Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus... -- Philippians 1:1
I began reading through Philippians this morning. Why? Paul\"s letter to the Philippians is known as The letter of joy. In the midst of the storms of life, a reminder of joy sounds good to me.
I didn\"t get far into my reading when something leapt out; and frankly, it wasn\"t what I was looking for.
Paul opens the letter with a fairly normal greeting. In his hello, two words jumped out immediately:
SERVANTS & SAINTS
Paul was an uber-apostle. His writings and influence helped shape the early church and the (our) faith throughout the centuries. His life was a picture of the miraculous and gut-it-out faithfulness. His ears heard the audible voice of Jesus and the grating chorus of detractors. Paul lived for his (our) faith. Paul died for his (our) faith. Paul was a saint. (I know this because his first name is Saint, as in Saint Paul.)
It\"s interesting to me that Paul didn\"t begin his letter: "Paul and Timothy, saints of Christ Jesus, to all the servants..." Nope, the opposite. Paul calls himself (and Timothy) servants, and the everyday people, the holding-on-by-a-fingernail believers, he addresses as saints.
And that\"s it for this post. You and I are saints. You and I are servants. I propose that the more Saintly we become, the more Servantly we are. Or maybe, the more Servantly we are (in action), the more Saintly we become. Or... maybe it\"s both. Yea, I think that\"s it.
You and I are SAINTS...
Believe and hold on to it. It\"s something Christ did for us.
You and I are SERVANTS:
Live it and do it. It\"s something Christ does through us.
God, the only way for me to understand I am a saint is to live as a servant. And the power to truly serve comes from understanding you have made me a saint.
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus... - Philippians 1:1
I began reading through Philippians this morning. Why? Paul's letter to the Philippians is known as The letter of joy. In the midst of the storms of life, a reminder of joy sounds good to me.
I didn't get far into my reading when something leapt out; and frankly, it wasn't what I was looking for.
Paul opens the letter with a fairly normal greeting. In his hello, two words jumped out immediately:
SERVANTS & SAINTS
Paul was an uber-apostle. His writings and influence helped shape the early church and the (our) faith throughout the centuries. His life was a picture of the miraculous and gut-it-out faithfulness. His ears heard the audible voice of Jesus and the grating chorus of detractors. Paul lived for his (our) faith. Paul died for his (our) faith. Paul was a saint. (I know this because his first name is Saint, as in Saint Paul.)
It's interesting to me that Paul didn't begin his letter: "Paul and Timothy, saints of Christ Jesus, to all the servants..." Nope, the opposite. Paul calls himself (and Timothy) servants, and the everyday people, the holding-on-by-a-fingernail believers, he addresses as saints.
And that's it for this post. You and I are saints. You and I are servants. I propose that the more Saintly we become, the more Servantly we are. Or maybe, the more Servantly we are (in action), the more Saintly we become. Or... maybe it's both. Yea, I think that's it.
You and I are SAINTS...
Believe and hold on to it. It's something Christ did for us.
You and I are SERVANTS:
Live it and do it. It's something Christ does through us.
God, the only way for me to understand I am a saint is to live as a servant. And the power to truly serve comes from understanding you have made me a saint.
Yesterday afternoon I had the "opportunity" to squeeze into a Delta window seat on an airplane the size of a Volkswagen. I typically hold my breath as I watch people come down the aisle, quietly saying to myself, "I hope it's her... I hope it's her..." and occasionally, "I hope it's him..." wondering who will be my new best friend for the next two hours. Before you think that's creepy, my one criterion? Small. I want a petite person to sit next to.
The big biker that slowed at my row did not fit the bill. We exchanged an OK, so this is how it is glance, and he folded himself into the aisle seat. I said, "How are you doing?" He quipped, "... living the dream."
The next two hours was a dance of steel-toe-boot footsie and obligatory shoulder bumper-cars. Both seasoned travelers, and big guys, we knew the game; without a word, "You go forward, I'll go back... switch..."
Despite being a human Pringle I did what I do best on flights: I fell into a hard, yet contorted sleep. However, I woke up just in time for the Belvitas. (Peanuts are a thing from flights long past.)
I groggily asked my row-mate if KC was home. He said it is and that he'd been working in Detroit and spending a lot of time in the air. (Very familiar territory.) Then he said it again, "I'm just living the dream." But the way he said it struck me. "Are you?" I wondered. "Are you really living the dream? Am I?"
As we talked I realized his work wasn't his dream. But it fueled his dream. It enabled his passion. And that's a good thing. He enjoyed his work, and it gave him some freedom to pursue a dream. And what could be better?
I'm on a fence here. On one side I think, Follow your dreams and don't settle. On the other, are some of the harsh realities that life brings. You know the ones that sometimes force us into choices that aren't quite dreamlike.
Follow your dreams is great at high school commencements. Student loans water it down just a bit at college graduations. (Mike Rowe - Dirtiest Jobs Mike Rowe - has an interesting take on the subject, but you'll have to do the Google work.) The real world, not the MTV version but the real thing, can be a face-smacker. The realness of reality creates demands of our energies, our time, and even our dreams.
Life is more complex than any bumper-sticker theology or inspirational meme. Life happens. And in the process dreams sometime fade. That said, I admit to being a dreamer - even at my age. Even with the Niagara Falls of water already under the bridge. I'm a dreamer. There, I said it.
I remember a line that struck me from the 1983 cinematic masterpiece Flashdance. In a poignant moment Nick says to Alex, the hip-hop-ballet-dancing welder who ran-in-placed herself into every young man's fantasy, "Don't you understand... you give up your dream, you die!"
We are all damaged in some way: damaged psyches, damaged relationships, damaged dreams. But that's OK. As a matter of fact, it's better than OK. It's human. And it's incredible.
Dreaming of being an astronaut as a four-year-old is easy. Continuing to dream as a 40, 50, 60-something is fantastic and difficult. The content of the dream may change. Gone are the spacesuits, to be replaced with... well, I won't attempt to fill in your blank.
As often when I begin to emote on the keyboard, my thought hasn't run it's course. But my time has. I think I have a bunch more to say. And if you've made it even this far through my rambling, you are a warrior. And I thank you.
I've had a few people ask why I stopped writing. My reaction is, "I didn't!" Then I pause and do the math. Wow, I stopped writing. (I have to admit my other thought is: "Thanks for noticing!")
I didn't plan to stop. I guess the inverse is true too: I didn't have a (good) plan to keep going. The world didn't suffer in my absence; and it won't so much benefit by my input. But, I'm picking up my proverbial pen anyway.
One of the first ditties I wrote in this blog - a forum which will be finding a new title soon - was Shooters Shoot. The idea was built around basketball and my son.
He was an unselfish player, with great court sense, precise passing skills and tenacious defense. I constantly reminded him though, that often the best thing for the team, and therefore the most UNselfish thing, was for him to shoot. Said like a proud and overly-involved dad I know, but many times his not-so-great shot, was better than any other taken by his team for several trips down the court.
I would unceasingly chirp, "SHOOTERS SHOOT!"
Writing has been my "shot." I was a pastor for many years and had the opportunity to speak hundreds of times per year. But times change. Directions change. Venues change. We change. But some things are constant. Shooters Shoot is one for me.
One day I may write something that you find meaningful. Whether that happens or not, I can promise the effort and the joy of releasing the (writing) shot was meaningful to me.
I will shoot some spiritual shots. Some people won't like it. Some will disagree. (I'm always open for mutually-respectful open-minded dialogue.) Others may too-quickly accept my words because of the ministry credentials. Don't. Weigh them. Filter them. Test them. And always know that before something hits the page, I've wrestled with it - and usually still am.
I will shoot some inspirational shots. I'll quote Rocky, Maximus Decimus Meridius and William Wallace, along with Winnie the Pooh. I hope in these you find just a little spark to get over the hump. I hope you and I realize the incredible souls we are, and can be. We all need a push now and then.
I will shoot some smart-ass shots. Sorry, not very pastoral. But it's who I am. And it makes me snicker as I write.
I'll post in various spots and hope to annoy with my presence. Inspiration for me comes in spurts. So I have no idea of my shooting regularity.
So there it is for now. I'm picking up the pen - (He announced, as the world said, "huh, who are you?") No matter, Shooters Shoot.
At least now I can say to those who asked why I stopped writing: "What are you talking about, I haven't stopped shooting."
Yeah, but this particular blog ditty isn't inspirational. It's not spiritual. And it's certainly not smart-ass enough to be funny, you say.
Oh well, I can't express to you at this very moment in a Detroit hotel room, how meaningful it is to me.
His divine power has granted to us
all things that pertain to life and godliness...
-- 2
Peter 1:3
We have
everything we need.
That is a
simple statement, but a hard truth to comprehend.
As I
write, I am sitting on the couch in my air-conditioned house, drinking coffee.
I am about to head to an air-conditioned church and sit in a padded chair - and
drink more coffee. Most who read this will be in similar comfort.
My point:
I've never known extreme poverty or the desperation of searching for a meal. I
can only imagine how foreign the statement, we
have everything we need, might sound to a family who is being
evicted, or to one having just buried a child, or to a mother combing scraps in the
Matamoros Mexico dump to feed to her toddler (which I've seen).
Trite
answers don't work. And American Christianity seems to often boil down to
triteness and self-focus. I'll take it a step further (since it's my blog),
trite and self-serving Christianity is not Christianity. And in my Christian
journey, I am often guilty of "unchristianess." (Again, my blog, I
can invent words.)
When we
read Peter's words above, we often miss some important depth.
His divine power- Whose power? God's. (As in,
"God's, period!" Not yours, not mine.)
...has granted- past tense, with continuing and
ongoing results. (It's a Greek grammatical tense thing.)
...to us - This promise
is given to the community of faith. And though it has individual impact, it
is us, not me. (More on this in a
moment.)
...all things - we have everything we need (keep
reading).
...life and godliness-
to live as God intends for us, (for our calling and purpose.)
This
statement may sound trite, but it is true: We
have everything we need in Christ.
I have
often heard it said that God will never allow me to face more than I can bear.
I struggle with the statement, though the fact that I am alive and well (and
writing), sings the melody of its truth. That stated, I'd like to amend the
platitude: God will never allow us to face more than we can
bear... together and
through his strength
and presence.
The
Christian life is a life lived in community with others from whom and with whom
we share strengths, weaknesses, joys and pain. And it is a body (Paul's
analogy) that is completely interconnected drawing its strength and power from
Christ.
So, with
all these concepts in mind I can confidently state: We have everything we need.
I, for one, tend to want more... to look for more. A blog post I wrote
in davidmstanleykineticlife.blogspot.com quotes Bono from U2, whose lyric cries, But I still haven't found what I'm
looking for.
But here
is a truth I've learned and am learning: The real and worthy search in this
life is not about looking for more. The worthwhile search is not the constant
desire for something else,
something other. The better
journey is one that leads us to deeper understanding of WHO IS this one who
provides, and who he has
made us to be for ourselves and others.
That for
which you search is not out there somewhere. It is instead found in a God who
is a whisper away.
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
- 1 Peter 4:12
TV preachers who talk of happiness and material abundance as the true results of faith, tell only part of the story. We cannot appreciate abundance without knowing lack. We cannot be happy unless we've known joy in the midst of pain.
Through $30,000 smiles and caked makeup, they tell a half-true story. But where there is half-truth, there is falsehood.
I've always wondered how their message would sit with the Apostle Paul. "Paul," they might say, "if you truly had faith, you would be on a yacht and not in a dungeon. God wants you to be healthy, happy and rich."
Paul might smile to himself - or cry - and continue writing the words:
I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.
In any and every circumstance, I learned the secret
of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM WHO STRENGTHENS ME.
-- Philippians 4:11-13
Yes, God does want us to know joy. Jesus is the embodiment of joy. His presence is the fullness of joy. As one (non-makeuped) preacher put it... KNOW JESUS, KNOW JOY. NO JESUS. NO JOY.
Yes, God does want us to experience abundance. And sometimes with that abundance comes wealth. But wealth measured in only stuff and money is not true wealth.
When we buy what the half-truth-tellers sell, we pay the consequences. We are surprised by trial. Worse, we feel deceived or defeated by trial's mere presence.
If you will allow an old preacher to preach for a moment (through morning-coffee teeth and with a new blemish on my cheek (who gets those at my age anyway?) - in other words, no $30K smile or makeup)...
...The fire of trial will not defeat you.
...It may burn away some things that, though painful, ultimately hold you back.
...It will not consume you.
...The fire of trial will REFINE you. It will FORGE your character. It will make you who can be.
...And in the midst of the heat, you will find the presence of JOY.
I can't say that I have learned to look forward to trials. I don't necessarily embrace them (before or during). But I am better for the pain. And I bear the scars with an odd joy (and almost pride). I don't look forward to my next fiery trial. But I fear it less. Because within every furnace I've walked, there has been one who walks with me.
God, you have always been with me through the fire of trial. Refine me. Forge me.
Not that anyone in my little new FB circle needs wisdom from me - my wisdom pool runs pretty shallow anyway. But on the off chance it's encouraging in any way, this is what I'm thinking through today. (Partially plagiarized, partially original - kind of like the hundreds of sermons I preached over the years).
I Am Not Defined By My Past.
Today I am thankful that my past does not define me.
I am more than the culmination of my decisions and circumstances. My past is just that... past; and it does not dictate my present or my future. I am not defined by my past: I learn from it... I grow because of it... I find in it both joy and pain. But I am more than my past. I am present... and I have a future. Don't believe me... then take it up with the Creator!
Jesus: I have come that you may have life, and have it to the fullest.
Father: “I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
Paul: Forgetting and forgiving the past, I look forward to what lies ahead...
