circle four

A woman with a bad reputation rushes into the town that shuns her to tell them of a man they must meet. A man who could be the savior of them all.

A stumpy, corrupt bureaucrat is so transformed by Jesus' kindness, that he pays back every person he has ripped off and give half of all he has to the poor.

A disgraced disciple stands in front of a group of people, including those who killed his teacher, and invites them to repent, be baptized and become members of the Kingdom of God.

If you go to church, you may be familiar with the idea of "testimonies". Testimonies are when some person tells the story of how they became a Christian. They usually follow the same pattern:

"I was doing ____ with my life, then everything went really bad and I ended up ____. In desperation I came to church/ met with a pastor/ went to a Bible study/ talked to a friend that I knew was a Christian, then I accepted Jesus into my heart and I was saved."

These are powerful times, because they remind us that God is not far away and that lives are being transformed by his love right now. These stories often renew our faith that God is present and has influence in the world.

But too often (though not always) the stories end with a prayer to God. It is the spiritual equivalent to the "and they lived happily ever after" crawl at the end of movies. You begin to crave more of the story, what happens after "happily ever after"?

In scripture, when people encounter Jesus, that encounter changes them. They live differently. Remember, Jesus proclaimed "Repent! For the Kingdom of God is near". He frankly, said nothing about converting, he said repent (turn around, 180 degrees) and live out the values, purposes and in allegiance to the Kingdom of God (the first circle).

He promises help (the Holy Spirit, essentially the power of God in action) and establishes community to work with (see Acts chapter 2). It is a group effort, because kingdoms not only have kings, but citizens as well. Pursuit of the Kingdom and allegiance to the King define the fourth circle. The word "kingdom" reminds us that not only is water God's water and the earth God's earth, but people are God's people. We belong to him and are most alive when recognize that we have a role and purpose on earth (like the first man and woman did in circle one).

What does that mean? It means reorientation. Whatever was the central purpose of your life before, no longer is. Spouses, majors, parents, jobs, sports, entertainment...everything must be reordered, so that Jesus can be King.

Does this really matter though? After all, if you reorient your life, but the world continues as it is with self-interest as the central purpose, why does it matter that you allowing Jesus to reorient you?

It matters because the Kingdom is here and coming. Remember, Jesus is restoring creation and removing the corruption like snake venom from a wound.

Self-interest will disappear, as well as all of its children. War, rape, greed and any form of abuse that exercises power of another person, or over creation for self-interest will fade from history. As will those who have self-interest as their center.

A fully reoriented world will be established and continue forever. When we labor towards the Kingdom, we labor towards what is eternal. When we labor towards anything else, it won't be.

Now let me clarify something, this doesn't mean that only ministry matters. Art can be Kingdom work. Small businesses that help bring people out of poverty are doing Kingdom work. Engineers that bring clean drinking water to those who don't have it are Kingdom builders. Single fathers who work two jobs so there kids can eat loving the Kingdom and their children at the same time.

Does this sound like a lot of work? It is. But it's the right work. We all work, except for those few who are cursed with wealth without discernment. The first man and woman had work, but it was work that was rooted in proper relationship. They weren't trying to prove themselves with their work. They weren't justified by how much better they were at working than their neighbor. Jesus said that he came to bring "life and life to the fullest" and "living water that wells up to eternal life". Full and eternal lives are full of the right work and the strength of God supernaturally equipping you.

In short, the fourth circle is the kingdom that the third circle established. It isn't going to church or a summer mission trip, it is living the Kingdom out is classes, Greek houses, residence halls, internships, family reunions and yes, in church and summer mission trips! It is reorienting your life within community, so that Jesus is the King. And it is pursuing a world where that reorientation is taking place in ghetto's, college campuses and governments. It is, as the 24/7 Prayer movement calls it, "praying like all depends on God and living like it all depends on [us]".

Here is a story that I think spells out the fourth circle better than I can: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ycn-9159265

One last question...are you in?

Next steps:

• Ask Jesus to examine you. What is your center? Is it Jesus? The good news is that you cannot fix your center, Jesus can. Ask him to establish himself there, and he will.
• What Kingdom do you live for? How can you beging to reorient your time, priorities, budget, etc to be Kingdom of God focused? Looks at Bible, pray every day, saturate yourself with the Kingdom.
• Community. People are "sent to heal", not individuals. Are you laboring with people? Allow others in, allow them to help.

third circle

The world is intentionally made. It has purpose and was not an accident. It is beautiful and reflects the creative power of the creator.

It is also deeply corrupted. Much has gone wrong. People fight for power, the environment is abused and people seek to live without God, no longer in rhythm with their creator.

We are no longer in the first circle, but seemingly stuck in the mess of the second circle. Is there a way out?

Only God can address the damage of corruption in the world. People are corrupted by evil and have become active participants. Though we are homesick for the first world and may even labor to restore our world, we breathe the same corrupted air that the rest of creation does. Instinctively, we may do good, but we also do damage. We simply are too caught up in the corruption to heal it.

This is where Jesus enters the picture.

Jesus is often discussed, sometimes worshiped, lauded as a great teacher and occasionally mocked. Most of the world uses his birth to split history into two eras. He is considered significant by almost everybody.

He has become so famous, that he his known more by reputation than by experience. Think about a book like War and Peace. The book is known and respected by almost everybody. However, most people are simply aware that it is long. Relatively few people have experienced reading the book, but they respect it by reputation.

Jesus is kind of like that. His reputation precedes him and that reputation colors every bible study, church service or academic research about him.

If the only thing you know about Jesus' reputation is that he said "do not judge", then you may struggle when he refers to anybody as "swine". If you have seen signs that proclaims that Jesus hate gay people, then it may be challenging to discover that Jesus never actually talks about homosexuality in any of the gospels. If you know that Jesus died for your sins and to get you to heaven, you may be surprised to learn that he taught so much about how to live NOW.

So who is Jesus? I believe that he is God responding to the corruption of the world. The first chapter of John says that he "is God" and that everything that has been made, was "made through him". He is God in flesh.

God in flesh. When Jesus walked on water, it was his water. He made that water. He chose its color and texture. He decided it would be wet. It's his water to walk on.

The second world is still God's world. It still belongs to him. It's corruption is personal to God. Think about someone breaking into your house or your car. That is a feeling of violation. Someone defiles your space when they break in. Now imagine that person who broke into your house decides to live there. Sleep in your bed, eat your food, raise your kids. How would you respond?

God saw the corruption of the world and decided to address it himself. He dove head-long into the corruption in order to restore it. In Christianity, we call this "incarnation". Incarnation is why I am a Christian. Incarnation speaks to me. It changes me. It is the single greatest picture of love that I can ever imagine. It's personal. God doesn't send down angels or wipe out the stupid humans who failed to take care of the world, he instead enters it.

Jesus was born. He spends time as an infant and has to learn to use the bathroom. He gets hungry and thirsty. He makes friends and is rejected by friends. He faces every temptation and longing that we face. Yet, in the face of living in the second world, he manages to live out the values and hopes of the first world.

Jesus lives connected to God the Father. Jesus lives in proper relationship with other people, loving them sacrificially and speaking bold truth. He lives a simple life, free of the greed that humanity struggles with.

Jesus extends mercy to those who usually don't get it, and he challenges those that most people are afraid to challenge. He heals sick people, because sickness and death are part of the corruption. He casts out demons because they work for the ultimate corruptor.

He speaks of another way. He calls it "the Kingdom of God". It's small and gets bigger. It is precious and hidden. It is coming and is now. It has Jesus as king, not Caesar.

He is so bold, so counter-cultural, so beautiful, so entitled (the world is his after all) that he ends up getting executed in joint action of the church and state.

The world decides that world two is better than world one, or at least that it is too dangerous to speak or dream of world one. They chose the way of the one who invaded the home, over the home-owner.

Those who loved him wept bitterly or hid out of fear that they would suffer his fate.

But remember, this world is his world. He didn't stay dead because he is bigger than death. And because Jesus didn't stay dead, nothing has to stay dead.

The whole world can be redeemed, because it's God's first and foremost.

Dreams that have died, can live again. Hope can live and breathe and grow. People can be reconciled, even if they have warred for years.

And death is no longer a period, it is a comma.

Those who accept that his really happened and pledge allegiance to Jesus' Kingdom and its values become restored, first worlders. They become pockets of the real, ancient, intended way. In fact the early church was called follower of the "way".

This is the healing of the corruption. This is what it looks like for God to take back his world. Someday it will be with power and the Kingdom of God will be the only Kingdom. But right now, it is with sacrifice and prayer and hope and service and radical other-centered love. The world is changing and will ultimately be restored for the better.

And in Christianity, we call this "gospel", which means "good news".

first circle

Look at me, attempting a series! I feel so grown up.

Yesterday I talked about the corruption of our world. How we live in a world that seems to have been good one day, but now most of what is good seems steeped in nostalgia. Today I want to comment on the root of that nostalgia and just what was corrupted in the first place.

"In the beginning God created..."

Order. Intentionality. Purpose.

If God created, then this world means something. God is an artist. Artists create things. They think about shadows, proportion and subtext. They know the rules, even if they break them.

The world is not an accident and that means something. A friendship that splinters, a life that is lost accidentally or something beautiful that is destroyed for simple profit matter because this world matters.

God created heaven and earth, stars and sky, water and land, animals and humans. And humans were crafted in the image of God.

We create, because we were created. When a three year old colors on a wall, it's because it's created in the image of God. How cool is that?

God created man to take care of the world and the animals. God gave man a job, and that job was to take care of what God created. Not to survive or just make it, but to take the keys over what God just made.

Man got lonely. Turns out that even without any separation between man and God, loneliness still existed. Apparently we are created to be together.

So God made woman. God said she was good. Man said she was good indeed.

Man did not abuse her, force her to do anything against her will or dominate her at all. Man was not given dominion over her, but she came to help him take care of creation. They could be naked and without shame. Cosmopolitan never told her she was fat and no one ever told him that he needed to keep her in line. He had nothing to prove and no one whispered to her that she could have done better. Naked and without shame.

All they needed was produced by the good, God-made world.

God and man, at peace. Man and woman, at peace. Creation produced good fruit and man and woman honored and took care of it.

The first circle, our home. We cling to each other looking for peace, but too often find scorn and betrayal. We argue how to take care of the earth, but often cannot see beyond our greed and politics. We look for God, but argue where he is.

All because we are no longer in the first circle.

Many of you know the story. It has a snake, a piece of fruit and quite a few consequences.

But stop for a moment and think about the first circle.

God is so close, He is walking with you. Standing side by side with others, without a hint of shame. You know your job and it is purposeful and matters.

No wonder we are so dissatisfied with the second circle, maybe at some level we remember the first circle. We remember a God who is close and a shameless existence. We miss our home.

We turn the music up louder and fire up another video game. We take another hit and allow the numbness to consume us. We study harder and harder waiting for the moment that we feel "good enough" even though it never comes. We go into another bed, but never quite feel okay naked.

Perhaps we are deeply, deeply homesick.

We explain away the first circle as a pipe dream or as an ancient fantasy because it reveals how corrupted our world really is.

Yet, I have never met someone who really thinks that the world is "right". It feels off to everyone, because it is off. We cannot live without regret, because we actually regret something that happened long before we were born. We regret that we are not "there", even though we do not know where "there" actually is.

So where is God? One bite of fruit and He's gone? Does He care about a creation that is decaying?

That's what the third world is all about.

second circle

A student at WSU recently had this as his status:

To live with no regrets is impossible. It's saying that every decision you've made in the past has been correct, you were wrong and you don't care, or you've had a lobotomy and are lethargic. Regret, repent, move forward.
(thanks Steven Christian, Lead Singer of Amberlin)

I was struck by the sophistication of this worldview. He noticed the inconsistency that many of us live in.

Some run forward, boldly proclaiming "no regrets!". They look like free spirits, the kind of guiltless existence that many are envious of. However, are actions do have consequences. I have a friend who fell asleep at the wheel, caused a car accident that killed his passenger and those in the other car. He's the only one who survived. He now knows he has narcolepsy. And he lives the rest of his life wondering how is life would be different if he had that knowledge before getting in the car that day.

How can he have "no regrets"? Even though he didn't do anything wrong, those lives were still lost.

So what's the other road? Guilt, of course.

Some say he should remember those faces daily. He should question himself. He should question God. He should somehow pay back the families.

What value is there in either of these views? Either our actions or valueless or they are the only thing that defines us? Is this all there is?

I would like propose another way to deal with the consequences of our actions and our world.

I am borrowing the theological framework James Choung, the author of True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In. All stories and analogies are my own.

Is the world good or bad? This is a very difficult question. As a soon-to-be father, there is so much of our world that I am excited to show my child. I'm excited to take them to a Mariners game, show them Mt. Rainer, teach them how to read and I am especially excited to teach them the story of God. However, I also know that Mariners players make an obscene amount of money, while millions are dying of starvation in the horn of Africa; Mt Rainer may destroy Tacoma sometime, my child may read Richard Dawkins (or Bertrand Russell) and decide that God is just a story.

Our world is confusing. There is so much that is lovely. There is so much that is disastrous. Births and deaths. Feasts and famines. Exquisite beauty and pain.

It really does seem like we live in a corrupted world. Anyone who has ever watched a marriage fail knows what I am talking about. Something that once looked so promising can become so ugly, it is unrecognizable. It's my belief that the more beautiful the intention, the more ugly the corruption.

We occupy this world, and that occupation really does effect us. Consider my friend. Even though he didn't choose to kill those people, he is effected by those deaths. They change him.

Or the marriage example; a million little pieces of corruption culminate into a broken relationship. Pornography, selfishness, angry and evil bosses that sap hope at work, abuse of a child by a family friend, financial pressure...these things all press onto a couple until they split. Some of these elements are chosen and can be controlled. Many elements cannot. Eventually the corruption of the world corrupts the relationship.

None are spared by being in our world. We encounter the beauty and the corruption. It inspires and corrupts us.

We can only live without regret when we cease to notice or care about the corruption. When we stop caring about the corruption we no longer have hope for the beauty that proceeded the corruption. When we stop caring about the corruption, we cease to have hope.

Above, I posted a picture with four worlds. I have just described the second. Tomorrow, I'll talk about the first, a world that has been designed for good.

what do we lose when we grow?

I have been listening to Jennifer Knapp's Kasas for the better part of today. This was one of my favorite albums when I was in college and one of the few Christian albums that I considered "artistic" enough for me to listen to. The lyrics are just so, so good. Knapp was a pretty young Christian when she wrote the album and it just sounds like a pure, raw confession of a new Christian. She reminds herself that "grace is sufficient" for her and pleads to be refined. She is so honest about her sin and so dependednt on grace. She sees how futile her attempts to control her life are (comparing her control to sand castles being washed away by the tide) and pleads to be brought from darkness to light.

As I listen to this record (you ever notice that you're supposeed to call albums records, even though only hipsters have record players?) I am struck by the emotional chord it strikes for me. When I listened to this album, I to was a young Christian. Knapp's confessions felt like my own confessions. As I listen to her asking God, "Can You Hear me?" I remember wondering the same thing.

I also become increasingly aware that I still wonder.

I am more mature than I was in 2001 when I was listening to this record. My theology is more sound. I use less profane language and I am significantly less likely to tell an off-color joke. Generally, I am a more self-controlled person.

But when I listen to this record, I remember the first time that I asked God for an image, and he showed my cuddled up in HIs lap. I remember saying "sorry" to Jennifer when I mocked her for being upset at STIM when she was talked down to during an exercise. I remember smoking an obscene amount of cigars with Voctor and talking about faith. I remember playing guitar with Mike until the morning paper arrived. And I remember that the time together was not really about guitar, but was actually about true brotherhood. I remember angrily crying at leaders team because a high school friend told me that I changed since giving my life to Jesus. I remember China. I remember Chicago. I remember praying with Mike and Majid about whether I should ask Donan out.

I suppose I also remember debilitating doubts, arrogant proclamations, awkward confessions, showing up to large group 2 beers into a 5 beer night. I remember making friends cry with my carelessness and hiding my lesser qualities.

Basically, I remember how raw that period life felt. I remember what faith felt like before I felt like I had to be put together. My college faith life was very tumultuous. It was full of massive back-sliding and crazy risks for the Kingdom. I wonder if I have traded vibrancy for maturity. I wonder if I can pursue both.

I mostly wonder if we lose something when we grow up. I wonder if this is all what "faith like a child" really means.