Knights and Dragons

I watched a news report recently about a man diagnosed with cancer. He began one of these blogs to chronicle his journey through the muck and mire of illness to slay the dragon named cancer. I realized that this man had a purpose to his life-even if he didn’t want it, he had it. His purpose was to give voice to the millions of others who have donned their armor, mounted their horses, and set off from the safety of the castle to slay their cancer dragon.

I haven’t been given this man’s purpose but I am exploring what my battle cry will be which will compel me to leave the predictable life in the castle and venture off to slay my dragon. I really want to have purpose. I really want to be working towards something. I don’t want my days to turn into nights over and over again with no goal, no vision. I want my time on this planet to be helpful, useful, and bountiful.

All that talk about knights slaying dragons brings me to the idea of stewardship. No, really it does! What are you doing with the time you have left to live? Are you preparing for battle or are you enjoying your cushy castle life? Are you taking full advantage of what you have been given? As a pastor friend of mine says, “Your time, talents, and treasure?” No one knows exactly when his/her last breath will be blown. Jesus discusses the idea of stewardship over and over again in the gospels through parables.

My favorite parable dealing with stewardship is the one in Matthew 25 with the 3 workers who are given a portion of the profits to manage while the boss is away. There is one worker, seriously, who reminds me of Homer Simpson. I can just hear him now saying when the boss returns, “Doh!” He is the guy who took his money and buried it. I think this is a good lesson to us all- don’t dig a hole in your backyard, put your money in a container, and bury it.
Homer kept his money safe in the ground, not wanting anything to happen to it. Seems pretty safe, huh? Many of us have dug a hole in our backyards, put ourselves in a container, and have been buried. That is sad. It is sad to think there are a bunch of Homer Simpsons running around in the Church. God didn’t intend on us hiding but rather investing. He wants us to live productive lives of purpose.

The weak live their whole lives under the protection of routine and comfort- buried in a castle. The strong face their dragons. Purpose gives us a reason to armor up and step out into the unknown and fight whatever attacks us, or we may be pushed off the drawbridge and have to find our purpose once on the trail. Whichever comes first- One simply needs to inhale, exhale and yell, “Raise the gate.” What is your purpose? Do you know yet? What is compelling you to leave the comfortable cushy life in your castle and step out into the adventure?

Beautiful Weeds

Yesterday morning I went for a walk along a new walking trail by my house. While I was walking, I began to worship the God of the universe who made such natural beauty! Soon, I caught myself admiring the weeds that were mixed in with the flowers. They were flowering and full of color just like the wild flowers that lined the trail.

The Spirit impressed upon me the deceit that I was admiring. Here were these flowering weeds that on the surface were pleasant to the eye and blended right in with the flowers and bushes that lined the walk. Under the ground; however, it is a very different story. Their roots are spreading and choking the roots systems of the flowers close by.

We all have weeds in our lives that try to choke the Spirit’s work. Maybe your weeds are in the form of a bad relationship, or an addiction. Maybe they look like disbelief, gossip or pride. At first our weeds can seem very beautiful—even pious. We may feel loved or like we have control in an area. We may think that we have all our ducks in a row, and it is the guy in the pew ahead of us that is the mess.

The problem is that the longer the weed stays in your life, the tighter the grip and the harder it is to break free. Pretty soon, the beautiful weeds appear to look just like the flowers in our lives and it becomes harder and harder to pry the lie from the truth.

Take some time and ask God to show you the flowers and weeds in your life then be available to let the Holy Spirit do some weeding.

Col 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the traditions of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”

I am an ecumenical Christian

Sadly, when I hear the word "christian" my eyes spontaneously roll. This poor word has lost much of it's reputation. Many people claim to be christians, but their deeds say something else. If we are defined by our words and actions, then the definition of "christian" has become meaningless.

It is to the point that I think our society has replaced the denotation of the word for the connotation. The actually meaning of the word, christian, according to merriam-webster is "one who professes the teachings of Jesus." It is a shame that the connotaion has become a good moral person who believes in a higher power.

The time has come to take back the definition of Christian and start professing Christ's teachings. It is time that believers of Christ be defined not only our words but our actions as well. Whatever vein of Christianity you belong to; whether anabaptist, catholic, orthodox, or protestant, it doesn't matter. We must start professing Christ in our words and deeds.

Furthermore, we must start loving the Church as a whole and not just our sect or denomination. After all, this is what Jesus taught, "'to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, 'love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matt. 22:37-40) I must love my Catholic neighbor, I must love my Orthodox neighbor, I must love my Anabaptist neighbor, and I must love my Protestant neighbor.

Remember the saying, "it starts in the home." We must start practicing Jesus' teachings in our home with our earthly family and in our Church with our spiritual family. The world is watching how we handle family situations and is taking notes. How do we relate to our brothers and sisters in the Faith? Can we honestly say that we love our siblings? Can a Lutheran honestly say that he loves his Quaker neighbors?

I'm not saying that we ignore our neighbors outside the Church, but suggesting that we demonstate this commandment within the global church as well. We need to encourage the various denominations and traditions who are focusing on different aspects of the Father's Love.

If we stopped arguing differences in doctrines and began focusing on meeting the needs of those around us, it could make the larger global Church mimic Christ's love for humanity. We may see a spiral effect with the Church's influence enlarging. Those who are outside Christianity may take note and surrender their lives to following Jesus' teachings and accept redemption through His sacrifice.