My church in Sanford, Florida is beginning a series of classes on parenting from a Biblical perspective. The word "honor" was noted to be a foundational Biblical concept when it comes to relationships. So, of course, this got me chewing on the word in my own life. What is honor? When have I experienced it? When have I shown it to others?
I remember reading a chapter in Love Is A Decision, a book by Gary Smalley, that translates the greek word for honor in the Bible as "weighty" or "heavy." In other words, to honor your father and mother is to take them seriously, to accept their presence, words, and directions as of great value to you. This makes sense because the heaviest and most valuable of metals used in Biblical times was gold. Interestingly enough, Smalley points out that the greek word for dishonor is translated literally as "mist" or "vapor." It means that when we dishonor people we treat them as insignificant, unimportant, and as if they are of no value to us.
When leading the palbearers through graveyards on the way to the burial place for the body of one of God's children, I take great care to lead the group to walk around the gravesites, not directly over them. It is a way that we show respect for the lives each person lived, a way to honor the memory of one God took great care to create and to lead, one Jesus died and rose to save.
Jesus has honored us in a tremendous way. Jesus gave himself over to the torture and death of a cross for the forgiveness of our sins and rose from the dead to open the door to new life in him! In other words, he wanted us to experience life in him so much that he was willing to lay down his life! John records Jesus as saying,"Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Jesus honored us, treated us as valued, and desires that we find life by valuing him as our saving God above all else.
How do we honor God? Place no other priorities in front of our prayer and worship of God. When we work, strive for excellence as an act of worship, not merely to please our boss or customers. When we play, do so with all of the joy we can muster, giving thanks for God's gift of life. Relate to people and all created things as belonging to God's family. In Philippians chapter 2 Paul writes,"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus...(vs. 3-5)." Maybe it looks like paying close attention to someone when they are talking to you, facing them squarely, making good eye contact, quieting the thoughts of your mind so that you can focus on what they are saying. Maybe it looks like talking to a child on their level, instead of talking to them from above. Maybe it looks like finding small ways to show your loved ones you care.
I don't know about you, but I've got some work to do in these areas. "Gracious God, give us strength and grace to honor you above all and to honor others as you have honored us. We can't do it without the power of your Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, our savior, amen."
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Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
What Are You Training For?
So it's January, time to think about the upcoming year, maybe set some goals. One of my goals each year is to pick a race or two, a 10k run or a short triathalon. It usually takes me about 12 weeks to start training to be ready to run well. Training...hmmm...now there's a concept that applies to every area of life, including the spiritual life.
Because being "saved by grace through faith" in Jesus Christ is central to how Christians understand the process of being made whole, we sometimes shy away from the importance of training to enter more fully our new life in Jesus Christ. What we often fail to understand is that God's grace uses specific practices (yes, practice is important to life in Jesus) to continue to shape us more and more into the kind of people who love like God, practices like prayer, worship, reading the Bible, serving, receiving communion, and being together in a community. John Wesley called these "means of grace," or channels through which God has chosen to continue to pour out his saving grace.
To underscore the importance of training, let's assume you are someone whose hands have morphed into your remote control and cheeto bowl since the endless weeks of college bowl games and that you haven't run a step since Thanksgiving. Now try running 10 miles. Chances are not good a) that you will finish and b) that you will finish with positive feelings about running! Contrast this with what it might be like for you to start by running and walking a mile several times the first week. Continue by running 2 miles several times the next week and so on and so on, training your body to handle running 10 miles. The odds are good that a) you will finish and b) that you will finish feeling positive about yourself and your running.
Some of us are setting new educational goals, desiring to finish a new degree to enhance our careers. Some of us are setting relationship goals, hoping to become more loving and patient and fun to be around. Some of us are setting fitness goals, hoping to lose weight or acheive our first marathon or eat healthier. Some of us are setting the goal of growing more fully in our love relationship with Jesus Christ. All of these goals will take practice. Like a baseball player practices batting over and over and over again until his muscles memorize a compact, powerful swing that shoots the ball off the bat like it was shot out of a cannon, so we must practice new ways of being with God, of living in God if we hope to grow more loving like Jesus is loving. And remember, it's God's work in and through our practices that changes our lives!
What are you training for this new year? How about your new life in the eternal Kingdom of God? We'll be talking about this Sunday at my church in Sanford, Florida. You can also catch this video series "Why Should I Read The Bible?" or see us on facebook.
Peace of Jesus to you!
Because being "saved by grace through faith" in Jesus Christ is central to how Christians understand the process of being made whole, we sometimes shy away from the importance of training to enter more fully our new life in Jesus Christ. What we often fail to understand is that God's grace uses specific practices (yes, practice is important to life in Jesus) to continue to shape us more and more into the kind of people who love like God, practices like prayer, worship, reading the Bible, serving, receiving communion, and being together in a community. John Wesley called these "means of grace," or channels through which God has chosen to continue to pour out his saving grace.
To underscore the importance of training, let's assume you are someone whose hands have morphed into your remote control and cheeto bowl since the endless weeks of college bowl games and that you haven't run a step since Thanksgiving. Now try running 10 miles. Chances are not good a) that you will finish and b) that you will finish with positive feelings about running! Contrast this with what it might be like for you to start by running and walking a mile several times the first week. Continue by running 2 miles several times the next week and so on and so on, training your body to handle running 10 miles. The odds are good that a) you will finish and b) that you will finish feeling positive about yourself and your running.
Some of us are setting new educational goals, desiring to finish a new degree to enhance our careers. Some of us are setting relationship goals, hoping to become more loving and patient and fun to be around. Some of us are setting fitness goals, hoping to lose weight or acheive our first marathon or eat healthier. Some of us are setting the goal of growing more fully in our love relationship with Jesus Christ. All of these goals will take practice. Like a baseball player practices batting over and over and over again until his muscles memorize a compact, powerful swing that shoots the ball off the bat like it was shot out of a cannon, so we must practice new ways of being with God, of living in God if we hope to grow more loving like Jesus is loving. And remember, it's God's work in and through our practices that changes our lives!
What are you training for this new year? How about your new life in the eternal Kingdom of God? We'll be talking about this Sunday at my church in Sanford, Florida. You can also catch this video series "Why Should I Read The Bible?" or see us on facebook.
Peace of Jesus to you!
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