 If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.
-2 Corinthians 11:30 So I'm sitting here on my quarantined couch after being thoroughly destroyed by illness for the past 2 weeks. It was a bed for about four days, but I was recently promoted to the couch because of good behavior. Pneumonia has been ripping through my lungs, and has turned the first days of 2025 into one long and pathetic coughing fit. I don't go down often. But when I do, I fall hard. My body completely shut down this week, and I was of no use to anyone. But far worse than that, I was a burden to everyone. I needed people to bring me food, bring me blankets, turn off the lights, and take me to urgent care. I needed people to fill in for me at church, and to take care of things on their own that I would normally be partnering with them for. I had to cancel meetings and admit that I couldn't even pull off a zoom call. I was weak. We all have scripts that run through our heads about what we believe about ourselves and our world. Many are formed decades ago. I've discovered over the past year that one of the false scripts I've lived by is "I am not allowed to be a burden to anyone, ever." I don't know where I picked it up over the years, but it's in there deep. I am the strong and capable one. I make things right in the world. I help people when they need me. I keep things consistent and moving in positive directions. If I'm ever a burden, I've failed. (Yes, I'm aware of the hubris behind such thinking.) Pneumonia has it's own script: Screw your little narratives. I'm your daddy now. Embracing weakness can be an immense challenge for some of us. Even harder, in fact, than the often celebrated virtues of selflessness and servanthood. I have found that even though the desire to help others and offer selfless care is indeed is a high virtue, learning to graciously accept help from others and admit weakness and limitation.... that's actually harder for most of us to do. I don't know if it's fair to judge spiritual virtues based on how difficult they are to live out, but if so, then perhaps admitting our need and weakness before others is every bit as formative to the soul as our ability to give our energy in loving others? It may be "more blessed to give than to receive," but my goodness, receiving actually feels more costly me to sometimes. I can care for others and still hold onto my belief that I am the above the need to be helped. I can give time and energy to others all while thinking "I love to help people (but if I'm ever in that situation, I'll be fine to just handle things on my own)." I think this might be one of the reasons God gives us community. It's not simply so that we can learn to help others. It's so that we can learn the humility of being helpless and receiving care (the soups, prayers, and texts have been amazing!). Similarly, I think maybe this is why God gives us the gift of weakness. At times that we are highly capable, we rarely learn what it looks like to truly trust God's goodness. It's only in moments of true weakness that we have the opportunity to be empty enough to be filled in fresh ways. And to rest in the fact that we are enough, even when we CLEARLY AREN'T. This is the message the Apostle Paul learned when he heard the whisper of Jesus saying, "My grace is sufficient for you, because my power is made perfect in weakness." So I'm trying to start off this year nice and weak. I'm seeking to be a person who is able to share where I need help as easily as I offer my help to others. Perhaps you need a weak start to the year, too. If you're feeling weak, or if life's circumstances have forced it on you, may you have courage to not always be strong. I'm working on it with you. And maybe that's where God will do the most beautiful work in us. Jesus, thank you for the love we have been given, especially when we're faced with how limited we are. Peace, Keith
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“Dear friends, let’s love each other,
because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God." -1 John 4:7 “Son of God, love’s pure light..." This famous lyric from Silent Night seems like an appropriate way to describe Jesus this advent. Jesus arriving in the world is the full expression of the light of God’s love. The central word for love in the New Testament is agape. It’s not a romantic feeling or a nice attitude. It is the essence of selfless goodness for the sake of another. It’s self-giving, other-oriented, and enemy-loving. The Apostle Paul writes that a love like that...never fails. The time of Advent is a time of preparation to receive Jesus once again into the world. That means it’s a perfect time to explore our experiences of agape love- from God and from each other. And even if we’ve struggled to sense that love, it’s a chance to dream a little about what God’s love could look like in our world. It’s a re-imagining... -------------- The above paragraphs are from my introduction to LifePath's 2024 Advent booklet. Every year we gather submissions from anyone across our church community, as we reflect together on our theme. This year, the theme is Agape Love. Folks have written their own stories, scriptural reflections, poetry, and insights for us all to experience together each day of Advent (and beyond!). They are honest and diverse perspectives, borne out of honest faith. Every December, I pause my Together for Good weekly writings so we can amplify other voices of encouragement. If you'd like to read along with us this month and you're not an active part of LifePath Church locally, fear not! We bring you good tidings of great joy! You are invited to read along through our the digital version. It won't take long to catch up. Here's the downloadable link to our 2024 LifePath Advent booklet. Together for Good reflections will resume in January. Jesus is coming. Watch and wait. Love, Keith  I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
-Romans 15:13 I looked out the window this morning and noticed that all my bird feeders were empty. I keep six out in the yard that are regularly used. Any day you look out there, you'll see at least a cup of black oil sunflower seeds, shelled peanuts, or a half pecked suet cake. Many days, everything is brimming full, because I love the look of it and I love the life it brings. But this time, all was empty. I don't know exactly when it happened. Maybe there was a lot of need from the birds the last few days. Or maybe it was more because I wasn't paying attention for this past week. But some way or another, it was all empty. And that made me sad, because a full feeder, in a weird way, fills my soul. It reminds me of God's provision for me and the earth. It reminds me that God's eye is on the sparrow. It reminds me that life is all around me, if I take time to notice and care. It reminds me that beauty and color are still out there, even in the darkening days and cooling air. For whatever reason, a full feeder moves me toward life in Jesus. So noticing six bare, empty feeders was actually a little alarming. I felt the need to stop what I was doing and take some time to fill them up. For my sake. For the birds' sake. Really, for the sake of everyone and everything. I want to invite you to look out the window today and take notice, friends. What do you see? Are there wells within your soul that have gone empty? Have jobs, tasks, responsibilities, global worries, and exhaustion depleted the spaces in you that bring joy and connection with Jesus? Have you been going strong for a long time, and realize that you've been pouring out energy and not receiving the love and care needed to sustain it? Jesus longs to pour his spirit into you so that color, joy, and life can flourish. But we are so formed by the busyness, distractions, and responsibilities of life that we convince ourselves we don't have time to receive the good gift. Or, we simply forget that it's even available to us in the first place. You have the time to ask Jesus to fill your soul, friends. You have the time to rest and be known. You are given it as a gift of grace. If you notice you're empty, take time to be filled. At the risk of sounding too pragmatic, I'll offer a few simple ways that this could look for you today:
You are beloved. Jesus, fill the depleted places in my soul today. I trust you. Peace, Keith  "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
-Galatians 6:9 We've got a large section of woods behind our house. After we moved in 4 years ago, we developed a simple trail that weaves through it. It's less than a quarter mile long, but full of deer and foxes and birds, and it's beautiful to stroll through it and embrace God's natural beauty. That trail is where dozens of these TFG reflections have been sparked. It's a sacred space for me. It's my job to maintain the trail, but I had NO idea how much work it would require. It's certainly not a major priority in my life compared to parenting, pastoring, coaching, and almost everything else, so every now and then I lose track of what's going on back there. I've been so overwhelmed that I've almost given up some years after the spring growth, when the wisteria vines and the high grasses make it almost completely impassable. Or after a major storm when the brittle white pines come crashing down and completely block everything. Those moments take focused hours of sawing, weedwacking, and "machete-ing." But the biggest issue may actually just be the little sticks and branches that fall every day. There are so many of them on the trail, just waiting to turn your ankle or trip you. Recently I've had no capacity for major trail cleanup, but I've still needed my regular ten minute walks back there. So I've adopted a new habit. Instead of being overwhelmed by all the sticks, I just pick up a dozen noticeable ones every time I walk, tossing them off the trail. I know I don't have the capacity to clear off all of them. And it's possible that my cleared sticks each day may be outnumbered by new ones that fall each night. So I may not even be making a dent! But it keeps the trail passable, and it does make a difference. And it's kept me from giving up altogether. Jesus never called us to save the world, though most days I pretend he did. Jesus called us to be known by his love. Jesus called us to love our neighbors. Jesus called us to give when someone asks. Jesus called us to notice the hurting man on the side of the street. Jesus called us to forgive one another over and over again. Jesus called us to trust his work. There are times where the massive realities of a broken world seem too big for us to fix, so it's easier to just be resigned. "Hey, life is brutal and people are hurting but that's just the way it is." Or, we can seek to control everything and everyone around us, mentally obsessed with things far beyond our control and letting the pressure of fixing it all burn us out. Then we end up bitter and hopeless after our failed crack at being the savior. Resignation or burnout. Pick your poison. Or. We can pick up a few sticks every day on our daily walk. We can understand that there is too much to be done, and some of it is ours to do. We can be the people who offer the kind word, who check in on a friend with a text. We can be the ones who volunteer for the causes God has put on our hearts, and who relate to each other as image-bearing people who matter. We can be generous with our time and money to those around us. We can include the excluded. But most days, it's probably going to be small and local rather than than grandiose and global. If we want the world to know the tangible love of God, then it has to start with our own neighborhoods and workplaces and friendships. It's like that goofy story of the kid on the beach finding thousands of starfish washed up after high tide. And he's throwing them back into the ocean. And a cynical old man walks by and calls out to the kid, "You know, you're not making a difference." And the kid looks back at him defiantly, tosses one more into the waves, and goes, "It made a difference to that one." There's a reason that story made it onto so many bookmarks. I'm not suggesting we don't care about global issues or get involved in the systems that cause them. But I am suggesting that God restores our humanity when we spend time tangibly loving face to face, and we must never neglect that. Today, let's invite Jesus to help us make a difference to one. The world is too big and the news is too loud. We will either learn to love the people in front of us, or we will live paralyzed by how much there is to do. Jesus, help me be faithful with the work that is mine to do today, and trust you with all that is not. Peace, Keith For he himself is our peace...
-Ephesians 2:14 God, how could this happen? That’s what some of you are thinking right now. Others are exclaiming, “Thank God! What a disaster that would have been!” Full Disclosure: I don’t actually know what happened. This was written earlier this week before it all went down. I felt the need to remember that the message actually stays the same for us as Jesus people. But those above thoughts are here with us now, I promise you. I'm not feeling witty or eloquent these days. I just want to think about how we keep our souls and our witness in this moment. Most every one of you reading this lives in the United States. And I know everyone reading this would like to see our country thrive. But whether you are outraged/discouraged/disappointed or pleased by the outcome, there are things that haven’t changed. Now, I am not for a moment suggesting that it doesn’t matter who is leading. It does. Many lives will be affected by who is in the White House for the next few years and the words they speak and the choices they make. Both policies and leadership attitudes have actual impact on the people of this country and beyond. But. Some. Things. Haven’t. Changed. America is still not the kingdom of God. It wasn’t in 2016. Or 2020. And it’s not in 2024. America is still not the hope of the world. That role has already been filled. The president is not our Lord or Savior in any way, despite any claims that they or anyone else makes about them. If you think that because the right one got elected, that all is well in the world….. you’re wrong. If you think that because the wrong one got elected, that there is no hope in the world….. you’re also wrong. By all means, it's ok to be discouraged or be pleased, for a few minutes. And then return to your calling. Our work remains the same as it did in 2000, 2010, 2020, 2022, 2023…. well, you get it. Act justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly. (Micah 6:8) Forgive our enemies. Love our neighbors. (Matt 5:44/22:39) Practice hospitality. Welcome the stranger. (Romans 12:13) Keep ourselves from being corrupted by the powers of the world. (James 1:27) Wash each other’s feet. (John 13:14) Give to those in need. (Acts 2:45) Do not work for food that spoils, but food that endures to eternal life. (John 6:27) Grasp that the secret to being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, free or in chains... is the peace of Christ. (Phil 4:12) Live as citizens of the Kingdom of God and God’s ambassadors in the kingdom of America. (Phil 3:20) We are so tired, aren't we? Let me speak for myself. The political circus and obsession with power in the United States takes a big toll on me personally, and probably many of you. It's not hard to get tears flowing lately for a number of reasons. It is now the air we breathe and the water we drink. We can hardly get away from it if we try (though I do have a few friends contemplating moving abroad for these reasons). But our energy comes from God, and our hope remains in God. And that is where the strength continues to come from to live faithfully in a world divided. Empires rise and fall. It happened with Babylon, Persia, and Rome. The US is not exempt from history. Yet we live with the knowledge that we are citizens of an unshakeable kingdom- a kingdom that has given hope and perseverance to generations across history and across the globe with far more difficult experiences than most of us have ever experienced. God is faithful and will continue to work in our world- in and through us, and sometimes in spite of us (thank God). The church has an embarrassing history with power, violence, and cuddling up to national systems. We have long been a country that uses constant language about God without actually knowing God. But the church has also been a subversive movement of God's call to justice, reconciliation, and forgiveness. And the Spirit is drawing us into that all the time. So I ask you right now- beg you, actually, to be known by the characteristics of Jesus, and not the pseudo-Christian identities led by politics. Certainly, good and kingdom-like things can happen through political action (they can), but the third way of Jesus transcends tribalism and protectionism. And it rejects the notion that the only way to change things is to have all of the power. We cannot read the temptations of Jesus and somehow believe that “our party" (yuck) in the white house is the main way that the kingdom of God will advance. Remember friends, Jesus’ political platform was a wooden cross. Christians have joined in some unholy alliances, and we must walk carefully. As Tony Campolo said of a Christianity that becomes enmeshed with political allegiance… it’s like mixing ice cream and manure. It doesn’t do much to the manure… but it sure ruins the ice cream. So friends, neither gloat nor despair as you consider your feelings on how our government ought to function and who our latest caesar is. Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God’s (Mark 12:17). You know what Jesus meant with that, right? Caesar can have his money and power with his image imprinted on it. It will not last. But God’s image is imprinted on your very bodies and souls. You belong to God. Never forget that- and give yourselves fully and completely to the work of God in your life. God has placed his image on something far more valuable than anything our government could give or take away. You are sacred to God. So is your neighbor. So is your enemy. Come, Lord Jesus. Peace, Keith  Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.
-1 Chronicles 16:11 I grew up in a family that loved music. We often sang a prayer before meals. The song that we sang the most often had been handed down through my mom's family. And the first line was, "Be present at our table, Lord... God is love, God is love." Asking God to be present is really just a human way of reminding ourselves to be present to God, isn't it? Because most of us believe that God is always present already. If we believe anything about what Jesus taught us, it's that God isn't coming in and out of our lives like a neighborhood mailman, quickly dropping a few things off here and there and then maybe seeing us again tomorrow, if the timing works out just right. God's very name,Yahweh, is often translated as "I am who I am." Jewish rabbis like to point out that Yahweh is literally the sound of the breath that we take in and out... the constant moment of life coming in and out of our body in the present. And Jesus, in the best moment of in-your-face, grammar school! in the New Testament, tells the Pharisees, "Before Abraham was... I Am." It wasn't just a declaration of Jesus' shared identity with the Father. It was a reminder that God's very nature is always present tense. So, yes, God is indeed present at our tables. It's actually us who may not be. To put it in more culturally relevant terms: It's me. Hi. I'm the problem, it's me. It can be challenging for me to live in the present moment these days. Do you feel that too? It's so easy to have our minds and attention on anything other than what is right in front of us. It requires us to move beyond the worries in our heads, or the hurts of our past, or the endless narratives scrolling on our phones. Some neuroscience suggests that the human experience of the present lasts exactly 4.4 seconds. Beyond that section of your consciousness, you enter a world that that does not yet exist (future). And anything that occurred before the 4.4 second segment that you're currently in is now stored in a different spot in your brain (hippocampus) as short-term memory. You literally started reading this article in the past. You are now in a new present. Whoops, now you're in a new one already again! But you're still thinking about that past one aren't you? Please, keep up. You're living in the past. Just kidding. But as disciples, learning to be present is crucial, particularly in the place and time we find ourselves in right now. The beauty of an ever-present Jesus is that he does not live in the past, the future, or far away in the distance. And he reminds us of the pitfalls of them all. Jesus teaches his disciples that worry is just a poorly imagined future and accomplishes nothing toward what's real: trusting God in the present. That's where God is and it's what God is doing. The risen Jesus also tells Peter, who had decided that his past was destined to define him (failure, wounds, denial), that the present moment was one of reconciliation and hope. There was fresh work to do, and Jesus isn't one to hold grudges. So he snaps Peter into the present to get on with the work of the kingdom. I bet that when Jesus asked Peter, "do you love me?" on that beach, that Peter was completely present in that nail biting, life-changing 4.4 second "now" that was occurring over and over again during that conversation. Now was the time to step into his next calling, not sulk in the shadows. Living in the 4.4 seconds of the present with God and others is scary and dangerous, because it requires us to step into trust. We can't control the future, and we cannot hide in the past. But this is what makes us most capable of love and connection. How many times have we missed God-given opportunities to love and care because we are not fully present to what's in front of us? There is much going on in our world. Some of it you can have influence over. Much of it you cannot. You might be tempted to live in fear (future-oriented) or in resignation (past-oriented). But in the coming week, let's live well with a humble ear to the Spirit--every four seconds or so-- and an eye to see the people and moments in front of us. In doing so, may we meet God and follow Jesus in truth and in love. Jesus, keep me present to my own breath and Yours this week. Peace, Keith  Know this, my dear brothers and sisters: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to grow angry.
-James 1:9 I enjoyed sitting and listening to my friend Rachel preach this past week on a famous story from John 9, where Jesus heals a blind man. He puts mud on the man's eyes and tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam. This was an historic pool at the end of a water tunnel built 700 years earlier by King Hezekiah. Rachel made a quick mention of how the tunnel was made, and I've been reflecting on it and learning more ever since. The Siloam Tunnel (or Hezekiah's Tunnel) was one of the greatest engineering marvels of its time. You can still walk through it today (my father-in-law has!). As the Assyrians were gaining power and getting closer to invading Jerusalem, this 583 yard tunnel was dug as a way of securing a water supply into the city from the Gihon Spring. It dropped a mere 12 inches from top to bottom, just enough to keep the water running from the spring over a quarter mile away. And it was dug into pure rock. That itself is amazing, but the way it was built is even more remarkable. The tunnel was built by two teams working at opposite ends at the same time, in order to get it done more quickly. I cannot imagine how complicated it must have been (I get this image of a prisoner secretly tunneling underground from his cell for years to escape, only to finally emerge from the ground and realize that he's still in the middle of the prison yard. Like a reverse Shawshank. That's where my sense of direction would take me). How on earth did two teams meet as they chiseled through a quarter mile of rock? Apparently as they got closer, the teams would pause and listen for each other's sounds of chiseling. Then they would adjust and move toward each other. Each pausing, each listening, each moving toward a place of connection. Hmmm. All I can think about is that it takes a lot of listening if we want to be the people of Jesus. It takes a lot of listening if we want to move toward one another. It takes a lot of listening if we want to make avenues for living water to flow in our communities. James, the brother of Jesus, encouraged the early church in Jerusalem to take a posture of listening at all times. He absolutely would have known about the tunnel Hezekiah built. I wonder if he ever used the tunneling story as a teaching metaphor for his church, to help them move toward one another? About 130 years ago, a Hebrew inscription was discovered in the rock near the end of the tunnel that told of the process. And it records the joy of the two teams meeting as they completed the tunnel and living water ran freely between the two teams. A special excitement passed through those doing the work as they finally heard “the voice of a man calling his neighbor” and saw a crack develop in front of them. You may feel like moving toward other people is a tunneling-through-rock sort of a process these days. Connection is really hard in busy and isolating lives. Plus, humans don't disagree or listen that well (particularly Americans, from what we've seen in the last decade!). But I can't help thinking about that living water touching the feet of the workers thousands of years ago as they slowly, carefully, made their way toward each other. Living water that reminding them of what they were accomplishing. And 700 years later, their careful listening and movement toward each other would create holy spaces where people could be cleansed, be healed, and be refreshed by Jesus. Where can you pause and listen better today, so that you can move toward others in love and care? Can you imagine future generations being blessed because you walked with the Spirit toward other people today? Can you imagine the impact of making tunnels that bring life and goodness, even when there is a siege happening overhead? That's what happens when we walk with Jesus and practice listening and reconciliation. When I meet people today and tomorrow, I'm going to try to listen carefully for the chiseling taps of the Holy Spirit, helping me move toward that person with love and attention. Perhaps we'll find springs of living water bursting through the rock. Want to join me? Jesus, in all my interactions today, help me be quick to listen, slower to speak, and slower still to become angry. Peace, Keith  Jesus stopped and called for the man to be brought to him. When he was present Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, I want to see.” -Luke 18:40-41 There's this story in the gospels where Jesus is walking down the road and a blind guy nearby has heard about him. He begins shouting and trying to get his attention. Other people try to shut him up, but he is undeterred. Finally, Jesus hears him and invites him forward. Now, I know we have movies where some guy meets a girl for a date and only realizes an hour later that she is actually blind, and it's a big reveal moment and we get to find out if they're actually going to keep dating and all that. Yeah, that is nothing like the reality of the 1st century. No sunglasses. No subtleties. When this guy is brought to Jesus, there is zero chance that Jesus didn't know he was blind. The guy would have been led by others through the crowd, likely living in quite a bit of poverty because of his condition. There is also zero chance of any confusion as to why the man was calling out to Jesus. Jesus is becoming famous for his healings. That's literally the biggest reason the crowds were following him. A man who is blind hears that there's a man who heals people nearby. And he cries out... "Lord, have mercy!" Everyone is on the same page here. And we, as the reader, we can sense what's about to happen. So then, why on earth does Jesus ask the most obvious (and insensitive) question: What do you want me to do for you? Option one: Jesus doesn't know. Gonna go with FALSE for that one. Option two: Jesus is super irritated at the man, and gives one of those ugh what do you want?!?!? kind of statements. Again, feeling like his body of work doesn't match up with being irritated at people who are disabled. Option three: Jesus found it important that the man give words to his longing for healing. Hmmmmmm. Jesus knows that there is value in putting into words to what we think is obvious. There something powerful and necessary about telling God what we desire. There is value in giving words to our need that opens us up to the next stage of our healing. It's like a cracking open of sorts. We speak it, and we may actually believe it ourselves. We speak it, and we may actually start looking for it. It doesn't matter if it seems obvious. I mean, how much damage has been done over the years because people don't ever say, "I love you," because it seems obvious? Speaking stuff out loud is transformative. And sometimes, it's the only way we can start to imagine our healing. I know this is true of myself, and I've seen it in others. There's this temptation to spend so much time dwelling on pain points or on how challenging certain areas of life are, that all the energy and focus is on wallowing with Jesus rather than voicing hope of wholeness and life. It's almost as if Jesus might be sitting there thinking... It seems like what you actually want is for me to commiserate with you. Ok, but if you want to move toward healing, you're going to have to actually name it. Of course there are times for Jesus to simply comfort us in our pain and lament. But there are also times to respond to that simple, searing question... what do you want me to do for you? More often than not, we may not actually have the clarity on that that we assume. Jesus knows your heart, but wants you to know it too. Do you want to be healed? Do you want to walk away different? Dare you give words to real hope? Yes, Jesus says. You should dare. So go ahead and say it. Maybe today, as you are doing your neat and tidy prayers praying for neat and tidy things, Jesus is walking up to you and saying, "Honestly... what is it that you want me to do for you? Where is your brokenhearted longing? What is the healing you are hoping for? Tell me. I'm here and I'm listening." Pray it. Journal it. Even share it with others. Let Jesus lead you into some fresh faith, fresh healing, fresh transformation. What do you want? Jesus, help me be honest with myself and with you, to let you guide me toward healing. Peace, Keith  “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
-Jesus (Matthew 16:15) I'm currently enrolled in an eight week course that is training me as a coach. It's not training me for coaching sports teams (I do that), but for helping people in their personal growth. I've worked with people in this capacity for years in pastoring, but this is the deepest dive I've ever done as a learner. And it's wonderful to see things in a fresh light. There is so much to be learned in life, if we keep our eyes open. One of the primary goals of the program is to form coaches who are skilled at asking the right questions. The idea behind this is that we are each the greatest expert on our own lives. Most often, the way that we are transformed is not through getting advice from someone else, but by realizing something within ourselves. Similarly, the best way to be moved to action is not by being told what to do, but for us to answer for ourselves what we are sensing is the right next step. That doesn't mean we get there alone. It happens most often when we are asked questions that draw us into the deep places. We need people who are curious about us so that we can be curious about ourselves, with a shared ear to the Holy Spirit. And that is exactly what happens when we sit with a well-asked question (and a gentle questioner). Jesus knew this. He was a master question-asker. Asking questions was a primary way for Jewish rabbis to communicate deep truths, and Jesus was extraordinary at it. His questions invited people to search their own mind and heart, exploring what was under the surface. He had such a curiosity about people, and when they came to him to get a direct answer, he often refused to offer it to them. Instead, he invited them to think more deeply about what was within them. “Why do you worry?” (Matt 6:28), “Why are you so afraid?” (Matt 8:26), “Why do you harbor evil thoughts?” (Matt 9:4), “Who do you say that I am?” (Matt 16:15), “What are you looking for? (John 1:38), and "What do you want me to do for you?" (Mark 10:51). These questions aren't ones that can be quickly answered, nor are they intended to be rhetorical. They are invitations to dive deeply into the motivations, mindsets, and methods for pursuing the good life. I find that far too often I don't allow myself to sit quietly with God and a good question. And equally often, I want to help others so much that when they share challenges with me, I'm quickly trying to think of a helpful solution to offer. In doing so, I risk not listening well. I risk bypassing the Holy Spirit. And I risk assuming that I'm the expert on someone else's life. There are certainly times to share insights, skills, and information with others. But the fact remains that our question-asking muscle is pretty weak without regular training. So this week, I'm inviting you into a two-fold discipleship practice. First, let Jesus be curious about you. He already is. Sit with a question or two that Jesus asks in the gospels, and do some journaling or reflection about your response, and why. Invite Jesus to meet you in the conversation and walk with you in fresh ways. Secondly, take some new steps to be curious about those around you. Choose to ask meaningful questions rather than talking about yourself or sharing your opinion. Use Jesus as your example to show genuine interest in the people you encounter. And if someone shares a struggle or a decision they are trying to figure out, offer your care by asking a deep question. You may just find that God uses you not through your amazing insights or opinions, but through the Spirit's presence in and through your own. Jesus, help me live in a reflective way today, curious about how you are working within me, and in the lives around me. Peace, Keith   You give glory to my Father when you produce a lot of fruit, and therefore show that you are my disciples.
-John 15:8 I had an interesting conversation with my father-in-law about grafting various fruit branches onto the same tree early this week. We both wondered aloud about what limits existed to this process. I understand that you might be able to graft two varieties of apples onto the same tree, but could you really add a cherry branch onto that? My gut says no. And then yesterday I randomly learned about Sam Van Aken, an art professor from Syracuse who has cultivated one tree.... that has 40 different types of fruit on it! I'm not joking. He cultivated a tree that produces apricots, peaches, plums, nectarines, almonds, cherries, and more. We shall call him "the fruit whisperer." The Fruit Whisperer said that it takes nearly a decade for each tree. He originally intended it be an art piece, but now enjoys all the delicious fruit as well. He grows each branch in its own tree, designs exactly which branches will hold which species, and carefully grafts branches into his central trunk as the years pass. Van Aken wanted people to notice the beauty of different blossoms blooming at different times and different colors. He planted them where people would wander upon them, pause in the middle of their normal days, and be disrupted by the unexpected sight. He wanted people to ask why, and be delighted. And in the summer, he wanted people to see that what they thought was a peach tree was also producing plums. And say, "huh!" In the New Testament, one of the primary metaphors for becoming like Jesus is "producing fruit." Fruit of a life in Jesus is shown by new characteristics emerging in our life as we experience more of the Holy Spirit. In Galatians, Paul gives a list of what he calls the "fruit" of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control. That's not the only list. Conviction, humility, compassion, generosity, a listening ear-- there are many varieties of fruit of a life with Jesus. God's work in us is to keep cultivating our lives with new fruit, gently and patiently. It will take time. We may naturally produce one or two types. But a big way that God works through us is when we surprise the world with unexpected new varieties emerging. A man who is willing to be vulnerable with other guys? That's unexpected and disruptive. An exhausted parent who continues to be patient with a rambunctious kid? Beautiful fruit. Someone who has experienced deep loss but lives with joy? A person who has clear convictions and can lovingly listen and dialogue with people who disagree? What sort of uniquely cultivated life are we looking at? Our invitation from Jesus is simply to remain rooted and postured to receive the sunlight God provides. As we do so, Jesus will keep cultivating our souls to bring new fruit, year by year. Let us not assume that just because we are naturally one thing (good at patience) and not another (lacking generosity) that this is the way that we will always be. I've found that even in discipleship, we are quick to assume that we won't actually be changed in surprising ways. Remember, it's the things that we don't naturally produce that can impact the world around us the most. Nobody is shocked to find an apple tree in the orchard. But when there are pears hanging there too, people will notice that something special is going on with that tree... something "super" natural. God's fruit in our lives will lead to joy and vibrancy. But we'll also be able to share with others the supernatural ways that Jesus is cultivating our own souls over time. Our little tree will be a witness to the Kingdom of God. Don't be afraid of your own transformation, friends. It's hard. But open yourself to it. There are surprising branches to be grafted into your life. And fresh fruit will emerge. Your job is simply to remain open and available, because you have an expert Fruit Whisperer delighted to be cultivating your life each day. Jesus, keep me open to the surprising transformation you are working to bring into and out of my life. Peace, Keith |
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