Creeping things...

At the beginning of this year, I was challenged by John Piper in one of the leader sessions at Passion.  He said that he believers leaders in the church should approach teaching others scripture by following these four steps:

1. Memorize         2. Analyze           3. Believe            4. Teach

This was both encouraging and very convicting to me.  Encouraging because it gives way to the fact that I've felt in my Spirit that most of us go around teaching things that we don't believe ourselves.  If we started at step one, rather than step four--there would be a lot fewer confused teachers around.  However, it was also convicting because--to be completely honest--I don't know that I've really been intentional about memorizing scripture since I was in high school.  Perhaps a verse here or passage there accidentally because I would read it so much, or because I had to teach it to little ones during VBS.  Yet, my "life's work" right now is to teach...

So, a best friend of mine recently introduced me to a book called The History of Redemption
(http://www.historyofredemption.org).

This book combines incredible visual imagery with a weaving of just scripture to give an abbreviated--but no less powerful--overview of the story of humanity and God's grace.  What's also really wonderful about it in conjunction with my above conviction is that it has "memorization plans' in the back!  So, I've started on step one, and tried to work my way down to step three for each page.  To read and let it sink in deep.  To let the Spirit breathe light and life into me through meditation.  

As I started "in the beginning" I began to meditate on these words.  Hopefully, this is a conjecture that maybe you can resonate with. 

God casts a vision as humanity is created: 
"let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (just typed that from memory--BOOM..Genesis 1:26).  

Isn't it interesting here that "every creeping thing that creeps on the earth..." is the last piece mentioned of humanity's dominion?  

Have you ever thought about how much power you have over creeping things? Creepy things? Things that scurry, prowl, surprise and seem dangerous--but really aren't?  That nothing could truly creep up on you?

I wonder if Eve felt like the Serpent "crept up on her" when he tried to get her to shop a bondage-bearing kind of produce.  

It is like it was foreshadowing for Jesus and Satan: "and he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."  The Serpent may not have crept along on the earth before Eve was deceived, but the serpent now creeps on the earth--prowling around like a roaring lion looking to devour.  Yet, we see--woven into the order of design--there could appear death and dominion of evil but it would never be able to prevail.  Even back at the beginning we were given the title of "Victor."  

What if I faced every frustration, every evil, every situation with that title?  Not a victory that I've earned, but a victory I've been given.  Not a victory I've somehow fought for, but a victory that's been woven into the very fabric of my DNA.  Not a victory that I could somehow make manifest, but one that is made manifest in me.

What power we ignore when we ignore the beginning.

What's Right In Front of Us

I have this frustration.  I have had a major history of being talked over or ignored.  It actually became a joke in the community I lived in while in Fort Lauderdale because I was supposed to be in charge of the monthly business meetings.  BUT, the conversation would inevitably get derailed and we would all laugh as I couldn't get a word in edgewise most of the time.  (And it's not that I'm not a talkative person either...)

Now, I know some of this could have to do with what is going on in the internal (as Dr. Cloud would say), but I believe that it is just rude to talk over others.  I just do.  I like to be invited into a conversation, just the same way as I like to invite others into conversation.  And I think many people in our society are just used to being rude.  Call it one of my strengths that is also a weakness to community building.  What can I say?

What further frustrates me though, is not business meeting commentary--or small group or what have you.  What frustrates me is when I am in serious dialogue with another, they ask for advice or "what to do", I offer a game plan, and they straight up ignore or rationalize away what I said.  I mean--I might as well have told the wall.  You've had that moment, right?  Where you've thought something was painfully obvious--so you tried to help someone out--and they just didn't get it.

Now, this isn't a proud moment, or a "woe is me" commentary.  I've got my boundaries (also as Dr.Cloud says) and I'm working on that resentment.  However, I think my situation is not unique.  I think it speaks of a broad-sweeping issue:

  We spend a lot of time ignoring, or rationalizing away the truth that is right in front of us.

I mean, we all ask for advice or "What to do" and ignore it when we get it.  Francis Chan puts it this way (and I'm paraphrasing here from the DVD "Basic: Follow Jesus")

"When I tell my daughter to clean her room, she knows better.  She doesn't go into her room and say:

'Daddy, I spent all afternoon memorizing what you told me to do.  Aren't you proud?'

or

'Daddy, I had a small group meeting on what you said, and we came up with many different meanings for that phrase.  What do you think?'

No!  She goes and cleans her room because she knows that's what I want her to do."

So--why do we do this with one another?  Because we don't trust each other easily--and for good reason.  I mean, we've been let down and hurt by others before.  However, what about those "tried-and-true" people who really do have our best interests in mind?

Furthermore, why do we do this with God?  The one who never goes back on a promise, who loves us more and better than we could even imagine, who is always faithful (even when we are not), the one who is always trustworthy (even when we are not), the one who  has been around the longest (who should naturally have the most insight into any given situation), the one who inspired people to write down His teachings so we'd have a foundation on how He wants us to live, and who ALSO gave us his very Spirit to dwell within us to guide us into specifically what the Father wants ANND--who this life of ours is really about anyway..so...why still the distrust?  As I heard one Sunday morning: "When did trust and obey turn into just know and understand?"

I'm not saying I have any answers for this question.  I am just saying I know how much it frustrates me when I'm only trying to do or say things for another's good and they don't listen--so I can only imagine how frustrating that is to God when I do the same thing.