Have you heard the cries of the poor in your city? Around the world? I don't know about you, but I have to train my ears to hear the cry of the poor. It's not a matter of whether they are crying out but a matter of whether or not I'm hearing their cries. Is the world full of people who have a great deal less than we do? Who are "we" anyway. I'm including those of us who live in "my" world. Whose first thoughts each morning are not "IF I'll get to eat today" but at some point in the day, I ponder "WHAT will I decide to have for breakfast/lunch/dinner...and what kind of snacks would be good to have between these meals?" Although meals/snacks don't always meet my expectations or appetite, eating is not really something I have to stress about today. "We" also includes those of us who have multiple options of things to entertian us each day...tv/movies/surfing the internet/Facebook/Twitter/whether we'll work out today or whether today is a rest day, etc. If this doesn't help you train your ears to hear the cry of the poor yet, check out these documented facts...nearly 3 billion of the world's 6.8 billion live on less than $2.00 a day. The average household income of Christians in America is around $42,000 a year. That is $115.07 a day! Get this, 26,000 CHILDREN will die today of preventable disease or starvation. Does that help you hear a little better?
Has there been a time this past year when you've actually heard the cry of the poor more distinctly than perhaps you do right now? Personally/ashamedly, I'd have to say yes. I've had opportunities to travel to cities in the US and to China this year on "mission trips." I've also done "mission projects" in the inner city of Jackson, MS this year and even in my community in which I live. I've not only heard the cies of the poor but I've seen the tragic effects of poverty firsthand. My burden is "Why do I hear their cries more clearly when I'm in their midst but not when I'm not on a mission trip or project?" In my life, I'm realizing that the terms "mission trips/projects" that we've traditionally used in the church have helped train our ears to the cries of the poor to hear them when it's either convenient or expected of us to do so. Whether I realize it or not, I've trained my ears to listen to the cries of the poor when I'm on a trip or involved in a project and have spent the rest of my life, the majority of my life, leading what I've told myself is a sacrificial Christian life. Can I really say that my life is being sacrificed for the cause of Christ in the world with the knowledge that almost half the world lives on less that 2% of what my family does each day?
A verse in my daily Bible reading really convicted me and helped shed light on why I don't always sense God speaking to me and moving in my life and church like I call myself praying for Him to do. Proverbs 21:13, "Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered." Wow, this verse gets more convicting each time I read it. I would dare say that every Christian in our country would say that they long to hear the voice of God more clearly/regularly in their own lives and that their worship services/small groups, etc. would sense the voice and presence of God every time they gather. Could one of the reasons that we don't consistently hear from God is that we've either intentionally refused to hear the cry of the poor or that we have allowed the conveniences/distractions of our comfortable lives to muffle the cries of the poor next door and around the world? I am committed to intentionally listening for the cries of the poor, to preventing the other noises in my life to keep me from hearing their cries and to doing something about their cries as I am able. I'm understanding more and more that my self-absorbed life and a church culture that has neglected its responsibility to hearing and responding to the cries of the poor has hurt the heart of God. Over and over, God's word is clear about His commitment to the poor, the disenfranchised, the hurting. Can we sincerely claim to want our hearts to be knit to His and reject the cry of the poor? I ask again, "Do you hear the cry of the poor?" If not, what's preventing it?
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Lucy
Earlier this summer I was able to go to China on a trip. I had been told before going that I would love the people, especially the children. I anticipated that being the case because I love children. Seems every trip I take I always connect with at least one or two children. I think I connect with kids so well because I believe they sense that they do not get on my nerves as quickly as they do with other adults, haha. Seriously, I'm not 100% sure why I connect so easily with children, but one child in China definately made an impresssion on me. Shortly into our China trip I met a little Chinese girl named Lucy. The others I had traveled with thought this was neat since my wife is such a fan of all things Lucy Arnez. Just as most of the people I met in China, Lucy was pretty shy and reserved when I met her. We took a picture together and I put my arm around her, but I sensed that she was not too sure about being so close to the big, scary looking guy from America. Her little arm didn't project much acceptaance as she ploitely put it on my shoulder. Over the next week, we were able to spend alot of time with Lucy and she made quite an impression on our group. I learned that Lucy and I could have a lot of fun hitting a balloon up in the air in the hotel lobby, or anywhere else we could keep one from bursting. She was sad when we left, so was I. The night before we left she presented us with scrolls she had written in Chinese sinography that represented characteristics/qualities she recognized in each of us. To say this meant a great deal to me personally goes without saying. I recognized the time and thought she'd put into handwriting each of these. She'd learned my name pretty well by the day we had to leave and although our goobye was rushed as we were trying to board a train, I'll never forget her little voice saying, "Bye, Mark". The hesitant hug she'd given me earlier was replaced with one of those good hugs we like to get from kids...where you have to ask yourself "Where does this little skinny kid get so much strength from." It was hard for us to tell her goodbye, not knowing if we'd ever see her again and unsure of what life held for her.
The picture on my personal computer at home is one taken of Lucy and me, my computer at the office has a picture of a little girl in India named Grace. Grace was abandoned in a garbage dump by her birth family and taken in by an Indian family I met while I was there. Grace's face and story are forever burned into my mind. Grace and Lucy...two children I know who are on the other side of the world that I pray for/shed tears for pretty often. My hopes/prayers for these two girls is that Christ would be their Lord and He would do great things through their lives. I could have saved myself some worry/held onto my "man card" by not allowing these two little girls to steal a part of my heart, but I willingly chose to open my heart up. Of course, I don't regret it. I'm not sure about Grace, since she was still only a baby when I met her, but Lucy sensed she could trust me and the others in our group she connected with. Seems it's a lot easier for me to "put myself out there" on the other side of the world or with children. Not so much with adults or here in the USA. Why? I've learned that it's alot easier/safer to hold onto your heart and not put too much trust into people because I've been burned so many times. Of course, we will probably all agree that this is natural with our society but what really bothers me is that it's even risky to do this within the Body of Christ. I've been reminded just recently that I can simply desire to serve the body of Christ, literally wear myself out giving my time/passion to serve others, and even risk myself a little by opening up my heart and sharing what God is doing in my life/saying to me and get burned pretty good for doing so.
Sometimes I ask myself, "Why even bother? Why put myself/my heart out there only to have my service to God and others questioned? Why do I even try to invest in people and friendships when it seems most will eventually turn on me or throw me under the bus?" Not sure if I have the answer today. Not even real sure if I have the energy/desire to keep subjecting myself to what seems to be more and more inevitable these days. I do know that as I pray/seek God in all of this, He keeps telling me to continue to risk myself and invest my heart/life in the body of Christ. I guess that's the consequence of committing yourself to following Christ with all you've got, the closer you get to Him seems the more you have to risk. I'd really like to be less vulnerable with my heart, some will say (especially my wife) that I don't risk myself as much as I should. But, I've wrestled with God over this most of the 3 hours I've been awake this morning and He hasn't let me off the hook. Guess I can't crawl up in the shell that looks so safe and comfortable after all! This may not make any sense to anyone else, but for me, just writing these feelings out helps. Realizing more and more that my life's goal is to be more and more like Christ every day, but the increasingly sobering reality is that the life/mission of Christ left Him betrayed, abandoned, criticized, doubted, questioned, falsely accused, spat upon, beaten, and brutally killed. Being a follower of Christ is not for the weak of heart, but the promise of eternity outweighs the struggles of this life.
If you've made it this far through my whining, thanks for reading, would love to know if anyone agrees with me or if this helped. By the way, Lucy had recently committed her life to Christ. As much as I'd like to get a hug from her right now or be assured that I'd get to see her again in this life, I know that I'll see her again. Love ya, Lucy. I'm hanging my "Quiet Mountain" writing you did for me in my office today.
The picture on my personal computer at home is one taken of Lucy and me, my computer at the office has a picture of a little girl in India named Grace. Grace was abandoned in a garbage dump by her birth family and taken in by an Indian family I met while I was there. Grace's face and story are forever burned into my mind. Grace and Lucy...two children I know who are on the other side of the world that I pray for/shed tears for pretty often. My hopes/prayers for these two girls is that Christ would be their Lord and He would do great things through their lives. I could have saved myself some worry/held onto my "man card" by not allowing these two little girls to steal a part of my heart, but I willingly chose to open my heart up. Of course, I don't regret it. I'm not sure about Grace, since she was still only a baby when I met her, but Lucy sensed she could trust me and the others in our group she connected with. Seems it's a lot easier for me to "put myself out there" on the other side of the world or with children. Not so much with adults or here in the USA. Why? I've learned that it's alot easier/safer to hold onto your heart and not put too much trust into people because I've been burned so many times. Of course, we will probably all agree that this is natural with our society but what really bothers me is that it's even risky to do this within the Body of Christ. I've been reminded just recently that I can simply desire to serve the body of Christ, literally wear myself out giving my time/passion to serve others, and even risk myself a little by opening up my heart and sharing what God is doing in my life/saying to me and get burned pretty good for doing so.
Sometimes I ask myself, "Why even bother? Why put myself/my heart out there only to have my service to God and others questioned? Why do I even try to invest in people and friendships when it seems most will eventually turn on me or throw me under the bus?" Not sure if I have the answer today. Not even real sure if I have the energy/desire to keep subjecting myself to what seems to be more and more inevitable these days. I do know that as I pray/seek God in all of this, He keeps telling me to continue to risk myself and invest my heart/life in the body of Christ. I guess that's the consequence of committing yourself to following Christ with all you've got, the closer you get to Him seems the more you have to risk. I'd really like to be less vulnerable with my heart, some will say (especially my wife) that I don't risk myself as much as I should. But, I've wrestled with God over this most of the 3 hours I've been awake this morning and He hasn't let me off the hook. Guess I can't crawl up in the shell that looks so safe and comfortable after all! This may not make any sense to anyone else, but for me, just writing these feelings out helps. Realizing more and more that my life's goal is to be more and more like Christ every day, but the increasingly sobering reality is that the life/mission of Christ left Him betrayed, abandoned, criticized, doubted, questioned, falsely accused, spat upon, beaten, and brutally killed. Being a follower of Christ is not for the weak of heart, but the promise of eternity outweighs the struggles of this life.
If you've made it this far through my whining, thanks for reading, would love to know if anyone agrees with me or if this helped. By the way, Lucy had recently committed her life to Christ. As much as I'd like to get a hug from her right now or be assured that I'd get to see her again in this life, I know that I'll see her again. Love ya, Lucy. I'm hanging my "Quiet Mountain" writing you did for me in my office today.
Friday, July 8, 2011
What should a Christian look like?
Not sure how much time you've spent asking yourself this question, but as I grow older and Iencounter more and more followers of Christ around the US and the world I have to ask myself if I embody the characteristics I believe are indicative of a devoted follower of Christ. In my Friday morning men's Bible study group today we began studying the book of James, perhaps the most practical book in the NT as far as how Christians should live/behave. Since one of the more meaningful verses in James 1 is the last verse, our time was running short when we got to it and we didn't spend as much time on it as I would have liked to. The truth and impact of this verse has been on my heart/mind since I read and studied it yesterday and throughout the morning and I'd just like to share my thoughts, maybe work my understanding of this verse out in front of anyone who cares to read it, haha.
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." James 1:27 (ESV) The phrase pure and undefiled religion basically means a Christianity that is able to stand before the all-knowing/all-seeing eyes of God and be found faultless. Pretty high standard huh? Well, do we really have the liberty to dumb this down or take away some of the clarity of this verse with our "yeah, buts"? I really do not think so. We sing "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe..." If we really believe these words then we should at least strive toward this high calling we've been given.
What is this high calling? what does it mean to "visit orphans and widows in their affliction?" Briefly, orphans and widows is both a literal/symbolical reference to people who are often at the bottom of the societal ladder. Who are the most helpless and/or neglected in our culture? What if we are judged by how we treat the most needy individuals in our culture? Our world? As an individual follower of Christ, as a member of the worldwide body of Christ and as a leader in a local faith family, I'm often extremely convicted that we do not take this command as seriously as we should.
What about keeping oneself unstained from the world? In Scripture, the "world" is most often a reference to the unredeemed, ungodly dynamic in our society that surrounds each of us. We are constantly being threatened to give ourselves, our time, our money, our lives to the things of this world that are in opposition to Christ and His passion to redeem those that are a part of the world who stand in opposition to God. The difficulty of being a Christian in a world in which the majority are living in opposition to Christ is that there will always be a force in our world that desires to "stain" or "defile" us and do damage to the body and cause of Christ on this earth.
When I think about the expectations this verse places on us, I am overwhelmed with my inability to measure up and often find myself frustrated/agonizing over the ways I've failed to measure up to "pure and undefiled religion." How do we keep from depressing ourselves with our inability to completely follow the expectation Christ has for us? I believe that the steps toward meeting the expectations of Christ can be met by living my life with a desire to follow this extremely high expectation and to refuse to let the "woulda, coulda, shouldas" to lower the bar so I can justify my failures in achieving that which Christ's death earned Him the right to demand from me.
I can also be encouraged in how I see God transforming me through the sanctifying work of His Spirit/His Word in my life and how I see Him working in the lives of others. It's encouraging to hear/see ungodliness in our culture and indignation well up within me moreso now than it has in the past. Although it overwhelms and saddens me that I do not come close to having the ability/resources to make much of a dent among those who are truly the "least of these", I do thank God for both the burden on my heart for them and the opportuniites I've had and those who I've been able to serve with in loving the ones unable to do absolutely nothing for me in return.
Whether it was the Indian Christian I witnessed reaching out to a young man in the unmerciful, karma consumed culture of that nation that shuns the disabled, or the young kids in the inner city of Jackson, MS who had grown up immersed in a sinful culture and desired something different, I see God working in the lives of those racially/culturally different than myself and it gives me hope/satisfaction that God is at work in each of our lives. I guess what I'd like to communicate to any who will read this is that we are a work in progress, often painfully being transformed into the image of our Savior. The other side of this is a question, "Are you/am I content with how our lives measure up to James 1:27? " If not, I pray that we will all desire to have/demonstrate pure and undefiled religion .
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." James 1:27 (ESV) The phrase pure and undefiled religion basically means a Christianity that is able to stand before the all-knowing/all-seeing eyes of God and be found faultless. Pretty high standard huh? Well, do we really have the liberty to dumb this down or take away some of the clarity of this verse with our "yeah, buts"? I really do not think so. We sing "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe..." If we really believe these words then we should at least strive toward this high calling we've been given.
What is this high calling? what does it mean to "visit orphans and widows in their affliction?" Briefly, orphans and widows is both a literal/symbolical reference to people who are often at the bottom of the societal ladder. Who are the most helpless and/or neglected in our culture? What if we are judged by how we treat the most needy individuals in our culture? Our world? As an individual follower of Christ, as a member of the worldwide body of Christ and as a leader in a local faith family, I'm often extremely convicted that we do not take this command as seriously as we should.
What about keeping oneself unstained from the world? In Scripture, the "world" is most often a reference to the unredeemed, ungodly dynamic in our society that surrounds each of us. We are constantly being threatened to give ourselves, our time, our money, our lives to the things of this world that are in opposition to Christ and His passion to redeem those that are a part of the world who stand in opposition to God. The difficulty of being a Christian in a world in which the majority are living in opposition to Christ is that there will always be a force in our world that desires to "stain" or "defile" us and do damage to the body and cause of Christ on this earth.
When I think about the expectations this verse places on us, I am overwhelmed with my inability to measure up and often find myself frustrated/agonizing over the ways I've failed to measure up to "pure and undefiled religion." How do we keep from depressing ourselves with our inability to completely follow the expectation Christ has for us? I believe that the steps toward meeting the expectations of Christ can be met by living my life with a desire to follow this extremely high expectation and to refuse to let the "woulda, coulda, shouldas" to lower the bar so I can justify my failures in achieving that which Christ's death earned Him the right to demand from me.
I can also be encouraged in how I see God transforming me through the sanctifying work of His Spirit/His Word in my life and how I see Him working in the lives of others. It's encouraging to hear/see ungodliness in our culture and indignation well up within me moreso now than it has in the past. Although it overwhelms and saddens me that I do not come close to having the ability/resources to make much of a dent among those who are truly the "least of these", I do thank God for both the burden on my heart for them and the opportuniites I've had and those who I've been able to serve with in loving the ones unable to do absolutely nothing for me in return.
Whether it was the Indian Christian I witnessed reaching out to a young man in the unmerciful, karma consumed culture of that nation that shuns the disabled, or the young kids in the inner city of Jackson, MS who had grown up immersed in a sinful culture and desired something different, I see God working in the lives of those racially/culturally different than myself and it gives me hope/satisfaction that God is at work in each of our lives. I guess what I'd like to communicate to any who will read this is that we are a work in progress, often painfully being transformed into the image of our Savior. The other side of this is a question, "Are you/am I content with how our lives measure up to James 1:27? " If not, I pray that we will all desire to have/demonstrate pure and undefiled religion .
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