Consider Jesus (Hebrews 3:1-6)

One of the curious things in the New Testament is the call for Christians to “consider Jesus.” Wouldn’t you think that was why people were Christians in the first place, they had already considered Jesus and said, “Yes?” Certainly, the Christian community is always inviting others to consider Jesus. This invitation is based on the fact that we believe any serious comparison with other options will come up short when measure up against Jesus.

            But we are invited by the writer of Hebrews to “consider Jesus”( Hebrews 3:1). It is a communal consideration because the author identifies holy brothers and sisters who “share in the heavenly call.” Only those who share in such a call can fully grasp together what it means to really consider Jesus. Such consideration opens us up to who Jesus really is and what he is up to.

            He is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. Some people have thought that this confession is actually found in the Prologue of the letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 1:1-4). Jesus being called an “Apostle” simply means that he was sent with a mission. We are to collectively consider that mission. When we say on occasion that “it is not about us,” we need to further declare that “It is about Jesus being sent with a mission, and we join him.”

            Jesus is also High Priest. Since most of us have not come to the faith from a background of Judaism with its sacrificial practices attached to the priestly role, it may be hard to grasp Jesus in these terms. But this metaphor is to indicate the humanity of Jesus, the priestly role of Jesus, the sympathizing role of Jesus, and his being appointed by God. No wonder we are challenged to consider his role more closely!

            We never get too “holy” or too “faithful” or too “good” but what we need to periodically stop and consider Jesus! Who was he and what was he up to when he came to this earth? Am I aware of his various roles and the daily difference it makes in my spiritual journey?

            For Christian leaders, this may seem too elementary, but it is not. There is a communal call to consider Jesus that grounds leadership in its servanthood posture. Christian leaders who consider Jesus also consider others! Leading is nothing more than visionary serving! When we Christian leaders consider Jesus we also consider the impact of our loving service on the health of the community of faith. When we consider Jesus, we also consider the morale of the group. High morale is an outcome of servant-leading. Faithful expectation, living hope and deference to others as way of servant-leading is only possible from spending time in the presence of Jesus considering him!

            In my own lifetime of pastoral leadership, I am painfully aware of those situations and opportunities where I did not consider Jesus. I considered myself too much. The relinquishment of self and the surrender of personal agendas only comes about when considering Jesus. As is evident from all of this, wise discernment and spiritual maturity comes about when we spend time considering Jesus.

           

                In Christian love, Curtis                  

Jesus Shares in Flesh and Blood (Hebrews 2:14-18)

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (ESV).

A flesh and blood Jesus is hard for us to imagine. We have wrapped him up in divinity and tied him up with a bow of respectability for so long we cannot fathom his humanity. We have espoused belief in his humanity, but I am not sure we fully understand what we are claiming. Too often we limit our faith-claim of his humanity by saying he needed to identify with us. Such is indeed true, but the writer of Hebrews uses that as a starting point for some further extraordinary claims about Jesus being flesh and blood.

            Not only does Jesus identify with our humanity, but it was necessary for Jesus to be wrapped in flesh so that he might destroy the power of the devil.  The writer of Hebrews is clear about this. The devil has the power of death. But because Jesus was raised from the dead, he no longer has the final say.

            Not only does Jesus identify with our humanity, but he delivered those who were in life-long bondage to the fear of death. A non-Christian lives with a life-long bondage of the fear of death. Since perfect love casts out fear, we know that the love of Jesus has freed us from the bondage of death.

            Not only does Jesus identify with our humanity, but he had to be human in order to be involved in his high priestly service toward God. Christ was made like us in every respect. His humanity was the incarnational context of his faithful service as a high priest. He has given us the power to embody our faithful service also.

            Not only does Jesus identify with our humanity, but he suffered so that he is able to help those who are tempted. Suffering and temptation grate on the soul. The potential of defection and despair lurk at our heels in the midst of living out our humanity in this world. Jesus is able to help us in those situations when we come to the end of our rope.

            We thank our God that Jesus shares in flesh and blood!

For Christian leaders, think of what this means: we do not fear the power of the devil, nor do we fear death. Additionally, our own flawed humanity provides the context for faithful service as we embody the life of Jesus through the power of God’s Spirit. And finally, we do not have to give in to the temptations of leadership identified by Richard Foster and others as: money, sex and power. That unholy trinity is defeated by the resurrected Lord. We who are Christian leaders need Jesus who shares in our flesh and blood. We could wish for nothing more wonderful!

In Christian love, Curtis

Are Selfies Selfish? The Hardest Journey is Inward

 We live in a day and time when our English vocabulary is changing rapidly to keep up with the digital world. A new word that has come into vogue just within the last year or so is “selfie.”  Usually it is pronounced with a smile and an individual only too willing to share their “selfie” with you.

Now to be fair, I think selfies have come about innocently. There was the need originally to post our face on Facebook, or fill out our profile on Google Chrome. Then along came the I Pad and IPhone where we posted selfies so that when our number rang on others’ phone our selfie would pop up. Everywhere we look selfies are popping up. I wonder if this innocent sociological phenomenon is saying more than we realize about ourselves?

            You may remember in the News earlier this year where a young lady took her selfie on an I-Pad and moments later was killed, apparently distracted from her driving. She even posted with her selfie that she loved listening to a particular song she was playing at the moment. Distraction from life can be a real danger.

Selfies can be selfish.

Selfishness is not the same as self-care. The latter is wholesome and healthy, while the former is not. The latter recognizes that a healthy self is necessary to be able to live life and serve others. The former is unhealthy and never comes to the point where it values the life of others.

My own story of extreme selfishness as I look back has been a painful one. I remember when I had been married a few years, that one day I came across this following question in a book that just hit me between the eyes:

“Do I care enough about the ones I love that I am willing to train myself away from selfishness and genuinely seek to serve their needs ahead of my own?”

The question shocked and astounded me. Of course I was not that willing! I had been hit between the eyes with a baseball bat, so to speak, and shocked into reality…I was one selfish dude. I immediately did three things each day for the next month: I prayed that God would help me change, I read a Scripture and/or wise saying about selfishness, and I initiated doing one thing for my family out of a sheer desire to learn how to serve and be less selfish.

God honored this traumatic emergency of the inward journey where I had to change direction drastically! My family will tell you I still have a long way to go!

A few years ago after this event I went on a contemplative retreat so I could deal with my inner demons of selfishness. I found a mosaic on the Retreat center wall that said the following: ”…In the spiritual life…progress will be in proportion to…surrender of self-love, and of self-will and of self-interests.” I am not there yet, by a long shot! But I was impressed by this saying that I sat down in the hallway on the floor and copied it into the front flyleaf of my study Bible.

Consequently, I know that have been hard lessons I have learned because of my own selfishness:

1.     Others’ problems are as important as my own.

2.     I can deeply hurt others without meaning to.

3.     When putting myself first in line, I can be embarrassingly asked to go to the back of the line.

4.     I have used people and value things, when it should be the other way around!

5.     Instead of serving, I want to be served.

6.     Instead of caring for others, I have wanted to be the center of attention.

7.     I have learned the hard way that my time, my talents, my opportunities, my resources, etc. are not really mine. They are given to me by God to manage faithfully and responsibly.

8.     When I dismiss others’ ideas as unimportant, I devalue their character.

9.     The world is not about me!

10.                         Others are just as important to God as I am!

11.                         I have ashamedly changed the Golden Rule to the Iron Rule: might makes right, and I will do unto others before they do it unto me.

12.                         Finally, I have had to live with the regrets of life where I have made it all about me, not being open to the pain and suffering of others.

“If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand” (Philippians 2:1-4 Message).

This quote above from the Message by Eugene Peterson makes it painfully clear that the hardest journey is the one inward. Give me a mountain in the Smokies  to climb, but don’t ask me to traverse the terrain of a selfish heart! The pathway is blocked by the downed trees of self-centeredness, the sliding rocks of self-interest and the precarious precipice of self-love. I desperately need someone other than myself to be the guide on this journey. I do not trust myself to take me where I really need to go. In desperation I reach out to Jesus because he is the ultimate example of self-sacrifice for a cause greater than himself. No joy in a selfie here!

So, are selfies selfish? They can be. Can selfies be selfless? Only with a  lot of prayerful, careful effort to make sure that self is not the center of the universe! Have you made the difficult inward journey yet?

In Christian love, Curtis     

Are Selfies Selfish? The Hardest Journey is Inward

         We live in a day and time when our English vocabulary is changing rapidly to keep up with the digital world. A new word that has come into vogue just within the last year or so is “selfie.”  Usually it is pronounced with a smile and an individual only too willing to share their “selfie” with you.

Now to be fair, I think selfies have come about innocently. There was the need originally to post our face on Facebook, or fill out our profile on Google Chrome. Then along came the I Pad and IPhone where we posted selfies so that when our number rang on others’ phone our selfie would pop up. Everywhere we look selfies are popping up. I wonder if this innocent sociological phenomenon is saying more than we realize about ourselves?

            You may remember in the News earlier this year where a young lady took her selfie on an I-Pad and moments later was killed, apparently distracted from her driving. She even posted with her selfie that she loved listening to a particular song she was playing at the moment. Distraction from life can be a real danger.

Selfies can be selfish.

Selfishness is not the same as self-care. The latter is wholesome and healthy, while the former is not. The latter recognizes that a healthy self is necessary to be able to live life and serve others. The former is unhealthy and never comes to the point where it values the life of others.

My own story of extreme selfishness as I look back has been a painful one. I remember when I had been married a few years, that one day I came across this following question in a book that just hit me between the eyes:

“Do I care enough about the ones I love that I am willing to train myself away from selfishness and genuinely seek to serve their needs ahead of my own?”

The question shocked and astounded me. Of course I was not that willing! I had been hit between the eyes with a baseball bat, so to speak, and shocked into reality…I was one selfish dude. I immediately did three things each day for the next month: I prayed that God would help me change, I read a Scripture and/or wise saying about selfishness, and I initiated doing one thing for my family out of a sheer desire to learn how to serve and be less selfish.

God honored this traumatic emergency of the inward journey where I had to change direction drastically! My family will tell you I still have a long way to go!

A few years ago after this event I went on a contemplative retreat so I could deal with my inner demons of selfishness. I found a mosaic on the Retreat center wall that said the following: ”…In the spiritual life…progress will be in proportion to…surrender of self-love, and of self-will and of self-interests.” I am not there yet, by a long shot! But I was impressed by this saying that I sat down in the hallway on the floor and copied it into the front flyleaf of my study Bible.

Consequently, I know that have been hard lessons I have learned because of my own selfishness:

1.     Others’ problems are as important as my own.

2.     I can deeply hurt others without meaning to.

3.     When putting myself first in line, I can be embarrassingly asked to go to the back of the line.

4.     I have used people and value things, when it should be the other way around!

5.     Instead of serving, I want to be served.

6.     Instead of caring for others, I have wanted to be the center of attention.

7.     I have learned the hard way that my time, my talents, my opportunities, my resources, etc. are not really mine. They are given to me by God to manage faithfully and responsibly.

8.     When I dismiss others’ ideas as unimportant, I devalue their character.

9.     The world is not about me!

10.  Others are just as important to God as I am!

11.  I have ashamedly changed the Golden Rule to the Iron Rule: might makes right, and I will do unto others before they do it unto me.

12.  Finally, I have had to live with the regrets of life where I have made it all about me, not being open to the pain and suffering of others.

“If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand” (Philippians 2:1-4 Message).

This quote above from the Message by Eugene Peterson makes it painfully clear that the hardest journey is the one inward. Give me a mountain in the Smokies  to climb, but don’t ask me to traverse the terrain of a selfish heart! The pathway is blocked by the downed trees of self-centeredness, the sliding rocks of self-interest and the precarious precipice of self-love. I desperately need someone other than myself to be the guide on this journey. I do not trust myself to take me where I really need to go. In desperation I reach out to Jesus because he is the ultimate example of self-sacrifice for a cause greater than himself. No joy in a selfie here!

So, are selfies selfish? They can be. Can selfies be selfless? Only with a  lot of prayerful, careful effort to make sure that self is not the center of the universe! Have you made the difficult inward journey yet?

In Christian love, Curtis     

My Word of Exhortation

This Wednesday evening, September 3, is the beginning of a new study for adults in the auditorium. It will be a focus on the book of Hebrews entitled, “My Word of Exhortation.” This is the phrase the writer of Hebrews himself uses to describe this book.           

 There are several exhortations scattered all through the book of Hebrews. They begin in our English Bibles with the words, “Let us…” In the course of our study we will highlight these exhortations, and see what promise they hold for the life of the church today.           

 In 2013 Jacobus Kok wrote some an article highlighting the function of moral exhortation in the book of James. 4 of his several categories appear to help enlighten us about its usage in the book of Hebrews. Consequently, the function of exhortations has at least the following concerns: ethics of the community, context of honest and frank speech, acting according to identity, and mutual responsibility.   

Exhortation is designed to keep the ethical guidelines before the faith community. What is not verbally spoken before the community becomes lost. Expectations of living and ethical parameters need constant reminders.            

Exhortation is given in the context of frank and open speech. This frankness and openness allows the community of faith to address what is systemically a problem.   

Exhortation reminds readers of their fundamental identity. Living the Christian life needs constant encouragement for those who claim to be Christian.            

Finally, exhortation is seen as a mutual responsibility. It is given and received by all. This ebb and flow of giving and receiving moral exhortations keeps the entire community sensitive to the wisdom and guidance of all.    

Therefore, let us attend  the Wednesday night auditorium class!In Christian love, Curtis

What is the Church?

Recently Dr. Wendell Willis shared his frustration with his students at Abilene Christian University who do not share his passion for the New Testament teaching about the church (see his article: “The Erosion of Community—A Challenge to the Church,” Christian Studies No. 25, 2011-2012; pages 9-19). Even though many of the students would be characterized as committed believers at some level, most do not have a solid belief about the church, “nor do they see a need for one” (p. 9).

            It raises a fundamental question: does the church exist to cater to my felt needs and keep me happy, or does the church exist as a visible community for me to be committed to as the ongoing work of God? This question frames the “continental divide” for us regarding the nature of the church. Our culture has deeply ingrained in all of us that institutions, organizations and groups exist to meet all of our needs. This supersedes any thought of my committing myself to serve in such a setting.

            I am especially intrigued with the first two occurrences of the word “church” (ekklesia) in the New Testament. They are both in the Gospel of Matthew (16:18 & 18:17). The first reference talks about the nature and power of the church, and the second reference points out the key role that church has in the reconciliation of relationships. The church is built upon a confessional recognition of Jesus as Lord, and even death itself cannot prevent this community of faith forming. Additionally, this community of faith is the context where reconciliation occurs because of the initial reconciling work of God in Christ for that community to start with! What a place to start with our ideas regarding the nature and need for the church!

In Christian love, Curtis

Meeting God in Prayer

The Christian faith travels a continuum. It goes from believing about, to believing in, to believing together. Sometimes this “believing together” is spoken of in the Scriptures in two ways: meeting God and covenant faithfulness.

            In the Old Testament Moses goes up into the mountain to meet God. In that meeting Moses is given the Ten Commandments. Joshua tells the entire congregation of Israel to get ready to meet God the next day to worship Him.

            Probably the most well known expression of this is found in the Psalms.

Psalm 42:2

“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”

        God created each one of us to have a deep thirst for Him. Only the Living Waters from the Living God can quench the thirst of my living soul. The Psalmist is so sensitive and aware of this inner reality that he asks the question regarding the next time he can go and meet with God? We begin with meeting God in prayer.

             “Many Christians suffer under the assumption that they should automatically know how to pray…Sometimes, however, we need guidance—we need to learn to pray” [Bryant, Stephen D. (1999). “Meeting God in Pray.” Spiritual Formation Bible. Nashville, TN: Upper Room Publishers; page 164].

            An unnamed disciple one day apparently heard Jesus praying in a certain place. When Jesus had finished (don’t you wish we had the words of that prayer!), he made this request: “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1). What this particular anonymous disciple knew about John teaching his disciples to pray we are not told. But based on that knowledge, and apparently overhearing Jesus’ own prayer, he was vitally interested in prayer.

            In response to this request, Jesus gives what we call the model prayer, or The Lord’s Prayer. Perhaps we need to call it the “Disciples Prayer” because Jesus really offers it for them. Let us each pursue this prayer as Jesus’ answer for our own deep request to learn how to pray!

In Christian love, Curtis

GARDENER OF MY SOUL

Many of you reading this article have already begun early spring garden preparations. I have learned many things through the years in a garden. In addition to the hard work required for a garden to produce, there are many spiritual lessons and connections to be made while one is getting their hands in the dirt. I want to briefly point out some. No doubt, you could contribute additional perspectives from your own experience.

            First, the conditions have to be right in order for the seeds and bulbs to grow. For example, if the soil is too damp and too cold, tomato plants will just sit there and their leaves will turn yellow. They need the warm days, and the humid nights to take off and grow. On one occasion Jesus likened the human heart and its receptivity to his divine lessons to conditions of the soil. There was the good soil. There was the rocky soil—giving opportunity for quick growth, but the plants wilted because there was no depth. There was the hardened path that had been walked on—the seed lying on the surface just right for the birds to pick up. And there was the thorny, weedy soil where the plants couldn’t grow because they were choked out. So, the preparation of my heart to hear life-changing messages needs constant attention against shallowness, hard heartedness and carelessness.

            Second, seeds need to be planted. The colors of flowers and vegetables that will eventually come later in the spring, summer and fall are pictured on the package. Whoever puts the picture on the package is sending out the message of hope for a harvest: “If you plant these seeds, this is what it will look like.” In my life, seeds will be planted in two ways: my seed-thoughts that affect my life and behavior; and golden-thoughts planted in the hearts and minds of young people. The thoughts and deeds we implant in the hearts of young people are offered with an incredible belief of hope in the future!

            Third, have you noticed the difference between a fertilized plant and a non-fertilized plant? Try an experiment this spring and fertilize one and leave the other one next to it untreated. You will be amazed at the difference! Fertilizing and caring for plants means watering, cultivating, and feeding each plant what it needs. When fertilizer is properly applied with right timing, amazing growth occurs. In our own lives we need God’s fertilizer for our very souls. I am referring here to His Holy Spirit and His Holy Word, Scripture, that is given for the nourishing of the soul. Without this proper nourishment and timing, there is no way I can mature and grow in my character, and live a soul-ful life full of meaning and purpose that honors God and serves others.

            Fourth, and this one follows on the heels of fertilizing, there is the ongoing task of weeding. For some reason weeds just grow naturally! Some are so pernicious and plaguing and maddening that the only way to deal with them is to pull them completely up from the deep root systems. Have noticed that bad habits in life are that way? Negative, self-destructive and relationship-denying habits are hard to break. I remember one time letting a particular weed grow to an immeasurable height and depth just because I wanted to see how it would look full grown. Needless to say, I had to use a pick axe and a shovel to dig it up and remove the root system. Long gone was the day for that plant when I could just reach down and quickly pluck it up. If I let bad habits, even wrong moral decisions, go too long, long-gone will be the day when I can just reach down in my heart and easily get rid of them. When I see a weed in my heart sprouting, I have to deal with it now! Otherwise it becomes a monstrous, negative growth that is almost impossible to root out.

             And finally, patience for the final harvest is necessary. I cannot go to my pepper plants in March and expect full grown jalepenos. I cannot go to my cabbage plants in April and expect full grown heads of cabbage. I cannot go to my tomato plants in May and expect big, round, red tomatoes ready to be sliced for my BLT sandwich. Patience for the harvest is a non-negotiable. I have to wait for the flowers to bud, blossom, and produce fruit. It is hard to wait. That is counter-cultural right now. We want everything instantly: communication, our lunch sandwiches and our travel destination. But a garden teaches patience. We have to fight the deer off of tender shoots, we have keep the bugs away, we have to wait for the spring and summer rains, we have to endure the dry heat, we cannot force fruit and blossoms and ripe vegetables before their time. I have to be very patient with myself and with others when I look for the fruits of maturity and growth. A harvest of character takes the patience of a lifetime. And, we are all at different stages of our growth. As the Christian classic writer Hannah Whitall Smith reminds us, we cannot go to the apple tree in the spring and expect a ripe apple. The farmer’s seasonal patience becomes a model for patience in character maturation.

            Several years ago, I came across a prayer by Richard Foster in his book entitled Prayers from the Heart. This is where I first heard of the metaphor of “Gardner of My Soul.” I want to close this month’s article with the following prayer with that same title. Listen now to Foster’s insightful prayer taken from garden metaphors:

“Spirit of the Living God, be the Gardener of my soul. For so long I have been waiting, silent and still — experiencing a winter of the soul. But now, in the strong name of Jesus Christ, I dare to ask:

Clear away the dead growth of the past,
Break up the hard clods of custom and routine,
Stir in the rich compost of vision and challenge,
Bury deep in my soul the implanted Word,
Cultivate and water and tend my heart,
Until new life buds and opens and flowers.

Amen.”

Meeting God [1]

Christian faith travels a continuum. It goes from believing about, to believing in, to believing together. Sometimes this “believing together” is spoken of in the Scriptures in two ways: meeting God and covenant faithfulness.

            In the Old Testament Moses goes up into the mountain to meet God. In that meeting Moses is given the Ten Commandments. Joshua tells the entire congregation of Israel to get ready to meet God the next day to worship Him.

            Probably the most well known expression of this is found in the Psalms.

Psalm 42:2

“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”

        God created each one of us to have a deep thirst for Him. Only the Living Waters from the Living God can quench the thirst of my living soul. The Psalmist is so sensitive and aware of this inner reality that he asks the question regarding the next time he can go and meet with God?

            Traditionally, in the history of Christian thought this question has been answered by recognizing the various ways we can meet God. They are listed as follows:

1.     Meeting God in Prayer

2.     Meeting God in Service

3.     Meeting God in the Assembly of Worship

4.     Meeting God in the Created Order

5.     Meeting God in Scripture

6.     Meeting God in the Community of Faith

7.     Meeting God in Everyday Life

8.     Meeting God in Mystical Moments

We will begin a series of postings to look at each of these 8 ways to meet God. How have you answered this question lately: “when can I go and meet with God?”

In Christian love, Curtis

Tuesdays with Morrie (3): I Promised to Keep in Touch

 

              Mitch Albom confesses that for 17 years he lost contact with his former professor. At his graduation he promised his teacher, Morrie Swartz, that he would stay in touch. He did not. He laments,

 

“In fact, I lost contact with most of the people I knew in college…The years after graduation hardened me into someone quite different from the strutting graduate who left campus that day headed for New York City, ready to offer the world his talent.”

                How many of us have been guilty of the same thing? We promise to stay in touch with people we think we should at the time. But, life’s circumstances and the demands of job, home, school, etc. drive a wedge between our good intentions and the fulfilling of our promises.

                Why is this so important?

                Keeping promises eliminates guilt. We all have done this. Whenever you think of a person, you know you need to communicate with them, but you put it off. Guilt has a strange way of operating off of compound interest: guilt ignored produces more guilt. We find out that when we fail to stay in touch, good memories are replaced with a burdened conscience that feels like a backpack full of rocks.

                Staying in touch validates relationships. Nothing is more important in the world than people. Think about what Christ died for: not programs, but people. Not money, but people. Not power, prowess or prestige, but people. When we keep our word and stay in touch with people, it validates those relationships. There are wonderful blessings and benefits that accrue both ways between friends when relationships are tended to!

                Staying in contact keeps priorities straight. Mitch reveals in his own life that the demands of chasing his dreams, and the demands of deadline-oriented career made him forget some very important people in his life. Once we are caught up in the web of “the tyranny of the urgent,” we are spun into a cocoon  of our own making that becomes a straightjacket binding us to a selfish existence. We forget about others, and our priorities in view of others and eternity gets all messed up.

                Have we followed up on our own promises of staying in touch?

In Christian love, Curtis

Tuesdays with Morrie (2): Stunned by the Normalcy of the Day

Right after Morrie Swartz was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), he went through the mental gymnastics of trying to make sense of it all. He entertained all of the normal, swirling questions regarding family, finances, future, etc. But Mitch Albom records one significant thought that Morrie did not anticipate.

                Mitch writes, “My old professor was stunned by the normalcy of the day around him. Shouldn’t the world stop? Don’t they know what has happened to me?”

                Tragic news has a way of stopping our world.  When some unbidden misfortune breaks and shatters our daily routine, it is odd to see others going on as if nothing has happened. I remember feeling this exact thing when my own father died.

                The world did not stop. It seemed sort of “irreverent” to me that the world did not stop to acknowledge my loss. This is what happened to Morrie.

                Stunned by the normalcy of the day around him…this reminds us of several things so deeply vital and important to our daily Christian life.

                First, our own “bad news” (whatever form it may take) will not have the same effect on others. Even though we expect others to understand, if they have not experienced the same thing, they cannot understand.

                Second, news of terminal illness or experiences of death redefine what is normal for us. We are thrust into a new world not of our own making. This lack of control can be responsible for fear spinning out of control. It is at this point that a person is looking for anything to hold onto. The Christian can lend a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on when someone is having to adjust to the news of a new normal.

                Third, our challenge every day is to try to know and understand what has happened to other people when devastating news is received. Depending on what stage of the process we interact with someone, different reactions will be strong and “normal.” Numbness, disbelief, anger, bargaining with God, anguish, withdrawal, etc. are all various symptoms of attempting to cope with the unthinkable.

                Morrie did a remarkable thing. He did not want to see his diagnosis of death render him “useless.” Instead, he offered his own life as a bridge to death for others to join  him on the journey.Let us all, with hearts of Christian compassion, be ready to be used by God when someone’s personal tragedy puts them in a position to be “stunned by the normalcy of the day.”

In Christian love, Curtis

Tuesdays with Morrie

It seems that every year during vacation I pick out a book to read. This year it was Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. Mitch is a famous sports writer with the Detroit Free Press. Morrie was Mitch’s college professor and mentor. They both connected back up after 16 years absence when Mitch found out that Ted Koppel on Nightline was having an interview with Morrie because he was slowly dying of ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. This book is the weekly visits on Tuesday that Mitch had with his old professor.

This book was originally published in 1997. I have the 2007 edition with Mitch’s Afterward in it. Nancy and I both read it to each other while traveling in the car during our vacation. Mitch presents his weekly conversations as a final test, a final thesis, to be turned in and the lessons learned during the intense and emotional conversations.

The book is at once easy to read and hard to read. Easy—because snapshots of the past are woven into present narrative and conversation. Hard—because heart, personal memories and fears, are all drawn out for each reader with their raw edge of harsh reality.

Over the next few weeks I want to draw ideas and quotes from this best seller. I will reflect on them with relevant observations.

To get us started, I want to reflect on part of the title. The book is entitled…Tuesdays with Morrie: An old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lessons. It is published by Broadway Books out of New York.

“Life’s greatest lessons.” If you could take time and share with someone younger than yourself about life’s greatest lessons, what would you share? When you begin talking about life’s greatest lessons, several dynamics come into play.

First, life’s greatest lessons are hard won and blood bought, so to speak. The reason they are lessons is because they come at a price. It is from the University of Hard Knocks that one receives his or her degree. Those hard knocks are the harsh reality of life that cannot be ignored.

Second, life’s greatest lessons are akin to the Wisdom Literature of the Bible. They speak of practical wisdom,  understanding God’s providential hand in the learning process. Wisdom gained from life shapes and molds one’s character, which is God’s divine intent for each human being.

Third, some of life’s hardest lessons  become part of the process of divine discipline. The big question here is, “Am I willing to learn from life’s experiences, and allow my heart, mind and soul to be shaped into a Christ-like character?”

Find you a copy and join me in this journey over the next few weeks!

In Christian love, Curtis

Salt is Good

            In what way is salt good, or desirable? It can preserve and provide taste. In the ancient world, prisoners tended to be the ones who mined the salt from the earth. It was a difficult and dangerous job. Also, there tended to be more salt usage among the more financially successful than the poor.

             In the gospel of Luke (14:34) Jesus pronounces that salt is considered good and desirable. In his gospel Luke refers to the fruit of one’s life, a   measure being pressed down, shaken and running over,   a person and his heart, soil that receives the word of God, Peter’s assessment to Jesus of their being present during the Transfiguration,  and the beautiful stones that adorned the temple with the adjective “good.” All of these things are good and desireable.

            Salt is good. One’s influence in life is good and desirable.  But if salt loses its flavor and power, how can it be restored? Once salt has lost its potency, it cannot be restored. It is not fit for anything. It is so useless that it is thrown away into a landfill.

            He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

            Sit up and take notice about this stuff related to salt.  Our influence, Christian character, and condition of our inner being and heart needs to be “good.” Such goodness comes from Jesus and is patterned after his life.   If I lose my influence and character, how can it be restored? Most of the time it is hard. Sometimes it may even be impossible.

            Metaphorically, I am that box of salt that God picks up and uses for His divine purposes in the world. But if I have lost my “saltiness,” how can God use me in the world? Out of the saltshaker, and into the world…but only if I have retained my saltiness!

In Christian love, Curtis