It's been a busy morning, which is why I'm just now working on my daily devotional. So much for timeliness. Let's just say, ministry sometimes is done on the fly. On the way to one thing, something else comes up. I'm not complaining. I've come to expect it. It makes life interesting and ministry rewarding. But for those of you who were expecting a daily devotional, I'm sorry. There is a new link on this page for a daily devotional if for some reason I miss a day (which I don't expect to do, but I may be later on some days.)
Last evening nearly 40 persons from our church family gathered at Star Plaza Theater with hundreds of other Christians for a great concert by Third Day and the David Crowder Band. What an incredible night of worship. Third Day has created some of the most powerful modern hymns and worship songs of the past decade, and David Crowder's music has captured the heart of today's contemporary worship in his moving songs directed from our heart to the very heart of God. We listened, we clapped, we sang, we worshiped, we prayed in an incredible worship service that lasted nearly 3 hours.
Our hearts were stirred by these words of praise, especially this song. I love to worship, especially with contemporary music. I find it engaging. But regardless of the type of worship music that moves your heart, there is one element that remains constant, what we bring to it. The music can be the best, the words inspiring, the setting perfect, but if we don't bring a willing heart, an opened mind, a readiness to meet with God, we won't really worship.
I look forward to tomorrow. I always anticipate great things from Sunday's worship. Not because of the fun things planned or the message I get to give, but for the knowledge that God shows up to those who are prepared to see Him. How incredible is that?
And it's not that God waits for Sundays (or the Sabbath), but God is waiting for any opportunity to reach out to our waiting souls, through out every day and every week.
That's also why we worship together. One person's readiness may encourage anothers. One persons story or interaction may be the catalyst for another. A prayer, a song that's sung or played may just create the right circumstance for someone to meet God. Our interaction and our partnership is critical in this endeavor and others in the life of the church.
Paul told the Corinthians that, "you’re shoulder to shoulder with them all the way, your surplus matching their deficit, their surplus matching your deficit. In the end you come out even. As it is written, 'Nothing left over to the one with the most, Nothing lacking to the one with the least.'" (2 Corinthians 8:13-15, The Message) He wasn't talking specifically about worship but about the life we share together as a Church. Everyone has a place and a part and when we each fulfill our role in the church, all of us benefit more completely.
Together we make a pretty good family. And when we bring our whole selves to worship, God's presence in us can help others experience God, too. Our job is to look out for our neighbor, our friends, our church family because together, we're better; we're more complete.
Bring yourself and see what God does in you, and in those around you.
See you in worship!
Peace ><>
PC
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Friday, February 24, 2006
I Got Your Back!
It comes every year in the United Methodist Church. Each February through the spring is a special season that brings much anxiety to churches, communities and pastors and it's not fasting or eating fish on Fridays during Lent. Rather it is appointment season. This is a time when the Bishop and Cabinet prayerfully consider how to place pastors in the churches that need them because of retirements, medical leaves, other opportunities, personal crises, etc.
And the North Indiana United Methodist rumor mill begins.
Pastors and congregations alike begin speculating who's moving, who's staying, who's coming, who's going. I hear it every year. And I'm asked every year by colleagues and parishoners if I'm going or staying. I hear about opportunities and the domino effect they create. And by the time the appointment season is over (around the first of June at our Annual Conference) most of us have been affected by the rumors, that may or may not have included us.
It's not healthy. Rumoring never is. Rumors are gossip in disquise. It's supposed to be about passing along "important need-to-know" information, but it's not really. It's gossip and even if there is an ounce of truth in it, it's still misinformation and it shouldn't be passed around.
Moses instructed the Israelites, "Don't pass on malicious gossip."(Exodus 23:1, The Message) Read that carefully. In that time, God was attempting to establish a community of trust where there wasn't one. They hadn't much of a sense of community at all. Their commonaliies were their heritage, Jacob's family or Israel as God renamed him, and their vocation, slaves. Beyond that they weren't much of a community. A way to develop a sense of community was to develop trust. And gossip destroys it.
The same holds true today. The church is to be about strengthening and developing a community of trust, where instead of talking behind someones back we have each other's back.
"A gadabout gossip can't be trusted with a secret, but someone of integrity won't violate a confidence." (Proverbs 11:13, The Message) If we truly love God and seek to live God's way, then our job is to hold each other up, stop gossip in it's tracks and develop a community of trust that makes us and God proud.
It's what the world is seeking, a bit of heaven on earth.
I got your back!
Peace ><>
PC
And the North Indiana United Methodist rumor mill begins.
Pastors and congregations alike begin speculating who's moving, who's staying, who's coming, who's going. I hear it every year. And I'm asked every year by colleagues and parishoners if I'm going or staying. I hear about opportunities and the domino effect they create. And by the time the appointment season is over (around the first of June at our Annual Conference) most of us have been affected by the rumors, that may or may not have included us.
It's not healthy. Rumoring never is. Rumors are gossip in disquise. It's supposed to be about passing along "important need-to-know" information, but it's not really. It's gossip and even if there is an ounce of truth in it, it's still misinformation and it shouldn't be passed around.
Moses instructed the Israelites, "Don't pass on malicious gossip."(Exodus 23:1, The Message) Read that carefully. In that time, God was attempting to establish a community of trust where there wasn't one. They hadn't much of a sense of community at all. Their commonaliies were their heritage, Jacob's family or Israel as God renamed him, and their vocation, slaves. Beyond that they weren't much of a community. A way to develop a sense of community was to develop trust. And gossip destroys it.
The same holds true today. The church is to be about strengthening and developing a community of trust, where instead of talking behind someones back we have each other's back.
"A gadabout gossip can't be trusted with a secret, but someone of integrity won't violate a confidence." (Proverbs 11:13, The Message) If we truly love God and seek to live God's way, then our job is to hold each other up, stop gossip in it's tracks and develop a community of trust that makes us and God proud.
It's what the world is seeking, a bit of heaven on earth.
I got your back!
Peace ><>
PC
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Everything but the seeds...
I have a friend who loves apples. Now that may not sound impressive because many of us love apples; nice, fresh, crisp apples especially in the fall when they are in season. They say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so they must be good for us. I love them, too. But when my friend eats an apple, the whole thing is consumed. I mean except for the stem and the seeds, the rest is history. I have never seen anyone else eat an apple so completely.
It makes sense to me to eat an apple the way normal people do. My Grandpa always used his pocket knife to cut slivers from an apple, stab it and eat it; one after another until the flesh was gone (not from his fingers, but the apple.). Grandma used to carefully create a long ribbon of apple peel with a paring knife before coring and quartering for us to eat. And most simply shine the apple on their shirt before crunching into the sweet flesh.
Yet all of these ways of eating apples are different from my friend because they stop at the core. It's firmer than the rest. It has less flavor than the flesh. Its texture is different. It has seeds. But does it have any less nutrition? I'm not sure about that.
Okay, so I'm not saying that of all people I know, my one friend is the only one who has it right when it comes to eating apples, but it does make me think, isn't that the way it is for most of us when it comes to almost anything, we'll take the sweet part and throw out the rest. We'll consume that which is the easiest and when it gets to the harder parts, we pass. I eat broccoli like that. I'll take the tops and leave the stems everytime. But maybe I shouldn't.
The Christian faith is like an apple. There is a peel like doctrine on the promises of God that protects the softer, sweeter flesh of fellowship, place, acceptance, forgiveness, grace, gifts, methodist pot-lucks, all the benefits of being a part of the Kingdom of God. This is the part we all love to consume. It's the best part...maybe.
The core is important, too. In the Christian faith the hard, center core is pure love; unconditional, unselfish, uncontaminated. Yet so many times when it comes to this kind of love, we'll throw it out as too difficult. We'll take the easier, sweeter parts of Christianity but we'll leave the core to someone else, those strange people who can withstand the effort and sacrifice to love that completely. Maybe we need to look at the core again.
Paul wrote to his partner and missionary pastor, Timothy, that "The whole point of what we're urging is simply love - love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God. Those who fail to keep to this point soon wander off into cul-de-sacs of gossip." (1 Timothy 1:5, The Message) His message was simple. Love is supposed to be at the center of a Christian's being, but if it is not at the center what we do, or how we act, then we fail, "wandering off" in countless ways.
We need to go back to the core. It may be difficult and not as sweet as the rest, but it holds the faith all together, it holds us together. We can't throw it out, ever. It's what brought God's favor to us. It's what will give honor back to God.
Love is the core.
So...
Love from the core.
Peace ><>
PC
It makes sense to me to eat an apple the way normal people do. My Grandpa always used his pocket knife to cut slivers from an apple, stab it and eat it; one after another until the flesh was gone (not from his fingers, but the apple.). Grandma used to carefully create a long ribbon of apple peel with a paring knife before coring and quartering for us to eat. And most simply shine the apple on their shirt before crunching into the sweet flesh.
Yet all of these ways of eating apples are different from my friend because they stop at the core. It's firmer than the rest. It has less flavor than the flesh. Its texture is different. It has seeds. But does it have any less nutrition? I'm not sure about that.
Okay, so I'm not saying that of all people I know, my one friend is the only one who has it right when it comes to eating apples, but it does make me think, isn't that the way it is for most of us when it comes to almost anything, we'll take the sweet part and throw out the rest. We'll consume that which is the easiest and when it gets to the harder parts, we pass. I eat broccoli like that. I'll take the tops and leave the stems everytime. But maybe I shouldn't.
The Christian faith is like an apple. There is a peel like doctrine on the promises of God that protects the softer, sweeter flesh of fellowship, place, acceptance, forgiveness, grace, gifts, methodist pot-lucks, all the benefits of being a part of the Kingdom of God. This is the part we all love to consume. It's the best part...maybe.
The core is important, too. In the Christian faith the hard, center core is pure love; unconditional, unselfish, uncontaminated. Yet so many times when it comes to this kind of love, we'll throw it out as too difficult. We'll take the easier, sweeter parts of Christianity but we'll leave the core to someone else, those strange people who can withstand the effort and sacrifice to love that completely. Maybe we need to look at the core again.
Paul wrote to his partner and missionary pastor, Timothy, that "The whole point of what we're urging is simply love - love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God. Those who fail to keep to this point soon wander off into cul-de-sacs of gossip." (1 Timothy 1:5, The Message) His message was simple. Love is supposed to be at the center of a Christian's being, but if it is not at the center what we do, or how we act, then we fail, "wandering off" in countless ways.
We need to go back to the core. It may be difficult and not as sweet as the rest, but it holds the faith all together, it holds us together. We can't throw it out, ever. It's what brought God's favor to us. It's what will give honor back to God.
Love is the core.
So...
Love from the core.
Peace ><>
PC
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
One Crucial Element
It seems that the phone rings at the strangest times. Every once in a while instead of working at my office, I'll stay at home where it's quiet and work from there, especially if I'm reading or writing and I need to concentrate. (like for sermon preparation) Yet it seems that when I'm home a telemarketer calls every time.
And they want me to do some of the oddest things like join a travel plan that will give me free trips to Las Vegas for weekends when I book week long vacation cruises in the Carribean. I mean, I do so much of both! (said with great sarcasm.) Or that I qualify for a reduced rate mortgage that can save me thousands of dollars in interest. (but I don't own the house.) Or there are replacement windows that can save on utility bills. (yet the house is only 8 years old.)
In almost every case, these telemarketers try to sell their products, but have no idea if it's something I need. It's called a cold call and it's usually based on some broad market research but it's cold because they don't know if there is a need before they call. I get a few "warm" calls, too, based upon my consumer behavior in the past, but I don't need school debt consolidation anymore, I don't need another car loan, I don't much of anything that can be sold over the phone. They're not paying attention.
I know that I could have gotten on the no-call list, but I didn't. That's not the point. The point is, if they want to provide me a real service, then discover first what I need. The truth is we can attempt to serve until the cows come home, but if that service is not meeting a need it's not a service at all. It's probably an annoyance; like the guys who wash your windows at stop lights and expect to get a tip. ("Here's your tip buddy, stop washing my windows, they were already clean!" No, I've never said that, but I've thought it before.) Service must meet someone elses' needs.
So how do we know what to do, where needs are, whom to serve? I believe it's really simple. Observe, ask and listen. We can learn a lot about people when we stop to observe them. We can make some assumptions about the way people live and act and look. But we cannot stop there, remember it's important not to judge a book by its cover. Some things are not always as they appear. So we also need to ask what others need and then really listen to what they have to say.
Jesus in all his wisdom and knowledge of people and circumstances did this. He sought their "felt"needs first. "What do you want from me?" he would ask, when he knew full well the answer. He didn't have to ask, he is God, but we are not gods so he gave us this example. And the real reason I believe is so that our service would not only be relevant, but also so that our interaction would create relationships.
Listening helps understanding. Understanding leads to caring. "Find a need, fill a need," Bigweld said. (From the Disney animated film, Robots) But that takes effort and discipline and love. Don't know what needs exist?
Ask!
Peace ><>
PC
And they want me to do some of the oddest things like join a travel plan that will give me free trips to Las Vegas for weekends when I book week long vacation cruises in the Carribean. I mean, I do so much of both! (said with great sarcasm.) Or that I qualify for a reduced rate mortgage that can save me thousands of dollars in interest. (but I don't own the house.) Or there are replacement windows that can save on utility bills. (yet the house is only 8 years old.)
In almost every case, these telemarketers try to sell their products, but have no idea if it's something I need. It's called a cold call and it's usually based on some broad market research but it's cold because they don't know if there is a need before they call. I get a few "warm" calls, too, based upon my consumer behavior in the past, but I don't need school debt consolidation anymore, I don't need another car loan, I don't much of anything that can be sold over the phone. They're not paying attention.
I know that I could have gotten on the no-call list, but I didn't. That's not the point. The point is, if they want to provide me a real service, then discover first what I need. The truth is we can attempt to serve until the cows come home, but if that service is not meeting a need it's not a service at all. It's probably an annoyance; like the guys who wash your windows at stop lights and expect to get a tip. ("Here's your tip buddy, stop washing my windows, they were already clean!" No, I've never said that, but I've thought it before.) Service must meet someone elses' needs.
So how do we know what to do, where needs are, whom to serve? I believe it's really simple. Observe, ask and listen. We can learn a lot about people when we stop to observe them. We can make some assumptions about the way people live and act and look. But we cannot stop there, remember it's important not to judge a book by its cover. Some things are not always as they appear. So we also need to ask what others need and then really listen to what they have to say.
Jesus in all his wisdom and knowledge of people and circumstances did this. He sought their "felt"needs first. "What do you want from me?" he would ask, when he knew full well the answer. He didn't have to ask, he is God, but we are not gods so he gave us this example. And the real reason I believe is so that our service would not only be relevant, but also so that our interaction would create relationships.
Listening helps understanding. Understanding leads to caring. "Find a need, fill a need," Bigweld said. (From the Disney animated film, Robots) But that takes effort and discipline and love. Don't know what needs exist?
Ask!
Peace ><>
PC
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Family Vacation
We are working right now to plan a family vacation for this summer. That may not sound difficult, but it is. With summer camps, VBS, tight schedules and booked resorts, we are having trouble setting a vacation date. We want to take a vacation that includes everyone, that will allow us as a family to spend time together and have a lot of fun in that special bonding time.
Last summer our plans got scrapped...4 times and 4 vacation plans. What we ended up with was much less of a vacation than we had hoped. I guess that is what is making me a bit anxious in the planning process. I need to include everyone and if it doesn't work out that everyone can go, then the vacation will be empty somehow, or at least not as complete as the dream. It's difficult when one part is missing or at least, it's not as enjoyable. My family is important to me, obviously. Our time together is precious and growing ever more as my kids grow older because that time is shorter than ever. So our plans together are important and when we are all together, it's a blast.
And so is the church.
When we are all together, working in our own ways, fulfilling our roles, doing our jobs, ministry and activities at the church are the best! There is nothing any more satisifying than a successful event at the church. It means that we have fulfilled our purpose, shared Christ in the most complete way, worked together hand in hand and had fun doing it. Service to the Kingdom of
God sates the very deepest desires of our hearts, whether we recognize it or not. And when we do it in tandem, all together, like a well-oiled machine, the fun-factor goes off the chart.
Just the term, servant, doesn't sound very important, but when you put all servants together, then you see the whole picture. Some don't like the idea of being a servant because it sounds demeaning or unimportant. But I like how Paul described it to the Corinthian church,
"I want you to think how all this makes you more significant, not less." (1 Cor. 12:14, The Message) When you play your servant role, you are a critical part of a greater system that can produce much more that one or two can alone. You become more important because you are a critical link, a piece of the puzzle, perform a special function, a part of the family.
"For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of." (1 Cor. 12:19b, The Message)
You are a part of the family of God and when you are missing in our work together, we all miss out, so do those whom we serve and so does God. Service to the Kingdom isn't about simply performing or using our skill, but about doing it along with others, utilizing your own specialty alongside someone else's unique specialty. And when you are not sharing in your part, it's like a family vacation without the whole family. Everyone misses out on the fun it could be.
Peace ><>
PC
Last summer our plans got scrapped...4 times and 4 vacation plans. What we ended up with was much less of a vacation than we had hoped. I guess that is what is making me a bit anxious in the planning process. I need to include everyone and if it doesn't work out that everyone can go, then the vacation will be empty somehow, or at least not as complete as the dream. It's difficult when one part is missing or at least, it's not as enjoyable. My family is important to me, obviously. Our time together is precious and growing ever more as my kids grow older because that time is shorter than ever. So our plans together are important and when we are all together, it's a blast.
And so is the church.
When we are all together, working in our own ways, fulfilling our roles, doing our jobs, ministry and activities at the church are the best! There is nothing any more satisifying than a successful event at the church. It means that we have fulfilled our purpose, shared Christ in the most complete way, worked together hand in hand and had fun doing it. Service to the Kingdom of
God sates the very deepest desires of our hearts, whether we recognize it or not. And when we do it in tandem, all together, like a well-oiled machine, the fun-factor goes off the chart.
Just the term, servant, doesn't sound very important, but when you put all servants together, then you see the whole picture. Some don't like the idea of being a servant because it sounds demeaning or unimportant. But I like how Paul described it to the Corinthian church,
"I want you to think how all this makes you more significant, not less." (1 Cor. 12:14, The Message) When you play your servant role, you are a critical part of a greater system that can produce much more that one or two can alone. You become more important because you are a critical link, a piece of the puzzle, perform a special function, a part of the family.
"For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of." (1 Cor. 12:19b, The Message)
You are a part of the family of God and when you are missing in our work together, we all miss out, so do those whom we serve and so does God. Service to the Kingdom isn't about simply performing or using our skill, but about doing it along with others, utilizing your own specialty alongside someone else's unique specialty. And when you are not sharing in your part, it's like a family vacation without the whole family. Everyone misses out on the fun it could be.
Peace ><>
PC
Monday, February 20, 2006
Always Right!
One of the most difficult things to do is get along with others, especially if those others think differently than you do. In the church it's just as difficult because we think differently about Christ, about theology, about faith. Coming from a variety of different religious backgrounds our church is like a great tapestry of theological perspective. We have persons very conservative and some at the other end of the spectrum. We have a great variance of political opinions among us. Our diversity is great and so is our conversation.
I like being right. I like the idea that my word trumps other's words. But I'm not always right. (just ask my wife!) Neither are my words always the last words. I have my own opinions, my own understanding of theology, my own version of right and wrong. Sometimes we just have to agree to disagree and as we tell our Disciple Bible Study groups before each year begins, this will bother us much more than it bothers God.
The truth is we are just trying to get a handle on God. And as we do so, we might see things differently. This was the case very early in the church, as I stated a couple of weeks ago, the diversity of that church was great, and so were their opinions. So just think about the diverse ideas that have arisen through 2000 years of Christian theology. The prayer of Jesus in the Garden on the night of his betrayal was a plea for us to become one like He and the Father are one. (John 17:22) It's a prayer not of like theology, but of like minds, that we are all focused on the one God and serving only Him. That leaves a whole lot of room for theological diversity in the realm of Christianity and even within one arm of the church.
What does that mean for us? That we should think more favorably about other Christian denominations? That we should allow for more theological debate within our own branch of Christendom? That we must not be so rigid in our understandings that we end up setting boundaries that keep people out instead of bringing people in? And the answer to all of these is a resounding, "Yes!"
"So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; don't drag them down by finding fault." (Romans 14:19-20, The Message)
Serving Christ by serving others like Christ is the key, even when those whom we serve don't believe like us, don't understand what we understand, even when they violently disagree. The point is, if we fail to act like little-Christs (the real definition of a Christian), then we are even more wrong than those around us.
"If the way you live is inconsistent with what you believe, then it's wrong." (Romans 14:23, The Message)
Our faith is proven not by what happens at judgment, but by what happens every day, in our actions towards Christ and towards others. My goal is to serve out of love, so that the genuineness of may faith is proven not only to me and Christ, but to those who see me. This is where I believe Christ wants us to be even more than being theologically correct, but being theologically consistent as we strive for Him!
Peace ><>
PC
I like being right. I like the idea that my word trumps other's words. But I'm not always right. (just ask my wife!) Neither are my words always the last words. I have my own opinions, my own understanding of theology, my own version of right and wrong. Sometimes we just have to agree to disagree and as we tell our Disciple Bible Study groups before each year begins, this will bother us much more than it bothers God.
The truth is we are just trying to get a handle on God. And as we do so, we might see things differently. This was the case very early in the church, as I stated a couple of weeks ago, the diversity of that church was great, and so were their opinions. So just think about the diverse ideas that have arisen through 2000 years of Christian theology. The prayer of Jesus in the Garden on the night of his betrayal was a plea for us to become one like He and the Father are one. (John 17:22) It's a prayer not of like theology, but of like minds, that we are all focused on the one God and serving only Him. That leaves a whole lot of room for theological diversity in the realm of Christianity and even within one arm of the church.
What does that mean for us? That we should think more favorably about other Christian denominations? That we should allow for more theological debate within our own branch of Christendom? That we must not be so rigid in our understandings that we end up setting boundaries that keep people out instead of bringing people in? And the answer to all of these is a resounding, "Yes!"
"So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; don't drag them down by finding fault." (Romans 14:19-20, The Message)
Serving Christ by serving others like Christ is the key, even when those whom we serve don't believe like us, don't understand what we understand, even when they violently disagree. The point is, if we fail to act like little-Christs (the real definition of a Christian), then we are even more wrong than those around us.
"If the way you live is inconsistent with what you believe, then it's wrong." (Romans 14:23, The Message)
Our faith is proven not by what happens at judgment, but by what happens every day, in our actions towards Christ and towards others. My goal is to serve out of love, so that the genuineness of may faith is proven not only to me and Christ, but to those who see me. This is where I believe Christ wants us to be even more than being theologically correct, but being theologically consistent as we strive for Him!
Peace ><>
PC
Saturday's Devotional
I must apologize for the lack of a post on Saturday. As most you are aware, we were out of town at our neice's funeral. Because of this, we were without internet access (can you believe it?) for those two days. Thanks to all of you who prayed for us and continue to pray for Pat Ginley and his children, Grayson and Grier. (and also for Peggy's sister, Jeannie, who has now lost 2 of her children to cancer.)
We don't always understand why God allows such things to take place, but to see how Julie's life touched so many with her beauty and her faith, maybe God's plan is much grander than we can understand. I just have to trust in that.
Peace ><>
PC
We don't always understand why God allows such things to take place, but to see how Julie's life touched so many with her beauty and her faith, maybe God's plan is much grander than we can understand. I just have to trust in that.
Peace ><>
PC
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Serving Others
It's difficult to serve as Jesus did. It's even harder to imagine why Jesus did it! But he did. Today's message was a look at Matthew 20:20-28, especially verses 26-27, "whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become your slave." (NLT)
James & John's Mom asked Jesus if her sons could sit on thrones next to Jesus. His reply surprised all of them. "You don't know what you are asking." And they didn't. They didn't have a clue what would be required for such a position, for even Jesus to achieve this throne he would have to sacrifice his own life. His disciples didn't understand that, nor what it would take just to follow Jesus.
Jesus' point to his disciples was that they must become like servants. What does it take to become a servant? Throughout history humans have been involved in creating different levels of society: upper and lower classes, hierarchies of race, socioeconomics, education, vocation, etc. All of us working to step up higher in order to get ahead, help our families, to feel better about our selves. But when we do this, we are falling into the trap we have created and perpetuated. Then we look down on others.
Jesus never did.
His solution was to lower himself not simply to the level of humanity and the place he deserved as a prophet, king, Messiah, but to the place of servant, a step or two lower than the average lower class family. He put himself in the lowest place he could in order to fulfill his role and to show us ours.
We may not want to sit on thrones next to Jesus. That's not our place. But to become the people God desires, it is our place to kneel down before our friends, our neighbors, our family, our enemies and serve them. And when we do, we are fulfilling the Gospel Jesus taught and lived. A Gospel of belief, of trust, of action; for us and for those who don't even know it yet.
That's our mission, on our knees.
Peace ><>
PC
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