yeah i seen it

verbs from I Timothy 4:15-16

plot,

think about,

be in,

stop,

stay,

continue in

a translation of II Timothy 2:4

no one

who is soldiering

braids himself up like knotted hair

with the practical stuff of daily life.

why? so that

the one who is soldiering may please

the one who is soldier-recruiting.

there is much that would knot us up. there is much for us to plot and think about, to be in, to just linger over and be consumed with. what absorbs us? what draws us in? what has us, our thoughts and time and attention? the practical stuff of daily life? or the very Word of God to man?

we want to be the poet, to watch, to pay attention to the totality of ways in which God is present and active in this world. He is here, being and doing. His kingdom has crashed into the brokenness and there are clues everywhere. the "to-do list" is a lying distraction pulling us from the greatness right outside our front windows. let us look up and pour over it all.

let us go to work, seeing what we see and comparing everything to everything. we fashion similes and craft metaphors. we load the beds of our trucks with symbols and parables. we try to find new ways to say what God is like. we paw at words and ideas like, "He is the wrecking ball destroying the building of sin. He is the generous friend in the restaurant booth who always grabs the check and pays. He is the EMT racing toward trouble at night while we sleep, bringing help and presence and touch when there was no one else." And at the end of the day, we say that we are tired, but it was good work, but we have so much left to do. we smile because we know we have the best job of all and we can't wait to wake up and clock in again.

"Already you show signs of my nature, of being one who watches" -Roger Fanning, Henry

"gazing in silence" -Genesis 24:21

"meditating in the field" -Genesis 24:63

"reflected upon, looked upon that kind of life" -Proverbs 24:32

"meditate in your heart on your bed and be still" -Psalm 4:4b

"see, recognize, consider, gain insight about God" -Isaiah 41:20

"look at the birds, consider the lilies" -Matthew 6:26, 28

yes, this is good work. but it is dangerous work and we must be wary of thieves who would break in and steal while we are busy at labor. As the criminal Jack Handey said, "Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that, I'll be over here looking through your stuff."

renovation

I've been doing a little house work lately. Renovation is hard work. But at the end of the day you are glad that you did it. It is a meaningful process. Deep down we know that we are meant to undertake this work and not simply remain the way we are. We are to manage and steward this earth and our possessions as part of our task as image-bearers of God. In this work, there are hints of the redemption that God is unfolding in all of creation. He will make all things new. And so we renovate, whether its our homes or still better, our souls. Looking again to I Thessalonians, Paul affirms these believers for their love towards each other. But he does not leave them there. He implores them to uncover deeper reserves of this love and to abound ever increasingly in it. Renovation is hard work. It means excelling more and more. It means being established on a firm foundation. But it is the work that we do naturally when we pay attention to the grace and goodness of our Lord.

passion

last night, ash and i had our home group bible study. we drank french press coffee and finished our look at paul's first letter to the thessalonians. i like paul because he is so fired up about how these greek believers are living out their faith. he is passionate about how they are receiving the Word and being changed by it, about how they are sticking to this new way of life as followers of Jesus. paul has a deep conviction that this is the only right way to live. so much so, he tells these people that when they stand firm and grow in their faith he feels joy, glory and life itself! this is passion. this is a man who has found something real. this is something worth pouring his whole self out for. i want someone to be that devoted to my walk with the Lord and to my wife and my son as well. i think that there are a few and that makes me feel very humbled and thankful. i also want to be this kind of passionate and devoted fan for other people, cheering them on through this life's struggles and distractions that they might stand firm, that they might grow more and more in the Spirit of Christ. what are we passionate about? what do we want for each other? as a kid, i would see other people wearing those t-shirts that say "Someone in California Loves Me" and it would make me feel so sad. i would feel melancholy over the concept of being loved by one person being such a big deal that it merited a t-shirt. "shouldn't lots of people love you? is this person in california the only one? i'm so sorry." now that i'm older i see the value in having someone love you. maybe we would be lucky to have one paul who was passionate about our faith-walk? maybe you can be that one person for someone else. just don't give them a t-shirt.