Looking Back for God

It's the end of the year, and you may be spending a little time looking back to see what kind of terrain you've been hiking over for the past 12 months. Where have you been? Where was God? What was your journey like? Here are a handful of questions that may help you reflect. We would love to have your comments if you'd like to tell a trail story or two.

Q: What is the most important lesson God allowed you to learn this year? How did/are you learn(ing) it?

Q: Has there been a scripture (or biblical story) that has been bothering you this year? One that has comforted you or that you keep coming back to again and again?

Q: What phrase would you use to describe your life with God right now? How is that different from what you would have said a year ago?

Q: What was the most challenging situation you encountered this year? How did you see God show up in it?

Q: What was the highlight of your year? What did it teach you about God?

Q: Is there a request you’ve found yourself praying over and over again this year?

Q: What new opportunities has God given you last year?

Q: What spiritual discipline/practice/habit has meant the most to you this year?

Unusual Wrappings (3)- He's Up To Something

Christmas is a great time for surprises- Surprise visits, surprise gifts, surprise food items encased in Jello- you know the drill. Funny thing is, surprises are actually fragile things. To pull one off you have to act like nothing unusual is happening. Some people are great at this (lying that is), some aren't. When some of us start planning a surprise, you can tell we are definitely up to something. I think God wrapped the Christmas story like He did for the same reason. He wants us to know that He is active, working, moving, present. And we all probably need a reminder now and then.

THE SILENCE OF GOD
Christmas is a time for contact. This month, many of us are getting cards, family pictures, newsletters and emails from folks we haven't heard from in 12 months. 360ish days of silence, and then finally- contact. For some people in our lives, this works out fine. We honestly don't have time (or interest?) in more than a once-a-year update. For others, 12 months of silence would be (and has been) heartbreaking. Ever had to endure a time of silence from God? Ever wondered where He was? Why He wasn't doing something? Why you couldn't hear His voice or sense His presence. Me too- and we aren't alone.

The Bible is full of periods of silence. One of the largest comes just before the Christmas story. For 7 generations from Malachai to Matthew, there is no prophet- no Word from the Lord. God is silent. Jesus' newborn wailing breaks 430 years of silence. Silent Night indeed! Even during a long time of silence, God was still working. He wasn't speaking, but He moving behind the scenes, ensuring that His promises about Jesus' birth would come true. He preserved the family line of MARY. He kept BETHLEHEM intact. Not to mention working out all of the other details.

THE RUT OF THE ORDINARY
Most days aren't Christmas, graduation day, wedding day, or any other special day. Most days are ordinary and routine. Some of us get pretty sick of routine. We ache for something special to happen. Sounds like the Christmas story to me. Mary was in the middle of "just another day" when the angel showed up and redefined her world. Joe was going about his business when he got a heavenly voicemail. The SHEPHERDS were on night watch when the angelic chorus began. The Magi were taking a routine look at the night sky when they saw the Messiah's star. We may be mired in the ordinary. But God's interruption may just be a minute away. When we least expect it, He can puncture the membrane or our daily existence and completely redefine it. (Just ask Mary & Joseph!)

BEYOND OUR FIELD OF VISION
"It's not about you." This simple sentence has been popularized in Christian circles over the last five years. (Thank you Rick Warren.) While that's true and valuable, it isn't the way most of us live. Most of us- me included- focus on life from our point of reference. Most of our energy is spent on our lives, our kids, our jobs, our dreams, our opportunities, our communities, etc. We're self-centered- which can be, but isn't always the same thing as selfish. And while God is at work in us and our worlds- He is working far beyond our frame of reference. The MAGI remind me of this.

Scholars think they showed up at Jesus' house (not barn) when the baby was somewhere between 2 months and 2 years of age. You can bet Mary wasn't expecting them. Then or ever. She was focused on her life, never imagining that God was working to bring these folks from a distant land to worship Jesus. God still does the same thing today. He is working everywhere- in every land and in the life of every person. We don't have to convince God to move. He already is. Instead, we need to listen for His call to join in His work. Like the star for the Magi, God may use US to LIGHT THE WAY for people who are searching. And as we have this privilege, let's keep in mind that journeys- like the Magi's, ours, or our friends- are usually not instant. They take time, like the 2 years the Magi spent on their quest for Jesus. Speed isn't most important. Forward movement is.

WRAPPING IT UP
Right now I'm sitting at Bruegger's Bagels, taking advantage of their free wi-fi to finish this post. It is 1:53 on Christmas Eve afternoon. They're closing in 67 minutes. Employees are scurring to clean up so they can close the doors. They are working, moving, active. Just like God. He may not be as obvious as the good folks at Bruegger's, but He's there. In the silence. In the routine. Beyond our field of vision.

And if you forget, peek at your nativity set- and remember

join the conspiracy

[AC] Advent Conspiracy from Jon Collins on Vimeo.

If you haven't already heard, Connections is joining the Advent Conspiracy this year. We are partnering with Living Water Carolinas in order to build a well in Liberia as our gift to God this Christmas. Bring your offering on Christmas Eve (service starts at 7 pm) or any time between now and February, when we send off our team to build the well!

Unusual Wrappings (2)- He Likes Us

OBLIGATION TO LOVE?
My brother is 6 years younger than me. Like most siblings we had moments when we didn’t get along. During those times, my mom would invoke this family adage:

“You have to love your family, but you don’t have to like them.”

Although I took advantage of this saying as a kid, it sits wrong with me today. Why? Because it makes love feel like an obligation, and genuine affection feel like the higher value. Do we project the same ideas on God? That God loves us (begrudgingly-because He HAS too), but doesn’t really LIKE us?

TESTING
Not sure? Take this test:
Q: When was the last time you felt God was disappointed with you?
Q: When was the last time you felt God was pleased with you?
Why do we find it easier to picture God as mad, than smiling?

JESUS
We’ve heard that Jesus loves us. But does He really LIKES us? I think He does, and that the unusual wrappings of the Christmas story hint of Jesus’ affection for us. Starting with His arrival, and throughout His life, Jesus places Himself in questionable circumstances with imperfect people. Why? So that we’ll sense that He likes us too.

A QUESTIONABLE LABEL
The virgin birth might be the highlight of the Christmas story, but it brings a cloud of scandal with it. When selecting a mother for His son, God chooses Mary. She was engaged to Joseph and wasn’t supposed to be having sex with him or anyone else. When Mary’s belly swells, people start talking. They come to one of two conclusions:

1. Mary and Joseph had sex before marriage- which is a huge no-no.
2. Some other guy knocked her up- which is even worse.

Either way, they believe Jesus came into the world in the wrong way. His birth is seen as illegitimate. The whispers follow. People joke about Mary’s bastard kid. And God does nothing to clear His Son’s name. He is content to let Jesus wear a nasty label that follows Him for the rest of His life. Most of us have similar labels stitched on our souls. They say things like “cheater”, “quitter”, “liar”, “loser”, “addict”, “failure”, etc. They make us think that God may love us, but wouldn’t really LIKE us. Unpleasant labels don’t keep Jesus away from us. He wore one too.

QUESTIONABLE GUESTS
Other than the holy family, what humans are found in most nativity scenes? Shepherds and Magi. What do they have in common? Both are outcasts. Shepherds did a menial job that often left them ceremonially unclean and unable to be a part of Jewish worship gatherings. Yet, they are the first strangers to greet the Savior. The Magi were probably scholars from Persia. Despite their wealth and education, most Jews would have kept their distance- afraid to “dirty” themselves with foreigners. Yet, these outcasts bring the best baby gifts. For the rest of His life, this pattern continues- Jesus embraces all types of people. Although we’ve all known the pain of being excluded, Jesus accepts us. That was always God’s plan.

QUESTIONABLE HOMETOWN
We’ve all got places we’d never want to live. Places (and people) we look down on. “OH- you’re from __________? Sorry to hear that.” In ancient Israel, many would have placed Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth in that blank. Nathaniel did. Why? Nazareth was in the sticks. “Those people” spoke with thick, hickish accents. They associated with the Romans (in Sepphoris 4 miles away). Nazareth was “the wrong side of the tracks”. Guess that made it the perfect spot for Jesus to call home. What does that mean for us? Pedigrees and geography don’t matter to God. My background doesn’t keep Jesus from accepting me- and neither does yours.

EASY TO HOPE FOR, HARD TO HOLD ON TO
I can imagine a God who loves me. But a God who likes me? Whose eyes light up when I cross His mind? Wow. The idea warms my heart, but is hard to get my arms around. Maybe that’s why Jesus came as He did. So that we’d get the hint that he’d call us friends- no matter what labels we wear, how much we’ve been rejected, or where life has taken us. Isn’t Christmas great?

Unusual Wrappings (1)- He Understands

As a child I found the Nativity Scene comforting. Our family didn't go to church, yet I was drawn to the Babe in the manger. Today, I find the barnyard birth ward not only soothing, but downright unusual. If you were Almighty God, would you enter our orb like this? As a helpless infant, born to a supernaturally impregnated, teenage virgin, under the shadow of scandal, in a barn? Me neither. We'd go big- because that's how we roll. So why, the unusual wrappings? Maybe God is trying to tell us some things about Himself and us.

MOVING INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD:
Jesus' best friend John gives this economical account of His Birth:

"The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood." (Jn 1:14 The Message)

Unlike celebrities touring Darfur, or youth groups on a week-long mission trips, Jesus didn't just visit our broken world. He claimed citizenship and took up residence. Starting with His birth, Jesus made choices that allowed Him to live in our reality.

BORN AS A HUMAN BABY:
If I were God, I'd come to earth as a full-grown adult. Preferably a wealthy, powerful, handsome adult- but more on that later. Jesus dons newborn skin. He begins as we began- and understands some key elements of our experience:

Jesus knows what it is like to depend on others.
Philippians 2:6-7 tries to capture the power surrender the incarnation required of Jesus. A look at a small baby drives it home for me. God didn't just become human, but a helpless, newborn human. Like the rest of us, Jesus was completely dependent on His parents. His life was tied to theirs. Whenever we wish we didn't have to rely on others, Jesus can relate.

Jesus knows what it is like to grow and develop.
Ever wish you could go back and be a kid again? Maybe for a minute. But then we remember that we'd have to re-live all those decades again. Suddenly, time travel is unappealing. Who would want to do all that work again? All of the waiting to get to the next milestone? Watching the days, months and years creep by? The prophet Isaiah reminds us that when Jesus was bound to the developmental cycle like the rest of us:

Who has believed our message?
To whom has the LORD’s power been revealed?
He grew up in his presence like a young tree,like a root out of dry ground.
(Isa. 53:1-2a God's Word)

Jesus understands how hard it is to be patient- to have to wait for things to develop.

BORN INTO HUMBLE CIRCUMSTANCES:
Does the phrase "born in a barn" ring a bell? Our parents used it as a derogatory rebuke for good reasons. Yet this was the birthing center of choice for the Divine. If I were God, I would have chosen to be superior. Jesus elected to be below average. In our culture "average" is a dirty word. Parents (including me) fear their child will be saddled with this label. We spend a lot of time and money so that this won't be the case. All in the name of giving them every opportunity they deserve. God did the opposite. He set His Son up to be below average.

Jesus knows what it feels like to be overlooked. Here's Isaiah's summation:

He had no form or majesty that would make us look at him.
He had nothing in his appearance that would make us desire him.
(Isaiah 53:2b)

We've all known the sadness of feeling unnoticed, invisible, passed by. Jesus knew it too. In a nation full of people waiting for His arrival- hardly anyone shows up at His birth.

MAKING HIMSELF VULNERABLE
The first two choices lead to this third. As a human baby, without powerful or wealthy parents- Jesus opens Himself up to suffering.

Jesus knows what it feels like to be lonely.
What's missing from the nativity that is present at most other births? Family. Friends. God sends Jesus' parents out of town, ensuring an empty delivery room. This trend continues through the rest of His life:

He was despised and rejected by people. He was a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering. He was despised like one from whom people turn their faces, and we didn't consider him to be worth anything. (Isaiah 53:3)

Although we'd gladly claim exemption from suffering, Jesus embraces it. Why? For our sake:

He certainly has taken upon himself our suffering and carried our sorrows, but we thought that God had wounded him, beat him, and punished him.
He was wounded for our rebellious acts. He was crushed for our sins. He was punished so that we could have peace, and we received healing from his wounds.
We have all strayed like sheep. Each one of us has turned to go his own way, and the LORD has laid all our sins on him. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

JUST AROUND THE CORNER
Depending on others. Waiting. Being average. Being ignored and passed over. Aching with loneliness and other pain. Jesus chose all of this. Why? So that we would know He understands. Jesus may not have lived in your house, but He was definitely in the neighborhood.

Jesus Isn't For Everyone (Counterintuitive 7)

I know you guys have been waiting to see this. We looked awesome, didn't we? My mom said our 1987 wedding cost about $2,500. We didn't feed our 300 guests, although we did have some very lovely mints (one mint per guest, please).

According to CostOfWedding.com, couples in Raleigh/Cary NC spend, on average, $31,390 for their wedding. (The national average is $28,000.) This does not include an engagement ring, a wedding planner, airplanes or hotels, wedding insurance, or a honeymoon!

What if, after all this effort, the invited guests didn’t show up?

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.”

But according to Matthew 22:1-14, the A-List guests declined the invitation. Actually, they didn’t exactly decline the invitation. The Greek word, ameleesantes, means more that they just didn't care. They ignored it. So the King invited the A-List people again, making the invitation more detailed. Menu secrets were revealed ("The steaks are on the grill!"), the summons was more urgent. And again, the A-List people snubbed their host, and even went so far as to seize the messengers, torture and kill them.

WHAT?!
This parable has just gone from (mildly) interesting to deadly serious. And king sends out soldiers who murder every last invited guest, and burn the city to smoking ruins. Well, my brain immediately derails and I retreat to Luke where Jesus tells this parable over dessert and coffee to friends, earlier in his ministry. There the rejected King is “angry,” but his response is simply to ignore the rejections and send servants into the city to gather the poor, crippled, blind and lame to the feast. (So I feel better.)

The difference is that in Matthew, Jesus is speaking to the Chief priests and pharisees (Matt 21:45-46), the very ones trying to arrest and kill him. There are nothing less than people’s lives at stake.

Gut Check: What kind of guests are WE?
Lots of us Jesus people like to live in the twin certainties that a) our good works will earn us the right to attend the Supper of the Lamb, and b) that God’s good nature will absolve us from having to sit through the feast if we decide we have other, more interesting or compelling plans.

But this parable makes a very forceful point that outside the party, there is no life at all.

Good works don't get us in?
Nope. After the A-List people were killed, the scripture says that the servants "gathered ALL whom they found, both GOOD and BAD, so the wedding hall was filled with guests." Another great definition of grace is the fact that both you and I fit into "good and bad," thanks be to God! Inside the Kingdom, the good and bad are gathered, just as the wheat and weeds grow together until the harvest; just as the great net pulls in fish of every kind that fill the ocean.

Sweet! Now we're in, right?
Not necessarily. Because when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who wasn't wearing a wedding robe. Here I’m going to side with Father Robert Capon, who reminds us of the ancient eastern custom that Kings, when holding parties, often threw open the royal wardrobe so that each guest had something splendid to wear. So when the king looks out over his royal gathering, he sees some joker in dirty jeans and a Marilyn Manson tee shirt. So he makes his way through the crowd and asks him: “Friend," (sounds more like an angry "Hey, pal?") "how did you get in here without a wedding robe?”

The man had absolutely nothing to say to God.
Maybe he didn’t know where he was, who he was talking to. Or maybe he just didn’t care. So he is thrown out, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Where there is only darkness, for outside the Kingdom there is no life at all.

The Kingdom of God isn't for everyone.
We can’t be a part of the Kingdom with half a mind or heart. We can’t be a part of the Kingdom and just not care. We have to clothe ourselves in Christ, put on Christ, get our Kingdom attitudes on!

CS Lewis wrote a provocative book called The Screwtape Letters. In it, the Devil briefs his nephew, Wormwood, on the subtleties and techniques of tempting people. The goal, he counsels, is not wickedness, but indifference. Satan says, “I, the devil, will always see to it that there are bad people. Your job, my dear Wormwood, is to provide me with the people who do not care.”

You can’t do the kingdom with half a heart.

C.T. Studd (1860-1931) was once quoted as saying

“Christ's call is to save the lost, not the stiff-necked; He came not to call scoffers but sinners to repentance; not to build and furnish comfortable chapels, churches, and cathedrals at home in which to rock Christian professors to sleep by means of clever essays, stereotyped prayers, and artistic musical performances, but to capture [people] from the devil's clutches and the very jaws of Hell. This can be accomplished only by a red-hot, unconventional, unfettered devotion, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to the Lord Jesus Christ.”

God is inviting you to the party.
You can’t get in 'cause you're "good" (you're "good and bad" remember), or smart or wealthy. You are made worthy because God just really, really loves you. There's no trick or hidden fees. However, it will require something from you. It will require that you come with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole spirit.

May you receive the invitation with joy.
May you seek Jesus with everything in you.
May you know God's great pleasure in your presence.