At our home church, they have someone stand up after the sermon and transition from the sermon to the closing song. A week ago, I had the opportunity to do so. Below is the transition that I wrote including an original poem.

Sometimes when you pick up your Bible and read a passage like today’s, it can be hard to form good connections. Places and names such as Pergamum, Antipas, Balaam, and Nicolatians don’t really strike a chord in our hearts or mind with meaning or impact. Yet strong words such as “repent” and “war against” ring loudly on our ears. To hear such a charge echoes of a sternness and a critique that makes us uncomfortable. We like the idea of being liked and being loved by others and especially by God. None of us like being judged usually fairly or unfairly. I myself have stood condemned by people before. Both justly before a judge when dealing with a ticket from an Ohio State Trooper and in other situations far more complicated. But in every case, it wasn’t enjoyable. Our pride fights against judgment of any kind no matter how true.

Today’s closing song calls to remembrance the very truth that can turn such moments into relief and welcome. The only just judge is Jesus. But He also stands as a willing replacement for us. Yet His sacrifice removes all of our claim to our pride. He stands as both our judge and our savior. Any claim or control we wish to keep will only condemn us. Yet offered to us is overwhelming grace. Only the terrible cross with its brutal force balances the justice and love. A loving hug would not take care of our rebellion. The whip alone would not offer love. The perfect savior willingly offered in brutal death overwhelms with loving grace.

The sin and guilt and shame we bring to cross is overpowered by the humble sacrifice. Only there can we die to our self and find freedom in living for Him who gave all for us. We no longer live in fear or dread. We are no longer tied to our old self. We are given a new name written on a white stone. Pure and solid. New and eternal. Given by God. Earned by Jesus. Secured by the Spirit. Offered at the cross. Confirmed at the tomb. Exalted at the end. And powerful for today.

 

My pride it seeks to stand apart

To live and die on its own dark heart

Its only claim is self and pride

But offers only a life that lied

Standing near against the shame

A wooden cross of brutal fame

Bears the pride we carry close

Through blood that runs from head to toes

Our Savior who should judge in dread

Instead offers his own split head

Now His love covers and frees

So now our lives can be lived as he sees

We are no longer who we are

We shine instead by his own star

His light it shines for us above

His sacrifice gives us his love

Introduction

As I began my time as a parent, I realized the allure of the exceptional. Previously, I had always sat in wonder as I watched parents seeks to find or elevate some attribute of their child. They seemed to desire their child to give meaning to their life by achieving in some way. But now that I was walking the path of parenthood, I recognized the same desire. Was my child bigger, faster, smarter? The percentiles and measurements provided an opportunity for pride or remorse. Fortunately, I have come to accept that my child will most likely be average much as I am and was. I will encourage effort and comfort loss but I will seek daily to find my satisfaction in something greater than my child's achievements.
But this desire for the exceptional has I feel tinted the window through which we view the stories of the Bible. Certain characters have become larger than life and define whole genres of stories. David and Goliath, the Prodigal Son, Daniel and the Lions, Noah and the Ark: each of these stories has been told and celebrated to the point where they become commonplace and cultural. Yet even in a book as historically popular as the Bible, certain characters have been relegated to the background. This, I believe, is a great injustice. There are so few stories in the Bible compared to what could have been included that every character was chosen and included for a reason. By sticking to the popular stories and characters of the Bible, we miss great depth of perspective on the full complement of people that were included.
It is my desire to change that failure. I want to take some time and walk with you through some of lesser known characters of the Bible. Their forgotten stories provide vital understanding of the range of human experience. Maybe you have found the Bible to be a stale book in the past. This could be in part because you were overlooking a story that would resonate with your heart. While not secret, the lives and stories of these people will open new doors of knowledge. Join me on a tour of these people. Let their failures or successes be a testament that while we may not be long remembered for our work in the world our efforts are noticed by the only one who truly can provide a lasting reward.

Mornings

The dawn breaks the stagnant darkness and stirs to life my slumber. Feet escape their prone position as a deer entering a forest clearing. I tread lightly across the hall, avoiding the landmines of loose screws. My destination in sight, I move into place to peer over the edge of the subject's sleeping quarters. She moves and snorts and steals my heart. The day is young and still so quiet but happiness has just begun.

The Lure of the Exceptional

Recently, my life course was altered by the arrival of my first child. My daily learning curve has increased dramatically while stress and worry equally increase. Indeed, I have begun to recognize a temptation of my heart that lurks nearby in most every area of my life. That deceptive enemy is my own desire to be exceptional. In the past, the outflow was most frequently my own performance and achievements. I could be tempted to strive each day for my own success to be noted and admired in some way. The arrival of a child has complicated that desire. I found out that my child's progress both physically and mentally is measured, calculated and charted on a regular basis. Even the measurement standard (the canon as it were) is based upon averages and comparison to other people. Now I can be drawn into a regular consideration of my daughter as an extension of my own achievements in contrast to other people's children. No doubt this temptation will linger into school and athletic performances down the road. Why is it so easy to measure so much of life by the off kilter perspective of the rest of the world? Why can't I daily align my every action against how it pleases a singular God? That measurement would be so much easier. The problem is the gratification delay. The feeling I get by besting some other person or group of people is an immediate sense of worth. Pleasing God is not as immediately satisfying to my fickle flesh. This is why the Bible so frequently encourages walking in the spirit and not the flesh. Such will be the daily challenge till I die. I thank my daughter for coming to help illuminate the height of the struggle.

Family

What does the idea of family communicate to you? Is there some realization of it that is normal to you? This question has grown in my own mind and such thought parrallels the general struggle of culture in general. Many people invest deep emotions into various definitions of family and television has made millions from shows that seek to reframe the family concept. But let me challenge your personal thoughts with a basic idea. Does how we meet people set the stage for unconsciously judging their life or family?

Let me explain. We usually operate our life and interactions based upon our own normal. Words and phrases demonstrate our presuppositions. One example is the phrase "starting a family." This phrase is most often used when a young couple becomes pregnant. Does that mean that their family was incomplete until that point? Of course not. However, our terminology suggests that concept. But there is even a more basic step we can take to help us open our hearts to more people

I have begun to travel quite a bit and meet many new people on a regular basis. I have come to expect that one of the first questions I will be asked in a church setting is: "Do you have kids?" Most people mean well but fail to grasp the impact of their question. I struggled with that question often and became frustrated with the repetitive nature of the question. But then I came to realize that I do the same thing myself. I ask questions like, "What do you do for a living?" or "Where do you live?" Both questions assume details about people that I cannot assume. During one conversation with a young man, I realized that my question about a job was a source of frustration to himself. Our normal greeting questions in life tend to be slanted toward assumptions. A book my wife and I are reading together offered the following question as an alternative. "Tell me about yourself." Simple. Unassuming. The idea allows a person to share what they are comfortable sharing and opens safe pathways for conversation. I myself am going to attempt this more in the future.