Susan Cottrell's Blog, page 58

Are We a Safe Place for Each Other?

This blog is not for everyone. But if you are a Christ-follower, called to love God and love others, it may be for you. I received the following email from a 24-year-old friend. We have more at stake than right and wrong — we have life and death. I hope this speaks to you.

I’ve been having a lot of thoughts lately. Thoughts I want to talk about with people. Thoughts I’m scared to talk about with people. Thoughts that might get me called a heretic.

My thoughts began a few months ago when my childhood best friend called me crying. She was pregnant. I was EXTREMELY supportive and 100% understanding and there for her and whatever else. About seven weeks into her pregnancy, I got another update: she told me she had miscarried. Fast forward about six months. Through a random chain of events, I found out that she didn’t miscarry… she had an abortion. And she lied to me about it. She felt she couldn’t tell me because basically, among other things, I professed to being a Christian. I went to Bible school. I was a “good person.” And because of those things (those things that my parents and grandparents are so proud of and brag about to all of their friends) she was scared I would be completely disappointed in her. Or hate her. Or be mad.

I associate myself with the church. So I am not a safe place.

That woke me up. It hit me like a slap in the face.

It got me thinking about how as Christians we are so outspoken about what is “right” and “wrong” but it comes across in such a condemning way. In reality, the things we say (and post on Facebook/Twitter/all social media) are reaching no one: the people who agree with us, aren’t changed, and the ones who don’t are not going to be persuaded by a Facebook status or a rude joke about sin.

About a week later I was with one of my closest friends and she was telling me about her younger sister, who is a lesbian. As I listened, what struck me was that the two of them are very close, and both is aware of the others views… but neither talks down to or judges the other. They are just real with each other. They coexist. They accept. My friend just loves her sister. No preaching or pep talks or condemnation. And though her sister knows that she doesn’t necessarily agree with her being gay, she also knows that in her sister, she always has a safe place.

That got me.

I want to find the balance between being a Christian/living a Christian life… and being someone that anyone could come to and know they will not be judged or condemned. The balance between standing up for what I believe in and being accepting of those who believe differently. Because really, judgment is not my place… love is. And really… until you love someone and they know you love them… being an “activist” against what and who they are is only going to alienate them. That’s not what we need here.

All of this is such a big issue, especially recently, and it’s so frustrating and hard to see people who post, “I love Jesus!” one day posting about their strong beliefs on homosexuality the next. We have to be careful when we are standing up for what we believe in. Being “right” isn’t worth alienating someone. Regardless of whether you think it is right or wrong, if you say you love Jesus, show a little compassion!! I think if Jesus showed up in the flesh in our society today, the institutional church would be in for a REAL shocker!

A blog I read regularly made a statement that encapsulated my heart exactly:

“This is my call: to be that safe person, that maker of safe places.”

That is exactly who I want to be. I never saw Jesus run from someone who was different than Him, even when He didn’t agree with their choices. In fact, He did the opposite.

Amen.  Thanks to my friend for emailing and for allowing me to share this here on my blog.  Like Jesus, we want to see hearts freed to love God and love others.

Filed under: Abiding In Christ, Christian Gay Community, Love

Now What? Do the Stuff!

It’s been a wild ride so far, hasn’t it? Not that I meant to go straight for the jugular of the homosexuality: sin-or-not issue, but Christians seem to be very concerned about its sin-ness! Just this morning I read in John 9 how the Pharisees said of Jesus, “This man cannot be from God – he heals on the Sabbath.” It was so clear to them. And they were wrong. Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” Verse 16, “And there was division among them.”

JESUS GAVE SIGHT TO A BLIND MAN and there was division among them! They lost sight (ha) of this miracle because they were distracted that He did it on the Sabbath. What have we lost sight of because it didn’t come down the way we thought it should? Jesus gives sight to the blind and we fight about details. Jesus gives life and we fight over what is sin. (Don’t think I’m taking sin too lightly – a holy Sabbath was no light matter either.)

So what have we lost sight of here?

The other day, my friend and I chatted by email. A Sunday school teacher, she said kids are leaving the church in droves.

Me: If we don’t reach the kids outside the church, we may us well close it all down. Even the kids inside church are leaving. Hm… what do we need to change here…??

Her: I have thought long and hard and prayed about that question — what do we need to change here? We, as a body of believers, are asking the wrong questions. We ask, “How do we keep kids in the church, how do we reach the college students and how do we keep them in the church? WHAT???? Our answers are “let’s create more programs.” In fact, “let’s create programs specific to that age group,” only to find that we are separating the age, gender and marital status of our people and therefore, we are no longer mentoring young people or even connecting on a level that allows us to be “examples” of His love. We are no longer shepherding our people. We attend “our group” events and get fed and go home. We need to be asking, how do we help our family become lovers of Jesus?  How do we love?

Me: So true. So well put. We have lost community – we think programs are going to fill the need but they don’t. We think more bible knowledge is going to do it but it’s not. It’s only knowing Jesus personally, and knowing community personally. Growing together, doing life together. That was the design and it’s completely missing in most churches. Our only real command is: love God, love others. Now what?? Thanks for the thoughts.

She thundered back wonderfully: Now what? DO THE STUFF!!!  Love God, Love people…..DO THE STUFF!!!! As John Wimber once asked, “When do we get to do the stuff?” Remember?

“Shortly after John Wimber became a Christian, he became a voracious Bible reader. The Scriptures excited him. Finally, after weeks of reading about life-transforming miracles in the Bible and attending boring church services, John asked one of the lay leaders, “When do we get to do the stuff?”

“What stuff?” asked the leader.  “You know, the stuff here in the Bible,” said John.   “You know, like stuff Jesus did-raising people from the dead, healing the blind and the paralyzed.  You know, that stuff.”

“Well, we don’t do that anymore,” the man said.  “You don’t? Well what do you do?” asked John.

“What we did this morning,” replied the man.  In frustration, John responded: “For that I gave up drugs?”

Like so many of us, John was taught by example that the contemporary Christian life was radically disconnected from the power and awesomeness of the Scriptures.  Throughout the remainder of his ministry, however, he proved that the disconnection was unnecessary.” (from dointhestuff.com)

Oh, I remember when the church first bought into the “seeker friendly” idea a few years ago. I told my close friends that this was not what the world needed and that in just a matter of years, the church would be in a great mess.  I vowed not to get sucked in! But I did. I spent most of my Christian years “doing the stuff” and one day found myself “doing the other stuff”  (the programs, etc).

Since finding your blog, I have decided to resign my position at my church and get back to LOVING GOD AND LOVING PEOPLE. Now what?”

God is uncontainable, with amazing jobs for us all. I love love love to do the stuff. Please, tell me… Have you been busy doing “other stuff” instead of “doing THE stuff?” I would love to hear your story.

Filed under: Abiding In Christ, Christian Gay Community

Boston Marathon

We lift our hearts in prayer over the Boston Marathon tragedy. A sad, sad day. We grieve the losses and pray for complete healing – physical, mental, spiritual.

And we cling to our sovereign God, our comforter and help in time of need. We don’t understand, oh God, we don’t understand, but we pray for your profound healing. Heal our land, Lord, starting with our hearts. We were not meant to live apart. Disenfranchised. Please help us. Draw us into community as You designed us. Make a place for the disenfranchised, give us peace, and pour your Spirit into us. We desperately need you, Jesus. Come and heal our hearts.

Let us commit to being a safe place for the disenfranchised.

Filed under: Abiding In Christ, Love

Is Homosexuality a Sin and Why Does it Matter? — Part 3

My friends… your response to these posts has been wonderful. Some of you have found these posts hard, especially if you came into it certain homosexuality is a sin. I urge you only to consider this is not as clearcut as you have believed… and I’m glad you’re still reading.

But many more have found here a fresh breeze – long-awaited permission to rethink not only our understanding of those passages but more importantly, our whole relationship as Christ-followers to the LGBTQ community. You’ve sent tender-hearted messages saying you’re uncomfortable trying to “tough-love” gays into being straight, or making this a dealbreaker for coming to Christ by withholding fellowship until they change.

justanothermom captured my heart for this whole series beautifully: I can’t possibly KNOW the heart of God on every earthly issue…and since the Bible is relatively soft spoken on the issue, I feel that leaves room for the heart of God to move among His people. ALL of whom (male, female, straight, Gay…etc..) belong to Him and it is His job alone to judge, instruct, and intervene. Thank you. That’s it exactly.

As God diverted me onto this path a few years ago, I needed to know what the Bible said and meant on this subject, if homosexuality is a sin. The two links below answered those questions well for me, with an excellent analysis of exactly what the bible says. I will let them handle that instead of trying to restate it here. I hope you find them illuminating. And if you disagree, that’s perfectly okay — that’s what makes it a disputable issue!

The stakes are enormous if we continue to be at war. The casualties of depression, bullying and suicide, are staggering. Christians have been hateful to the LGBTQ, and LGBTQ have been hateful to Christians too. Both have suffered and inflicted many wounds. To let Jesus reframe our thinking in the conversation is not only right but strategic. Those who don’t will go the way of the corded phone – iconic, but irrelevant. If you claim Christ, your job is to be love to a world that sorely needs it. That’s what we signed up for.

When we continue in the great debate of gays vs. Christians, we are distracted from The Great Debate: Who is Jesus and what have we done with His incomparable offer of salvation?

When the world sees our hatefulness and judgment, they don’t trust us. They want to shut us down. If they hate us because they hate Jesus first, as He says, then I can live with that — that’s the price of being a follower. But if they hate us because we’re hateful and condemning (of something that feels intrinsic to them), then we have made it much harder for them to come to Christ. Far be that from me. Our hearts should break that anyone thinks from listening to us that He will not accept them. Whether it’s a gay person who does not believe it’s a sin; or whether it’s a Christian who believes it is: we have to find common ground. Jesus is the only common ground that matters. Read the life-giving story of Shane Windmeyer and Dan Cathy, if you haven’t yet. Beautiful.

To come to Christ can be deeply challenging. You must realize your brokenness, humble yourself, and admit you need someone else’s help. Let us not add behavior to the mix when Jesus didn’t tell us to. We can instead heed Paul who says: “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this — not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way” (Romans 14:13).

Again, I love how justanothermom said it: I know that the Lord instructs us to be fishers of men and go forth and make disciples, I don’t recall ever reading in the Bible that it was my job to “clean up the fish” that I catch. Bring people to the Cross, the glorious, wonderful Cross. Love them right where they are. Let Jesus clean up the fish. He is far better at it than I am…and maybe His idea of “cleaning them up” and mine are different… When did we go from “Come just as you are” to “Come and fit the mold or be shunned”? Our Cross is an all access backstage pass to the throne of Jesus. Gay. Straight. And everything in between.

With love, Susan

* Matthew Vines, founder of The Reformation Project has made an excellent and well researched video. As nomorefreerent commented: If you are curious about what the bible says specifically about homosexuality watch Matthew Vines’ The Gay Debate: Homosexuality and the Bible. It’s on Youtube, and yeah, it’s long but thoroughly researched. Matthew is a Harvard student who put in over 4000 hours of work on this project. He learned Greek and Latin so he could study the text better and has read hundreds of books and articles on the subject.

* Justin Lee, author of Torn, founder of The Gay Christian Network, has posted several enjoyable and informative videos on his site, covering the common arguments. I highly recommend his beautifully told story in Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-Vs.-Christians Debate

Filed under: Christian Gay Community

Is Homosexuality a Sin and Why Does it Matter? — Part 2

*There’s a lot to say on this whole subject, and it will take many posts. Whatever question you have, we’ll probably get to and if not, feel free to email me at FreedHearts@gmail.com.

Our family friend Nathanael (name used with permission) messaged me yesterday this summation of where we stand right now.

“The anticipation is pretty thick. I don’t know how easy either resolution can be. It seems to me that you have three options but only one can be true… 1. it’s sin, 2. it’s not sin, or 3. become a relativist. The last of these has far greater repercussions than the former two. Wherever you land, I’m sure God will use it for His glory, and I’m sure your love will come through.”

Great summation, Nathanael, and you got the options almost right. Let me just tweak it: 1. It’s a sin, 2. It’s not a sin, 3. It depends on the leading of the Holy Spirit. Now, this is not just wordplay but a serious distinction – and you’re right that option 3 has huge repercussions. Much of the church would also have stated option 3 as relativism, to do what is right in our own eyes. This is certainly scary – scary like someone saying, “To me, God is a tree” – and we like to think we must hold tight to black and white to prevent that kind of relativism, and unless we teach rules first and foremost, we are just asking for sin upon sin. But I’m not talking about doing what’s right in our own eyes (the very definition of sin); I’m talking about following the Holy Spirit. Completely different. For instance:

Worshipping false gods in the Bible is very serious. One of the Big Ten. Naturally, eating meat that has been sacrificed and dedicated in worship to idols is a serious breakage of that rule. Yet, Paul says, “If your conscience is not pricked about eating that meat, don’t worry about it.” What?? This is huge! Sounds like relativism, doesn’t it? But it’s not. It’s the Holy Spirit’s leading. Paul says the Holy Spirit will convict you or not, and he talks about these things in the context of disputable issues. That means that these issues are being disputed – not clearcut right or wrong. The issues of homosexuality is being disputed too – by sincere, God-honoring people on both sides. To people who are sure the Bible condemns homosexuality, to even look at it anew seems heretical. But we are talking about a very few verses in the Bible – 6 or 7 depending on the interpretation — which have a context around them of promiscuity, sex with children, and temple prostitution. Those are different from longterm committed same-sex relationships, which are not really listed as a concept in the Bible. On that distinctive the Bible is, in essence, silent.

Sorry, I didn’t make it up. I’m just telling you about it.

Idol worship is mentioned more than 100 times in the bible, compared to the 6 or 7 that mention any type of homosexuality. That is a radical difference. Radical. Yet, few people today stand around with signs saying, “God hates idol worshippers” and “Idol worshippers are going to hell.” You see what I mean?

This attention to hearing God’s leading instead of seeking clearcut rules is throughout the Bible. (More in another post.) Relativism means, “To me God is a tree.” Or, “To me, it’s okay to have an affair on my wife because I really want to.” The leading of the Holy Spirit means, “In this case, Moses, you should hit the rock to get water from it; in this case it’s a sin to hit the rock because I (God) told you only to speak to the rock.” Same God, same Moses, same action – one’s a sin and one’s not. The bible is all about the leading of the Holy Spirit We can hardly fathom the implications of Paul’s words: “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.” Titus 1:15. He is vehement about rules being the completely wrong way to go about godliness. “Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” Colossians 2:23.

Let’s look again at our three options: 1. It’s a sin. Many gay Christians feel convicted that homosexual behavior is a sin. They’ve read the verses, they’ve prayed, they’ve sought counsel – and they believe that to engage in homosexual activity is wrong. The options they see open to them are celibacy or for God to change their attractions. (Change in attraction is a topic for another post.) For Christians who are convicted that homosexuality is a sin, to them it is a sin. (NOTE: This is individual conviction, not license to “convict” others.) [To try to convince them it is not a sin would be to stumble a brother.]

2. It’s NOT a sin. Many gay Christians believe homosexual behavior is not a sin.  After careful study of relevant verses and prayer, they do not feel convicted about homosexual behavior. For Christians who are convicted that homosexuality is not a sin, to them it is not a sin. (How can we accept the Spirit’s leading on the 100-plus references to idol worship, but not the 6-7 references to homosexuality? In any authentic inquiry, you must go where the evidence leads.) [To tell them it is a sin is to judge another man's servant.]

3. It depends on the leading of the Holy Spirit. I realize to some Christians this feels like throwing acid in their face. I didn’t make it up; the Bible is replete with this teaching. Also, I don’t apologize, because Jesus’ words felt like acid in the face too. We’ll talk about this more because it’s absolutely huge, but Paul clearly tells us that if our conscience is not pricked, then we are good to do what we believe is right. (Particularly in disputable issues.) “I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.” Romans 14:14.

Stay tuned for Part 3.

Filed under: Christian Gay Community

Is Homosexuality a Sin and Why Does it Matter? – Part 1

A princess paused at the side of the road when a frog jumped out and said, “Kiss me and I’ll turn into a handsome prince!” The princess gasped: “Holy s@ – a talking frog!”

Sometimes we need to pull back and see the bigger picture.

The same was true when Jesus healed a lame man. He healed a lame man. (Better than a talking frog.) But the religious leaders were torqued that He did it on the Sabbath. What??

When it comes to this big question of whether or not homosexuality is a sin, we need to pull back and see the bigger picture. Here’s the bigger picture: God came to earth, as a Man, Jesus Christ. He offers to be our Savior — free for the asking — to make us brand new, heal our wounds and transform our lives. Is that not the biggest news in the entire history of the universe? The “abundantly good news” of a personal relationship with God? Yet we often focus on a particular sin… particularly other people’s sin.

The answer to this homosexuality/sin question is not the slam-dunk many Christians view it as. I will address this more specifically in this continued blog, but I am quite concerned about what we plan to do with an answer once we have it.

Truthfully, the church has not been trustworthy with solid answers. We like to make lists of rules for behavior when Jesus wants to change our hearts. The most important aspect of authentic inquiry is to follow where the evidence leads. We already trust in Jesus as our Savior, those of us who know Him, and we believe in His inspired word. But our interpretation of that word has been sorely skewed over the centuries. We silenced Galileo, we burned witches, we owned slaves — all justified by what we thought the Bible said. Yes? If God is really God, then we can trust Him to hold pieces together that seem to us incongruent. Wisdom requires us to let the conversation unfold and not be afraid of where it takes us. If God is God, why should we be afraid? But we have a hard time just resting with things we don’t understand and trusting God to sort them out.

That is what will be required in authentic engagement with this question, this bigger question of gayness in the culture, and with our brothers and sisters in the LGBTQ community. I hope you join me in this engagement as we let God take us where He wants us to be.

With all the love in my heart, Susan

Filed under: Christian Gay Community

A Mom, Some Gays, and the Bible

I am a Mom of five (nearly) grown kids I homeschooled, married to Rob for 26 years, and a churchgoing Christ-follower for decades. I know the lingo, got the t-shirt. Certainly I’ve figured out that most Christians I’ve met avoid The Gay Debate. When friend or fam pop up as gay, many Christians say, “It’s a sin — I didn’t say it, God said it!” Then they can “love the sinner and hate the sin” with abandon. I don’t blame them for avoiding the debate, honestly. Who wants to poke that hornet’s nest? And when a Christian learns of this cousin or that nephew or the other friend’s daughter, they must come up with something coherent to believe so as not to abandon Jesus’ word nor His principle. His word, they’ve been taught, says homosexuality is a sin. His principle, they observe, is mind-blowing, life-affirming, unconditional love to the deepest part of their being. And so they fool themselves into thinking that as long as they love the sinner, they’re all good to hate the sin.

But it’s not that simple. Place one foot in this issue and you’ll discover it’s multifaceted… thus this blog. Turns out “Love the sinner, hate the sin” feels to those on the receiving end just about the same as “hate the sinner.” Also turns out “Love the sinner, hate the sin” comes from Gandhi — same person who said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians, they are so unlike your Christ,” which might be more instructive to us.

So why would a married Christ-loving mom join in this great debate? Two reasons. 1. Jesus called me. 2. I can’t help myself.

1. Jesus called me through a series of experiences, culminating in one path-turning moment: I was listening to an impassioned speaker talk (on another topic) about responding to God’s voice, no matter the cost. As she spoke, the Holy Spirit whispered to me: “I want you involved in gay ministry, no matter the cost.” I was in tears — have you ever been undone by the voice of the Holy Spirit? I wanted to do what He asked. But I know Christians. I knew I may as well say I’m gay myself for the response I would get. But I couldn’t not follow Him. So I asked him to confirm it for me. Then the woman sitting next to me said, “You remind me of Ellen.” I stared at her. “I know,” she nodded apologetically, because we all know Christians agree about this topic, yes?? [No.] “You just look like her.” Well, by this time, I was having a good internal laugh with Jesus. I’d never heard I look like Ellen Degeneris, but leave it to Him to speak a language I could understand. And I’ve never… well, I’ve rarely… looked back.

2. I can’t help myself. My Jesus-compassion for this community started when my best friend in high school told me he was gay. I had no thought of judging him, nor of others I’ve encountered since, who find themselves unable to step off this path (despite the intensive prayers most people pray once they discover they’re gay). I cannot look at them and say, “You must change, or live celibate lives (though you do not feel called), or you are in trouble.” Is it right? Is it wrong? I don’t think I can say that for someone else. Why not? I will discuss that more fully in future posts, but for now, I refer you to meat sacrificed to idols (1 Corinthians 10:25-30).

Mostly I can’t help myself because love is the right thing. Jesus’ love is the right thing. He surprised many religious people by those He loved.

I’d love to hear from you in the interface between gays and Christians (no hate mail, please). What has been your experience?

Filed under: Christian Gay Community

My Responsibility in the Gay Debate

“You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” Anne Lamott

Our culture is in turmoil. We have failed to convey the love of Christ to an entire group of people. Conservative Christians are afraid of “the gay agenda,” and the LGBTQ community is devastated by their interaction with Christians. LGBTQ who seek a loving God are rejected and disfranchised by the evangelical church. The church is baffled at the dismal failure of “love the sinner and hate the sin.”

My life for the past ten years has been to share the astoundingly good news of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” Colossians 1:27, to the wounded, hurt, disenfranchised — mostly believers. This astoundingly good news was never meant to be an exclusive club open only to those who can keep the rules, but a breath of life to whoever believes in Him. Christ is still the only answer! No matter what the hurt or issue, the answer is always “Jesus plus nothing.”

Now, God has compelled me to share Christ the hope of glory with the wounded, hurt and disenfranchised in the LGBTQ community and POLO (parents or loved ones).

After much prayer, encouraged by my loving husband and prayer team, I press further into this fight God has put me in — the fight for the truth and love of Christ. And so, as I take FreedHearts in a new direction, I will make a handful of changes to the site.

Here’s what to look for: 1. Stories of LGBTQ, 2. Forum for POLO, 3. Discussion on how to interact authentically in a world divided by this issue, 4. Links to great sites, 5. Other changes. My goal is to be the love of Christ to a church in turmoil and to the LGBTQ community. Jesus has always shown loving compassion for any hurting, disenfranchised, “outliers.” If we miss this, we miss the beat of His heart.

Please stay tuned for much to come. And please send comments or questions. If you have honest questions for me, please email. If you have decided you don’t want to be part of this, I’m sorry to see you go — but please don’t send any hate mail or try to correct the path God has put me on. And feel free to pass this on to friends.

I look forward to the ongoing dialogue and to watching the Lord work to heal hearts, lives and relationships in His perfect ways!

Susan

Filed under: Christian Gay Community

What’s a Christian’s Responsibility re. Equality in Marriage?

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments this week for same-sex marriage. This may be the most explosive issue since abortion, if not since slavery. Both sides see their opinions as self-evident; both sides cannot believe the other side is so thickheaded. Christians are certain about what they read in the bible; gays cannot fathom why their choice of a life partner is Christian’s (or the government’s) business.

I’m reminded of a story from my childhood. Like most kids, I could hardly wait for Christmas. On Christmas Eve, I would try to get my family to go to bed so Christmas would come. Christmas comes only after people are in bed, so get going! Don’t you people want Christmas to come??! My mother said, “You go to bed and Christmas will come. We don’t have to go to bed – just you.” That made NO sense to me. Sure, I can trudge off to bed but if Mom and my sister Katie are still in front of the TV, Christmas will NOT come — how could it?? She was right, of course — if I go to bed, I sleep, and the next thing I know it’s Christmas! Yet my view made sense to me because Christmas does not come while people are still up watching a movie.

How does this relate to the gay-marriage debate, you ask? Because Jesus came to the earth to offer us reconciliation with God. Period. He did not change the government or stop people’s sinning or rectify abuse of the ruling Romans, or any of the changes the Jews expected. Jesus’ answer was so different, in fact, that many missed it. They completely missed His offer.

We, too, are very concerned about drawing the line on people’s behavior. Many Christians believe their job is to reduce sin. It is not their job. (How long have we tried to eradicate sin? How successful have we been?) Every other group in the world tries to direct behavior. Every religion, every school, every club, has agreed-upon behavior they want their adherents to follow. Not so with Jesus. Jesus entreats us to follow Him! It’s a completely different orientation.

When we follow Him, He works out our behavior. Jesus talks constantly about knowing Him and His love for us. The times He addresses actual behavior, He does so to point out how we have no hope of producing right behavior. (Why else would He ratchet up the standard so high that we cannot possibly meet it?) I have never heard Jesus tell people to try to stop others’ sin. It’s not our job. On the contrary, Paul tells us clearly that our own conscience will convict us. We keep trying to tell other people their behavior is sin instead of letting Jesus deal with them. Who’s better equipped to handle this issue — us or Jesus? I think we’ve got our hands full listening to Jesus for ourselves.

Filed under: Abiding In Christ

Six-Word Short Story

Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea moved me profoundly in my college years. The thought of it now evokes the same emotions, though I have not read it in all these years.

Mastery is like that. Mastery elevates the ordinary to the extraordinary, creating something beautiful that did not previously exist. Experiencing mastery can make your heart stop, take your breath away, bring a sigh of recognition.

I love to watch people in their area of mastery. They are in the zone, they have a different aspect in their voice and face when they are doing what they are do well. It is not a focus on self; on the contrary, it is beyond self, something possible only when I’m not self aware. Have you watched someone in their area of mastery? what about mastery God has brought about in you? A time you were fully alive and present and perhaps only afterward you said, “Wow, that was awesome.”

Hemingway was challenged to write the shortest story possible; he produced this masterful six-word short story.

“For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.”

Filed under: Abiding In Christ