My friend Art passed away today after nearly two years of battling pancreatic cancer. He was still playing a little golf a few weeks ago. He was a lovely man, no one ever spoke an unkind word about Art. He was an engineer from Illinois. Spent most of his career in the oil business. He was organized to the hilt and everything was viewed through "critical" eyes of cause and effect.
He grew up in a Christian home and made his home as Godly as he could. He must have done somethings right because his kids and grand kids anchor their lives in Christ. Art was the most active member of the men's Bible study I taught several years ago in our community. By active, I don't just mean attendance, but he probed every teaching, testing every thought and concept. He was well into his 60's, been in church all his life, but never engaged a serious Bible study, never owned his own bible. He actually had an aversion to this sort of group thing, religion had been a private thing for Art, but now was different for him for some reason.
He was drawn to Scripture. His eyes were opened to God's eyes. His life begin to transform, his mind moved from carnal to Kingdom Spiritual). His relationship with his adult children began to change. His wife and family saw this transformation right before their eyes. He found joy he had never seen before. He read scripture with an understanding he never had before. He was quick and eager to tell of the joy he found in knowing Jesus.
THEN, Christmas 2009 he got the word about his cancer. Of course he and his family were devastated. News you have cancer is a horrible thing to hear, especially pancreatic. But it was Art who lifted them all up with hope and eyes toward God. His new understanding of God had built in Him a faith that transcended circumstances. He lived the last months (about 22) as a testimony to all in our community of the Grace set before him. He was the one who made others comfortable with his condition. The carnally minded around us were amazed!! Art did not focus on what to do about dying with cancer, but he always sought, "how must I now live?"
What set out as just another attempt at a men's Bible study, prepared Art for Glory. There are no accidents in God's economy. The angels are welcoming Art into his eternal home and I know Art recognized them all for he had seen Glory already through the eyes of faith. What a privilege we have to partner with God in what He is doing, even when we think we are just doing ordinary things.
May we all be as blessed as my friend Art!!
random musings from the heart of a CRAZY old man (dedicated to those who inspire me)
Sunday, October 30, 2011
"Here come the judge!"
Most of us are taught that judging is something we shouldn't do. We often rely on the scripture "Judge not, that you not be judged" to constrain our tendency to be judgmental. However, maybe the issue is not whether we judge but through what "mind" we judge, carnal or Kingdom. Taken at face value, we cannot operate in life without making judgments. After all, to judge simple means to "decide upon something critically."
We say, "you can't judge a book by its cover." That is, we must look thoroughly into a matter or action in order to determine if it is right or wrong, good or bad. Well, if we cannot actually refrain from making judgments, on what basis are we "to judge," especially when we are judging others? Jesus anticipates this when He says, "and with the measure you judge it will be measured to you." Maybe the trick to judging is in the idea of the "measure," which is the instrument by which we critique.
We find some insight into this matter when Jesus said, "the one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory" (John 7). What does it mean for a person to seek their own glory? This starts with protecting oneself from what others think, exalting oneself over another, a form of self-righteousness. However, "seeking one's own glory" goes further. Judging another ultimately results in casting he/she into shame. Since "speaking on one's own authority" is basically judging from a carnal mind (the measure), we might say that when we judge others as a means to glorify self, we seek to shame the target of our judgment.
Interestingly, it is our shame that put Jesus on the cross and it is the cross that eliminates our shame. Oh, so the Kingdom mind (a better measure) tells us that when we critically view others through the eyes of the Cross (Grace), then God will use our actions to transform and to restore the target of our judgment, not shame them.
Good idea and something worth pondering ....
We say, "you can't judge a book by its cover." That is, we must look thoroughly into a matter or action in order to determine if it is right or wrong, good or bad. Well, if we cannot actually refrain from making judgments, on what basis are we "to judge," especially when we are judging others? Jesus anticipates this when He says, "and with the measure you judge it will be measured to you." Maybe the trick to judging is in the idea of the "measure," which is the instrument by which we critique.
We find some insight into this matter when Jesus said, "the one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory" (John 7). What does it mean for a person to seek their own glory? This starts with protecting oneself from what others think, exalting oneself over another, a form of self-righteousness. However, "seeking one's own glory" goes further. Judging another ultimately results in casting he/she into shame. Since "speaking on one's own authority" is basically judging from a carnal mind (the measure), we might say that when we judge others as a means to glorify self, we seek to shame the target of our judgment.
Interestingly, it is our shame that put Jesus on the cross and it is the cross that eliminates our shame. Oh, so the Kingdom mind (a better measure) tells us that when we critically view others through the eyes of the Cross (Grace), then God will use our actions to transform and to restore the target of our judgment, not shame them.
Good idea and something worth pondering ....
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
making sense of ideas?
This was recently said about Steve Jobs
"I think he better than anyone understood that while ideas ultimately can be so powerful, they begin as fragile, barely formed thoughts, so easily missed, so easily compromised, so easily just squished."
"I think he better than anyone understood that while ideas ultimately can be so powerful, they begin as fragile, barely formed thoughts, so easily missed, so easily compromised, so easily just squished."
Have you ever wondered where ideas come from? Scholars who study CREATIVITY believe that they are formed in our subconscious where divergent thinking can flourish, then converge and "come out" when we are able to be quiet and reflect. During these times our subconscious can inform our conscious and an idea emerges to us for use in our thinking. This may explain why we can wake up at 3 or 4am with a thought that is our best thought of the day. Through sleeping, our conscious mind quietens and thoughts that were generated in our subconscious "seep out". This particularly happens for me when I have an "active mind", that is I am working on a complex problem, research paper, or anxious about the coming day.
However, where does the subconscious get its "material" for ideas? No one really knows this. The carnal mind would probably say that one person is more "gifted" in creativity than another and it is just a human ability. This may be so, but it still does not explain the creation of a thought - something coming from nothing.
The Kingdom mind tells us that God is the Creator. He is the only One with the ability to produce something from nothing. He is the source of life. Ideas are life and have power. So when I get an idea, maybe through this subconscious-conscious linkage, I smile and say "Thank You God." When I get a thought, I do not assume I did it, but that God gave it to me. I believe this is one form of His Grace.
When asked about God, Steve Jobs said (and I am paraphrasing) - I think about Him some, more after I got sick. I think there is 50-50 chance there is a God. I would like to think there is something after this life, but life could be like an on-off switch. I don't like the idea of on-off switches so i don't put them on my computers.
Even if S Jobs and many others like him do not have a good IDEA about God, somehow it got squished along the way, God's common Grace provided him with ability and the ideas that blessed him and the world in many, many ways.
Why didn't God give Jobs a better idea about Himself (God)? Why are the ideas about God transforming and powerful for some and not others?
GOD ONLY KNOWS!!!
GOD ONLY KNOWS!!!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
"Easy come, easy go"
Like many development communities around the country, The Cliffs is undergoing some financial stress due to the economic downturn and credit crunch. This has led to much uncertainty and accompanying anxiety among the residents and club members. Its interesting to see the reactions of those who have much of their life's savings in their home and club membership. There are those who are cynical of everyone who offers a solution. These believe everyone "out there" is after their "pile." They are cynical because they believe people in power will ultimately act in their own self interest when decisions are made. But more importantly, this cynicism is based on the notion of who owns the "pile". This belief goes to the heart of stewardship.
The carnal mind believes that what we have accumulated belongs to us. This notion assumes we "possess" things. If we believe we own things and it has been us who has worked to accumulate them, then we will see others as predators of our "pile." These people are angry and suspicious and are destroying relationships with friends and neighbors. This is the same mind set we see in many elderly people as they approach death. They start seeing others, especially their kids, as predators to their "pile," and family relationships become strained.
The Kingdom mind starts with the notion that God owns all things, they flow to us from God's Grace, and what we have has been given to us to caretake for God as He directs us. Instead of "possessing", we are stewards. We don't own anything. We move His things around as He pleases. This keeps our hands open and out-reaching and results in more of an "easy come, easy go" mindset that allows us freedom from the bondage of our stuff. Relationships are enhanced, not strained.
Isn't that what God desires of us anyway? Something to ponder ....
Saturday, October 22, 2011
making sense of "ugh!!"
When the girls were teens and life was not going as they wanted, their favorite phrase was, "life is doo-doo!!" Adults do not escape life's messes, but we are a bit more sophisticated and say things like, "ugh!!"
From a carnal mind "ugh" means that social exchange is not working for us. Somehow we are not able to get from the world around us what we want to meet our needs. So we give up (depression) or we get more self focused and try harder to extract from others what we want (self-serving).
From a Kingdom mind, "ugh" reminds us we are not self-sufficient and we should immediately hear (following our "ugh") these words from our Father, "my Grace is sufficient."
Thus, when we are harmony with the Kingdom, "ugh" is actually a blessing!! Imagine that ....
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Making sense of conflict
Many people see themselves as "conflict avoiders." They believe that conflict is a negative state and we should structure our lives to avoid it. However, the study of conflict has produced a perspective of value in conflict. How can people at odds with each other ever be good?
The source of some conflict is natural. That is, in business we know that while a company wants inventory levels to be lower and service levels to customers higher, when we reduce inventory we likely negatively impact service level. Sales people would like to be able to customize products for their customers to increase sales. However, flexibility in product features increase the cost of manufacturing. Thus, just the physical design of of world carries with it conflict. This must mean that our goal can not be to avoid it, but to effectively make sense of it so that we manage it well.
Another source of conflict is what I call idiosyncratic. That is, conflict exists because of differences in people, such as values, personality, needs, etc. The husband has no problem buying a set of new golf clubs, but cringes at the thought of a new dining room suit or "bed ensemble". The husband wants to sit quietly and read the paper while the wife wants to talk. Why did God create man and woman so different and then say "go have the most intimate relationship humans can have"? Why is marriage NOT between golfing buddies or garden club ladies?
Why would God create things this way, so different but so interdependent? While we may not know why, we do know He did. We pray "give us this day our daily bread." How does this happen? Occasionally God did just shower down manna from heaven to feed His people. However, His main plan is that He gives to each person a calling, a vocation, from which the world's sustenance comes. But how, God distributes His gifts through each part of the food chain, the health care chain, the public safety chain, the family, the church, and so on. Each person exercising his/her gifts in interdependency with one another gives each person their "daily bread". This is what Martin Luther called "the mask of God." God showers His blessings on His creation behind the scenes of people playing out what He has put in them. Thus, we are all dependent on God for our vocation and then dependent each to the other to faithfully carry out that calling.
Conflict then is the mechanism God uses to keep us from believing we are an island and can go it alone. Conflict gets us out of our self centeredness and self sufficiency (both enemies of our relationship with God) to see that we are called to serve others with our calling. Conflict provides us a constant reminder that in our interdependence human needs are satisfied and God is glorified.
Making sense of conflict with a Kingdom mind helps keep us in harmony with the Heavenlies (remember, that is one way to make sense of righteousness)!!
The source of some conflict is natural. That is, in business we know that while a company wants inventory levels to be lower and service levels to customers higher, when we reduce inventory we likely negatively impact service level. Sales people would like to be able to customize products for their customers to increase sales. However, flexibility in product features increase the cost of manufacturing. Thus, just the physical design of of world carries with it conflict. This must mean that our goal can not be to avoid it, but to effectively make sense of it so that we manage it well.
Another source of conflict is what I call idiosyncratic. That is, conflict exists because of differences in people, such as values, personality, needs, etc. The husband has no problem buying a set of new golf clubs, but cringes at the thought of a new dining room suit or "bed ensemble". The husband wants to sit quietly and read the paper while the wife wants to talk. Why did God create man and woman so different and then say "go have the most intimate relationship humans can have"? Why is marriage NOT between golfing buddies or garden club ladies?
Why would God create things this way, so different but so interdependent? While we may not know why, we do know He did. We pray "give us this day our daily bread." How does this happen? Occasionally God did just shower down manna from heaven to feed His people. However, His main plan is that He gives to each person a calling, a vocation, from which the world's sustenance comes. But how, God distributes His gifts through each part of the food chain, the health care chain, the public safety chain, the family, the church, and so on. Each person exercising his/her gifts in interdependency with one another gives each person their "daily bread". This is what Martin Luther called "the mask of God." God showers His blessings on His creation behind the scenes of people playing out what He has put in them. Thus, we are all dependent on God for our vocation and then dependent each to the other to faithfully carry out that calling.
Conflict then is the mechanism God uses to keep us from believing we are an island and can go it alone. Conflict gets us out of our self centeredness and self sufficiency (both enemies of our relationship with God) to see that we are called to serve others with our calling. Conflict provides us a constant reminder that in our interdependence human needs are satisfied and God is glorified.
Making sense of conflict with a Kingdom mind helps keep us in harmony with the Heavenlies (remember, that is one way to make sense of righteousness)!!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Life as an "amputee"
Some people have lost a hand, foot, arm or leg through war, accidents, or disease. Beyond the physical limitations such severe loss carries with it grief. Others may have physical appearance and activity constrained by paralysis. They too experience grief from severe loss. I have have not walked in these shoes but I do understand that while what is lost is apparent to others through some form of physical abnormality, grief is the UNSEEN psychological recognition of loss that also accompanies the obvious. This isn't so apparent. Loss of self image, esteem, purpose, and enjoyment of some offerings of life affect those who experience physical "deformity".
However, grief is not limited to the loss resulting from some physical constraint. Loss of a relationship carries with it just as much of a sense of loss. Relationships are loss through death but also through rejection. When we lose a relationship, we are likewise subject to the impact on our self concepts and life's enjoyments. In the loss of someone we love and depend on in some way for our well being, we become like the "amputee" in many ways. Psychological pain from grief is similarly as traumatic as loss of function.
When we grieve, we go through stages, such as
1. denial
2. emotional pain (maybe even guilt)
3. anger
4. "depression" (feelings of loneliness and hopelessness)
5. restoration
6. reconstruction
7. acceptance and hope
The time it takes to move through these stages varies by person and situation. However, when someone comes along beside us to encourage us, we usually get the words "you just need to move on with your life." While such encouragement is usually well meaning, it doesn't seem applicable until about stage 6 or 7. Do we really help the person in grief with that kind of encouragement when they are still in the early stages? Do we further our own pain as one grieving when we think that we are just supposed to be able to do just that, "move on with our life", when we are still stuck in stage 1,2, or 3? We need to remember to be patient with others and with ourselves as grief must work through the stages.
One other point - even when we complete all the stages of grief, does that eliminate the loss? No, we are still an "amputee". While we may overcome the effects of loss on our self concepts and find other activities of life we can enjoy, we still have the loss of the physical function or person in our life. Its OK to be sad about our loss even when we are restored, reconstructed, and hope for the future has returned. The encouragement from others can compel us on but its still OK to remember and rejoice over what was.
The older we get, the more personal losses make up who we are and the more likely we are to live the life of an "amputee". I think that is why maturing in Christ means the power of Grace has taken care of a lot of grief :-)
However, grief is not limited to the loss resulting from some physical constraint. Loss of a relationship carries with it just as much of a sense of loss. Relationships are loss through death but also through rejection. When we lose a relationship, we are likewise subject to the impact on our self concepts and life's enjoyments. In the loss of someone we love and depend on in some way for our well being, we become like the "amputee" in many ways. Psychological pain from grief is similarly as traumatic as loss of function.
When we grieve, we go through stages, such as
1. denial
2. emotional pain (maybe even guilt)
3. anger
4. "depression" (feelings of loneliness and hopelessness)
5. restoration
6. reconstruction
7. acceptance and hope
The time it takes to move through these stages varies by person and situation. However, when someone comes along beside us to encourage us, we usually get the words "you just need to move on with your life." While such encouragement is usually well meaning, it doesn't seem applicable until about stage 6 or 7. Do we really help the person in grief with that kind of encouragement when they are still in the early stages? Do we further our own pain as one grieving when we think that we are just supposed to be able to do just that, "move on with our life", when we are still stuck in stage 1,2, or 3? We need to remember to be patient with others and with ourselves as grief must work through the stages.
One other point - even when we complete all the stages of grief, does that eliminate the loss? No, we are still an "amputee". While we may overcome the effects of loss on our self concepts and find other activities of life we can enjoy, we still have the loss of the physical function or person in our life. Its OK to be sad about our loss even when we are restored, reconstructed, and hope for the future has returned. The encouragement from others can compel us on but its still OK to remember and rejoice over what was.
The older we get, the more personal losses make up who we are and the more likely we are to live the life of an "amputee". I think that is why maturing in Christ means the power of Grace has taken care of a lot of grief :-)
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