Grow Up

One of the greatest things in my life are my kids. Hannah is 8, Ellie is 7, Aiden is 1, and #4 will be here in March. We went out to dinner as a family the other night and at one point I just watched my kids. I was utterly amazed at them. How beautiful they are, how intelligent they are, how unique they are, and different from each other they are. It's amazing to think back to when they were born and how helpless they were, and now (at least the girls) they can do pretty much whatever they want. We give them quarters and they go play video games. They go up to the buffet and pick out their own pizza. They help feed their little brother. They win these temporary tattoos and put them on all by themselves. My little babies are growing up like crazy.

But they still are babies...they still are young and naive and very impressionable. They remind me of this oak tree that's in my front yard. Yeah, it's an oak and will be an incredibly strong tree when it reaches maturity, but right now it's only about 12 feet tall and the trunk is only 6 inches around. In fact, it's leaves have already begun to turn, and it's not even October yet. Because of its youth, it's more sensitive to its environment and "sways with the wind."

New or young Christians face the same struggles as the young oak tree. Unbelievable potential, but still very impressionable in the here and now. Same goes with our young church. We have unbelievable potential, but we need to be careful now because we're impressionable to changes in our environment. Because of this, more mature Christians have to watch out for the young believers and help them grow...which is exactly what Jesus did with the disciples and Paul did with his churches. As the pastor of Delta, I need to protect my young church and nurture it towards healthy growth.

Where are you? Are you a mature believer or a young believer? Have you been a Christ-follower for a long time, but haven't really matured in your faith? Too often we put age and maturity on equal planes, but just because you have years under your belt doesn't mean that you are mature. I know a number of people who are 50 or older and still act like junior high school students, both emotionally and spiritually.

The only way to really grow is to first just be honest with where you're at. Find someone you respect and loves you, be honest with them, and ask for their help. Submit yourself to God's authority, practice spiritual disciplines, covenant with the community of believers. As Paul says often, you may need to have a diet full of milk right now, but don't ever forget that you are destined to eat steak.

Grace for the journey...

Ryan

What is truth?

One of the benchmarks of today's postmodern/post-Christian culture is the idea of "all truth is relative." In a spiritual light, it's OK to say that all roads lead to heaven, but as soon as you claim to have the only way, then the gloves come off and it's a heavy weight fight. Admittedly, this idea of moral relativism did get shaken quite a bit five years ago when a bunch of people from the Middle East flew planes into our buildings in the name of their truth. Suddenly, people in America were forced to deal with that some "truth" just isn't right, and maybe all roads don't lead to heaven.

One of my favorite movie scenes is from A Few Good Men when Tom Cruise had Jack Nicholson on the witness stand in the courtroom and demanded the truth from him. Jack comes forcefully back with the line: "Truth? You want truth? You can't handle the truth!" People do have a difficult time when it comes to facing the truth...whether it's the truth about themselves, the truth about the state of our world, or the truth about Jesus. And I believe this difficulty comes from the fact that when you are faced with truth, it demands change on your part...a change in how your think, live, believe, relate, work...whatever...truth demands change.

Jesus had a conversation with Pontius Pilate in John 18 during his trials before he was crucified. Jesus proclaims that He is in fact a King, and everyone who is on the side of truth listens to him. Upon hearing that, Pilate says "What is truth?" So really, this question of truth isn't simply a "postmodern" condition...it's a question that has been asked and sought after for ages.

As a Christ-follower, I believe that there is an absolute truth. There is a Source for all that we know, see, experience, and feel. And since there is a Source for everything, there is a specific order and specific pathway that has been set up by the Source for us human beings to know the Source.

This Source that I speak of is the Eternal God. And God has specifically revealed himself (note: not proven himself...God does not have to "prove" anything; that's why he's God) in two ways: 1) through is Word, the Bible; and 2) through His incarnation in the person of Jesus Christ.

Through the Bible, we are able to find truth...truth about God and life and how our life can be lived as it was intended by God's design. We can search the lives of those who have gone before us to find strength and comfort. It is our roadmap, our instruction book, our recovery guide, our true north for living.

Through the person of Jesus Christ, we are able to find Someone who lived a life as God intended. We find that Jesus experienced everything we do from joys to sorrows, to being misuderstood and rejected. Jesus provides for us a model to pattern ourselves after. Jesus is God-in-the-flesh, the prototype of a Spirit-filled & led life, totally surrendered to the will of God.

We can't argue that there aren't basic rights and wrongs...we all know there are. So, in a sense, we do all know that there is truth. It's my desire that people begin engage the truth with the minds, their hears, and in their living. And this truth is ultimately found through God's Word and in the Person of Jesus Christ.