"I'm hangin' in there." A common phrase that we hear pretty much everyday. When someone asks how we are doing, this is one of those go-to phrases that we call upon. It's right up there with "pretty good" and "well let me tell you half of my life story even though you didn't ask for it..." More often than not, when we say "I'm hangin' in there" we don't think much about it, it is more of a reflex than a thoughtful response. Yet, there is something to this.
If you find yourself using this phrase often, then there is likely some sort of anxiety in your life that is pressing hard upon you. Something is weighing on your heart in a way that causes an instinctive reaction when someone asks you "How's it going?"
You sports fans out there will enjoy the origin of this phrase, but it teaches us something about what is going in our lives when we turn to this phrase (It's technically an idiom...my wife was an English major...).
Pitchers prefer batters to stand at an increased distance from the plate because this makes it easier to get them out with an outside pitch. In order to persuade the batter to stand further from the plate, pitchers will throw one or more pitchers very close to the batter's body hoping that the instinctive fear of being hit by a pitch will cause the batter to stand further from the plate on the next pitch. When the batter's teammates see this happening, they will shout encouragement to the batter telling him to "hang in there". In other words, don't move away from the plate and thereby give an advantage to the pitcher.
If you are "hanging" in there, then you are likely staring down a tough situation. You are facing a pitcher whom you know is about to bring the heat, and you may feel that you are on the verge of striking out. It can feel daunting as you stare down this situation, and it leaves you feeling vulnerable and isolated.
I love this analogy because it illustrates how much we need community as believers. Just at the point when we start to give into pressures or temptations, we need someone to shout "Hang in there" to give us the reassurance and confidence we need to carry on. In our culture today, it is commonplace for us to be very individualistic about our faith and its place in our lives. We say phrases like "Christ is my savior" and "He died for my sins." We also like to say that we don't need church or a community of faith of some sort, because I have my own spirituality and/or faith.
The truth is, we do need a community of believers to be a big part of our spiritual lives. We need others to shout encouragement and offer us support, especially in those times when we are "hanging in there." If we try to "hang in there" all by ourselves, then we will probably end up hanging in a different sort of way.
When addressing the church in Colossians regarding some scathing divisions, Paul provides them with these words:
"For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you...I want your hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that you might have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge...I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ."
-Colossians 2:1-5
Paul understood the connection between strong faith and a strong community of believers who were gathered together in order to love and encourage one another in faith. Our morale, that is our attitude, and the firmness of our faith depend to a certain extent on the faith community we surround ourselves with.
It is so important for us to remember that the faith and love Christ offers to us comes to us like lightbulbs: only in packs of 2 or more. Faith is not labeled for individual sale. What good is the light of your faith shining if it doesn't illuminate someone else's life?
So the next time you ask someone how they are, and they respond with "I'm hangin' there," I encourage you to dig a little deeper, in order that you might be that light of encouragement in the life of a brother or sister in Christ. May you remind them to "hang in there," and encourage them to step closer to home, which is faith of Jesus Christ.
"Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another all the more..."
- Hebrews 10:23-25
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Duh!
In our modern age of scientific observation and extreme rationalism, it is difficult for some of us to read the Bible. The rate of illiteracy seems quite astounding at times. Of course, I'm not talking about literal illiteracy, but rather spiritual illiteracy.
When we read the Bible, many of the stories we encounter are quite profound, and contain what we would deem as a "miracle" in some form or another; someone is parting a body of water, angels are hanging out and talking with people, or a debilitating medical condition is inexplicably rectified. As we encounter a story with miraculous events such as these, our first instinct is often to try and get around them. We try to come up with some rationalization for the event, or we relegate the story exclusively to allegory.
However, there are many who do and will say that they believe that these things happened. They trust the story and have no problem believing that it occurred some 2,500 years ago. This attitude is a clever way to maintain our modern rationalist values while preserving our idea of what the Christian faith is. However, this tension between rationalism and faith will always exist, and as long as we try to maintain both of them then we really aren't fully engaged in either. We develop a "lukewarm" faith. This "lukewarm" faith leads to this statement which we probably have heard before; likely in our own minds: "I believe that God did all of those incredible things back then, but I'm not sure that God works so much like that today.
I know that there was a point in my life when I thought like this, and many around me did as well. It made a great deal of sense to me then. I also know that my best friend, my grandpa, thought this way for a time. At a Bible study about a year ago, my grandpa and the rest of the group were studying and discussing the Exodus; the journey of the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land. The basic story of this entire part of the Bible is God revealing himself to the Israelites through obvious, plain to see miracles and the Israelites persisting in doubting these miracles and the existence of this "God" guy.
This led him to ask a very simple but astute question: "How, after all of those miracles and all of these obvious acts that God did among them, could they still have doubt and fail to submit to the power of God?" And the pastor who was leading this discussion gave him one of the most brilliant answers in the history of pastoring. He looked him dead square in the eye and said "DUUUUUUUH! Open your eyes dummy! You are an Israelite doubter just the same."
Isn't this just the truth with all of us, though? God performs miracles all the time. He still does it, and yet we manage to turn a blind eye to them or try to explain them away or chalk them up as coincidences. We all need someone to look us square in the eye and shout "DUUUUUUUUH! Open your eyes, dummy!"
Miracles still happen. If we don't see them, quite frankly it is because our eyes are not open to them. Doubt does that to us. We see what we want to see, and we see only what we think we can see. Think about it, if you never looked for Waldo, would you have ever found him? I know that God still works in miraculous ways because I have seen it happen.
A smoker of over 25 years was diagnosed with a deadly lung disease. his doctor told him that he would need to see a specialist to determine his exact condition. Best case scenario: he would have about 5 years. Worst case scenario: he would have about 6 months. So he sought after God. He and many brothers and sisters prayed fervently for healing. On a Sunday soon after, a group prayed with him with their hands placed directly over his chest. He went to see the specialist. The doctor had him breathe a few times, paused and then asked him "Why are you here? You have the lungs of a 20 year old."
The lady who did my taxes last year told me that her husband had been diagnosed with cancer about a year and a half ago. It was pretty far along, and they weren't sure it was even treatable. At best he would get a little bit of extra time. Then she told me how her church had a prayer service for him, and many mobilized in prayer for God to intervene. The next visit he had a biopsy scheduled, and it came back completely clear. No cancer.
A friend whom I trust very much was driving to a bible study about an hour from his home (how many of us would drive an hour one way to get to a Bible study?). It was late at night on his way home, and he was driving on the highway when he fell asleep at the wheel. He awoke to the sound of the car scraping against the concrete median at 65 mph. He pulled over to check out all the damage, fearing the worst. Their was not a scratch on the car.
The fact is that miracles happen regardless of whether or not we see them or recognize them. God is still quite busy today. Our perception is not necessarily the reality. May God open all of our eyes so that we might see his work, and recognize the incredible things he is doing in the world, and so that we might trust in him more fully and completely. May we cut down on our "DUUUUUUH" moments of faith.
When we read the Bible, many of the stories we encounter are quite profound, and contain what we would deem as a "miracle" in some form or another; someone is parting a body of water, angels are hanging out and talking with people, or a debilitating medical condition is inexplicably rectified. As we encounter a story with miraculous events such as these, our first instinct is often to try and get around them. We try to come up with some rationalization for the event, or we relegate the story exclusively to allegory.
However, there are many who do and will say that they believe that these things happened. They trust the story and have no problem believing that it occurred some 2,500 years ago. This attitude is a clever way to maintain our modern rationalist values while preserving our idea of what the Christian faith is. However, this tension between rationalism and faith will always exist, and as long as we try to maintain both of them then we really aren't fully engaged in either. We develop a "lukewarm" faith. This "lukewarm" faith leads to this statement which we probably have heard before; likely in our own minds: "I believe that God did all of those incredible things back then, but I'm not sure that God works so much like that today.
I know that there was a point in my life when I thought like this, and many around me did as well. It made a great deal of sense to me then. I also know that my best friend, my grandpa, thought this way for a time. At a Bible study about a year ago, my grandpa and the rest of the group were studying and discussing the Exodus; the journey of the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land. The basic story of this entire part of the Bible is God revealing himself to the Israelites through obvious, plain to see miracles and the Israelites persisting in doubting these miracles and the existence of this "God" guy.
This led him to ask a very simple but astute question: "How, after all of those miracles and all of these obvious acts that God did among them, could they still have doubt and fail to submit to the power of God?" And the pastor who was leading this discussion gave him one of the most brilliant answers in the history of pastoring. He looked him dead square in the eye and said "DUUUUUUUH! Open your eyes dummy! You are an Israelite doubter just the same."
Isn't this just the truth with all of us, though? God performs miracles all the time. He still does it, and yet we manage to turn a blind eye to them or try to explain them away or chalk them up as coincidences. We all need someone to look us square in the eye and shout "DUUUUUUUUH! Open your eyes, dummy!"
Miracles still happen. If we don't see them, quite frankly it is because our eyes are not open to them. Doubt does that to us. We see what we want to see, and we see only what we think we can see. Think about it, if you never looked for Waldo, would you have ever found him? I know that God still works in miraculous ways because I have seen it happen.
A smoker of over 25 years was diagnosed with a deadly lung disease. his doctor told him that he would need to see a specialist to determine his exact condition. Best case scenario: he would have about 5 years. Worst case scenario: he would have about 6 months. So he sought after God. He and many brothers and sisters prayed fervently for healing. On a Sunday soon after, a group prayed with him with their hands placed directly over his chest. He went to see the specialist. The doctor had him breathe a few times, paused and then asked him "Why are you here? You have the lungs of a 20 year old."
The lady who did my taxes last year told me that her husband had been diagnosed with cancer about a year and a half ago. It was pretty far along, and they weren't sure it was even treatable. At best he would get a little bit of extra time. Then she told me how her church had a prayer service for him, and many mobilized in prayer for God to intervene. The next visit he had a biopsy scheduled, and it came back completely clear. No cancer.
A friend whom I trust very much was driving to a bible study about an hour from his home (how many of us would drive an hour one way to get to a Bible study?). It was late at night on his way home, and he was driving on the highway when he fell asleep at the wheel. He awoke to the sound of the car scraping against the concrete median at 65 mph. He pulled over to check out all the damage, fearing the worst. Their was not a scratch on the car.
The fact is that miracles happen regardless of whether or not we see them or recognize them. God is still quite busy today. Our perception is not necessarily the reality. May God open all of our eyes so that we might see his work, and recognize the incredible things he is doing in the world, and so that we might trust in him more fully and completely. May we cut down on our "DUUUUUUH" moments of faith.
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