Great Expectation

Expectations are the problem. We have great expectations for our lives that are all based on falsehoods, lies, and purposeful deceptions. There is only one expectation that is real: Jesus' return.

So long as our lives are focused clearly on Jesus, all is well. He will come back for us, and make all of this that makes no sense unimportant and irrelevant.

But we are not focused on Jesus. Not really. Not even those of us who want to be. We are focused instead on the treadmill of life, the drama, the hang ups, and the disappointments. All of which are avoidable.

Christmas isn't about Christ; it's about consumerism dressed up as good will towards men. Christmas is on Sunday this year. How many will go to church?

I suppose I am a cynic. Credit it to my own missed expectations. But through my failures I fully recognize my need for Grace.  And I thank God that his offer is free and everlasting.



“Behold, my eye has seen all this,
my ear has heard and understood it.
What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.
But I would speak to the Almighty,
and I desire to argue my case with God.
As for you, you whitewash with lies;
worthless physicians are you all.
Oh that you would keep silent,
and it would be your wisdom!
Hear now my argument
and listen to the pleadings of my lips.
Will you speak falsely for God
and speak deceitfully for him?
Will you show partiality toward him?
Will you plead the case for God?
Will it be well with you when he searches you out?
Or can you deceive him, as one deceives a man?
He will surely rebuke you
if in secret you show partiality.
Will not his majesty terrify you,
and the dread of him fall upon you?
Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;
your defenses are defenses of clay.
(Job 13:1-12 ESV)

Armstrong, Folds, and Jobs

I'm trying to understand.

Lance Armstrong, Ben Folds, and Steve Jobs have indirectly, but strongly, influenced and inspired my life. I respect them for their achievements, work ethic, creativity, and contributions. However, all three of these men are either agnostic or ambivalent about God. How is that possible?

Clearly God is using these guys, and others like them, in amazing ways. I don't believe for a second that any of them could do what they do or have done without the power of the Holy Spirit. And yet, none of them acknowledge God in their life. In fact, mostly because of their upbringing and personal experience, sometimes they are hostile when discussing their creator.

And yet God uses them to inspire and move others to be great in their own lives without recognizing the source of the greatness, or the purpose of the life lived. I don't get it. I also don't understand why God doesn't promote believers into similar positions of influence. As much as I hate the Broncos, I absolutely love what Tim Tebow brings to the field of professional football. But Tebow seems to be the exception.

I understand that there is the world and there is God's Kingdom and those are two different but not mutually exclusive places. I just wonder what the world of Armstrong, Folds, and Jobs would be like if Jesus sat on their throne. Would their focus turn away from their own accomplishment and thereby make them less great achievers? Or would a proper focus in their lives propel them beyond what they achieved without asking God for direction? And how would the world be better?

I want God to use me in great ways. I know that I am uniquely created for a purpose, to love God. Also to spread his love to others and to be open to his direction and path as I navigate through my life. I wonder what it would be like to be as influential as one of my heros. I suppose I am in smaller, more personal ways with the people who I encounter daily. I still wonder.

I wonder too what happens to those who God loves but who don't love God back. What do they decide when the day of reckoning comes? I can't imagine anyone rejecting Jesus face to face. But if one doesn't invite Jesus into his or her life while living, will death really change their attitudes? And how would you like to be the person who realizes too late that you really weren't the one in the driver's seat of your life; that all our your "accomplishments" were really nothing without God?

Explain that.

2 December Talks

I'm teaching the youth group these next two Sundays preceding Christmas. We're between books in the Bible so I'm being given some freedom. I selected two short stories from my younger days that while not explicitly biblical, do have biblical themes and connections.

This Sunday I will share Dr. Seuss' Bartholomew and the Oobleck. The King of Didd has decided that he is tired of the four things that come down from the sky, and so he orders his royal magicians to create something new to descend from the heavens. The next morning green globs of goo begin to fall and create a sticky mess for everyone in his kingdom. Only Bartholomew, his page, has the good sense to try to warn the kingdom; but he has little success. Finally Bartholomew confronts the King and shames him into repentance. Once the King announces that he is sorry, the oobleck quickly dries up and disappears. I am connecting the story to Pslam 51. King David had similar problems with wanting to live life his way, and not God's way. David paid a heavy price, as did his kingdom. The lessons closes on David's words, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me." Excellent advice at Christmas time.

Next Sunday I will read Tolstoy's Where Love is God Is. I first read this short story in Bill Bennet's Book of Virtures. I often read it to my high school classes at the beginning of the year. Martin Avedeitch is a cobbler who wants to be closer to God. One day he has a handful of encounters with strangers passing by his shoe shop. In each case Martin has the opportunity to help someone in need. Later as Martin reflects on his efforts to help others, he reads Luke 6:27-31, Luke 7:41-50, and finally Matthew 25:35-40. Jesus' words, "As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." This hits me right in the chest. I often wonder while performing a random (or not so random) act of kindness who it is in fact that I am serving. For all I know Jesus himself could be that homeless guy on the street corner, or the elderly grandma in the Circle K.

I hope that the youth group gets as much out of these two stories as I did when I was first introduced to them. I pray that God will use me to make a connection to their hearts that clearly defines Christmas and that miracle that is God's love for us.