The Grass Has Grown!

Last Wednesday night, continuing the "You Asked for It!" series, we raised some questions about the use of profanity. I ended the last post stating a few principles to take home in learning to honor God with our lips. The first one was to realize that transformation happens slowly and only over time.

After class (and in class) several students talked about being unable to control the words that come out of their mouth instinctually. The examples mentioned were moments when there was no time to consider what they said. They crush their thumb with a hammer. Someone scares the living ...uh... daylights out of them. Or they fall off a chair or down the stairs. In these moments, they told me, there is no way to avoid using profanity.

I thought about myself as students were telling me these things. Does profanity even come to my mind during these instinctual moments? While I struggle to know what verbal response I typically have, I have a hard time remembering the last time profanity crossed my mind in those moments. Other moments (like when I'm angry) bring those thoughts out for me.

"How did this happen?" I kept asking myself. I know profanity used to be the norm for me almost all the time, especially in moments when I was reacting on instinct! How could I even forget that these moments were a no-brainer when it came to moments I would certainly cuss?

My answer: Transformation.

Last Wednesday night was one of those moments when I looked at the grass (so-to-speak) and noticed that it has grown to be rather green! It seems like yesterday the grass was just seed in need of germinating. Meaning: I too thought it impossible to transform instinct. Yet, my instinct is changed!

How did the grass grow? I happened slowly...and over time. One choice here. Avoiding that word there. Exploring creative ways to express myself differently. "Gina! The monkey has caught my brain instead of the banana and turned the sucker upside down right before my eyes! Things are backwards! Yet, the kingdom grows with each choice."

It takes time to transform a mind! And there are no shortcuts! It takes intentional work. Hard work. Work that you sometimes forget about. Then you remember. Then you forget again. And then someone reminds you of how things used to be for you...on a Wednesday night!

God is in the business of transformation! And He is amazingly patient as the grass continues to grow as he designed it! Grow grass grow!

Work the Raw Materials

I regularly sit to discuss various forms of this question: "What does God want me to do with my life?" We talk through this sometimes over the course of a semester, semesters, or years. I love guiding and helping others through this time of searching; it seems to come with the territory as a campus minister. Dan Miller has been a good resource for me in these conversations for some time.

Today's post was a little longer than normal, but contained some great perspective on the raw materials called spiritual gifts. Here is an excerpt:

God’s gifts are raw materials, not finished products. Think about the most revered sacrament in the church – Holy Communion. Does God give us bread and wine? Where can you find those in nature? You can’t. God makes wheat, He doesn’t make bread. He makes grapes – not wine. But when we take the raw materials God gives us, we can add our work and give them back to him as an offering.
And I remember reading in the most popular “self-help” book available: “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” ( 2 Thes. 3:10)
This is a picture of the spiritual life for each of us. Every one of you has special gifts – singing, writing, gardening, art, computer skills, selling abilities, teaching others, encouraging others – but whatever our gift is – it’s a raw product. It has limited value until we apply the discipline necessary to make it useful to ourselves and others.
We get nothing but rough materials – life doesn’t hand us the finished product. Life may even bring us obstacles or heartache along the way. But ultimately, our lives are the bread that we prepare. Our lives are what those around us see as the result of what we’ve done with those raw materials.
So the issue is balance – is it all us, NO. Is it all God, NO. We develop the raw products of what God has given us. ...
I recently read a couple books by Franciscan priest Richard Rohr. He comments on how to joyfully surrender ourselves to God, and how to pray: "Asking for something from God does not mean talking God into it; it means an awakening of the gift within ourselves."

I really like how he encourages us to work to enhance the gifts God has given us. Instead of waiting for lunch to be plopped down right in front of us, we can enjoy the same end (lunch) with more perspective, maturity, and transformation having made it ourselves.

We are more fully alive having taken the gifts God has given us and working to make the heavenly banquet the best it can be! It would certainly be great to have "God open all the doors, creating the perfect (and clear) path" for our lives! Yet, we would jeopardize the incredibly important process that can lead to an amazing feast!

God is Faithful

The sermon last night got me to thinking. Bob encouraged us to know that God is faithful. There truly are passages throughout scripture that put this truth before us. It cannot be ignored!

The question that lingers in my mind is this: how faithful am I? If I am being transformed into the image of the invisible God, and if my character progresses towards that of God's more and more each day, how faithful am I?

Is "faithful" the word that people would use to describe the way that I am committed to my spouse? He is faithful. Would it describe the way that I raise my children? He is faithfully present with them, especially when he says he will be. Do people use "faithful" to describe how I edify the those around me? You can really count on Chris to edify others...that is just something he does. When temptation comes knocking in its various forms, can I say that I am "faithful" to stand up under it and resist temptation for the glory of our faithful God? He faithfully resists all temptation and points to God in the process. Can "faithful" encapsulate the nature of my business dealings, my taxes, my travel logs, my speedometer, and my friendships? Is "faithful" the word that is used to describe me?

This is a scary question. Most of the time, it is so because it confronts me with my unfaithfulness. I have a long way to go toward being completely faithful. So do all of us. Yet, it also encourages me toward perfect faithfulness. Because I desire to reflect God completely, I desire to be perfectly faithful. Therefore, I press on.

And you need to also! The implications of "God is faithful" abound. How are you living out God's faithfulness in your life today? What do you need to perfect in the realm of faithfulness? Be faithful as God is faithful.