May 5th, 2010
Inevitably as we all grow up and grow old we will face trials and temptations that we alone cannot bear. We must lean into something or into someone. One quickly learns that the someone or something that we lean into is as crucial of a decision as we can ever make in a lifetime. God, in his incredible and indelible mercy has not left us alone in this world. Ever since he created Adam and declared that it was “not good for man to be alone” we have learned how to create community on both the microscopic, and the macroscopic level. These communities of faith and friends are all ensconced in the desire for relationship and ideally they point us towards a greater relationship with our creator God.
Coming to work this morning I stopped at a popular coffee stop to read a little bit and to imbibe on expensive coffee and enjoy the tranquility of a beautiful morning staring at Pikes Peak. I was enjoying it immensely and feeling the love of my creator all the way into the core of who I am until I was interrupted by an “evangelist” who felt the call to look me in the eye and say “you are a sinner, and God is angry, repent” and he put his big Bible on the table.
Now, he is right. I am a sinner, I need to repent and I do so quite regularly. My thoughts are not near as holy as I would love people to think and I have to bring those to the throne regularly. However, entering into my sphere of existence by telling me I am a sinner only puts my perimeter fence up so high that not even the giants in Chronicles of Narnia will be able to penetrate them, and I am a Christian and I agree with him. I cannot imagine if I disagree with him how vitriolic I would feel towards him.
When I am speaking with a person I consider it an honor to do so. They have allowed me to cross paths with them and enter into their world for a time. As I converse with them and discuss things, not necessarily even spiritual things, a transaction occurs. We each leave an indelible mark on the other. We both walk away with a little of the spiritual D.N.A. of that person in our collective memory. Sure, some of the conversations, such as the one I had with the barista this morning are just polite and full of vagary and are quick. However, the longer the conversation and the more the depth of the conversation the more exposure we have to one another. The more D.N.A. I walk away with means the more I “know” you, and I am the better for it.
The gentleman who came into “evangelize” is not leaning into his relationship capital. In fact, I daresay he is scared of people. He leans into his 4 spiritual laws, he speaks with those in mind and goes home and adds a notch to his belt when he has “converted” someone. I did not see his belt, but I imagine that there were not too many notches in it. He is leaning into the worldly notion that you scare the poop out of people, show them the good news that they are a sinner in the hands of an angry God, and then the more people you do that to, the more you will do well in God’s kingdom. I admit I am speaking in a bit of a generality about him now at this point as well, but I know him because I have been him.
The way forward out of this kind of thinking is to remember that everything God did, and God does is in love. God does not hate the sinner, God does not hate the unbeliever, God does not hide himself from those seeking truth. God reveals himself to each and every one of us in ways that are intimate and creative and that speak directly to our heart’s disposition. He knows EXACTLY what to say and when, through whom, through what and where. God uses those three coordinates (whom, what and where) at his discretion and at the perfect time. What God calls his believers to do is make themselves available for conversations. We are to live a good life, model a good life to our friends and neighbors, speak in love and act in love and be motivated by… LOVE!
So I ask you, what are you going to do? Will you be motivated by love today? Will you enter into every conversation and situation you are in today motivated by love, or will you continue to lean into fear and trepidation in your day to day life? Today I choose love, as messy as it is, as unquantifiable as it can be and still, I want it. I want more of it. Do you?
~Selah~
