With Intentionality and Conviction

So much of an evaluation of history comes down to one’s perspective.  For instance, was Solomon a good king or a bad king?  Yes.  For that matter, one could equally ask the same thing about David.  Certainly the end of David’s reign was more positive than the end of Solomon’s reign.  David seemed to have maintained a stronger relationship with God toward the end of his life than Solomon did.  But was Solomon a good king for Israel?  From a purely political perspective, no one reigned over a larger or more prosperous kingdom than did Solomon.  For the most part, Solomon’s reign was a peaceful reign.  And there’s no doubt that Solomon was wise beyond his contemporaries.  But nevertheless, when one reads about the end of Solomon’s days, one finds that he had allowed himself to drift away from an undivided devotion to the Lord.  What began so promising, didn’t end that way.  Soon after his death, Solomon’s kingdom was divided. 

Solomon’s story serves as a reminder that regardless of where we presently stand in relation to God, we must be diligent and disciplined in order to not only maintain our present relationship, but to also see that relationship grow.  Just as any healthy marriage requires intentionality, so too does our relationship with our Savior.  Most people who lose their faith don’t wake up one morning no longer believing.  Nor do many people simply decide to quit following Jesus with one big decision.  Most people begin to drift slowly away and before too long, the Promised Land is out of sight, well beyond the horizon.  So wherever we find ourselves today, even if we’ve drifted too far, may we fix our eyes on Jesus and with intentionality and conviction, walk slowly, but surely in his direction. – Shay   

The Centrality of the Resurrection

Like most people of faith, I've experienced moments of doubt and despair.  I've had to wrestle with questions like, "Do I believe?  Why do I believe?  What if I didn't believe?"  I've never lost my faith, but on a few occasions I have feared that I might.  Though seasons of disorientation are always uncomfortable, I've discovered that every time I've passed through them, my faith is stronger on the other side.  Looking back on my younger years, I realize that my adolescent faith was, obviously, immature.  But it was true faith, if even but a mustard seed's worth.  As my faith has matured, I've tried, though not always successfully, to maintain the passion of my earlier belief, while ridding myself of some of my earlier naivety.  There are probably times where I get it backwards - embracing a new naivety, while failing to hold onto the passion. 

But as my faith has ebbed and flowed, the one conviction I've held onto above all others is the centrality of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth to the Christian faith.  We can get a lot of things wrong (and we all certainly do) regarding what it means to follow Jesus, but we cannot get the fact of Jesus' resurrection wrong and still remain true to him.  Certainly our understanding of this most important event will continue to develop and change as our faith matures, but belief that the tomb is empty is what essentially differentiates believers from non-believers.  And when we strip everything else away, the resurrection of Jesus is the reason why the person of Jesus has become the most significant in all of human history.  His resurrection makes sense of where the world has been, where it presently is and finally, where it is going. - Shay          

David's Community of Faith

David was a man after God’s own heart and in many ways, he was the example of the man that many of us want to be.  He had cut his teeth as a shepherd, defending his father’s flock from bears and lions.  David was a valiant warrior who experienced military success after military success.  He was charismatic and handsome, and as scripture makes abundantly clear, he was a bit of a ladies’ man as well.  Though an outdoorsman, he was also a cultured artist.  He wrote poetry and played musical instruments - a warrior poet.  In short David was the guy the girls wanted to be with, and the guy the guys wanted to be!

But David was also a deeply flawed individual.  He failed as a husband, a father, and even as a king.  David’s story is a good reminder that none of us are perfect and all of us are in need of the grace of God.  And David’s story reminds us that none of us can do it alone.  Where would David have been without his mighty men?  How might David’s life have been worse had he not had the close companionship of Jonathan in his younger years?  David’s story may have ended up completely different had Nathan the prophet not confronted him about his sin in 2 Samuel 12.

 Men especially, but also women often try to do it all on their own.  But David’s life reminds us that we are all stronger together and none of us can faithfully walk with God without the aid of others.  We need  to seek out communities of faith where we can serve others, receive strength from their encouragement, and at times, be rebuked by their wise counsel.  It not only takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to live life faithfully. - Shay          

Timing is Everything

It’s a cliché, but nevertheless true - “Timing is everything.”  Though already anointed king by Samuel, David did not take it upon himself to establish his kingdom by his own means or in his own way.  He trusted God to establish it when the time was right. 

How often do we try to force God’s hand in matters great or small?  Even when we’re sure of God’s will in a particular area, do we sometimes try to bring about God’s work through our own skill and efforts, rather than choosing to wait on God and trust him to take the initiative?  We certainly shouldn’t be passive in exercising our faith, but there is such a thing as being too aggressive.  We should walk confidently through the doors God opens, but we would do well to exercise caution and restraint before picking up a battering ram. 

Back in 2008, Juli and I had to consider whether or not we would pursue our dream to work with churches in Ireland.  We felt God had put this passion on our heart, but at that point it didn’t seem as if God was opening up the necessary doors.  Rather than trying to force our way to the Emerald Isle, we took a step back and reevaluated God’s calling.  Within a few months’ time God had begun to move in ways that we could never have orchestrated on our own.  By aligning our lives with his timeline, we were blessed not only with the opportunity to live and work in Ireland, but we got to do it with 8 other amazing people!  If only I would surrender control in a number of other areas of my life.   

I need to be reminded of David’s patient trust so clearly visible in the opening lines of Psalm 40 – “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.  He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.”  At least part of being a person after God’s own heart is learning to trust him and his timing. – Shay  

The Key to Kingship

               We read in the early chapters of 1 Samuel of Israel’s desire for a king.  One of the reasons they wanted a king was so that they could be like all the surrounding peoples.  It seems that even nations can suffer from “peer pressure”.  There were in fact many benefits to having a king.  We read in the latter chapters of the book of Judges that one of the negatives of not having a central authority amongst the 12 tribes was that everyone did what was right in their own eyes.  At least with a king, even a less than stellar one, the people of Israel could avoid spiraling out of control into complete anarchy.  The key to kingship was that the people and the king were to remember that ultimately, YHWH was their only sovereign.

               There is a lesson for us to learn from Israel’s initial demands for kingship.  As the people of God in the 21^st century, the church needs to be reminded that Jesus Christ is our one and only sovereign.  Just as Jesus’ ministry and kingdom building in the gospels was unexpected and counter-intuitive in the light of 1^st century messianic expectations, so should the church be sure that whatever decisions it makes are rooted and grounded in solid Biblical instruction and well thought out theology over and against the prevailing winds of an overly consumerist society.  Everyone else may be doing it, but that doesn’t make it good for us.  And since, as Jeremiah 17 reminds us, the heart is deceitful above all else, we’re probably better served to be guided by a spiritually disciplined mind, rather than merely our immediate emotional impulses.  As Jesus himself said, “Wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” - Shay

The Last One of My Kind

There are certain people that we just seem to relate to more than others.  It varies from person to person, but we've all probably met people that we just seem to "click" with.  Sometimes a writer, poet, musician, or other artist speaks to us in ways that feel like we know this person.  Every now and then, we are blessed with the opportunity to actually meet the person and have a conversation or two. 

For 15 years I've been a huge fan of the Scottish indie rock band, Idlewild.  I especially like the lead singer's voice, and even more what he communicates through his lyrics.  In addition to being a musical artist, Roddy Woomble is an avid hill walker, literary aficionado, foodie, and arts and culture lover.  And not only does he sing rock music, he also creates folky, singer/songwriter kind of music with another band.  Back in 2013, I had the chance to catch a couple of Roddy's folk gigs on the Scottish isles of Mull and Iona.  This gave me the chance to chat with Roddy and get to know him a little on a personal level.  Interestingly, I shared a plane ride back to Ireland with the former Idlewild bassist and occasional Roddy collaborator, Gavin Fox, who only lived a few miles from my old home in Dublin.  Gavin joined me and some friends for a card game at my place one Saturday evening and arranged for me and some others to catch one of his new band's gigs at the famous Dublin venue, Whelan's.  I stayed in touch with Gavin after that, and though I wouldn't describe our relationship as a friendship, he is a friendly acquaintance. 

One of the things I like about Roddy's lyrics are that he takes on a prophetic role, by observing and commenting on society from the margins.  There's much in our modern world to love, but there's also much to question.  The lyrics from Roddy's song, The Last One of my Kind especially resonate.

No you don’t read books,
You just use them to block out the view.
But we don’t own ourselves
If our wishes don’t come true.
So you write like you can,
To show that you don’t need to.
Cause don’t expect to read this like ordinary news.
And did the life run out of money,
Or did the money run out of life?
You know knowledge can be bought
With the change left over
From the books you didn’t buy…

And in an election year, I love Roddy's words from the Idlewild tune, Nothing I Can Do About It.

You can make sure the bookshelves are alphabetical, poetical, not political...and there's nothing that I can do about it...

Which artists do you resonate with and why?  To quote another hero of mine, "Dream of the world you want to live in...dream out loud!", Bono.  - Shay


 

No Man is an Island

We live in an age of individualism and at times, isolation.  American culture has promoted the importance of individual freedom and liberty, sometimes, at the expense of what might be good for the greater society as a whole.  We also find it admirable for people to pull themselves up from whatever depths they may be in by their own strength and self-reliance.  Certainly we all have to take individual responsibility for the choices that we make, but our modern form of individualism probably takes things too far.              

The poet John Donne wrote that “No man is an island.”  His point was that we have a shared existence; we are all a part of a shared humanity.  The idea of a self-made man is a myth.  No one has ever achieved anything without the support and assistance of numerous others.  We were made for others and life is best lived in the context of a loving and supportive community. 

The story of Ruth is a good example on the importance of a communally based society.  Ruth was unwilling to allow her mother-in-law to suffer in isolation, so she accompanied her back to her native land.  Thankfully, the Mosaic Law had provisions in place for people such as Naomi (poor) and Ruth (both an alien and poor) to be able to share in the bounty of others.  “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest.  You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.” (Lev 19:9-10).  Through the generosity of Boaz, Ruth and Naomi not only survived, but thrived.  This led to the marriage of Boaz and Ruth, the great-grandparents of King David. 

The apostle Paul also wrote about the importance of community in 1 Cor 12:25-26, “…the members may have the same care for one another.  If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.”  Who has made an impact on your life?  Who needs you to make an impact on theirs?  How might the body of Christ become a tighter knit community?  And how might the Christian community make a bigger impact on society as a whole, especially as more and more individuals tend to live their lives in isolation? - Shay