Sunday, April 15, 2012
Is Anything Sinful ?
Is anything sinful , or is everything O.K. then ? Where does it all end ? Is it really just a matter of what is wrong for you might not be for me . Do we really just all go our own way ? Is each one free to decide what is right for themselves ?
These are the kind of questions asked when a Christian comes out as pro-gay and pro-marriage equality . People worry about a world , that looks to them , like it is descending into chaos . And so they plant their feet and try so hard to not let the world slip down the proverbial " slippery slope " . They see the world as " going to hell in a hand basket " . And so they get organized and loud and cheer on political candidates that fit their sense of right and wrong .
And yet through the ages reasonable people have agreed that your right to do what you please ends when it interferes with my rights . My rights to life , liberty , and the pursuit of happiness . This is the basis for virtually all law in the free world . And is the reason that people rise up and rebel when those in positions of power use their influence to take advantage of others .
For those of us who are followers of Jesus , we see that right and wrong goes so much farther than the protection of individual rights . Jesus didn't just advocate justice for all people . He taught us that the best way to live is to be truly concerned for the welfare of others . Jesus taught us ( and modeled for us ) to think beyond self and to see things from the others perspective . He taught us that the greatest value in life is love for others . Can anyone of us truly imagine what this world would be like if this was the way all people lived ? I believe there would be no more starvation , or people dying due to a lack of clean water or adequate health care . No more abuse , families would remain intact , no more war ! People would never again be judged on a basis of their skin color , their culture , their religion , their gender or sexual orientation . I believe that we would be so much closer to the new creation that Jesus spoke of !
So then , is there anything wrong ? Is anything sinful ? Absolutely yes ! Any time that my life is not in sync with the justice , mercy , compassion and love for others that Jesus modeled for us !
Joe
These are the kind of questions asked when a Christian comes out as pro-gay and pro-marriage equality . People worry about a world , that looks to them , like it is descending into chaos . And so they plant their feet and try so hard to not let the world slip down the proverbial " slippery slope " . They see the world as " going to hell in a hand basket " . And so they get organized and loud and cheer on political candidates that fit their sense of right and wrong .
And yet through the ages reasonable people have agreed that your right to do what you please ends when it interferes with my rights . My rights to life , liberty , and the pursuit of happiness . This is the basis for virtually all law in the free world . And is the reason that people rise up and rebel when those in positions of power use their influence to take advantage of others .
For those of us who are followers of Jesus , we see that right and wrong goes so much farther than the protection of individual rights . Jesus didn't just advocate justice for all people . He taught us that the best way to live is to be truly concerned for the welfare of others . Jesus taught us ( and modeled for us ) to think beyond self and to see things from the others perspective . He taught us that the greatest value in life is love for others . Can anyone of us truly imagine what this world would be like if this was the way all people lived ? I believe there would be no more starvation , or people dying due to a lack of clean water or adequate health care . No more abuse , families would remain intact , no more war ! People would never again be judged on a basis of their skin color , their culture , their religion , their gender or sexual orientation . I believe that we would be so much closer to the new creation that Jesus spoke of !
So then , is there anything wrong ? Is anything sinful ? Absolutely yes ! Any time that my life is not in sync with the justice , mercy , compassion and love for others that Jesus modeled for us !
Joe
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Are we better than God ?
Like many of you I was brought up in a church whose theology was heavily influenced by Calvinism . In fact , we so closely aligned our selves with the teaching of John Calvin that as boys we couldn't be a part of " Boy Scouts " , instead we were " Calvinist Cadets " . Our girls couldn't be " Girl Scouts " , instead they were " Calvinettes " . Our youth groups were called " The Young Calvinists " . As a denomination we even started our own college and named it " Calvin College ". It appeared that I should be more concerned with the teachings of Calvin than Jesus !
One of the teachings of Calvin is the idea of predestination . That is the idea that God chose some people to take to heaven with Him and some people He chose to go to hell . He determined all this before the beginning of time , and we are totally incapable of doing anything to change our situation . It has nothing to do with our individual merit - we all " deserve hell " , it is simply , according to Calvin all based on God's good pleasure .
This idea always troubled me . Not so much whether I was chosen for heaven , but the idea that why didn't God choose more people ? Why didn't He choose everyone ? Why would anyone , especially God , want any person or persons to suffer for an eternity ? I mean , why would God choose to treat anyone this way considering that He gave His own Son to pay for their sins ! I can't imagine sending anyone I've ever known to an eternity of suffering . I can think of a few that I might want to suffer for a while , but not for eternity . I really don't know anyone who would choose an eternity of suffering for someone else . And so the question kept popping up in my mind - " Are we better than God ? " And then another sarcastic thought - " Maybe God should take lessons on loving people from us . "
For years these thoughts were always at the back of my mind and it was very difficult to connect the teachings of Calvin in my youth to a God who describes Himself as " Love " . Over time I explored other streams of Christianity and read through the gospels over and over again . What I discovered , thankfully , was a God who is so much better , so much more loving , and so much bigger than me ! John 3:17 summed it up for me - God didn't send Jesus to condemn us , but to bring us life ! God is not against us , you , me , or anyone else . God is for us , all of us !!!
So , do I believe that everyone will spend eternity in heaven with God ? I certainly hope so ! But , I do believe that God really did give us a free will , not just an illusion of one . Because of that freedom to choose there is one thing that I believe our all powerful God can not do - He can not make us love Him . If we make an informed decision to reject His love , He does honor our freedom of choice and gives us what we want - separation from Him - hell .
I choose life !
next post - So what now ?
One of the teachings of Calvin is the idea of predestination . That is the idea that God chose some people to take to heaven with Him and some people He chose to go to hell . He determined all this before the beginning of time , and we are totally incapable of doing anything to change our situation . It has nothing to do with our individual merit - we all " deserve hell " , it is simply , according to Calvin all based on God's good pleasure .
This idea always troubled me . Not so much whether I was chosen for heaven , but the idea that why didn't God choose more people ? Why didn't He choose everyone ? Why would anyone , especially God , want any person or persons to suffer for an eternity ? I mean , why would God choose to treat anyone this way considering that He gave His own Son to pay for their sins ! I can't imagine sending anyone I've ever known to an eternity of suffering . I can think of a few that I might want to suffer for a while , but not for eternity . I really don't know anyone who would choose an eternity of suffering for someone else . And so the question kept popping up in my mind - " Are we better than God ? " And then another sarcastic thought - " Maybe God should take lessons on loving people from us . "
For years these thoughts were always at the back of my mind and it was very difficult to connect the teachings of Calvin in my youth to a God who describes Himself as " Love " . Over time I explored other streams of Christianity and read through the gospels over and over again . What I discovered , thankfully , was a God who is so much better , so much more loving , and so much bigger than me ! John 3:17 summed it up for me - God didn't send Jesus to condemn us , but to bring us life ! God is not against us , you , me , or anyone else . God is for us , all of us !!!
So , do I believe that everyone will spend eternity in heaven with God ? I certainly hope so ! But , I do believe that God really did give us a free will , not just an illusion of one . Because of that freedom to choose there is one thing that I believe our all powerful God can not do - He can not make us love Him . If we make an informed decision to reject His love , He does honor our freedom of choice and gives us what we want - separation from Him - hell .
I choose life !
next post - So what now ?
Saturday, January 15, 2011
What this means
When I was ready to let God shape my life through the person of Jesus it soon became apparent that there would not only be a change in how I live, but also in how I think. I wasn't sure at first that I was comfortable with that! After all, how I thought in the past seemed to have served me well for quite a few years! I like things nice and neat and in their place, including people. With a quick look I could categorize people. There were the "good" people and the "bad" people. The people worth any investment of my time, and those who weren't! It seemed like such a good system. There was no need for life to get messy!
But then Jesus invited me to see people the way He sees people! As He opened my eyes and my heart I began to see what I had been missing! I found out that when we open our hearts to other people that there is an expansive nature to love! And as my heart and love expanded to more and more people I quit putting them into boxes of "worthy" and "unworthy". As I began to learn their stories, I was struck by not only the beauty of the diversity but also by the common theme! It seems as though we are all writing a story with our lives, and each one of us is searching for someone to know us and to love us, and to know and love in return! As I thought about this, I realized that God blessed us with human relationships in part to point us to Him! It is when we experience sacrificial love from another human being that we can begin to understand His love for us! When these thoughts really started to sink in, I wondered how so many of us who call ourselves "Christians" could work so hard to deny a group of people the right to marry and make a life-long commitment to another person! Do we really believe that gay marriage will destroy marriage itself? I've come to believe that there are other motives at work here. Not the least of which is keeping people in the boxes where we think they belong. As I listen to Jesus and let Him shape my life, my thoughts and my actions I can no longer deny the right to marry to these people! From now on I will align myself with the Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org).
I will do what I can to eliminate any attitude of exclusiveness in my own life , anything that might stand in the way of anyone getting to know the Jesus who loves all people !
next post - Are we better than God ?
But then Jesus invited me to see people the way He sees people! As He opened my eyes and my heart I began to see what I had been missing! I found out that when we open our hearts to other people that there is an expansive nature to love! And as my heart and love expanded to more and more people I quit putting them into boxes of "worthy" and "unworthy". As I began to learn their stories, I was struck by not only the beauty of the diversity but also by the common theme! It seems as though we are all writing a story with our lives, and each one of us is searching for someone to know us and to love us, and to know and love in return! As I thought about this, I realized that God blessed us with human relationships in part to point us to Him! It is when we experience sacrificial love from another human being that we can begin to understand His love for us! When these thoughts really started to sink in, I wondered how so many of us who call ourselves "Christians" could work so hard to deny a group of people the right to marry and make a life-long commitment to another person! Do we really believe that gay marriage will destroy marriage itself? I've come to believe that there are other motives at work here. Not the least of which is keeping people in the boxes where we think they belong. As I listen to Jesus and let Him shape my life, my thoughts and my actions I can no longer deny the right to marry to these people! From now on I will align myself with the Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org).
I will do what I can to eliminate any attitude of exclusiveness in my own life , anything that might stand in the way of anyone getting to know the Jesus who loves all people !
next post - Are we better than God ?
Friday, December 31, 2010
The Change
It's been said that it is only when you come to the end of yourself that you are finally ready to let Jesus into the door of your heart . I was definitely at the end . Joel was at the end . I came to my first conclusion about homosexuality . You are who you are , you can't change your or anyone else's sexual orientation . Nothing , including begging God , brings change to this part of who you are . For all practical purposes it is as much a part of you as your skin color or your height . Soon after that I learned something else ; no one knows what causes homosexuality . We do know that all through history that there have been individuals with a homosexual orientation . Including when Jesus walked this earth .
So , at the end of myself , I opened the door to my heart . Jesus walked in and began to teach me about love , real love , His love . It soon became apparent to me that I ( we ) had taken the most radical , inclusive message of love , grace , and acceptance and morphed it into judgement and exclusiveness . I saw so clearly that I only loved people who were just like me - those who met my criteria for being worthy of love. And because I had so neatly been keeping God in my " God-box " , He only loved those who met my criteria as well . Or as Anne Lamont put it , " You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do . " I had created God in my own image ! It was time for a radical change . As I read my Bible and listened to Jesus speak I began to make a concerted effort to find out just what He had to say about homosexuality . I read and re-read the gospels and I found out what He had to say - NOTHING ! And I knew that it wasn't that He didn't know about it - it just wasn't part of His big 10 hit list of sins ! It became very clear that to Him , it isn't about sex ! It was about relationship and truly acting out of love towards others . I believe that is why the only commandment in the Big Ten dealing with sex concerns adultery . Adultery always results in a breakdown of love and trust and destroys relationships . This is what disturbed Jesus , not whether the one you love is the same gender !
This realization was huge to me ! God does love all people ! He loves gay people , lesbian people , bisexual people , transgendered people , and even heterosexual people ! He loves them just the way they are ! He loves Joel just the way he is ! He even loves me just the way I am !
I knew that my life was about to change . Change in a scary , trust Me sort of way . At the same time I was ready for a change ! Why wouldn't I want to exchange my small self-shaped life for a much larger God-shaped life ? So , I asked Him , " what now ? " And He said , " I think you already know , love people like I love you , and be fair and just and merciful and continue to walk humbly with me . "
Micah 6:8
next post - What this Means
So , at the end of myself , I opened the door to my heart . Jesus walked in and began to teach me about love , real love , His love . It soon became apparent to me that I ( we ) had taken the most radical , inclusive message of love , grace , and acceptance and morphed it into judgement and exclusiveness . I saw so clearly that I only loved people who were just like me - those who met my criteria for being worthy of love. And because I had so neatly been keeping God in my " God-box " , He only loved those who met my criteria as well . Or as Anne Lamont put it , " You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do . " I had created God in my own image ! It was time for a radical change . As I read my Bible and listened to Jesus speak I began to make a concerted effort to find out just what He had to say about homosexuality . I read and re-read the gospels and I found out what He had to say - NOTHING ! And I knew that it wasn't that He didn't know about it - it just wasn't part of His big 10 hit list of sins ! It became very clear that to Him , it isn't about sex ! It was about relationship and truly acting out of love towards others . I believe that is why the only commandment in the Big Ten dealing with sex concerns adultery . Adultery always results in a breakdown of love and trust and destroys relationships . This is what disturbed Jesus , not whether the one you love is the same gender !
This realization was huge to me ! God does love all people ! He loves gay people , lesbian people , bisexual people , transgendered people , and even heterosexual people ! He loves them just the way they are ! He loves Joel just the way he is ! He even loves me just the way I am !
I knew that my life was about to change . Change in a scary , trust Me sort of way . At the same time I was ready for a change ! Why wouldn't I want to exchange my small self-shaped life for a much larger God-shaped life ? So , I asked Him , " what now ? " And He said , " I think you already know , love people like I love you , and be fair and just and merciful and continue to walk humbly with me . "
Micah 6:8
next post - What this Means
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Why
" A Cup of Joe " is my effort to put into words the spiritual journey that I have been on for the past 10 years . This journey has brought me into a place where I have more peace than ever before , while at the same time experiencing more tension in my life . It has brought me into a place where I've let go of some long held beliefs , become more passionate about some others , and even picked up a few new ones along the way . I feel more "alive " than I ever have ! I've always known that there are different types of love ; for example , I love coconut cream pie ( mom's recipe please ), canoeing , movies , and of course coffee ! But I also love my friends , my family , and most of all my wife , Aileen ! And then there is the God thing . I was raised in a Christian family by two of the best parents ever , but while I believed what I was taught , I don't think I ever " loved God ". I know now why I didn't ; you see , it had never been personal . Ten years ago it became personal . I had an unmistakable encounter with Him and for the first time I truly understood "God love " ! That is , I finally understood how much God loves each one of us !
My hope is that by sharing my journey , some of you may be willing to share yours as well . The journey is not over , the adventure has only begun , let us travel together ! Joe
Next post- the event that changed everything .
My hope is that by sharing my journey , some of you may be willing to share yours as well . The journey is not over , the adventure has only begun , let us travel together ! Joe
Next post- the event that changed everything .
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