Passing Through

I never thought I was that kind of person…

The kind of person that needed to learn how to appreciate things. I’ve always tried to be purposefully thankful for everything. Or so I thought.

But the last week has reminded me of what is truly treasured.

It started with being in my hometown, a place I have only visited for the last 16 years. Yet with each visit, the yearning to be near it increases. Last week I was able to live there for a week and go for several bicycle rides around town – something I used to do all the time when I was growing up. One of the great things about Fair Lawn is that you can get to different parts of it quickly and easily on a bike. And so I did. I rode from over by St. Anne’s to Memorial Pool, where I spent nearly every summer day growing up. And I was able to watch my own children play in the pool where we used to play as kids. I rode over to my prayer hill in Radburn (the slope in “B” park between Tot Lot and the school) where I have heard God so many times and where I asked Jenny to marry me. I rode over to my childhood friend Scott’s house and talked about books and his trip to Costa Rica. And I rode by dozens of other people’s homes and other landmarks. And I also got to have a burger on the Dutch House deck, my favorite cookie from the bakery, a couple of Entenmann’s crumb cakes, dinner at Davia, a visit to The College of New Jersey/Trenton State College, and wonderful visits with family and friends.

All the while thinking about how grateful I was for those people, places and moments and the opportunity to visit them again. And how I have missed it all – a lot.

And then there was Dave’s funeral service. Which among other things, reminded me of how as we go on in life, some of the best people we have known and loved are already at our real home – heaven. That place where all tears will be wiped away, where there is no more pain, death or suffering, no more diseases like ALS. That place that can only be reached by faith.

All of it has stirred an aching and a yearning to be home. Home is and could be again Fair Lawn, but ultimately is heaven.

As Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi, who were struggling with oppression and persecution, and needed hope, “But our citizenship is in heaven, Philippians 3:20.” He was reminding them that despite their present circumstances, their true citizenship was not under Roman control but of Christ’s eternal and forever kingdom. And that being mindful of that could help them look beyond the troubled present. Given our circumstances now of the economy and all the stress and pressures, it speaks comfort and hope to us too.

As you know, we can get so focused on this world as if it is permanent. The people, things – we have and want to have, it is very easy to get so attached to it all. And yet, it is only temporary. If you think about it, most of our misery comes from being overly attached to this world and its things – when it and they don’t belong to us.

As Carrie Underwood has poetically expressed in her song Temporary Home, “This is my temporary home, It’s not where I belong. Windows and rooms that I’m passin’ through. This is just a stop, on the way to where I’m going…because I know this is my temporary home.” How much would our perspectives and lives be different if we had a “temporary” yet faith-based outlook on our lives.

And speaking of passing through, nearly five years ago, God whispered to me at the prayer hill, “You’re going to Michigan.” I never imagined leaving New Jersey but we were faithful and went. And I think there were many times when I was so focused on the “mission” that I didn’t remember who I was and from where I come. And now with that mission nearly complete, and God having whispered a few months ago, “You’re going home,” we are quite curious as to how God will make it happen and what it means.

Because in the end, home – on earth or in heaven is about belonging. And whether it is Fair Lawn or TCNJ/TSC or old, dear family and friends or thinking of heaven, I know now very well what it is like to treasure and yearn for those places and people to whom and where we belong.

Because for better or worse, as humans, we often have to lose or be separated from those things which we love in order to truly desire and treasure them. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is essentially about exile and restoration with God on cosmic and personal levels.

It’s also a little bit like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz who talks about cherishing what she has and explains to Auntie Em, “But it was a real place (Oz) and some of it wasn’t very nice, but most of it was beautiful. All the while I kept telling people that I wanted to go home. And they sent me home.” Whether it is Oz or earth, we are just passing through.

I never thought I was one of those people that needed to learn this – but I was, and I have; and I will probably have to learn it again sometime…

Amen.

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Treasured

2 Corinthians 4:6-7

Treasured

 

“The Scriptures say, “God commanded light to shine in the dark.” Now God is shining in our hearts to let you know that his glory is seen in Jesus Christ. We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (CEV)

 

 

What do we usually do with something we treasure?

 

Hide it. Protect it. Keep it in a safe place.

 

Makes sense, right?

 

Take jewelry for example. Not only is it precious to us, but then we often have a special jewelry box for it. Some are simple, and some are treasures in their own right. So you have something that is precious, enclosed and protected in something that is also precious itself.  

 

We protect documents, photos and other digital things with passwords and other security features. We buy home security systems to keep all that we treasure in our homes safe.

 

The people we love in our life, treasures, we are very protective of them too. We go to great lengths to keep them safe as we should.

 

It’s just interesting how our approach to this differs from God’s approach…

 

Because it is basically the opposite.

 

Think about it. Let’s start with Jesus, who took on flesh, a clay jar with God most precious treasure and the old hymn reminds us, “And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing; Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin (How Great Thou Art).”

 

Okay. So instead of hiding, protecting and keeping Jesus in a safe place, He put Him in an ordinary clay jar (flesh) and then sends Him to die on the cross for us and be raised. Jesus didn’t look different than other human beings. He didn’t have a special “clay jar” made just for Him.

 

Pardon me, but is that a way to treat something one treasures??? 😉

 

Then there’s us. With Jesus in our hearts, by the power of the Holy Spirit, this light that the passage talks about, some of God’s treasure poured out into us, clay jars. This light, this treasure of God’s within us, it’s real, it is precious to God and it is inside us.

 

And in this life, as you know, the jar, well, it gets a little banged up. It’s flawed from the beginning. It’s weak. It gets old. It cracks. It’s completely not worthy of the treasure inside. It chips. It often just starts falling apart after awhile. But the treasure always manages to stay inside.  

 

Excuse me, but would you or I choose to put something that is precious in a vessel that is easily broken, not very stable or secure, and will ultimately fail? 😉

 

We wouldn’t invest like this. We wouldn’t leave people we love as vulnerable as this. This is crazy, right?

 

Good News! God does!

 

With Jesus and with us, God keeps pouring out His treasure into this world and into us. As ugly, and old, and unworthy as we may feel – or as our clay jar may show, we have God’s treasure within us. We may not look like pearls or diamonds, but when the treasure is on the inside, it means it can’t be taken away or fade away – it’s eternal.

 

But why? Why does God do this?

 

This passage answers it in part. “The real power comes from God and not from us.” It was and is about God revealing His power, grace, glory and love through us. It’s just the way He does it.  

 

And I can’t help but think of Jesus’ words, “Your heart will always be where your treasure is… (Matthew 6:21).”

 

True for us. But true for God too. Where His treasure is, even in clay jars like us, there His heart is also.

 

Amen.

 

 

Discussion Questions

1. Do you ever think about yourself as one of God’s treasures? Why or why not? How about now?
2. Which is more important – the treasure or the vessel? How do we live – with more emphasis on the treasure or the jar?
3. What does this idea reveal about God’s character? What do think about that?
4. Is there anything for us to learn from God’s way of treating treasure, about how we treat our treasures?

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Hospitality

Hospitality

John 6:37

 

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” John 6:37

 

 

My brother Ryan and I have often talked about one of our fondest memories from growing up. It’s this. Often on Saturday mornings, while running his errands, Uncle Frank would stop by, sometimes with donuts or bagels. And it was this great thing for us. I think we liked it in part because my family seemed to enjoy when people would stop by uninvited. I think we liked that we had an “open house” feel to our home. One other thing I would throw in is that it seemed like people and life were less busy then. There seemed to be time enough to stop somewhere while running errands. I miss it.  

 

Things change, don’t they? Time, it seems, has appeared to have pushed hospitality away. On one hand, I would love to say, “Hey everybody, stop by whenever you want – open house!” And likewise, I would love to hear that from all of you. But in reality, the kids, all the stuff we haven’t gotten to yet, the lists, trying to recover from a work week, the list goes on. Who has time to “just stop by?” How many times have we all heard the doorbell or a knock and looked at each other thinking, “Oh no, who is this?”  

 

Are we missing something?

 

Hospitality. Welcoming people into our homes. Welcoming people into our churches. Many churches like to think of themselves as “welcoming.” I would say our church does a pretty good job as far as churches that I have observed.

 

And yet, I learned a whole new definition of hospitality – hospitality in Christ while in Africa. For example, we climbed this pretty tall mountain one day and I had my bag with me. A bag that had some important stuff in it – water, sunscreen (very important for a pale guy like me) and some other stuff. And as we went along I kept putting small rocks in the bag because I like to give them as gifts to people – Psalm 18:2 says, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge…” Anyway, all the way up and all the way down, I didn’t have to carry my bag. This is because Peter was carrying it. Peter lives and serves in the village in the valley and as soon as we started heading toward the mountain, he literally took my bag off my shoulder and kept it even when I protested. I thought, “He shouldn’t have to carry my bag.” But it was his way of showing Christ’s hospitality.

 

Gabriel (the missionary we work with in Nigeria and our host that week) explained to us at one point, “In America, you are about getting things done. In Africa, we are about relationships. You are more productive for sure. But we have these relationships.”

 

Almost everywhere we went, people automatically picked up our bags or luggage. It would have been offensive to them for us to carry our own things or to insist on it. When we see or greet someone, we usually say, “How are you?” or if in New Jersey, “How you doin?” J In Nigeria, their main greeting, and we heard it all week is, “You are welcome, sir.” When I first heard it, I tried to remember if I had said “Thank you.” But I hadn’t. This is how they greet people or at least visitors, “You are welcome, sir.”

 

When we went to two churches on Sunday in Nigeria, we were whisked to the front of the church. I know for some that might be scary – the front row – AHH! But it seemed to me that this was a place of honor.

 

When we would visit people’s homes or villages, it was clear that we were welcome and that anything we needed – was ours. In one village they gave us a whole branch from a banana tree about 50 little bananas on it (probably saved my life coming down the mountain). When we visited schools, the children stood up and greeted us. People made time for us and put meals and snacks together rather joyfully.

 

This is a long way to say, that the definition of Christian hospitality I learned and observed in Africa was this, “Anything I have is for you.” And I think it is the right one.

 

When I think of Jesus’ words, “…and whoever comes to me, I will never drive away (John 6:37).” When I think of Jesus’ life, how he gave it away for you and me, though we didn’t deserve it and how in spite of how we are often inhospitable to Him in our daily lives. I think we might be missing something about reflecting the hospitality of Christ.

 

Can you and I practice, “Anything I have is yours” kind of hospitality with our time, or our homes, or our money, or our faith, or churches? Are you and I up for what “Anything I have is yours” means when it comes to welcoming people into our lives? For example, on Sunday morning, can we go beyond politely greeting visitors to somehow communicating this idea? Saying, “This is my church and I give it you this morning because you have visited.”

 

How can we? It’s “ours” right? If we open up, and share, and pour out what we treasure – is it still ours? If I open my whole life to Jesus and to my family and to my friends, what will happen to the “me” that I know? Can we be like Jesus and never close off or drive away anyone who comes to us in fellowship or need?

 

Uncle Frank lives in Georgia now so he won’t be stopping by this Saturday morning. But in thinking about his visits and my visit to Africa and Jesus’ words, maybe it’s time to rethink how welcoming we are and how much we are investing in relationships – by just stopping by sometimes or welcoming those who just want to get to know us better or connect.

 

Amen.

 

Discussion Questions

1. When was the last time you stopped by just to say “hello”?
2. How is time or your schedule working for or against relationship building?
3. How do you define hospitality? Hospitality in Christ?
4. What do you think of an “Anything I have is yours” approach to living? What might get in the way of this?
5. Have you ever experienced the kind of hospitality I described? Where and what did you observe about it?

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A Prayer For A Beloved

A Prayer For A Beloved

Dear Lord,  

I come to you today with someone in particular on my heart.In fact, my heart floods and overflows with love and care and compassion for him/her. 

When I think of all that he/she have been through already; and all that he/she is going through right now – Oh Lord! I want to take it all away and make it stop!

I plead with you, in Jesus’ name and power, to lead he/she safely out of this valley today.  I ask you, as only you can, make the storms and the waves and winds cease and be still.  

Should that not be your will at this time, Lord, I ask for your hand, your very presence to surround him/her, so that:

When her eyes flow with tears, wipe them away,

When he is afraid, calm his fears,

When she trembles, hold her hand

When he stumbles, catch him before he falls,

When she can’t see, shine a light on your path,

When his wounds won’t heal, touch him and make him whole

When she feels far away from you, let her know you are right there,

When he feels under attack, shelter him under your mighty wing,

When she has lost heart, let her heart beat again, flowing with your love,

When he feels useless, remind him of your purpose for him,

When she feels like she can’t take another step, swoop her up and carry her,

You see God, this person means so much to me. I treasure him/her. They have loved me and cared for me. I have seen reflections of you in them. There have been times where they lifted me. And so now I come to you, with this plea, with this prayer, that you move in their lives, at this very moment.  

It grieves me to think of them suffering or struggling – so that I cry out to you on their behalf. I am hurting because they hurt; I am wounded because of their wounds; I am with them in their suffering. I will not be still, until they are still. I ache and yearn for them to have peace – your precious peace.  

I thank you because I know you always listen to, and respond to, our prayers. You are a God of promises and faithfulness and I rejoice in that confidence and hope! 

In the name of Jesus, I place this loved one in your care and hands today.

Amen!

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