Freedom for others to journey themselves

I'm fresh off a visit with a friend who is going through a transition in life and, quite frankly, considering some pretty bizarre things. I'm not quite sure how to handle it, but it is reminding me of how we need to give one another freedom to have our own journey.

If anyone had the right to demand conformity and obedience, it was Jesus. He had his band of misfits and never once demanded anything of their person. He walked along side them, in all their faults and misgivings. He wanted people to follow Him out of conviction of their heart and conscience, not because he was able to effectively threaten or manipulate them. Love wins. Jesus modeled that the joy of participating in the Father's family was far more life-giving than strict obedience and conformity.

This is what won over the woman who was facing being stoned (John 8). "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." The only one who was without sin, the only one to remain, did not throw a stone. "Vengeance is mine says the Lord." For some reason, this provided some sort of solace for me - like God would nuke my enemies as long as I could keep my cool! What if vengeance is His, and He chooses not to unleash it? This was the case with that woman - by the law, she deserved the punishment. Maybe our view of Him and His wrath is scewed? Anyway, the point here is that Jesus didn't condemn, but gave her the freedom to be won over by love.

Paul demonstrated this as well. "We have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. By setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God."(2 Cor 4:2) Ephesians 5:21, Paul tells us to "submit one to another."

By letting others have their own journey, we can be honest with ourselves and with others in how we see things differently. We can allow our conscience to lead us. We can love, even when we don't agree. This is part of submitting ourselves one to another.

God and Banana Peels

What does God have to do with banana peels?  Absolutely nothing.  Stick with me...

After a crazy 4 months of the new year, my wife and I have been unraveling a web of burnout, lack of self-confidence, religion, resentment, and bitterness.  All the while wondering, why us?  Why has life unfolded this way?  I can't help but feel like the man in the ditch that Jesus spoke of in Luke 10:35-38.

My wife and I were talking this morning.  She was lamenting about someone on-line who had some phrase-ology that went something like, " _______ - it's all about Jesus."  You can fill in the blank.  We all know these people.  I was one.  I probably still am.  Jesus is not just about whatever one thing you're doing.  He's not just into pastors.  He's not all into church-planting.  He isn't just into worship.  He's not all about adoption.  He's not all about big families or homeschooling.  He's not all about anti-homosexual agendas, griping about the government or end-time eschatology.  If you're into that - great.  Maybe.  Who am I to judge, right?  But if you think you're better than the rest of us for it - barf!  And then when called self-righteous for your boasting and religious-speak, crying, "Persecution" - double barf!!!

That discussion lead us to how God has really changed our perspective and motivation, not only over the past few years, but accelerated it over the past few months.  We reflected on some recent conversations, and how those conversations helped us to see how much *we've* changed.  We've been told all sorts of stuff about the recent events that unfolded within our family.  We were told we weren't equipped to deal with our circumstance - essentially weren't good enough.  We were told we're outside the body and on an island - how could anyone know it was so hard?  We were told we must have misinterpreted God's call and were outside of His will.   I was told, "God will make things happen to trip us up so he can teach us a lesson."

What kind of God do we think He is?  The bible says we love because He first loved us.  So if I think about how I love my children, would I ever manipulate my child's circumstances to purposefully trip them up so I could teach them a lesson?  That sounds maniacal!  We joked about the cartoons and how banana peels are always strategically placed in the path for the character to put his foot down and go zooming to his butt.  So next time my son forgets to put his shoes away, should I put them by his bedside with a banana peel stuck underneath so when he gets dressed in the morning, he puts them on, takes a step, falls flat on his back, and I get to run up to his room, laugh at his misfortune, and teach him a lesson about forgetting to put away his shoes?  Would that look like I was *for* him or *against* him?

I bought into that lie for quite some time.  I was constantly wanting to know in any and every circumstance, "What is the lesson here?"  God was teaching me a lesson, walking the tight-rope will of God.  But when I really thought about it - what I really believed was a life-force that was manipulating the universe to constantly wear me down, making me deny myself and teach me a lesson.  In other words, putting banana peels all over the place to teach me some lessons.  Wow, what a god!

Maybe God created me in His image, and I believed a bunch of lies about myself along the way in this journey called life.  

We've learned this - life doesn't always turn out "right."  WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!  You can do everything "right," and things still turn out "wrong."  Poo happens.  Thankfully, our God is right there with us in the manure-piles of life.