We Are Americans

We are America. Paragon of nations.

We are Americans. This is our nation.

Our loves. Our hates. Our struggles. Our sins. Our economy. Our industry. Our history. Our future. Our dreams. Our nightmares. Our liberals. Our conservatives. Our religions. Our philosophies. Our sexuality. Our races. Our languages. Our cultures. Our foods. Our accents. Our music. Our hobbies. Our entertainment. Our music. Our sports. Our heroes. Our enemies. Our causes. Our voice. Our land. All our differences. All our similarities. We are Americans. 

No one person, even the President of the United States, love him or hate him, can change who we are. We are Americans.

Yet we can change who we are. Individually and collectively. We can choose to be kind when others are not. We can choose reason over reaction. We can choose grace over bitterness. We can choose forgiveness. We can choose respect. We can choose to rise above name calling, division, and partisanship. We can choose to honor others above ourselves. We can choose to be our best and treat others with dignity We can choose love.

You may not have chosen to vote for a person, but you can choose how you represent yourself and our nation in response.

Our President-elect may not make America great again. But you can. One by one. Choice by choice.

Eight years ago at the inauguration of President Obama I wrote Tomorrow Today. Click here to read that post. And, as always, please share this post using the options below or subscribe as well.

God and Sinners Reconciled

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!”

Proclaiming the glorious mystery of our Saving Sovereign, it is no wonder this Christmas Carol is beloved. The baby born in a humble stable would indeed be the Savior of the world, the King of Kings.

Charles Wesley composed this song in 1739 within a year after his conversation to Christianity. Wesley wrote it as, “Hark, how all the welkin [heavens] rings.” It was his friend and pastor of Great Awakening fame, George Whitefield, who in 1753 rewrote the verse as, “Hark! The herald angels sing.” The observant might notice one more curiosity, as well. Luke 2:13 records the following, “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying…” Not singing. Saying. Angelic hosts should allow for poetic license.

Beyond it’s origin, however, let us consider one, profound truth—a brief line with deep import—“God and sinners reconciled.”

Our English word, reconcile, comes from Latin—to make good again, repair—and, it is defined as meaning, “to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent: to reconcile differing statements; to reconcile accounts.” To restore. To make right. Reconcile.

Why do we celebrate Christmas?

Why do we sing such Christmas carols?

That one, profound truth: Jesus was born to pay the penalty for all of our sins; a debt we can never reconcile on our own. Compared to the absolute holiness of God, even our righteousness is as filthy rags. We needed a Savior.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”—Romans 5:8

All of us have sinned. No matter our moral system, we must admit that we’ve fallen short. God’s morality is absolute; we’ve all fallen short. Yet, because of His great love for us, God gave us Jesus. 

Jesus came to reconcile us to—restore us to the right relationship with—God.

As Romans 5:10 proclaims, “For if, while we were Godʼs enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” He reconciled us. He saved us.

Sing, friends.

Celebrate.

It’s Christmas!

We’ve been given a priceless gift: Reconciliation with God.

Friends, would you click below to SHARE this post. And, of course, click here to subscribe. Merry Christmas!

Editing Jesus: _____ Lives Matter

The meme above has been floating around Facebook for a few days. It's a response to the battle between "Black Lives Matters" versus the variety of other "Fill-in-the-blank Lives Matters" sentiments. My own twist from Dallas: Beyond Labels was "#HumanLivesMatter." 

Labels allow us to dismiss, discount, and disrespect others. We must get beyond labels.

Yet, at the same moment, we have to understand the reality of our differences. A wise friend, Craig Lancaster, expresses that balance in this way.

"I think it not enough for us to just treat each other as we would be treated, but to strive to understand each other and where we come from and what our shaping events have been. In many cases, those labels we used to define ourselves ARE ourselves. As one of my best friends reminds me often: 'if you look at me and don't see me as a black man, you miss an awful lot of me.'"

Fully recognizing that others—those of different backgrounds, religions, nationalities, and races than us—have a different experience with life is the counterbalance to looking beyond labels. 

Being Black in America carries terrible history and unique challenges. Though some have given the Black Lives Matter slogan and it's movement a bad name—which is true of every type of movement—we must not overlook the truth behind it. Black Lives Matter does not mean Black lives matter any more. It does not mean other lives matter less. Black Lives Matters highlights the reality of being Black in America. A reality we cannot ignore. 

Back to the meme... Like all humor that works, the illustration above cleverly captures truth delivering the punch line with a nod and a wink. I mean, think about it, who would be so arrogant as to edit Jesus?

Oh, wait. That would be me. And you. All of us edit Jesus. The dominant feature of our humanness is the incessant desire to be self-determining. And, so often, our self-directed nature is in fact what the Bible calls a sin nature, choosing contrary to God's will.

Jesus' quote above appears to be a portion of the first Beatitude from his ethical tour de force, Sermon on the Mount. As recorded in Matthew 5:3 (italics added) it reads, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." It is not about economic poverty at all, but of humility. Humility is the foundation of personal character and the balm of interpersonal relationships. The parallel quote of Luke 6:20 does omit "in spirit," but solid, biblical hermeneutics reminds us it is the same quote with "in spirit" implied and humility as it's aim. Two great guides of hermeneutics aid us: let scripture interpret scripture; context. In this case: we see it parallel to Matthew 5:3; therefore, we don't drop the last part of the phrase from the original quote.

What do we learn? "Um, don't edit Jesus." Yes, true, above all people we should not edit Jesus. But I see a lesson here for us—the greater lesson springs from the hermeneutic lesson.

Just as we let Scripture interpret scripture and read the entirety of a passage before seeking to pronounce it's meaning, so too we must obey the entirety of God's Word not just the parts we choose.

Scripture is not a buffet. We can't choose to accept or reject it's commands based on our will. Human bias, prejudice, experience, desire and feelings do not determine God's truth. When we attempt to edit Jesus, we've created a false god of our own making; we've violated the Second Commandment. 

How do this apply to _________ Lives Matter? God loves all people—red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. God commands us to love all people—beyond their labels while recognizing the reality of the differences.

Stop editing Jesus by your choices. Seek understanding. Practice the Golden Rule. Love others as Jesus does.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believed him should not perish but have eternal life.”

— John 3:16

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

— John 13:34-35

Thank you for your consideration, Dear Reader. Please share a comment below or click to share this post with others. And, as always, if you haven't already, click here to subscribe.

Dallas: Beyond Labels

Dallas just happened. Police were targeted. And killed. It happened in response to police killing men in Louisiana and Minnesota. This evil has me thinking about our nation. About how we have allowed labels—and all that we attach to them—to divide us.

I'm white. Middle class. White collar. The header above and the about page herein offer more labels. These labels are how I identify myself. How others identify me. Such labels do not fully define me, however. If you look beyond labels, you'll see me: a human being; just like you.

Labels can be helpful. Labels as descriptions help us quickly identify things about one another. Background, vocation, interests, worldview.

Labels can be harmful. Based on our experiences, biases, assumptions, prejudices, judgments, and fears we label others. In doing so, we give ourselves permission to treat them as other, as less than, as enemy, and even as evil.

Pro-choice. Republican. Black. Rich. Muslim. LGBT. Politician. Asian. Liberal. Criminal. Military. Terrorist. African. Straight. Pro-life. Law enforcement. Activist. Jew. Democrat. Poor. White. Radical Islamist. Conservative. Labels. All of them.

Look beyond labels and see a human being; just like you. Don't dismiss, discount, or disrespect others based on their labels. Look beyond labels, beyond race, beyond history, beyond your prejudice, beyond your fear. See a human being. #HumanLivesMatter

I am not saying we are all the same. I am not saying don't use labels. I am saying we must not allow our differences to divide us to the point of offense and evil against one another.

Stand for the sanctity of all human life by treating all others as we'd want to be treated. We've heard that as a rule before. Now let's live it. Let us honor others above ourselves.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

— Romans 12:9-10 NIV

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration, dear reader. Please share this post or share a comment below. And, if you haven't already, please subscribe to this site.

The Happy Lobster and the Unhappy Pig

Amidst the cab and bus rides around Puerto Vallarta, we did what we always do when we're tourists. We talked to locals. Between their English and our Spanish, we generally figured it out. Smiles and looking someone in the eyes—simple, common courtesies—make those experiences all the more joyful. Folks are always happy to share their thoughts. 

We'd ask how long they've lived there, about their work, and always about their families. We also sought the local opinion with one specific question. 

"When you go out to eat seafood, where do you go?"

Some would say in Spanish, "La Langosta Feliz." Others in English, "The Happy Lobster."

I'm thinking, "I wanna go there just because of the name." Yet it was the rapidity of their answers that convinced me. Without hesitation they'd name this restaurant. We saved the experience to our final night in Puerto Vallarta. Did you notice I used the word, "experience"? Read on for the tale of La Langosta Feliz y el Puerco Triste—the Happy Lobster and the Unhappy Pig.

Being a restaurant recommended by locals, we'd hoped it wasn't as touristy. More authentic. We'd heard that it was a short distance off the main road that encircles the bay. As we turned inland away from the bay we were leaving the tourist part of Puerto Vallarta behind. The surroundings looked more like a third world country than a tourist mecca. This is good. We'd like our kids to have a broader view of the world and a greater appreciation for our blessings.

From the main road leading off the bay a few kilometers, we turned into a neighborhood. The streets are narrow. No sidewalks. Walls and gates abound. Behind each set, a plastered home in some sort of disrepair loomed. Then we slowed atop a hill to look left and see a giant lobster. "La Langosta Feliz," I said pointing as our driver nodded and smiled.

Arriving at the restaurant we were greeted and seated on the shaded rooftop dining area. Service was quick and courteous. As we were waiting to order under the shade of the open air canopy, I began to hear something over the din of the crowd, "Meeeeeeeeeeee. Meeeeeeeeeeee. Meeeeeeeeeeee. Meeeee." My first thought was, "Who is flying a remote control plan around here? Is their a noisy drone about?!" Then, the pitch changed up and down and somewhere in between. I recognized the noise.

"Mary Elizabeth," I said catching her glance, "Come here and look over this wall with me." The twinkle in my eye had told her this must be something fun. She joined me with a question in her own eyes. Looking over the partial wall there he was in the "yard" below: A black pig. An unhappy pig. Of course, we called the boys over and marveled at the squealing pig below. "Meeeeeeeee. Meeee." Silly tourists, right? But what fun! Who eats at a rooftop restaurant with an unhappy pig right over the wall?! We do. Well, we did.

Throughout our meal the pig continued to squeal. (Say that five times real fast.) Then, silence. The kids would rush to look over the wall. First, he was being fed. No time to squeal when eating. A few minutes later silence again as he was being bathed—well, hosed off. Otherwise it was, "Meeeeeeeeee. Meeee. Meeeeeeee," throughout our entire meal.

We went to eat at The Happy Lobster and we enjoyed to entertainment of the unhappy pig. What's the point of the porcine tale? (See what I did there?)

Other than being funny, I wondered that too until yesterday when an animal loving friend shared a perspective I'd missed. The pig was only happy and quiet not when he had his food or a shower, but when he had his owner with him outside. He was lonely. The unhappy pig she conjectured was really a lonely pig.

And, just like humans in need of companionship, he acted out—incessant, unhappy "Meeeeeeeee" squealing in his case—until his need was satisfied.

Pigs and people—God created us for relationships. We were made to be social. I'm ever thankful for my family and friends. What amazing, grace gifts they are to me. Yet, the Bible says, "there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24b). Jesus. His name is Jesus.

Next time you find yourself squealing like the unhappy pig, remember the tale of La Langosta Feliz y el Puerco Triste. Remember, and call on Jesus.

And, thanks to Mary Elizabeth, let me share the real deal. Friends, may I introduce you to the unhappy pig...

Thank you as always for spending a few minutes with me, Friends. Please share this post and, if you haven't already, subscribe.

One more thing before you go, What should we name the unhappy pig? Let us know in the comments below.