A Perfect World?

I never thought I'd be one to say it, but I quite enjoy dystopian fiction. Well, I'm not sure enjoy is the right word, seeing that one of its main hallmarks is an exceptional amount of tragedy...but it makes me think. The recent trend of stories about a world trying to pull itself out of chaos (with disastrous results our unfortunate protagonists must then suffer and survive) speaks to the unsettling times our own world is in. There is a sense that we are precariously near something that may upend the world as we know it, and we see a variety of tenacious efforts to preserve the stability of society in the midst of rapid, unprecedented changes.

To me, dystopian stories dramatically illustrate many of the moral tensions facing our postmodern world. We must wrestle with very real and difficult questions, such as:

• How far is it acceptable go in the effort to establish and maintain peace?
• What is the responsibility of leaders towards the people they govern?
• When is it permissible to sacrifice the individual for the greater good?
• Who gets to set standards and determine what is good for others?
• What qualities are fundamentally necessary to a healthy society?
• What is worth fighting for, and what is to be resisted at all costs?
• Where is the balance between order and freedom?

The answers to questions like these seem increasingly unattainable as our world subtly grows more and more like the stuff of fiction. But maybe the stories have it right after all -- even with the best of intentions, human efforts to create a perfect world inevitably lead to horrific abuses of power and ultimately greater suffering. Attempts to control humanity end in a tragic loss of humanity. A brave few may stand up against the system, but always at tremendous cost and for seemingly little gain. And there the stories end, with the haunting question: Was it worth it?

Is there any good option for those who bemoan the world's ills? We may follow the tide of human effort in vain hopes of holding onto as much of the familiar as possible. We may shout desperately in equally vain hopes of reversing the world's self-destructive trends. We may throw up our hands in despair and hide away while everything crumbles around us. Or, as believers, we can remember that Jesus told us this would happen, and stake all our hope on the promise of His coming. Yes, it is worth it to faithfully do what's right, even though we will almost certainly lose in the world's eyes. For us, the ultimate answer will be found in the Lord's return and the perfect world only He can build!

He will wipe every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death

or mourning or crying or pain,

for the old order of things has passed away.

Revelation 22:4

2019: The Year of Imperfection

My past words to sum up each year of my life have always been positive. It seems strange to use a disappointing word like "imperfection" to describe what God has taught me in this past year of my existence, yet it is deeply fitting and strangely satisfying. This year has been paradoxically full of both difficulty and rich growth, and through it I have come to see imperfection as a truly beautiful word.

I have always been a major perfectionist. I believe in making things the very best they can be, and refuse to be satisfied with less than excellence. I want to fix things, set things in order, establish consistency and control . . . all while living in a frustratingly imperfect world. No matter what I do, life is never exactly what I wish it to be. And this year, I've had to face that fact more honestly than ever before. I've had to admit weakness and failure, let go of ideals and securities, and learn to embrace the truth that this world, with everything and everyone in it, is imperfect. For now. Perfection is coming, and above all, my desire for the Lord's return and restoration has deepened as I acknowledge the current struggles.

Embracing imperfection is painful, yet freeing. As long as I keep trying to make my world perfect by my own wisdom and effort, I will keep running into frustration and despair. And by pretending that imperfection doesn't affect me, I am only lying to myself. Illness, grief, loss, and weakness are real. I can't change that. But in shining contrast is the Lord's perfect strength and sovereignty over all imperfections I could ever encounter. The beauty of this present imperfection is that it drives us to the feet of the only Perfect One, who has promised to come again and make all things new.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

The Waters of Life

Today, I watched my brother take the step of baptism as a testimony of his faith, the public declaration Jesus called all of His followers to make. Baptism was common as a purification rite long before Jesus ordained it for believers, but it took on a special significance as a symbol of participation in His death and resurrection. Water cleanses the body as the blood of Christ cleanses the soul, and above all, water represents life. Our bodies are largely made of water, and without it, we die. A well-watered land is rich and green, but drought will turn it into a barren wasteland. Water is precious, absolutely essential for every aspect of life. And the Living Water, the Lord Himself, must come to make our desert souls flourish and blossom into beauty that is dead without Him. Not only does this means of life benefit us, but it makes us into conduits to channel the blessing of life to others. What a blessing it is indeed to be washed clean and made vessels of Living Water!

"He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said,

out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

John 7:38

Pride or Prayer

Oh, how easy it is to see the shortcomings of others! Their glaring faults are so easily identifiable, especially when we are innocent of the same sins. When a whole crowd of one's acquaintances appear to be running with the world, it can be hard to stand out . . . and rather dangerous if we're not careful. From the vantage point of what feels like a solitary journey on the highway of righteousness, we may begin to look down on those below instead of up to the heights we ourselves have yet to reach. And that is where we will trip up and land right among the very people we so smugly looked down upon.

Jesus strictly condemns a judgmental attitude, because it is nothing less than hideous pride, putting others down to elevate our own merits. If we really judged by His standards, we would see that we are no better than those we are tempted to criticize. Should we then excuse the sin we see in others, since we are all guilty? Certainly not, but the humble approach is rather to pity the sinner and desire his growth. The best way to lift up a stumbling brother is not to lecture him from the soapbox of our own shaky accomplishments, but bring him before the Father on our knees.

"It is possible to move men, through God, by prayer alone," says Hudson Taylor. If you find yourself looking down your nose at others, the first person you need to move is yourself -- and you will make no progress in humility by exerting more of your own willpower! Humble yourself in confession before God first of all, and He will give you the compassion to pray for others' growth. He has the power to convict and change hearts, and the most effective part you can play is prayer. If you speak out, pray first. If you keep silent, pray anyway. Pray always, and leave the judging to God.

2018: The Year of Faith

As I look back at my writings from 2018, it feels like this year has somehow stretched over several years of time! So many things have happened, and so many changes have taken place in and around me, but one recurring theme of the past twelve months has been the idea of faith. More than ever, I've been convicted of my lack of this virtue, inspired by the faith of others, and hopefully, grown a little in faith myself.

For someone as practical as I am, faith is an especially difficult concept. It is abstract and inherently invisible, focusing on things that do not present themselves for proof. It stands against the sensory evidence, pointing to outcomes logic alone would never expect. It cannot be produced by willpower or reason. Tellingly, children are held up in Scripture as models of faith -- they are never bothered by their ignorance, but simply put joyful confidence in those who care for them. This kind of faith does not need to know all the details. It only needs to know the Faithful One and put absolute trust in Him. Our God has proven His ability in the past, and the better acquainted we are with Him, the more our faith will grow. Our logical adult minds are filled with questions, thinking that if we can only get answers, then faith will come easy. But God Himself is ultimately the only answer that can satisfy.

...that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

1 Corinthians 2:5

Heart Monitor

I had an interesting interaction with a young fellow the other day. Upon first impression, he seemed to be a rare specimen of a polite gentleman...but it wasn't long at all before he unabashedly threw a few swear words into the otherwise perfectly normal small talk, as if he were trying to find some way to include them. And just like that, his supposed gentleman status vanished like so much mist. (Call me old-fashioned, but if you fellows really must swear, don't do it in front of a lady!) What was this oxymoron, that "ma'am" and "&#!%" could come out of the same mouth, separated by hardly more than five minutes?

"Out of the heart the mouth speaks," said Jesus, and a person's vocabulary is indeed a good indicator of who he or she truly is. Just as you can often tell where people are from by their accents, you may detect their internal culture through the content of their language. Complaining, swearing, gossip, cynicism, crudeness, etc. mark the speaker as a certain kind of person, while positive, self-controlled, uplifting, encouraging, and wholesome talk reveals a different sort of heart. Since the tongue is such a difficult thing to control (see James 3:7-8), it will sooner or later unmask us. What does your tongue say about your heart?

Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.

My brothers, this should not be!

James 3:10

Dressed Up

One day a year, there is an interesting tradition in which it is socially acceptable to go about in public wearing a different persona. For a few hours, kids (and adults) have a chance to "be" someone else, and the streets are flooded with superheroes, talking animals, ghouls, wizards, and princesses, like a hundred storybooks come to life. I'm not a particular fan of Halloween, but the opportunity to dress up makes me think -- what is it that makes this role play parade so attractive? What inspires children to don unusual outfits any day they're allowed, and adults to let out that same inner child once a year?

Children, with their lives ahead of them, believe they can be anything. They don't feel silly dancing around the living room in frilly dresses or spurring their bicycles in their cowboy boots, because in their minds, they are princesses and cowboys. They costumes they put on bring their imagination to life and make it real. As adults, our costumes change: scrubs, aprons, business casual, grease-stained coveralls. What we wear shows the world what we are and lets us live out our roles. We're old enough to know now that putting on different clothes doesn't automatically change our destiny, but maybe we miss the childhood freedom of being a firefighter one day and a woodland archer the next, as easily as rummaging through the dress-up box.

What we wear may be an expression of what is inside us, but it is just as true that what we put on actually has a peculiar way of influencing our very being. You behave differently in workout gear than you do in formal attire, even if you're not actually at the gym or a wedding. Perhaps that's why Scripture so often speaks of our spiritual lives in terms of clothing. We are decked in the garments of salvation, head to the front lines in the armor of God, and look forward to dazzling robes in glory. Above all, every believer has put on Christ. You are dressed up as Jesus every day of the year -- are you living out your role?

For all of you who were baptized into Christ

have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Galatians 3:27

Happy and Busy

I've been reminded recently to "wait happy and busy." My lifelong tendency has been to anticipate a fanciful faraway future when I will be in more optimal circumstances, more spiritually mature, more prepared, more _______. Then I will be happy, then I will accomplish my dreams, then I will be living God's plan for me, then I will have it all. But when the future arrives, it turns out to be just another ordinary today, and nothing has changed. I can never change the future, but I have an opportunity to change yesterday's future now.

C. S. Lewis said, "Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose." I add, "Don't let your happiness depend on something you have yet to gain." If you do, it will always be just beyond your reach, with whatever more you require to be fully satisfied. If you are not content now, you will not be then. Happiness is a virtue of the present.

Likewise, if you are not living God's plan for you now, why should He entrust you with a greater responsibility? His commands won't wait for the perfect situation or perfect people. Spurgeon offers wise words: "You are to consider that the position which you occupy is, all things considered, the most advantageous that you could possibly have occupied for doing the utmost that you are capable of doing for the glory of God." Wherever you are is exactly where God wants you at this moment, and your task is only to do the utmost with it.

There is always more to look forward to, all the way to eternity, but while we wait, let us resolve to be happy and busy now!

What You Expect is What You Get

Whatever is not from faith is sin.

Romans 14:23

Faith is hard work. When the external evidence points to failure and hopelessness, it's tough to pray for success and triumph. But as my Grandma says, "When you fail to ask, you fail to give God an opportunity to work." Too many times, I fail to make an opportunity for God because I think I already know what's going to happen (and not especially optimistically). I expect things to go a certain way, and even if I pray words of hope, I don't believe them in my heart. And all too often, things turn out as poorly as I expect, further reinforcing my poor expectations.

Expecting less than the best is really a demonstration of low expectations of God's ability. He is able to do great things beyond our highest imaginings, so why not dream big? Is the sorry return on our prayers just God giving us what we asked for? By asking so little, we may spare ourselves the risk of getting our hopes up, but at the same time we offend the Almighty King of the universe by judging Him incapable of better things. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all good, no matter what we may think of the circumstances. God, grant us the faith to honor You with expectation of Your greatness!

Becoming Ethiopian

My companion and I greeted our countrymen cordially, but we were secretly laughing inside, "Look at those funny Americans!" After a couple weeks of serving alongside our Ethiopian brothers and sisters, we'd almost forgotten that we were Americans too, after all. Other white people were startling now, and it felt out of place to greet someone with a mere handshake and refrain from speaking what Amharic we knew. Who were these people who didn't know how to eat injera, or even ask a child his age? An extra dose of humility was in order -- not everyone has had the lifelong advantages in culture training that I have enjoyed. All the same, I found it difficult to understand how anyone could come to serve in another country and not dive headfirst into understanding and adopting the local culture in every way possible.

One of my favorite chapters of Scripture is Acts 17, in which Paul encounters three different groups of people on his mission to preach the Gospel, strategically adjusting his approach to fit each audience. For the skeptical Thessalonians, he had many arguments to share, making connections for them between the Scriptures they knew and Jesus as the Christ. For the open-minded Bereans, he had only to guide them in the right direction, and they were equipped to seek out the truth for themselves. And for the Athenians, he took time to get acquainted with their culture, so different from his own, and presented a powerful object lesson based entirely on ideas they understood. Wherever he was, Paul habitually made whatever lifestyle changes were necessary in order to most effectively impact the hearts of his hearers.

I believe everyone should have a cross-cultural experience at least once in their lives. But it won't do you or those around you any good if you spend it keeping a safe bubble around you and compiling a list of reasons your own culture is better. Every culture is flawed, including yours. Set aside all expectations and lose yourself in the life of other people (even in your own culture, for that matter) so you can love them to the fullest and grow yourself in the process. Make it your goal to live as Jesus would live if He were Oregonian, or Texan, or Ethiopian, or Indian, or Welsh, or Mexican, or Chinese...

...I have become all things to all men,

that I might by all means save some.

1 Corinthians 9:22