Celebrity make over
I was watching TV the other day and an advertisement came on for a new show. It was billed as “Capture the style of your favorite celebrity.” I started thinking why would I want to be like a celebrity? Why would people want to be like a celebrity? What portion of the human condition does this speak to? What neediness does it fill? Then I decided to play along, what celebrity do I like? Then I thought do I really want to change the way I live, just to be like someone else? What star does that for me? Wow, that is a short list.
Then I started thinking about what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Am I just trying to capture the “style” of Christ? To put on the outward trappings of a style just seems so shallow. I remember what Jesus said to Nicodemus. “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” This does not sound like putting on some kind of veneer, an outward pretence of being like Jesus. It is a remaking from the inside that is then evidenced on the outside.
What is so cool about this process with God is that we become our true selves. We begin to stop pretending to be someone else, and become who God made us to be. It frees me from wanting to be like some celebrity, yet draws me to becoming truly Christ like. In the process of becoming Christ like, God shows me who I truly am. This is not a journey without pain; however, it is an infinitely good journey. CS Lewis said “I have never met a mere mortal.” Lewis is saying we are all important. We do not need to become like a celebrity because we are all stars.
Allow God to show you who you really are, and then you can really shine. “For if the father has set you free then you are free indeed”
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Splinter
While in seminary we lived in an old house that needed constant work. While doing that work one day I got a splinter in my finger. It was a nice hard oak splinter from the oak floors. I thought that I got the entire splinter out, yet whenever I bumped my finger I still had pain. It was an indication that something was still below the surface, yet I could not find it. One afternoon I pressed on the wound and still felt pain and tightness just below the skin. So, I then applied more pressure, and with a sudden burst out came the splinter, along with some other stuff. For that very short moment while I applied the pressure it also hurt, then if felt much better. The healing process then took place.
The wood not being a true portion of my body was being rejected, causing pain and festering. The splinter reminds me of being wounded by another person. The splinter from the tree can become a bitter root planted under our skin. Some splinters run deeper than others. A little bump or some pressure on the wound makes us again feel the pain. Hebrews 12:15 tells us, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” The removal of the splinter from the wound will cause pain, yet it is necessary for healing. The splinter must come out. In my unwillingness to face the pain of removing the splinter in the first place, I allowed the splinter to remain and fester, but my body would not allow the splinter to remain. My body reminded me at ever bump.
Are the bumps and pressures of life making you experience again an old pain? Is there a broken splinter just below the surface? Remember the pain of removing the splinter is often needed before healing can take place.
Wood workers know that splinters are inevitable. They also know that everyone gets them and they need to be removed and there is no shame in that. In life people inflict wounds on one another. If you need to have a bitter root removed there is no shame in that, other than in not removing it. We gather as small groups to help expose buried splinters and remove them.
While in seminary we lived in an old house that needed constant work. While doing that work one day I got a splinter in my finger. It was a nice hard oak splinter from the oak floors. I thought that I got the entire splinter out, yet whenever I bumped my finger I still had pain. It was an indication that something was still below the surface, yet I could not find it. One afternoon I pressed on the wound and still felt pain and tightness just below the skin. So, I then applied more pressure, and with a sudden burst out came the splinter, along with some other stuff. For that very short moment while I applied the pressure it also hurt, then if felt much better. The healing process then took place.
The wood not being a true portion of my body was being rejected, causing pain and festering. The splinter reminds me of being wounded by another person. The splinter from the tree can become a bitter root planted under our skin. Some splinters run deeper than others. A little bump or some pressure on the wound makes us again feel the pain. Hebrews 12:15 tells us, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” The removal of the splinter from the wound will cause pain, yet it is necessary for healing. The splinter must come out. In my unwillingness to face the pain of removing the splinter in the first place, I allowed the splinter to remain and fester, but my body would not allow the splinter to remain. My body reminded me at ever bump.
Are the bumps and pressures of life making you experience again an old pain? Is there a broken splinter just below the surface? Remember the pain of removing the splinter is often needed before healing can take place.
Wood workers know that splinters are inevitable. They also know that everyone gets them and they need to be removed and there is no shame in that. In life people inflict wounds on one another. If you need to have a bitter root removed there is no shame in that, other than in not removing it. We gather as small groups to help expose buried splinters and remove them.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Habits
Our lives are formed by our habits. I think we often like to dress up the idea of habits with words like devotion, and discipline; but, for me the simplicity of it comes down to habits. Then it boils down to, do my habits exhibit my goals? That is, do my daily habits align with the results I desire? Paul speaks to us about running a good race. I want to talk about training for that race. Are my habits conducive to being a good runner? The great athletes will tell you that the game is won in the preparation. The great ones have excellent training habits. I put forth that it is our habits that form us, or more precisely, conform us to Christ. In a society that wants an instant fix this is not a glamorous look at the Christian life.
The simple example in my life is that in seminary I fell out of the habit of shaving every morning. It seems so trivial, yet now it has taken me a few months of getting back in the habit of shaving every day. Now that it has been a part of my routine again for several months it is again a habit. Something that I viewed as a pain, as extra trouble, has now become integrated into my life.
As a Christian do my habits include, reading the word? Am I in prayer? Do I live in Christian community? Do I worship? Am I in Christian service? Are these my habits?
Do I have the habits of a disciple of Christ? If so then through the Holy Spirit I am being conformed to Christ.
Our lives are formed by our habits. I think we often like to dress up the idea of habits with words like devotion, and discipline; but, for me the simplicity of it comes down to habits. Then it boils down to, do my habits exhibit my goals? That is, do my daily habits align with the results I desire? Paul speaks to us about running a good race. I want to talk about training for that race. Are my habits conducive to being a good runner? The great athletes will tell you that the game is won in the preparation. The great ones have excellent training habits. I put forth that it is our habits that form us, or more precisely, conform us to Christ. In a society that wants an instant fix this is not a glamorous look at the Christian life.
The simple example in my life is that in seminary I fell out of the habit of shaving every morning. It seems so trivial, yet now it has taken me a few months of getting back in the habit of shaving every day. Now that it has been a part of my routine again for several months it is again a habit. Something that I viewed as a pain, as extra trouble, has now become integrated into my life.
As a Christian do my habits include, reading the word? Am I in prayer? Do I live in Christian community? Do I worship? Am I in Christian service? Are these my habits?
Do I have the habits of a disciple of Christ? If so then through the Holy Spirit I am being conformed to Christ.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)