Thinking Out Loud

Photo by  Sweet Life  on  Unsplash I heard about a man who put a post-it on his bathroom mirror so he’d see it every day: “What are the loudest voices in my life?” What are those loud voices that are shaping our outlook and expectations and self-image?  The daily news is depressing enough, but add in the mindless, vicious debates swirling around social media, and soon we’re all in a dark place.  There are voices we listen to far too much and give them far more attention than they deserve. •         We hear the voices (mostly in advertising and social media) that tell us we’ll never be _______ enough. And those voices have so many cruel adjectives to slide into that blank: never slender enough, never smart enough, never confident enough… As if we needed reminders that we are broken people living in a broken world, all of us incomplete projects. •         We hear the voices telling...

Photo by  Sweet Life  on  Unsplash We have defined a “disciple” as “a Christ-follower who is constantly about the task of bringing every aspect of life into obedience to Christ.” This is the mindset, the settled life posture, of the disciple. I am a Christ-follower, so I make it my life’s aim to obey Jesus in every aspect of my life. There are no “No Trespassing” signs in my heart. Nothing about my life lies outside Christ’s claim of lordship. I’ve used that definition for years now, but I think I may have spotted a problem with it: that definition seems to suggest that there is such a thing as a Christ-follower who is not about the task of bringing every aspect of life into obedience to Christ. In fact, there is no such thing. Every genuine Christ-follower is preoccupied with the life-long task of bringing his life patterns into alignment with the commands of Jesus.  Anyone who self-identifies as a Christian who is not about that task is either walking in d...

Image by Wirestock People who have walked with God for years will often talk about their “quiet times” with God, the regular time they set aside to be alone with God. That time isn’t necessarily prolonged. Sure, you’ll hear stories of men and women of God spending hours in prayer and Bible reading. But duration isn’t the issue. For many believers, it is the quality of their time alone with God that makes the quantity of time a secondary matter. Think of quiet time with God is a kind of daily Sabbath, time that from a purely utilitarian point of view is “wasted.” Quiet time with God is not “productive,” not a task to check off a list. And that is the point. Just as the Sabbath is time set aside to stand down, time for rest and worship, so the daily time alone with God is a quiet moment to rest my mind and worship God, to hear from Him in His Word and to commune with Him in prayer. It is a daily touch-point to realign my purposes with His and take a deep breath in His Presence befo...

Conversion of Saint Matthew, woodcut by Jean Cousin We’re familiar with the Gospel accounts of Jesus’s calling of the Twelve.  It was not unusual for popular rabbis in Jesus’s day to attract a crowd wherever they went, and Jesus’s miracles drew extra attention, so in the Gospel accounts we often see Jesus, the rabbi from Nazareth, walking through a town, followed by a mixed crowd of people genuinely interested in His teaching along with curious onlookers . Then we see Jesus stop and point to someone – Matthew the tax collector, collaborator with the hated Roman regime – and utter those simple and compelling words, “Follow me.” And to everyone’s astonishment, Matthew leaves his collection table and goes with Jesus. In one moment, Matthew has undergone a dramatic career change, from tax collector to disciple of Rabbi Jesus. I’ve always wondered what prompted those men to so suddenly abandon their trade – Matthew left his table, Peter and John their nets – and convert instantly f...