Believing is Seeing

My house is a wreck and the Christmas decorations are starting to crowd out the dust bunnies. The time has come to wrap it all away for another year. I always enjoy looking through the Christmas cards one last time. Sent from afar, each sends a touch of love and wishes for a joyful 2009. The Christmas “brag” letters get another quick scan. My college roommate Amanda included an unusual disclaimer in her letter. Like an investment prospectus that warns that “these statements are forward looking” her letter featured the following caveat:

“The editorial staff makes no comparison as to the relative “quality” of (our) year…while (we) feel truly blessed and had a great 2008, this update/newsletter/brag-sheet in no way suggests that (we) had it better than you.”

Most letters broadcast the highlights of the years travel and accomplishments. Likewise, I tried to document our year in a quick and cheerful letter. To be honest, on paper our year looked more than lousy. Unemployment curtailed our regular travel schedule and economic woes and uncertainty stole the wind from our sails. Seeing the words on paper left me feeling hollow. Although all those details I wrote were true, the facts didn’t reflect what we were feeling.

“Seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing.” We’ve watched so many Christmas specials this year; I can’t tell you where I heard it. Yet, this simple line resonates with me.

Because I believe, I can see beyond what is wrong in my life and see the joy, the hope and the promise. Even in our darkest moments, God’s love endures. My life has been blessed this years in ways that will never make the pages of my College Alumni magazine or even a Christmas brag letter.

Believing is looking with wonder and privilege at the opportunities of each day.

Open your eyes to find the joy that is all around you.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

CommonUnity - Promises, Promises

The eight-foot tall cell phone in the atrium at church stood mocking me. The centerpiece of a new sermon series, it teased me with its full battery symbol and four bars of signal strength. How many times have you needed to make a call and found your phone wasn’t up to the task?

The cell phone providers outdo each other with splashy ad campaigns promising superior coverage and new technology. “Can you hear me now?” They assure us that our phones will work when we most need them. They make a lot of promises.

If you’ve ever waited up, sitting by the phone, for a call that never came, you know the disappointment of a broken promise. My husband travels a lot. When the kids were small, it was hard to be at home for long stretches of time, without adult conversation. He would promise to call between flights, just a quick call to touch base and say “hi.” Things didn’t always work as planned. The phone didn’t always work in the remote areas where he traveled or flight delays meant there was no time to call between connecting flights. Technology disappoints.

We reach out to others for strength and love. We seek companionship, encouragement, and understanding. We reach out to others to insulate us from loneliness. People make promises. Many try earnestly to keep their promises, yet “there is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20) It is inevitable that people will fail us.

As children, we rely on our parents for many things. Beyond the basics of food and shelter, we look to our parents for love and approval and the answers to life’s questions. My kids are still young enough that I’m still their “go-to girl.” They run to me for a kiss and a bandage for their scraped knees. They call to me for help with homework or to help resolve a dispute. It won’t last forever. By the time they are teenagers, I’m more likely to hear a sarcastic “Mom, what do you know about anything?” than an appreciative, “Mom, you’re so smart!” Loved ones will disappoint us.

How old were you when you realized your parents were only human? Did you feel let down?

Sometimes our expectations are too high. Many people look to their families, their jobs, their spouses, or their belongings as a source of happiness. They look all around for joy and satisfaction. They seek perfection from the imperfect.

Instead, of looking around, we need to look up. If we seek perfect peace, there is only one source with a perfect track record for promises fulfilled. We need to put our expectations at the feet of God. Life disappoints but the Lord delivers. “God had power to do what he had promised.” (Romans 4:21). We can look to our Abba Father for a love that never fails and know that Christ is faithful to every promise ever made.

"Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he has promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.” (1 Kings 8:56).

Common Grounds - Our greatest predjudice

“Our greatest prejudice is against death. It spans age, gender and race. We spend immeasurable amounts of energy fighting an event that will eventually triumph. Though it is noble not to give in easily, the most alive people I’ve ever met are those who embrace their death. They love, laugh and live more fully.” - Andy Webster, Hospice Chaplain in Plymouth, MI

My quiet reverie is broken by the shrieking sirens passing by. Their cries stretch and wail as they race past me. Squad cars, fire trucks, an ambulance; they race to the scene. Will they arrive in time to help, to comfort, to save? I raise my eyes to heaven and I pray, LORD, comfort the injured. Let them see you, feel your presence, and accept your love. You are mighty to save. Mend their bones, heal their flesh. If it is time, save their souls.

The psalmist wrote, “Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long?” (Psalm 6:2-3)

It is agonizing. We are all faced with death, whether a future construct, an inevitability or something more concrete. The odds delivered by a doctor. The prognosis after medical tests. The life lost in the blink of an eye. It pains me to think of losing my loving husband. It breaks my heart to even consider the loss of my sweet children. How could I go on without my mother or my father? Death will touch us all.

If you could know the exact time of your death, would you want to know? Knowing the moments you have left to live, would you change your life, your ways, your priorities?

Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon computer professor made famous with The Last Lecture, died July 25, 2008. A shining example of courage in the face of death, his message reached millions. In August of 2007 his doctors told him pancreatic cancer would claim his life in three to six months. He made a choice to spend the time he had left living and not dying.

His lesson plan for us is simple:
Achieve your childhood dreams,
Enable the dreams of others, and
Never lose your childlike sense of wonder.

He tells us in his lecture that he is having fun and plans to have fun every day. He accepted his death but chose not to focus on it. He lived, loved and laughed with his wife and three small children, living each moment he was given. His lecture was a lifeline to his children that they may know his passion for life and his love for his family.

Carpe diem. Seize the day. Take time to smell the roses. There are many examples of living fully in popular culture and literature: The Bucket List, Life’s Golden Ticket, Tuesdays with Morrie.

In his novel The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein encourages us “to live every day as if it had been stolen from death . . . To feel the joy of life . . . To separate oneself from the burden, the angst, the anguish that we all encounter every day. To say I am alive, I am wonderful. I am. I am. That is something to aspire to.”

I do aspire to live fully in the present. Yet, I confess that I am often so busy that I lose sight of what is really important. My husband likes to remind me. He likes to sneak up on me when I am elbows deep in Palmolive suds at the kitchen sink. I never see him coming, focused as I am on fighting grease and grime. I am vulnerable. He pounces, hugging me around the waist and kissing me sloppily on the neck.

“Not now! Can’t you see I’m busy?” I complain. I am easily annoyed and angered by his sneak attack, wanting only to finish my chore. When I turn to see his smirk, I catch the twinkle in his eyes. I’m reminded to let go of what’s good for what is better. Living in the moment means embracing opportunities to love and be loved. Living fully is appreciating all that God has given. Being fully alive is embracing the 98% that is good in your circumstances and not the 2% that is lousy.

“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

Randy Pausch asks us “to decide is you’re a Tigger or an Eyeore.” How will you live your day? Winnie the Pooh’s Tigger spends his day sharing his jubilation. Full of joy and life, he pounces on friends, enjoying each day with abandon. Are you a Tigger? Or more like Eyeore? The sad purple donkey lives inside his own agony. Focused on his problems, he feels cut apart from the world. He is anxious and alone.

Bad things happen and in the end we all die. Even Jesus, in coming to this world and living as human flesh, endured pain, persecution and death. He knew his Father’s plans. He foretold his death and yet the knowledge did not consume him. He carried himself with peace and dignity and honor.

In Christ we have peace. It not a matter of embracing our death. As believers we are accepting something more. Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Peace be with you!

Common Grounds - Heaven is Overrated

"Heaven is totally overrated. It seems boring. Clouds, listening to people play the harp. It should be somewhere you can’t wait to go, like a luxury hotel. Maybe blue skies and soft music were enough to keep people in line in the 17th century, but Heaven has to step it up a bit. They’re basically getting by because they only have to be better than Hell." – Joel Stein, Columnist for the Los Angeles Times

Does God need a new publicist? If he wants to attract the multitudes to the wonders of heaven, he might need a new ad agency. Modern man is bombarded with messages 24/7: glitzy infomercials, slick ad campaigns, spin doctors perfecting their messages. The creative teams employ vibrant colors and bold graphics to grab our attention and inspire us to act. We buy their products or sign up for their services. How can God inspire us without visual images?

The Bible offers few first hand testimonials to the wonders of heaven. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." (1 Corinthians 6:9). The poetry of the psalmists hints at the glory that awaits the faithful. If we Google the word "heaven," we won’t find a polished website detailing the accommodations and amenities. We are left to imagine the untold blessings.

Very little is left to the imagination in our society. Last week we discovered a new TV station amid the 1200 in our cable line-up. Daylong, it offers explanations of "how things are done," revealing the engineering marvels of skyscrapers, the formation of lab-made precious gems, and the culinary mystery of how they get the cream filing in the Hostess Twinkie. As a kid, I was hooked by the rare glimpse Mr. Rogers offered of crayons speeding through the Crayola factory. It was an awesome sight to see the fabrication of something so beloved. But like a magician revealing his secrets, without the mystery something essential is lost.

"We live by faith, not by sight."(2 Corinthians 5:7) Our daily walk with the Lord is built on love and belief and trust. "God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him." (Acts 17:27) The old images of clouds and harps are designed to leave us wanting. Heaven defies a typical description.

There is a song that my family loves to hear. It’s not as eloquent as Psalm 118:24, but SpongeBob Squarepants drives the point home in his song, "The Best Day Ever." Nothing extraordinary occurs in the song: no new job, no lottery winnings, no major life events. Our best day is the day of opportunities that God blesses us with each morning. A great day is special in what it lacks: no worries for the future and no sorrows over the past. It is a day lived fully in the present.

The full promise of heaven is dwelling in the presence of God. There, we will live like God, fully in the eternal present. Living in the moment, we will be without fear or anxiety of the future or regrets of the past. In heaven, God’s compassion and mercy abound. "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain." (Revelation 21:4)
I don’t know if heaven is an all-inclusive luxury hotel with round-the-clock spa treatments or buffet feasts of gourmet delicacies. Yet, in Revelation 7:16 we discover that, "never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat." The heavens are a storehouse of God’s bounty. The pure of heart will receive blessings from the Lord, for"no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless." (Psalm 84:11)

Heaven may be God’s best kept secret. In the words of the MercyMe song, "I Can Only Imagine."

Common Grounds - We're all the same.

"In the end we’re all the same." – Ben Kweller, Rock Musician


We are all the same.
On a physical level, we’re all the same. God made us of flesh and in the end we die. Our hearts stop beating and our lungs fail to rise and fall. Game over. There is no advantage in wealth, privilege, fame, popularity, notoriety, wisdom or education. Modern medicine might delay the inevitable but nothing can change our fate.


All the hours spent at work and school can’t save us. All the stuff we labored to accumulate amounts to nothing. As they say, "you can’t take it with you." Yet, we race around working overtime so we can have more stuff: a new car, a boat, the latest gadgets, a sparkling new kitchen. Will our new toys bring us satisfaction or leave us unfulfilled and wanting more? Are we so intent on our next purchase that we forget to enjoy what we already have?


‘"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.’ Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 captures Solomon’s struggle to find the meaning of life. If death is the end, where can we turn for true meaning and purpose in our lives?


We are not all the same.
Through faith in Christ Jesus we know that the end to our temporary assignment on earth is really the beginning of our permanent mission in eternal life. By the grace of God and the power of Jesus’ sacrifice we are redeemed. Only those among us who believe will be saved. In addition, our daily lives on earth become richer through our faith and our growing relationship with the Lord. Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10 KJV)


A friend asked me this week why I bother going to church. I did my best to share the joy and warmth I felt in worship and fellowship. He agreed that he was a big fan of warmth and joy; he finds all the warmth and joy he desires in sleeping late on Sunday morning. My friend is not interested in church, yet it seems he thirsts for something more.


Jesus has commissioned us to share his joy, his word and his way. As Jesus instructed the Samaritan woman at the well, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. (John 4:13-14) Our faith in Christ ensures that our death is not the end. How do I share this good news with my friend?


When the Athenians asked Paul, "You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean,"(Acts 17:20), they opened the door to dialogue. They invited further discussion and explanation. Likewise, my friend asked another question. It was an invitation of sorts: "What if you are wrong?"


Do you know someone so afraid of being wrong or fearful of looking stupid that they refuse to believe? "What if you are wrong?" You can tell he is seeking. There is hunger for understanding and thirst for wisdom in such a question. I offered the simplest of replies; "what if I am right?"