Happy 6th. I hope you had a good 4th.
The Lamb wins! If you are following the news, it’s easy to think many now start their day with a devotional reading from Machiavelli’s The Prince. I have been reading the Book of Revelation to fuel a different perspective. We cannot forget that the most powerful being in the universe used his power to serve others. At great personal expense, Jesus stepped down in order to lift others up.
And after he went lower than anyone else ever could, he was exalted. The Lamb suffered and won. The Lamb wins!
A News Black Out: I have a friend who stopped following current events two years ago. I do not mean he cut back. I mean, he made “my promise to never bring up any current event in his presence” a condition of friendship. I think his approach is silly and ill-advised, but he is setting trends. Bloomberg recently noted that Americans are “escaping” the news; Pew says seventy percent of Americans have “news fatigue;” the American Psychological Association says two-thirds of us now list “the state of the nation” as our primary source of stress; and Discovery Inc. – which owns HGTV, Food Network, and TLC – says viewership is up by double digits since the election as people seek to escape the news. BTW, the head of Hallmark Channel recently said, “When we recently asked people why they watched Hallmark, we heard, ‘I want to be reminded that there’s still love in the world.'”
Quotes Worth Requoting: How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing…it is irresistible. CS Lewis
Spiritual maturity: when the span of time between knowing what you should do and actually doing it shrinks.
Five Easy and Quick Secrets to a Better Marriage: Blogs, tweets and check-out-stand rags often promise an easy path to an easy marriage – one full of laughter and lots of sex. All you need to do is apply a few painless techniques (see page 95 and get started today!!!). If only. Those married more than a few months know a good marriage is hard work. And the way forward is generally for each spouse to believe that their selfishness is the biggest barrier to the oneness they are after. A recent series of events have reconnected me with Gary Thomas, with whom I worked shortly after Luther nailed his treatise to the castle door in Wittenberg. Gary is now a best-selling author, mostly on marriage. I thought this particular blog entry of his was particularly spot on. What is the long, winding and occasionally painful path to a joyful marriage? Love God and follow Christ’s example of serving.
Relativism: There was a time when people described our age as “relativistic.” In one sense it still is – after all, we are free to establish our own morals, and woe to anyone who suggests otherwise. But the polarization of the moment makes it clear that even those who think we are free to adjust our morals, believe their morals are the right ones. And many also think they are entitled to impose their views on others. What we are now navigating is a rigid relativism.
The Questions: Once a year I huddle with two close friends to intentionally review life. In preparation for our time together we prepare written answers to a set of questions. It is terrifying and wonderful to examine your life in front of trusted friends. It’s also an opportunity for insight, grace, confession and growth. Click here for a copy of the questions. They come from one of the books in the Broken series.
Thirty is Not the New Twenty: TED Talk fans may be familiar with Meg Jay. When she gave this talk a few years ago it got a lot of press. I am passing it along because I contine to find myself recommending it. Her premise is, just because everything is happening later – i.e., marriage, first real job, etc. – doesn’t mean that is a good thing or that we are free to “waste our twenties.” Meg, who is a therapist and professor, finds that many thirty year-olds discover too late that your twenties are “the defining decade.” The talk is here.
On the Night Stand: A week ago I picked up A Distant Land, a collection of short stories by Wendell Berry. Berry, an award-winning octogenarian, who writes essays on economics and spiritual well-being in addition to his fiction, emerged as a hero for some evangelicals about ten years ago. Most of his fiction is set in Port William. This line from the story I read last night, is vintage Berry. “‘If the devil don’t exist,’ Athey used to say, ‘how do you explain that some people are a lot worse than their smart enough to be?’”
Closing Prayer: O God, early in the morning I cry to you. Help me to pray and to concentrate my thoughts on you; I cannot do this alone. In me there is darkness, but with you there is light; I am lonely, but you do not leave me; I am feeble in heart, but with you there is help; I am restless, but with you there is peace. In me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience; I do not understand your ways, but you know the way for me. Amen. Dietrich Bonhoeffer