“Unwrapping the Present”
A friend of mine sent me an email report on his day yesterday and commented on the one-day-at-a-time slogan of twelve-step programs.
I replied, “Just for today—yes! Imagine someone who gave you a whole bunch of beautifully wrapped gifts and then said, ‘There is a catch: you have to open them all at the same time.’
Suddenly, gifts would become a problem. Indeed, they would become an impossible chore.
Have fun unwrapping today and making good use of it for yourself and for others!”
There was a Family Circle cartoon decades ago that I thought summed it up very nicely. A little girl named Dolly was explaining time to her littler brother, Jeffy. “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.”
But for my A.D.D. mind, a day is way too much for me to unwrap. There is a Christian song entitled “The Next Five Minutes.” It’s a good song and I like it. However, there are days when even the next five minutes is way too much for me to process. I need to concentrate on the next thirty seconds.
Admittedly, not every day or every moment in the day seems to be a good gift. As I was writing this post, regrets for how I lived in the past attacked in the present moment. The people I’ve hurt were all horribly present before my heart’s eye at the same time. Sometimes, the present is a waking nightmare and hell in the here and the now. As someone has said, “Every day is judgment day.”
But even when the present is profoundly painful, it is still a gift to be opened. There is a saying, “Good things come in small packages.” That is true. What is also true is that things that are ultimately good often come in very ugly packages that we don’t want to unwrap.
Still, there are many beautiful gifts in every day—sunrises and sunsets, full moons, and stubborn wildflowers that insist on blooming even in the winter. There is my little dog’s wagging of her stubby tail and my wife’s morning hair that she calls “bed head” but which I call wildly beautiful.
And so, I say to myself and to you, “Have fun unwrapping today and making good use of it for yourself and for others!”
“Lust Versus What God Has Placed in Front of Us”
“Get Serious
4 1-2 Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.
2-3 You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way.
4-6 You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.”
7-10 So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.” (James 4:1-10, The Message)
“Lust is wanting anything that God hasn’t put right in front of me.” (A comment by a twelve-step friend)
Among other things, lust is a refusal to trust God. When I desire something (or someone) that I don’t currently have, I am saying to God, “You’re holding out on me!” And that is not the sort of thing that someone who trusts God would say.
And why would God not give me something or someone? There are several possible answers to this question. I don’t like any of them, but I need to keep them all in mind.
- I don’t really need what I am wanting. This is more common that is generally acknowledged.
- I want different things that are mutually exclusive. (Eating lots of sweets and snacks and being in good shape comes to mind.)
- What I’m wanting would not be good for me.
- I am not asking God for it. (God gives many good things to me without my asking, but there are other good things for which God expects me to ask.)
- I am asking God for something for the wrong reasons.
So, just for today, I am going to be appreciative of whatever God puts in front of me.
“Everything Makes Me Think of _________”
: 12 1-3 Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” (Hebrews 12:1-3, The Message)
Idries Shah, in his book The Way of the Sufi, records a story entitled, “That Makes Me Think of . . . .”
Suhrawardi said:
I went to see a man, and we sat talking.
There was a camel plodding past, and I said to him:
‘What does that make you think of?’
He said:
‘Food.’
‘But you are not an Arab, since when was camel meat for food?’
‘No, it is not like that,’ said the man. ‘You see, everything makes me think of food.’”
This story made me think about Jesus Christ. Or rather, the story made me think about thinking about Jesus Christ. Indeed, it made me think about how much I don’t think of thinking about Jesus Christ.
What do I think about most of the time. Well, food is indeed way up there. When I was about sixteen, I lived with my brother and his wife for a couple of months during the summer, working as a plumber’s flunky. (I wasn’t good enough to be dignified with the title “plumber’s helper”.) One Saturday morning, we were getting ready to go to a state park in Ohio. While I was buttering my sixth piece of toast after eating half-a-dozen eggs, I asked, “How long will it take us to get there?”
My brother responded, “Oh, about four hours.”
“Good grief!” I exclaimed. “It’ll be time to eat by the time we get there!”
The room erupted into laughter, but I thought it was a valid comment on my part. I thought a lot about food back in those days. Even as an old guy, I think way too much about food. Come to think of it (and I am thinking about it), it is 11:39. It is almost time for lunch!
I call myself a Christ-follower, and yet, how often do I think about Jesus? If I see a camel go by (or a squirrel), do I think of Jesus Christ? Alas, I am not that spiritual. I need to start paying more attention to what—and who—I’m paying attention to. I need to fill in the blank in the title of this post with the name of Jesus.
You?
“Well Doing!”
“Gal. 6:7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
Gal. 6:8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Gal. 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Gal. 6:10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (English Standard Version, italics mine.)
A friend of mine has been growing by leaps and bounds this year. That is because he has been putting one daily foot in front of the other for many days during 2023. He has been a good, kind, caring man ever since I’ve known him. He hasn’t always given himself much credit for that, though. I wrote an encouraging reply to my friend, and I thought it might be helpful to you as well. So, here goes!
“Keep doing what you’re doing, and you’ll keep growing.
You’ve been a good man since I’ve known you, but you’ve often not paid sufficient attention to that goodness. You are paying much better attention now, and you are growing into an even better man.
I would say, ‘Well done!’ but that might imply that you are done growing. You are not. So, I say to you, ‘Well doing!’”
So much for what I wrote to my friend. Upon further reflection, I thought about Paul’s words to the Galatians. Paul encouraged them to keep on doing good things for others (Galatians 6:9-10). The Greek verbs here are in the present tense. This suggests an ongoing, continual, lifestyle approach to doing good for others. Paul challenges them—and us—to do good things for everybody.
I can’t prove it, but I suspect that he speaks of doing this “especially for the household of faith” (i.e., believers), not because believers are more important than all the others. Rather, I would suggest that Paul’s “especially” is because believers are often more difficult to love than unbelievers. (Of course, you and I, dear reader, are exceptions to this general rule.) In fact, I am reminded of an old piece of doggerel that goes something like this:
“To dwell above with saints we love
will certainly be glory.
To dwell below with saints we know—
well that’s another story.”
But, whether it is a generic everybody or fellow-Christians, our doing of good needs to be a continuing goal. Only so, can we continually grow and experience the continual presence of God in our lives.
“Perfectly Imperfect”
Here is a somewhat revised report I sent to my sponsors and accountability team this morning:
“No violations and no secrets.
Today, with God’s help, I am doing at least 5 things I need to do and 5 things I enjoy doing. Some of them will be the same. The challenge goal is to do 10 things in each category. I’ve already done several in both categories.
I did not do as well yesterday, I suspect. However, today is another day to try to get this thing called “life” right. Perhaps I will never get it entirely right, but if I did, I might become more puffed up than I am and be a real jerk. Maybe my imperfections really are an essential part of my perfection. “Perfectly imperfect,” we say. Yes. And “Imperfectly perfect” will work too. Any way you slice it, I am going to keep on striving for perfection. I am also going to keep on missing that mark.
I don’t know, guys. Maybe, for me, this boils down to Genesis 1-3. The story goes that God made humankind in God’s image (Genesis 1). I don’t know what that even means, but I feel as if I’m always trying to live that out. And it is a good goal.
Then, in Genesis 3, we’re told that the humans decided that being created in God’s image wasn’t enough. We wanted more. We wanted to know, wanted to experience, good and evil. We wanted to be like God by being God. And the rest, as they say, is history. That choice wasn’t a good fit for Adam and Eve. It is not a good fit for me, either.
God tried to show us that he loved us just the way we are, but as a species, humans are really slow learners. Finally, God sent his Son into the world to deal with our imperfects perfectly.
So, for today, here is my affirmation: Today, with God’s help, I am content and at peace with my quest to live out God’s image in my own perfectly imperfect way.
I am posting this near the end of my day. Sure enough, I was perfectly imperfect. It is quite likely that you were, too. And that is good enough.
“Happy If and When?”
“This is the day that the LORD has made.
We will be glad and rejoice in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
Happinessisnowhere.
The story is told of a businessman who was driving between cities on a business call out in Arizona. He had car trouble. The engine was running really rough. However, he was able to cripple into a little town that had one garage. As the mechanic was trying to diagnose and cure his car’s illness, the businessman fell into a conversation with a thirty-something-looking Native American who was sitting whitling under the only shade tree in the area.
The businessman was a pretty keen judge of human beings. He very quickly realized that the Indian was very, very smart. Yet, there he sat in very old and disheveled clothes whittling on a piece of wood.
“You know,” said the businessman, “You strike me as a very intelligent and well-spoken man.”
The Indian nodded his thanks for the kind words.
The businessman continued, “I think you could really go places.”
The Indian smiled and said, “Oh?” in a way that invited a fuller explanation.
And now, the high-powered businessman began to get excited and wax eloquent. “You could go to work for me. I could start you off at a pretty good rate. I think you would move up the ladder in no time at all.”
“Yes, and then what?” replied the Indian.
The businessman was a bit puzzled. He hadn’t really thought very much about what happened after you had climbed the ladder. He was too busy climbing the ladder to think of much else. He paused, and a thoughtful frown furrowed his head. “Well, you would make a lot of money. You’d have a lot of nice stuff and invest some of your money in stocks and bonds and have a nice retirement.”
“And then?” the Indian asked.
The businessman looked out across the desert that stretched way beyond the lone shade tree. He felt more than a little lost in the conversation. He was in very uncharted territory.
“Well,” he finally said, “Then you could retire comfortably and be happy.”
At this point, the Indian broke into a broad smile and said, “But I’m happy right now, whittling and talking with you.”
I have no idea about the factuality of this story, but I have no doubt at all about the truth of it. And the truth of it is this: Happiness is here and now, or it is nowhere at all. Perhaps the verse that led off this post is part of a psalm that was written for a special festival day. But in reality, it works for any day.
The line that follows the verse from Psalm 118 contains the following jumble of letters: Happinessisnowhere. Obviously, this is a misprint. Actually, it is an intentional misprint. It can be read in two very different ways.
Happiness is nowhere.
Happiness is now here.
You choose!
“Jesus and the Forgiven Woman Who Made a Scene”
“A Sinful Woman Forgiven
Luke 7:36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
Luke 7:41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (English Standard Version)
During Jesus’ time—as well as both before and after Jesus’ time—banquets were often occasions for moral instruction. There is most certainly moral instruction in this story about a Pharisee who invited Jesus to dinner and a sinful woman who invited herself! Yes. Moral instruction and then some.
But first, some background information might be helpful. In those days, people reclined on benches around low tables to eat. Thus, one diner’s feet were near neighbors to someone else’s olfactory organs. Streets were not paved or kept clean during ancient times. Thus, washing a guests feet before they reclined to eat was very important. However, Jesus’ host had not seen to this important detail.
Another interesting factoid to consider is this: Even uninvited guests could come and stand around the courtyard wall to listen to a teacher’s instruction. They were supposed to be quiet and not make a scene.
Now I can’t prove what I am about to say, but here are some thoughts that may be more imaginative than convincing. They are reasonable suspicions, nothing more. I will phrase them mostly using a question format.
Had the woman had contact with Jesus before this? Had she poured out her sinful lifestyle to him? Had Jesus already assured her that God still loved and accepted her? Or had she just heard that Jesus was a friend to sinners. (He certainly had that reputation.)
Did she notice that Jesus’ feet were dirty and decide to do something about that? Did she mean to start crying, or did her tears blindside her? Did she undo her hair and use it as towel because she simply didn’t have a towel with her? Did she bring the perfume with her for the express purpose of anointing Jesus’ feet, or was that a spontaneous response to the One she loved?
There is so much we don’t know about this woman and her action. We do know this much: Jesus treated her with kindness, respect, and appreciation. Indeed, Jesus pronounced her forgiven. I suspect that Jesus longs to treat us all in the same manner.
“QUESTIONING OUR ANSWERS”
“Luke 20:3 He [Jesus] answered them, “I also will ask you a question.” (English Standard Version)
We all would like to have our questions answered. However, as I get older, I tend to question my answers a lot more often than I used to. You probably have questions about the preceding sentence. Let me anticipate your questions by giving you some non-answers.
I am teaching an online biblical studies course right now on how to interpret the Bible. The technical term for the art of interpretation is ‘hermeneutics’. One of the brilliant things that this biblical hermeneutics course does is that it asks students to ask questions of the passage from the Bible that they have chosen to study and explain. They are not initially to make statements.
No, I did not craft the course, so I can’t take credit for this approach. And I admit that at first, I was a bit skeptical about encouraging students’ questions. You might say that I had some questions about this approach. However, I’ve come around. Why? I finally realized that, when you make statements, you think you already know the answers. When you ask questions, you show that you are still learning.
And the problem is not simply that if you make a statement about the Bible. you may be wrong. Of course, that is possible, and questions might help you to avoid such a pitfall. But the usefulness of questions cuts even deeper than that. A good question helps us to understand more deeply, even when we are fundamentally correct.
This is a broader principle even than biblical hermeneutics. If I am talking to my wife or a friend or a stranger, and I ask one or more good questions, I stand a very good chance of coming to understand and love my wife or a friend or a stranger better. Furthermore, I am honoring them with my questions.
Of course it is possible to ask the wrong questions of the Bible, or my wife, or anyone. It is also possible to ask too many questions or to ask the right question at the wrong time. Like all good things, questions can be abused and abusive. But that doesn’t negate the fact that many questions are fundamentally good things.
It is often said that Jesus is the answer. That is, I think, profoundly true in some ways. On the other hand, as someone has said, “Jesus is the also the question to all our answers.” This is an equally profound truth.
A quick google search suggests that Jesus asked 307 questions, according to the four writers of the Gospels. Jesus was asked 183 questions. He only answered 3 of these 183 questions directly. I’m not sure how accurate this is, but even if it is close to right, it shows how much Jesus valued questions.
Those of us who say we follow Jesus might want to ask ourselves some serious questions about how much we value questions. If Jesus was such a questioner, and if we claim to follow him, perhaps we need to be a lot more inquisitive and considerably less impressed with our answers.
“Invitations, Not Commands”
I have a confession. As you may well have noticed, almost all my posts are stolen from other people. I usually give the giver credit. Sometimes I forget the source. As someone has said, “Originality just means that you’ve forgotten your source.” (See what I did there? As someone has said, . . .!) Today’s post is based on an early-morning phone conversation with my friend Jack.
He was telling me that in a prayer group, they were telling one another stories about a wonderful friend who was their priest. He had just died, and they were remembering what a good impact he had on each of them. As they shared, Jack realized that this priest and everyone else who had had a good influence on him had one thing in common: “The people who are the solutions, the people who have helped me to grow, are people who have given me invitations, not commands.” That was a wonderful insight that Jack gave me. That Jack included me in this group who give invitations rather than commands was also quite wonderful.
But my mind is prone to wander—as well as to wonder—and my mind turned in the direction of Jesus. This is not a bad form of wander or wonder, in my opinion.
Certainly, Jesus gave commands. At least, they were in the imperative in the original Greek of the New Testament. That is to say, they were in the imperative grammatically. But I wonder if it might be more helpful, and even more accurate, to think of Jesus’ “commands” as invitations.
“Come follow me!” Jesus said to many. Invitation or command? Perhaps both, but I suspect that the disciples thought of it more as an invitation. Were there hard things in following Jesus? Absolutely! There still are hard things about following Jesus. Most invitations involve some difficulties. The more important the invitation, the greater the difficulties.
But the bottom line for me is this: Who is better to follow than Jesus is? And my answer, when I am thinking straight, is pretty straightforward: No one!
My wife is a fantastic cook. When she calls me to come and eat, it is a command in form, but in content and in spirit, it is an invitation to experience joy and to be nourished. So it is with Jesus. So, in some measure, it is with certain friends as well. But I believe that Jesus is the Great Inviter.
Thank you, Jack! I love you too!
“A Long Slow Series of Clicks”
“Follow me!” (Jesus)
“I believe in you, Jesus.” (Me)
“Good! Now follow me!” (Jesus)
A friend of mine has gotten super-serious about recovering from addiction. He used to feel that he was “terminally unique.” God loved everyone else in the universe, except for him. He felt like a mistake.
And then, my friend wrote something in his email report that I will never forget, something that will haunt and prod and help me to my dying day. “Thankfully by some grace of some power bigger than myself that I don’t understand, something clicked eventually, and it’s been a long slow series of clicks since then.”
Something clicked. Yes! But there are also those long, slow subsequent clicks. Recovery from addiction, learning Spanish (or anything else), the quest for wisdom, dieting—any good thing you can name—involve something clicking. But more importantly, all good things involve a number of slow clicks.
I once read something to the effect that, for too many people, “the Christian faith is often a sudden spasm followed by a long lethargy.” (Or was it “. . . followed by a long paralysis”?) That is not really the Christian faith, but a pale imitation of it. It is sometimes called “easy believe-ism”, but I prefer to call it just plain false.
Jesus did not speak simply of believing in him. He also spoke of following him. It was one of the main ways in which Jesus spoke of the life to which he was calling his disciples, then and now. With only one exception, Jesus’ call to be his disciple/s is in the present tense in Greek. The present tense connotes ongoing, repetitive, life-style actions. A good question for disciples of Christ to ask every day and many times during the day is this: Am I following Jesus right now?
May we all keep clicking along in our followership today!
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