The look of royalty

When I was younger, I was obsessed with the stories of Sherlock Holmes, the great detective. His powers of deduction and ability to infer so much from just the smallest things always fascinated me.  I could spend hours and hours reading about his marvelous exploits.  I especially enjoyed how he was able to tell so much about people from their appearance.

He could tell a governess from the small blot of ink that her mischievous charge had splattered behind her ear, or a widow from the tiny band of paler skin on her left ring finger from where her wedding band used to lie.  He could tell a war veteran by his slight limp, or a writer from the smudge of ink on the palm of his hand.  His powers of observation and deduction were truly remarkable, and always left me fascinated and entranced, regardless of the fact that they were fictional accounts.

Ever since reading the tales of Sherlock Holmes, I have started analyzing people myself, trying to figure out what I can about them.  Usually my observance leads to more questions than answers, but every now and then I make a successful deduction.  I can, for example, generally pick a dancer out of a crowd by the way they walk, or a cook by the way they analyze ingredients before purchasing.

I wonder, then, what it is that sets us as Christians apart?  How would Sherlock Holmes, if he were analyzing us, be able to tell that we are children of the Most High God?  The Bible calls us children of God, joint heirs in His kindgom.  But we are not "royal" in the traditional sense of the word.

Instead of walking proudly, God has called us to love sacrificially.  Rather than dressing in purple and fine linen, like the kings of Biblical times did, God asks us to clothe ourselves in humility.  In lieu of being served, He has called us to serve.  This is our gift.  He has made us joint-heirs with Him, and that legacy of humility and service is our glorious inheritance in Him.  So when you look at your life, when others observe your actions in your day-to-day, ask yourself....do you have the look of royalty about you?

Ephesians 3:2-13

2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

What is love?

Growing up, I remember sometimes being so frustrated with my parents sometimes, because they weren't offering me exactly what I needed.  They wouldn't read me a story because they were too tired, or they wouldn't drive through the puddles like I asked them to because they were afraid of hydroplaning, or they made cabbage and noodles for dinner when I wanted lasagna.

It sounds silly, I know.  But that's truly how selfish I was growing up.  I had this mentality that my parents existed only to take care of me.  I didn't understand that there were other issues at stake beside my own individual preferences.  I chose to forget how much they really loved me, and focus on what they were doing (or not doing) for me.  Of course my parents love me - they love me unconditionally, and always have; but that never meant that they would always be at my personal beck and call.

So often it's so easy for Christians to look at God the same way that I looked at my parents.  We see Him as some sort of nebulous Being in the air, one whom we can talk to when we need something, but have no obligation to communicate with otherwise.  We have forgotten that God is a real live being.  He has feelings and emotions, just like us, and He wants to spend time with us.  He wants to have a relationship with us - a real relationship, a give-and-take relationship.

I can't help but notice the anguish, the raw pain in the words of the Lord in Jeremiah 2.  He is talking to Israel, who has forsaken Him, and asking them to come back to Him.  The language of that chapter invokes such powerful feelings in me.  The Lord is clearly broken-hearted.  He wants to commune with His people, but they will have none of it.  When I imagine how broken-hearted my parents would be if I refused to associate with them, I get a small idea of how crushed the Lord must have been by the actions of the Israelites.

It's easy to ignore the Lord for long periods of time.  It's easy to place Him at the bottom of the priority list, and let life get in the way of spending time with Him.  Goodness knows I've done it myself more often than I care to count.  But when you do that, remember that you are not ignoring some nebulous, faceless, emotion-less creature.  You are ignoring a God who loves you infinitesimally, and who desperately wants to spend time with you and to know you personally.  And if you don't even want to spend time with Him, if you don't even try to meet with Him every day, you have to ask yourself....do you even love Him at all??

Jeremiah 2

The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:

“This is what the Lord says: “‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown. 3 Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,’” declares the Lord.

4 Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob, all you clans of Israel. 5 This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. 6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’ 7 I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. 8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols. 9 “Therefore I bring charges against you again,” declares the Lord. “And I will bring charges against your children’s children. 10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar[a] and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this: 11 Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. 12 Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the Lord.

13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. 14 Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth? Why then has he become plunder? 15 Lions have roared; they have growled at him. They have laid waste his land; his towns are burned and deserted. 16 Also, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have cracked your skull. 17 Have you not brought this on yourselves by forsaking the Lord your God when he led you in the way? 18 Now why go to Egypt to drink water from the Nile[b]? And why go to Assyria to drink water from the Euphrates? 19 Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

20 “Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, ‘I will not serve you!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every spreading tree you lay down as a prostitute. 21 I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? 22 Although you wash yourself with soap and use an abundance of cleansing powder, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” declares the Sovereign Lord. 23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, 24 a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving— in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her. 25 Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you said, ‘It’s no use! I love foreign gods, and I must go after them.’

26 “As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the people of Israel are disgraced— they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets. 27 They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’ 28 Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns. 29 “Why do you bring charges against me? You have all rebelled against me,” declares the Lord. 30 “In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a ravenous lion.

31 “You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord: “Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to you no more’? 32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number. 33 How skilled you are at pursuing love! Even the worst of women can learn from your ways. 34 On your clothes is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this 35 you say, ‘I am innocent; he is not angry with me.’ But I will pass judgment on you because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’ 36 Why do you go about so much, changing your ways? You will be disappointed by Egypt as you were by Assyria. 37 You will also leave that place with your hands on your head, for the Lord has rejected those you trust; you will not be helped by them.

Creativity

Fall is in the air here in Atlanta these days.  I just love this time of year.  The crisp, invigorating air that wakes you up with a thrill every morning; the brightly colored leaves that filter through the air and lay in piles on the ground that are just begging to be jumped in; the jeans and scarves and hats and gloves and jackets that come from hiding in the abyss of closets and are finally able to grace the world with their presence for a few short months.  There's something about the coming of fall that just speaks to me - it speaks of life and excitement and anticipation and joy and happiness.

When I was a little kid, I would always read the passage in Luke - the one where Jesus said that if we did not praise Him, then the rocks would do it for us - with a bit of skepticism.  I would picture rocks literally singing and dancing and praising Him - a real-life version of VeggieTales, if you will.  The almost cartoonish imagery that I saw in my mind made the whole thing seem a bit far-fetched and unbelievable.  I didn't understand it, and so I just dismissed it.

But it's mornings like today that give me a better understanding of what Jesus was talking about.  Here in Atlanta, there are no rocks literally singing out praises to God.  There are no flowers dancing before the Lord.  There are no trees lining up and doing high kicks in a neat little row a lá Broadway style.  But the earth is declaring His majesty, nonetheless.  The brilliant blue sky, the peaceful neighborhood calm that surrounds me, the majestic oak trees in my back yard, the intoxicating smell of lavender and roses and honeysuckle wafting through the air....they all testify to the greatness and creativity of the Lord.  

Maybe you don't like autumn like I do.  Maybe it doesn't speak to you in the same way that it speaks to me.  But the Lord is creative in many areas, not just one.  The Lord's grandeur can be manifest in many aspects of life, not just one.  It can be seen in the latent power of waves on a beach, or the overpowering grandeur of a snow-covered mountaintop.  It can be seen in the musical laughter of a child, or in the incredible precision of a racecar.  It can be seen in passion of dance, or in the variety of food.  Whatever makes you tick, however God most speaks to your heart, make sure that you look for Him there as you go about your day.  Look for His creativity and intimate love, a love that made Him want to create such a diverse and beautiful world for us, His children.  And then don't forget to thank Him for it.  Don't let the rocks be the only ones praising Him.


Luke 19:37-40
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” 40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

A dead faith

A friend of mine is going through a very difficult time right now.  I have been trying to help him out any way I can, but he has been resisting, saying things like it's ok, he doesn't want to bother me, I already have too much on my plate, I should focus on my school and work, etc.  I know that he meant those things for my benefit.  But honestly, it kind of got to me.  It seems that attitudes like that are becoming increasingly pervasive in the Church.  Christians who say things like, "well, I'd love to help you, I really wish I could, but I've got to study for this test, or go to work, or make this meeting."  It's like we've started to think that the day-to-day banality of life has suddenly become more important than the eternal impact that we can have on the people that God puts in our paths by living out our faith in their lives.

Now, don't get me wrong, it's important to study hard or work hard at whatever responsibilities God has given you.  We can't allow laziness or poor work ethics to creep into our daily lives.  But we also have to make sure that our priorities are set.  Fifteen years from now, are you going to remember more about that exam that you made an A on, or the grieving friend you prayed with and comforted?  Is it better to be able to give a knock-out presentation at work, or to spend time with and counsel someone who needs wise and godly advice?  When you stand before the throne of the Most High God, is He going to be more pleased with you for making it to work on time, or stopping and buying that homeless person breakfast and sharing Jesus with them while they ate?

I grew up hearing that Christianity was not an act-based religion.  "Works don't save you," was the all-too-familiar commentary that I would hear preached from the pulpit, the Sunday school teacher's mouth, or even the family dinner table.  This is inarguably true - the only things that saves us is a belief in the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

But salvation is not the end of the story.  The Bible says that "faith, by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead."  Actions are the result of a genuine faith in the Lord.  It's not always easy.  It's often frightening.  I'm sure that Gideon, Abraham, or Rahab were scared to death as they amassed their army, took their son to be sacrificed, or hid enemy spies in their home.  But the point is not that they were afraid; it's that they had faith enough to act in spite of their fear.

Believing in God does not require an absence of fear.  It takes courage to act upon one's faith.  No one ever said it would be easy.  But the real question is this: if you don't act on your faith, if you don't live out the love that you say is in your heart, if you don't behave in a manner that shows that you unreservedly trust in the goodness of the Lord.....if you don't act on your faith, do you really have any faith at all??

James 2:14-27

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[e] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Wisdom 2.0

I went to a wedding this past weekend.  It was beautiful, tons of fun, and remarkably stress-free.  I loved catching up with my dear friend, the bride, and making plenty of new ones, to boot.  But there was something swimming around in my head the entire weekend.  I kept asking myself....how do you hear from God clearly enough to be willing to commit your entire life to one person?  How did this godly couple - and thousands of others just like them - become confident enough that they were following the Lord's will to say "I do"?  A marriage isn't like moving to another city for a new job, where you can always move back if you realized that you had not actually heard the Lord's voice.  A marriage is forever.

Perhaps I don't understand because I'm single.  I suppose that's a logical explanation.  But I think there's a better one.  As I was thinking and praying about this puzzle, I got an image of a piece of an outdated piece of computer software (leave it to the nerdy girl to make a spiritual analogy with computers :] ).  Our earthly knowledge and wisdom is like version 1.0 - full of bugs, glitches, and fallacies.  If we made our life choices based on wisdom 1.0, we would always be making the wrong choice.  But God has given us version 2.0 - the complete, whole, and perfect version of His godly wisdom.  He can, if we ask Him, give us an understanding of the world that we can have confidence is right, because it comes from Him.

So wisdom, true wisdom, simply comes down to having the proper source of wisdom.  If you rely on your own experiences, logic, reason, and understanding, you're bound to make enormous errors.  But if you upgrade your system, if you put away your own knowledge and rely on His, then you will have a wisdom that cannot be wrong.  Then you will have a wisdom that is "pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."  Then you will have a wisdom that gives you the confidence to move to another country, start a new job, or even commit the rest of your life to 1 person - all because you know that the Lord said that it was good, and you know that you can trust His wisdom.

James 3:13-17

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

The unknown future

These days are nostalgic days for me.  I've spent the last year of my life living in Korea, and as my time here draws to a close, I'm starting to look back on all of the things I've learned over the last 12 months.  

This morning, I was particularly thinking about the new incoming class of Fulbright teachers.  They arrived in Korea for their 2 month orientation about 2 weeks ago.  I remember how I felt when I was in their shoes a year ago.  I was nervous, apprehensive, worried, scared, overwhelmed....pretty much any negative adjective you can think of, that was me.  I put on a good show, for sure - I laughed and joked around and worked hard and did well in my classes and played lots of ping-pong in my free time.....but on the inside, I was a wreck.

I wonder if anyone else from my class was like that.  I wonder if any of the new teachers this year are like that.  I'm guessing that there are lots of people who can relate to how I felt.  I can't be the only one with fears and insecurities about facing a new, strange, and unknown future.  But, contrary to the incoming teachers, I now have the benefit of experience under my belt.  My time in Korea is no longer unknown.  It is now a treasured past, instead of a dreaded future.  

It's truly incredible, the difference that experience can make.  But I think that there is a deeper element, too.  In a few weeks I'll be embarking upon another unknown future; but this time, I'm not scared.  I'm not filled with fear and trepidation and worry like I was the last time.  You may say that's simply because this future isn't as scary as the last one.  In this future, I will be fluent in the language of the country that I'm living in, and doing something (studying) that I've done for many years in the past.  But I think that the real difference is that I have learned to trust God over the past year.  

I remember so vividly my worries about moving to Korea.  And now I can testify so poignantly about how God took care of me while I was here.  He not only helped me to survive - He caused me to flourish.  And so I think to myself....why would He do that in Korea, and not in America?  He has never failed me yet; why would He start now?  And so, this time around, I'm learning to face the unknown future with anticipation rather than fear; with excitement rather than worry.  It's still scary, to be sure.  But I've found a God who is bigger than fear.  In your life and in mine, He is big enough to take care of all of our insecurities.  What an exciting future you can have if you put it into the Lord's hands!!

Deuteronomy 1:29-33

29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”32 In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

Enough

Have you ever wondered if you can run out of love?  I've thought about that many times this week.  This is my last week in Korea.  And every day has brought yet another round of goodbyes - with my students, my co-teachers, my friends, my family, or my church.  There have been times when I've just felt...dull.  Emotionless. Like I've cried all my tears, I've given all of my love, I've said all of the goodbyes possible, and there's simply nothing left of me.

But then more love always seems to spring up from somewhere deep inside of me.  It can be triggered by many things - the tears glistening in the eyes of a sweet student, the laughter of a dear friend, the notebook given to me by a student in which she had written a different note on every single page, the group of students who only had me as a teacher for 2 weeks last year, but yet they still took the time to special order a gift for me over the internet and give it to me as a group.  Or maybe it's just a low level-student who struggles through a sentence or two in English so that she can say goodbye to me.  Whatever the cause of it, I have found myself constantly surprised this week, over and over and over again, by the fact that I still have more tears to cry, still have more gifts to hand out, still have more people to thank, still have more love to give.

It's easy to think of God like I think of myself, as an individual with a finite supply of love to give His children.  And, if His love truly is finite, then how could He ever remember ME??  So often, I feel like I have slipped through the cracks of His love.  Goodness knows, He has so many other important things to think about...how could he possibly have time to love me, too??

But God's love is NOT finite.  It is infinite.  It is perfect, complete, and never-ending.  And there is enough of His love to go around.  There is enough for everyone.  There is enough for the pregnant teenager who feels alone and afraid.  There is enough for the drug addict who can't seem to escape his addiction.  There is enough for the respectable-looking businessman who always clears the memory on his computer, so that no one will know what sorts of pictures he's been looking at.  There is enough for the nerdy computer geek who is always getting picked on at school.  There is enough for the housewife who constantly feels overworked and under-appreciated. There is enough.  It is enough.  God's love is enough for you.  Period.

Song of Solomon 8:6-7

Place me like a seal over your heart,like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death,its jealousy unyielding as the grave.It burns like blazing fire,like a mighty flame. 7 Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.If one were to giveall the wealth of one’s house for love,it would be utterly scorned.