Childish Thinking

When I was a child, I lived in India. During my recent trip back to my childhood home, I realized how much I had changed. I no longer enjoy shopping, socializing with large groups, or being in the spotlight. I prefer contemplation, communing with nature, gardening, and physical activity. Many things that used to make an impression on me, now just sadden me.

As I walk around the streets of my ancestral country, I notice its lush beauty. In the pre-dawn moments, the chorus of crickets, birds and frogs are still audible. Soon the sun would rise, revealing opulent mansions built on what was previously farmland. The streets would be filled with people, traffic, and stray animals.

The unequal distribution of wealth is really obvious when you see mansions next to barely habitable dwellings. Traditional women’s clothing is beautiful, yet restrictive and impractical in the hot weather. Many families live apart--the husbands working in distant countries while the wives stay home to take care of the elderly and the young. These disparities in resources and freedom are accepted without much dissension.

“When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” (1 Cor. 13:11 NLT)

None of these things bothered me when I was a child. Now I find myself deeply troubled by injustice and inequality. Unequal distribution of wealth, the affluent taking advantage of the poor—these issues are prevalent all over the world. As children we may be oblivious to these disparities, but as adults we should be disturbed by this lopsidedness. We should not accept this as merely the status quo, but must modify our thinking and our actions until we create a more equitable society.

My Time

Jesus was asked to perform a miracle before his public ministry had started. He was at a wedding in Cana, and they had run out of wine. His mother asked him to fix this situation. Jesus responded:

“This isn’t my time. Don’t push me.” (John 2:4 MSG)

I can understand His reluctance to get involved. I doubt that supplying more alcohol to a bunch of inebriated wedding guests was part of the Messiah’s purpose in life. If I were in His place, I wouldn’t want my entry into public life defined by this not-so-wholesome activity either. Yet Jesus stooped to this level and rescued a family from embarrassment.

When I’m faced with a predicament, I have a tendency to bolt. I avoid awkward interactions at all costs. When I’m thrust into these kinds of situations, I feel unprepared, ill-equipped, and unsure. I protest: This isn’t my time. Don’t push me! Yet, I know that God is prepared, equipped, and ready to make miracles happen. So I line up the receptacles to receive His grace. I become like a jar full of water waiting for a miracle. I stay open until Jesus transforms me.

Ownership

Although the manager of a business may oversee the resources of his company, his primary responsibility is to be concerned about whatever is most profitable for his boss. Some managers may act bossy to their subordinates, forgetting that they are merely mid-level employees. After they have been in charge for a while, they may act as if they own the place.

We are called to put God’s interests first, and then to be careful with his resources. We don’t own anything, not even our lives, our talents, our opportunities. We are called to manage these investments in a way that profits the true Owner.

For example, let’s take the gift of today. How shall I manage these next 24 hours so as to maximize God’s investments, to further His vision? I shall have occasions to extend grace, forgive, show compassion, think rationally, show tolerance, encourage others, and to pray. I have the opportunity to express God through my words and actions.

As I do these things, I keep in mind that none of this is for my benefit but for God’s kingdom, His glory, and His honor.

Pointer

As I approach a new phase of my life, I’m trying to decide what I’m meant to do next. I’ve considered several options...some popular careers and a few obscure ones too. Sometimes I’ll read or hear a phrase that gets my attention:

“There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in.” (John 1:6-8 MSG)

John the Baptist was called by God to be a pointer.

This makes me giggle ;-) It reminds me of a pointer dog who finds and points out the location of birds to a hunter, or a laser pointer that speakers use when making presentations. I wonder if John’s career would be considered a true vocation these days. I looked up ‘pointer’ in the Occupational Outlook Handbook—the ultimate career information resource put out by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. I couldn’t find any jobs with that title. So I made up my own job description for a modern day pointer:

A pointer would have to be alert for God’s presence and be bold enough to appear crazy to others. The work environment is physically and mentally demanding. A pointer must be able to live on very little, because median-pay is 0 dollars. Extensive education and daily studying is required. Future job outlook is less than average compared to other occupations.

I feel a bit sorry for John. I feel even worse for his mom! I can imagine people asking John’s mom: “So, what does your son do for a living?” And his mom would have to answer, “Um…well, John is a pointer. He points out God’s presence in this world. He lives in the forest, foraging for food. He can’t afford to support a wife, or kids, or have a home. I just hope he doesn’t get himself killed. Yeah…I had such high hopes for him. He didn’t really live up to his potential.”

John the Baptist must have been quite the character. He was willing to sacrifice everything to fulfill his calling, no matter what anyone else thought. I don’t know what God is calling me to do next. Whatever it is, I hope I have John’s tenacity and boldness. 

Recognizing Holiness

My son was the first to spot the goldfinches among the dandelions. Once he pointed them out to us, we were able to recognize them all over the yard. We wondered how long we had been oblivious to these beautiful birds because we didn’t know what to look for. What else were we missing?

C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, describes how to recognize a holy person: “They will not be very like the idea of ‘religious people’ which you have formed from your general reading. They do not draw attention to themselves. You tend to think that you are being kind to them when they are really being kind to you. They love you more than others do, but they need you less. (We must get over wanting to be needed: in some goodish people, especially women, that is the hardest of all temptations to resist.) They will usually seem to have a lot of time: you will wonder where it comes from. When you have recognized one of them, you will recognize the next one much more easily.”

When I read the above traits, a few people came to mind. I have been blessed to know a few truly holy women. They are unassuming and tend to camouflage themselves among weeds. They always act like you are doing them a favor by hanging out with them. Their love is indiscriminatingly sincere. They aren’t needy of your validation, but at the same time, they don’t make you feel like you are their current ‘project’ either. They seem to readily make time for you, even though you can see that they are taking care of many others simultaneously. Once I learned how to spot holiness, I realized how blessed I am to have these angelic individuals in my life.

Down to Earth

We have a yard full of dandelions. For the past few years, we’ve decided not to use chemicals to kill the weeds in our yard. The other day a flock of goldfinches visited our yard and hid among the dandelions eating their seed. These birds retain knowledge of things we humans have forgotten.

A few weeks ago, our neighborhood Bible study group was talking about the need for healing. We wondered if healing is available to us as it was in biblical times. We looked over at the dandelions that were spreading across the neighborhood, wondering if God had a reason for making these prolific weeds. I started reading about these plants. I also decided to be my own test subject. For the last few weeks, I’ve been making a tea with dandelion leaves, stems, and flowers. I’m still alive. I spoke about my new-found interest in dandelions to a friend who used to live in China. She mentioned that the Chinese use dandelions a lot. Upon further research, I found that dandelions have been used in Chinese medicine for centuries. Here are links to a few studies that I found interesting:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/04/20/wdr-dandelion-tea-research-grant.html

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/dandelion-000236.htm

I wish there were extensive scientific studies on common plants and their benefits. However, since a drug company cannot patent a plant, there is no profit motive to study it unless they can extract specific nutrients from it and put it in a pill form. When individual nutrients are isolated and synthesized into shelf-stable supplement pills, oftentimes they lose their natural essence and balance.

I’m sure that there is a reason and purpose behind every created thing. Animals still pass on this knowledge to their young. Our ancestors probably had a lot of this knowledge, but we moderns have decided that we know better. We kill nature with chemicals and then buy bottles of chemicals labeled as ‘natural’.

I think the closer we are to nature, the more in touch we are to real soil, the deeper our understanding will be. As we learn more about the purpose of all created things, the closer we get to knowing God. 

Book Review

I rarely buy books. If I bought every book I read, my house would be a mess. Instead, I check out books from the library. This saves me a lot of money and the pressure of having to return these books prompts me to finish them in a timely manner. When I do buy books, it’s usually ones that I’ve already read and want to share with others.

Recently I bought my first book for this year: Proof of Heaven—by Eben Alexander. It’s written by a neurosurgeon who was in a coma for several days due to bacterial meningitis. I’ve read other books about near death experiences. This book was different than others of the same genre. It was written from the perspective of a medically-trained, nominally-religious person. His writing is straightforward, lucid and cogent. His authenticity, as well as his logical analysis of the subject, made a deep impact on me as a reader.

This book will not appeal to everyone. Some Christians might find it too secular. The descriptions of heaven are not strictly biblical. The language is one of universal connectedness and inclusiveness. This book is also filled with a lot of medical jargon. He spends most of the book talking about the intricacies of the brain and consciousness. I would recommend this book to those who are scientifically-minded. Even for those who already believe in a supernatural being, this book may resolve some of the dichotomy between science and faith. It might be especially intriguing for those who are skeptical about the existence of a spiritual dimension beyond the visible world.