More Than a Story

I'm a reader.  I have always loved to read.  As a child, I remember clutching Anne of Green Gables protectively in my hands eagerly waiting for a moment to lose myself in another adventure with Anne in Avonlea.  Today, I still find happiness in a quiet corner, with a cup of coffee, and a good book.

I enjoy books because the stories they tell effect me in some way.  Sometimes it's just a feeling--a book might make me laugh, or a book might make me cry.  Sometimes a book will cause me to consider a new perspective, or it might challenge my position on a certain issue.  Sometimes a book will leave an imprint on my heart because of a character I've grown to love and sometimes I don't want a book to end because I have become so woven into the story that it feels like it's a very part of me, and letting go is hard.  Books are marvelous things.

Of all the books I've read there is one that I love the most.  It's the book that was penned by 40 different authors over a 1600 year period, with a theme of love and redemption that flows harmoniously from beginning to end.  That book is the Bible.  The inspired Word of God.  The story of God's redeeming love for man--the most wonderful, true story of love ever told.

This book effects me in every way that I mentioned before...but this book is different.  It's different because I can't set it down and walk away thinking to myself, "That was a great story," then go on with my life, unchanged.  It's different because it requires a response.  It's different because it directly influences my future, my behavior, and my hope.  It's different because the characters, the plots, and the settings play a part in every decision I make, every lesson I teach my children, and every thought I have for tomorrow.  It's more than just a story.  It is the standard to which everything is measured.  It is our moral compass.  It is the determination of what is right and what is wrong.  It is the living Word of God.  It is God-breathed.  It is Truth.  (Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, John 17:17).

In as much as the Bible is not simply a love story, it is also not simply a book of rules.  The Bible is, in fact, both and the two are intertwined in a beautiful expression of God's plan to save His children.  If I go through life simply "checking things off of my spiritual to-do list", then I've missed the most important part of being a Christian.  However, if I neglect to respond in obedient faith to the grace that my Heavenly Father has extended to me through His Son Jesus Christ, then I've missed another necessary part of being a Christian (Ephesians 2:8, Romans 1:1-6).

The Bible tells me what I need to know about living life as a follower of Christ.  Love God, love your neighbor, love your enemies, love yourself. Honor your parents.  Submit to one another.  Go unto all the world and preach the Gospel.  These are rules.  These are tender, compassionate, God-given rules.  Read the Word, increase your Faith through Bible study, repent of your sins, tell the world that you believe Jesus Christ is God's Son, be baptized into the death of Christ so that His blood can cleanse you of sin and you can walk a new life, and live faithfully.  More rules.  Tender, compassionate, God-given rules.

God loves us in a way that we will never fully understand and, because He loves us, He has given us rules to follow.  Following those rules is not legalistic or unloving, the following of God's rules originates from a heart that wants to demonstrate its love for God.  We show our love to God when we keep His commandments (1 John 5:2).  We abide in God when we keep His commandments (1 John 3:24).  We come to know God if we keep His commandments (1 John 2:3).

Throughout the Bible, we find that love and obedience go hand and hand.  Even Jesus, when He came to this world to live and die in the ultimate demonstration of love for all people, also came in obedience to God.  His entire life on earth was lived in humble submission to the Will of His Father (John 15:10).  We should strive everyday to be more like Jesus.

Paul spoke often about grace.  He also spoke often about faithful obedience.  Paul's entire life is a outstanding example of both.  On the road to Damascus, the outcome would have been different if Paul, in response to Jesus, had said, "I don't want to follow your rules, I just want to be a part of your story."  Instead, Paul did what Jesus told him to do, went to the city, was baptized by Ananias and became the greatest missionary to ever live.  He lived a life of faithful obedience, shared Christ with the world, and knew that there was laid up for him a crown of righteousness in Heaven.

I can't save myself.  My only hope for salvation is through the free gift of grace extended to me through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  My response to that gift is faith--the confident belief I have that Jesus is the Son of God plus the confident hope I have for a home in Heaven that leads me to take action according to God's Will (James 2:17, 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3).  My response to God's grace is not an effort to earn my salvation...my response is in obedience to God, whom I love and to whom I submit my life.

The Bible is the true story of God's love for man that was manifested through the sacrifice of His Son so that we might have hope for eternal life in Heaven.  God doesn't "invite" you and me to be a part of the story...we already ARE a part of the story, because Jesus died on the cross for everyone.  That makes every person in the world a part of God's love story.  We are invited to respond to His love in obedience to Him.  This means following His rules...rules we read about in His book, the Bible, by which we will all one day be judged (John 12:48).

Love is fundamental to Christianity.  God is love and as Christians we should radiate His love to all people!  That love is characterized by faithful obedience to His Word.  We must have both and we CAN have both.  It seems as though some people think Christians are either "all love and no rules" or "all rules and no love."  God calls us, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to have both.

The Cement Stairs

We drive past an empty corner lot on our way to worship services several times a week.  Years ago, a house sat there; a little wooden house.  Some time ago, the house was torn down, and now all that remains is a path and two cement stairs that at one time led to a front door.  It makes me sad.

Every time we pass the lot, with grass growing evenly across the ground where the foundation of a home once rested, the enduring path and tenacious steps seem to cry out for someone to know their story.  After all, everything has a story, and in my mind I've written a hundred scenarios for the stairs that seemingly lead to nowhere.

I think about the people.  I think about the rooms.  I think about those two things together and imagine life in the little house ten years ago.

The recurring plots in my head are of misfortune resulting in lost hope or of sacrifice ultimately claiming residential dreams.  Both are depressing, but I can't help but look at what is left on that lot and be flooded with ghostly echoes of "what might have been" for the nameless characters in the story behind the cement stairs.

What happened to the house?

Perhaps the house was condemned or irreparably damaged?  Maybe it was part of a complicated legal dispute or maybe there are plans to build something bigger in its place?

There are countless possibilities, but here is what I know:  The house is gone and the stairs remain.

It reminds me of our spiritual homes.  I'm not talking about Heaven.  I'm talking about the homes we build for our families right here, smack dab in the middle of this world.  How strong are our homes?

Sometimes we start out with a path of cemented belief and a few rock solid stairs of faith, but when it comes time to build a home...we construct something unstable, vulnerable, and a little wobbly.  We walk through the front door, leave God out on the cement stairs, and end up with a spiritual home that will fall.

Our homes need the strength of God in every brick, in every beam, in every nail, and in every slab of mortar.  We need God to be our interior decorator, our electrician, and our plumber.  We need to provide our families with a spiritual home that has been built by faith, furnished with love, and that is maintained through the hope of eternal life.  A home that will not fall is one that has God as the foundation, Jesus as the cornerstone, and the Holy Spirit as the protective roof and walls.

Sometimes houses shake.  Sometimes people leave.  Sometimes our own lack of faith might weaken the walls.  But if God is there, in every nook and cranny of your home, it will not fall.

There comes a time when each one of us becomes responsible for the spiritual home we build our family.  Parents can't build homes for their grown children, preachers can't build homes for church members, and God doesn't build homes for us.  Don't stop at the cement stairs.  Keep building strong!

The Simplest Things

"...that the human spirit is more powerful than any drug and that is what needs to be nourished: with work, play, friendship, family.  These are the things that matter.  This is what we'd forgotten.  The simplest things."  --Dr. Sayer played by Robin Williams, in Awakenings

Like so many others today, my thoughts are reflecting on the life and tragic death of actor and comedian Robin Williams.  This morning I've watched video clips from a collection of his most popular roles and found that many of his lines now ring with a deep and heavy irony.  Following his death, the characters he played seem to call out from the screen, sometimes with words of counsel and sometimes with words of introspection, urging us to become more mindful of those who are suffering in the darkness of depression.

A doctor recognizing the value of the simple things

A genie wishing for freedom

A professor teaching his students to seize the day and make their lives extraordinary

A medical student realizing that indifference is the most terrible of diseases

A grown man encouraging children to face their problems

A psychologist pointing out that bad times help us better appreciate the good times

There are many more.

I pray we open our eyes.

Depression is real and it is devastating.  As a nurse, I've seen its destructive effects from lost jobs to ruined relationships, from neglected children to broken families, from substance abuse to suicide attempts.  It is a life-threatening illness. 

I don't know how long Mr. Williams struggled with depression.  I do know that he hid it from the world well and I also know that most people with this illness do the same.  Even those who seem happy, those who are firmly grounded in their faith, those who have family support, and those who are in the best of physical health, might be in a daily fight against depression.  We must try to see them and we must reach out to them.

I'm afraid that depression has become one of the words we use flippantly, in instances that minimize its gravity.  We might say, "I am so depressed--I can't seem to find anything to wear today." or "It's depressing when my fantasy football teams lose."  Depression is not just a feeling, it is a condition that is debilitating and unrelenting.  It is silently invading the lives of people all around us and we need to educate ourselves on its presentation and treatment.

Is it preventable?  Not always.  Can it be treated?  Absolutely.  There is help and there is hope.  

Today, I am reminded of the importance of "the simplest things":  feeding my soul with things that matter and never forgetting them.  I am thankful to God for my Heavenly home.  I am grateful that my citizenship lies there and not in this troubled world.  I am looking forward with great anticipation to the day I will be able to live eternally in the presence of God, surrounded by only goodness, with all of my family.  This is what motivates me, this is what makes me endure, and this is what makes life worth living.  "All of life is a coming home." --Robin Williams as Patch Adams

To Sit and To Swim

With my head turned toward the sky, eyes closed, hands sinking in the sand behind me, I drank in the salty ocean air.  Deep gulps...like a thirsty child at a playground water fountain.  It felt so good.

I sat there for a moment, enveloped by the beauty of the scene, and gradually I could feel myself begin to let go of the world: the worry and fear that I seem to harbor being pushed out of my mind by an overwhelming awareness of my Creator.

Deep in the process of emptying myself, I opened my eyes just in time to see my three children running toward the ocean.  They bounded through the ankle-deep, shin-deep, then knee-deep waves, and dove right into the water.  I saw them float, swim, and race each other back to shore.  I watched them play in the sand: digging, building, writing, and burying themselves.  Then back to the water.

I realized that while I was emptying...they were filling.

There, in the presence of God's undeniable power and glory, I was giving up my weaknesses, handing over my struggles, and letting God's peace take control.  Emptying.
My children, on the other hand, were jumping in and swimming around.  Filling.
It made me think about how those two actions manifest themselves in my life as a Christian.

Being emptied of the world and being filled with the Spirit.

Both needed...both necessary.

I should live a life of sacrifice and not be conformed to this world.  I should turn my burdens over to God.  The emptying.
But also, I should be submerged in God's love and grace.  I should saturate myself in His Word.  The filling.

Quietly sitting in the sand and thinking about how much God has given me, reflecting on His magnificence is important, it helps me refocus and recharge; but, at some point, it's equally important to put aside inhibition, run full force into the water, and outright plunge into His greatness.  James wrote about this through inspiration telling his readers they should be "doers of the word and not hearers only" in James 1:22.

I don't want to be just a sand sitter...I want to be a wave rider!

And with that, I grabbed my boogie board and raced my kids to the water.

Love Sees Beautiful

I was having a bad hair day.  Plain and simple.  I stood in front of the mirror trying to tame the blonde mop sitting on top of my head, which clearly had a mind of its own that morning.  With an exasperated sigh I dropped my brush onto the counter, turned to my daughter Kate, and asked, "How does my hair look?"
With the sweetest smile she answered softly, "It's beautiful..."
My heart melted.  "Thank you, Kate, that is just..."
Then before I could say another word, she added, "...even when it's ugly."

"Beautiful even when it's ugly."  Hmmm.  I wasn't quite sure how to take that one.  It was an honest answer:  sincerely, lovingly, and brutally honest.

At first, my feelings were hurt because I couldn't get past the word "ugly."  But looking down at the face of my four year old it was obvious that she didn't intend to be mean.  Her big blue eyes were looking up at me with admiration and love.  I turned to face our reflections in the mirror, standing side by side in the bathroom.  Me, in my old worn out bathrobe, sleepy-up-all-night eyes, a crazy mess of hair; and next to me, my daughter, who in spite of it all, thinks I'm beautiful.

I have to remind myself of this from time to time, especially on those days when I'm not my best self:  days when I feel way, way less than beautiful---when I might not be very patient, I might lose my temper, I might let the kids watch movies all day, I might bring home Subway for lunch and order pizza for dinner.

There will be days when I might not be the best mother I can be, or the best wife I can be, or even the best Christian I can be; and I have to tell myself, when I have those "ugly" days, that I am still beautiful in the eyes of my children...my husband...and my Heavenly Father.  Then I have to forgive myself and go back to being awesome (or really trying to be awesome) the next day.

Love sees beauty in disheveled hair, in tears, in mistakes, in burned broccoli, in a few stubborn pounds, in every display of inevitable imperfection.  God demonstrated that kind of love to the greatest degree when He sent His Son to die for us, while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).  How comforting and humbling it is to know that God looks past the ugly and sees something beautiful and someone worth saving when He looks at me!

Surrounded by Promises

Scrolling through Facebook the other day, I came across this picture taken by a college friend of mine.  With the rainbow stretched across the sky behind her and the brilliant sun shining through the clouds ahead, she captured something truly beautiful.  I looked at the picture for awhile and allowed myself to be reminded of God's promises.  We are surrounded by them.  They shine from behind us, encouraging us to press on and giving us hope for the future.  They also shine ahead of us, guiding us along the narrow way and beckoning us to our home in Heaven.

God's promises give me comfort:
He will supply all of my needs.  (Philippians 4:19)
He will bear my burdens.  (Psalm 68:19)
He will forgive me.  (1 John 1:9)
He will answer my prayers.  (1 John 5:14-15)

God's promises give me courage:
He will never leave me.  (Hebrews 13:6)
He will give me strength.  (Isaiah 40:29-31)
He will not allow me to be tempted with more than I can bear.  (1 Corinthians 10:13)

God's promises give me confidence:
He will make all things work together for good.  (Romans 8:28)
He will save me by His grace, through faith.  (Ephesians 2:8)
He will give me eternal life.  (1 John 4:5)

God's promises are abounding!  These are just a few of the many we find in the Bible.

When I think of God's promises, I think of the words written in Joshua 22:45, "Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass."

Everything God promised to His people was fulfilled.

I also like to remember Numbers 23:19, "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it?  Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good."  

God will do what He says He will do.

The road we travel through life will be difficult because of the persecution that comes with being a follower of Christ.  In fact, that's another promise (2 Timothy 3:12).  But, because of the courage, confidence, and comfort that come from God...which He has promised to give me...I will prevail!  I will stay on the course that will lead me Home, with a rainbow shining behind me and the sun shining ahead.