Risk Intimacy

To risk having
Is to risk losing

Not having as I would a possession
But a having that is knowing
A having that gives, suffers, loves

That ownership makes
Losing not only of other
But of self

A loss of part of me
Found only
In community
And solidarity
With you

Yet even in that dying
There will be birthing
As in your absence
You will persist
Forever forming
Me

I will risk for you

Father’s day

A bit of encouragement to those of you who call on the name of your heavenly Father:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name,

you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you

and though through the rivers,

they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the LORD your God,

the Holy One of Israel,

your Savior. “

Excerpt from Isaiah 43 (ESV)

How to Never be Bored Again

If you haven’t figured it out, there are times when I really struggle with a proper balance between grace and truth. If this or any of my other posts seem hard or convicts you – please take it as gentle correction and not harsh condemnation. Then, in relationship, bring it before God that He might purify anything in your reaction that was caused by my frustrations and not by His heart. That said, recently the hardest tongue biting I have been doing is when I am moved to speak out against the epidemic of boredom that cries out at every quiet moment in so many peoples lives.

I honestly believe there is God given purpose for every moment. With this in mind, the struggle against boredom becomes a striving after a fully right relationship with God (a goal and a journey). Believers are reconciled by the grace and glory of Christ crucified and raised – a universe shaking event that reopened the door for relationship with the Father. In that grace we who follow Christ are moved to walk in that relationship with greater intimacy and understanding as we mature. It means that at the times when there is “nothing to do”, it is an invitation to seek out a quiet place and listen for guidance from the Father. Sound boring? Consider if God compels you to have that conversation you’ve been ignoring, or calls you to go door to door in your neighborhood finding out how people are doing in their relationship with Him, or inspires you to write a song, or gives you an idea on how to act out His heart for places where injustice reigns, or meets you in prayer in a way that blows your mind, or calls you to rest in His loving arms and pour your heart out to the only Lover who will never fail you, or…

Imagine with God. The impossibilities He wants accomplish with you are endless.

Approaching Media Violence with Theology

I think that if we look into the deeper theology and worldview issues brought up by media we might find contradictions in our convictions on life/theology and what we choose to enjoy or dismiss in the entertainment industry. We have likely all heard the lamentations of groups who cry out against the sex and violence of movies, television and music. I would also risk to say that our reactions to those statements generally fall at best into judgment of either those who made the condemning statements or those who partake of the condemned materials and at worst under an apathetic “whatever” or “it’s just a movie”. However, rather than going on a traditional tirade of the “evils of entertainment” I’d like to explore the possibilities of a theology driven approach to media by sharing from my own experience. Why? Because sometimes it helps to see someone else wrestle with something.

My recent struggle has been with violence as entertainment. I found (and find) the core question for weather or not violence is something I should consider when choosing entertainment to be, “Is there inherent value in human life?” This is a worldview question that, as a follower of Christ, I must answer with theology. What was interesting/scary about that core question was that it happened to be the same question that I felt needed to be asked if I was willing to take a stance on genocide, slavery, war and a great number of other social justice issues. In taking a position that those things are wrong, I was actually making a statement about the value of life and without a corresponding theology all the energy I spend on activism, research, and even prayer risked being human centered (if not ultimately self-centered) and doomed to leave me burned out. However, if God’s heart – as revealed through His word – was shaping my understanding of human life and I found that He felt death to be evil, then that had to affect all related decisions. With those statements as driving thoughts, I searched, prayed, read and found such a theology throughout scripture. I found it in The Fall where death was released as a result of sin, in The Genesis Flood – although it was the largest percentage of humanity killed at one time – being in response to an increasingly violent human race, in the Psalm of being knit together in the mother’s womb, in prophecies that praise God swallowing death, in how death is considered conquered through Jesus’ resurrection, and in numerous other passages. As a result of concluding that God values human life, in finding that death is a result of evil that God’s heart is set to destroy, and in the conviction of 1 Cor. 13 where it states that, “Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth”, I found my understanding of God at odds with enjoyment of movies, television, and video games that derive their entertainment value from depicting the loss of human life. Thus, I’ve been transformed from one who loved Sergio Leon films to one who had issues watching Prince Caspian. Praise God.

Final Thought: There was more to the process, and I am sure that I have already written too much for many readers so I’ll end things there. I’m open to push backs, comments and rebuke/corrections if need be.