10 Wonders

I think a child's sense of wonder is a beautiful thing. The older we get, the more we forget about simple joys. I'll make a list of 10.

1. I looked out my window today and the world had turned white. Wonderful.

2. The Nutcracker music by Tchaikovsky: Wonderful. That man was a genius.

3. Printers baffle me. Yes. I think printers are wonderful.

4. Our hallway is decorated in dozens of strings of christmas lights. Wonderful.

5. Hot chocolate with a scoop of peanut butter. Wonderful.

6. Mechanical pencils. Wonderful. No more need for pencil sharpeners.

7. Glitter. Just stare at it. It is wonderful.

8. Hugging someone who is wearing a puffy vest. Wonderful.

9. Checking out a new book at the library. It smells old, but it is like a new Christmas present. Wonderful.

10. Water. So wonderful.

The end.

Jake Barry makes me think.

I have the most interesting conversations with a guy named Jake Barry. He thinks Christians are dumb, but we're friends, regardless of his negative view.

We talk about all the things he doesn't like about Christians. He can't understand why Christians hate homosexuals so much. He hates hypocrisy, he doesn't understand why Christians love a God that seems so far away and so uncaring.

A lot of the times I don't have any good answers, and I am a Christian myself. I'm part of the group he dislikes so strongly. I don't know what to say.

He's honest. I am glad he is honest, despite how it stings sometimes.

"Christians are supposed to be loving, but they hate fags," he would say.

What could I say, a knew lots of people at my church that held this view. I didn't agree with them, I didn't think Christians should be so full of hate.

So what can we do? How can we change this negative view non-Christians hold?

Well, for starters, why don't we love people like Jesus did? When will we stop condemning for sins and start loving them?

Why don't we engage in random acts of kindness. Paying for groceries, making food for a neighbor, buying someone flowers for no reason?

Why don't we listen more? There are broken people in the world...really broken. They want to be heard....to be accepted. We are refusing them.

Why don't we open our homes? Bring in people for holidays, for friday night gatherings, making them feel welcome?

Why don't we act like we have hope? Why don't we exude a thirst for higher things, for the future, why isn't our joy contagious?

There is a lot of things we could change.

Granted, Christians will be persecuted...the Bible says it.

But why are we known for our hate instead of our love?

The Story of Adam and Eve (with never-before-seen-alternate ending)

There was once a man named Adam. He had a wife, Eve, and they both lived in a beautiful little plot of land in the east called Eden. In Eden, there were trees that grew as tall as skyscrapers. There were flowers that bloomed all year long. The streams that ran through Eden were so clear you could count the pebbles at the bottom.

Adam and Eve lived in Eden ate fruit from the trees. Right in the middle was a bad tree. The only tree in the garden that was bad.

So Adam and Eve avoided the tree. They spent their time with animals, naming them and such. They enjoyed tending the plants as well. Adam and Eve were very happy there in the Garden.

One day, the serpent came slithering up to Eve. The serpent was very crafty, and told Eve she should eat the fruit.

"No," she said, "It is bad. I don't want to."

Adam came up next to her, and the serpent tried to convince him as well. He refused. He then proceeded to kick the serpent between the eyes and hang it up in the tree (now if this was really the Garden of Eden, there wouldn't be any evil and therefore Adam would have no urge to roundhouse kick the snake, but bear with me. The world has fallen and I want the story to end with a roundhouse kick.)

Adam and Eve then wandered off into the garden and proceeded to hang out with animals, eat fruit from trees, and talking with God. And they lived happily ever after.

He says it Himself.

In church on Sunday, the Pastor said there are twenty couples that have been married longer than fifty years in the congregation. He said that is 2,000 years of marriage between them all. Everyone clapped.

There is something beautiful about a long marriage. I am always encouraged in my Christian faith when people announce things like that. I'm not sure why... maybe its the actions of a Christian being lived out in a marriage....maybe it is because marriage is supposed to symbolize Christ and his Church, and its nice when the two stay together.

"I hate divorce," says the Lord God of Israel (Malachi 2:16).

He says it himself. Its in the Bible.

I don't think Christians should get divorced, except on the grounds of one spouse being unfaithful. Its in the Bible in Matthew and in 1 Corinthians 7 as well.

I'm blessed to come from a family where divorce is almost unheard of. My second cousin got a divorce, and it really affected our whole family. I say this, not to boast on the fact that my family should be put on a pedestal, but because it is proof that people can work through their problems and stay together.

My mom said divorce was never an option. When she and my Dad got married, she said divorce wasn't even a plan B, a plan C, a plan D, it just wasn't an option. She made it a point to never even joke about divorce. They've had their arguments, and they fight sometimes. But no divorce.

That kind of attitude is very Christ-like, I think. For those among the Christian throng that are not outspoken evangelicals, marriage is a powerful example of Christ. Living a life that honors and loves a spouse is a loud voice in today's society. Show the world a beautiful marriage and you show them a bit of Christ.

We do not accept cash, credit, debit, or check.

There are lots of things you can earn.

You can earn a reputation.

You can earn a living.

You can earn a promotion.

You can earn a swift kick to your rear.

But you can't earn your way to heaven.

There is a woman with coiffed hair. She dotes on her children, she meticulously plans to read five chapters of her Bible every morning. She never misses a single sermon. She bakes pies for newlyweds, she visits the sick, she works in the local soup kitchen. She does all of this with a tally book in hand. Being hospitable: check. Working for a charity: check. Loving: check. Sunday School: perfect attendance.

She is gripping her tally book quite tightly, her fingers like forceps around its carefully documented pages. When she dies she wants to keep careful hold of this tally book, so she can show it as admittance at the pearly gates. She has proof of her works. She has earned a free pass into heaven.

Or so she thinks.

I see this scenario far too often. This woman is running in circles, she is missing the point.

Going to heaven is not something we earn, like a reputation, or a pay raise, or a boy scout medal. We cannot pay for it in cash, check or debit.

We need to stop trying to earn our way to heaven. We'll come up short every time.

Tithing

Should Christians tithe?

Yes.

What percent?

10%

Do I tithe?

Yes.

Easy enough. Tithing is the church's basic money management system. We tithe, the church stays running, life is good.

What is so complicated about that?

Fruit baskets, atomic bombs, and Jesus

I think society sees Jesus as a gift-wrapped fruit basket.

The population realizes this man, Jesus, is something special, hence the gift-wrapping. He stands out as something that has been given as a present. Society has no problem saying that Jesus was a great teacher, a rabbi, some might even say he was a prophet. Everybody likes a good fruit basket, there isn't a threatening thing about a bowl full of fruit (except perhaps an occasional bug). The general population wants Jesus to be something safe and subdued, like a basket full of fruit.

If Jesus were to ask the Christians who they think he is, most would reply, “The son of God”. The Bible nicely outlines this response when Jesus asks Peter and Peter replies and says that Jesus is the Son of God. Then Jesus tells Peter to keep in on the DL, and its all right there in the Bible.

Instead of seeing Jesus as a fruit basket, Christians see Jesus as an atomic bomb. No, I do not mean to say Jesus has the destructive capabilities of an atomic bomb, I just want to focus on the power of an atomic bomb. Atomic bombs have power, they get people talking, they shape countries diplomatic relationships with each other. Jesus has that kind of power. At the mention of the existence of an atomic bomb, things change. At the mention of the existence of Jesus, things change.

If the population came to realize that this nicely wrapped gift was not harmless bananas and apples but was instead full of power and would change the world, I think things would be in perspective a bit more.