.
What is truth?
A commodity to be acquired? Brokered? Bought and sold?
A weapon? Brandished at my enemy? Mastered to win arguments? Twisted for my own end?
What is truth?
A religion? Honored above all? Worshipped? Adored? Venerated?
The ultimate prize? A worthy pursuit? Eternal? Answering all questions?
Is it feasible? Always available? Affected by perception? Modified by additional information?
What is truth?
Who protects it? Where is its repository? Who owns the access codes?
What is truth?
Is it expressed in the reality of an eternal being? A person?
A relationship?
What is truth?
Your truth?
I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true. - Jesus
What is truth? - Pilate
.
Showing posts with label Relationship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Relationship. Show all posts
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Do You Know Your Father?
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed. He said, “Father, the time has come. Bring glory to your Son. Then your Son will bring glory to you. You gave him authority over all people. He gives eternal life to all those you have given him.
“And what is eternal life? It is knowing you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth. I have finished the work you gave me to do. So now, Father, give glory to me in heaven where your throne is. Give me the glory I had with you before the world began."
What is eternal life? It is knowing God the Father and Jesus. Eternal life is not a destination. It’s not a set of facts to be believed. It’s not a state of being. Eternal life is a relationship. Specifically, eternal life is knowing God the Father and knowing Jesus. Jesus’ purpose in ministry was to show us the Father. His work was to make it possible for us to be in relationship with, to be connected to, the Father.
So if relationship is Jesus’ goal. How much does that translate into our lives? What’s the purpose of our gathering together? I believe our purpose in ministry is to show “the world” God the Father. We do this through relationship: relationship with each other, relationship with Jesus and relationship with the Father. I cannot directly bring glory to someone I don’t know.
If we desire to be fully alive, if we want to be fully free, if it’s our goal to become everything we were created to become, we will find all of these things in a relationship with God the Father.
“And what is eternal life? It is knowing you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth. I have finished the work you gave me to do. So now, Father, give glory to me in heaven where your throne is. Give me the glory I had with you before the world began."
What is eternal life? It is knowing God the Father and Jesus. Eternal life is not a destination. It’s not a set of facts to be believed. It’s not a state of being. Eternal life is a relationship. Specifically, eternal life is knowing God the Father and knowing Jesus. Jesus’ purpose in ministry was to show us the Father. His work was to make it possible for us to be in relationship with, to be connected to, the Father.
So if relationship is Jesus’ goal. How much does that translate into our lives? What’s the purpose of our gathering together? I believe our purpose in ministry is to show “the world” God the Father. We do this through relationship: relationship with each other, relationship with Jesus and relationship with the Father. I cannot directly bring glory to someone I don’t know.
If we desire to be fully alive, if we want to be fully free, if it’s our goal to become everything we were created to become, we will find all of these things in a relationship with God the Father.
Monday, February 16, 2009
I'm at a loss.
I’m at a loss.
You demand I be safe for you. Can I demand you be safe for me? Who gets to define what safe is?
You accuse me of being closed. There was a time when I chose to trust you with my vulnerability. Did you forget? Who gets to define what being open is?
You say you’ve held me in higher esteem then you should have, is that why I always seemed to catch your anger?
You don’t desired to be judged by who you were because you’ve changed. Amen! Me too!
You say being in ‘real’ relationship with you means we need to get real and raw, does that mean I have to let you beat me up to be real?
You rehearse the deep wounds I’ve caused you. Is that getting real? Does that mean I’m supposed to rehearse the deep wounds you’ve caused me?
You see, I really feel like you want to be free to act any way you want. I feel that you expect that I will accept how ever you treat me. I’m supposed to, in love, understand where you are and accept that you’re trying to grow. So it’s supposed to be OK if you hurt me. Or you’re angry with me. Or you treat me in a way that later you’ll regret. Your free to dump on me. That's what friends do right?
But the rub is this, I’m not free to be angry at you. Or hurt you. Or do something to you that later I might regret. I'm not free to dump on you, even though I’m trying to grow.
I really feel like you want to be free to be who you are but you demand that I be your idea of what you need me to be. I’m supposed to be the person you set me up to be and when I’m not I’m the one who’s at fault.
So I can never live up to the expectations I never set them to begin with. And I can never walk through this morass with you to some understanding because I supposedly bear the greater burden in its creation.
You demand I be safe for you. Can I demand you be safe for me? Who gets to define what safe is?
You accuse me of being closed. There was a time when I chose to trust you with my vulnerability. Did you forget? Who gets to define what being open is?
You say you’ve held me in higher esteem then you should have, is that why I always seemed to catch your anger?
You don’t desired to be judged by who you were because you’ve changed. Amen! Me too!
You say being in ‘real’ relationship with you means we need to get real and raw, does that mean I have to let you beat me up to be real?
You rehearse the deep wounds I’ve caused you. Is that getting real? Does that mean I’m supposed to rehearse the deep wounds you’ve caused me?
You see, I really feel like you want to be free to act any way you want. I feel that you expect that I will accept how ever you treat me. I’m supposed to, in love, understand where you are and accept that you’re trying to grow. So it’s supposed to be OK if you hurt me. Or you’re angry with me. Or you treat me in a way that later you’ll regret. Your free to dump on me. That's what friends do right?
But the rub is this, I’m not free to be angry at you. Or hurt you. Or do something to you that later I might regret. I'm not free to dump on you, even though I’m trying to grow.
I really feel like you want to be free to be who you are but you demand that I be your idea of what you need me to be. I’m supposed to be the person you set me up to be and when I’m not I’m the one who’s at fault.
So I can never live up to the expectations I never set them to begin with. And I can never walk through this morass with you to some understanding because I supposedly bear the greater burden in its creation.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The Kingdom Of Heaven
Why do we name ourselves? Why is it when a group of people get together the first thing they want to do is come up with a name for the group? Those who follow Jesus seem to rush to do this. A group of Jesus followers begins to met together and the first thing we ask is, what do we call ourselves? How will we be identified? How will people recongnize us? I've begun to wonder why we do that. It's so easy to view people as "in" and "out" if we have a name to attach to it. Our names end up being the way people define who we are. What names we attach ourselves too, seem to be an attempt to protect ourselves from what ever might cause us harm. As soon as a group is named, they separate themselves from the very ones they are trying to reach. They become "in" and all others become "out". Doesn't that seem a bit counter productive?
Luke 17:20,21 - Once the Pharisees asked Jesus when God's kingdom would come. He replied, "The coming of God's kingdom is not something you can see just by watching for it carefully. People will not say, 'Here it is.' Or, 'There it is.' God's kingdom is among you."
If what Jesus says is true then God's kingdom in my neighborhood is not going to be as tangable as a group of people who have gathered around a name. God's kingdom first of all is. Period. I can't say, "Oh look, they're doing God's kingdom". Or "You know those people down at the First Street Church of God's Kingdom, really have this kingdom thing down." Yet isn't that just what we do? Don't we rally around a name and say, "Look, here is the kingdom, come see it!"
I think it's time we started looking at things differently. Let's stop looking at names and start looking at the reality of what the kingdom is. If God's kingdom really is among us, then when does it express itself? I'm thankful that Jesus answered that question for us. Matthew 18:20 (NLT) "I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together because they are mine (in my name), I am there among them." Does not the presence of Jesus mean we're living in the kingdom? So anytime I sit for coffee with a brother or a sister I'm doing the kingdom. Anytime I share a meal with a brother or a sister, I'm doing the kingdom. Anytime I see a concert, talk about a book, share a ballgame, visit a park, play euchre, fish, ride motorcycles, watch kids play, with a brother or a sister, I'm doing the kingdom.
It seems to me that the kingdom of God is not about names or carefully constructed boundaries, theological or physical. Seems to me the kingdom of God is Jesus. If Jesus is here, then we are the kingdom of God. When I start from that point, it changes my whole perspective on how I do life.
Luke 17:20,21 - Once the Pharisees asked Jesus when God's kingdom would come. He replied, "The coming of God's kingdom is not something you can see just by watching for it carefully. People will not say, 'Here it is.' Or, 'There it is.' God's kingdom is among you."
If what Jesus says is true then God's kingdom in my neighborhood is not going to be as tangable as a group of people who have gathered around a name. God's kingdom first of all is. Period. I can't say, "Oh look, they're doing God's kingdom". Or "You know those people down at the First Street Church of God's Kingdom, really have this kingdom thing down." Yet isn't that just what we do? Don't we rally around a name and say, "Look, here is the kingdom, come see it!"
I think it's time we started looking at things differently. Let's stop looking at names and start looking at the reality of what the kingdom is. If God's kingdom really is among us, then when does it express itself? I'm thankful that Jesus answered that question for us. Matthew 18:20 (NLT) "I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together because they are mine (in my name), I am there among them." Does not the presence of Jesus mean we're living in the kingdom? So anytime I sit for coffee with a brother or a sister I'm doing the kingdom. Anytime I share a meal with a brother or a sister, I'm doing the kingdom. Anytime I see a concert, talk about a book, share a ballgame, visit a park, play euchre, fish, ride motorcycles, watch kids play, with a brother or a sister, I'm doing the kingdom.
It seems to me that the kingdom of God is not about names or carefully constructed boundaries, theological or physical. Seems to me the kingdom of God is Jesus. If Jesus is here, then we are the kingdom of God. When I start from that point, it changes my whole perspective on how I do life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)