Freshly Tapped Thoughts
Why are we, Christians, upset when people want to hold us to a higher standard than others? When this happens I see the response from other Christians,
“We are sinners too, you know!” “We aren't perfect, that's why we need Jesus.” “We are broken.” “We are just like anyone else.“
Who is your “them”? Is it conservatives? Maybe your “them” is liberals. Perhaps your “them” is cishet white males. Your “them” may very well be homosexuals. It could be that your “them” is people of color. Whomever your “them” is, to be on mission is to move towards “them” in love and forgiveness.
I'm slowly working my way through the Lord's Prayer as a roadmap to missional living. Do you want to catch up? Here you go:
I am always amazed by how full my calendar is. I have dates on there months into the future. It's crazy! This reality makes it very difficult to live in the moment. I am often thinking, planning, worrying, and dreaming about the future. Today is not something that I often pay attention to.
I live in the future.
I have a dirty secret.
Honestly, it’s not that much of a secret.
I am white, American, and male. Those three facts alone mean that I experience on a daily basis a level of privilege that many people don’t.
OK, many of you are about to stop reading and your eyes have rolled into the back of you head. I actually heard them roll. I have a teen-agers, trust me I can see an eye roll a mile away. Please keep reading. This is going somewhere. It’s not another “white man self-loathing” kind of piece.
Over the last few days I have bumped into an article by Rhonda Stephens entitled, “Parenting: Are We Getting A Raw Deal?” I saw it once and read it. I saw it a second time and read it again. The first time I laughed and remembered my childhood and how it reflected much of what Stephens wrote. I appreciated that at the end she makes it clear that maybe the current state of affairs is not the way things ought to be.
I'm slowly working my way through the Lord's Prayer as a roadmap to missional living. Do you want to catch up? Here you go:
Love that is just an idea is not love at all. Grace that is just an idea is no grace at all. Mercy that is just an idea no mercy at all. Peace that is just an idea is no peace at all.
All these things need to be embodied. Love, grace, mercy, peace all need to be lived to be something. If they are not lived and carried out in the body, then what are they? Nothing.
I'm slowly working my way through the Lord's Prayer as a roadmap to missional living. Do you want to catch up? Here you go:
The next bit in the prayer is, “Our father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name.” You may be thinking, “What does that have to do with mission?”
The other day I wrote about the difference between program and presence. I stated that I though that the Lord's prayer is a road map to presence. Lord's prayer starts with, “When you pray...”
Have you noticed how we think about “them” and “us” or “them” and “me”? It’s not something that I notice myself doing very much. I see it in a lot of other people.
That’s the point though isn’t it? Them, not me. Today, I was reading in the Psalms and I was struck by this reality.
In Psalm 5 there is a call by David for God to judge his enemies and protect him. He wants God to declare them guilty and destroy them.
In Psalm 6 David opens by saying, “Lord do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.” Not me God! I’m so sorry. I know I messed up, but don’t discipline me. Let me off and forgive me.
Them. Not me!
On the one hand this is what I love about the psalms. They are brutally honest. I read them and think, “Wow. These people were messed up.” I also read them and think, “Oh man, I am so these people.”
I have been thinking about this today, this juxtaposition of “Them. Not me.”
Why is that we demand grace for ourselves and judgment for our enemies? What is it that is in us that is like this? Have we ever thought about the reality that for some other person we might be the “them?” Could you imagine if you knew someone was beseeching the divine to destroy you and pour out wrath on you?
How might we change if we try to let go of the “them, not me” mindset?
I wonder if I might be able to love a little better. I think so, but too often it’s them, not me.
— Originally published on December 3, 2018 on Medium
I have been re-reading through Faithful Presence by David Fitch this last week. As I read, I am struck by the significance of presence over and against program.
