The Resurrection Story

Sin has lost it's power, death has lost it's sting. From the grave you've risen victoriously. - from the song "Marvelous Light"

I've been sitting here for about an hour trying to write a bible study for tomorrow night on the significance of the resurrection. At first I thought it was going to be easy. I've been a Christian practically my whole life and have been studying the bible longer than that. But as I began to think about it I could only feel the emotions of the power of the resurrection. I felt thankful, free, peaceful, but speechless. I immediately felt a bit embarrassed...how could I, a wanna be theologian, not be able to articulate the significance of the resurrection.

I turned to my friend Google to ease the pain. One pastor wrote that if the resurrection of Christ had not happened "the gospel would be in vain, our faith would be in vain, and the apostles would have been false witnesses." So, in other words, Jesus had to rise from to dead to validate our belief that he rose from the dead. This is the classic error of "the tail wagging the dog." "Surely we are incapable of having a wrong belief therefor the story has to be true." This explanation completely misses the transformational power of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. Other articles I read were more theologically sturdy but failed to grasp the depth, the necessity, and even the relevance of the resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

Then I came across an article by N.T. Wright. He says, "It is the real world that the tyrants and bullies (including the intellectual tyrants and bullies) try to rule by force, only to discover that in order to do so they have to quash all rumours of resurrection, rumours that would imply that their greatest weapons, death and deconstruction, are not after all omnipotent. But it is the real world, in Jewish thinking, that the real God made, and still grieves over. It is the real world that, in the earliest stories of Jesus’ death and resurrection, was decisively and forever reclaimed by that event, an event which demanded to be understood, not as a bizarre miracle, but as the beginning of a new creation."

Ah ha! We are on to something here. In the resurrection story God is reclaiming the mess that his beautiful creation has become. This does not mean that we will not experience frustrations, cancer, high cholesterol, or divorce. What this does mean is that death does not have the last word.

In commenting on this topic Rob Bell says, "Resurrection announces that God has not given up on the world because this world matters...this world that God is restoring and redeeming and renewing. Greed and violence and abuse they are not right and they cannot last. They belong to death and death does not belong."

Jesus' life, death, and resurrection conquered death. Not only was it a nice metaphor but it literally happened. It is finished. Though I may never grasp the depths of this concept I pray that I live in the reality of the resurrection story. There is hope amidst war, depression, broken relationships, the daily grind, the emptiness of trying to keep up with the Joneses. His name is Jesus.

Things People Told Me (or that I once read)

[written as the status update of a friend's facebook]

"it's all fun and games till someone starts espousing modalism…"

Beautify the Ship or Set Sail?

Sometimes I wonder if I'm a part of a movement that is more focused on maintaining the beauty of the ship than setting sail. I wonder where Jesus would be in this process. David Wilcox sums it up pretty well with this song. Be the mercy.

A Confession Part 2

So, I've worked hard to be home with the family as much as I can. I've lived up to my goal of working close to 40-45 hours a week. Sounds great right? Well, what's the point of being home if I am not mentally present? Every once and I while I wake up and realize that I haven't really spent time with my family even though my body has been in the same room as them. Two weeks ago I decided to stop distracting myself with fun but meaningless vices (like video games) and really try to make the most of those moments. You know what, I've had a blast! Tammie is fun and constantly teaching me how to live life in a more healthy manner. Q man is CRAZY and hilarious. We've played catch, read books, wrestled, drawn, built things, and laughed.

I don't want to miss moments like this

A Confession Part 1

I have written multiple times on the beauty and the necessity of slowing down and absorbing every moment in life. The truth is, I am not very good at it. I write these essays to remind myself of these important concepts.

There are two traps I fall into:
1) Wishing away the present
2) Working so hard I miss out on the present

I think I first started falling into trap one when I was in high school. I was always excited when school started because I could see my friends. Then I "couldn't wait" until football season was over because I was too tired. Then I "couldn't wait" until Christmas came because I was tired of school. Then I "couldn't wait" until Christmas was over because I missed my friend. The cycle went on and on until I arrived at college after not being able to wait and found myself miserable. At that moment I had two choices. I could either continue to miss out on the present and live in a false reality or I could finally deal with the stuff I was trying to run from. Truthfully, most of the time I find myself being tossed back and forth from both.

Trap two is seductive because it is an evil for which we are applauded. At times I get sucked into this trap because I am a driven person who loves planning and working hard. That is just how I am wired. However, other times, behind my "driven" mask is a person who just wants to prove his worth. The truth is, my insecurity has brought me much success over the years in athletics, academics, music, and ministry. But the ugly side of this driven nature is an inability to enjoy relationships, absorb life, and be thankful.

Here are a few words of wisdom that have helped me work through the above weaknesses:
1. Nobody applauds you for taking care of yourself. But how can you serve for the long haul if you run at that pace?
2. No matter where you run you'll always have your past and your pain. Process through the pain so that you can learn, grow, and be freed.
3. "Abandon your plans of escape and be where you are. Plant gardens, live, and live well. Life is truly a gift." - Kyle Lake
4. "I have come that you would have life - life abundantly." - Jesus

(note: I signed on to write another blog but this one became HUGE. I'll post part 2 in a few days)

Economics is Fun

Before I get to my post I want to let you know that I won't be writing much for the next few months. I'm in 6 hours at school plus all of my other "stuff." So I don't have any extra time.

Today I was listening to NPR and heard a great rap about economics. It explains the two main different views regarding the mess we are in right now. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk

Things People Told Me (or that I once read) #6

"Go out and live real good and I promise you'll get beat up really bad. When you're dead you're gonna rot anyway, it won't matter if you have a few scars. It will matter if you never lived."

- Rich Mullins (circa 1997)