 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!
-1 Corinthians 5:16 "Reno up, Reddy on deck!" A spring day feels like forever ago, but a moment in April keeps coming back to me. Plus, the Olympics start this week, so it's relevant! Since I don't coach in the spring my evenings are free to cheer on my kids and enjoy being a parent in the stands. But I do have a track and field background, so every now and then I get pulled into helping out at their meets (yeah, right. We both know I love it). It was a home track meet and I was asked to officiate the long jump. I gladly agreed to help out, secretly happy that I would have a reason to be on the infield and get a great vantage point for the competition. But it had been a while since I last did this. And I had completely forgotten how much hard work it would entail... Call out the jumpers name. Make sure the approach lane is clear. Confirm that the takeoff foot didn't foul. Mark the landing spot in the sand. Measure the jump. Record the jump. Rake the sandpit flat. Repeat. I was glad I had some teenage helpers. But as the day wore on with well over 100 jumps, we all started to get tired. And when we got tired, do you know the first thing that suffered? The raking. And that makes sense, because it's by far the hardest task. Preparing the sandpit after every single jump for the next jumper takes real effort. It’s unfair to the next athlete if you leave holes or mounds in the sand when it's their turn. They need to be given a smooth, fresh surface to land on. It doesn't matter how much the previous jumper messed up the sandpit. The next jumper deserves a clean slate. A couple times when my sweaty student volunteers got a little lazy, I grabbed the rake and did a few extra passes, reminding them that it needs to be flat for each jumper, even though it was tiring. Hold up a minute. What an interesting commentary on life as we relate to one another. Sometimes previous experiences with people leave us exhausted for the next ones. We've been hurt, and we've simply had interactions that require a lot of emotional energy. This is simply the reality of being human. And I have no doubt that I've been the one in those categories for other people, too. But when someone creates a fairly deep dent in my sandpit, it can be exhausting to rake it smooth for the next person I come across. It's all too easy for me to leave holes and hills for my next encounter. I become a little less gracious. My cynicism and judgment takes over, or my quick ability to form a bias emerges. I bet he's got complaints too. People are just so exhausting. I know this type. One of the great tasks of a Christ follower is to become so deeply formed by Jesus that the words of the Apostle Paul ring true for us: We have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. (2 Cor 5:16) As disciples, we learn to see each interaction as an opportunity to display and convey God's radical love to others. We prepare to meet each individual with hope and wonder, ready to recognize the image of God in them. As we encounter others, we do so with the awareness that God has made us new, and therefore we see them with humility and care. In these moments, cynicism will not dominate our interactions with others. Challenging moments we've been through won't destroy our ability to welcome others into our lives. This means that we have to do the daily work of raking our pits freshly before each person we meet (in my head that phrase didn't sound so much like personal grooming). This means praying for people more. This means taking moments to soak in God's love and grace throughout every day. This means seeing people from a sacred point of view. We want to lead with graciousness, not with cynicism. This is the way of love. Each person that God brings in front of us gets to receive a slate as fresh as the one that Jesus gives us each day. This is especially hard to do when we're tired(lawd have mercy!). Or hungry. Or digitally overstimulated. Or overbusy. So I need to make sure I'm rested and ready for full days of raking. You probably do too. Because we Jesus people no longer look at others from a worldly point of view. Jesus, help me live your reconciliation. Peace, Keith
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 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit." -John 20:22 This past Sunday at LifePath Church, I started sharing about some things God was teaching me during my week walking St. Cuthbert's Way from Scotland to England last month. I want to reflect further on one moment that I shared. I was walking across Northumberland National Park in northeast England on day four. The day was gorgeous, and I could hear a bird singing beautifully, but couldn't find it. Thankfully, my trusty birding app identified the call as the Eurasian Skylark. I would later learn that this is one of the world's most famous songbirds, written about by generations of English poets and naturalists. Some nearby day-hikers with binoculars helped me a few minutes later. They told me that the reason I couldn't find this little guy was because he was hundreds of feet up in the air, and pointed him out. In order to impress and find a mate, the male leaves the ground and spirals upward, singing louder and louder as he does. These larks can reach over 300 feet high while using up all they have in their lungs. When they reach their final height they sing their hardest. And then, they simply fall. Straight down. No flapping. They just lock their wings in a part-parachute-part-torpedo position and drop, their call getting quieter and quieter until it disappears. And then the lark does too, landing beneath the scrub, with no breath left. It's amazing to watch the climb, and it's amazing to watch the fall. You can certainly take that in a bunch of different directions, can't you??? The beautiful Skylark was created to function like this, but it's less beautiful when we do it. Even so, our lives often become very skylarky (new word). The problem here isn't about having solid work ethic, or ending our days good and tired because we've spent our hours well. That's great. The problem is when our lives are defined by a roller coaster push to be more impressive, followed by the ugly fallout when we reach our inevitable limits. We are not as graceful in our falling as skylarks. We weren't made for that. The need to outdo whomever we deem is "the competition," the desire to be loudest voice, and the complete expenditure of all of energy before crashing back down to earth are all marks of modern life. Even within the Christian journey, we often lack sustainable rhythms, and we crash. Sometimes emotionally. Sometimes physically. Sometimes ethically. Sometimes spiritually. We end utterly exhausted, totally out of breath and on the ground. And sometimes we hurt others as we do, too. Lots of people feel out of breath lately. Do you? There is hope. When Jesus offers his spirit to his disciples, he breathes on them. And when you learn a bit more, it really starts to come together. The direct translation for the word for spirit in both Hebrew AND Greek is literally "breath" (ruach/pneuma). The Spirit of God is given as a life-breath to disciples. Jesus intends his breath to fill our lungs, to sustain us, and to move us beyond the constant push-stall-crash that is all too common throughout our lives. When humanity runs around yelling as loud as it can, becoming out of breath, and landing hard, Jesus offers us a deeper way. A way of sustained, deep breathing. It's a way that doesn't need to be louder than others. It's a way that doesn't lead to impress. It's a way that won't lead to personal burnout. It's a source of energy that simultaneously slows us down and renews our energy for the long haul. When we take time to breathe in the Spirit of God, we not only find ourselves refreshed with new energy, but we start to see that there is a much more beautiful way of life that avoids a damaging red-bull-like crash, whether that is emotional, spiritual, or physical. This is one of the reasons that breath prayers can be so powerful. They teach us to bring to mind the promises of Jesus, allowing God to fill our lungs with them and sustain us in a fresh way for lives of discipleship. [Inhale] You hold all things together. [Exhale] I can trust you. [Inhale] You are with me always. [Exhale] I find rest in you. [Inhale] I am weary. [Exhale] Your love sustains my work. May you sing beautifully today. Yet not with the need to sing with perfection, louder or higher than anyone else. And may you pause before you are depleted, and breathe in the sustaining power of God's love, so that your work might last and bear fruit for God's kingdom. Jesus, breathe into my tired body and soul. Peace, Keith   For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
-Romans 14:17 Hello, friends! This week I am emerging from my rest and renewal sabbatical over the last 3 months. I find myself joyful and refreshed, and ready to re-engage in my pastoral work once again. (Sorry for all those R-words. Pastoral alliteration doesn't just magically vanish after a sabbatical.) My time away was necessary, and it included many diverse experiences. I traveled, rested, prayed, read books, and adventured. I met Jesus again in fresh ways. I have stories to tell, and they'll emerge in the coming months through my writing and preaching. But even as early as mid-April, while I was sitting alone on the coast of Puerto Rico, this little thought crossed my mind. I'm going to have to go back to the real world at some point.... Since then, that thought and others similar to it have always been there. People asked me in June: Are you ready to get back to reality? I'm sure it'll be tough to enter the real world again! Now I'm thinking differently. Why is it that we assume that unique moments of rest and goodness are not real life? What is it in us that pushes us to exclude these from "reality?" It can do some real damage in both directions. Let's rethink this mentality in light of Jesus. When Jesus came, he revealed to his disciples that there was a whole reality that they had not been in touch with. In fact, he reminded them that much of what they spent their time and energy on wasn't actually the deepest reality. He flipped things. In moments of revelation and wonder, he showed them what was real and true in such a way (think about the transfiguration and ascension) that it changed the rest of their life's moments. Conversely, he also taught them that the kingdom was around them all the time. There was no time or place that God's good life was not accessible, if they were moving with Jesus and looking for God at work around them. This is an extraordinary reminder: even the most typical, mundane moments are dripping with grace if we are in tune with the love of God. Every moment is an opportunity to respond to God or express God's care. Going "back to reality" as we might say... does not need to be this tragic, joyless buzzkill as if God only hangs out on mountains. Remember, Jesus changed all that. Perhaps much of our lives are actually not spent in reality: endless worry about things we have no control over, stress about priorities that have little lasting value, constant obsession with having enough or being enough? We may have convinced ourselves that it is, but according to Jesus, that's not real life! What is real life? Real life is being able to rest in the fact that Jesus is a trustworthy Lord, and we don't have to fill that role ourselves. Reality is when we are aware of God's goodness and presence enough to live in that deep truth, wherever we are and whatever we're doing. I'm living in the real world right now in my coffee shop office. And I was living in the real world when I met Jesus among Franciscan monks on the coast of England. Both were real, because both belong to God. Real life is whenever we realize how real Jesus is in life. And that, my friends, can happen in the middle of a work day or as you're preparing dinner for your family. It can happen when you're having coffee or tea (maybe) in the morning as you first encounter a new day with all it's possibilities. It's whenever God's love flows in and out of you. My friends, let's not create a little bottle of holy moments and beautiful experiences that we seal off as "not real life." They are absolutely real, and remembering that allows them to spill out and help us see goodness and rest and grace and connection with God everywhere. I'm glad to be back in the real world this week. But the last season was the real world, too. Because it's all full of wonder, full of grace, and full of Jesus. So is your workplace. So is your kitchen. So is your upcoming vacation or your day off or a powerful retreat. It's all an opportunity to encounter the living God, and that's the deepest reality there is. Jesus, open my eyes to the reality of your kingdom all around me, in big and small ways. Peace, Keith  My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. -Psalm 51:17 I remember the story from a friend as she shared an image of one of her baking pans that had been dropped on the floor. It was really disappointing because she really liked it and had used it regularly for years. As she collected the broken pieces, she took a look at them before throwing them out. Suddenly she realized that in the past she had never been able to use it in her toaster oven because the muffin pan was too big. She always had to use her large oven, even if she only needed to bake a few muffins. The lesson was this: Surprisingly, the newly broken pan was going to prove to be more usable than ever before. Now it could fit into multiple places, and it could be used for smaller numbers as well as larger ones. Initially she had thought was that there was no more usefulness when it shattered. Now my friend noticed that new things were possible- precisely because of the brokenness. She immediately started using it in new ways. This is a hard lesson to grasp, and one that we must learn to receive time after time throughout our lives. The pain we experience as a result of the brokenness of life will open new doors if we allow it. New doors of empathy, of growth, of compassion, of maturity. There will be spaces in the lives of others that we could not previously fit into until we are broken. But now we can sit in that space, understanding and walking alongside. We may also find that when our own capacity feels more limited, it is in these moments that we become more available to the supernatural strength and power of the Spirit of Christ that Jesus has breathed into us. Sometimes the more capable I am, the less trust is required, and the less of God I grasp. But the less capable I am, the more I identify as poor in spirit, and the more available I am to be blessed and used by God. So let’s follow the arguments that the Apostle Paul responded to in his ministry: Does that mean that we should seek after brokenness so that we can be closer to God as a result? Should we try to go through pain and heartache and even sin so that we can say, look how much God is growing me afterwards! Obviously not, friends. Brokenness is one of the things in life that we don’t need to seek after. It will come. We will get dropped on the floor and fall to pieces. That’s the reality of a broken world and real people with real choices to choose right or wrong. What we can do, though, is decide if our broken pieces should simply be thrown away. We will decide the level of our worth as we take stock of the shattered pan on the ground. Will we hear the words of Jesus as we do? Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. Then neither do I condemn you. Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people. My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness... My friend decided not to throw away her pan. She decided to keep owning it. To keep using it. To even see new value that wasn’t there before. What a beautiful image. Our pain will either make us more sensitive or more calloused. Our frustration will make us more compassionate or more harsh. Our losses will create empathy or bitterness. Our failures will fill us with grace toward others, or convince us we are no longer useful. Those possibilities will be determined based on one thing, and one thing alone: Will we invite Jesus to transform our broken places? If we allow God’s grace and love to enter into all the areas in our lives that are not what we wished they were… then we will become people who overflow with love and humility and gentleness. The world will be drawn to us… and drawn to Jesus in the process. Our brokenness is not a liability. It can indeed be the reason that God can finally use us in new ways for good. What kind of a God is this, who chooses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and the weak things of the world to shame the strong!? (1 Cor 1:27). It’s ok to sit back in wonder at all of that today. Amazing grace. Jesus, take what feels broken in me today and use it for good. I trust you. Peace, Keith* *I'm on sabbatical, so Together For Good will be highlighting our favorite reminders from the archives. Don't worry, if I can't remember writing half of them, I'm hopeful they'll be fresh reminders to you as well!  "God had formed out of the ground every wild beast and every bird of heaven. He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one, and whatever the man called each living thing was indeed its name.”
-Genesis 2:19 I’m not a big fan of name calling. I raise 3 kids and coach another 50+ of them every fall, so I’m familiar with the creativity that can be used when calling someone a name (it’s not usually the good kind of creativity). In our house, for years I remember telling our kids to avoid the “you’re so…!” statements that tend to label a person as negative, rather than address a specific action. In the Kabbala, the Jewish mystical teaching that is passed down through generations, there is an understanding that the name of everything is its life-source. The Hebrew letters carry God’s power in a unique way, and when put together in different formations they give life wherever they are applied. In other words, according to Hebrew thought, something’s name, or the words they are called, directly affects what or who it actually becomes. Name calling is incredibly powerful. Maybe that’s why God renames Abram and Sarai to Abraham and Sarah when they join his family, and God renames Jacob after their wrestling match. They’ve become something new. Maybe that’s why Jesus speaks a new name to Peter as he commissions him to lead the first generation of his Church. And maybe that’s why John reveals in his vision that each faithful person will receive a new name as they enter the fullness of the kingdom (Revelation 2:17). Each represents a new start, full of life with God. Wild stuff, huh? Names are a big deal. That’s why it’s so crazy that in Genesis, the job of naming all of creation is given to a human. Seems like the sort of thing that would best be left in God’s hands, if you ask me. I’ve heard the names that we come up with when we think it’s our job. It’s not pretty, friends. Many Jewish interpretations hold that even when God formed the animals in Genesis 2:19, they weren’t given the breath of life until their names were spoken by Adam. Then life and purpose began. And taking things a step further in chapter 3, Adam names Eve, reminding us that people have been given the task of even naming one another. God’s partnership in this way… that’s a lot of responsibility. Words can destroy and maim, or words can build and heal (read James). And that power has been entrusted to you. Let’s not screw this one up. What if we looked around our world daily with a focus on name calling everything we see in both the natural world and the world of humanity? And what if our name calling is in line with the value and beauty and dignity that Jesus teaches us to model? Maybe it starts today by noticing the name badge at the cash register, and thanking Jessica for serving you. Maybe it extends to declaring the good you see in your children and coworkers. Maybe it extends to telling someone that you believe in them. To reminding someone that they are loved and valuable. To noticing the image of God in someone and then calling them that name. And maybe it means that when we see someone we are uncomfortable with, scared of, or even disgusted by… that we remember that God has given humans the task of calling things what they are in God’s world. And in God’s world, everything is created valuable. Jesus, help me give names to the overlooked, forgotten, and mundanely beautiful things and people in my life today. May my words bring your life into each one. Peace, Keith* *I'm on sabbatical, so Together For Good will be highlighting our favorite reminders from the archives. Don't worry, if I can't remember writing half of them, I'm hopeful they'll be fresh reminders to you as well!  Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
-1 Corinthians 13:12 Every Sunday morning during our LifePath gathering, we have a few unpredictable things that we do where we never know exactly what's going to happen. One of those elements is when we speak aloud something we call Common Prayer. Throughout the morning as we sing, people walk to the back of the auditorium and write down prayers of thanks, of hope, of heartache… it can be anything. Later, they are read aloud and after each one, we all say, “Lord, hear our prayer” together. It helps us be the Church together, and reminds us that these worship gatherings are real life with real people, never a prefabricated show. I was captured by something that happened a while back. Embedded in the middle of the prayers read aloud from the front was this one: "Lord, we thank you that you fulfill our hopes and prayers…. most of the time." The prayer caught us all a little bit. There was a pause, and a few chuckles… and then we responded enthusiastically, “Lord, hear our prayer!” It was a funny moment. But it was profound at the same time. Because we all knew there was truth there. This is real life and faith, isn’t it? That simple-yet-complicated prayer exposed a challenging, wonderful, frustrating dirty little secret of ours. And that secret is this: our theology isn’t airtight. We don’t have everything figured out. There are times that we just don’t quite understand exactly how God works and what prayer does or doesn’t do. There are times that we’re not sure what is God’s will and movement, and what is just people being good or bad. There are times that the scriptures have gaps or diverse perspectives and we’re left wondering what we’re supposed to do with it all in order to be faithful. There are times where prayers are answered, and then times that other prayers that we are sure would line up with God’s heart… remain shrouded in silence and mystery. We can ignore it. Many do. We can try to explain it away with a nice little bumper sticker slogan like God answers every prayer, just not in the way we think. Or we can just lay it out there honestly. There’s something freeing in being able to rejoice in the moments that we see it and get it… and chuckle at the moments that we have no idea what is going on. Because in those moments, we can actually reach new levels of faith. First, they teach us honesty and mystery. There are times where Christians are tempted to be dishonest with God about their own feelings, doubts, or uncertainties because they think God gets upset at them for asking questions. This is not God’s posture. If God can’t handle your doubts and big questions, then God is not the loving and grace-filled Father that Jesus reveals. Secondly, when we acknowledge that hopes are unmet and prayers feel unheard… we learn what it means to see Jesus as enough. I have no doubt that the Apostle Paul prayed for freedom and open doors during his imprisonments. Sometimes that happened. At other times, like when he was in jail writing to the Philippian church, he declared that he had learned the secret to a full life, and the circumstances didn’t matter. The secret to contentment was that Jesus was enough (Phil 4:12-13). Nothing else had to be answered. That’s where the joy was. Yep, there’s mystery. Sometimes we will find answers. Other times we won’t. But something continues to draw us to the truth of Jesus, even when we don’t have everything packaged neatly. How beautiful that our hope comes from the grace of God, not our foolproof understanding of all questions in the universe. When you don’t know, it’s ok to laugh. it’s ok to be grateful. It’s ok to be unsure. Just make sure you keep telling God about it all. One day, all will be understood. Jesus, give me peace the mysteries, and joy in your presence with me today. Peace, Keith* *I'm on sabbatical, so Together For Good will be highlighting our favorite reminders from the archives. Don't worry, if I can't remember writing half of them, I'm hopeful they'll be fresh reminders to you as well!  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
-Jesus, John 10:27 Do we think that God is intentionally difficult to understand? The late Dallas Willard was a professor of philosophy at USC for most of his career. He was also one of the most influential Christian spiritual formation voices of our time, writing a number of profound books on following Jesus. He trained an entire generation of pastors toward spiritual depth (myself included). If you’ve never his work, check out his seminal book, The Divine Conspiracy. There’s a story that a young man tells about his interaction with Dallas during a ride to the airport after a conference. The young man was trying to figure out a PhD program to pursue. This decision would affect where he lived, what specific career path he would be moving in, financial implications, and more. The decision-making deadline was right upon him. He shared with Dallas the difficulty and complexity of the decision and his anxiety at a lack of guidance from God though he had prayed about it many times. Dallas listened, asked a few questions, and then gave this response: “Well, simply pray, and say: 'Lord, I do not believe that you mumble, so if you’d like to direct me, you need to do so before Friday. Otherwise, I will presume your blessing to make my own choice.'” Whoa. That sounds terrifying. God would give us the freedom to make our own choice about important things? I’ve known many Christians that approach life as if it’s a nearly impossible maze, and at every turn there is the way God wants and the way God is against, yet there’s little clarity on which is which. It suggests God’s will is one single path made of hundreds of little decisions that I could get wrong at any point and screw up forever. Therefore, there is a constant underlying anxiety that we are always about to get it wrong. Sleep well tonight, friends! I’m not talking about moral decisions here, of doing something loving vs. something selfish. We’re talking about decisions that have no clear moral implications. What if God trusts us to be seeking after Jesus and acting accordingly? Maybe much of this is less about God’s will and more about our own. I remember, as a youth pastor, having senior high students in my office who were paralyzed about which college God wanted them to attend. Have you spent some time praying for guidance? Yes. Well, do you sense that you can serve Jesus more faithfully at one school over the other? Not really. Can you imagine yourself glorifying God at both schools? I think so. Then uh…. where do you want to go the most? God’s will for us is not a needle in a haystack. God’s will is that we would trust in the way of Jesus and the rescue of Jesus, and live our lives openly, inviting others to join us in expressing God’s kingdom. That doesn’t mean we don’t prayerfully discern. The flip side is dangerous too. To act as if everything we do is obviously God’s heart for us without prayer and discernment is arrogant and foolish. But if we have been set free, and we trust that disciples of Jesus can hear his voice and guidance…. then maybe we need to stop it with the constant fear and pressure. From the beginning and through til now, God has entrusted humans to partner in God’s redemption purposes. Like Willard says in his book Hearing God, "God is not looking for people to endlessly command; God desires to form persons and a people who can bring to bear all their own redeemed creativity and will into the realization of the Reign of God on earth..." Let’s seek God for guidance about decisions and constantly move in the best direction. Let’s be patient with those decisions and not rush. Let’s involve other trusted disciples in those decisions. And when no clear path emerges, maybe it’s not because God is silent and unreachable. Maybe it’s because God is saying… I trust you. Is there a decision that you’re stuck on because you feel a lot of pressure? Maybe you need to hear God’s grace and trust. Jesus, speak to me. And when it’s not audible, form me enough so that I can express your heart in everything. Peace, Keith* *I'm on sabbatical, so Together For Good will be highlighting our favorite reminders from the archives. Don't worry, if I can't remember writing half of them, I'm hopeful they'll be fresh reminders to you as well!  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…
-Hebrews 12:2 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. -Paul (1 Cor. 11:1) Babies are kind of stupid. I mean, I love them and I think they are wonderful and cute and immeasurably valuable…. but they can’t reason well at all. Have you ever tried to have a conversation with one? They just stare at you. It’s like they don’t even know what you’re talking about. Until you smile. Then, something really interesting happens. They smile back. Why? We used to think that it was just because our joy was so contagious. And maybe it is. But now we know something else. We are all mirrors. And we have a hard-wired tendency to imitate what is in front of us. Facial expressions. Behaviors. Values. It’s called mimetic desire, and it’s how we learn most things in life (for more, study Rene Girard). So maybe those of us who are parents should stop emphatically asking: WELL IF YOUR FRIEND JUMPED OFF A BRIDGE WOULD YOU DO THAT TOO? Statistically speaking, yes. It’s likely. Something in us is hardwired to copy. We see something in front of us and it immediately becomes more real and possible. In the mid 1900’s running experts didn’t think the 4 minute mile barrier could ever be broken. It stood at 4:01 for a decade. Then Roger Banister broke it in 1954. Six weeks later, someone else brought it down another two seconds. Thirteen months after Bannister, three more runners broke four minutes- in one race. How is that possible? When we see someone do something, two things happen. 1- We believe it’s possible. 2- Something in us is drawn to copy it. We are mimetic people. Imitation is our reality (just consider TikTok dances). This is why understanding discipleship is so important. In the Hebrew world, it was about so much more than knowledge. You didn’t want to just know what your Rabbi knew. You wanted to become who your Rabbi was. Discipleship was learning the actions and the behaviors of one who knew how to walk with God. That could only happen by imitation. So when Jesus calls disciples to follow him, he does far more than talk. Over and over again he models a life that can be imitated. Jesus doesn’t simply talk about compassion. He shows it. He doesn’t just talk about prayer. He models it. He doesn’t wax eloquently about a self-giving life. He dies in front of them. It’s no surprise then, that the writer of Hebrews implores his readers: “Fix your eyes on Jesus! He is the one who is creating this faith of ours!” We need to keep the life and behaviors of Jesus in the world so that we can believe they are possible, and have a real model to work with. And, like Paul figured out, we also need living examples right in front of us so that we can see something in order to practice it. A living breathing person brings Jesus to life in a new way. We need people to imitate as they imitate Jesus. What might it look like to move toward that this week? Maybe you need to dive back into the gospels, reading them and paying close attention to the actions of Jesus. Maybe fixing your eyes daily on Jesus will remind you of what love really is. And who is in your life that you can learn Jesus from? What real models do you have around you that are worth imitating? They are deeply flawed individuals, as we all are, but maybe we need to walk a little more closely with other people walking with Jesus. And maybe, like one of those little mirror funhouse rooms, we can just encourage each other exponentially into eternity. Keep smiling at babies, even when they are terrible conversation partners. And keep your eyes on Jesus, so that you can keep believing that all of this wild “on-earth-as-it-is-in-heaven" stuff is really possible. Jesus, give me the strength to imitate you. Peace, Keith* *I'm on sabbatical, so Together For Good will be highlighting our favorite reminders from the archives. Don't worry, if I can't remember writing half of them, I'm hopeful they'll be fresh reminders to you as well!  “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.
-Jesus, Luke 22:25-26 San Francisco’s Pier 39 is famously known for its lively waterfront vibe and restaurants. But it also has a unique natural phenomenon. Only a few feet into the bay, a colony of sea lions has set up permanent residence on a series of floating docks. They moved in after an earthquake in 1989, taking over an entire section of the local marina. After residents were unable to get rid of them, they embraced this new reality, and the Marine Mammal Center helped to create a protected space for their new urban hangout. Now, any time of the year, hundreds of sea lions call Pier 39 home. Though there are a lot of sea lions, there is also quite a bit of wooden real estate available. There’s enough room for all the blubber to get a little sun. And yet, inevitably, when you visit the marina, you will see that scores of sea lions spend all of their time defending their turf. They bark at each other, stick their chests out, and play a slippery version of “king of the floating dock.” One will leap out of the water and climb up a raft, only to get bull-rushed by whichever sea lion happens to be near the edge. And back and forth they go, until one or both of them just gives up. When you see the whole dock, it looks a little ridiculous to see this need to push others away. Not to mention that these guys are not made for land, so they just look like idiots throwing their flippers around chasing each other. It looks like a dance-off where the only move allowed is The Worm. But the moment they enter the water, doing what they were made to do, they become magnificent creatures again. They flip and spin, weaving around each other. It’s beautiful. Every day, we have a choice to make with our lives and our attitudes. We can choose to defend our turf, while being suspicious of everyone around us. We can see people as a threat to our livelihood, our happiness, or our belief system, and treat them accordingly. Or, we can follow Jesus. Jesus speaks to us of abundance of time, energy, and resources. Jesus teaches us to look at others graciously and with a servant heart, being unafraid to share a bit of space. Jesus teaches us that what we have is God’s anyways, so constantly worrying about our goods is the last thing we need to be doing. Perhaps you have fallen into the trap lately of looking around at others through the lens of competition. Perhaps you are listening too much to your news station of choice, and you’ve become convinced that everyone is out to get you. Maybe your job constantly tempts you to climb rank among your coworkers. Or perhaps you just find yourself constantly irritated at people around you. Much of the world lives like that. But honestly, we look unnatural when we do. It’s not what we are made for. Our version of barking can be critical comments toward others (with them or behind their back), or even a critical spirit when no words are said. It accomplishes nothing. But when we welcome each other into our lives and when we seek to serve, and when we're unafraid to give up our ground (and swim if that gives rest to someone who needs it) ... that's beautiful. There’s room on the dock, friends. Stop jockeying for position. Take some time this morning to be present enough with Jesus to experience God's love. As you do, it will transform how you see others and how you respond to them throughout your day. Jesus has come to rescue you. The pressure is off. Extend your flipper to the one in the water. Jesus, help me to release the worries or competitions that distract me from living fully. Peace, Keith* *I'm on sabbatical, so Together For Good will be highlighting our favorite reminders from the archives. Don't worry, if I can't remember writing half of them, I'm hopeful they'll be fresh reminders to you as well!  I give you a new commandment—to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
-Jesus, John 13:34 And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him. -Paul, 2 Corinthians 3:18 It’s difficult to become the truest version of ourselves. Every one of us lives with some amount of desire to project ourselves in the best light possible. Sometimes we’re not even sure what our real selves might look like, because we’ve spent so much time sizing up the people around us. But deep within the soul is a desire to be truly honest. To be known for who we are beneath the surface, even if it’s not always pretty. The scriptures have a word for that. Love. The Velveteen Rabbit was written 103 years ago by Margery Williams. It is a timeless children’s tale of a stuffed toy bunny who is transformed by love. When he arrives new in the playroom, the velveteen rabbit hears all the other toys bragging about how real they are, because they have noise makers and wind-ups and mechanical parts. The velveteen rabbit doesn’t have these things, and he thinks that’s what it must mean to be real. So he asks his friend the Skin Horse, who has been made wise by age, and had seen many many mechanical toys come and go when they broke over time. So the velveteen rabbit asks the Skin Horse one day, “What is real? Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?" 'Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.' 'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit. 'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.' 'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?' 'It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.“ Go ahead and stop your multitasking and read that last line again. It’s ok to cry. When you are loved, you can’t be ugly. And you are, each one of you, dearly loved. Geez, that old skin horse. That brother gets it. The power of love is the power to make things real. We so often think of being “authentic” as something we choose to do, yet it can more accurately be explained as what Jesus does to us. When we experience the true and honest love of Jesus, day by day, we find that our shiny lacquer of an impressive looking exterior fades away. It can be painful as Jesus wears away areas of selfishness, apathy, and ego from our hearts. And yet because we are being loved in the process, it’s beautiful as well, for we are being freed to be known as we are...and loved anyways. That’s what makes us real. The gift is that as we become real, we can love others without pretense as well, and aide in their journey of becoming real too. It’s messy, and often painful as we imperfectly figure out how to care for one another. Yet it is far better than rejecting real community. To isolate ourselves is to make becoming real impossible. This is why participating in Christian community is so important. There are many folks today, Christians and not, with sharp edges, who break easily, who have to be carefully kept. Let us instead become people who have been well loved by Jesus- not easily breakable, and softened over time. Let us become real. Even if we feel worn thin, we can rest assured that we can never be ugly in God’s eyes. Jesus, make us unafraid of being loved. Peace, Keith* *I'm on sabbatical until July 7th, so for a while Together For Good will be highlighting our favorite reminders from the archives. Don't worry, if I can't remember writing half of them, I'm hopeful they'll be fresh reminders to you as well! |
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