TATTOO: MOSES

Behind each of my tattoos there is a story deep with meaning. As I have been getting my most recent sessions of ink, several of you have asked why I was getting this one. That may have been partly due to the fact that until a week ago, it kind of looked like urban camouflage on the inside of my arm. Now that we are close to finishing this piece, it is easy to see Moses parting the Red Sea (or at least I hope it is). Having said that, I thought my blog was a great place to share the stories and significance behind each of my tattoos.

It took a while to figure out what was going to cover the inside of my arm. Granted, I have wanted a half-sleeve for a while, but I wasn't just going to get anything. It, like my other tattoos, had to be something worth permanently putting on my body. I was reading a book a friend gave me called Plan B: What Do You Do When God Doesn't Show Up The Way You Thought He Would. I know, it's a long title, but the book is phenomenal, so I suggest you read it! At the time I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what God wanted me to do--and I was beginning to see some of that come to fruition. However, I was still a little unsettled as it wasn't happening when or how I had hoped.

About half way through the book, the discussion turned to Moses. From there, I replayed in my mind how his life had played out, specifically after he finally stopped resisting and handed the reigns over to God. In case you aren't familiar, I will catch you up with his story. Moses, a Hebrew, was adopted into Pharaoh's household. During his years in the palace, Moses' people were living in the bondage of slavery to Egypt. Eventually, seeing one of the Egyptians beating a Hebrew, Moses killed the slave-driver and buried the evidence. Lo and behold, this incident came to light and Moses went on the run. Now we jump ahead in the story and find that Moses had been living a pretty normal life until he encountered God and received a call to head back to Egypt and rescue his people. After some wrestling with God, Moses agreed to confront Pharaoh. Through some persuasion and a few miracles (you might call them plagues), Pharaoh let the people go and the Hebrews took off toward the east with Moses. Eventually they come face to face with the Red Sea (I should tell you at this time Pharaoh regretted his decision to let the Hebrews go and his army was in pursuit). Here Moses and his crew find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Moses knew what God had called him to. He knew the promises that were made. But first, they had to overcome this obstacle.

And it is here, we pick up and I put myself in Moses' shoes--the past in hot pursuit, looming over everything and a giant obstacle in the way of the life that has been promised. Over the past few years of rebuilding my life God had given me some big dreams and made some outstanding promises. Occasionally, I even saw glimpses of the future He had in store for me. But that's all they were, glimpses. There came a time (right when I was given the book Plan B) I kind of felt like God was just teasing me. It was as though He was dangling the proverbial carrot right in front of me, always just out of reach. I felt I was ready for what He had in store and wanted to see things start moving. While opportunities were presenting themselves, the progress was still too slow for me. It was then I began thinking about Moses. Thoughts flooded my mind about how he must have felt and what must have been going through his mind standing there at the Red Sea. God had proved himself faithful already (just as He has for me, time and time again), yet, here he was face to face with this insurmountable obstacle. Even though God had been faithful up to this point, I can't help but think Moses still had some lingering doubts. Will you really going to come through God? Are you sure you know what you're doing God? This all had better not be a cosmic joke or I'm going to be furious! There, in the midst of the anxiousness and fear Moses takes a few steps into the Red Sea (there's a lot of significance there), raises his staff and waits for God to do what it is He plans on doing.

That's exactly where my life is at right now. Things seem to be at a stand still. My past can still overtake me if I give up on God and allow it to. I can wait here at this crossroad and allow my mind to be flooded with numerous questions of why, how and when. Or I, like Moses, can take a few steps into the Red Sea, raise my staff (maybe I should get myself one of those to walk around with) and see how God comes through--yet again! I know the dreams and vision I have of restoration and renewal are much bigger than I can accomplish on my own. And I am no longer willing to stand on the shore, letting my mind become flooded with questions to which I may never have answers. So, like Moses, I am wading into the Red Sea, a giant ball of fear and anxiousness, to see what God comes up with this time. And when I cross, on dry land, hopefully I don't have to spend the next 40 years wandering like Moses and his crew.

TALENT

At the risk of sounding bragadocious, you should know God has bestowed some wonderful talent upon me. I'm not saying I'm the best at what I do. Nor am I saying there isn't room for improvement. Reality is, I will probably never receive large sums of money or huge accolades for this. However, I am passionate about this God given talent. So much so, that if I could quit my job and have a guarantee that pursuing this talent would make ends meet I would do it (at least that's what I keep telling myself now). What is this talent I speak of? Cleaning! Actually, that's not what I am talking about. But, if you do know me you would probably agree with that one as well. What I am talking about is preaching (and possibly writing).

Now, can I be honest with you? For the past several years, I haven't done much with this talent. The word that would most accurately describe my use of this talent God has blessed me with is squander. Jesus told a parable about a couple of guys who were given "talents" by their supervisor. Right now, I'm feeling kind of lazy. That means I'm not going to retell you the parable, so I suggest you open your Bible and turn to Matthew 25:14-30 and read it for yourself.

Did you read it yet?

If you haven't, stop reading this until you read the parable!

Now that you have done so, we can continue.

Start off by taking a moment and putting yourself in this story. I would like you to think about which of the servants you can relate to most. Sadly, I can most readily identify with the last one. I am identical to the guy that took his talent and buried it--all out of fear. What caused me to bury my talent was the fear of never measuring up. Never amounting to what I thought God wanted. Only, I never even knew what it was I thought He wanted for me.

By nature, I am a very competitive person. Competitiveness pumps through my veins. It is hard-wired in my DNA. I get upset when I don't perform the way I know I can. This means, I am constantly striving to be the best (not necessarily a bad thing). However, in all my striving I find myself constantly comparing myself to others. When it came to my two talents, I was comparing myself to the guy with five talents (think Andy Stanley, Rob Bell, Craig Groeschel). Of course I was never going to measure up, I haven't been entrusted with five talents; I have been entrusted with two. Nor do I have the experience many of these five talent guys have. This entire time I have been playing the comparison game (which, by the way, never works out for anybody), I wasn't even comparing apples to apples. No wonder I was frustrated and fearful.

Not only have I denied myself the life God intended for me. I have also denied God the opportunity to use me. Furthermore, I took away from others the opportunity to be edified with this talent. In case you were wondering, this is completely unacceptable! If this were baseball, I would have just struck out. Thankfully, that isn't how God operates. I am grateful for the second (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) chances that He offers a guy like me. He had every right to take my two talents and give them to someone that was going to make use of them...but He didn't. I just hope I move beyond the fear and burying aspect, even though a lot of times I feel ill-equipped and completely incapable.

With that I resolve to, first and foremost, dig up my two talents (it's doing nothing buried beneath the fear and unrealistic expectations). Next, I am going to make myself comfortable with the fact that I am a two talent guy, not a five talent guy. The third thing I have decided to do is continue to develop my two talents. Finally, due to my detail oriented personality, it is necessary I set a time-frame to make use of these two talents. The time-frame I have set is one year. I can't waste more time squandering this talent when God wants me to make the most of it and the world needs me to use it.

WRECK

God has managed to wreck my life...yet again! I am approaching two years since my marriage ended in divorce and have finally sorted out the mess and began putting the pieces back together. Not too long ago there was a peace about how everything was playing out and I was really seeing what God was up to. I know very well what the devil intended for harm, God is turning into good. However, since that peace had set in I had basically been in coast mode. Granted, not everything turned out how I would have liked it, but I had faith God was doing something. And a majority of the time, I was comfortable with that. At least that's how it was until I made a trip to Chicago with the leadership team from the church. A group of us took a few days off work and headed to the Willow Creek Leadership Summit, which apparently was the motivation I needed to think through some things and to begin making some changes. It was this point God stepped in yet again, turned off my coast mode and shook things up.

Let me give you some snapshots of my highlights from the conference:

Bill Hybels started the conference on a high note (of course). What he said that stuck with me the most was that, "Leaders rarely learn anything new without having their world rocked." This statement put much of the last 2 years of my life into perspective. Well beyond the shadow of a doubt, I can say my world was rocked to the core 2 years ago in the form of a note on the kitchen counter. That note was the first sign my marriage was falling apart and heading for divorce. But, like Hybels said, there are many lessons I wouldn't have learned otherwise. To begin with, I learned to trust God more--it's kind of necessary when you don't have much else to cling to. It also gave me an opportunity to re-evaluate what was most important to me. There was a lot of time I got to spend getting comfortable with the real Jordan and finding out who he is and what makes him tick. To keep this brief, let's just say there was a lot I learned from having my world rocked by the dissolution of my marriage.

Len Schlesinger, the president of Babson College, gave a rousing discussion on what to do in the face of unknowability. And for me (and everyone else), there is nothing more unknowable than the future. His advice was so simple and logical, "If you can't predict the future, create it!" That sounds like a great idea to me. I wrestled with that idea and how I had been coasting and not creating my future. In case you were wondering, that is completely unacceptable. So, let me lay out some of his advice to create your future. First things first, take small steps with what you have in hand. Small steps tend to limit your risk and helps build momentum. Next, it's important to quit letting the fear of failure dictate the trajectory of your life (which I have been doing with some things for the last 4 years). Failure doesn't mean game over! Failure only means it is time to try again with what you have learned. His last and most timeless piece of advice: take action! It is impossible to get anywhere just by thinking about it. Do something, but always keep in mind, there is no guarantee for success! All of these were things I definitely needed to hear. So far, Willow Creek is up on Jordan two to nothing.

Next we have the mayor of New Jersey, Corey Booker (he definitely didn't disappoint). He shared some of his struggle to bring beauty to one of America's most violent cities. On several occasions he made the statement, "Do somethin'!" This tends to fly in the face of what some of us have been taught in the church. We are told to pray about it and wait on God. Sometimes we fail to see the danger in just waiting. Now don't get me wrong, it is important to pray and wait on God. If we are going to do something, we definitely want to make sure he's in the midst. But, far too often we play the waiting game and use it as a crutch. We fail to act because "God hasn't opened the door," but we fail to see that while he may not have opened the door, he hasn't closed it either. I wonder how often we miss out on what God is doing because of our inaction. If only we would take a step of faith, then he would make it apparent to us (whether that means we fall flat on our face or move on to bigger, better and more challenging things). More often than not, we need to approach the door and turn the handle. (Alright God, I get it! I will take some action and do somethin').

Steven Furtick really rocked the boat for me. "If the size of your vision isn't intimidating to you, chances are it's insulting to God." Thanks, Steven! I have already been wrestling with the vision God has given me for my life. I know very well it is going to be a stretch and will require the miraculous. I'm not comfortable with the vision because I cannot do it...on my own. As if the guilt of that wasn't enough, now you have to tell me I am insulting God. Awesome! According to all of the speakers so far, I really don't have an excuse to not pursue the vision God has given me. I guess I had better set my audacious goals like Furtick suggested and start asking God to make them a reality. Afterall, if he called me, he can equip me and make it happen. If you're keeping score, like me, that's four for Willow Creek and a big fat zero for me!

Another speaker I had the privilege of listening to was Erwin McManus. I have to admit, this is the guy I was most looking forward to hearing all week. Everyone of his books sits on my shelf at home. Numerous times I have read through them and lent them to friends and family. Seeing as how he was finishing off the conference, I knew whatever he had to say was going to be a kick to the face. During the conference he made such a simple, yet profound statement. I have been mulling over for a while now trying to process it and do something with it. McManus said, "No one is born ordinary, unfortunately many of us die ordinary." (Yep, that was definitely a kick to the face). While I have not died yet (obviously), I have allowed some of my hopes and dreams to die. For some time now, I have settled for the mundane and the ordinary. Why? Because ordinary is easy. Orindary I can handle all on my own. The ordinary isn't challenging and doesn't require God's help. Living an ordinary life allowed me, at times, to remove God from the equation. (I'm not saying I lost faith, I just wasn't using it unless absolutely necessary).

Alright God, you win! I guess it's time I take some risks and start pursuing your purpose for my life--yet again. Afterall, I know I will be miserable until I do so. I've seen it play out like this every time I decided to run from you before. I'm not going to be so dumb as to do it again. So, here I am! I don't have all the answers. I'm not ready for all of this. But I guess I'm willing to step out in faith and watch you work and provide as you always do. Just stop wrecking my life for a little while!

JUDGE

During high school, I was one of those annoying teens driving down the road making everyone listen to, not only, my music, but the rattle of my car from the 15” sub woofer I had in the trunk. Knowing that I was a white, middle-class kid growing up in western South Dakota, you may find that hard to believe. What probably made it more annoying to innocent bystanders at red lights and stop signs was that I used to be big into gangsta’ rap (I know, I was both original and cool). And to be totally honest and bare my soul to you, I still occasionally need my fix. Among my favorite was Tupac Shakur (you less hip folks probably know him as 2Pac).

'Only God Can Judge Me' is one of his more popular songs. Unless you are a few cards short of a deck, you would probably guess the one line he continually repeats is: 'only God can judge me.' Little did I know that the church considered 2Pac a prophet, or at least a great teacher. If you hang out with one of Jesus' followers today, you will probably hear them recite the same line--'only God can judge me.' More than likely, this is the only instance in which Christians agree with the philosophy of 2Pac. But it is not only Christians that believe 'only God can judge me.' Even secular society (including atheists, which just baffles me) can be heard saying the same thing.

Here is yet another case in which the church, and the rest of the world, is sadly mistaken. Now, before you begin casting stones and labeling me a heretic, hear me out. Yes, God is the only one capable of judgment. You would be entirely accurate to point out that Jesus said "let he who is without sin cast the first stone." One day, we will all be accountable to God (Romans 14:12). But I think we are missing something here. While there may be a lot of truth to 2Pac's statement, the Bible, in some instances, seems to have a contrary teaching. Perhaps we can simply equate it to a misunderstanding of terminology; but the fact remains there are clear Biblical teachings showing we are responsible--to an extent--for the actions of one another.

Paul gives us some guidelines on calling out a brother caught in sin (Galatians 6:1-2). We can find similar guidelines to confronting another in Matthew 18:15-17. Paul also informs us we are to use our spiritual gifts to help cultivate spiritual growth in each other (1 Corinthians 12). We are also told to "spur on one another toward love and good deeds" (Hebrews 10:24). At least one occasion Jesus himself uttered the words “stop making false judgments and start judging correctly” (John 7:24). In Thessalonians 5, we are advised to "encourage one another and build each other up. If you care to look up more Scripture, be my guest and turn to Hebrews 3:12-13 or James 5:16 just to name a few.

Please understand, in no way am I saying we are given free reign to cast judgment upon one another and the world. That is not what these passages are talking about and that isn't even close to what Jesus was referring to. However, I do think these (and other) passages make a very bold and important statement about how we are to live and our responsibility to one another. And this is a message we all need to hear. The message is this: Yes, only God can judge me, but that doesn't let me off the the hook from being accountable to others for my actions (or inaction).

We will begin by tackling the more difficult discussion on this idea of judging. In the matter of Christians judging other Christians, we often miss the mark. On one hand, there are those who cast judgment on their fellow followers of Christ for anything they do that doesn't align with Scripture. While this takes some gumption to do, it can be some dangerous territory to navigate. But, in just as dangerous territory are those who, on the other hand, agree with 2Pac and shun any discussion on how they ought to live, having no regard for another Christian calling them out. I believe both of these is an incorrect interpretation of Scripture and an incorrect assessment of our responsibility to one another as Christians. It seems to me, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. While we are not called to judge one another, I do believe it is our responsibility to do something that looks an awful lot like judgment to some. That something is called accountability.

At this point, I need to throw some warning flags out when it comes to accountability. The first is that, for accountability to work, a relationship is required. True accountability cannot exist outside the confines of a relationship. There must be a two way avenue of communication and trust built; otherwise any attempt at accountability will always fall flat on it's face. The next warning is that, believe it or not, in the Christian life, there are some gray areas. Scripture doesn't clearly lay out each and every behavior that is appropriate or inappropriate (while it clearly lays out some, it is in no way exhaustive). What is acceptable behavior for you may not be acceptable behavior for me--and vice versa--for several reasons. This is why it is important that we have some convictions in place; but more importantly, we need to be sure our convictions are Biblically based. Furthermore, we need to understand that we cannot place our convictions on everyone else. While you are probably hoping I will lay some of these gray areas out for you, I am going to plead the fifth. The reason being, I do not want to make a list that fuels one persons legalism or adds to another's licentiousness. I don't know where you are at in your walk of faith, so I am going to simply refrain.

When laying a foundation for accountability and establishing some convictions, Andy Stanley gives us a great question to ask ourselves: "In light of my past experiences, my present circumstances, and my future hopes and dreams, what is the wise thing to do?" I may have a past that doesn't allow me to participate in certain behaviors that Scripture does not condemn. For example, if my past involves addiction, drinking (not condemned by the Bible) would not be a wise thing for me to do. If my present circumstances involve some sort of purity battle, dating (perfectly legitimate way to interact with the opposite sex) may not be a wise thing for me to do. Perhaps my future hopes and dreams hinge on being debt free; buying that brand new vehicle would not be a wise thing for me to do. As I hope you see, there is nothing wrong with any of these things in and of themselves--until they are put under scrutiny and we ask ourselves, "what is the wise thing to do?"

Now, let's address our (Christianity) judgement of the secular world. One thing is for certain, as disciples of Jesus, we cannot hold everyone to our standard of living. If people don’t claim to know or live in the truth--of Christianity--why would we expect them to follow and obey it? This would be similar to a vegetarian trying to convince me, am omnivore, that eating meat is bad. Even if it's logical and you have sound scientific support that eating meat is bad for me, I'm not going to relegate meat from my diet. I enjoy charred cow off the grill and am more than willing to take the risk that it could shorten my lifespan. No amount of dialogue will make me change my mind. The same is true with faith issues. No matter how much we try to convince people this way of life is the fullest, they won't buy into it by simply hearing us make those statements. For this reason, trying to hold those with varying beliefs accountable to our beliefs will never work. If they do not claim Jesus as Lord, what makes us think they would willingly subject themselves to his teachings? (Another warning: It is absolutely essential that we take a stand for our faith and convictions. It is more than acceptable that we voice our beliefs. However, we need to be careful how we do so. Personally, I don't think standing outside an abortion clinic with signs picturing the process is either acceptable or Christ centered).

SALVATION

I have to tell you that I don’t think our current view of salvation is completely wrong; I think it’s just too narrow. There is something we are missing. What many of us have been taught about salvation seems to be incomplete.

If we buy into our current view of salvation, I think the only reasonable conclusion we can take it to is best summed up by N.T. Wright, “As long as we see salvation in terms of going to heaven when we die, the main work of the church is bound to be seen in terms of saving souls for that future, but when we see salvation as the New Testament sees it, in terms of God’s promised new heavens and new earth and of our promised resurrection to share in that…then the main work of the church here and now demands to be rethought.” Essentially, I believe, if we buy into what has been taught about salvation--that it is about saving souls and getting into heaven--then we must conclude that life here on earth is meaningless. And I will not buy into that kind of theology. That is the very reason we must rethink what we believe about salvation.

If our understanding of salvation is wrong, then what should it be? Salvation, we all agree, deals with rescuing creation. But what are we to be rescued from? The obvious answers are sin and death. But, the true meaning of salvation goes beyond that.

Take a minute and read 1 Corinthians 15:19, 58. Once you have done that, we will begin this discussion.

The first thing I see Scripture teaching us is that: salvation is about the present, not simply the future. To say this flies right in the face of many within the evangelical church. But, reality is that life on earth matters; Jesus wasn’t focused on the future, in fact, he didn’t say much at all about the future.Very little of what Christ said and did was about the future and about heaven. Reading through the New Testament I see that he was primarily concerned with the here and now. With preparing to bring heaven to earth.

In Jewish culture heaven was more of an afterthought. They didn’t give much thought to heaven because they viewed it as a temporary stage on the way to the resurrection of the body. In reading much of the Old Testament, you should see that the Jewish people weren’t thinking much about God saving them from this life for something better. The salvation they sought was most engrossed with the here and now. They were concerned with the promises of God’s covenants and how they related to this life, in this world, not the afterlife in heaven. Think of the Exodus (being rescued from Egypt), Shadrach, Meshach and Abendango (being rescued from the fire), Daniel (being rescued from the lion’s den), or David (God, crush my enemies; rescue me now…). As a matter of fact, 90% of the passages in the Old Testament referring to salvation, spoke of temporal salvation. The salvation that takes place here on earth. Furthermore, roughly 50% of the New Testament passages regarding salvation speaks of this same kind of salvation. 

How many of you have ever thought this: the world is such a terrible place, I can’t wait to get to heaven. I have. I’ve thought it many times. It really would be nice if God would just end it all now and make things the way He intended them to be. But He isn’t. Because that is such a cop out. That’s the easy way out. That is what Paul, I believe, is talking about in Philippians 1:20-25.

Unless, you have a proper view of eternity. Eternity doesn’t start way in the future. Eternity starts today.  The day of salvation is here. Salvation has come today. I will argue until I am blue in the face, that salvation has more to do with the present than the future. Salvation is more embodied with the here and now than the then and after. Why is it wrong to view salvation in terms of the future? Because it separates body and spirit, heaven and earth. It assumes they aren’t one and the same. It is our mistake of bifurcation.

What is bifurcation? It is basically separating two things that are inseparable. Let me give you an example.  How many times in your youth did you find yourself saying "this doesn’t matter, I’m not even 18." Been there, done that, and trust me that wasn't the case. I found out the hard way that my actions did matter and had consequences well beyond turning 18. I still live with many of the consequences for some of the stupid mistakes I have made.

As Christians, we think so much about the future that we lose sight of the here and now. We forget that God offers salvation today. This goes into an age-old debate about temporal vs. eternal salvation. I do not for one minute believe it is one or the other. I believe a true, Biblical view of salvation must include both.  Although temporal is a poor word--giving the impression that it is only temporary--it is still fitting when in reference to the salvation God provides while we are here on earth. And when it is combined with eternal salvation, it makes it that much sweeter. 

God is about providing salvation for some of the things we’re dealing with right now. When God speaks of offering salvation and deliverance, it isn’t just from sin or death. It extends well beyond those two aspects.

Secondly, I see Scripture teaching us that: salvation is about the entire person, not just their soul. We all believe, I hope, that Jesus’ resurrection was a bodily one, not just a spiritual one. If we believe that, then how is it that we believe our resurrection will be a spiritual one? And how is it that we believe God cares only about our souls. What we believe about salvation and its relation to eternity, not only denies the physical resurrection of ourselves, but the physical resurrection of Christ as well. How can we believe that heaven exists as a place beyond this world that is inhabited by disembodied souls, when the Bible clearly states the resurrection is a physical one. It is simple. We cannot believe this and be a disciple of Christ. We must believe that salvation involves much more than just saving our souls and getting them into heaven.

If salvation is just about getting our souls into heaven, why then did Jesus waste most of his life on this earth performing miracles most of which dealt with the very physical and real aspects of life. Let me give you one example. John 9 records a miracle in which Jesus heals a man born blind. Why would he heal a man born blind, unless he cared about the physical stuff of life? I believe the answer to that question is simple. Jesus didn’t come just to get people into heaven. Jesus came to bring a little bit of heaven to earth, and since heaven is a place for the physical body, he came to take care of some of the physical stuff. As a matter of fact, what most Christians believe about salvation and heaven was written off by the early church as Gnosticism. We need not worry about the physical or the flesh aspect of life because it is bad and will be done away with one day; all we need to worry about is the spiritual aspect of life because it is good and will last for eternity.

We were knit together in our mothers womb, physically and spiritually. God knows the exact number of hairs on our head. For some of us that is a little easier to keep track of than others, but that fact alone leads me to believe that if God cares about how many hairs are on our head, he must care a lot more about our physical body that we lead on. In fact when Scripture speaks about salvation some of it refers to a physical salvation and some refers to a spiritual salvation.

Another idea I see Scripture teaching us is that: salvation is about all of creation, not just humanity. In Genesis we read that everything God created he called "good." Nothing was bad. Nothing was scrapped. Sure, down the road we find that God was so upset that he caused a flood to wipe out his creation; however, it was man that upset him, not the rest of creation. Jumping way ahead, Jesus informs us that he makes ALL things new, not just humanity, but ALL things--plants and animals. God is about all of creation. He is about redeeming every last bit of it. All of creation speaks of the grandeur of God, one author wrote. In the Psalms, we find that if we cease to praise God, surely the rocks will cry out.

Salvation isn’t just about making humanity the way it was intended to be; although that is a huge part. It is about redeeming all of creation. Salvation is about extracting all the beauty and grandeur of everything he created. As much as I hate to say it, I think there is a lot of truth to some of these hippie tree huggers. Granted, they may take it a little overboard, but hear them out. We can’t keep treating creation the way we have been--exploiting it, using it for our advantage. We were called to care for it. We are to be good stewards of all that God has given us--and that includes creation. I don’t think that God had Adam give names to each of the animals for lack of something better to do. I believe He had Adam do this in order to give him ownership. I hope you are seeing where I am going with this. We are to be agents of salvation to humanity, yes (1 Corinthians 6 tells us that), but more importantly, we are to be agents of salvation to all of creation. It annoys me that we think we can continue to treat creation with the disrespect we do and think there will be no eternal consequences.

A guy I know, who happens to be a smoker, was talking to me about creation, eternity, and how we treat what God has entrusted us with. During this discussion, he asked a somewhat outrageous question. He said, "What if I spend the first part of eternity picking up all the cigarette butts I just threw on the ground?" My answer to him, "That would suck!" While it may be a bit absurd (and doesn't take into consideration the grace of God), I think he poses a question we need to ask. What if all of us have to spend the first part of eternity righting a lot of the wrongs we did to creation? Would that make us better stewards of the creation God has given to us to care for?

Salvation isn’t this great plan that God had while Jesus was here. It isn’t something that came when Jesus died on the cross and is basically to be forgotten until we die. To view salvation in this way does such a disservice to reality. N.T Wright, speaking on our current view of salvation put it best. He says this: “Life before death is what is threatened by the idea that salvation is merely life after death.”  

Salvation is meant to be lived out in our everyday lives. Perhaps this is taking the Scripture out of context, but I believe that is exactly what Jesus was talking about when he said he came that we might have life and have it abundantly. He wants us to enjoy life (not necessarily this health, wealth, and prosperity gospel; but you don’t have to be any of those to truly enjoy life). Sure you may suffer, things may happen, but those are only a chance for God to teach you and show you how He wants you to live life. Back to the man born blind in John 9. They thought he was born blind because of his sin or his parents sin; but Jesus said it was only that God’s power and grace might be displayed--get this--in this life!

I believe if Jesus were standing here today, discussing with the church how it has missed the point regarding salvation, he would probably bring us back to “The Lord’s Prayer.” He would point out the part that says: “on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus would inform us that when he came down here 2000 years ago, he brought a little piece of heaven with him and gave it all to us. I believe he would then ask us what we did with that little piece of heaven? Did we forget about it since, as we believe, heaven is a thing of the future, or did we try to expand that and truly make the two become one?

LIFE

Switchfoot poses a great question for all of us, "This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be?" The sad reality is that for many of us, the answer to that question would be a no. Why? Why is life not what we had dreamed it would be? What is keeping our dream (or better yet, God's dream) for our life from becoming reality? The answer to each of these questions is the same. Far too many of us have settled. We have ceased to take risks. We have settled for the easy and the ordinary. Our fear of failure and rejection has become the overarching factor determining the shape and form of our dreams. The problem is that deep within our souls we long for something more. We long to find purpose. There is a war between the way we have chosen to live life and the way life should be. I fear we have not dreamed big enough. For this reason, so many of us find our lives mundane, monotonous and unfulfilled.

Statistics prove time and time again that a majority of us are simply "eeking our way through life" (yes, that was a Dumb & Dumber reference). We wake up every morning and head off to the same routine only to wind up tired and unfulfilled at the end of the day. For this very reason, we are constantly seeking greener pastures. I guess we have this belief that if only we could change our circumstances life would be better.

Ask just about anyone how they feel about their job and they would likely tell you they are not happy for a plethora of reasons. We think that if only we got paid more, had the corner office, worked with different people, things would be different. Then there are those of us who put ourselves into financial disaster trying to keep up with the Jones'. Constantly on the lookout for the new and improved, the bigger and better, thinking these things will make life what it is supposed to be. The first and biggest problem with this is that the Jones' aren't even fulfilled. The second issue with this idea is that keeping up is dang near impossible; there is always something "better" on the horizon. Of course, we have to bring relationships into this discussion. Over half of all married couples will experience divorce because of their supposed "boredom" with their spouse. They make up excuses like: we just weren't compatible; we fell out of love; the romance died; someone else gives me more attention. But that's all they are--excuses. To be blunt and to quote my father, "Excuses are like butt holes (I opted for the PG version here); everyone has one and they usually stink." I could spend a few hours and waste your time and mine discussing the arenas in life our hopes and dreams do not match with reality, but I think you are wise enough to get the picture.

The sad reality is that we can always find something to complain about. Someone else will always seem to have it better (but, this also means someone will always have it worse). There are many seasons in life that downright suck. Problems will always arise. Circumstances will always be less than ideal. But that doesn't mean life can't be the way we dreamed it to be. We just need to make a choice to rise above the negative, shallow thinking. We need to have a paradigm shift and choose to look beyond the temporal.

Just the other day I was having a discussion with a good friend about some big life decisions I have been pondering in hopes to make life less mundane and more fulfilling. I will spare the details, but it was this conversation that lead me to the answer I have been looking for all along. Who would have guessed the answer was always right there, sitting on my nightstand in the holy Scriptures (sarcasm is difficult to convey in writing, so take note this statement is dripping with sarcasm)? As a follower of Christ, you think I would have been skewering the Bible for the answer, but this was another instance I failed miserably. Unfortunately, I was looking somewhere else and came up empty. My friend and I were discussing the life of David (he seems to keep popping up) and how his life was far from mundane and unfulfilled. It seemed inevitable he bring up Psalm 37:4. The reason this verse was inevitable is that the premise of this verse is finding your heart's desires. Psalm 37:4 was exactly what I needed to hear; "Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart's desires."

Do you notice it doesn't say he MIGHT; rather, it says he WILL? God will give you your heart's desires. This isn't something David just spouted off. This truth was a reality for him. This particular Psalm was written later in David's life (or so I read). Reflecting on his life, it became clear to David that when he delighted himself in the LORD, he was given his heart's desires. When he didn't, he often found himself in a state of bitterness, loneliness, agony and even depression. (Please understand I am not saying, nor is this passage saying, that God is a genie and life will be rainbows and butterflies. There are limits and guardrails here. And we don't always get what we want.)

 I can't seem to get away from how simple this seems. Delight yourself in the LORD and you will find your heart's desire? Can I really believe finding my heart's desire is that simple? If it is that simple, why do so many of us (especially those who call ourselves Christians) find life unfulfilling? Why does finding our heart's desire seem to be improbable or even impossible, especially when the answer is right there in plain sight? Perhaps it is because we think everything has to be so difficult. Either that or we don't believe what Scripture tells us.

To find the answer, I had to turn to my dictionary and see what exactly it means to delight myself in something. According to the dictionary, to delight is "to find great pleasure or enjoyment." Again, it seems too simple. If we really find great pleasure in God, will we find our heart's desires? Yes! Reality is, the answer is that simple. When we find our pleasure and enjoyment in God (not what he does or how he responds, but in who he is), the desires of our heart will soon align themselves with his desires for our life. It is then we will see how futile and insignificant some of our hopes and dreams are. It then becomes obvious why life has been so unfulfilling. We will often find that we have been chasing after these temporal things (I even include relationships in this) which have (and will) always result in frustration and unfulfillment. The moment we, like David, delight ourselves in the LORD we will find something fulfilling to live for and pursue. And it is only then will we realize God has big things for us; and only with his help can we make whatever that is become reality.

I'm not sure about you, but I think I have already wasted enough time delighting myself in things other than the LORD!

FIX

It is a deeply rooted somewhere within my being to fix things. I am, by nature, a fixer. I am driven to fix. Perhaps you have heard the statement, "If women don't find ya' handsome, they should at least find ya' handy." That definitely does not apply to me. The type of fixing I am talking about has nothing to do with saws and hammers. I am about as handy with tools as a gorilla would be delicate with flowers. For any LOST fans, think of me as more like Jack Shephard than Home Improvement's Tim Allen. What I'm talking about is fixing problems. I am a fixer of problems...or at least I try to be.

Whether this is a curse or a blessing, I am not sure yet. Right now, I tend to see it as both. This need to fix things has several implications. To begin with, it drives me to the core of the problems I encounter. That means I am very inquisitive. If something isn't working, I will do anything in my power to find out why. While that may be a good thing, it does mean that I can tend to push a little too much on occasion. This also means that I am very dedicated and driven. I keep plugging away until I find a resolution. Again, not always a bad thing; however, truth be told, there are some things we really don't want to resolve or perhaps shouldn't resolve. In life, sometimes tension is necessary. The fact that there isn't always a solution to every problem can be a tough pill to swallow, especially for a fixer.

That I am a fixer must be somewhat obvious to those around me. That is likely why friends and family come to me with their issues. They know I will listen and try to give objective answers to help alleviate the pressure. Relationship issues seem to be the most common ones they bring to me. The ironic part is that I haven't had very many relationships. In all reality, with relationships, I make a lot of it up as I go. What is even more baffling to me is the fact that I have failed at marriage once, and yet they still seek my guidance and counsel. As I think about it more, I guess I can tell them how NOT to do things.

For a fixer, the big red flag here is control. My need to fix things puts me in and keeps me in control until I have exhausted every avenue. It is then, and only then I am able to release my grip and begin to turn things over to the one in control of everything. In case you can't read between the lines, the one I'm talking about is God. Reality is, I am not in control...even when I think I am. Control really is just an illusion. What that means for me is that some things will always be broken until I hand them over to the one who can truly fix everything. God is in the business of saving the lost, righting wrongs, and redeeming what seems unredeemable. At the end of the day, things will play out the way they need to...as long as I relinquish my need to fix things and let God work. Don't be fooled, it doesn't come naturally or easy for fixers, but there is no other choice.