A Reminder for the Anxious

God loves you.
God values you.
God believes in you.

Slow down!
Exhale.
Relax.

Inhale.
Receive God's breath.
Refresh and renew your soul.

God is with you.
Lean on God.
Trust.

And
Enjoy
LIfe

She is Valuable

She is valuable. She is unique. She is precious. While she may wonder, she is always beautiful. She is God’s creation—a rare celebration of God’s heart. God formed her. God breathed life into her. God clothed her in the image of God. With every smile, laugh, and cry she blesses us. She offers us a rare glimpse of God. We celebrate her. God celebrates her. Whoever she might be, she is valuable.

On Easter Sunday we read Matthew 28:1-10. One of the most interesting aspects of this narrative is the role of women in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (more women are identified in Luke) are the first to return to Jesus’ tomb following the Sabbath. As they approach the tomb, an angel of the Lord appears. The angel testifies to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and then invites the women into the tomb to witness it for themselves. The angel sends forth the women to carry this message to the disciples. The women receive this responsibility and carry it with fear and great joy. During their return, though, Jesus Christ reveals himself to these women. Instantly, these women take his feet and begin to worship him. Jesus, then, instructs these women to carry the message to the disciples. Just as they had done before, the women receive this responsibility and carry it with fear and great joy. The responsibility and privilege of proclaiming the resurrection was given to a group of women. And, we celebrate these women for responding and carrying this message with fear and great joy.

She is unique, precious, and beautiful, but she is valuable for more than these reasons. She is valuable because she is capable. She is no different from the women in this narrative. She is capable of taking the feet of Jesus Christ. She is capable of worshipping Jesus Christ. And, she is capable of carrying the message of the resurrection with fear and great joy. She is valuable, because God values her. God formed her, God purposed her, and God works through her.

This Mother’s Day take a moment and celebrate the women in your life. Celebrate their value: they are unique, precious, and beautiful, but they are also capable. Whoever she is, God values her. God formed her, purposed her, and God is at work through her. Celebrate her, because she is a blessing. She is the only one capable of revealing God to you in this unique, precious, and beautiful way.

Righteousness for Tomorrow

In the last few weeks a couple of people have asked me, "What is righteousness?" Their question is reasonable. After all, I spent five weeks delivering a string of sermons encouraging our congregations to embrace righteousness. While we learned a lot from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), righteousness was never defined. Neglecting to define righteousness was not an oversight. I intentionally left righteousness undefined.

Our study of the Sermon on the Mount drifted slightly from conventional interpretation. Matthew 5-7 is best understood as Jesus’ first discourse on discipleship. Our study was a bit more specific. Focusing our attention on Matthew 5:1-20, we studied these teachings of Jesus in search of words that would encourage us to embrace righteousness—an essential characteristic of discipleship. We learned that Jesus taught with divine authority (5:1-2). Comfort came to us to learn God offers the promise of blessing to those who embrace traits of righteousness (5:3-11). And, we realized that a sense of purpose (5:13-16) and a life of meaning (5:17-20) could be experienced by individuals who follow Jesus Christ towards the righteousness that glorifies God and builds the kingdom of heaven.

In a recent interview in Relevant, comedian Zack Galifianakis said, "I don’t necessarily live for the future, and I find that for those who live in the past, their best days are already over." Galifianakis may not model righteousness, but his words are applicable. We follow Jesus Christ because our hope is in him. Our best days are not in the past; our best days are yet to come. The lives we once lived do not distract us; rather, our hope is the eternal life that Jesus Christ makes available to us today—a life that will be fully realized in the future. And, so, we find encouragement in the teachings of Jesus Christ and we are motivated to embrace the righteousness that he taught knowing that he leads us to a better tomorrow where we will rest in the presence of God.

What is righteousness? Follow Jesus Christ, for righteousness can only be realized in him.

Seizing Opportunities

Seizing Opportunities:
A Reflection on "Outliers: the Story of Success," by Malcolm Gladwell

In his book, Outliers, Malcolm Galdwell writes, “Outliers are those who have been given opportunities—and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them.” This statement serves as a conclusion to Gladwell’s argument. He refutes the notion that “successful people” have a natural or superb quality that enables them to succeed. While natural ability is significant, Gladwell argues there are other factors that are just as significant to an individual’s success. In particular, he shows that unique opportunities resulting from a person’s month or year of birth, age, culture background, and social status allow people with natural ability to emerge as “outliers.” Those individuals who are “most” successful are innately gifted, privileged with unique opportunities, but most importantly, they have the strength and the presence of mind to seize the opportunities that suit their gifts.

I just finished reading Outliers. I believe it is a good book because I was engaged by it. Gladwell persuaded me to reconsider not only my understanding of success, but also how an individual achieves success. While Gladwell suggests that success is contingent upon uncontrolled opportunities, an individual will not be successful if he or she fails to seize those opportunities. There is a responsibility that falls upon the individual. He or she has to be willing to work. An individual must put forth effort, invest a considerable amount of time, and nurture their talents if they hope to turn their opportunities into success stories.

I do not think you have to search too far into Scripture for support of Gladwell’s argument. For example, consider Paul. Paul was born at just the right time; he was already in his early adult years at the time of Jesus’ death. Somehow or another, he acquired sound knowledge of the Hebrew scripture and possessed a keen understanding of Hebrew tradition (after all, he was a Hebrew among Hebrews). Unlike anyone else, Paul experienced a unique encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. Yet, the success of Paul’s ministry is not wholly contingent upon the opportunities specific to him. By the grace of God, Paul was effective as a minister because he was willing to put forth effort, to invest a lifetime into his work, and to nurture the talents God gave him. His willingness to respond to the opportunities God presented to him and his faith that God would supply him with strength that enabled Paul to emerge as an “outlier.”

If you have the time and if you are interested I encourage you to read Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers. Even if you are unable to read it, I hope you are encouraged by his insight: An individual’s success is contingent upon many factors. Some factors cannot be controlled, but there is one factor wholly depended upon us. If we ever hope to turn our opportunities into stories of success we must be willing to seize them.