what the Lost Son teaches me

we have never been worthy to be his children

and yet we are

we make ourselves his servants every day

because he asks us to

we have the mindset of a servant

we have the privilege of heirs

holding them together

without losing either

he celebrates us, and we along with him

we do all that he asks, in faithfulness

though we are broken, he triumphs

The 4th of July

I've never been much of a fan of holidays....just in general. I would have just let this day slip right past me without even noticing if I could have (with the exception of my good friend's birthday today, she most definitely would have gotten some of my recognition). But my host dad, well, he watches a good amount of television. And he knew what today is for this country of mine. He started planning a party about a month ago. Mostly he was concerned with the food. Hamburgers. French Fries. I decided to make homemade chocolate chip cookies too. And we're gonna do coke-floats (don't worry not the kind with cocaine, the kind with Coca-cola). 

But really, I got myself thinking today. Independence Day. American's sure do like their independence. We are a nation that values, above almost anything else, our independence. That's why we are the only ones who still don't use the metric system, or celsius (much to my chagrin now that I am in a country that does).  But originally, what were we declaring independence from? From Britain? Did we just hate the British? No. We were declaring our independence from an unjust system, from the oppressive way that Britain had decided to rule over us. We were declaring our independence and our freedom from oppression. 

I have almost no patriotic spirit, and I will likely never cheer for America. But this idea of freedom from oppression, this I can get behind. This is a message Jesus would agree with. So in celebrating our freedom, lets not forget those who are not free. And (maybe more importantly) lets try our hardest not to oppress others, not to subject them to the very thing we declared freedom from. We are not the only ones who deserve this freedom, because, remember 'all men are created equal', which means that everyone deserves freedom from oppression. 

What it really means when the Bible is non-negotiable

Yesterday there was a lot of talk going around about how the SCOTUS just changed the country forever. There were lots of Christians talking about how the Bible is a non-negotiable thing. We can't compromise on what the Bible says, on what God says. People keep saying this, and while I can say I agree, I also have to respond with " You keep using that word [phrase]. I do not think it means what you think it means." (Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride)

You see, I respect the Bible, and hold it in far higher regard than I do your opinion on what it says. And I know you think that you know exactly what it means and what it is trying to tell us. But quite frankly, that certainty tells me you have likely put God into your constructed box and ask him to play nicely with your beliefs. And this is far bigger than just the current hot topic of homosexuality, it's about everything you think God to be like.  Your certainty shows me that you either don't understand the limits of your own mind or don't appreciate just how incomprehensible God is. You are not open to wondering if maybe the Church has gotten it wrong, for a very long time. That maybe we misunderstood what God has asked of us, or how he asked it, because he asked a few millenniums ago in a culture extremely different from the one we find ourselves in. The bible is not as black and white as you think it is. Figuring out how to live this life in a way that truly glorifies God is a lifelong quest, and not a behavioral checklist. 

Stop and wonder at the God who is outside of time.

Surrender to him all that you think you know about him and what he says. 

See what happens. 

Make space for him to change you. Again and again. Everyday.