Done In Love

If you were to ask me one of the things the Lord has been teaching me over the course of the last year, it would be the practicality of Christianity. Simple things like feeding the hungry. Giving a glass of water to the thirsty. Placing a coat on those who don't have one. Simple, practical ways to show the love of Jesus.

As I was reading through the book of 1 Corinthians the last couple of weeks, I came to the all-familiar "Love Chapter" - chapter 13. Whenever I read this chapter, I have to go slowly. Reading deliberately - because it is easy for me glaze over the true meaning of Paul's words. This week, I was struck by verse 3 --

"If I give all my possessions to feed the poor . . . but do not have love, it profits me nothing."

So as I pray over and consider how the Lord would have me to practically participate in the Gospel, I was struck my the reality that I cannot just do things. Whatever I do, it must be done in love. However the Lord calls me to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and care for orphans and widows, I pray that I would never get into a habit of doing.

As I sang with the kids at Abiding Savior in our summer care program, " . . . It must be done in love! MUST BE DONE IN LOVE!"

Nuts and Bolts

The past 17 days of my life have been memorable.

For some reason, I decided to tackle the highly-feared, often-cursed Comp. II at Northwestern College in a two-week long summer version of the course. My intent was to avoid a summer of drudgery and constant procrastination by getting the paper researched and written in two weeks. So, I said "Goodbye" to my social life, and headed for the library.

In the first five days of class, I found myself flipping through stacks of books, scrolling through articles on the internet, and scratching my head while trying to find rather specific research in the field of youth ministry. At the end of that first week, I had spent more hours in the library than in my first two years of college combined. After that was one more week of proof-reading, revising, re-writing, and more head scratching. Upon completion of the course, the last thing I imagined myself doing was reading another book.

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Tuesday morning I sat in the warm Minnesota sun, frying my epidermis, and read a book: The World as I remember It: Through the Eyes of a Ragamuffin. This is a compilation of writings from one of the greatest song writers in the 20th century, Rich Mullins. In a few all-too-short hours, I read this short book cover-to-cover and saw the beauty that was created by one of God's chosen sons.

The pages of this book are not filled with lyrics from Mullins' songs, but rather, the articles he wrote for a column in Reasons from 1991-1996. Merely mentioning the name Rich Mullins evokes fond memories for me.

Just months before he passed away on September 19, 1997, I had the opportunity to sit at his feet while he hammered away on the dulcimer. At the time, my elementary ears didn't realize the beauty that was being portrayed before me, but today, I am beginning to understand the significance of that moment.

While I haven't listened to Rich's music for almost a month, his writing has been stirred something inside me. Like a washing machine on spin cycle, my heart was caught in the momentum of Mullins' wordsmithery. It was in the first few pages of the book that Rich's smoothly shaped phrases slid right into a rough and ragged spot in my heart.

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"I am a Christian, not because someone explained the nuts and bolts of Christianity to me, but because there were people who were willing to be nuts and bolts, who through their explanation of it, held it together so that I could experience it and be compelled by it to obey."

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No more than two hours after reading this, my phone rang. On the other end was a good friend of mine calling to see what I was up to for lunch. While my molars made my cheeseburger mush, me and Mr. Erickson decided to get together. Minutes later, Jeremy showed up, we laughed a lot, and he became the nuts and bolts of Christianity to me.

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Wherever life has you today, ask God to open up doors for you to be the nuts and bolts for someone else. When you need to, explain clearly why you are loving unconditionally, kindly correcting, or providing for physical needs. Be the hands of Christ, working in the world.

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Tighten the bolts of belief that are necessary to bring people back to Jesus.

Loosen the torque the nuts of legalism have on members of the family bound by the law and let the live in the freedom of God's grace.

Music is Meaningful

Most of the 8,514 days that I have lived on planet earth have been complimented with music. At some point along the way, the labels associated with particular bands/artists began to hold some significance in my listening choices. Countless debates about the "Christian-ness" of specific groups have occurred in Christian circles shaping the decisions people make in regards to the music the will/will not listen to. In my experience, they are some things that should never enter my ear canals based on the content communicated through the musical form. On the other hand, there is a lot of music out there that I can't pin down as "good" or "bad."

The advancement of technology has brought my generation into a reality that is seemingly shaped by social networking. For the aspiring musician/band, Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter have become powerful tools to get their creative work to the masses. Say goodbye to bootleg demo tapes being passed in handshakes in the halls of your high school. By simply clicking the link that someone posts on your Facebook wall, you can be introduced to new music faster than ever before. This very thing happened to me yesterday. I saw an update concerning a surprise concert taking place in my home town of Kalispell, MT. Clicking on the part underlined in blue brought me to a site that was streaming the concert in high definition video. After seeing and hearing some new music, I went in search of a little information about the band.

Cyberspacetravel was once again an adventure full of distractions and detours. From Facebook to Wikipedia and a handful of sites in between, I finally found some information about last night's band, The Classic Crime. I noticed they were signed to one of Christian Contemporary Music's most notable record labels, read about their beginnings, and stumbled across a statement from the vocalist/guitarist, Matt Macdonald. Concerning the labeling of their band, Matt said:

"We believe faith is personal, and can be only held by an individual person. To entitle a group 'Christian' would be to assume that the group has a collective soul, or at least individual souls tied to a solid collective belief. Not everyone in our band is decidedly set in their faith, and we respect that."

Finally, I have heard a succinct and concise statement regarding whether or not the music is "Christian." The words Matt used concerning his band transcend into all areas of life and raised some questions which I thought were worth considering.

Was I raised in a "Christian" family?
Do I attend a "Christian" school?
Why am I listening to this "Christian" music?
Are my actions speaking louder than my words as I live the "Christian" life?
What is it that makes me a "Christian?"
When does my "secular" world intersect the "Christian" part of my life?
Is this a "Christian" blog?

Landing back on earth, I am once again aware that if I am to consider myself a "little Christ" and to let my thoughts, words, and actions be modeled after Christ's then something's got to change in me. There is no way I can live this life on my own. In Paul's letter to the Christians living in Rome, he says:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
(Romans 12:1-2 ESV)

Faith is personal, and personally, I need to be transformed by the Holy Spirit each and every day. Christ died and rose again, paying the price for my sin, allowing me to be in a relationship with Him. That's something I can put my faith in.