The fabric of humanity

As life will an inevitably do from time-to-time, I found myself completely overwhelmed.  I was emotionally wrecked do to the intensity of this program, my computer, which I use as much as my Bible, was on its way out, and our car was on the fritz. The perfect storm had converged over my reality, creating a feeling of frustration and hopelessness.   As I tried to keep my world from crumbling, I felt totally outmatched.  I was fighting so hard to maintain control but finding myself unable to even put one foot in front of the other.  Then God intervened through a thought: you need to ask for help.  My pride flared up, but I knew I had no other choice.  I called my family for prayer and made my technological troubles known to a few members of our community.  Within two days, I was emotionally stable, had money for a new computer and the expertise of an auto mechanic, who fixed our car for $20.

Through this experience, I have begun to understand the importance of community.  Paul referred to it as the "body of Christ...from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love" (Eph 4.16).  I realized two important lessons: 1) we are all created to live interdependent on others.  It is how we are designed because it is who God is (Father, Son, Spirit). 2) helping others is not just a matter of giving them money.  Our responsibility to the "body of Christ" is not fulfilled through our tithes.  Rather, promoting "the body's growth" requires each of us to live out our individual talents, while being intimately aware of the rest of the body.  In other words, it is a matter of using our natural gifts and abilities to help others.  But in order to help others, we must know what they need, which requires moving beyond superficial conversations, being willing to be vunerable, and realizing the need to not be self-sufficient. 

Through simply being willing to ask for help and others doing what they are naturally good at, my entire reality went from terrible to good in a matter of days. Today, right now, - in what ways do you need help from others? Do you know what those around you need? How can you use what God has gifted you with to enrich the lives of those around you?

The dominoe effect of decisions

Every day we are given the same basic choice.  Do I trust God or do I trust…emotions, others, my own logic, media, my pride…. The type of fulfillment we seek changes (security, approval, emotional, etc.) but the choice of a provider doesn’t.  In Hosea, Israel is displayed as an unfaithful wife, whoring after other lovers because she thinks they give her what she needs (food, money, protection, nice things).  God is portrayed as a jealous husband longing desperately for his bride to realize that he is the true fulfiller of her needs.  In order to teach her this lesson, he is willing to “strip her naked” (2.3), removing all the things she thought fulfilled her, and “uncover her shame in the sight of her lovers” (2.10).  Essentially, God removes his goodness from Israel and lets them depend on the idols they so frantically sought.  The result is destruction and complete exile for 10 of Israel’s tribes.

Fast forward 2700 years… Due to the unchanging character of God (Heb 13.8), we can assume that he operates towards his people in the same way today.  I think of my past moments of desperation; the times when my entire world seemed to drop out from under me.  Days and weeks of realizing that I was in no way thriving but simply getting by.  Through the lens of Hosea, I can now see that it was a byproduct of my idols coming up short.  Because of his deep love for me, God allowed me to experience the true power of my idols; he allowed my trust in things other than him to play itself out.  Essentially, God allows us to experience the natural consequences of our infidelity.

But fortunately for us, and Israel, God doesn’t stop there.  Hosea 2.14-23 shows God “alluring” his bride and “speaking tenderly to her.”  He gives her back everything that was taken, restores her integrity and takes her as his “wife in righteousness, justice, steadfast love and mercy forever.”  To use the Hosean illustration, God picks us up out of the gutter, covering our nakedness.  He brings us from the back alley into his bedchamber. He assures us of our self-worth and beauty.  He heals our wounds and provides for our needs.  Why? Because his “heart recoils within him” at the sight of our desolation, and “his compassion grows warm and tender” (11.8).  There are few things more beautiful than that.

Challenge: Reflect upon the decisions that you make and ask yourself, "Does this demostrate a trust in God or in something else?" It is one or the other.

The playground of life

It seems that living life well consists of, among many other things, finding a healthy balance between living for the moment and being able to keep the past and future in view.  When a person tends towards one end of the spectrum, the teeter totter of perspective starts to slip towards an unbalanced approach to living.  In Amos, the Israelites’ teeter totter had completely shifted to the moment due to the weight of the wealth they were experiencing.  Even in the midst of warnings of eminent and total destruction, they continued with their rosy-colored optimism, oppressing the poor for the sake of their own personal gain.  A glance at 2 Kings 17 shows the devastating outcome, a mere 40 years later, of their unwillingness to see past their prosperity and live in accordance with God’s instructions. 

In their story, it is easy to see parallels with modern-day America.  Doomsday scenarios aside, however, the lesson, on a more personal note, to be learned is to adhere to godly principles rather than the emotions or logistics of whatever circumstance happens to be confronting us.  Instead of riding the highs and disparaging the lows, embrace the moment for either the lessons to be learned or the countless things to be thankful for while keeping the teeter totter balanced with a knowledge of who God is and what he is asking of you.  If you have trouble remembering what you were created to do, refresh your memory with Deuteronomy 6.4,5 and Matthew 22.36-40. When it comes down to it, it really is as simple as love. One last thought, the beauty of a teeter totter is that it is able to be readjusted at any moment; it is just a matter of shifting your perspective.