Really knowing

Call me cynical, but if you haven't taken your own advice for a test drive yourself, then I don't want it. I will gladly listen to anyone who has learned what they know through the pain of real world experience. What an enormous difference there is between degrees and scars!

Mark Scandrette in his book Soul Graffiti makes a good point along these lines. He contends that if the average Christian stopped reading the Bible for the rest of their life and just started acting on what they already know of Jesus' teaching, they would mature far more than they ever would by looking for the next best book or Bible study. He says, "In Western society we are also culturally conditioned to assume that intellectual assent to a set of propositions is an adequate substitute for obedience." And so we feel that reading the Bible more, or understanding Greek and Hebrew, or more teaching will help us grow.

I find myself having to admit more and more, that I don't need a new book, or more knowledge. What I need is to find more time to put into practice the things I already know. I find myself making a mental list of the things in Jesus teaching that especially challenge me, and struggle as I ask how can I implement this?

If you really want to know Jesus, start doing the things Jesus did, and you will. You might say that this is the difference between believing in Jesus, and believing what Jesus believed. I dare say that merely believing a set of propositions about Jesus never put food on the plate of a hungry person or a roof over their head.

The question is, will we make the leap from consumer in the religious services aisle to an employee for the Kingdom of God?

Lenten Reflections

I'm feeling the withdrawal symptoms of my TV fast. It's the way my hand instinctively reaches for the remote when I'm on the sofa and not talking or reading a book. It's the urge to have more stimulation when I'm feeding Sascha in the morning. Why is it hard for me to just sit in silence? Why do I find it appealing to read while the TV is on in the background? I've become the very kind of person I tried not to become.

I grew up without a TV in the house. (It was a practical decision on my parents part. You don't have to control TV viewing if you don't have one. Kids are more apt to do their chores when not tempted to catch up on their TV viewing. Pragmatic Germanic thinking.) I was happy, content and very stimulated for all 18 years of my growing up without it. Now it seems I can't imagine life without the boob tube.

As I reflect on my desire for stimulation, I realize that what I'm settling for is convenience and distraction. I want to feel more connected. I want to be entertained. I want to experience adventure, so I'll settle for a vicarious experience. I'm facing up to the fact that I'm probably spending hours a week wasting opportunities for real connection and adventure by settling for the fake stuff.

As you ingest the daily portions of Scripture during this Lenten season, let your interaction with it expose what it is that you're really hungry for. Whether you might think of your fast as a trial or test as James 1 says, allow the unfamiliar cravings and discomforts lead you to discovering what it is that you really desire. Let's not settle for less than that which is truly life-giving.