Last night my wife and I played a game together called Rumikub. If you are not familiar with it, the game consists of a bunch of numbered tiles that you match up in ordered sets. Well, this morning, Adrian noticed the game and asked me to open it up for him. I knew he would enjoy playing with all of the tiles and setting them up on the racks like the picture on the box indicated, so I opened the box for him.
He played with the tiles for more than 15 minutes - which, for an 18-month's-attention-span, is pretty good. Eventually, he discovered the two tiles that were labeled as jokers/wilds. They had little faces painted on them instead of numbers. Out of all of the tiles, Adrian had settled on two that he wanted to play with. He put them on the racks and carried them around the house on little plastic plates. He knew that these tiles were more special than all of the others - and he treated them as such.
Lately, I've been questioning if God cares about individuals or if he is more interested in his creation as a whole. In other words, does God see his creation as billions of special creations or does he see it as a single creation? I've been questioning if God sees me as a Joker amongst a pile of numbered tiles or if all he sees is a pile of tiles - because, I feel more like one of the numbered tiles, one among many. I'm not sure if I would be the one to stand out as something special/unique. Does God really care about the particularities of our lives?
It seems in stirring up a bunch of tiles, Adrian has stirred up a bunch of thoughts in my mind.
Enthusiastic Life
The teaching that was given at church this morning spoke to me in a powerful way. The scripture meditation was taken from Revelation 3:14-22. It is the letter written to the Laodiceans - the church that is neither hot nor cold, but is the lukewarm spiritually charged people who will be spit out of the mouth of God. The message presented today was that American spirituality as a whole is lukewarm. American Christianity is an apathetic spirituality that may not be blasphemous, but neither is it the empowered joyous life of the Spirit that identifies all that is of God. (Perhaps this is not what the teacher said - but what I heard.)
What I heard was that we are called to live enthusiastic lives as Christians. Enthusiasm is what the early Christians described as the feeling that follows a person who comes to faith. (see the wikipedia definition) Literally, enthusiasm is being "in God." It is this place of being in God that we find joy. Enthusiastic people are Christians who are on fire (really hot) for God.
I sense that I have been trying to attain a lukewarm lifestyle. This can be applied in my spiritual life and within my personal life of being a husband and father. Whenever the opportunity of living in God, of being an enthusiastic/passionate person, has been presented, I've denied it in fear of failure.
Today, I've been reminded that God is not someone who is moderately controlled and safe. God loves extravagantly. God's wrath is like a raging fire. His mercy is as wide as the ocean. He is a God who is aggressive and unashamed - and therefore he is a beautiful, passionate, good God.
Today, I've been reminded that God wants the same kind of life for us. To be husbands who love extravagantly and fathers who extend wide mercy.
What I heard was that we are called to live enthusiastic lives as Christians. Enthusiasm is what the early Christians described as the feeling that follows a person who comes to faith. (see the wikipedia definition) Literally, enthusiasm is being "in God." It is this place of being in God that we find joy. Enthusiastic people are Christians who are on fire (really hot) for God.
I sense that I have been trying to attain a lukewarm lifestyle. This can be applied in my spiritual life and within my personal life of being a husband and father. Whenever the opportunity of living in God, of being an enthusiastic/passionate person, has been presented, I've denied it in fear of failure.
Today, I've been reminded that God is not someone who is moderately controlled and safe. God loves extravagantly. God's wrath is like a raging fire. His mercy is as wide as the ocean. He is a God who is aggressive and unashamed - and therefore he is a beautiful, passionate, good God.
Today, I've been reminded that God wants the same kind of life for us. To be husbands who love extravagantly and fathers who extend wide mercy.
Saying Bye-bye
Tonight I had so much fun playing a new game that Adrian started. It's basically a version of hide and seek. It starts when he says "Bye-bye." and begins closing the door of his bedroom. Then I hide from him and he comes back in to find me. If he doesn't see me right away, he'll start crying "Da?!" and looking down the hall - as if I magically left the room without him seeing me. Then I will come from behind him and startle him. He inevitably jumps and bursts into laughter. He sometimes runs away from me - just begging me to chase him down the hall. I tackle him and squeeze and tickle him and let him know that I'm not lost. I'm right there with him. Then he turns and looks at me and says, "Bye-bye." The game never ends.
At the same time that I'm celebrating the joy of play with my son, I'm reflecting on the conversation I had today with a woman who is anticipating the death of her father. She has been saying goodbye to her father now for several months as his body continues to grow weaker.
I'm not sure there is much else to say... Except that it's days like this that I find incredible hope in God. Without my faith in God, the pull between joy and sorrow will only lead to despair. But in God, our "bye-byes" will always be welcomed by running down the hall in laughter, falling into an embrace and getting up to do it all over again.
At the same time that I'm celebrating the joy of play with my son, I'm reflecting on the conversation I had today with a woman who is anticipating the death of her father. She has been saying goodbye to her father now for several months as his body continues to grow weaker.
I'm not sure there is much else to say... Except that it's days like this that I find incredible hope in God. Without my faith in God, the pull between joy and sorrow will only lead to despair. But in God, our "bye-byes" will always be welcomed by running down the hall in laughter, falling into an embrace and getting up to do it all over again.
Waking Up To God's Kingdom - Part 2
I feel inspired to write a few thoughts after listening to Rob Bell's message "Beware of the Dogs." (You can listen to this at the Mars Hill website.) At one point in his message he spoke of some psychological terminology - namely: egocentric, ethno- or tribalcentric and worldcentric worldviews. Essentially, they mean that our perspectives are either "me centered," "us centered," or "world inclusive" respectively (at least this is how I understood them). So as children grow up, hopefully, they move through this progression till they arive at a worldcentric perspctive.
The informing and convicting teaching that I just recieved is this: While I am trying to establish for Adrian a solid egocentric base of trust to start his life from, and as I begin to challenge his being to step into a more tribalcentric worldview (namely..."Why can't you throw your yogurt into my face?!! ... Because I said so!"), I am also challenged as a member of Christ's-worldwide-and-centuries-long-body, to move myself out of the comfort of a tribalcentric (or American-suburban-postmodern-Christianity) worldview and into the risky waters of a worldcentric faith. So it seems that both Adrian and I have some waking up to do. I imagine that when we open our eyes we might find there is a whole world around us that we can find beauty in.
The informing and convicting teaching that I just recieved is this: While I am trying to establish for Adrian a solid egocentric base of trust to start his life from, and as I begin to challenge his being to step into a more tribalcentric worldview (namely..."Why can't you throw your yogurt into my face?!! ... Because I said so!"), I am also challenged as a member of Christ's-worldwide-and-centuries-long-body, to move myself out of the comfort of a tribalcentric (or American-suburban-postmodern-Christianity) worldview and into the risky waters of a worldcentric faith. So it seems that both Adrian and I have some waking up to do. I imagine that when we open our eyes we might find there is a whole world around us that we can find beauty in.
Waking up to God's Kingdom
I love spending time with Adrian when he wakes up from his naps. I would probably love the morning times a little more if it weren't for the fact that I am trying to wake up myself. Usually Adrian likes to take his time waking up from a nap. Sometimes he'll wake up crying in a way that says "I don't want to wake up yet!" When I pick him up, he settles into my arms and I get to help him rediscover the world around him.
Sometimes, what I like to do is to sit with him in a chair by the window and let him look at the world outside. He will just sit there staring out at the movement of the trees and the sound of the breeze. At the house where we are living, there is a small creek that runs through the backyard. You can almost always spot a squirrel or a rabbit and all kinds of birds. I even spotted what looked like a beaver once. Adrian will point to his special find and say "do", which I think means, "Look at that!" It is so fun to see him discover a world in motion that has been sitting outside the door all this time.
A couple of days ago I was sitting with Adrian after one of his naps and I thought about how hard it is for us to acknowledge the realities around us. It seems I spend most of my time living within my own reality - and when it comes time to wake up from it, I'm not too happy about it. I thought of the evening when Jesus taught Nicodemus that he must be born again in order to see the Kingdom of God (John 3). Perhaps living the Kingdom-life is a bit like waking up from a deep sleep. We become aware of an entire world at our fingertips that we never even noticed before. We notice the beauty of it in a way that makes us say, "Look at that!" and we can tell that God's had his hand in it.
Sometimes, what I like to do is to sit with him in a chair by the window and let him look at the world outside. He will just sit there staring out at the movement of the trees and the sound of the breeze. At the house where we are living, there is a small creek that runs through the backyard. You can almost always spot a squirrel or a rabbit and all kinds of birds. I even spotted what looked like a beaver once. Adrian will point to his special find and say "do", which I think means, "Look at that!" It is so fun to see him discover a world in motion that has been sitting outside the door all this time.
A couple of days ago I was sitting with Adrian after one of his naps and I thought about how hard it is for us to acknowledge the realities around us. It seems I spend most of my time living within my own reality - and when it comes time to wake up from it, I'm not too happy about it. I thought of the evening when Jesus taught Nicodemus that he must be born again in order to see the Kingdom of God (John 3). Perhaps living the Kingdom-life is a bit like waking up from a deep sleep. We become aware of an entire world at our fingertips that we never even noticed before. We notice the beauty of it in a way that makes us say, "Look at that!" and we can tell that God's had his hand in it.
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