Theology vs. Reality

(This is a repost of a blog from last summer. For some reason, the concept struck me again today...)

My just-turned two year old, Jeremiah, loves animals. He has books about them, puzzles about them, and a complete over-abundance of stuffed animals shaped like them. He knows that a tiger roars, that a cat meows, and that a fish "glub-glubs". With the possible exception of his trucks, Jeremiah knows more about animals than about anything else in life right now.

Several times in the past few months, seeing our son's passion for all things furry and feathered, my wife and I have taken our beloved boy to see a variety of animals: cows, horses, pigs, goats, etc. And guess what? He's not such a big fan. Not a fan at all really. His favorite part of the trips? Eating graham crackers in the car on the way home.

As it turns out, REAL animals are much bigger and scarier than the ones in his books. They're much louder and smellier than his puzzles. And they're much less tolerant of him pulling their hair or drooling on their ears than his stuffed animals are.

Jeremiah's knowledge of animals didn't quite prepare him for the real thing.

Unfortunately, this reminds me of a lot of Christians. Including me sometimes. We know an awful lot about Jesus and about the Bible, but we incorrectly assume that our knowledge is enough.

Knowing that "God works all things together for good to those who love Him" is an important truth...but doesn't completely prepare you for a cancer diagnosis.

Knowing that "God never gives us more than we can handle" is comforting...but doesn't completely prepare you for losing your job.

Knowing that "God hates divorce" is critical...but doesn't completely prepare you for a cheating spouse.

Don't get me wrong, it is vital that we read, study and memorize God's word. It's powerful and gives us a strong foundation for whatever lies ahead in life. But, what our knowledge of the Bible DOESN"T do, is make life easy. And, too often, we pretend like it does.

In a world that is already VERY skeptical of Christians, I think it's critically important that we don't hand out our knowledge nearly as often as we hand out our love. ("And they'll know we are Christians by our love.") It's easy to regurgitate verses that we learned in Sunday School to a friend who's hurting, but how much more effective is it when we share our real-life experiences and stories of God's faithfulness?

When Jeremiah clung to my leg upon encountering his first, real cow...I "moo-ed" and said "cow" probably a hundred times. No luck. It wasn't until I took his hand and we walked up to the cow together that he began to feel better about the situation.

I don't know about you, but I'm challenging myself to WALK more people through their pain, rather than TALK them through it.

And, while we're walking, if all else fails, I'll bring graham crackers.

One Word

I don't like New Year's resolutions.  (Perhaps you noticed, given that it's now January 26th and I'm just getting around to talking about them.)

For me, the fact that one calendar year has passed and another is just beginning, is not a motivator to radically change my life.  In fact, the only thing that changes for me on January 1st is that I get to watch as much football as I want to - no questions asked.  (Thanks sweetheart.)  And, then, it's back to business as usual.

However, I have been intrigued (and challenged) by a new, resolution-like concept I saw the other day on MyOneWord.org.

Instead of creating a laundry-list of items to work on each year, the idea is to choose one word that describes who God is calling you to be...and then strive each day to become that kind of person.  And, while things like 'healthy' or 'skinny' or 'organized' or 'uber-rich' might immediately jump to mind, the idea is to make your word more substantial than that.  More heart-based.

Here are the three basic steps:

1.  Answer the question, "What kind of person is God calling/challenging me to be this year?" 
2.  List as many adjectives as you can to describe that type of person. 
3.  Pick one.

I tried this.  It's hard.

Initially, I gravitated to adjectives like driven, creative, bold, transparent, efficient, etc.  Those all sounded good, but the more I reflected on them, the more I realized that these were not things that God was calling me to be...but, rather, things that He had made me to be.

There's a big difference.

I am a driven person.  Period.  I don't have to work at that.  Creativity oozes from the right side of my brain.  Sometimes uncontrollably.  I have very little fear of saying what I think, when I think it.  No matter who's in the room.  It happens naturally.  God made me that way.

But God isn't calling me to those things.  He's calling me to use them responsibly.

I don't know about you, but I frequently let the things that God made me to be get in the way of who He calls me to be.  In other words, my strengths become my weaknesses.  Being "driven" tempts me to sprint, when I'm supposed to walk.  Being "bold" causes me to leap off the cliff, when I'm supposed to wait for a parachute.  Being "creative" encourages me to move on to the next big thing, when I'm supposed to finish what I started.

So, with those things in mind, this driven, bold, creative person has finally chosen his word.  In 2010, I will strive to be "measured".

As in, paced and patient and steady.

It's the exact opposite of everything that God made me to be.  But it's exactly what I need to be everything that God calls me to be.

Can "Viral" Be Created?

"Pants on the Ground"
Susan Boyle
"Evolution of Dance"
That music video with the guys on the treadmills

Millions of people have watched these videos on You Tube, shared them with their friends, and posted them to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. In several instances, well over 100 million people have checked them out online!

By our modern-day definition, they're "viral".

Have you ever tried to CREATE something viral? Maybe a parody video, a wacky song, or a cleverly-written email? Who wouldn't want to reach millions of people (almost instantly) with their message? I'll admit...I have, or at least been a part of a few radio stations and church groups that have. In fact, some of the world's largest companies pay MILLIONS attempting to create something viral.

Well, guess what? It rarely works...if ever.

If you look closely, nearly everything "viral" has two things in common:

1. It was never intended to be viral in the first place
2. The person/group involved was simply being themselves and doing what they felt 'called' to do.

The moral of the story?

When it comes to sharing your faith, don't try to reach the whole world at once. Be yourself. Do the things that God has gifted you to do. Follow your calling.

The world tends to notice those things.

Why Even Bother?

This is weird. I'm writing an article that, at least for now, no one is going to read. Having started the "Real. Life. Conversation." blog just minutes ago, I have exactly zero followers...meaning that there's every chance that these words could disappear into cyber-oblivion. In fact, I even asked myself, "why bother starting this thing?" Of the millions of blogs out there, why would anyone care what mine had to say?

Have you been there? Have you been inspired to try something new or led to reach out to someone, yet caved in to your own doubts? I think many Christians have been. We concede to that little voice inside us that says we don't matter, or people will make fun of us or we aren't qualified to share Jesus with a friend or co-worker.

Well, it's not true.

Every day you and I have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people around us. Sometimes in subtle ways...sometimes in more overt ones. Every Christian is a public relations person for Jesus. You're either a good one or a bad one. There's no opting out. How are you doing at representing Him? How can we, in this culture, do better?

Do I have all the answers as to how this can be done effectively? Hardly. But I am willing to be a part of the discussion - even start the discussion if need be. And there's no better time than now.

Consider the discussion started.