Have you ever been invisible? Have you ever felt as if someone was looking through you instead of at you; as if you didn't matte? Store clerks and waitresses know this feeling. So do parents, spouses, the homeless and those who are ill. We're taught to think of invisible people as being marginalized, ignored, abused, impoverished, victimized....nobodies. Perhaps you think I'm going to suggest that you not treat people as if they are invisible.
It's a good message and if you need to hear it consider it said, but that isn't the direction this is headed. In Mark 9:35b, Jesus told his disciples, "if anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." Servants are invisible people, which means that leaders should also be invisible people.
There are a couple ways that we can be said to be invisible. The first is to simply not be seen. This is the same sort of invisibility that was described in the first paragraph. The second way is to be hidden by what is visible. This is what Jesus was talking about when He said, "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) This is what Paul talked about when he said, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." (Galatians 2:20) It is as we become more invisible that Jesus becomes more visible in our lives.
Another way to think of this second sort of invisibility is to consider what the Bible says should be visible instead - the things we put on: the armor of light (Romans 13:12), the imperishable and the immortal (I Corinthians 15:53-53), the new self (Ephesians 4:2 and Colossians 3:10), the full armor (truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the Spirit - Ephesians 6:10-20), a heart of compassion (Colossians 3:12), love (Colossians 3:14), faith, love and hope of salvation (I Thessalonians 5:18) and above all, Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14).
Professor Dallas Willard expressed a good approach to invisibility: "I am learning from Jesus how to live my life as he would live my life if he were I. I am not necessarily learning to do everything that he did, but I am learning how to do everything I do in the manner that he did all that he did."
There is one final question to consider. Why is God invisible? We've been told that God said, "But, you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." (Exodus 33:20) Think about it. If the sight of God's face is enough to end our sin-damaged lives then He is protecting you by remaining invisible. He's not arbitrarily hiding Himself or withholding Himself from you. He's not invisible so that He can better catch you doing something wrong. He's not playing games or demanding that you jump through hoops of faith just for His amusement. He's making your life possible. He's approaching you in the most personal - perhaps the only - way He can. It is God's love that hides God from you. He would rather remain with you unseen than to be visible but alone.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Gleaning
In the Truth Project session dealing with sociology, a story is told about the owner of a carpentry business. The owner read in Leviticus 19:9-10 that landowners weren't to harvest to the very edges of their fields. They were to leave corners and edges so that the poor in the land could come and glean.
I don't remember whether this man's business made cabinets or furniture, but I do remember that they made sawdust. As he thought about what was left over that the poor could come and take away, he thought of the saw dust. Generally, his employees swept it up and someone else came along and charged to haul it away. The owner made a deal with some of the poor in his area. He provided the equipment and the truck. They came, they swept up, they took the sawdust to another business that purchased it, and they kept the proceeds. They also learned and developed discipline. They may not have made much money, but it was more than they'd had before and they had earned it.
This story speaks on several levels. First, it suggests that we need to think differently about solving the problems of poverty. Instead of someone else (especially the government) coming in like a knight on a white horse and solving the universal problem, we need to think creatively and personally. In my daily life, what do I do or produce or think of that would enrich others? What change could I make that might allow another to grow? What opportunities to do good do I miss on a daily basis because I'm too busy maintaining the status quo? I do not pretend that I've thought about this nearly enough. I can only think of two things I have done that might fit into this category.
About the same time Hurricane Katrina hit the southern coast, some shirts in the store where I work were marked down to $0.97 just to get rid of them. With my discount, the price ended up around $0.79. There weren't many, but I purchased what I could and arranged to have them shipped down to those who needed them. Since then, whenever I find stuff at what I call "ridiculously cheap" prices, I make a purchase and donate it somewhere. I could not hope to donate $200-300 a couple times a year, but I can buy $200-300 (original value) of clothing for $10-30 and donate that.
When I think of where I work, I can't help but think of how many hangers and how much plastic and cardboard the store pays to have someone haul away, or of how many stores there are in the area that do the same thing. Couldn't they do the same thing with this "trash" as the business owner did with the saw dust?
The other thing that I do is talk. Actually, it's a more than just talking because it involves thinking and then talking about the thoughts. Some may think I think and talk too much. The way I figure it, however, is that if what I say causes someone else to think, or if I give them an idea that they can use, then I've done good. The more I think and the more I talk, the greater the chance that I'll say something that will produce that good. What some might think of as verbal diarrhea I think of as fertilizing the thoughts and minds of others. Putting it a more socially acceptable way, I'm casting seeds of ideas and the more liberally I cast them, the greater the likely harvest, whether for me or for someone else. Then, from that harvest, gleanings can be left for someone else.
What does your life or work produce that can benefit others? What change could you make that would allow another to grow? What opportunities do you walk by on a daily basis because you're busy trying to make it through another day? What are your gleanings? What ideas do you dismiss because they aren't "good enough" because they don't solve the whole problem - or because they're not "sure things"?
I don't remember whether this man's business made cabinets or furniture, but I do remember that they made sawdust. As he thought about what was left over that the poor could come and take away, he thought of the saw dust. Generally, his employees swept it up and someone else came along and charged to haul it away. The owner made a deal with some of the poor in his area. He provided the equipment and the truck. They came, they swept up, they took the sawdust to another business that purchased it, and they kept the proceeds. They also learned and developed discipline. They may not have made much money, but it was more than they'd had before and they had earned it.
This story speaks on several levels. First, it suggests that we need to think differently about solving the problems of poverty. Instead of someone else (especially the government) coming in like a knight on a white horse and solving the universal problem, we need to think creatively and personally. In my daily life, what do I do or produce or think of that would enrich others? What change could I make that might allow another to grow? What opportunities to do good do I miss on a daily basis because I'm too busy maintaining the status quo? I do not pretend that I've thought about this nearly enough. I can only think of two things I have done that might fit into this category.
About the same time Hurricane Katrina hit the southern coast, some shirts in the store where I work were marked down to $0.97 just to get rid of them. With my discount, the price ended up around $0.79. There weren't many, but I purchased what I could and arranged to have them shipped down to those who needed them. Since then, whenever I find stuff at what I call "ridiculously cheap" prices, I make a purchase and donate it somewhere. I could not hope to donate $200-300 a couple times a year, but I can buy $200-300 (original value) of clothing for $10-30 and donate that.
When I think of where I work, I can't help but think of how many hangers and how much plastic and cardboard the store pays to have someone haul away, or of how many stores there are in the area that do the same thing. Couldn't they do the same thing with this "trash" as the business owner did with the saw dust?
The other thing that I do is talk. Actually, it's a more than just talking because it involves thinking and then talking about the thoughts. Some may think I think and talk too much. The way I figure it, however, is that if what I say causes someone else to think, or if I give them an idea that they can use, then I've done good. The more I think and the more I talk, the greater the chance that I'll say something that will produce that good. What some might think of as verbal diarrhea I think of as fertilizing the thoughts and minds of others. Putting it a more socially acceptable way, I'm casting seeds of ideas and the more liberally I cast them, the greater the likely harvest, whether for me or for someone else. Then, from that harvest, gleanings can be left for someone else.
What does your life or work produce that can benefit others? What change could you make that would allow another to grow? What opportunities do you walk by on a daily basis because you're busy trying to make it through another day? What are your gleanings? What ideas do you dismiss because they aren't "good enough" because they don't solve the whole problem - or because they're not "sure things"?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Learning
Do you play a musical instrument? Do you knit, crochet, sew, cook or drive? Did someone teach you these skills or did you do it on your own? Has anyone ever suggested that you do any of them differently than you learned?
I am an autodidact. I teach myself, and that's not always a good thing. When I was in elementary school, I began teaching myself to type on an ancient Underwood typewriter. I had an instruction manual so I learned to start with my fingers on ASDF JKL; but it wasn't long before I was banging on most of the other keys without much regard to which finger was supposed to strike them. I have also taken lessons. One of the big differences between teaching yourself and taking lessons is that someone else is in control. Someone else sets the pace, watches, corrects and guides. While we chafe at the discipline and method, the teachers knows its benefits.
You might find yourself resenting the discipline of a study system like the one that Ann Graham Lotz teaches. You may want to study Scripture your own way or use another system. You may be tempted to refuse to do something at all if you can't do it the way you want. I was. As I grumbled about the restrictions of the study method presented by Mrs. Lotz, a couple truths came to mind. First, being able to do things more than one way can be useful. We aren't locked into a method just because we learn it. We don't have to use it for the rest of eternity. There may be things about her method that we discard. There may be things about her method that prove invaluable. Secondly, I realized that my struggle wasn't with studying the Bible or right and wrong. It was with submitting to someone else - doing it her way instead of mine. This is actually one of the invaluable lessons I mentioned a moment ago: learning to lay aside our pride and try something different. Thirdly, my struggle was with getting the right answers. When my list of facts didn't match (word for word) her list of facts, I felt the urge to scratch out my list, crumple up the paper and throw it out. You can't do that when the paper is a page in a book or when it's a computer screen. It's not nearly so cathartic to close or delete a file and too expensive to destroy a book or a computer in order to express frustration.
Years ago I learned a lesson about discipline that may apply. I jogged in a cemetery that is on the side of a hill. My family would part at the bottom of the hill and walk or jog the outside circle. As soon as I started jogging, my mind would begin sinning my jogging song:
I am an autodidact. I teach myself, and that's not always a good thing. When I was in elementary school, I began teaching myself to type on an ancient Underwood typewriter. I had an instruction manual so I learned to start with my fingers on ASDF JKL; but it wasn't long before I was banging on most of the other keys without much regard to which finger was supposed to strike them. I have also taken lessons. One of the big differences between teaching yourself and taking lessons is that someone else is in control. Someone else sets the pace, watches, corrects and guides. While we chafe at the discipline and method, the teachers knows its benefits.
You might find yourself resenting the discipline of a study system like the one that Ann Graham Lotz teaches. You may want to study Scripture your own way or use another system. You may be tempted to refuse to do something at all if you can't do it the way you want. I was. As I grumbled about the restrictions of the study method presented by Mrs. Lotz, a couple truths came to mind. First, being able to do things more than one way can be useful. We aren't locked into a method just because we learn it. We don't have to use it for the rest of eternity. There may be things about her method that we discard. There may be things about her method that prove invaluable. Secondly, I realized that my struggle wasn't with studying the Bible or right and wrong. It was with submitting to someone else - doing it her way instead of mine. This is actually one of the invaluable lessons I mentioned a moment ago: learning to lay aside our pride and try something different. Thirdly, my struggle was with getting the right answers. When my list of facts didn't match (word for word) her list of facts, I felt the urge to scratch out my list, crumple up the paper and throw it out. You can't do that when the paper is a page in a book or when it's a computer screen. It's not nearly so cathartic to close or delete a file and too expensive to destroy a book or a computer in order to express frustration.
Years ago I learned a lesson about discipline that may apply. I jogged in a cemetery that is on the side of a hill. My family would part at the bottom of the hill and walk or jog the outside circle. As soon as I started jogging, my mind would begin sinning my jogging song:
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days.
Sometimes, by the time I began my second loop, and usually by the time I began my third loop, the song would end with a "I don' wanna do this." To get the real effect, add some whine to your voice, and 5 or 6 As and about 20 Ns to the word "wanna."
God said, "OK, you don't have to, but are you gonna?"
My answer was to set my jaw, silently say, "Yes" and start back up the hill, "Oh God, You are my God. . . and step by step. . . .and step by step. . . and step by step. . . Oh, I don' wanna...."
Perhaps the most amazing thing is that God didn't get tired either of the song or our often repeated addition to it. Sometimes I would sigh with resignation. Other times I would get the glint of battle in my eye. Now, whenever I hear myself think or say those words, I know the answer.
You're allowed to now want to follow the disciplines of life. You aren't alone. You don't have to do it. You may approach it with excitement, with resignation or with the glint of battle in your eye. God's question is, "Are you gonna?"
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Quotes
A few quotes collected over the years....
"It's a rare man wh is taken for what he truly is," he said. "There is much misjudgment in the world. Now I knew you for a unicorn when I first saw you, and I know that I am your friend. Yet you take me for a clown, or a clod, or a betrayer, and so must I be if you see me so. The magic on you is only magic and it will vanish as soon as you are free, but the enchantment of error that you put on me I must wear forever in your eyes. We are not always what we seem and hardly ever what we dream." - Peter S. Beagle, from The Last Unicorn
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." - Shakespeare, MacBeth
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day, saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.' " Mary Ann Radmacher (thanks to Jeff Holes.)
"Life is eternal, and love is immortal, and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the lmit of our sight." Rossiter Worthington Raymond (thanks again to Jeff Holes.)
"He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity." - Ben Johnson
"I know it will come as a shock to most script writers, but the majority of American sdon't use four-letter words at a rate of five to a sentence. One does find, too, in contrast to the world as reflected in the movies, people who talk about subjects other than sex and making money. There are millions of people in business who don't cheat their customers or deliberately pollute the envionrment. Millions of Americans worship in churches and synagogues whose spiritual leaders are not child molesters or money-grubbing charlatans.
"Truth is not only stranger than fiction, but these days is lovelier, healthier, more decent and more inspiring. We can all be thankful that Amiercan is not the seedy, cynical, vugar, corrupt country reflected in the movies." - Charley Reese
"Character contributes to beauty,. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful." - Jacqueline Bisset
"It's a rare man wh is taken for what he truly is," he said. "There is much misjudgment in the world. Now I knew you for a unicorn when I first saw you, and I know that I am your friend. Yet you take me for a clown, or a clod, or a betrayer, and so must I be if you see me so. The magic on you is only magic and it will vanish as soon as you are free, but the enchantment of error that you put on me I must wear forever in your eyes. We are not always what we seem and hardly ever what we dream." - Peter S. Beagle, from The Last Unicorn
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." - Shakespeare, MacBeth
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day, saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.' " Mary Ann Radmacher (thanks to Jeff Holes.)
"Life is eternal, and love is immortal, and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the lmit of our sight." Rossiter Worthington Raymond (thanks again to Jeff Holes.)
"He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity." - Ben Johnson
"I know it will come as a shock to most script writers, but the majority of American sdon't use four-letter words at a rate of five to a sentence. One does find, too, in contrast to the world as reflected in the movies, people who talk about subjects other than sex and making money. There are millions of people in business who don't cheat their customers or deliberately pollute the envionrment. Millions of Americans worship in churches and synagogues whose spiritual leaders are not child molesters or money-grubbing charlatans.
"Truth is not only stranger than fiction, but these days is lovelier, healthier, more decent and more inspiring. We can all be thankful that Amiercan is not the seedy, cynical, vugar, corrupt country reflected in the movies." - Charley Reese
"Character contributes to beauty,. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful." - Jacqueline Bisset
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