logic of exclusivity in order to get there. Debaters call this a self-referentially absurd statement. It crushes in upon itself. There could be no writing, math, speech, technology, law making, …no communication of any sort what so ever, if we did not function, as a matter of logical necessity, upon the principle of truth. Truth excludes all that is not truth. This could not be more true of spiritual reality. This is why, as the scriptures have proclaimed, “The Truth will set you free”. Truth reveals itself and casts its light upon all that is darkness or untruth.
But, alas, here is the other major fear which lingers in the hearts of misled people and a culture obsessed with self and multiple options. We fear that the embrace of God’s truth, the One Way approach, will emasculate us as vibrant beings. The fear of the rebellious heart is that God is out to steal our joy, squash our fun, and make robots of us all. Yet, again, this smacks of illogic. God, Creator, purposeful Lover of His creations, desires that we have life and life to the full (John 10:10). God knows that those little crazed toddlers are in for mortal danger if they follow their own lead, their own mindless passions. He knows that in walking with Him we actually find the secrets to the life we want, which are no secrets at all, remember, He has revealed Himself. Just a note here, be very cautious of those who claim to offer you some shaman like “secrets” to life. God has already given us the road map.
What we ought to recognize, friends, is that the God of the universe, actually desires that we have a fuller life than we could ever find on our own. What we perceive to bring us fun, in the end, brings us addiction, confusion, immaturity, emotional scarring, and deception, and leaves the God-placed void unfilled. What God offers brings the expansion and fulfilling of our hopes. He actually enlarges our personality, and brings clarity to our minds. He gives vision for relationships, work, play, and all that life is made of. He redeems our failures, and ignites our hungers for things which bring a deeper sense of who we are and what life is about. He enables to fully take in beauty, and to see clearly what dangers lie in deceptive facades. As Augustine wrote, “Our hearts shall find no rest until they rest in Him”.
God is not out to steal our joy. He longs to lead us to true joy and peace and pleasure in the purest sense. All of our experiences come alive in ways we never dreamed of as we walk with Him. Sex, child-rearing, career, pastimes, music, art, reading, writing, travel, food, …all of it, comes alive in 3-D focus when God is there with us and Jesus is the One Love we crave. When we recognize that the broken attempts of a world gone mad to find life apart from a definitive view of God, as revealed in Christ, leads only to blunted frustration at best, and madness in many cases, we can exchange the lens of our culture for the lens of scripture, and thereby, see all of our existence in an entirely new and life-giving way.
Any attempt to define reality apart from God’s revealed truth is a farce, an exercise in futility. If God is not real, then none of it matters. Let the rapists, the murderers, the swindlers, the cannibals, the dictators, the terrorists, and everyone else alone. Unless God has set the boundaries we are merely a bunch of well dressed monkeys or highly tuned amoebas playing some silly game with ourselves. Unless absolute truth has been given by a God of absolute love, there is no reason to desire “fairness” or “morality”, and we should have no concept of love and beauty. Yet, as we all know, we cannot get away from those concepts. The fact that they are there points to Truth, Love, Beauty, and a giver of such things. God is all of these defined. Jesus, the living God, full of grace and truth, is our heart’s quest even if we don’t yet see it. He is all we are starving for.
May we hear His words, in high fidelity, for the first time, or new again, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Jesus. One Love. One Love, indeed. Amen.
**For more on the historical Jesus, the evidence behind His life, death, and resurrection and for the rational embrace of the Bible as God’s revealed truth and our infallible guide for life, contact Bruce directly. He can be contacted at soulstormwriter@yahoo.com
Bruce Smith
optimuslife.org
soulstormsite.com
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5. October 2009 by BruceSmith.
Christmas in October!
Answering the question of Christmas, and reality, through the lens of Easter
Paul, the writer of two thirds of the New Testament, suggested that the literal, physical, historical resurrection of Jesus is the fundamental axis point of any relationship with God. He asserts, and this is the basis of Christianity, that Christ is not only the bridge, but actually God Himself, the living bridge, come to meet us on our own turf. The message of Christmas, which we all will begin celebrating not too many days from now (ironically enough, due to the marketing machines of big retailers), actually finds its culmination in the message of Easter. In all likelihood, because the consumer price index is unexpectedly low right now, the retailers will begin the media buying onslaught even sooner than ever, if that is possible.
What is the Christmas/Easter message? God, in the flesh, in the form of a little baby, came to earth (well all like this part and all the nice songs it has given rise to)…to die, (because we are sinful and in need of God’s intervention and have no way within ourselves to bridge the gap between us and a perfectly holy God), and rise again (in order to demonstrate his conquering of sin and death and thereby provide the way for healing and resurrection of our souls, and establish for the world to see His divinity). We tend to miss or disregard this last part of the story amidst our culture’s nice holiday celebrations. After all, such violent imagery, death, and the corresponding need for forgiveness and healing just don’t mix well with the festive “holiday” atmosphere we all want. However, what we must see and actually celebrate on the deepest of levels, is the truth that more than a syrupy sweet holiday feeling, Christmas is the most radical idea the world has ever encountered. Really. Think about it. Given some thought, and accepted for all it truly is, the reality of Christmas could totally transform your life, and ignite the next 90 days ahead, and offer you a “holiday” of the soul unlike you have ever known.
So, the attempt, as we start October, is to begin the process of reflection and consideration in relation to the upcoming onslaught of holiday attention pointing toward gift season. A true understanding of the radical teaching of Christmas will also offer us a more compelling reason to give thanks in November as well. What could we, after all, be more thankful for? The deeper reality still, once understood and embraced, is that Christmas, and Easter, reverberate through our souls throughout the year. The reality of its truth is the illuminating torch for daily life. There is nothing in our lives which is not touched by the reality of this radical message. Its about how we know God, how we find internal peace and purpose, and its about how life itself is defined. Let’s take a look. We begin with a few questions.
Hitler, Manson, Bill Clinton, Billy Graham, Mother Theresa; where would you place each of these on the moral ladder?
Upon which rung would these or others be placed by God Himself?
What if your ladder differs from the ladder of others?
Can you say enough prayers, do enough good deeds, fast enough, repent enough, or do anything “good” enough to earn your acceptance before God? Can you climb the metaphorical moral ladder up to God?
How many rungs must one climb in order to reach the heavenly realms?
Who decides, ultimately, where the standard for human accomplishment and moral excellence is determined?
Which of us knows anything about the inner life, thoughts, and motivations of any of those listed above or any others?
Is there a standard?
What is it? Who is it? Where is it?
The questions above bring us to a sobering and ultimately life giving reality; we cannot climb our way to God. That is the Easter message, friends. The sweet scene of the manger is a seg-way to the cross. They both point to the reality of ultimate truth. Both scenes must be taken together as one story. Though our culture may attempt to anesthetize them both and separate them as two sentimental fairy tales, the Bible presents a much more profound and consequential view.
We will never agree on the height or width of the proverbial ladder to God. God has not intended to allow each of us to decide how we “reach” Him or understand Him. He has revealed Himself. Jesus is God’s plan to reach us. Rather than climbing some never ending moral ladder, God intends for us to walk with Christ across the bridge of the cross. The cross stands as God’s clear message that only sinless perfection will do because He is Holy and we can never hit that mark. Only Christ, the perfect one, lived a sinless life and died in our stead to make a way “across” for us. He bore the wrath of God’s fury against the sin of humanity and the sin in our hearts. In ourselves, we could not bear that wrath or atone for it. And we cannot measure ourselves against others around us in order to find our moral quotient, for “all have fallen short of God’s demand for moral perfection”. If we look at others we may feel more or less “moral” depending upon the relative moral character of those to whom we compare ourselves. But Jesus told even the most devoted religious people of His day that they fell far short of what God was calling them to. Yet He offered life to ANY who would humbly accept this truth and climb off the ladder and cry out to God for a genuine transformation of the soul.
If we have any hope of truly connecting with God and living an authentic Christian life we must abandon our hope in our own goodness and trust that God, through Christ, extends His grace to cover our sins and offer us a life of abundant grace before Him.
This Jesus, yes the historical Jesus, is alive and well and active in this world in the hearts of believers. History tells us that the grave was indeed found empty. And despite all the attempts of so called “academics” to debunk the Resurrection event, it stands today as the most important event in the History of the world. It is the reality of Jesus’ resurrection from the grave that promises us God’s activity in our lives. Again, Paul stresses that without a real, physical, historical resurrection we would be without hope. This Jesus, who fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophecies which were spoken of the Messiah hundreds of years prior (those odds make the lottery look like a slam dunk), and who healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and cast out demons, is the same Jesus that restores lives and gives clarity, purpose, meaning and significance today. Let us not doubt that Jesus was indeed who He said He was. Further, let us abandon any suggestion that this historical figure was little more than a good guy or a moral teacher. He was more, much more.
C.S. Lewis, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to”.
Jesus was indeed who He said He was, God in the flesh. As such, He was and is the Bridge to God.
The bridge calls us to Himself. Not to defeat, boredom, ignorance or blind faith, but to life, abundantly, meaning, virtue, significance, and purpose.
He is our way and our example. He shows us how inept our attempts to find life in the trinkets of this world are.
He reminds us that at the end of this game called life, all the toys get left behind. Like the game of Monopoly, at some point, the game is over and all the real estate, money, possessions—it all goes back in the box. And once we get placed in our “box” and get put six feet under, the toys really lose their appeal.
Malcolm Muggeride writes, “Reaching after perfection by dying in order to be reborn, sloughing off the old man, our fleshly being, as a snake does its old skin irrespective of whether it is frail or robust, ungainly or comely, drab or dazzling. In giving the blind back their sight Jesus made us understand that we are all anyway in need of seeing eyes. When the crippled and even the dead rose up at his behest, they illustrated a truth more ineffable than any miracle—that in suffering and dying we live, while in living and abounding for life’s own sake alone we sicken and die”.
Jesus, the man, the living Christ, was and is real and offers us our only way to connect to God in a real and meaningful way. He told us that He came to give life and to give it abundantly. He was born, lived, died, and rose again to demonstrate this truth to us. He is your ticket to meaning, purpose, and healing. He is the basis of all truth, and standard of measurement for all we face and decide upon. We begin with Him, and bring His teaching to bear on the questions of our age and culture. His truth and teaching have direct implications on how we do family, relationships, pleasure, pain, work, play, …all of it. The wonderful reality is that God has chosen to reveal Himself, and actually desires to be actively involved with our lives, and desires what is best for us! His revealed truth and guidance for us is a demonstration of His love toward us. He has not left us guessing, He offers us the way out of darkness, confusion, and misguided thinking, and leads us into the light of truth which sets us free in more ways than we can imagine. Indeed, Christmas, seen through the lens of Easter and the fullness of God’s message to humanity, is the most radically thrilling message the world has ever encountered. It is the launching pad for living, as it opens to us the journey of truth God has offered us in His word. Because we can live in the assurance of God’s revelation to humanity, and His provision through Christ Jesus, we can trust His full plan for us, revealed in the Bible, as our compass for all we meet in this life. By trusting His way, and His teaching all of our experiences are transformed. To know we have a God who makes the way clear for us is a joy unknown to those closed off to the possibility that God takes such radical and loving steps to speak to His creations.
May we see Christmas for all it is this year, long before our world attempts to sell us on a message that falls woefully short of God’s full message. Indeed, though it may sound trite, Christ must be kept in Christmas. Should we try to remove His life, death, resurrection, and teaching, what we have left is something short of biblical Christianity.
Bruce Smith
optimuslife.org
soulstormsite.com
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