God's Heart (David)

Throughout the songs of David, he urges God to bring his judgment. There is almost of feeling of excitement and anticipation. Imagine: “Yeah! Bring it, God! Smash the wicked! Restore the righteous!”

The only way David can assert this with such conviction and enthusiasm is that he regards himself as not one of the wicked. But David’s hands are not entirely clean. Adulterer. Murderer. But his is not afraid of God’s judgment. He understands God’s heart toward him. Even in failure, he is a man after God’s heart.

It is in failure that God’s heart (God’s grace) is most proven … most evident. It is in failure that our hearts – toward others, toward ourselves – are most proven and most evident. Some failures are because we are not big enough. Some failures are chosen. And those who choose moral failure need to repent. But there was a way that Jesus behaved with people that gave grace, even when someone had not repented. And we need to learn how to behave that way also.

God's Presence

When many people speak about being in God's presence, and its effect on people, they point to the Isaiah story.

When he was in the temple one day, he had a vision of God and an army of angels. Isaiah's reaction was fear and dread, because he realized his heart was not right with God. He realized this, because he knew his words were not right. (Since, people live from their hearts, their speech and their actions are indications of what is in their hearts. Everyone's heart is unclean. So, everyone will speak and act wrongly. That's why we need Jesus. And that's why God's Spirit fills out hearts -- to purify our hearts, so we speak and act in love.) It was then that an angel touched his mouth with a burning coal, acting as an instrument of purification, and he received his forgiveness.

People seem to associate God's presence with this holy dread, guilt and fear. People seem to forget about other areas that talk about about God's presence. David says that he is assured of experiencing joy and pleasures in God's presence. It is the presence that produces the joy and pleasure.

Scripture describes the results of God's Spirit moving in and through people's hearts. People "walk out" these results because they are a natural out-flow of God's Spirit in them. This is God's nature, so these are the result of God's nature. The first outflow of God's nature is love. The second outflow is joy.

I am not sure that the natural outcome of being in God's presence is fear, dread and guilt. I don't deny that people feel these things. (Eg. Isaiah.) But I wonder if it is God's intention that people experience joy and peace in his presence. Joy and peace is who he is. Joy and peace is what surrounds him.

Heart Focus - V

As we focus our hearts on God, we begin to see our devotions differently. Devotions meaning our personal time of reading in the Bible, prayer and meditation.

Devotions are a very important method of focusing our heart on the Father’s heart. It is in a number of ways more important than meetings as a family.

First, family meetings happen once or twice a week. Devotions usually happen more often. They should happen every day. They probably do not, but the frequency give God more opportunity to pour his grace and love into our hearts. Human beings improve in anything with greater practice. Only this is not more practice, this is more exposure. Like diamonds, the human heart gleams more when it is exposed to more to the polishing of the jeweler.

Second, devotions allow for more specific targeting. Meetings generally are broadcasts to the whole family. Families need to act and live in a united and coherent manner. Having a united hear-focus builds that unity and one-ness. But it is difficult – difficult, but not impossible – for individuals to receive in an individual way in such a setting. If God is speaking to the whole family about evangelism, but wishes to speak to person A about love, and person B about how to make a wise choice in a particular area, to receive the individual message, the persons need to focus their hearts on God, but in a different way than each other, and in a different way that the whole. Personal devotions are personal. God can deal with the heart of each individual as he sees fit.

(As we set our hearts toward God, there is most likely some way that God deals with our hearts in a non-cognitive way. But, just as likely, God pours into our hearts in a cognitive way. With cognition, we can cooperate and agree with God’s work.)

I have a third point that seems to be related to the second. A person’s devotions are when we invite God to speak to us personally. And people get into the habit of reading the Bible for insight on how the can live better, more fully, more happily, with greater impact, etc.

Now, we have stated here before that people live from their hearts. So, understanding the nature of the heart is important. And if people live from their hearts, and heart-ology is an important area of understanding, how much more important is it to understand God’s heart. So, in our devotions, we should include what people normally focus on reading the Scriptures, but also indicators of what goes on in God’s heart. We will learn how to focus our hearts, what we should expect to receive, and, most importantly, what is God’s heart focus.

Heart Focus - IV

As we focus our hearts on God, we begin to see obedience differently, we begin to see our relationship with God differently, and we begin to see our relationship with people differently.

We have said here that as we set our heart-focus on God, he sets his heart-focus on us. And God's heart flows back into our hearts and into our lives. God changes  our hearts to become like his heart. So, the things that characterize God will characterize us.

What is God's primary character trait? What has he told us is the most important thing? It is love. God's heart overflows with love for people. If God's heart flows into our heart, we will incorporate God's character. Which means we will love like God loves. Love, service and generosity will become part of our nature. We should expect life patterns to change as God changes our hearts.

I can see how there would be a tendency for people to get down on themselves ... or others in Jesus' family. It is easy to see a lack of love in the lives of so many who say they follow Jesus.

We fail. We will continue to fail. Scripture says God gave the Law, not for people to keep -- because that is impossible -- but so our failure would show us our need for Jesus, and drive us to seek him. Our failure to love should reveal our need to keep seeking Jesus.

Sin and failure should always bring us back to Jesus. People always follow their heart-focus. And they always become what their heart is focused on. Transformation will always be the result of failure, if we turn and seek Jesus' face. 

Heart Focus - III

If this heart-focus is as important as it seems to be, then a person’s view of how God views them is very important too. (In other words, how does God view each person, especially in failure?)

Many people feel that if they fail, God is angry with them. He seriously considers revoking their salvation and sending them to hell. An individual’s response, if they believe that God feels that way, is: self-condemnation, and often, depressed, small, ineffectual and powerless. The main tendency seems to be hiding from God.

If a heart-focus toward God is (at least, one of) the main methods of receiving grace from God, and therefore, (at least, one of) the main means of promoting growth and transformation, hiding from God is the worst thing a person can do. And God wants our growth. Growth of his children brings him glory. Growth of his children advances his purposes. Growth of his children brings him joy. So, the last thing God wants for his children is to be overwhelmed with shame and hide from him. God wishes to promote a heart-focus toward him.

Jesus died to justify sinners. And when we choose as our first allegiance, he sends his spirit to our hearts to begin the process of restoration and activate the process of relationship. God’s purpose is to reclaim his lost children, restore his kingdom, and demonstrate his glory. One person at a time, he persuades people to come to him. One person at a time, he brings his purposes into reality. (Of course, being infinite, “one person at a time” really has no meaning for him.) To motivate one child to hide from him disrupts his purposes. To motivate his children to seek his face, even when they fail, pushes his purposes to completion.

What does God do to motivate his children to focus their heart toward him, especially at a time when their minds, hearts and spirits scream for them to flee? He affirms his love for them.

It is always his love that draws us to him. It is his love that keeps us there. It is his love that persuades us to follow him, to undergo the process of transformation and to partner with him in fulfilling his purposes.

A major hindrance to God’s kingdom and purposes is our limited and incomplete understanding of God’s heart … and specifically of his love and grace.

NOTE: God is never hindered. But he desires to work out his purposes through his family. That desire will not bear full fruit, as long as we are in the dark about how big his love is.

Heart Focus - II

If this heart focus becomes as important as it sounds, then obedience takes on a new dimension.

Obedience is important, because it pleases God. It is important, because we are living as we were designed to live. And it is important, because obeying God will always demonstrates God’s love to people.

It becomes more important, because failure will stop God’s focus on us and the flow of grace to our hearts. Guilt tends to cause people to move their heart focus away from God and back to themselves. It is the heart focus that initiates the flow of grace, the filling of our hearts, the restoration of our hearts, and an out-flow from our lives. Sin short-circuits this whole process.

We recently discussed sin here, focusing on how we need to respond and how God injects his DNA into our hearts to re-create our hearts and our lives. It is our relationship, our heart focus, that is the catalyst to this restoration. As this restoration is not going to be completed in this life time, our primary concern should be keeping the “reaction” going as continuously as possible. And when we fail, to get it going again as soon as possible.

Maybe our response to sin should not be moans and groans, dust and ashes, and self-flagellation. Maybe it should be worship. Not a celebration of our failure, but a celebration of God’s grace, patience and perseverance in maintaining and deepening our relationship with him and our growth in grace. Worship sets our eyes and our hearts back to where they are supposed to be.

Heart Focus

Victor Frankl was a Jewish psychologist, who was thrown into a Nazi death camp during World War II. During his internment, like everyone else, he spent most of his time trying to stay alive. But, almost on reflex, he observed others captive in that environment and later, used his observations to try and explain people's hearts.

He observed people, who were physically fit and healthy, weaken and die. Or they would commit suicide by throwing themselves on the electrified fence. On the other hand, a puny, sickly person with asthma, anemia, and a heart condition would survive well past the end of the war. Physically, the first person was much more capable of survival than the second. He decided that the reason the first person died, and the second person lived, must lie somewhere in their inner life. So, he investigated. What he discovered was that those who survived had something to focus on in the future after all that they had experienced in the present was over. The survivors set their hearts on seeing family, finishing a project or visiting somewhere. And those who died had nothing to set their hearts on.

There seems to be a law -- almost -- that what a person focuses his heart on is drawn to that person. Those who focused on doing and being in the future, drew it to them. Those who had no focus drew the end to them.

I don't really know if I could explain how this law works fully. There does seem to be people who focus their hearts on gaining money or success, and those things seem drawn to them like a magnet. Of course, the focus compels them to act in a particular way ... and maybe that's the secret. Sitting down, closing your eyes and intoning like a mantra, "Money! Money! Money!" -- all the while visualizing small pictures of Washington, Lincoln and Jackson floating toward you, forming nice neat piles in from of you -- seems like a silly way to provide for your family.

All of this, of course, is an introduction to a passage of Scripture I have been thinking about.

Paul was addressing a group of God's family. He begins by telling them that he is confident that the Holy Spirit is flowing through him into their lives, because he can see the transformation occurring in them. He is confident that God is glorified, not because of his work, but because of the Spirit's work. It demonstrates the superiority of the new covenant of grace over the old covenant of law. The old temporary and it resulted in death; the new is eternal and results in life. In the old, we really could not fully understand God's nature and character, because there was a hindrance in our lives. In the new, we can see him more fully, because the hindrance was removed.

Now, here is the part I am concentrating on. I confess I don't feel like I completely understand ... indeed, I may be totally wrong. I feel like Paul uses more poetic language here, which may be part of the problem. But here is what it seems to me he is saying:

Since, we are not hindered from seeing the nature and character of God more fully. And as we see him, as we focus our hearts on him, we draw the focus of God to us. God reciprocates. So, like the "law" Victor Frankl seemed to propose, we draw God and God's nature to us, as we focus on him. His grace fills our hearts and transforms our hearts, which in turn transforms our thoughts, words and deeds. If I understand this correctly, one tool for transformation is our heart focus, Worship, prayer and meditation become means of growth, not just means of relationship.

Maybe steps of relationship are steps of growth. 

Love

A month or so ago, I was thinking about love and the list of its traits. I went through the list and described each of its traits. Now, I find myself reading through the same passage of Scripture. (Don’t worry, I am not going to describe each trait again.) This section about love is situated in the middle of a passage about the special abilities God gives his children.

One of the most commonly used metaphors to describe God’s family is that of the human body. The human body is one unit, one whole, but it is made up of many different parts. And each part has a different function. In the metaphor, each person is like a different part of the body. And the different function of the part is like the special ability God gives.

In the beginning of this section, the writer describes:
• The cohesion of God’s family;
• How God gives these abilities;
• How each person is strategic in God’s family;
• And how the abilities enable his children to meet needs, provide mutual service and interdependence.
 

But, as the writer transitions to his discussion of love, he explains how if the special ability is not accompanied by, supported by, empowered by or run through the filter of love, it is worthless!!

Which says to me, in God’s kingdom, these abilities are important, but love is more important. It would be better if a person acted in love, without the special abilities, than if he acted with the ability and no love.

Calling - X

We conclude with three attitudes\practices that are intended to put our call into effect.

The first attitudes\practices is “surrender.” The term has the connotation of defeat and giving up. But in a spiritual sense, it is a voluntary laying down of rights, goals and privileges, leaving one’s hands empty to pick up something else more important. When we choose to follow Jesus, we laid down our original allegiance in order to take up our new allegiance to Jesus. We surrendered our first allegiance to take up another.

Here is something similar. We choose to lay down our vision of our life, in order to take up God’s vision of our life. It becomes our vision, our way to love God and people. It becomes God’s personal command to us.

The second attitudes\practices is “focus.” There is a story of a CEO of some company who said that the bottom line dealing with any issue is – giving it attention. Living one’s call requires daily practice. Each person has to focus consistently and regularly on actions that will build the necessary skills, character and habits. There are tools that help filter out distractions (which could be activities that are harmful or activities that are good, but detract from the end we are aiming at) and activities that build. This doesn’t give anyone an excuse to avoid their responsibilities. They still need to be spouses, parents, bosses\employees and citizens. Still, if it is God personal command to us, it is something that requires daily attention.

The last attitudes\practices is “renewal.” Essentially, it is actions that helps one maintain momentum toward walking out the calling fully, achieving one’s potential. There are two aspects to this. One is renewing a person’s energy and enthusiasm towards the call. This can encompass all phases of a person: physical, spiritual, emotional and intellectual. Each person has a rhythm of rest, exercise, nutrition and spiritual input needed to perform the best.

The other is a renewal of perspective. Are there changes needed? Should some activities be discontinued? Some new ones be started? The whole process ought to be reviewed, evaluated and adjustments made.

Community also becomes important as people are supported, loved and served – both giving and receiving. Special relationships are formed. Not only friendships, but also people will need guides to help fulfill the calling. There will be both short-term (for specific areas) as well as long-term.

As we choose to embrace our calling, we practice it, giving proper attention and review it wisely, we walk in God’s purpose for us, we receive God’s “fuel” and we live as we are designed.

Calling - IX

At this point, walking out one’s calling lies entirely in the imagination. We have an idea about where our energies should be focused. The next suggested step is to imagine life in the future. Imagine if one’s call works out ideally, what would one’s life look like? How would one’s relationship with God be like? Marriage? Family? Church? Neighbors? What fruit would be borne? What self-image?

If a person can see where he is supposed to wind up, then he can begin to plan how he is supposed to get there. He can develop a strategy. Does he need to alter his approach to God? His family? Work? Does he need further education? Does he need to stop certain activities? Start certain activities?

As you can see, this all sits inside one’s imagination. Having a big picture of who you are and what you should become is not a bad thing. A person’s imagination is a powerful tool. Everything, good or bad, big or small, began in someone’s imagination.  The real trick is getting the contents of one’s imagination and making it real.

This is usually where living out one’s calling fails. It would be nice if we could jump straight to that idealistic future. But we can’t. We need to walk the first baby steps. We need to work through the intermediate steps. There is much praying and much planning. And there is too much expectation in many people for quick results.

Walking out God’s call on our lives at this point begins to become work. But without the work, we will never reach that future, and never experience the joy of being in the optimal place of God’s will.

Diversity

Taking a brief hiatus from the “Calling” series …

I attended a seminar about diversity at work recently. Rather than focusing on “race” or “disability,” like others I have attended did, this seminar focused on “difference.” The point of the seminar was to make us aware that there are dozens of ways people can be different from one another. (Height, weight, age, race, gender, religion, politics, handed-ness, economic status, work ethic, cleanliness habits, punctuality, etc. In the seminar, during one of the group activities, we compiled a list of 58 unique things.)

Each set of “this\that” represents different perspectives, values and experiences. Each set can produce different expectations, actions and reactions.

There is a lot of debate currently about one particular subset of the general population choosing a particular lifestyle. The family of God believes this lifestyle is wrong. A lot of the general society believe the lifestyle is OK. Part of the debate is how God’s family should respond.

A part of God’s family believes this lifestyle should be condemned loudly and frequently. Another part of God’s family highlights God’s love and acceptance, and maintains that we should behave the same way towards these people.

I would like to share a few points  that seem to me to be pertinent to this discussion.

(1) God is holy. He does say we should expose sin. So, why is part of God’s family busy exposing “this” sin, and ignoring stealing, lying, gluttony, and greed? God commands us to live a life of thankfulness. Anyone rememb4er hearing sermons condemning negativity? Scripture says be holy and expose sin. It does not give us the right to pick and choose.

(2) God is love. He commands us to walk in love. The family of God is commanded to love everybody … including sinners.

(3) Jesus condemned sin and he loved and accepted sinners. What God commands seems to be in tension. Jesus was able to obey both commands perfectly; but we probably will not be able to do so. But we are called to work through the tension and obey the whole counsel of God. We don’t have the right to choose what command we obey. If we are part of God’s family, we are required to submit to the Father and obey him … in whatever he says.

(4) It was probably the diversity seminar, but I was reminded of a passage of Scripture, where the writer condemns “favoritism” or “partiality.” The example given was giving the rich favorable treatment over the poor. But given multiple passages of Scripture that demonstrate that God accepts all cultures, classes, and all types of sinners, maybe we need to make sure we are not giving favoritism to one group against another group. In that passage, God says that favoritism is sin

Calling - VIII

A third vista is our heart focus. This is a difficult thing to discover. We have discussed here in the past that God desires us to live from our hearts. He puts his spirit into our hearts and generates life moving from inside out. This is why Satan attacks our hearts. God wants our lives to be controlled by love – of God and of people. As God gives different gifts, he gives different ways to express this love.

Satan wants our hearts to be controlled by anything else: guilt, fear, hate, lust, pride, etc. So, he attacks our hearts to smother love, if he can; and to generate some other counterfeit. So, people build protections over their hearts. And Satan confounds, confuses and distorts. So, we either cut through the barriers to uncover our heart focus; or we peel back all the layers. All of which God seeks to do.

It is not totally possible to shut down the expression of our heart focus. It peeks out from underneath the pile in a number of ways. To get a glimpse of your heart focus, ask yourself questions like these:

• What are your dreams? 
• Who are your heroes?
• What are your favorite stories? (Bible, movies, books.)
• What do you hope your future becomes?
• If guaranteed success, what would you do?
• What do you want written in your obituary?

This obviously requires using our imagination and a lot of quiet reflection. We need to remember that God’s desire is his glory and the advancement of his kingdom. God’s route for this is through his family – controlled by love, and attaining their potential. Scripture says that God has put eternity in people’s hearts, so the people are moved to seek him. Moreover, he puts a passion into people’s hearts, so we are driven to actualize our potential, give him glory, and love and serve people.

Calling - VII

Another tool set God has given to view our lives (another vista to make sense of our personal landscape) is our talents and gifts.

If God has given us a special niche to impact the world from, he will certainly equip and enable us to complete the work by providing us with skills. (Either natural skills given at birth, or spiritual skills given at re-birth. Or both.)

There are many abilities that can compile our skill-set. Some abilities are given at birth, eg. a musical ear or good hand-eye coordination. Scripture speaks of abilities given when we become part of God's family. Special skills that God empowers and works through, because his Spirit dwells in us.

Part of a skill-set involves a particular perspective (a set of lenses) to view the world through. For example, some people have a skill-set involving the maintenance of the physical environment. So, they see needs that should be attended to. They hear a noise in a car, and know how to fix it. They see "signs" in a house or yard, and know how to correct it.

Needs, concerns and areas for improvement occur in every area of life. So, an important part of this vista is an understanding of a person's heart, as well as their successes and achievements. 

Are there areas we are practiced and successful in? We probably have skills in that area.

Are there areas we have longings or strong desires about? We may have skills in that area, that we have not tapped into. God instills desires in our hearts to give us direction.

Calling -VI

There are several tools God has given to help determine the calling God has given us. The first is our life history, our life story. 

Let's pretend for a moment that there is an infinite, personal God, who made man-kind, designed them to have a relationship with him, and designed everything about individual people ... including what will enable them to live to their greatest potential. And since he is an infinite, personal God, he can give each of his children moment by moment attention. He can tailor a detailed program of training for each child, so they fill that spot that we have given the term "calling:" fulfilling their potential, acting in the most effective and efficient way to complete God's purpose and mission, maximizing joy and giving love in an individual and unique way. 

If there was such a God, and he had such a purpose for his children, we should be able to see his hand in their lives. There should be lessons, themes and patterns. There should be experiences that unlock doors to unseen, unknown vistas. There should be principles that are etched indelibly on hearts. 

Now let's pretend there is an enemy. One who want to detract from God's glory, thwart his purposes, disrupt his mission and generate as much misery as possible. And since God's glory, purposes and mission are bound up in people, (people choosing to align themselves with God in a new allegiance, to live in a new life that points others to God and to partner with God in restoring his kingdom) the place the enemy will attack is people ... especially his children. He will try to disrupt their training, distract them filling their place, confuse their identity, and interfere with their relationship with the Father.

If a person charted his life, there would be a number of ups and downs. And a number of these ups and downs would affect decisions, changing the direction of life. Some decisions would be based on fear. Some on faith, love or any of a number of practical considerations. By charting these transitions, a person could begin (repeat: begin) to see themes and patterns. One might also see places of disruption. To see the place of calling, one needs a panoramic view. There are motivations, and contexts. So, a person's life story is a view from one mountain top.

Calling - V

We discussed how each Jesus follower has a common core identity or common primary fuel. There is also a common purpose. This is simply to live a life that honors God. How do we do that? What does that look like?

• We love, obey, serve and follow God.
• We are serious about knowing and understanding what he says.
• We make his purposes, our purposes.
• We make his heart, our heart.
• We make his values, our values.
• We make his priorities, our priorities.
• We live a life of love.

Or, to quote David Putnam, "We live like Jesus. We love like Jesus. We leave what Jesus left behind."

The first one is vital. It is what our heart should be focused on. It is the bull's eye of our life. The second is very important, because too many do not understand the rest of the list. For example, for many Christians (sincere, serious, genuine followers of Jesus), it is essential the the life of God's family is centered in a special building. (Please understand me. A special building is NOT evil. I am NOT advocating the all-out abandonment and destruction of special buildings.) However, if one looked at the family of God in the US, one would assume that one cannot follow God if one did not have a special building.

If one looked at the practices of certain subsets of God's family, one would assume that God considers certain cultural practices to be evil. And that might not necessarily be so. That does NOT mean that if something is accepted by the culture, it ought to be accepted by the family of God. More ... because something is right and proper in God's eyes to practice in one city, it does NOT mean it is right and proper to practice in another city. We need to understand what God says. Walk in understanding, wisdom and love, so he gains glory in ALL settings. That is our purpose.

Calling - IV

The writer of this book uses the term "core identity" to describe the basic, foundational truth of who people in general were created to be. We have discussed it here also, using a slightly different metaphor. We talk about the primary fuel. A person comes to a turning point. He needs to make a decision. Many different things motivate that decision.

• They recognize their moral failure.
• They conclude there is an over-riding truth.
• They need something that gives them value or significance.
• They need a cause.
• They need something to belong to.

In all these cases, the solution to the issue they are facing is to choose a change of allegiance. They choose to connect that allegiance to God. Now:

• They have a relationship with God.
• They are judged to be pardoned from their moral failures.
• They can live by the Truth ... with a capital T.
• They are valued, important and significant.
• They have a place, a role, a purpose and a cause.
• They belong to the family of God.
• What is broke in their lives, their hearts and their relationships can now be fixed.

This is who we all are. This is what we were designed to be from the beginning. We are unique in that we have different pasts, different roles and different destinies. But our foundations are the same. What we stand on, what we build from, is the same for everyone ... whether we choose to follow God or not.

Calling - III

One of the problems with this area of calling is that there is no passage of Scripture that says "This is you special niche in my kingdom. If you make sure to complete this work, you will gloify my name, experience great joy and bear much fruit." There is not even a verse that says "Make sure you fulfill your calling."

There are indications that one of mankind "fuels" is purpose. There is Scripture where it seems like Paul helped Timothy find his niche. And there is Scripture that says when we choose to follow Jesus, we become part of his family. And one of the metaphors use to describe his family is the human body. The human body is a group of different pieces hooked together to cooperate with one another. Each part performs its function and contributes to the growth and well-being of the whole.

But suppose you are a hand in his body. You could hold a hammer, a pencil or a knife. And if you are holding a knife, what are you cutting with it? Vegetables in a kitchen? Or performing surgury in a hospital?

As members of Jesus' family, we all are given the job of glorifying God by proclaiming and demonstrating his love to everyone, all over the world. This should result in a proclamation and demonstration of truth, and other people choosing to follow Jesus. But how do we take the function God has given us, and complete the task God has given us?

• Become a professional leader.
• Bake apple pies for the neighborhood.
• Coach soccer to eight year olds.
• Stand on a busy stret and publicly proclaim the gospel.
• Become a nurse and care for the sick.

The fact that there are a number of gifts and a multitude of areas to express these gifts only serves to confuse those looking for somewhere to plug in. (And there is a vast spectrum of life as God's family to consider ... and we only used one part as an example.)

As I have said before, I write what I am thinking about. And sometimes something I have seen or heard oar read somewhere else starts me thinking. And this area of calling started with a book.

The author assumes a calling, a special niche given to each one in God's family. The value of the book is that he provides several ways of trying to define a calling. Like looking from several mountain vistas at the valley below, we can get different perspectives and different, but complementary, understandings of this niche we are looking for, that will help us obey God's purposes in ways that glorify God and match who we are designed to be.

My intention is to describe each "vista" so maybe I can understand them better. Maybe I can find a better place to focus my energies. And maybe anyone who reads this can do the same.

NOTE: But there will be a brief hiatus. My brother and I are going camping for a few days. We will hike, eat and burn wood. Maybe attend the Annual Fall Festival and listen to blue grass.

Calling - II

First, to recap a couple of ideas discussed here before …

God created the world and designed it to function perfectly. Man sinned, introducing a polluting effect into the world, and “breaking” the world. Things do not function as they were designed to do. But, there are still many things that follow their created nature. Man is still designed for a relationship with God. To live completely and fully, man needs many fuels. The God-man relationship is the primary fuel. Purpose is also a necessary fuel.

God is everywhere and understand everything. He is also immanent; which means he is totally present with all who seek him. All this means God can give his total attention and his total focus on people with enough to eat, radiation pollution in Japan, church planting movements across the world and individuals praying … in the US, in China, in Finland, in Chile, or anywhere else Jesus’ family is found.

So, since God can be completely present with all his children, and he has designed them for abundant living, for giving abundant glory to God, and for his family to full many different roles in a cohesive unity, we can see it is completely possible for God to five each one of his children their own totally unique niche in his family and in his purposes.

Calling

I am reading a book that begins with the basic assumption that God has created us, designed us, and given us a specific purpose in life. The writer uses an old fashioned word to describe this specific purpose. He uses the word "calling."

Each person in Christ is given a specific call in life. If we receive it, we can complete God's vision for our life, achieve greater fulfillment in life, and give God greater glory through our lives. 

There was a time that a call on a person's life was discussed a lot in Christian circles. It fell out of favor, simply because many people would feel a call to this or that, and it never happened. Did people stop thinking about it because it wasn't true? Or because no one really understood the theology of the call? Or because we did not understand or were unwilling to walk through the process of receiving our call?

God needs to position us so that we are able to receive and act on our call. This could involve refining character, learning skills, or undergoing inner healing. It could also involve an unfolding of the call.

A call exists on several levels. There is a purpose, or reason, for what we are doing. There is a vision, or a direction and result. And there is a strategy, or steps of action.

And there is a core identity. It is God who defines who we are. But we have allowed all sorts of things to define us. And so we believe a lie. It is this core identity, God's definition, that is the foundation of any call.

Prayer?

Last week, I read a passage of Scripture that has got me wondering. When we look at Scripture, we see a number of places where God speaks to subsets of people: slaves, masters, parents, the rich and rulers. There are places where Scripture address just men and just women.

Some people read the passages and believe that God designed a hierarchy among men and women. If there is a hierarchy among the sexes, it was created when sin entered the world; it is part of the world being broke.

God created culture. Different peoples gather, view life through different lenses nad develop different expressions and solutions to life. God is glorified as these different people seek to follow Jesus from their contexts.

Men and women also have different lenses. And God is glorified as they seek to follow Jesus from their contexts. The all-prevailing attitude and action that must be present in all interactions -- whether they are between cultures or genders -- is love.

But, getting back to my Scripture ...

In the midst of a passage where the writer is encouraging specific practices to men and women, he encourages all men to pray. Since, in the context, he immediately goes on to encourage a different, separate practice to women, this exhortation to prayer is specifically to men.

Why?

There were some possibilities that I considered.

(1) Something special happens when men pray. (If this sounds sexist, please, make sure to read items 2 and 3.) Anyone praying is important, and God pays attention to it. But men praying has more potency somehow, so he encourages it more.

(2) This is not about praying or not praying. This is about how prayer should be given. More specifically, this is how men are praying wrong ... and what they need to do to pray correctly.

(3) Women are such natural and effective pray-ers that they don't need instruction in it, or encouragement to do it. Men, on the other hand, ...

Most likely, it is some variant of #2. Perhaps ... given a man's apparent, inherent tendency when faced with a problem to take action to fix  the problem, God is encouraging a posture of prayer for certain issues (social, political or spiritual) undertaken with certain attitudes.

Attitudes like:

• a heart given to God.
• A heart focused on completing God's purposes.
• A heart intent on God's solutions and God's way ... and not his own.