meditatio at the water's edge

Just popping in to say "Hi." I don't have access at home, so I am posting from work. That's why I've been silent on the blog for the last month. Torie and I are almost done with things in the new house, so that's a relief. I might post some pics sometime. I now have a new sympathy for people who are involved with building or remodeling a house. It can really be all-consuming. Maybe life can get back to being concerned with other things now.

I've been thinking through some things like this:

Standing by the Least
It is very tempting to insulate ourselves from the pain in the world. Sometimes we do it by hanging out with people who seem to ‘have it all together.’ Sometimes we do it by huddling in the safety of our own homes. Sometimes we do it by staying busy with our own projects.

I’ll be the first to admit that needy people are hard for me to be around. People with problems (and I mean significant problems, not the little problems we all have) are major drains on the schedule because it takes time to listen to them. It takes time to keep listening to them. Sometimes I want to say, “Get a grip, get a clue, and get a life!”

But I’m following Jesus—trying to learn how to live life from him—and that means that I had better stop trying to insulate myself from hurting people and start standing by the least.

Jesus was pretty clear about the fact that we are not to play favorites with the people who ‘have it all together’ while ignoring those who don’t. In fact, that kind of approach to life is dangerous.

Read through the prophets and you’ll see that God is always on the side of those who are hurting and ignored and oppressed. And that means that if you are ignoring or oppressing them, you are walking headlong against the will of God—and that is a dangerous way to live.

A better way to live is to walk with God’s wind at your back (like the old Irish blessing--thanks to Brian McLarenfor this image), being directed by the Spirit to stand by the least, the last, and the lost. Then you’ll be in good company.

So look around you and think about the people who are in pain (from illness, mental challenges, chemical imbalances, poverty, unemployment, divorce, death, etc.). Stand by them, spend time listening to them, and be ready to help them where you can.

Let’s be a people who go out of our way to stand by the least—to love people like Jesus did.

and this:

Contentment and Complacency

The line between contentment and complacency is a thin one sometimes. When is striving for more wrong? When is settling for less wrong?

I think the answer to this may come as we think about who we are called to be. We are called to be God’s peculiar people on this planet—extraordinary in the way we love, serve, rejoice, give, and forgive. We are called to be a people who trust that God will provide for our needs, and we are called to be a people that seeks first the kingdom of God (the ruling and reigning of God).

We are called to share in the Revolution of God (another way of saying the kingdom of God) as our lives together are transformed according to the image of our Creator (Colossians 3:1-17). This is a revolution because it challenges the assumptions of self-centered living (whether that be on the part of individuals, corporations, or countries).

Now, here’s where contentment and complacency come in. As we seek first the Revolution of God, trusting that God will provide for our needs (Matt 6:25-34), we can be content with what God has provided. We no longer define ourselves by what other people think of us (how much money we have, what clothes we wear, who we hang out with, what kind of job we have, etc.) . This does not mean that it is wrong to be successful—it simply means our value is not determined by the things we have or the accomplishments we make.

Therefore, we can be free from the anxiety that culture can place upon us—we can be content whether we have much or whether we have little.

Where we will not be complacent, however, is in our pursuit of God’s Revolution. We will run hand-in-hand and headlong into our pursuit of seeing God become king over our lives and the whole world! We won’t tolerate spiritual infancies any longer—not because we’re angry, but because we love each other too much to let people believe that ‘crossing the line’ is all there is.

So be content with what you have, but don’t become complacent in seeking God and sharing in His Revolution.

So what do you think?