Observations of a Church Brat: Homesick. (C)

Sidenote

I'm changing up my labels a little. Eventually, I need to take some of the older stuff down, and I also think it's interesting how, now, looking back, I can see actual stages of life in the veil. Therefore, I'm using the starred labels to try to marker those stages. When I take them down, I'll save them in that order, likely with those titles (or something to that effect).

It's a bit of a personal thing for me, but, y'know, in case you were wondering what that is over there.

Moving on....


Recap of Observations

It's been a lengthy journey, and I doubt I'm done. Again, as I said in my introduction post to this series: These Observations are more the conversations of a family and not truly one for guests. In other words, if you aren't a believer, again, you may find this family dinner pow-wow not to your liking. And if you're new to the family...No one's going to mind if you'd rather play outside. I would much, much rather you learn the foundations of the house than worry about a leaky roof or broken A/C unit.

Like I've told a dear friend of mine: It's not that you aren't mentally capable of understanding these things, but it's that I truly think it's better to fully learn and understand the basics before totally throwing you to the deep end of the pool. It's better you understand grace and justice than be able to argue predestination v. free will, or open theism, or cessationism, or studying Scripture v. relying on the Spirit (don't get me started), or anything else.

So please, if you're new to this: Learn the foundation, be firmly rooted in Christ, our Head. Get to know Daddy. And don't worry about Aunt Bertha and Uncle Robby's fights over how to fix the kitchen sink. They do that. It's...sad, but normal. And occasionally funny.

So, you're welcome to a seat at the table, to good food and fellowship...but you've been warned.


Anyway, my disclaimer reiterated, the inevitable and rather predictable recap:


1. "Family Feud" was my introduction (ironically, long enough to stand alone), a book end in which I said there's been another Great Schism that simply shouldn't be, that we can't change terminology on a whim because at some point it all loses meaning, and that we are one family: religious, dirty, conservative, possibly a bit renegade, and in the end we stand united in Christ (bet you can guess what the other book end will be about). Namely, my point was that this whole traditional v. contemporary Christianity was nothing short of idiocy.


"Religious" was my ultimate response to those who adhere to a form of spiritual anarchy, those who confuse righteousness with rebellion. Test everything, my friends, and work out your salvation with fear and trembling. In this:

• God has ordained religion and wishes such fulfilled, not abolished (Sermon on the Mount).
• God has defined religion as feeding widows and orphans and keeping oneself unstained from the world (James 2), which translates into promoting justice and righteousness (Micah 6.8) and keeping the two greatest commands (Leviticus 19.18; Deuteronomy 6.4; Luke 10.38-42).
• God has specified the manner in which we are to worship him.
• God has specified the manner in which we carry out religion.

2. My segue way piece stated that: We are but reflections, imperfect reflections born in a dark mirror. And, God help us, his grace is far more than sufficient.

• Sin is anything against the nature and character of God; neither acknowledging nor showing gratitude to God; failure to keep Leviticus 19.18 and Deuteronomy 6.4+; the elevating of anything other than God to deity, or ultimate.
• Sinlessness is impossible without God. We simply were not made to survive without him, just as we don't survive without food and water and breath in our lungs and blood in our veins.
• We are no longer enslaved to sin and dead to righteousness post-salvation.
• He who abuses the Law uses that which was intended for good to toward evil. In other words, grace is not an excuse to continue in sin, but rather is liberation from the bondage and slavery of sin, which leads to death.

3. "Dirty" is my response to the burnt-out, disillusioned fellow church brat. Hypocrisy and false "Christianity" may exist, but you work out your own salvation, and do not let such discourage you or disqualify you. Do your best to restore your brother in Christ, but do not sin.

4. "Renegade" was my encouragement to the discouraged, to the wounded, and my personal reflections on a retreat weekend. In case you missed it: Trust in the one who saves you. Take comfort in his sovereignty, courage and confidence in his grace, and solace and strength from his truth. Have no fear. Trust him, and stop kicking against the goads, stop striving and know he is God.

Anybody else worn out yet? Don't worry.

5. That's why I took a bit of a reprieve with "Homesick." Be encouraged, be exhorted, and be edified. And the Veil is merely the threshold between worlds, therefore Jesus continually stresses to keep our eyes on him and not to sweat the rest.


Patriots

I renamed "Political" because otherwise it was going a route I didn't want. That, and I don't want to pidgeonhole this post by only addressing American Christianity (and since I am American, to be more specific I would wind up addressing issues that might not have a reference point to anyone not American who reads this thing). More accurately, I mean statesmanship and citizenship. Stewardship. Ha, you really thought I was going to talk about the election, didn't you? 0=)

No, I leave that to those better-versed and energized by such things. Not that I don't have my opinions. But, like one of my highschool English teachers/coaches used to say, "Opinions are like noses. Everyone has one."

And opinions only go so far in the Veil.

At any rate, all the way through history you'll see people doing what they believe is best for their country and for the world. Some are right. Some are disturbingly wrong.

(Yes, I didn't list malicious people who have either no moral compass or one so utterly twisted and detestable they aren't worth mentioning. So understand I'm not including obviously wicked people when I say "what they believe is best." I may be able to flip a switch when I'm writing some vile character, but in real life my brain knows the difference. I don't actually believe Hitler had Germany's best interests in mind. But that's another discussion.)

At any rate, let me define a few terms:

1. Patriot - a citizen who is faithful to his people's fundamental values (the core virtues and principles it was founded upon), sees the honoring of such values as inherent to defending the existence of said people, and acts accordingly, even to the point of self-sacrifice (thus a patriot is not strictly one who enters battle, but one who defends his country according to that which he has to bring to the table)
2. Steward - a highly trustworthy servant placed in charge of his master's estate and of his fellow servants until the time of his master's return; he is able to act on his master's behalf and in his master's best interests; the nature of this position is such that he must know his master well enough to act, not as he would, but as his master would, in all things

Quirky

Christians are quirky, no doubt, but more so in that they have two citizenships. I'm saying nothing either profound or new when I use this idea of dual citizenship. On the one hand, we must abide by the laws of the nation in which we live, defending and protecting it - from physical and ideological threats. I add ideology for this reason: From our view of the world comes our principles and convictions, and from these come actions. And, honestly, much of the ideological differences come from within, not without.

And on the other hand, well, our citizenship is in the Kingdom of the Most High. (I've talked about this struggle some in Homesick and elsewhere, so I'm not belaboring it here.) And despite our common foundation, well, most of the threat comes from the inside.

There are two things a steward and a patriot have in common:

1. the interests of others over his own interests
2. unwavering obedience to the rightful authority

Maybe there's more. That was just on the fly. But the truth is, in the end our earthly citizenship is secondary to that of our true citizenship. We are sojourners, wanderers; we're passers-by, voices in the wilderness. We're messengers and heralds and harvesters and priests. We're warriors and stewards of the earth.

We tell of life in abundance, supernatural peace and joy, of the God who bestows honor and salvation and lifts our heads. "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those dwelling in the shadow of death a light has dawned."

We have this strange idea that to really life you have to die, and the life you live isn't even your own anymore, and this idea that only through the shedding of blood does salvation come. We combat evil and push back darkness; we beg the Most High for the souls of others.

The Veil is not exactly friendly. It isn't always pleasant. And it's rarely safe. But, honestly, "the eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms."

"The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms."

And underneath are the everlasting arms.

Shadows to light

So here's the deal. Whether your specialty is justice or mercy, whether you're into diplomacy or battlefields, the arts or selling cars, math and science books or British lit, anthropology or theology - Remember who you are. Who you belong to.

That's something my daddy taught me a long, long time ago.

Enjoy the day.
Shaleh.

~~~~


Writing: In the Shadow of the Stars (revision stage)
Studying: Genesis study; "No Other Gods" workbook
Reading: Probably "The Iron Lance" by Lawhead
Recently read: The Bark of the Bog Owl by Jonathan Rogers


Next time: Observations of a Church Brat: Like-Minded.

Observations of a Church Brat: Homesick. (B)

It's not every day you get a request for a post. And a specific post: How to live in the world with your foot in the other. And you know, I read that and thought "I don't know, that's why this blog exists. There are libraries on the subject."

But this is life in the Veil Betwixt the Realms -- and so I suppose every post is me trying to wrestle that out. We're homesick. We're aliens and strangers, vagabonds and renegades and waifs. I honestly think one of the most stark illustrations comes, again, from a book: Sharon Hinck's "Sword of Lyric" series, in which there are two childhood friends and comrades in arms, brothers in law and spirit.

There is Tristan, captain of the guard in his city, the true-blue of undying loyalty who follows the law to the letter and will not defy his authorities--even if it kills him. And then there's Kieran. I love Kieran, faults and dangerous side alike. He hates rules, hates authority, and fears his Maker and Master...But in the core of his being, past the facade and the rebellion, deeply rooted beneath a well-made masquerade which side of him is real--Kieran is every bit a loyal servant of the One as Tristan.

I've used Donita Paul's Kale and Bardon (DragonKeeper series) regularly, but Tristan and Kieran are another way of seeing the same thing.

And one other thing they all have in common is this: They all have a desperate longing for home. For unending peace and joy. For family. For the warmth of a fire and the comfort of friends and good food, for safety.


The Apostles wrote often of this...craving. This desire. This want for home and eternity, to come into our inheritance, to see plainly what now we only see as in a dim, dirty, dingy mirror. And the history of the saints says many things stand in our way. They've been called obstacles, stumbling blocks, the things that hinder and the sin that so easily entangles us, fleeting pleasures, lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eyes, lusts of the pride of life. False gods, functional gods, things we make ultimate, things that might possibly be good but so often go bad very quickly.

In a study I'm reading, Kelly Minter (who, btw, I am really beginning to enjoy and respect) points out that often what we want...isn't really what we want. These little idols and distractions. She pointed out that sometimes God gives us a lean physical diet to enrich our spirits (Numbers 11, btw, is where Jesus got his 'man does not live by bread alone' quote), but often we want rich foods for our bodies, which starves our souls (No Other Gods workbook, my paraphrase).

She said it much prettier, but you get the idea.

Something to take heart in: The saints of God long for home. To live is Christ, to die is gain. I think we'd all agree it'd be fair easier (and more desirable to us) for God to just save us and treat us like Enoch and Elijah and say "Come on home."

It's when we forget why we're here we get discouraged. Our loss of focus tends to run two ways: We either sit down on the track and go to pieces, or we throw down the baton and storm off, leaving our teammates to chase it down and pick up the slack. For me it's usually the former, but that's another post.

I find it ironic that saints -- and yes, I choose the word saint -- who experience direct persecution, at the very least, appear to have better focus than those who don't (where is it that some apostle goes "you haven't yet been persecuted to the point of bloodshed" like it's some kind of red badge of courage - hated Red Badge of Courage in junior high, but it has so much more meaning now - to be sought). It makes sense, though. The soldiers actively in battle and on the lines with artillery coming at them aren't going to forget the enemy like a recruit in bootcamp might. (Yes, my illustrations are all over the map today.)

How do you live with one foot in each realm, here in the threshold between time and eternity? Whether you're going through monotonous drills and routines in camp or actively facing enemy fire, I think the answer is the same. It's all the saints really seem to have come up with, and if it was good enough for the Apostles and for Jesus, I figure it'll do.

Now, here's the thing: The answer is more of a principle, and in a world of application, principles sound trite and rather irritating. However, principles are what give us the freedom of application. So as I say this keep in mind: We can debate later on which applications are better and which should probably be forsworn.

So. What, in the name of everything holy, did the saints, did Jesus, say, was the key principle to dealing with knowing that if we're still away from home, it's because we aren't done yet? Sure, yes, there are many things Jesus told us to do while we're still tarrying on earth.

The overarching, resounding answer to how we live in two realms, how we deal with keeping it all straight, is found in two places. At least. I'd have to start Scripture hunting for more references.

First, we have our example. Our Master, Jesus:

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

~Philippians 2.5-11

So, there lies what Jesus did (Colossians has a stark picture too, but I'm only going to reference it). But the writers weren't really finished yet. It's also written:

And all these [men of whom the world was not worthy], though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?


"My son,do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives."

~Hebrews 11.39-12.6