dream big

Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.
- William Hazlitt

have you ever felt the rub of things not right? i do. every day. divorce, disease, accidents, road rage. it's just not right. deep down i know it.

think about the law. not the "don't speed" law--the biblical law. the law given by God to moses for God's people. if it's easier, think about the ten commandments.

does the law make you smile? does it bring joy into your life? or does it seem to rip joy out of you, facing the way you are up against a bunch of "should bees" and "ought toos"?

please don't misunderstand the law, or the purpose of the law. hazlitt's quote really resonated in my soul because to me it spoke as to the purpose of the law. the law wouldn't be any good for animals. because animals have no idea what ought to be. it works for humans--at least to an extent--because we humans have some clue of the way things should be. we know how people should act. and we know how they shouldn't. and we know, deep down, that the world we live in isn't the way the world should be. we are, as john mayer says, "waiting on the world to change."

when God gave us the law, he gave us a glimpse of the way the world should be--a world without all the "bad" things. imagine a world where the word "murder" wasn't defined. or a world where marriages were marked with total purity. imagine a world where there was no jealousy, and everyone--everyone--loved God.

sometimes i find myself feeling guilty, and i blame it on the law. i think, "if those stupid commands weren't around, i wouldn't have to feel guilty." that's just wrong thinking. i was guilty before God gave me the law. i fell short long before the law. the law just gave me a measuring stick to see how far i fall short. so nothing really changed condition-wise.

now you may be asking, "what benefit is it to me if i know how guilty i am? ignorance is bliss!" well, not in this case. because understanding how guilty i am is the first step to making the world what it should be...by making my life what it should be. because my guilt makes me vividly aware of my need for God...and more specifically, my need for the work of Christ on the cross--making up for my deficits. and it is only after i understand my need that i can come to Christ. (what good is God's forgiveness for the person who doesn't think they need it? forgiveness in that case doesn't change the life.)

here's a word-picture: which would make me more grateful: if someone paid for my $7 lunch tomorrow, or if someone paid off my $40,000 student loans? you get it now. so the larger the debt, the more forgiveness means to the forgiven.

but we haven't even touched on the best part of the law yet. yes, the law shows me the way the world--and my life--should be--and thus leads me to Christ. but even better, it shows me the way the world--and my life--will be. it's a glimpse of heaven. it's a glimpse of God's Kingdom.

so if the law rubs you the wrong way, just remember, it's not an indictment of the law, it's an indictment of the condition of your heart. embrace that feeling, follow it to the cross, to Christ, and then dream big. dream of heaven.

pick your own

apple picking. my wife and i went apple picking yesterday up in the north georgia mountains. they say you can pick through mid-november, but it was apparent to us that all the easy-to-pick apples were already taken and all that was left was the ones way up in the trees dangling at the ends of fragile branches. they had bags of pre-picked apples we could buy, but if i wanted pre-picked apples i could have gone to kroger a mile from my house. so i climbed the trees. i felt like the guy on that show survivorman. the one who climbs trees and eats bugs to survive. i didn't eat any bugs, so maybe i was only half a survivorman, but still. i would climb and pick and then drop them down to katie and she'd bag them. we picked a peck.

today i'm eating the apples we harvested. these apples are sweeter than the ones from kroger, and not just in taste. we harvested them.

but as sweet as they are, i can only dream of how sweet they would be if we sowed them also. then we would truly be tasting the fruit of our labor.

some people sow, some harvest. that's the way it works. i wouldn't be enjoying this apple right now if someone hadn't come before me to do the hard work of sowing.

i know that some people who plant don't get to pick their own, and so we must be grateful, because we do, and not because we did anything to deserve it.

contradictory? i think not

Usually, when people think of "predestination" they think "no free will". Actually, the Bible speaks of both. Consider Ephesians 1:11-12...
"11In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory."

And Matthew 11:27-28 (still predestination)...

27"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Now for free will, well, I'm sure you know some...

Both choice and election are described in the Bible, so the question is not "do we have a choice?", but rather, how can God choose us yet we still have a choice?

Think of my little 4-year-old nephew, Owen. One night Owen sits down for dinner and his mom places two plates of food in front of him. The first has a handful of peas on it. The second has a cupcake on it. Let's say she gives him the choice of which one to eat. Which one do you think he is going to choose? Probably the cupcake...in fact, that's probably a no-brainer. In fact, it's almost guaranteed that he will choose the cupcake every time if given the choice. Even though the peas are better for him from a health perspective. He will choose the less healthy cupcake because to him it is more enticing. But imagine if Owen was able to truly understand what would happen if he ate healthy food all the time. Imagine if he had the foresight to know what a diet of cupcakes would do to him in the long run... If his "eyes were opened", so to speak, then he'd be far more likely to choose the peas. Not to say the cupcake wouldn't still be tempting. And at times he might still go back to the cupcake, but his overall perception and dislike for the peas would change. He would begin to enjoy eating them because he would know how good they really are.

The same is true in our lives when we have the choice of Christ or self. When we are dead in our sin we look at the plates and self looks far more enticing than Christ. Each time we're given the choice we will choose self. 10 times out of 10. The reason is because we are sinful beings and our master is the sinful nature. When you're dead to sin the last thing you want to do is live for Christ.

Now, once God does an act of "regeneration" in our hearts and brings us spiritually back to life (something only God is able to do) we see the plates a little differently. Once God has brought our hearts back to life, Christ becomes irresistible. Only then are we willing to choose "the peas" (Christ).

So you see, free will and predestination can both be realities when it comes to our salvation. The predestination part is God making a dead heart alive. The free will is there throughout.

The common reaction to predestination is "God is so unfair if He chooses one over another!" Paul confronts this exact thought in Romans 9. The whole chapter is pertinent but I will only take an excerpt...

10Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. 11Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: 12not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger."13Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15For he says to Moses,
"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

19One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' " 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?

22What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—

Here Paul is explaining why God is not unjust for choosing one person over the other. His main point is that since God is the creator He can do whatever He wants to do. He is the potter. If he wanted to break the pot to pieces he would have every right to do so because it's His pot. He created it. Even so, however, God, out of his mercy--even though he has no obligation to do so--chose some that would be His children.

i am not enough.

i am not smart enough. i am not fast enough. i am not brave enough. i am not happy enough. i am not emotional enough. i am not successful enough. i do not drive safe enough. i am not fit enough. i do not care about people enough. i do not remember important dates enough. i do not eat enough. i do not sleep enough. i do not pray enough. i do not work hard enough. i do not laugh enough. i do not cry enough. i am not emotional enough. i am not strong enough. i do not praise enough. i do not sit still enough. i do not play enough. i do not love people enough. i do not love god enough. i do not serve enough. i do not give enough. i do not call enough. i do not visit enough. i do not answer enough. i do not ask enough. i am not passionate enough. i am not approved of enough. i am not liked enough. i do not say thanks enough. i do not remember enough. i do not help enough. i do not satisfy enough. i do not tithe enough. i am not muscular enough. i do not read enough. i do not study enough. i do not think enough. i am not passionate enough. i am not courageous enough. i do not sacrifice enough. i do not please enough. i do not understand enough. i do not invest enough. i do not teach enough. i do not steward my resources wisely enough. i am not faithful enough. i do not appreciate my parents enough. i do not appreciate my friends enough. i do not appreciate my girlfriend enough. i certainly don't appreciate God enough. i am not pure enough. i am not humble enough. i am not eloquent enough. i am not cute enough. i do not dress well enough. i am not fair enough. i do not speak encouragement enough. i do not consider other people enough. i do not consider God enough.

by all accounts i am not enough. and despite my striving i never will be enough in any one of the aforementioned areas. one way or another i will fail others or fail God. why should i put faith in myself?

yeah, doesn't make sense to me either.

sushi

the other day my friend randy and i were eating lunch in a sushi restaurant we enjoy. the tables were close together and sitting next to us was a lady, mid 40s with shoulder-length blonde hair. across the room was a table of highschool girls. though by room placement seemingly unrelated, i came to find out one of the girls was the daughter of the blonde lady. the daughter walked over to her mom.

"mom, i can't find a pair of my abercrombie jean shorts. have you seen them?"
mom asks for a description.
"they are jean cutoffs."
"oh those. yeah, i've seen them. i threw them away when i was doing laundry."
"MOM, those were $50 abercrombie shorts!" (growing louder than was polite in a sushi restaurant)
"and they were way too short for you to be wearing around."
"MOM, how could you do that??!" (in loud, ultra-whiny tone)
"you shouldn't be wearing shorts like that."
"MOM, you owe me $50 for those shorts!"
...
daughter continued to yell at mother for throwing away her shorts, then stomped out of the restaurant with her onlooking friends.

i was a little irritated by the commotion, especially considering the topic. and i questioned what could be at the heart of such a conflict.

about five minutes later, a man walks in to the restaurant and sits with the mom. the mom says, "your daughter was here a few minutes ago. and she yelled at me for throwing her shorts away..." the conversation was short.

the man's phone rang. rather than mute it, he picked it up, and proceeded to talk for several minutes while the mother ate by her lonesome. he eventually hung up. a few words later the mother's phone rang. she picked it up and began conversing while the man ate alone. this continued for about 45 minutes. i'd guess that over the course of their meal, the couple talked for less than 5 minutes total.

all of a sudden, the first scene between mother and daughter made way more sense.

debrief:
i base the following points on my snapshot view. this is just what i think, but may or may not be entirely accurate. just think about it...
1.there was a lack of love/respect between mother and father.
2.father was too busy for mom indicating he is probably too busy for daughter too.
3.lack of love from father causes girl to seek other means of validation.
4.girl resorts to wearing indecent shorts to attract attention from boys, hence validating who she is.
5.mom is too uninvolved in daughter's life to have conversation about shorts.
6.daughter feels disrespected by mother because rather than talk about the issue (this requires a conversation, mind you), mother threw shorts away.

interstate 85

this morning a blue acura TL merged onto I-85. there was a blonde girl at the wheel. as she merged onto the interstate she entered the far right lane. it was a decent lane. smooth pavement. wouldn't disappear for a few miles. her speedometer read somewhere around 65 miles per hour. 65, however, wasn't quite fast enough. there was a car in front of her. she began changing lanes to the left. about that time i saw blue in my peripheral vision. by the time i turned my head her mirror was about two inches from my door. i quickly turned my wheel, entering the lane to my left. she noticed at the same moment, and curved back into her lane. i had a hunch she knew what almost happened. mainly because the rest of my drive, she stayed about three car lengths behind me.

was i angry? not really, i make stupid mistakes while driving too. i was disturbed. primarily because my gut-instinct reaction was wrong. to prevent her from hitting my car i swerved out of the way. the thought of 'what if' entered my mind.

what if there had been a car in my left lane?

she changed lanes slowly. slow enough that i could react. i changed lanes fast. too fast for someone to avoid me. ironically enough, my reaction was potentially worse than the error causing me to react. and we were both guilty of the same fault: changing lanes without looking.

sometimes i find myself in a situation with no good options. i can choose A or B, but neither one offers me the ease i desire. legally, i should have just let her hit me. i could have honked my horn (for some reason, i never do. it just doesn't occur to me that's what a horn is for), but i shouldn't have changed the direction of my car in any way. if she had hit me, it would have been her fault, and hopefully i wouldn't go spinning out of control. that option stinks for obvious reasons. no one wants to get sideswiped going 65 down the interstate. the other option was what i chose, but it had potential to cause more damage to my car than letting the acura hit me, and it would have been my fault.

these situations crop up every now and then, and i was reminded this morning that ultimately, when it's all said and done, even when we make bad decisions, God is still capable of working them together for good.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
romans 8:28

christ is my spotter

last night i was at the gym lifting weights. it was about 9 pm--the time when only serious lifters remain--and i'm doing the bench press with individual dumbbells. i had already done two sets, so i was pretty tired, but my third and hardest set still remained. i laid back on the bench with the bells on my chest, then lifting them up, i proceeded to bench...1...2...

rep 3 proved too heavy. i lifted maybe 20% of the way up and then hit the glass ceiling. the bells wouldn't go any higher, no matter how much more blood flowed to the already over-capacitated veins in my head. i was at my limit.

then the amazing happened.

a man i had seen earlier doing a similar exercise--but with much heavier weights--grabs my arms and yells "PUSH IT!" adrenaline pumped. i had a new confidence. with his help, up they went...3...4...5...6. he didn't make it easy, mind you. i needed it to be hard. but he added the strength i needed to finish, and finish well.

as the bells finally hit the ground, i looked up and said a simple "thanks". he doesn't know this, but christ made an unexpected visit to the gym last night.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 corinthians 12:9

in the gym, when you know you're going to be lifting to the point of exhaustion, you grab a partner and you say "spot me". the spotter's job is to make sure you don't kill yourself, and if he's good, he'll push you more--adding strength you don't have. sometimes i see guys lifting without spotters--like i did last night--and i think about how pride keeps us from asking for a spotter. we don't want to admit we need the help. we can do it...wait...no, we can't.

it's the point in our lives when we are pushing as hard as we can, but we've hit the point of complete muscle failure...the glass ceiling. jesus loves it when we hit this point because it's our first realization of our dependence on Him. he is glorified (acknowledged for who He is) when we "can't". beautiful.

spot me, Jesus.