Is That Someone?
Jessica and I were recently privileged to attend a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game, and as we settled in and got our bearings, we began the important business of scanning the crowd for celebrities. Several film and television stars were in attendance, and as we added these “star sightings” to our list, we would ask each other: “What about him? Is he anyone? What about her? Is she somebody?” And then we would say: “No, that’s not anyone.” (You can see where I’m going with this, right?) At first I didn’t even notice what we were saying—I was too busy trying to find Zac Efron for my daughters—but then I started thinking about the fact that God never sees a nobody. When He scans a crowded Staples Center, He sees row upon row of potential sons and daughters—humans created in His own image, and with seeds of destiny that can only blossom through a relationship with Him.
I lost interest in the “nobodys” as soon as I spotted a “somebody,” but Jesus never does that. He sees beauty amid ashes, and potential amid pain. He sees the best when life has done its worst. “Is that someone?” He would have us answer: “Yes! It’s someone loved by God, made in His image, and created with a purpose that He longs for them to fulfill.”
Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Moses and Botox
“When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai...his face was radiant...and he put a veil over his face, but whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out” (Exodus 34:29-35). Have you ever wondered what Moses’ face looked like after his encounter with God on the mountaintop? Have you wondered what happens to someone’s skin during forty days of continuous exposure to the presence of God?
I’m at a place in my life where my skin could use some help—Botox would probably do wonders for me. My frown lines keep frowning even when I’m smiling, and what used to be a dimple is now just a crease. I either need to get some help, or I need to do what Moses did—I need to get in God’s presence and sit there. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Prolonged exposure to the love and nature of Christ beautifies us—regardless of our external appearance. Paul makes it clear that we look like our gaze—we become what we behold. Let’s so reflect the love and beauty of Jesus that people don’t even notice what we look like on our own.
“When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai...his face was radiant...and he put a veil over his face, but whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out” (Exodus 34:29-35). Have you ever wondered what Moses’ face looked like after his encounter with God on the mountaintop? Have you wondered what happens to someone’s skin during forty days of continuous exposure to the presence of God?
I’m at a place in my life where my skin could use some help—Botox would probably do wonders for me. My frown lines keep frowning even when I’m smiling, and what used to be a dimple is now just a crease. I either need to get some help, or I need to do what Moses did—I need to get in God’s presence and sit there. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Prolonged exposure to the love and nature of Christ beautifies us—regardless of our external appearance. Paul makes it clear that we look like our gaze—we become what we behold. Let’s so reflect the love and beauty of Jesus that people don’t even notice what we look like on our own.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Encountering Dysfunction
“Take away the stone.”
“But, Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
“Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone, and Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
And the dead man came out. And Jesus said, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
I think this story from John 11 hits close to home for each of us because we all have at least some area of hurt, grief, or dysfunction in our lives. And although we hate the dysfunction, we often feel that it’s easier to keep it buried than to risk exposing it to Jesus. We fear the smell of it, and we fear the possibility that after exposing it nothing will actually change. But Jesus doesn’t see things the way we do. Where we see death—and think it should remain hidden and locked away—He sees potential life, and commands us to roll the stone away. Would you be willing to roll back your protective boulders and see if Lazarus might still have some life left in him? Would you take the risk to expose your greatest burden to the Lord, and, if appropriate, to a friend who will guard your back, and help you strip away your grave clothes?
“Take away the stone.”
“But, Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
“Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone, and Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
And the dead man came out. And Jesus said, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
I think this story from John 11 hits close to home for each of us because we all have at least some area of hurt, grief, or dysfunction in our lives. And although we hate the dysfunction, we often feel that it’s easier to keep it buried than to risk exposing it to Jesus. We fear the smell of it, and we fear the possibility that after exposing it nothing will actually change. But Jesus doesn’t see things the way we do. Where we see death—and think it should remain hidden and locked away—He sees potential life, and commands us to roll the stone away. Would you be willing to roll back your protective boulders and see if Lazarus might still have some life left in him? Would you take the risk to expose your greatest burden to the Lord, and, if appropriate, to a friend who will guard your back, and help you strip away your grave clothes?
Thursday, March 4, 2010
When Life Gets Celebrated
In nearly every memorial service that I’ve either attended or officiated, the stated objective was to “celebrate” the life of the departed, and this week was no exception as I joined nearly two hundred people to celebrate the life of a very special lady that left behind a legacy of love, devotion, and rich friendships. As I was preparing for her service, however, I was struck with the thought that a life isn’t truly celebrated at a funeral—it’s celebrated while it’s being lived.
Although we appropriately speak kind, honoring words at memorial services, we all know that a glowing celebration service can’t make up for a life of missed opportunities. To truly celebrate a life, it must be celebrated in its living. Ecclesiastes 7:2 tells us, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting” because it is in times of reflecting on life that we can re-prioritize how we want to live our life. Let’s make fresh commitments to truly live the lives we’ve been given. Regardless of whether our lives have turned out the way we had hoped or not, let’s live them to the fullest. Let’s leave no ‘thank yous’ or ‘I love yous’ unsaid. Let’s live in a way that will make our memorial service mere formality, a postscript on a life well lived.
In nearly every memorial service that I’ve either attended or officiated, the stated objective was to “celebrate” the life of the departed, and this week was no exception as I joined nearly two hundred people to celebrate the life of a very special lady that left behind a legacy of love, devotion, and rich friendships. As I was preparing for her service, however, I was struck with the thought that a life isn’t truly celebrated at a funeral—it’s celebrated while it’s being lived.
Although we appropriately speak kind, honoring words at memorial services, we all know that a glowing celebration service can’t make up for a life of missed opportunities. To truly celebrate a life, it must be celebrated in its living. Ecclesiastes 7:2 tells us, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting” because it is in times of reflecting on life that we can re-prioritize how we want to live our life. Let’s make fresh commitments to truly live the lives we’ve been given. Regardless of whether our lives have turned out the way we had hoped or not, let’s live them to the fullest. Let’s leave no ‘thank yous’ or ‘I love yous’ unsaid. Let’s live in a way that will make our memorial service mere formality, a postscript on a life well lived.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Un-Cast Cares
1 Peter 5:7-8 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” The way these verses connect tells me that un-cast cares can be an open door through which our adversary can attempt to attack and devour. What are you anxious about? What are you afraid of? What concerns are so heavy that you can’t off-load them? I heard someone say, “One of the highest forms of pride is attempting to carry our burdens alone.” Perhaps that’s why Jesus spoke to Martha in Luke 10:41 when she was, “worried and troubled about many things” and referred her to her sister, Mary, who “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.” Jesus said to Martha, “Your sister has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” There’s room for YOU at Jesus’ feet, and if you’ll sit there long enough, you’ll begin to hear His word again. Grace will fill you. Perspective will return. Strategy will be downloaded. And as you begin to “cast your cares,” the enemy of your soul will leave you.
1 Peter 5:7-8 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” The way these verses connect tells me that un-cast cares can be an open door through which our adversary can attempt to attack and devour. What are you anxious about? What are you afraid of? What concerns are so heavy that you can’t off-load them? I heard someone say, “One of the highest forms of pride is attempting to carry our burdens alone.” Perhaps that’s why Jesus spoke to Martha in Luke 10:41 when she was, “worried and troubled about many things” and referred her to her sister, Mary, who “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.” Jesus said to Martha, “Your sister has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” There’s room for YOU at Jesus’ feet, and if you’ll sit there long enough, you’ll begin to hear His word again. Grace will fill you. Perspective will return. Strategy will be downloaded. And as you begin to “cast your cares,” the enemy of your soul will leave you.
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