Where is the Peace on Earth?

Christmas is here!  It is a time of "Peace on Earth, and Goodwill to Men", right?  So where's the peace? On a personal level, many of us are scurrying about, stressing over last minute shopping, work deadlines, meal planning, or travel plans.  Extended families are coming together, which brings it's own brand of stress.  Whose feathers will be ruffled by Aunt Ethel's outlandish remarks this year? Still others would even welcome family strife as they face a difficult and lonely Christmas without loved ones who have been taken from them by circumstances, divorce, or death.

On a national and international level, we have a deeply divided society, an acrimonious political atmosphere, and strained foreign relations.   There are parts of the world where people are fleeing for their lives or starving right where they are.   Our news feeds are filled with reports of terrorist attacks, assassinations, and threats of still more attacks.

So is this whole idea of "Peace on Earth" a Christmas fantasy like Santa Claus?  Or do we all just need to try harder to capture the holiday spirit of giving and hold on to it throughout the year?  Judging from the last 5000 years of history, relying on people to just "be better" to one another isn't going to happen.    As hard as it may be to admit, we just aren't capable of making ourselves into a Utopian society.  It's wishful thinking.

But wait!  It is precisely into the midst of this dark hopelessness that the light of Christmas shines.  The message of Christmas is that God inserted Himself into human history - to say to us "Look up!  This isn't all there is!"   He revealed Himself to us through Jesus Christ, also called "Emmanuel", which means "God With Us".    It was also through Jesus that God would make a way for us to be with Him, in spite of our hopeless imperfection.

It is for this reason, that the angels could declare that Jesus' birth meant "Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men".    I get stressed and depressed when I look only at what is right in front of me - the deadlines, the headlines, the heartache.  But when I step back and look at the big picture, and remember that this is all temporary, that it is all in God's hands, and that He has already given me a future with Him, then I can be at peace.  This is the peace that Paul described as "peace that passes all understanding".   It was certainly not logical that Paul would speak of peace when he wrote these words.  He wrote from prison, likely during the reign of Nero, which was certainly not a peaceful time, especially if you were a Christian.     The peace of Christmas isn't about an idyllic scene filled with gorgeous decor, angelic faces, and giving hearts.  It is a peace that transcends our circumstances and our news feed,  and is available to all who look to the Promise of the manger as it's source.

Has Love Won?

Jesus loved to make His point by telling stories.  He used one very short story to describe the “kingdom of heaven”:  “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.  When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (Matthew 13:44).

What if the man had decided instead that he could not part with what he already had, and was therefore unable to raise the money to purchase the field?  He would have forfeited the treasure because of his unwillingness to let go of what he already had.  

If the God’s kingdom is like a great treasure, wouldn’t we be foolish to exchange it for anything else?

They say that “Love Won” in the Supreme Court ruling on Friday.   I disagree.  True Love is still standing beside us, waiting for us to release our grip on what seems “good” to us so that He can replace it with something far better.

As parents, we view life from a better vantage point than do our children.  The child sees the bag of cookies.  The parent sees the nutritious dinner just ahead.  The child sees the drudgery of homework.  The parent sees the rewarding career in the future.  The child sees the cute doggie.  The parent sees the nervous dog ready to protect itself from harm.

Would it be love for a parent to allow their child to eat the cookies and miss the nutritious dinner?  Would it be love for a parent to excuse their child from schoolwork and thus never learn the value of hard work?  Would it be love for a parent to allow their child to walk into danger unaware?

From the child’s viewpoint, he thinks he knows what will make him happy.  The loving parent knows that there are better things available and restricts these “good” things in order to ensure the best for their child.

In much the same way, there is a Heavenly Father that has a better vantage point than we do.   Some of us have disowned Him, and refuse to even acknowledge Him.  Others of us know we are His children, but we get too caught up in what we see as “good” and don’t allow Him to replace it with what He knows is best.   We do this in a myriad of ways, and it is nothing new.    Just as our children sometimes ignore our instructions and our advice, so we ignore the guidance of our Heavenly Father. 

Just as I would not celebrate watching a child choose to “learn the hard way”, so I cannot celebrate watching those around me setting themselves up for less than God’s best.   The overwhelming emotion I have felt since Friday’s announcement can best be described as sadness.   One side fights for their “rights” at the expense of an even greater treasure.  The other side fights for righteousness at the expense of grace.  The result is dissension and division.

I firmly stand by the definition of marriage as laid out in Genesis.  I will not celebrate something that goes against God’s standard of holiness.  However, heaven forbid that I should sit in smug superiority because I understand something others don’t, or because I am pursuing something of greater value than they.  Instead, I pray that I will find a way to reach out and grab them all by the hand and carry them with me.  Only then does Love win.

Jesus as Drano?

Motherhood and home ownership have combined forces to make me an expert in clogged drain pipes. Some clogs are innocent enough…potato peelings and other bits of organic debris that get caught up in the pipes and are easily removed using your favorite chemical drain cleaner. Other clogs, such as the stray toy flushed down the toilet by a curious child, are more deliberate in nature and much more difficult to clear. (I am convinced that all prospective parents should be required to take a class in removing foreign objects from deep within the bowels of the toilet).

In his book entitled, The Holy Spirit: Activating God’s Power in Your Life, Billy Graham uses the picture of a water pipe to describe the flow of the Holy Spirit’s power into our lives. When all is as it should be between us and God, there is a constant supply of His “living water”. However, every sin, every act of self is a piece of debris piling up in the pipe restricting the flow. As it builds up, we begin to dehydrate and become spiritually dry. There is no longer anything different in our lives than before we knew Christ.

Thankfully, we have been provided with a solution to sin. We are assured that through the blood of Christ, our sins are wiped away (Isaiah 1:18) and that we need only confess our sins to Christ to be cleansed (1 John 1:9). So it occurred to me this morning during communion, while reflecting of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, that his blood acts as the drain cleaner for our spiritual “clogged pipes”. So, you might find it disrespectful, but I think God understands. I found myself during this morning’s communion sincerely thanking Jesus for being Drano for me. Thanks to him, the flow of the Holy Spirit in my life can be restored - bringing life back where there was once only dryness.

How Is My Spiritual Life Like Knitting?

I really enjoyed Ben Stein's documentary released a couple of years ago - Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Out of the entire movie, there was one 30 second clip that has stuck in my memory. One part of an interview with PZ Myers, whose words I will never forget. You can see the clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHiZjOH1NmQ I've transcribed his statement below.

"Religion...gives some people comfort, and we don't want to take it away from them. It's like knitting. People like to knit. We're not going to take their knitting needles away; we're not going to take away their churches. But what we have to do is get it to a place where religion is treated at the level it should be treated. That is, something fun that people get together and do on the weekend and really doesn't affect their life as much as it has been so far."

Every time I hear that quote, I feel torn between anger and tears. Anger that something as precious as my relationship with a living God could be considered something that should be kept to the weekend and not allowed to affect my life, and sadness at the realization that this is how many people view religion - something fun to do on the weekend, but which has no bearing on how they live the rest of the week.

What do you think God thinks of this attitude? He is the Almighty, Holy Creator of the Universe gave us the precious gift of His Son - who sacrificed Himself on the cross - to bear the penalty of our sin - so that we could live with Him forever. And we have taken that sacrifice and effectively spit on it, stomped on it, and ground it into the dust. He offers us intimacy with Him, resulting in immeasurable comfort, peace, and joy. The response to this offer? The very ones Christ died for hold His gift at arm's length. It's something fun to do on the weekend - kind of like knitting, but we wouldn't want to get carried away and let it affect our lives.

As shocking as I found Myers' statement to be, even more shocking was the realization that I came to this afternoon. I have been guilty of treating my faith exactly as he describes - as a hobby. Something to do on the weekends. True, I have always felt that my faith MUST affect my life - but only when convenient. As soon as my schedule starts to fill up with work and family responsibilities, I set my relationship with God aside for the moment to make room - as if it were of lesser importance than the other areas of my life.

I am overwhelmed with grief at the thought that I have taken this relationship offered to me by the Almighty God and carelessly tossed it on the shelf with my needlepoint, my quilting, my gardening supplies, my scrapbooking, and yes, my knitting needles - as if it were just one more hobby to be picked up and discarded at will.

God forgive me.

New Year Reflections

The year 2009 was not a particularly kind one to our family. In the past year, we or those close to us have experienced illness, death, layoffs, depression, anxiety, moves, separation from loved ones, financial crises, and more. The bottom line for 2009 was stress. The question of the year became "What next?", and near the end "How much more can we take?"

I wish I could say that I handled the trials of 2009 with faith and confidence that comes from our faith in Christ. Unfortunately, I sometimes lost sight of Him. However, I can say with complete confidence - He was always there. If there is anything positive that I can take from the year 2009, it is the complete assurance that nothing can separate me from the love of Christ.

The last year forced me to face some of my largest faults and failings, and as painful as the consequences of those failings were - I always knew that I was forgiven, and that Christ was still there - even when I couldn't forgive myself. Even in the midst of the worst trials our family has ever faced, we witnessed example after example of God's care and protection.

I wish I could see what 2010 will bring. I keep telling myself that it can't help but be a better year than 2009. However, I know that it is quite possible that we could see even more challenging times ahead than what we have just traversed. Whatever comes - whether good or bad - I am resolved that my "lifeline" for 2010 will be:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:7-9

A Cure for the "Back to Work" Blues

Check out this post from The Upper Left Coast. It will change your perspective on your job!

When You're Having A Bad Day At Work

An Unsung Hero

Ok, obviously, the NY Times article A Teacher on the Front Line as Faith and Science Clash has struck a nerve with me. What I have been most disturbed by, however, is the responses I've read to the article. In the midst of it all, there is one person of integrity and courage who is getting very mistreated in the various responses I've read.

Take the following quote from PZ Meyers in his blog, Pharyngula:

It's gotten so bad that it's not just parents and students who are
opposing good science education, it's some of the teachers
themselves. One of Campbell's fellow biology teachers is busily
inculcating students with stupidity, too.

Animals do adapt to their environments, Ms. Yancey tells
her students, but evolution alone can hardly account for
the appearance of wholly different life forms. She leaves it
up to them to draw their own conclusions. But when
pressed, she tells them, "I think God did it."
...

That that woman is a public school science teacher is an
indictment of the educational system in this country.

There were other similar sentiments in the Reader Comments attached the the NY Times article, itself, such as this one:

Hooray for David Campbell! We need more teachers like him.And
we need less teachers like Teresa Yancey, the second teacher
mentioned in the article. If the article's description of her
approach to teaching evolution is accurate, then I would
seriously question her qualifications as a "biology teacher".
— MT,
Washington, DC

Ms. Yancey, as a public school teacher who believes in a Creator God, is in a very difficult position, and I think she deserves applause for her handling of this very difficult subject and for being willing to stand against the status quo and to tell the Truth when asked. The fact that so many people around the internet are calling her an example of a bad teacher is tragic. I for one, want to stand up and yell, "Way to go, Ms. Yancey!! Keep up the good work!!" And to all the other Ms. Yancey's out there...stay strong - our children need you!