The Decision

I remember this day about 15 years ago when Katie and I went to a new Nike outlet store in the suburbs of Chicago and I bought a new pair of Nike Shox running shoes. (Yes, these were the days before my toe-shoe obsession.) I took my new shoes and went off for a run. I’d been keeping up with some exercise while serving as a Youth Minister as we played games at church, and I had my weekly flag football league with seminary students to keep me in relative health. But that day, I had decided that I needed to start running more. I went for a 3 mile run that was hard and slow; but I was excited for this new habit. I would now be a runner. The decision was made.

Except I wasn’t. I ran that day. I may have even ran the next day. But then I didn’t strap up my shoes for another run for months; maybe even a year.

Actually, it would be 8 more years before I would ever be able to claim with certainty that I was a runner. After 2 bouts of Thyroid Cancer and my new-found toe-shoes, I started running again and stuck with it. I found a half marathon training plan and followed it to the letter; preparing for my first real race. That habit would finally stick as I ran 2 marathons the next year, 5 ultramarathons the year after that, and continues to this day.  

Why didn’t my grand decision lead to my identity as a runner in the first place? I think that my perspective was that all I had to do was get started. If I’d make the decision, then I would be on my way. But the next day and the day after that, I wouldn’t confirm that decision by heading out for another run.

For me this represents the way we talk about our faith. So often in the church we talk about “making the decision”. We tell people that they need to choose Jesus and then everything will change. But the reality is, it’s not one decision; it’s a habit that we’re creating. If that one decision isn’t followed by a habitual, daily choice to be in fellowship with Jesus; then we’re not being changed.

John says it this way: “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” – 1 John 1:5-7

We are to be “people of the Light” and that comes not from just claiming to be so, but by choosing to walk in the Light every day. We’re called “Christians” because we look like Jesus; or at least we try to.

I want to encourage you to make the decision; not just that initial decision to follow Jesus; but the daily habit of choosing to walk with Him. It is in the discipline of daily choosing to be with Jesus that we can grow to be like Him.

Blessings,

Regan

Tombs or Trees

I’ve had an influx of Facebook friend-requests lately. As my 20 year high school reunion looms this fall, I’ve had old acquaintances connect via social media. And since I became a part of World Vision’s Hood to Coast KC team, I’ve been introduced to teammates and other TWV team members as well. I do this funny thing whenever someone asks to become my friend on social media. I immediately go to my own timeline to try to see what they see when they look at it. It’s silly, but it’s my opportunity to make sure the person I’m portraying online is close to the person I am, and the person I want to be. I believe it’s important to be accurate in our online presence and not just show our best selves, but it’s also important that we reflect Jesus in our posts and comments. I see many on social media that are wonderful people, but who I don’t recognize based on their posts. I see kind and loving friends who are so busy chastising their political or social “other” with posts that I struggle to reconcile the difference.

This social media stuff is a good example of the struggle we have to live out our faith in real life too. So often we find ourselves going to one extreme or the other. We are either “whitewashed tombs”, looking good on the outside while decaying on the inside; or the opposite, a tree of life that produces no fruit. The bad news is that both extremes are missing the mark of discipleship; of worshiping God “in Spirit and in truth”, and worshiping Him by “offering our bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God.”

I’m realizing that I need to take a step back in my real life as well to determine if I look like Jesus in my daily interactions. Am I a reflection of the Prince of Peace, who teaches us to love people radically? Do I accept people instantly, do I love those that don’t love me, do I forgive automatically? Does the way I treat others show them the love of God?

What about you? Take a step back and look at yourself from an outsider’s perspective. Do you look like Jesus? Jump onto your social media accounts and check out your profiles. Do they reflect Jesus’ calls to make peace instead of division? Do you let your online presence testify to the love of Christ?

If you struggle with either of these – as most of us do – there is good news. Paul lays out a way to find the characteristics of Jesus grow in us. “… let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. …the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5) Let the Holy Spirit be your guide and God will produce fruit. Then we will look more and more like the Jesus we serve.

What Now?

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

It’s November… Another election is going to finally be over tomorrow. We will have new representatives, the phone calls will stop, television commercials will end, and yard signs will disappear. For this we can be thankful.

But many are afraid. Christians and non-Christians alike are fearing for the future. What happens to this country if – fill in the blank—gets elected? What about Supreme Court justices? What about immigration, healthcare, taxes? What about religious freedoms, economic inequality, race relations? What about terrorism?

I get it. These elections polarize us against one another. They convince us that one side is completely right and the other are the enemy. They tell us that if you disagree about an issue, you have no value. They shout that everything is a conspiracy from the other side to destroy our values.

But stop for a moment. Whether you read this before the election day or after…

"That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. "So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6

The world can change around us, but we are reminded that we are to have hope. We don’t have to fear, we don’t have to be anxious, we don’t have to be depressed.

So what do we do in the wake of such an election; such a divided country; such a tumultuous time?

First, we keep our eyes on Christ. We seek out His Kingdom over and above the kingdoms of the earth. That means we do the things that Kingdom people do. We love our neighbors, even when they voted for the other candidates, disagree on issues, or just drive us nuts. We try to be a positive, hopeful influence on the people we’re around, because our Kingdom is not of this world. We live out generosity to people that need to see a generous Kingdom.

Second, we pray. I don’t always know how prayer affects the outcome of things, but I know that when we pray we please God. He wants to hear from us. And our prayers change us. If I’m praying for the new representative—even if it’s the one I didn’t want—my heart changes toward that person. It’s hard to want bad things to happen to a person you’re praying for. And as we pray, we take Jesus’ advice to ask God to make things here on earth look more like heaven.

Our witness as disciples of Jesus isn’t tied to who we vote for or which party we agree with. Our opportunity is to make an impact on this world through the way we live out Kingdom values no matter the outcome of elections. Let’s choose not to be afraid together.