-1 UP-

One of the greatest things about growing up in the time-frame I did had to be the incarnation of the NES. That's right, the Nintendo Entertainment System. Sometimes I really miss it. I own a PS2, (which I never play anymore), and now a Nintendo Wii currently but sometimes nostalgia gets the better of me and I just want to pop in a game cartridge and play Contra, or Metroid, or the classic; Super Mario Brothers. My favorite part of playing games like these is getting to that certain point when the game gives of a specific chime and the phrase "1 UP" appears somewhere on the screen. My brother and I called this, "getting a free man."

 

The free man was such a stress reliever. Especially if you were down to your last "life." The free man was like having permission to fail without fear of having the dreaded "GAME OVER" screen pop up. It was another chance to do better next time.

 

I think Jesus is a huge fan of the free man too. I imagine him smiling every time someone collects 100 coins in Super Mario Brothers. Because Jesus is all about giving us another chance. Jesus is all about giving us another opportunity to do better next time.

 

In the 8th chapter of John's Gospel, we're told about an incident when a bunch of angry religious people bring a women to Jesus. Apparently this woman was caught in the very act of cheating on her husband. This was a major "no-no" to the first century Jewish culture and the punishment called for was death by stoning. Not a pleasant way to die. Because Jesus is a Rabbi, they ask him what he thinks about all this and he responds with his well know answer, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." You got to love that response! Everyone eventually leaves except Jesus and the woman and Jesus tells her that she hasn't been condemned and that she should go back to living, but living a different way. Jesus gives her a free man.

 

What strikes me most about this story though is that John writes two separate times that Jesus bent down and "wrote on the ground." For centuries scholars and theologians have speculated on what Jesus was writing. Some say he was writing the 10 Commandments, others theorize that he was writing the names and sins of the people in the crowd. There are all kinds of opinions but when all is said and done they are little more than a shot in the dark. John never tells us what Jesus was writing. Why not? Probably because it wasn't important to know WHAT Jesus was writing on the ground, it was only important to know THAT Jesus was writing on the ground.

 

John is a Jewish writer and he often employees a Jewish literary tradition known as "the principle of first mention." Essentially, the principle of first mention tells us that when we come across a significant word, phrase or general concept in this writing, to look and see where that significant word, phrase or concept is found in the Jewish Bible, (Old Testament). John does this all over his gospel record. If you want an example, find the first place John mentions "love" and then the first place the Old Testament mentions "love." It's pretty cool, especially if you are a Jew in the First Century. So what is the significance in this story? Well, the only other time we see God writing on the ground is back in Genesis... when he is creating mankind.

 

John is telling us that Jesus is doing something new here. He's creating a new humanity out of the old one he created thousands of years earlier. The new life he breathes into us is his phrase, "Nor do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:11) Jesus is granting us a free man. This is what Paul was talking about when he wrote to the Corinthians, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2nd Corinthians 5:17) If we are in Christ we are not condemned, we were redrawn on the ground and given a new breath of life. We have a free man! We have an opportunity to try again and do better this time. Because Jesus, "bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger." (John 8:6) What are you going to do with your free man?

-Jesus Wasn't A Carpenter-

Before his death and resurrection, Jesus was a rabbi. I know that many Christians credit Him with being a carpenter by trade but there are no examples of Him acting in that capacity found anywhere in scripture. None, zero, zilch. We base our assumption of His being a carpenter on the idea that Joseph was a carpenter but even this isn't technically true. A more accurate translation of the word used for carpenter in Matthew 13:55 makes Joseph a stone mason instead. But the Bible never clearly states that Jesus carried on Joseph's trade. In fact it insinuates that He became a rabbi.

 

How does the Bible insinuate this? Several ways really. The language He used when calling His disciples, the way that even those who didn't like Him wanted Him to come to their home for a meal, and the age at which He began His public ministry are just a few ways. But perhaps the most blatant example is that Jesus is called "rabbi" or "teacher" (the Hebrew word "rabbi" literally translates to the English word "teacher"), 55 times in the gospels. What most striking is that He is called "rabbi" by even the Pharisees who didn't use titles like this loosely. At one point we see Jesus being referred to as "Rabboni" which has even greater implications that I won't go into. To me it seems pretty clear that Jesus was a Rabbi rather than a carpenter or stone mason. That isn't to say that He didn't know a thing or two about what Joseph did, I'm absolutely sue He did. But I think it is clear that His primary "occupation" was as a Rabbi.

 

Now, if Jesus was a rabbi we have to assume that He had to take certain steps to become a rabbi. The Jews were not in the habit of simply handing out a title like that all willy-nilly like. So what did Jesus have to do to obtain this title that was essential for the type of ministry He would be doing? Well in the first century, He would have gone through three phases of Jewish education, Bet Sefer, Bet Talmud and Bet Midrash. During this educational process, Jesus would have memorized the entire Old Testament, (Genesis through Malachi), studied what various other rabbis and religious leaders had taught about these books, and even would have done about a 15 year apprenticeship or internship under another rabbi. (For a more complete explanation of a first century Jewish education, read "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell, a book that completely changed my view of ministry, Christianity, study, and the Church.) When he completed all of this, Jesus would have been ready to begin His own public ministry at about the age of 30. (hmmmm coincidence?) You see, Jesus had to work hard before He earned the right to teach us and eventually lay down His life for us. Jesus had to put in a lot of effort to get where He was called to go.

 

We are no different. God has called each of us to a certain life. Some people are called to serve in a hands-on capacity like Joseph who although he was a "blue-collar worker" had a huge role in shaping the person Jesus would become. Other people are called to be more detail and administration oriented like Luke, the physician who penned more words in the New Testament than any other Biblical author. Still other people are called to a life devoted to the Word of God and the service of His people like Jesus, who showed what real leadership is when He washed the feet of those who were His supposed subordinates. Each of us has a life that we are called to live just like Jesus had a life He was called to live. And like Him, we must be willing to do what it takes to get there.

 

The vast majority of Jesus' life was spent in education. About 23 of His 33 years, (about 70%), were spent preparing to become a rabbi so He could effectively live the life He was called to live in that place at that time. What does that mean for us? It means that we too, must be willing to put in whatever work and effort it takes to get to he place that God is calling us to go to in this place at this time. The bible tells us that many are called but few are chosen. Why are few chosen? Because few are willing to do the work that their calling requires of them. We somehow believe that we are entitled to a position based on our calling and natural abilities and gifts alone. But if it didn't work like that for Jesus then why would it work like that for us? Even the Apostles spent three years apprenticing under Jesus. Why should we be any different?

 

Getting to where God wants you to go is difficult. It takes hard work, effort, tears, sweat, turmoil, stress, and even some doubt. Probably because when you finally do all that work and put in all that time and effort to get where God is calling you, you'll find the same hard work, tears, and sweat waiting for you. But it'll also be the best, most abundant and rewarding life you can live. A life where you see prayers answered regularly and miracles take place that most people can't see. Going in the direction God wants you to go and being in the place God wants you to be will never make life easier, but it will always make life better.

-My Stolen Instinct-

Watching my kids grow and learn is probably one of the greatest gifts I have been given. Seeing them discover who they are and what they are capable of is something I don't think I could ever get enough of. Just the other day I was playing with my 18 month old son and he went running down the hall yelling, "Ahhhhhhh," as I chased him. It occurred to me that he wasn't always able to run down the hall. He learned how to over time and in a series of steps.

 

There is something within us all, as human beings, that causes us to not be content with just laying around when we are infants. God has designed our minds and bodies with an inclination to be mobile. To be on the go. To move forward.  We're not content with just laying there on our back so we learn to roll. When we master that we try and try to lift our heads up until we can finally see what's in front of us. When we realize we can do that we begin to the hard work of pushing our chests off the floor and begin scooting forward.  After this we discover that we can get our legs underneath us as well and begin to crawl. But are we satisfied with that? No, we are driven to stand up tall and learn to walk. We try, and fail, a thousand times but there is something in us that will not let us give up. Finally, we take our first, real unassisted steps. What a great moment that is. Mom and dad may even write the date down so it's never forgotten. But that doesn't matter to us because we're not done yet. Soon we learn to run and then ride a tricycle, a bike, and eventually, learn to drive. Because from day one, there is just something in us that compels us to be on the move.

 

But something happens to us at some point in our lives. We become content and stop exploring our possibilities. When we're children we can be anything. Astronauts, athletes, world leaders and even super heroes. Our potential is limitless. But something happen along the way. We lose that instinct inside of us that longs to be on the go. To move forward. Or maybe we don't lose it. Maybe it's taken from us by our culture. Taken by the masses who have themselves given up and so they tell us we should do the same. It's just the way of the world. Welcome to reality. The sad thing is that these people usually mean well. Their motive is good because they are, "just trying to be realistic." It's all well and good to be "realistic" but it's the dreamers who change the world, not the realists. The dreamer walks on water while the realists watch from the boat.

 

Watching my son run down the hallway has reminded me to be a dreamer again. To reclaim that which was taken from me that I seemed to have let go so easily. To find within me that childhood instinct to be mobile. To be on the go. To move forward. God has a dream for my life and I am convinced that it is an unrealistic dream. A dream that goes beyond the safety of the realists and has me walking in the liquid footsteps of the dreamer. I hope I will muster the tenacity to follow those footsteps. And I hope you will too.

-Unfriendly Friendly Fire-

I'm a reader. I wasn't always but thanks to a man named Chris Sonksen, one of my life's great mentors, now I am constantly reading. Now, I devour the pages of a book like a Catholic at a BBQ the day before Lent begins. If you're not into reading books, do yourself a favor and start. Force yourself to do it if you have to. It'll just take one book that really grabs you to get you hooked. Start now and don't stop.

Nothing comes without some degree of disappointment though. I read a lot from the different philosophies of Christianity. The Main-liners, the Evangelicals, the Fundamentalists, the Emergents, the Emergings, the Traditionalists, the Ecumenicals and even those who claim to have no attachment to any label. There is so much information and wisdom to be found in each of these points of view that it would be ludicrous for me to pigeonhole myself to only one school of thought. That's one of the advantages in being 2000 years removed from Jesus. It means we have 2000 years of study and wisdom to glean from. Unfortunately it also means we have 2000 years of opinions and personal agendas to sift through. Not an easy task.

In reading various books by various authors representing the various groups of Christianity, I have come to the conclusion that each of these groups share two things in common. First, they all love God and are just trying to point people to Him the best way they know how. Whether it's loving acts of kindness, friendship evangelism, fire and brimstone preaching, tent revivals, stadium crusades, street corner preaching or even telling people they're going to go to hell, all of these people have the same motive; getting others closer to Jesus then they are right now. These techniques are all flawed and no single technique has a 100% success rate.  And while I have my own opinions about the constructiveness of each of these, I do believe that they all aim to point people to God in their own way; and that is a comforting thought.

The second thing these groups have in common is that there is inevitably some people within them who can't wait to tell you how right their group is and criticize the others. All of them. Not one single group is void of this type of mentality. Don't believe me? Go to youtube.com and type in a name of a Christian leader and you will inevitably find a video of another Christian leader telling us how ridiculous the first leader is. The Emergants hate the Evangelicals, the Main-liners hate the Fundamentalists, the Traditionalists hate the Emergings and everybody hates the Ecumenicals. It's sad really. The Army of the Kingdom of God is the only army that shoots it's own soldiers on purpose. It's like we have to watch out for "Unfriendly Friendly Fire."

It's funny that this happened in the book of Acts too. Different groups of Christians arguing over the superiority of their particular philosophy. Paul and Peter calling each other out in public. Paul even went as far as to say he wished that some "agitators" in the other group would just cut off a certain body part. Brutal!

And here we are, with the benefit of 2000 years of study and wisdom and "growth" and we're doing the same thing. Why? Why can't we move beyond our petty need to be right? Jesus said that people would know that we are His disciples by the way we showed each other love. Are we any good at that? It's no wonder that church attendance in the USA is dropping even during a time where interest in the spiritual and supernatural is growing. Who wants to be part of a splintered and combative faith? Don't we have enough conflict in our lives already?

I don't what to do about it really. I mean, I have my own struggles with being critical and needing to be right all of the time. It's a daily challenge for me and love doesn't always come out on top. I just wish that we were better at showing ourselves at Jesus' disciples by loving each other. I wish I was better. What can we do? Any ideas?