12.14.19 - week 33
on being good news
i have heard it 1000 times. christians are known more for what they are against than what they are for. we are better at being negative than positive. better at picketing and complaining than making a difference. ok … so i guess that’s kinda true.
i mean, christians are the most financially generous group in the world, they volunteer the most time in the community, they actually (if you sift the data and don’t just settle for dooms day fake news) have stronger families and more consistent contribution to society in almost all measurable ways.
but we still have to admit that we can be a bit of a buzzkill.
we tend to come across as more interested in agenda than relationship. we want spiritual progress at our chosen pace. we treat people like problems to solve.
kinda like those pyramid scheme folks inviting you to parties, many people have the nagging suspicion that to a christian in their life, the relationship has faux-hidden purposes. we often make people feel like our relationships are a means to an end. and i think people kind of feel intuitively that …
people who use kindness as a means to an end, are often mean in the end. – andy stanley
do the people around me find me to be a carrier of the positivity/graciousness/hospitality/mercy/enthusiasm?
or
am i the kind of person who would have said jesus shouldn’t have wasted that miraculous lunch on that big crowd who didn’t believe in him?
am i good news?
is my responsibility to love those around me still apply even if they won’t ever believe like me?
if god calls me to water a whole bunch of people but someone else will get to see the growth, am i still willing to do my assignment?
of course the gospel is urgent and must be shared, but i have seen god do more through patient kindness than demanding deal closing. often, being good news means being willing to grow really lush thick green grass and trust god to bring those he wants to graze.
KG Korner
(a few wise words from lady kristen macdonald)
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord…” Luke 2:8-9
The Christmas story has met me in many different facets - I remember being pregnant with my firstborn over Christmas, I was due the beginning of February and the thought of riding on a donkey let alone 90 miles was enough to make my stomach churn. My second born was delivered in mid-November and so the delight of a newborn and the realities of what it must have been like to give birth in a stable were all too vivid. But this year I am flat out, blessed because of this passage and the appearing to the shepherds.
The ordinary of ordinary is who God decided he should have the angels appear to. I mean he’s God, right?! He could have gone to ANYONE! He could have had the heavenly hosts appear to the rich, those in power, to the Wise Men, to anyone he chose and yet the shepherds were his number one pick. This wasn’t plan B or C or G - this was God’s plan A. And let’s also note that it wasn’t the top shelf Shepherds that worked the day shift but rather the ones on the night shift. The beauty of the love for the ‘ordinary one’ met me. You see if he cares enough for him he must care for me and you.
This experience for these shepherds was nothing short of extraordinary. My kids and I were discussing what we would have done if we had been there - one said run away in fear, the other said fall to the ground, and I said that my jaw would have dropped and I would have tried to touch the other shepherds to see if what I was seeing was real. Even though we don’t know exactly what they did in that first moment, I am confident that they didn’t forget - it was a once in a lifetime God-moment that shaped them and showed them the Savior was here that they had all been waiting for!!!
One of my favorite things from God’s Word is that whenever an angel meets with someone to tell them something, their first words are, “Fear Not!” And I know for me and for you we need to hear those words every time we meet with Jesus. We are so prone to fear...
Of failure / of what’s coming next / of being shamed by our past / of pain / situations with loved ones / finances / health / _________________
Just because we are prone to it doesn’t mean we have to live in it. The news that was given to them was just as much for them as for you and me. There’s a Savior who came for ALL people and he wants to meet with you and give you his perfect peace, you just have to come, just like the shepherds.
Cup of Leadership
when we need people to pay our emotional bills, we are on the fast track to bankruptcy. in galatians 6, we are asked to carry for others, but promised we have to carry ourselves. the occasional moment where someone shares our cross bearing or bears a burden must be a blessing not a necessity. it’s not that people don’t want to, they just usually can’t. the most committed spouse or friend can only understand a portion of what you are experiencing / feeling, let alone to somehow in real time help you weather it.
if you need people to take care of the check or pay the emotional balance, you will find yourself endlessly unhappy. work as hard as needed towards standing on your own two feet. deal with your stuff. counselors can help, but they are at best an interest free bridge loan. pull yourself up or find yourself down. that’s tough truth, but it is the truth.
Book Review
you + i cannot have a neutral non-race view of the world. that 90’s era ‘i’m colorblind’ mentality is subtly a perpetuation of an evil system. that’s what ibram kendi wants you to believe after reading how to be an antiracist. while he takes his concept into (imho) some unhelpful directions and applications, his core diagnosis is helpful and brilliant. i can’t/won’t claim to fully understand everything he is saying, but worldview was shifted ever so slightly by this book in a tremendously helpful way. highly recommend, the first 4-5 chapters especially.
Podcasts This Week
the listenership is slowly but surely growing. would love for you to rate/review to help us along.
1. keeping it real, like really really real - part 5 of my series on 1 thessalonians. a message on what matters to jesus.
2. john hinger + i have been friends. he gives some really good insights about leading through insecurity and some wonderful parents insights … i think you will like this one.
Verse of the Week
for the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” but if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
galatians 5:14-15
Things I Liked This Week
1. my favorite winter music is this somber and lovely piano album by george winston, it’s great background that captures the bareness of winter and beauty of christmas in tandem --
2. our family loves tottenham hotspur, a team in the english premier league. one of our guys scored the goal of the year last week, i promise you wont regret watching this.
3. this article is super interesting and really bummed me out … ‘the age of instagram face’.