Dog

Just over a month ago, we had a temporary addition to our family. We are taking care of Chloe, Heather's mom's dog. In the process, I have fallen hopelessly in love with this sweet, loving girl. And I've learned something about caring for a very small, somewhat dependent animal.

Chloe's favorite place to walk is a run of lush green grass on the side of our apartment building. It is a beautiful spot and she loves all the scents and scenery (I only presume this - she has not told me personally!). When we walk or jog through that part of the yard, she is almost always attracted to one of two large antbeds. To her they probably look like Mount Everest or the sweet north Georgia mountains. And when she takes off in that direction, I pull her leash the other direction. Sometimes she persists and really wants to explore the "mountain." So I pull a little harder - it might even hurt her a little bit. But I take the risk because I am protecting her from a massive anthill and thousands of ants that would love to cause Chloe great pain.

Tonight I am reminded that God the Father is like this. There are many times when I want something desperately and I run in that direction with all of my heart, mind and strength. But as I'm going, something snaps and God pulls me away from my pursuit, my desire. I can't understand it because I cannot tell the difference between a majestic mountain and a deadly anthill. But He can.

This is a timely lesson to learn because today Heather found out that she didn't get another very promising job. It hurts her which hurts me. Neither of us could have imagined the challenge and difficulty of this job search. But I'm coming to learn that when God changes our direction and denies our desires it is probably because we are pursuing an anthill disguised as a mountain. And just as Chloe is with us, we must trust our loving, sovereign God to know the difference.

The words of Job are very meaningful tonight:
"Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?" (Job 2:10)

Three

One of my favorite Vineyard songs is called "He is Yahweh." The best line goes "the three in one/He is Yahweh." Last week I took a class on Trinitarianism and I learned in great detail what it means that our God is Three in One.

What is most compelling to me is the perfect, eternal relationship the Father, Son, and Spirit share in the one divine essence. The Greek word for this relationship is perichoresis (pear-E-core-A-sis) and means co-indwelling. Or as my professor likes to think of it, it means 'to dance around.' At first this probably doesn't sound too exciting. But what this Greek word means is that the Father, Son, and Spirit are in this beautiful, forever, united, giving, loving relationship with each other. Our God is not lonely sitting on a throne by Himself. The Father, Son, and Spirit are forever dancing around within each other.

And we are made in His image (Genesis 1:26). We are made in the image of a God who has enjoyed perfect relationship forever. Could it be that we are made for relationship as well? That we are made for mutual acceptance, unity of purpose, giving, loving relationships with one another as believers, with our spouses, with our families and friends? Could this explain the loneliness every human being feels at some point in their lives? The desire to express love and receive love? Could all of it boil down to the fact that God is Three and Three is One?

I think it does. My professor suggests that the Trinitarian worldview (which is unique to Christianity) is the ONLY way to explain our innate desire for companionship, love, and acceptance. Perhaps this could revolutionize the church's teaching on marriage, divorce, and even change the way the church is run (I don't see ministry turf wars or church splits in the Trinity).

One of the ways our professor pounded home this message was by playing secular love songs in class and asking us to listen for echoes of the Trinity, I would encourage you to listen to the music and watch the movies of our broken, compartmentalized, lonely world and you will hear the cries of those formed in the image of the Trinity.

Below is a most compelling song he played for us. I have never heard of the song or the artist, but these lyrics best depict the echoes of the Trinity found in marriage. May our Trinitarian hearts find such love and acceptance in Him and in our lifemates:

Heaven Help
John McCutcheon

Heaven help the one. Heaven help the two.
Heaven help me say these things I need to say to you.
It seems a simple thing to tell you what I feel,
But I'm stumbling and I'm staggering over what I know is real.

Back when we were young, just a boy and girl,
It seems like we had all the time and chances in the world.
A graduation gown into a wedding dress,
A garden in the backyard and a baby at your breast.
This world we made of love and flesh and bone
Grew up and walked out the door and made worlds of their own.

So here we are again as the river flows on,
This house feels like a coat too big with the children grown and gone.
And now we're left alone, just me, just you.
All this space to find ourselves, I guess it's overdue.
After all these years you'd think I'd have a name.
For the mystery that keeps this heart and life aflame

Come take my hand. Come take my heart.
Come take me to that place where you and I can start.
Let the lights go down. Let the days grow dim
Though all the world may turn you out, I will take you in.

Heaven help the one. Heaven help the two.

Code

This week CNN hosted a forum on “Faith + Politics” that featured three leading candidates for President. The first shared his deep faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and explained his daily reliance on prayer. He then went on to explain that despite his personal moral convictions about homosexuality, he supported civil unions for homosexuals. This tolerance was based on his deep belief that everyone had a right to believe and live as they chose. Another candidate explained that speaking publicly about faith was difficult because of the Christian tradition he was raised in. It was a fascinating glimpse into Christian faith in the West in 2007.

Every candidate on the panel last night mentioned faith in God. They used many Christian code words. But I wonder what they mean when they confess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Which Lord Jesus Christ? Peek into different churches or denominations on a Sunday morning and you will usually confront different depictions of Jesus. So it begs the question – which Jesus do you believe in? The human Jesus who was a masterful teacher, the divine Jesus who healed, some mixture thereof? But its dangerous to just accept the touchy-feely statement that someone has deep faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The second thing that struck me was the idea of Christian faith as a private, personal experience. The early church, the people who were closest to Jesus and His apostles, expressed their Christian walk almost entirely in the context of community. They knew nothing of the individualistic faith that is so popular in the 21st century. I suggest that their communal approach was the result of deep change in their lives. Following Christ was not done on a business trip or on the campaign trail, it was the defining point in their lives. It changed everything, inwardly and outwardly. But today, it is much more common for people to talk about their personal, individual walk of faith and relationship with Christ. But I’m just not sure that is Biblical or reflective of the early church.

The final thing that troubled me was how faith in Christ was compartmentalized. Even the forum itself suggested that faith is a topic to be segregated from topics like the war in Iraq, healthcare, and immigration. This compartmentalization also allows someone to confess faith in Christ on one hand while standing firmly against His teachings on the other. If Jesus is truly Lord, no believer (even if he is the President of the United States) has the right or authority to decline to follow His perfect, complete, and holy teachings. Christ does not call compartmentalized disciples but committed disciples.

In the last ten years, “Christians” have become a target market and voting block. Let’s face it – its not difficult to learn our Christian code words and advance the appearance of faith. So it is up to us to understand who and what we believe and realize the life of commitment we are called to. And as we grow in understanding our faith and its object, we must beware those who speak the code without displaying the commitment.