Keep Battling

I’m sitting here on a Wednesday night watching my Washington Nationals play baseball. It’s September and every game counts in the much heated run to play in the post season. Relatively new as a baseball spectator I have spent this low scoring game yelling at the screen and criticizing the players I call my own. “Why is no one hitting?” “They just don’t want to win! They aren’t giving it their all!” I am after all looking for the showy stuff; all homeruns and double plays. As I listen to the commentators, a/k/a people who know what they’re talking about, the game takes on a whole new dimension. They explain subtleties of gamesmanship that are completely lost on me: players covering other positions to make clutch plays; a stolen base – successful because the player knew what pitch to run on; a sacrifice fly allowing the go-ahead run to score. I also see the Coach who, by the way, is not panicking or screaming, but calmly talking to his players; giving instruction, making adjustments, providing encouragement.

It is then a pattern emerges. When I look at the game we’re all in, everything seems to be going wrong. It’s chaos. But if I’m paying attention I see God there, being the Coach. He is talking to His players, encouraging us, making adjustments and substitutions, etc. And sometimes there are commentators, explaining the rule book and clueing me in to complexities I would otherwise miss.

A simplified picture to be sure. There are many more comparisons to make and I know I will continue to ruminate: about relief pitchers and closers and people who are built to be catchers or short stops. For now though, this is enough. I am reassured that God is there overseeing everything and He really does have a handle on what’s going on so I can relax. And unlike the game I watched tonight, I am confident that the winner in this crucial match has already been decided. Wherever I fall short (and I do), when I drop the ball (and I will), I’ve got a ringer named Jesus who takes up the slack. Amen to that. My job is to keep battling. When I fall down, I need to get up, dust myself off and get ready for the next play – and whenever possible, assist the other players. This is, after all, a team sport.

Moldy But Goody

I discovered something yesterday, completely by accident, if you believe in such things. Fortunately for you blog readers, I do not. I see everything through the eyes of a lesson, that’s just the way my lenses are crafted. I was sitting in my living room preparing to review this past year’s small group materials. I picked up my woven bag which was sitting next to an accordion file leaned up against my bookcase when, lo and behold, as the pile was removed I was confronted by a nasty smell and an outbreak of mold! It was a wholly unpleasant discovery for several reasons; first the smell, as I mentioned; second that everything touching the mold was soppy and ruined (not to mention utterly gross!); and finally, I knew there were limitations to my ability to thoroughly clean it up. I was immediately overwhelmed and the thought briefly crossed my mind to just leave it there -- throw a towel over it and be done. I didn’t do this of course as the consequences of that choice were far more unpleasant than putting forth whatever effort I could muster to get rid of it. And so I began, donning gloves (the fact that it was toxic and we’d all be dead soon crossing my melodramatic mind), throwing away infected articles, using a magic eraser on the thick layer of mold covering the bookcase and finally spraying Tilex on the wall and carpet hoping to kill active spores and prevent regrowth. That was what was within my power to do. But guess what, permanent damage remains in the form of a huge area of discolored carpet and a ruined bookcase. The solution to these problems: a carpet cleaner and a new piece of furniture. In other words, I need outside help. I need a professional for the rug and a group of friends to assemble the furniture and transfer belongings.

As my metaphorically-trained mind began to reflect on this scenario I saw a very timely, relevant truth forming. I have recently discovered a festering, mold covered area, within. God has removed the things leaning up against it and there it stands nakedly obvious presenting me with two choices. I can throw a rag over it, cover it back up and ignore it, or I can expose it and clean it up. While covering it up saves work now and what is a sure to be a painful excising, leaving the bacteria not dealt with will only bring about more damage, more destruction and a far more painful -- and certainly unmanageable -- predicament once the condition reveals itself for all to see (inevitable, by the way). The better choice? Open that sucker up! Expose it to the light and the air. Discard the damaged and destroyed parts, clean out as much of the “infection” as you can and allow God access to take care of the rest. Translation: EXERCISE HUMILITY! Stop doing whatever is causing the problem; confess whatever needs confessing; forgive and throw out whatever grudges or grievances have formed; and/or repair whatever relationships have been damaged – starting first with your best friend, greatest advocate and Savior. After that ask the great carpet cleaner in the sky to hose you down and kill off whatever remains. God’s healing will also, almost without exception, include the body of believers.

So there you have it: God’s lesson to me through mold.

Psalm 90:8 (NIV):  You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

 

Micah 7:8(b)-9 [or thereabouts] (The Message):  I'm down, but I'm not out.  I'm sitting in the dark right now, but God is my light.  I can take God's punishing rage.  I deserve it—I sinned.  But it's not forever. He's on my side and is going to get me out of this [!!!].  He'll turn on the lights and show me his ways.   I'll see the whole picture and how right he is.

 

Acts 26:18 (CEV):  I want you to open their eyes, so that they will turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then their sins will be forgiven, and by faith in me [Jesus] they will become part of God’s holy people.

 

1 John 1:7 (NIV):  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

[Disclaimer: This was one of my first attempts - 2006. It shows. :) More importantly, it is about as brief an overview on this topic as is possible. Still it made me smile so I thought I'd post. So there. Ok, disclamers over.]

“Love guaranteed!” “Meet someone that will take your breath away!” “Have someone catch your heart!” “Find the love of your life!” Or the less sensational – “find your next love.” I find myself constantly wading through the heap of them; overflowing my e-mail inbox, assaulting me through tv ads, flyers slid in my door or under my windshield wiper – I have even seen signs on street corners appealing to my need for it, tempting me with what could be if I simply call. The promises of love - so enticing. Could it be true? Love? Life-changing, all-consuming, soul-filling love?

All of us have an innate need to be loved. So often we place our value on how loved we feel we are. Whether we are married, single, dating, living in a cave – we all internally ask the question, am I lovable? Is there someone I can count on to always love me? Unfortunately, all too often, we find ourselves and our love lives lacking. Even those in committed relationships find themselves disillusioned. Still asking the question - what is it really - this elusive thing called love.

And so I embarked. Curious, completely unsatisfied with the definition I had received up to this point. Romance, candlelit dinners and diamonds surely cannot be the extent of it. What’s to be for those of us still single - bupkis? Gooey love songs, pledges of endless devotion made by actors in Hollywood movies. I decided to go to the source. I had to believe the God who created not only love but our unquenchable desire for it, would have something to say. What I found was so very different. Love is not a feeling. Love is an action. Love is sacrifice and commitment, faithfulness and, yes, quite often pain. Is love ever combined with that warm, fuzzy feeling? Of course it is. Countless times during my quest I have sat brimming with tears or stunned to silence at the power and presence of God’s love; soaking in it like a most luxurious bath, immersed wholly in its warmth and perfection. But is that a necessary component to experiencing love? Not by a long shot. Love is getting out of bed at 3 am to talk a friend through an anxious night. Love is someone dropping everything to come and pick you up when your car leaves you stranded. Love is risking the rejection of someone dear to share a difficult truth. Love is opening yourself up to judgment and ridicule to share the gospel or stand on God’s word. As I digested all of the ways real love is so much deeper than the presence of a feeling, I heard God’s still soft voice whisper -

Love, dear heart, is death on a cross.

1 John 3:16 (NIV) - This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.