Campaign Promises and the Need for a Savior

We are now officially in the political season. I have been privileged to have both John McCain and Barak Obama call my house. Oh sure, they were taped messages but I can still feel special if I want. I tend to be cynical when it comes to political campaigning. It seems like each candidate needs to emphasize what is wrong with the country and try to hook in to my basic tendency to be dissatisfied with my life. It seems like most of us would be a little more content if someone wasn't constantly pointing out what we don't have. I guess it wouldn't make much sense to run a campaign pointing out all the incredible blessings every American enjoys. Anyway, each candidate takes the opportunity to hook into my dissatisfaction and then that leads to campaign promises. I think in the last few weeks I have been promised virtually everything by one candidate or another. Both John and Barack promised me a ton personally and I have the voicemail to prove it. I used to think the promises fed into self-centeredness generally but I think differently now. I think there is something in a campaign that feeds into my need for a Savior. Everyone has this inkling deep down that they need something or better yet someone. So now every time I hear a campaign promise I am reminded of my longing for a Savior. One who promises what I really need and then delivers. In Isaiah 55 the One who Isaiah simply refers to as The Servant cries out "Ho, everyone who is thirsty come to the waters and you who have no money come buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why do you spend your money on what does not satisfy and your wages on what is not bread? Listen carefully to me and eat what is good and delight yourself in the abundance of fare". Now that is a campaign promise.

Snow, Grace and the Resurrection

Snow is falling today. It is the kind of snow that is the most beautiful. It is falling in big wet flakes that stick on trees and bushes and turns the world into a winter wonderland. I love to go out walking while the snow falls because the world is covered for a moment with a blanket that makes all the earth go silent. It seems that the silence itself pulls out of me a spirit of worship. This kind of snow is the very best. It is also a snow day for my daughter and my wife. My wife teaches and my daughter is a junior in high school. I was the one who got to go into my daughter's room this morning and tell her that school was called off. There is great joy in giving someone the best news they can imagine. I love it. I think I am finally figuring out why snow days are so great. They represent a totally free day. It is better than weekends. We know that Saturday is coming or even a holiday like the fourth of July. But a snow day is completely unexpected. It is an extra day that is absolutely free. All the plans made for today have been blotted out by the snow. Homework due today is now due tomorrow. Work planned for today must now wait till tomorrow. Today, there is nothing anyone has to do. It is a day of grace. If I ever want to know what grace looks like when it hits someone and they really understand it I only need to bring to mind the face of my daughter as I shake her awake to say,"Becca, I have good news(which of course is the literal translation of the word "gospel") You can sleep in. No school today". Her face looks at me with incredulity and then gratitude that is palpable. It is not uncommon for her to reach up to hug me just for being the messenger of such great news. Today, even if you have battled your way to work in the snow, know that today is a day of grace. Not just for students like my daughter but for you because of the day we will celebrate in less than a month called Easter. Happy snow day...He is Risen.

Broken Ribs and Stripes That Heal

My father-in-law slipped on the ice last Sunday going out to get his morning paper. He fell with his full body weight on the cement steps outside his front door and in doing so broke 6 ribs. He is in the hospital now with a tube pulling blood out of his chest cavity. I have a couple of observations. First of all, I am reminded again of how quickly life can change and how fragile everything is especially 73 year old ribs. This being Black History Month has got me thinking of the song,"He's Got the Whole World In His Hands" and I am thankful that in a world so fragile there is still something stronger than steel holding it all up. It has also been good to see how my father-in-law handles pain. I don't mean that he is so tough although the old football player is still in there somewhere. I mean that he has not changed. He is still kind and gentle and loving. Dick came to Christ as an adult but the transformation has been amazing. Transformation is never more clearly seen then when someone is suffering. And this brings me to the final observations. The Gospel is the amazing news that Jesus lived the life I should have lived and died the death I deserved to die so I could have what he has which is the delight of God the Father. It is the ultimate distillation of the love of God. It is the gospel that allows all of us to experience suffering and pain differently. That is not to say that I understand why bad things happen and people slip and shatter their ribs going out to get their paper or why the bad thing that is in your mind right now happened to you. But because of the cross I know it can't possibly happen because God is punishing you. Jesus took all your punishment on the cross...all of it. All of it...every bit of it. Not only that but whatever pain you are going through or whatever has happened can't possibly be because God has forgotten you or doesn't love you. No one could give you greater proof of their love than what Jesus did. No one. So, I watch how my father-in-law winces as he laughs and loves in his hospital bed and I am reminded of the One who winced and loved more than I can imagine and through His pain set me free from mine and you from yours.

Looking and Living Like Jesus

Last night my flight was delayed. It had been a long day for everyone and now the plane was late. We wouldn't be getting into Cleveland until nearly midnight. No one was very happy. I was seated in the back of the plane so I had the opportunity to watch people as they settled in for the flight. The flight attendant had been asking people to use the space under their seats to store smaller items since the plane was sold out and every space in the overhead was going to be premium. I watched as a family of orthodox Jews boarded. The father wore the tassels around his waste and looked as much like a rabbi as anyone I had seen in a while. It is interesting to watch how people respond to orthodox Jews. I had met a fascinating Christian on my weekend who had decided to spend a whole year living as much like Jesus as he could. That meant he was going to eat kosher, not shave his beard, observe the Sabbath, and even walk instead of riding in a car. He was going to live like Jesus for a year, read the Gospels every week and then write a book on it. Any way, I was watching the orthodox Jew and thinking of my new friend and how people would be responding to him. There was a teenage boy in the seat right in front of me with a big backpack he had obediently tried to push under his seat. He had no room for his legs so he finally stood up to try to find a place in the overhead. The Jewish father was standing in his seat talking with his family that was spread out over a couple of rows. There was a space above his head that was empty. The teenager looked at the father and then asked very politely if the man needed that space or if he might be able to use it for his backpack. The Jewish man smiled and said,"Sure". And then he added," Thanks for asking". The Jewish mom said,"Not many people ask anymore. That was nice". The whole thing made me smile. The teenager had been kind and courteous. The little act of kindness did not go unnoticed. I was thinking of my friend who was going to spend a year living like Jesus. He would be looking like the Jewish man and acting like the teenager. It will be an amazing year I think. Oh, and by the way, my friend used to be a pastor of a church of about 6000 people. He has been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). This year could very well be the last one he spends before he meets Jesus. Sometimes God is so poignant in the way he orchestrates life it takes my breath away.

Roger Clemens and the Baseball god

Roger Clemens is considered by many to be the greatest baseball pitcher of our generation. The last few days he has been testifying before congress about alleged steroid abuse. Steroids can help an aging pitcher recover more quickly and even get stronger. Using steroids is cheating. Roger Clemens was a great pitcher before he ever was accused of taking steroids. I watched some of the questioning on ESPN. I don't think any of the congressmen asked the right question. Someone should have asked Roger if there was anything more important to him than baseball. He appeared to me to care about little else. He claimed to be adamantly against steroid use but allowed his trainer to inject his wife so she could pose for Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Another pitcher testified this week. His name is Andy Pettite. During his testimony he said he was a Christian. He admitted to taking steroids during one stretch of his career. He apologized, said it was wrong, and told everyone he was obligated because of his commitment to Jesus Christ to tell the truth. Andy Pettite has something more important than baseball. During one stretch of his career he let baseball become the most important thing and so he served it like a slave and took steroids so he would not lose the most important thing. He has come clean and repented. Roger Clemens on the other hand seems to be still tenaciously clinging to baseball as his god and it looks like the god he served is about to abandon him. If baseball really was a god for Roger Clemens then I think it makes perfect sense that he took steroids. As this thing unfolds I find myself praying for Roger because a man is never more vulnerable to the work of the real God than when he is losing a god he has served for most of his life. I have to admit too that I live in a world chock full of gods who clamor for my allegiance. But I am reminded again during congressional hearings that there is only one good God. There is only one God that instead of demanding my life from me has given his life for me. What a God we serve.

Valentine's Day and a Valuable Tip

I bought flowers last week for my wife Karen while it still counted. This week is Valentine's Day and as every man knows, anything that happens this week is a net zero game. Oh, don't get me wrong, you can really miss the boat. You can dig yourself a big hole. I know. Our first Valentine's Day of our marriage I invited my brother over for dinner and was shocked to see a candlelit dinner prepared and wondered why Karen hesitated when I pulled up another chair for Brian. Sometimes I amaze myself. But I still think Valentine's Day is a marketing marvel. It is perfect. Everyone must do something but for it to really count it needs to be completely over the top. If a wife says, "You haven't brought me flowers in ages", and the next day the husband dutifully brings flowers it really won't set off any romantic fireworks. Which is why women don't tell men exactly what to do and men complain about being completely in the dark and we are but we really should know better. Anyway, my strategy has been to beat the holiday to the punch and "surprise" Karen the week before V-Day. So far she humors me and acts very excited. I am glad that God doesn't work the way these holidays do. I am glad he doesn't make worship a net zero game. Instead it seems that every time I come to him he is excited to have me. He swings the door wide open and says,"Joe, it is great to see you. Come sit down. We have so much to talk about". I think that is what Revelation 3:20 is about when it says,"Behold I stand at the door and knock and if anyone opens the door I will come in and dine with him and he with me". So it is. This Valentine's Day I will let my bride know how much I love her and I will be reminded of how much more Jesus loves me and be thankful that with Him every day is Valentine's Day.

The Pleasure Spectrum

I have a couple of theories I have come up with over the years. One of my favorite is the theory of the Pleasure Spectrum. I have taken a lot of mission trips. One of the common observations of people that I take is how happy poor people are. I think my theory came out of a combination of those trips and C.S.Lewis' book entitled Perelandra. It is a very cool book (part 2 of a 3 part space trilogy for those of you who are interested). This is the theory... God made everyone with a very wide range of things that give pleasure. Behold a 4 year old in a bubble bath, playing with a puppy, or sitting in a box. As we get older and have more money we begin to find the things that give us just a little more pleasure than other things. We pick the cashews out of the can of mixed nuts. Pretty soon we are buying just the cashews and we avoid the mixed nuts altogether. We think in our minds that it is increasing our pleasure and so it seems but it is actually working the other way. The older I get and the more money I have the fewer things give me pleasure. I have effectively shrunk my pleasure spectrum. When I was in high school any car made me happy. I had a Volkswagen bug that had not heat or AC, no back seat, no radio, and I was happy as a clam. That car was the best. But back then any car that ran at least half the time seemed like a gift from God. My pleasure spectrum was wide open. Now I drive an Audi A-6. It is SAWEEET! But instead of creating more pleasure in my life it has made it so I can never go back to the VW. Do you see? Pretty soon there will be only a handful of cars that will give me pleasure. The same is becoming true of restaurants, vacation spots, and bath towels. This is the season of Lent. People give up things for the 40 days before Easter. People will moan and complain as they go without sugar or coffee or chocolate. But what they don't know is they are really giving themselves a gift. In 40 days their pleasure spectrum will widen ever so slightly and the world will burst with pleasure...for a time. Every year I take a couple of mission trips. There are all kinds of things I get out of the trips but one of my biggest surprises is the gift of increased pleasure when I get home. It is not the increase in intensity but in the number of things that carry with them little bursts of pleasure. So now, I take some special effort to not pick the cashews out or always have my favorite towel after a shower. I will also keep in mind that when my day is filled with inconveniences and even pain then my pleasure spectrum is opening wide and in no time there will be 1000 more things that will give me pleasure tomorrow that I missed today.

Thinking of Annie

I have some good friends whose mother passed away this weekend. Annie had alzheimers. The disease was not quick and it was not gentle. Annie was funny and compassionate and kind and very bright. Slowly she disappeared from behind her eyes. Annie also knew Jesus. I wonder sometimes what it was like for her behind her eyes when she was all but gone from her family and from this world. Her physical body seemed like the only thing still interfacing with this world. I suspect that she was somewhere inside that body and I suspect she was not alone. Jesus has always been attracted to the lonely and the outcast even when a disease has made one so. Annie's death does not make me as sad as some others. I think of Annie finally being back to being Annie only better. Her eyes bright again and animated and love once more flowing out of her. For all I know she has been that way with Jesus for years. In the book Lord of the Rings, Sam Gamgee asks Gandalf at one point when against all odds Gandalf was alive, "Will all sad things become untrue?" That is the hope of heaven in a nutshell. One day Annie and those who loved her most in this life will sit around and laugh until the tears roll down their faces at some of the things Annie did and said as she slowly slid down the hill greased with Alzheimers. And Annie will be the one laughing the longest and the hardest. Frederick Buechner writes,"All the death that has ever been when placed next to life would scarcely fill a cup". It is Jesus who makes it so and it is Jesus who has made Annie whole this day and will one day do the same to this all too mortal blogger.

The Moment of Truth

There is a new game show on called The Moment of Truth. It is brutal. The idea is that a contestant is asked very personal questions and their answers have been previously checked through a lie detector apparatus. So, on national television they sit under the brightest of lights and all their secrets are unveiled. Are you more comfortable when you are with your less attractive friends? (Nice) Have you ever hit on one of your fiance's friends?(What a scum bag) Have you ever stolen from an employer?(now unemployed) Do you think your wife is fat? (Oh, just go ahead and kill that guy now) I watched for about 10 questions and then couldn't take it any more. I don't care how much money is being offered, if someone knows the right questions to ask, it just isn't worth it. And then it hit me. That is what heaven is like. I sit in a chair and God asks me questions. Only in heaven I can't help but blurt out the truth...about everything. The Bible talks of God like he is the brightest of light. There is no hiding from Him. But, I can see it in my mind's eye, when my name is called to go and sit in the chair, Jesus speaks up and says,"I will sit in for Joe". So, Jesus sits and answers all the questions and of course his answers are absolutely great and he has nothing to hide. Do you want to know what the verse means "But God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God"? I invite you to watch 10 minutes of the show, The Moment of Truth, and you will drop to your knees and thank the one who died on a cross so you would never have to sit in that chair. Imagine the answers Jesus gives on your behalf...Have you ever loved anything more than you love God? And Jesus would look calmly and squarely at the camera and smile and say,"No, I have never loved anything more than I love God". And all the questions would be over and he would come over to you and hug you and say," I went to the cross so I could stand in for you and give that answer". Now that is a Moment of Truth.