I don't really have a problem with hippies. I don't really know them well enough to have a problem with them. They seem to have a really laid back approach to life and I appreciate that. A high amount of stress is bad for just about everybody.
What I do have a problem with is a hippie approach to a Christian lifestyle - an "it's cool man" approach to every revelation of the sinful nature in our brothers and sisters, and especially ourselves.
Don't get me wrong here - I wholeheartedly believe that the detrimental effects of legalism are well documented and a huge reason why the anti-church movement has been in full effect for a very long time. Mandating behaviors and manufacturing guilt drive people away and destroy their spirits in the process. The gospel of Christ is filled with His grace and the legalism of religion undermines that message.
However, in our current culture, the pendulum has swung in the complete opposite direction. Grace is key to discipling young people and young christians, yet it has become the crutch we give each other to hobble around with. "It's cool man - you are human, you sinned. Don't worry." A message with a significant truth, but very empty of growth opportunities. We let each other off the hook too easily when it comes to missing the mark set by the God of the Universe.
What is wrong with looking across the table at our brother and saying, "God's grace is sufficient AND you need to get your stuff together," with a humble and helpful heart? The truth is, we all need to get our stuff together. While we are wasting our time sitting around saying, "it'll be ok," and flashing the peace sign in our christian tye-dye shirts, we are missing out on the blessing of being in a right relationship with Christ.
6/30/12
6/27/12
The Waiting Room of Prayer
I often picture the waiting room of prayer as being similar to a pre-technology age hospital ward. Bright, bleached white walls rising high above the sight line. Soft light dropping into the room from an unknown source, filling every corner. There are beds lined up in a manner that makes no sense other than an understood urgency that every square inch should be filled with a righteous efficiency. Each turquoise and rust colored frame is topped with an inadequate mattress, further topped with the restless body waiting
to be seen by the great physician.
Some beds are surrounded by loved ones; sparing no opportunity to stand alongside their friend, brother, or child. They laugh with, sing to, and weep over the one here to be healed. Other beds are accompanied by only one committed soul. These people are weary and nearly empty, yet the hope that exudes from them brings warmth to all who come near. The other beds are unattended. The occupants of these beds lay still, staring into the light, waiting for their turn.
The advancement of this waiting line is impossible to predict. At times it flows smoothly. At others the absolute lack of progress is unnerving and a blanket of melancholy covers all of those on cue. The people know they have come to the right place, yet their trust is put on trial as they wonder who the doctor will see next.
Quietly, an orderly goes about, tending to each bed almost unnoticed. His faded scrubs almost blend into the background of beds and people. He refreshes blankets. He fluffs pillows. Suddenly chairs appear behind those weary of standing. Beds are magically rearranged to make space for more people. Those surrounded by large groups catch his soft smile as he passes. The lone supporters give thanks with their eyes as he reenergizes their resolve. The solitary delight in his touch as he comforts them in their beds.
As they wait for the great physician, they do not notice that this unwavering servant is His spirit among them. Their healing is not just found at the end of the line, but also in the wait.
to be seen by the great physician.
Some beds are surrounded by loved ones; sparing no opportunity to stand alongside their friend, brother, or child. They laugh with, sing to, and weep over the one here to be healed. Other beds are accompanied by only one committed soul. These people are weary and nearly empty, yet the hope that exudes from them brings warmth to all who come near. The other beds are unattended. The occupants of these beds lay still, staring into the light, waiting for their turn.
The advancement of this waiting line is impossible to predict. At times it flows smoothly. At others the absolute lack of progress is unnerving and a blanket of melancholy covers all of those on cue. The people know they have come to the right place, yet their trust is put on trial as they wonder who the doctor will see next.
Quietly, an orderly goes about, tending to each bed almost unnoticed. His faded scrubs almost blend into the background of beds and people. He refreshes blankets. He fluffs pillows. Suddenly chairs appear behind those weary of standing. Beds are magically rearranged to make space for more people. Those surrounded by large groups catch his soft smile as he passes. The lone supporters give thanks with their eyes as he reenergizes their resolve. The solitary delight in his touch as he comforts them in their beds.
As they wait for the great physician, they do not notice that this unwavering servant is His spirit among them. Their healing is not just found at the end of the line, but also in the wait.
6/26/12
The Disconnect
I overheard two colleagues talking the other day about using twitter to communicate some marketing scheme..one said, “It’s hard to come up with something to say.”
We live in a world that is consumed by technology and social media. And along with it is an underlying rumble that the use of such things destroys the human desire to interact face-to-face, intimately, human-to-human.
Here is my argument, if human nature truly longed for something different, would this stuff really have caught on? Blaming the facebook for the loss of deep relational connection is like blaming the Edsel for making all cars ugly. The truth is - humanity steers toward what it likes, what it knows, what it is comfortable with. The eyes like beautiful cars, so ugly ones don't last that long.
The reason people text or twitter instead of meet over a cup of coffee twice a day is because it is easier. The nature of the flesh avoids difficult human interaction, the facebook is just a vehicle. Disconnect is the demand, technology is the supply.
We live in a world that is consumed by technology and social media. And along with it is an underlying rumble that the use of such things destroys the human desire to interact face-to-face, intimately, human-to-human.
Here is my argument, if human nature truly longed for something different, would this stuff really have caught on? Blaming the facebook for the loss of deep relational connection is like blaming the Edsel for making all cars ugly. The truth is - humanity steers toward what it likes, what it knows, what it is comfortable with. The eyes like beautiful cars, so ugly ones don't last that long.
The reason people text or twitter instead of meet over a cup of coffee twice a day is because it is easier. The nature of the flesh avoids difficult human interaction, the facebook is just a vehicle. Disconnect is the demand, technology is the supply.
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