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Tuesday, 27 July 2010

  • I pledge allegiance ...

    Allegiance. Devotion. Loyalty. My very life.

    These I do not pledge to any piece of fabric bearing stars, stripes, triangles, crosses or animals.

    These I do not pledge to any piece of ground marked by physical or theoretical borders.

    These I do not pledge to any political system, parliament or titular head of state.

    These I do not pledge to any mere human being, past, present or future.

    These I do not pledge to any of the above because these are no longer mine to pledge.

    I have pledged my allegiance to the King of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven - to the Sovereign who has invited all who would come to enter its borders at His invitation. I have pledged my devotion to the Redeemer who continues to redeem my life from the death-traps of my own selfishness and pride. I have pledged my loyalty to the One who has promised never to leave me or forsake me. I have pledged my life to the Savior who gave His life for me. Through His righteousness, I accept the King's invitation into His nation whose borders know no end, whose Ruler justifies on faith alone, whose citizens acknowledge no other master.

    I owe no flag these things because the flags stand for the perishable. I owe no country these things because kingdoms rise and fall. I owe no political system these things because philosophies change with the wind. I owe no human being these things because no mere human gave his physical life to save my eternal soul.

    I love my country. I respect its flag and its leaders. I am grateful for those who give their lives every day to protect the citizens of this place I currently call home.

    But my allegiance is too sacred to pledge to something as fallible, as fickle, as corruptible as a country governed by man and man's laws.

    I pledge allegiance to, and only to, the King of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Saturday, 24 July 2010

  • Town Mouse/Country Mouse

    I told someone recently, "When the town mouse and the country mouse got married, I was the baby mouse."

    Yes indeed. I like to think I got the good genes from both of them.

    The town mouse gave me a love for people. The "rat race" stinks, but the hustle and bustle ... ooh, especially around the holidays ...

    The country mouse gave me an appreciation for solitude. Plus, I'm fairly introverted anyway, so I'm not bothered by places that aren't well-populated.

    The town mouse gave me the awe of human accomplishments. Holiday light displays, a nice, towering structure. I actually got chills driving in Boston (the tunnel under the bay is like a whole interstate system to itself!!!), and marveled at how smoothly traffic runs through New York City (I saw no wrecks either time I drove through).

    The country mouse gave me the chills I get when I see God's handiwork. A sunrise over the mountain? Nothing like it (especially when I hike up a beautiful mountainside in the dark to see it). The power in a wile horse's legs, the innocence of a skittish fawn ... the absolute breathtaking beauty of a butterfly's wings.

    From the town mouse, I draw my obsession with technology. Nobody in the family is as good with a computer as I am. I've dabbled lightly in electronics, and have done minor DIY projects to my car.

    From the country mouse, I take the desire to set it all aside, every once in a while. On a trip to Alaska, my favorite part was getting dropped off by a helicopter and getting to hike lots of miles back to the rendezvous point. No cell phones, no movies, no iPod.

    The town mouse in me likes to be connected.

    The country mouse in me hates to be tethered.

    The genes from the town mouse convinced me central heating and AC are definite virtues.

    But the country mouse knows there's something even better in wrapping up to play in snow drifts, or shedding layers and jumping in the water when the temperature rises.

    Town mouse definitely wouldn't mind driving a convertible with decent gas mileage and a boatload of options.

    Country mouse would hate to part with my 4x4 Durango, just in case.

    Still, even this blending in myself will probably never convince me to drive a "Town & Country" minivan.

Friday, 16 July 2010

  • Hello, World

    Hmm ... where to start?

    I can't say I've had a burst of inspiration, but I have been reconsidering taking up the blogging mantle again, hopefully keeping in mind all the things I learned from my latest headfirst dive into the blogosphere.

    I do want to thank all of you who came over after the transition from icicle84.

    I don't know what the future holds for me on here, but if I do come back, there are some things that will probably be a little different from the "good old days."

    First of all, I'll try to manage my time better. I probably won't be on here all hours of the day, posting twice a day and pulsing a million times a minute.

    I'm going to try to keep this low-key. Recommend my blogs to anyone you want to, but I'm not going to do self-advertising anymore. I don't mind if two or two-hundred people read what I have to say, but I'm not going to go out and try to solicit rec's.

    I'll still probably post on a variety of topics, funny, serious, spiritual, political, but I'll try not to "play to my audience" like I learned to do before. My mission is not to get popular, and I won't compromise on what I believe or what I believe needs to be said, just to get more people reading this.

    Anyway, like I said, I'm still waiting for that burst of inspiration that says "you HAVE to post this," but when it comes, rest assured, it'll go up.

    Thanks to anyone who reads this, and I hope to be back around here (at least, occasionally).

Thursday, 17 September 2009

  • Beset with Weakness

    Flipping through the pages of the Bible, I often find myself in a particular few books.

    Psalms and Job are the two most frequented portions of the Old Testament, consequently two of the most thumb-worn places in my Bible. The pages of the prophets, too, sustain a decent bit of traffic.

    Most recently, however, I've landed in the epistles of the New Testament, those of Paul and of others.

    Tonight, Hebrews was the natural place to turn, as I've been meditating on many of the themes and particular implications of those themes for quite some time.

    Not having a particular place to go, my eyes automatically landed on a passage where Christ is described as our high priest.

    You're probably familiar with Chapter 4, verses 14-16, which read "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

    Less familiar, except to those who often read Hebrews (and I've rarely heard this passage discussed, probably because it's not as good a sound byte), are the first three verses of chapter 5.

    "For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people."

    It's possible to consider this a contrast between Christ and a human high priest, particularly given the statement that "he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people."

    However, taken in context, this is a comparison, rather than a contrast, and it appears that statement is merely an explanation of the earthly high priest's functions and duties, rather than a particular point of difference.

    What catches my attention is the sentence preceding, which says "He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness."

    There are two ways to interpret that, the first being in the human sense. In the human sense, of course, weakness is physical, spiritual and emotional. Weakness is also the realization that we have all sinned, and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). In that sense, the following passage certainly applies to human high priests, who are obligated to offer sacrifices for their own sins, because they're in the same situation as their people.

    However, that weakness which besets us, I think, pales in comparison to that weakness which beset Christ.

    Of course, He remained sinless, as his nature as the Son of God dictated He should, and would - therefore, even in His weakness He was stronger than any of us can hope to be.

    But the differential between His and our weaknesses is so great it's inconceivable.

    Philippians 2:6-8 help in explaining how Christ "who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

    If that's not weakness, I don't know what is. He did not descend into the snare of sin as we do. Recall Hebrews 5:15, which states Christ was "tempted as we are, yet without sin."

    But given the extraordinary magnitude of His sacrifice, it's astounding that He did not once succumb to any element of that weakness He took upon Himself up until the point of death.

    Matthew 4, which I won't recount here, tells the story of Satan's completely unsuccessful attempts to capitalize on that overwhelming weakness Christ laid on Himself.

    And it's because of all of this that I come to the center of my reflection, actually as I'm writing this.

    Christ can "deal gently with the ignorant and wayward," because he knows where we've been. He's been there, and had the opportunity to do that.

    He knows what it's like to be in the face of overwhelming temptation to do something that seems like it would taste so sweet. We're tempted to cheat on taxes, look at that picture, grumble against that co-worker, even push that speed limit a bit too far.

    Yeah, big deal.

    Christ was tempted, after having fasted for 40 days, to turn stones into bread.

    Think your weakness or addiction is something overwhelming? Trying starving nearly to the point of death, and having the opportunity to feed yourself, through means that you know aren't God's way of doing things.

    That's the weakness Christ has been through.

    From glorified, ruling heaven with His Father, to taking the form of a weak, humble human being that succumbed to things like hunger, thirst, even death.

    That's weakness.

    And that's why He can deal gently with us, the ignorant and wayward. He's been there. He doesn't condemn those who have understood His mission and accepted His forgiveness.

    He knows that we, like Paul describes in Romans 7, still struggle between pleasing the flesh and the spirit.

    But after describing the all-too-familiar struggle, Paul says, to begin Romans 8, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

    "He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness."

Thursday, 06 August 2009

  • Dear Mrs. MacKenzie

    ** The following is a ficitonal letter - an amalgamation of stories I've heard and my own experience as a Sunday School teacher **

    Dear Mrs. MacKenzie,

    I'm sorry you've had such a tough week.

    Considering that your distress came at the hands of my daughter Grace, I felt I should get in touch with you personally, and at least apologize for her.

    Grace has always been one of those children who speaks the truth without thinking about it, and for her, Sunday School is one of those places where, in her five-year-old mind, the truth should be spoken even if it can't be spoken anywhere else.

    Whether that's her going into specific medical conditions of certain of my family members or friends, or mentioning other quite private details ... you get the idea.

    Her mother and I are working with her on this, and trying to teach her that there are appropriate times to keep some things to herself, but she's the epitome of the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

    That said, I know most parents don't pick up their children from Sunday School expecting to have to confront one of those harsh-reality situations - particularly when we're four months away from even thinking about Santa Claus-related issues.

    I hope you realize that I'm not the kind of person who preps my daughter every day by saying "Now, Gracie, if anyone mentions Santa Claus, make sure you walk up to them and say 'He's not real. He's just a game mommies and daddies play with their kids.'"

    However, I do believe in telling the truth to my children, even if it means the possibility of creating some awkward "the emperor has no clothes" moments.

    I heard from the poor Sunday School teacher that my child and yours got into a verbal altercation, and that Gracie and Teddy had to sit in time-out. Now, I must admit, I chuckled a bit when I realized that her punishment had nothing to do with not paying attention or running over a classmate - and I was prepared to say her punishment was deserved.

    However, after hearing of your remarks to the teacher (that nearly put her in tears), I don't believe either child deserved a punishment at all.

    Hearing from the teacher that you stormed off with Teddy in tow, muttering that my wife and I somehow intentionally stifle our daughter's imagination riled me even a bit more than your assertion that she needs to exercise more control in her classroom.

    Gracie has quite an imagination - she plays fairies, pirates, princesses - you name it, she plays it.

    But that's the point. She plays it - she doesn't live it. She knows where fantasy ends and reality begins. She has her special toys, or a blanket, or some prop. When she picks it up, she gets lost in her little world, but when she puts it down, she knows we're back to the here and now, and her playmates go bye bye until next time.

    Believe it or not, she plays Santa Claus, too. She loves the idea of a big, happy fat guy stuffing himself down a chimney to give presents to good boys and girls. But she also knows it's not real - and knows that many people go so overboard as to introduce into their kids' reality a person that doesn't exist.

    I won't forget when I first told her about Santa Claus, two years ago. Her blue eyes went wide and she said "Daddy, why do mommies and daddies do that? Why do they lie to us kids?"

    I didn't have an answer.

    And after incidents like this, I can't help but continue to question the practice of convincing a child that this amalgamation of history and imagination exists - in reality, in the flesh.

    Days like Sunday just reinforce in my mind that the way Santa Claus is "played" today is completely overboard and serves more to create and invite confrontation than it does to foster imagination.

    Some children, faced with the hard truth, simply refuse to believe it, as I'm told Teddy initially did Sunday. He outright denied the truth because he had been convinced by someone he trusted that the truth was, in fact, a lie.

    Now, I'm not here to criticize your parenting style - I'm a big fan of Teddy, and I think he'll grow into a wonderful young man.

    But though I can apologize for the hurt feelings, I can't apologize for my daughter's actions. She saw someone believing a blatant lie over the truth, and she tried to fix it.

    I know Gracie meant no harm to you, and she only wanted to help Teddy realize what she already knew. Santa Claus is a fun thing to play, but he just isn't real.

    I appreciate your taking the time to read this, and I hope Teddy's emotional scars won't last long.

    Signed: Grace's dad

    P.S. - I promise to have a long talk tonight with Grace about not exposing the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.

merely_a_christian

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