So how do I explain God to my 3 year old son? A couple of nights ago, we were sitting on the couch for a final few minutes before "bedtime." (We were watching a little American Idol.) I cannot remember exactly what we were talking about, but Grant asked me "Where's God?" I began to explain to him that God is everywhere. He didn't quite grasp that concept. I explained how God is everywhere; He's even in our house. Grant, as if trying to call for God to come out of hiding said loudly, "God is in our house?" I explained more and told him that God is in our hearts, too. Grant asks, "God is in your heart?," and, "God come out of your heart?" Now I'm thinking I have him confused, causing him to think that God is ready to pop out of his body at anytime, but I think he is understanding what I mean. He then asks, "Where's Jesus?" So now, I am trying to figure out how to explain the Trinity to my 3-year-old?!? This whole adventure was one of my favorite conversations I have had with Grant. Jessica and I have been praying that one day, when he gets older and is able to understand, he will put his faith in Christ. Here, at 3 years old, are the beginnings of his upbringing in faith. That night, as I tucked him into bed, he prayed to God, repeating my words, thanking God for his family and telling God that he loved Him. I love my son, and I love God. How amazing and frightening it is as a parent to feel the responsibility for "training up your child in the way he should go." It is neat to see him start to think about God and Jesus, and begin to understand what exactly it means when we sing "Jesus loves me." But I guess we are all still figuring out what "Jesus Loves Me" means. Simple statement, but a profound truth to grasp. "Faith like a child." I am looking forward to seeing how Grant's faith will impact my own.
Last night we had a huge rain storm. Claire slept through it, but Grant woke up about 1am. He said this morning that he covered his ears while God made it rain and thunder. "Why does God make it rain?," he asked. I guess he wanted to water the plants, I tell him. Grant replied, "God make it rain in your heart, too?" Oh man, I can only imagine what is running through his head thinking about that. Does he even know where his heart is? However, Jessica and I thought about how we need the reminder to allow God to "reign" in our hearts. As we live out our faith and show God's love to our children and to others, hopefully one day Grant and Claire will come to accept God's grace as well, allowing God to truly reign in their hearts.
Perhaps tonight Grant will want to discuss predestination...
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Monday, April 10, 2006
Why is Church Often Boring?
Is church boring? (When I speak of church, I don't mean any particular church, but the "church" as a whole.) As America slides toward increased secularization and less church attendance, this is defintely an issue that must be addressed. Why do so many children raised in the church end up leaving the church, or attending once or twice a year, once they are adults? Has church become boring?
This week, many people will make their bi-yearly visit to church. Easter - a good occasion for one to go to church. And what do churches do? They try to figure out how to attract these people to come back the following week. Year after year churches try to offer engaging incentives for these Easter attenders to come back more often. But to what success?
Perhaps we should be doing more each and every week to attract and keep attenders coming, making each week Easter - from the time our kids are in the nursery to the time we bury our grandparents. Which gets us back to the title of this entry - why is church boring? For many, it has become too routine. We have habits in churches of keeping everyone comfortable. We don't like to rock the boat too much or too often. But perhaps we should. Maybe our young people leave the church because they haven't been challenged in their faith - they haven't been given opportunities to stretch and engage their faith with their world. Their faith has not been applied to their daily lives, but rather compartmentalized into an hour or so a week worth of "spirituality." We are often teaching our children to do the right thing, which often leads to a list of "don'ts", "be safe"s or "be good"s. Maybe our theology has been watered down, presenting a "church-lite" to people thirsty for something a little stronger. Or maybe we have allowed tradition to trump authenticity. Or maybe a combination of many factors.
I believe we can handle a God of love and wrath. We can handle a God of the Old Testament and New Testament. We can handle a God who may not be like the Civil Religion God of America - but we can only handle it if we are taught and believed in. If we aren't challenged to grow in our faith, to question what we believe, to step out in faith and take a risk, to explore the magnitude and glory of God, which includes both His love and wrath, His grace and judgment, then why keep going to church? After all, we can get the social life in other places.
Yes, church is often too boring. But God is far from boring. As Rich Mullins wrote "the reckless raging fury that they call the love of God" needs to be experienced more than the moral do good lessons(however those are important as well). Rather than telling our kids to "Be good," we need to tell them to "Be God's." (also a Mullins' quote) When we are His, wow - what a ride - far from boring. But it takes commitment, risk, encouragement, love, and accountability to make it happen. I hope to raise my children to take risks in their faith - to allow God to call them out and allow Him to work through them. And I hope to model that in my own life - listening to the movement of the Holy Spirit, delving into His Word, stripping myself of my American concept of God and clothing myself with the biblical description of Him - allowing my faith to permeate all areas and relationships in my life. Maybe this can be my goal this Holy Week, this Easter - to live with an urgency for God, a thirst for a hearty gulp of His spirit, not settling for the "church-lite" that we so often offer instead.
This week, many people will make their bi-yearly visit to church. Easter - a good occasion for one to go to church. And what do churches do? They try to figure out how to attract these people to come back the following week. Year after year churches try to offer engaging incentives for these Easter attenders to come back more often. But to what success?
Perhaps we should be doing more each and every week to attract and keep attenders coming, making each week Easter - from the time our kids are in the nursery to the time we bury our grandparents. Which gets us back to the title of this entry - why is church boring? For many, it has become too routine. We have habits in churches of keeping everyone comfortable. We don't like to rock the boat too much or too often. But perhaps we should. Maybe our young people leave the church because they haven't been challenged in their faith - they haven't been given opportunities to stretch and engage their faith with their world. Their faith has not been applied to their daily lives, but rather compartmentalized into an hour or so a week worth of "spirituality." We are often teaching our children to do the right thing, which often leads to a list of "don'ts", "be safe"s or "be good"s. Maybe our theology has been watered down, presenting a "church-lite" to people thirsty for something a little stronger. Or maybe we have allowed tradition to trump authenticity. Or maybe a combination of many factors.
I believe we can handle a God of love and wrath. We can handle a God of the Old Testament and New Testament. We can handle a God who may not be like the Civil Religion God of America - but we can only handle it if we are taught and believed in. If we aren't challenged to grow in our faith, to question what we believe, to step out in faith and take a risk, to explore the magnitude and glory of God, which includes both His love and wrath, His grace and judgment, then why keep going to church? After all, we can get the social life in other places.
Yes, church is often too boring. But God is far from boring. As Rich Mullins wrote "the reckless raging fury that they call the love of God" needs to be experienced more than the moral do good lessons(however those are important as well). Rather than telling our kids to "Be good," we need to tell them to "Be God's." (also a Mullins' quote) When we are His, wow - what a ride - far from boring. But it takes commitment, risk, encouragement, love, and accountability to make it happen. I hope to raise my children to take risks in their faith - to allow God to call them out and allow Him to work through them. And I hope to model that in my own life - listening to the movement of the Holy Spirit, delving into His Word, stripping myself of my American concept of God and clothing myself with the biblical description of Him - allowing my faith to permeate all areas and relationships in my life. Maybe this can be my goal this Holy Week, this Easter - to live with an urgency for God, a thirst for a hearty gulp of His spirit, not settling for the "church-lite" that we so often offer instead.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
City of God
My wife and I finished watching perhaps the most gut-wrenching movie I have ever seen, City of God. My heart breaks for the lives depicted in the movie. How someone like Lil'Ze becomes so evil is beyond my understanding. And yet, my heart breaks for Lil'Ze and others like him. As evil as he is, he is still human. The scene that brought out Lil'Ze's humanity also brought out his inhumanity as well. I could feel his awkwardness in figuring out how to ask a girl to dance. What guy hasn't had butterflies and insecurities when communicating with a girl? But then he's rejected - she's there with another guy. Now, any rational human being feels hurt by this rejection and moves on, but the hatred in Lil'Ze's heart spills out into irrational, inhumane, evil, detestable actions. Like I said, in one scene, Lil'Ze shows his humanity and inhumanity.
Benny on the otherhand, after living a life of crime, attempts to free himself from the grasp of evil. As he finds value in his relationship and love for Angelica, he begins to value all of human life more. Perhaps this is what he means when he tells Lil'Ze to get a girlfriend. He has grown tired of a life that devalues life. Through love, he has found joy. If you haven't seen the movie, I won't tell you how this ends up for Benny.
Love is absent in this city. It seems that in the City of God, faith, hope, and love have not remained. And yet, each character is in desperate need of all three. Benny's love for his girlfriend seems to be his chance for salvation from his society. But so much to overcome. I cannot imagine living in a society even close to that of City of God, and yet, millions of people live like this everyday simply based on their place of birth. How can God's love penatrate these places? How can we as the church make a difference in the lives of Rocket, Benny, and even Lil'Ze? How do we effectively spread the gospel in places like this? It seems completely insurmountable, and yet, we worship a God who does the impossible. And more than that, we have His spirit in us. That sounds much like a cliche, but it is true. For me, I need to allow God to break my heart for places like the City of God. I need to be more open to allowing God to use me to make a difference in my society as well. There are people here in Arlington trapped without hope, faith, and love. Perhaps prayer is the best place to start. But this simply can't be a thing to pray about, unless I pray for God to provide opportunity for me to act as well.
Am I glad I saw the movie - yes and no. The scenes are haunting, especially violence to children. But the movie is powerful. It is an eye-opener as to how some in our world live. The acting is superb, the way the story is told is brilliant.
(If you haven't seen the City of God, I only recommend it with the disclaimer that it is rated a very strong R for graphic violence, sexuality, and pervasive language. So if you see it, please know that it is one of the fiercest R-rated movies I have seen, but it is extremely powerful.)
Benny on the otherhand, after living a life of crime, attempts to free himself from the grasp of evil. As he finds value in his relationship and love for Angelica, he begins to value all of human life more. Perhaps this is what he means when he tells Lil'Ze to get a girlfriend. He has grown tired of a life that devalues life. Through love, he has found joy. If you haven't seen the movie, I won't tell you how this ends up for Benny.
Love is absent in this city. It seems that in the City of God, faith, hope, and love have not remained. And yet, each character is in desperate need of all three. Benny's love for his girlfriend seems to be his chance for salvation from his society. But so much to overcome. I cannot imagine living in a society even close to that of City of God, and yet, millions of people live like this everyday simply based on their place of birth. How can God's love penatrate these places? How can we as the church make a difference in the lives of Rocket, Benny, and even Lil'Ze? How do we effectively spread the gospel in places like this? It seems completely insurmountable, and yet, we worship a God who does the impossible. And more than that, we have His spirit in us. That sounds much like a cliche, but it is true. For me, I need to allow God to break my heart for places like the City of God. I need to be more open to allowing God to use me to make a difference in my society as well. There are people here in Arlington trapped without hope, faith, and love. Perhaps prayer is the best place to start. But this simply can't be a thing to pray about, unless I pray for God to provide opportunity for me to act as well.
Am I glad I saw the movie - yes and no. The scenes are haunting, especially violence to children. But the movie is powerful. It is an eye-opener as to how some in our world live. The acting is superb, the way the story is told is brilliant.
(If you haven't seen the City of God, I only recommend it with the disclaimer that it is rated a very strong R for graphic violence, sexuality, and pervasive language. So if you see it, please know that it is one of the fiercest R-rated movies I have seen, but it is extremely powerful.)
Monday, April 03, 2006
What to Do About All These Immigrants?
So we seem to be for the moment embroiled in a debate over what our immigration laws should look like and what we should do about 12 million illegal immigrants in this country. First of all, I would like to address some poor arguments I see being discussed currently.
Poor Argument #1: "It's a national security issue." I hear this one a lot, but I do not believe this is the reason for immigration reform. Politicians use this as a fear tactic to rally support. But, I remember that the terrorists that attacked us on 9/11 were here legally. They had proper identification to get into the country, so securing our borders would not have stopped 9/11.
Poor Argument #2: "Illegal immigrants do not pay taxes." In fact, many of them do. And if they are like me, they over pay their taxes (that's why I usually get a refund in April.) The immigrants working in the country do have social security, medicare, and other taxes withheld. Additionally, they pay sales taxes and gas taxes when shopping or refueling their vehicles. So enough of this "they don't pay taxes" argument. They do.
Poor Argument #3: "If all illegal immigrants left tomorrow, our economy would shut down." While this may not be a myth, I do think it is a poor argument in the debate. What is this argument implying? That employers are underpaying illegal immigrants for the jobs they do? Is that just? Shouldn't we be demanding a fair wage for all people, whether illegal or not? By using this argument, we are basically supporting the exploitation of illegal immigrants, saying it is ok for employers to under pay. That is not a good argument or moral stand to take.
Poor Argument #4: "We should not reward people who cut in front of the line." We created this problem, not the person who came here because we made it so easy for them to. Are we going to tear apart families and send them to the back of the line? Is this compassionate? Is it right to deny the rights of children born in this country by sending their parents back?
So what should we do? Let's be realistic, there is no way that our country is going to be able to round up 12 million people and throw them out of the country. Could you even imagine this happening? But there is this loud contingency that is totally opposed to any kind of amnesty - I think they are living in a fairyland, or they are only seeking political opportunity and not real answers. We need to secure our borders. We need to make sure that people come here legally yes, but we have allowed 12 million people to come here, establish homes, jobs, relationships. Our lack of enforcing the border should not be now improperly corrected by blaming our mistake on people who came here for a better life. We need to help the 12 million illegal immigrants become legal. Let's help them get on the right side of the law. Allow them, those who have been law abiding and working, to become citizens, to not be exploited by their employers anymore, to not have to live in the shadows of American life, but to come to embrace publically the country they have already embraced privately. To maintain America's acceptance of those who are seeking a better life, healthier families, and stronger educations. And then we can address our current laws, which make illegal immigration easy and legal immigration so hard. We, Americans, must correct the problem we created by being compassionate and taking responsibility for our neglect. Sending illegals back to their countries is not the answer. Embracing them as our fellow Americans is.
Poor Argument #1: "It's a national security issue." I hear this one a lot, but I do not believe this is the reason for immigration reform. Politicians use this as a fear tactic to rally support. But, I remember that the terrorists that attacked us on 9/11 were here legally. They had proper identification to get into the country, so securing our borders would not have stopped 9/11.
Poor Argument #2: "Illegal immigrants do not pay taxes." In fact, many of them do. And if they are like me, they over pay their taxes (that's why I usually get a refund in April.) The immigrants working in the country do have social security, medicare, and other taxes withheld. Additionally, they pay sales taxes and gas taxes when shopping or refueling their vehicles. So enough of this "they don't pay taxes" argument. They do.
Poor Argument #3: "If all illegal immigrants left tomorrow, our economy would shut down." While this may not be a myth, I do think it is a poor argument in the debate. What is this argument implying? That employers are underpaying illegal immigrants for the jobs they do? Is that just? Shouldn't we be demanding a fair wage for all people, whether illegal or not? By using this argument, we are basically supporting the exploitation of illegal immigrants, saying it is ok for employers to under pay. That is not a good argument or moral stand to take.
Poor Argument #4: "We should not reward people who cut in front of the line." We created this problem, not the person who came here because we made it so easy for them to. Are we going to tear apart families and send them to the back of the line? Is this compassionate? Is it right to deny the rights of children born in this country by sending their parents back?
So what should we do? Let's be realistic, there is no way that our country is going to be able to round up 12 million people and throw them out of the country. Could you even imagine this happening? But there is this loud contingency that is totally opposed to any kind of amnesty - I think they are living in a fairyland, or they are only seeking political opportunity and not real answers. We need to secure our borders. We need to make sure that people come here legally yes, but we have allowed 12 million people to come here, establish homes, jobs, relationships. Our lack of enforcing the border should not be now improperly corrected by blaming our mistake on people who came here for a better life. We need to help the 12 million illegal immigrants become legal. Let's help them get on the right side of the law. Allow them, those who have been law abiding and working, to become citizens, to not be exploited by their employers anymore, to not have to live in the shadows of American life, but to come to embrace publically the country they have already embraced privately. To maintain America's acceptance of those who are seeking a better life, healthier families, and stronger educations. And then we can address our current laws, which make illegal immigration easy and legal immigration so hard. We, Americans, must correct the problem we created by being compassionate and taking responsibility for our neglect. Sending illegals back to their countries is not the answer. Embracing them as our fellow Americans is.
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