Simple vs. Easy

Being a follower of Christ is simple, but it was never meant to be easy!

That statement might surprise you, shock you, discourage you, or anger you. But I wanted to let you in on Christ’s secret: it isn’t easy to be a follower of Christ. Honestly, it never was. In a conversation with his followers in John 6, Jesus’ message drives away the thousands who have been following him. Jesus tells his disciples that if they want to be first in the kingdom then they must be last and the servant of all. Jesus tells the rich man that the only way to be his follower is to sell everything and give it all to the poor. We are told to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, do not be angry, stop lusting… all countercultural ideas in both Jesus’ time and in ours. Jesus never tells his disciples it will be easy to follow him; indeed, he tells them it will be anything but!

It isn’t easy to be a follower of Christ. But it is rather simple. Simply put, if we want to become a true follower of Christ we must be willing to give up everything and put ourselves (and our desires) last for the sake of the Kingdom. Jesus tells his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26). In the Greco-Roman world, nothing was more shameful than a cross. The cross was reserved for thieves, terrorists, and enemies of the state. Crucified criminals were taunted and ridiculed by all who saw them. Thus, Jesus’ simple instructions to his disciples shouldn’t bring much joy. Jesus is calling his disciples to be so radically different from the world that they would be (at times) ridiculed, taunted, and even killed for their beliefs. It isn’t easy to be a Christian, but the idea sure is simple.

What does it mean for us to be simple Christians? What would it look like in our workplace, our classroom, our families? How would our lives be different if we decided each morning to take up our cross no matter what may happen? How would our world be different? What would change if we were willing to give it all up for the sake of the Kingdom? What would life be like if we decided to practice simple Christianity? Being a Christian is simple, but it sure isn’t easy.

Honor/Shame and Individual Holiness

I recently posted on Ben Witherington's blog about rights vs. gifts, and I argued that we in American are so focused on individualism that we have lost any sense of honor/shame. I sincerely think that we must regain a sense of honor/shame in order to fix the moral problems that pervade American culture.

I ended with the phrase "God doesn't necessarily want us to be happy, he wants us to be holy." My personal opinion is that the things that make us happy are not always the things that God would have us do. Many students here at KU are made happy by getting plastered, sleeping around, and skipping class. The last time I checked these things didn't make you holy; indeed, God speaks out against them! (Except the whole class cutting thing... But I digress...)

One respondee took up my comments and stated, "What is holiness to you? How you define holiness is everything! And becasue we may disagree to what that means, also means that we must not make the assessment for others. Your holiness is not mine..." I am intrigued by her statement. The problem facing our culture (both secular and Christian) today is that everyone thinks they have the right to define holiness for themselves. The Bible is very clear: We are called to be holy BECAUSE God is holy. God's holiness defines what holiness is, not our broken or shallow definitions. Holiness is defined by God.

She goes on to say that God wants us to have an abundant life filled with blessings. I think this sorely misses the point of the entire Bible! God's desire is not for our health and wealth, despite what Joel Osteen might tell us. God does NOT promise us great material blessings; read the end of Habakkuk: "Though there are no sheep in the pens, cattle in the stalls, crops in the fields..." God doesn't promise us great material blessings as a result of our following him; rather, he promises us he will be faithful to us if we are faithful to him...

The problem is that we see the blessings of God as our right rather than our gift. God doesn't owe us stuff because we follow him; sometimes it brings more heartache, pain, and persecutions! As Jesus reminds his disciples, "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life..." (Mark 10:29-30)

What God wants is for us to live lives that honor and glorify him through our holiness. That is our RIGHT and what, consequently, is RIGHT to do in our lives...

God's Ministers

I have realized something: There are times I think more highly of myself than I ought. I think because I am a minister I've got it all together. I have all of the answers because I have a degree. Rich Mullins kinda puts it in perspective for me:

"God spoke to Balaam through his ass, and God's been speaking through them ever since."


Let us never think that we've have it all together...

Wanna Get Away?

I think retreating has been given a bad rap…

The last thing we want to do in a war is to be forced to retreat. We never want to leave the battle un-won or the task unfinished. We don’t want to be seen as weak or fragile, unable to accomplish our objectives. We don’t want to back down from a fight. We don’t want to retreat from our positions. If someone challenges our beliefs or our rights, the last thing we would want to do is back away from the challenge. Retreating has been given a bad rap.

Often we see retreating as an admittance of defeat, that we weren’t strong enough to handle something on our own. We don’t like to be told that we can’t do it, that we aren’t strong enough, or that we simply aren’t up to the challenge. Sometimes, however, we need to be able to retreat, to take a step back, look at the situation more clearly, and reevaluate our position. Sometimes retreating is a necessary step in order to preserve the war or the warrior.

Now, for those of you wondering, this article has absolutely nothing to do with the war in Iraq or any other political item on the agenda. Instead, I want you to focus on the idea of a spiritual retreat. There is nothing dishonorable about escaping from the world for a time and spending time in prayer and worship with others of like mind. Jesus did it all of the time. Throughout the Gospels we find Jesus escaping from the hectic bustle of his ministry in order to spend time in prayer. “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed…” (Mark 1:35) Jesus often commanded his followers to do the same:

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.” (Mark 6:30-32)

I think the Southwest Airlines commercial has it right: Sometimes you just want to get away. So often, however, we as Christian refuse to step out of our daily lives and spend time focusing solely on worshiping God. We get caught up in the good stuff of life (work, school, family, etc) that we neglect the best (our relationship with God).

Sometimes we need to spiritually retreat, to step back from our daily battles, look at our situation more clearly, and reevaluate our position in life. There is no dishonor in retreating; indeed, it is commanded in order to preserve the spiritual war that we fight and our place as a spiritual warrior.

True Love

There is an old song title that sums up the attitude I perceive from many of the students at KU: “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places.”

This week, the University Daily Kansan published their annual “Sex on the Hill” edition. If you didn’t see it, please don’t go looking for it. If you were to peruse the articles within, I think you would come to the same startling realization that I did: everyone is looking for love and acceptance, but they are willing to take whatever they can get.

So many people just want to be loved. They want to feel accepted for who they are (or at least who they are pretending to be.) They want people to value them, to respect them, to see them as worthwhile. They desire nothing more than to have others acknowledge them as important. The problem is, they are looking for this acceptance in all of the wrong ways and they are willing to settle for being used in order to feel “valued.”

As I talk to students, I come to the realization that all of their bravado is simply a mask used to hide the fact that they can’t get satisfaction from the world around them. The choices they make, the things they do, the way they spend their nights and weekends… it all shows that they are looking for a way to fill the void. Don’t worry, they are trying hard. And they are willing to keep trying until they can either find that “love” or dull their pain. We all want to be loved, but if we can’t find true love then we are willing to settle for whatever we can get.

I believe that our job is to give hope to the world. As Christians, our mission is simply to be ambassadors of hope. The hopeful message the world needs to hear is simple and yet profound: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). True love, the most fulfilling and amazing kind of love, can only come from our Father. As John sums up the message of the Gospel he states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his One and Only Son…” (John 3:16ff). This is true love! This is the love that the world has been looking for. This is the love that the world needs to hear about. They no longer have to settle for cheap love or conditional acceptance, because they will never find trueness in these things. They can only find their hope in the one who created them to love them, and who showed his love by giving up everything to be with them.

Now we have to show them how to look for love in all of the right places.

God's Joy

Hey guys, I found this quote today and it got me to thinking. Just wanted to share:


"Perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony... It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never gotten tired of making them!" -G. K. Chesterton


Daisies are Megan's favorite flower, which is why it caught my attention. (So this post is in honor of you, honey!) But isn't it amazing that God exults in the simple pleasures in life: creating beauty and sameness, and causing us to marvel at his glory! Take time to notice the simple things today.

The End of OPEC?

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages...

I want to apologize for my random angry phone calls on Saturday morning. Many of you received them, hearing me whine and complain that gas went up 20 cents overnight in Lawrence. I went to bed on Friday at 3.49 and woke up Saturday morning to 3.69. I want to apologize for the base, dastardly things I had to say about OPEC and its constituents. While true, they were still rather harsh and vindictive. Because, truthfully, I don't even know the marital status of their parents...

The recent spike in fuel costs is the result of OPEC's decision to cut the "overproduction" of oil that has led to a "drastic" decline in oil prices. (I have yet to see said decline at the pumps, however.)

Side item: Why do spikes in crude oil prices hit the day after they are announced when the price of oil is based on projected costs 6 months down the road, yet the decline in oil prices never seems to make it to the consumer? Why can companies like Exxon post record profits every quarter for the last two years and yet still claim that they are unable to come out on top? They claim to be putting up record percentages in exploring alternative fuel sources, and yet it only comes to 2% of their overall profits, less than any other company in the market. Can I justify to the IRS that I am "reinvesting" my own personal assets in "alternative economic stimuli packages?" That's got audit written ALL over it! Can I charge my students a processing fee for my ministry job due to the rising demands on my time and abilities, and the dwindling supply of my time/energy? If so, sign me up!

Ok, side note over. OPEC decides to cut the "overproduction" of oil due to a dilution of the market and their inability to turn a suitable profit. I am sure they can dry their tears on the extra dollar bills and Euros they gained from their recent market gouging. Similarly, both Chavez/Venezula and Putin/Russia have threatened to cut off oil flow to America and Europe as a result of their incessant political ravings. (Has anyone noticed that they sound slightly Stalin-esque when they both speak?) So... all I have to say to OPEC, Russia, and Venezula is this: Go drill yourselves somewhere else, cause we are tired of being probed by you!

Now, hot on the heels of this announcement is the decision by Saudia Arabia to withdraw from OPEC. (http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/topstocks/archive/2008/09/11/the-death-of-opec.aspx?GT1=33009)
They decided to NOT cut their oil production, but instead to continue at current capacity. Many political pundits and market analysts are heralding this as the end of the reign of OPEC over the global oil market. Let's hope. But I think one of two things will occur: either the diminished prominence of OPEC OR an attack on Saudi oil refineries. (One is probably more likely than the other.) Additionally, Brazil announced the finding of a second major oil discovery, enlarging the first from earlier this year (which is reported to be the largest in the world!)

Let's hope the Saudi's audacity will send shock waves throughout the global oil market, and the Brazilian discovery will spell the end of the Middle Eastern dominance in black gold as we know it.

If not, can I at least get some Saudi tea and Brazilian Carneval beads with my HUGE gas price increases at the pump?