Freedom to Choose

I think I’m as patriotic as anybody and probably more patriotic than some because I lived outside the US for many years. I appreciate the amazing array of choices and the freeing flexibility intrinsic to American culture. I love the can-do attitude. I missed those things.

I’ve only been back in the US a little over a month but I’ve already felt like I may be out of sync on several occasions. A few times when I’ve heard people talking about how bad things are in America I’ve found myself wondering if they’ve forgotten that we live in a fallen world, forgotten that the stage is being set for Christ’s return. The weather and the wars and the sinful culture tell us that we are closer to His return than we have ever been! In these last days before Christ comes back should a Christian’s focus include legislating godly behavior as well as widely sharing the Gospel?

Last year I read a book called Post Christendom, written by an Englishman named Stuart Murray.  He explains that when we live in a place where the leaders are Christians or where Christianity is a majority mind-set, laws and culture greatly influenced by Christian ideals develop—historically this was the situation in Europe and the US.  But when a population is no longer majoritively Christian and/or the leadership is no longer Christian, laws and culture change.

Losing “favored status” is difficult. Christians have a hard time seeing a respected place in the overall culture fading away. Are we upset because we are uncomfortable in a godless culture? Are we upset because we realize how much Gospel-sharing we have to do?

Sinful trends in world culture are here to stay because they are part of the easy way that leads to destruction, a path much of the world population will choose. We have to focus on spreading the Gospel, on inviting people to find the good, less-traveled path of Christ, which is entered into by a narrow gate (Matthew 7: 13 & 14). Maybe the best way to celebrate this 4^th of July is to give someone the freedom of choice, the chance to be part of the few who are choosing Life over destruction.

Houses

Lately I’ve been in a lot of houses.  Our very patient realtor has shown us stately old half-houses right downtown, every-owner-has-added-a-room houses on the edge of town, carefully thought-out newer semi-detacheds in developments, and cozy cape cods on hometown-type streets. It’s been fun to discover the selling points each house has to offer, and to try to picture myself living in each of these settings.

Until we started house shopping, my thought process upon entering a house could have been described as observe-and-accept. I love to visit my friend’s homes, and I enjoy seeing how they’ve set up the rooms in their houses to meet their needs. I’ve always believed that a person’s home is a little window on her personality, and that spending time at a friend’s home is a part of really knowing her.  

But house shopping brings another way of looking at homes.  Instead of thinking about the personality of person living there, I find my mind swirling with ideas on how I would change the house. Seeing a property through the glasses of a possibility that it could be my home, I project my styles and colors on to every part of it. I’ve realized a truth about myself when looking at houses to buy: I’m not as interested in seeing the house as it is as I am in seeing it as it would be if I moved in!

All this house stuff got me wondering if God sees people a bit like I’m seeing houses these days.  Like houses, each individual has value and potential, and possesses interesting niches unique to her design. When God moves in, he brings good, new things with him. He begins his makeover, remodeling and refurbishing a little bit every day.

The rooms of our lives become richer and more beautiful as they become home to God. When he buys us, we escape a future as a condemned property. When ownership changes and he takes possession, our original design is enriched as he begins to implement his long-range design.

God moved in to my house in 1962 and he has been renovating ever since. He has done some amazing things. Which makes me very excited about the great changes yet to come!

Valuable Change

The thing about making a big change is that it changes everything! When the patterns and places of yesterday are gone, new routines develop in every area of life.  Since these are days of big change in my life, I’m thinking lots about new habits and ways and styles.

My daughter told me that since everything is changing in my world anyway, this would be a good time to implement changes I’ve been meaning to make. Specifically, she was saying that since foods and routines are different here in the US than they were in France, this is a good time for me to begin new exercise and eating habits.

She’s right about piggy-backing good changes on to going-to-happen-anyway changes. The principle could apply to every area of my life. When relationships are in flux, it’s a good time to establish close connections and good boundaries. A time of income and spending adjustments is a good time to draw up a budget. As job responsibilities are enhanced, it’s the right time to develop strategies for successful work.

Life changes are a good time to make positive changes. Positive changes are stepping stones on the path of success. But there are as many definitions of success as there are people.

Wikipedia provides three definitions of success:
1) a level of social status
2) achievement of an objective
3) the opposite of failure. 

I also found these interesting steps to success on the web:

1. Be pro-active. Take responsibility for everything in your life.

2. Keep the end in mind.  Write a personal mission statement.

3. Put first things first. Prioritize. Delegate as much as possible.

4. Think win/win, see challenges as mutually beneficial.

5. First seek to understand. Thoroughly listen. Then seek to be understood.

6. Synergize. Value differences. Build on divergent strengths. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

7. Sharpen the saw. Go for balanced self-renewal. Use carefully selected recreational activities. 

This is a good how-to-get-there list. But making changes, even good changes, will simply make my life different – not better – if the changes are not part of moving me closer to God. In Joshua 1:7 a focus on following God’s law is a condition for success.  1 Samuel 18:14 tells us that the reason for David’s success was the Lord being with him. Proverbs 3:4 lists steadfast love and faithfulness – lived outwardly and inwardly, lived consistently -- as the conditions of success with God and man.

Change is sure to come. Change is always possible.  But change is valuable when it is part of obeying, opening our hearts to, and loving our great God.   

OF TONY BLAIR AND BREATHING EUROPEAN AIR

In the June 9th issue of TIME magazine there was an interesting article entitled "Tony Blair's Leap of Faith." The article labeled Blair as a man of faith. It also pointed out that a man of faith is a rarity in Europe. 

Though Tony Blair’s parents were not churchgoers, he apparently has had faith since he was a small child. According to the article he "rediscovered" his Christianity in his Oxford years. Blair says that he has always believed that religion matters. 

His current belief is that "faith is part of our future, and faith and the values it brings with it are an essential part of making globalization work." Blair wants to rescue faith from irrelevance and extremism. He thinks that religion is key to the global agenda. 

Blair recently unveiled The Tony Blair Faith Foundation in New York, dedicated to -- among other things -- proving that collaboration among those of different religious faiths can help address some of the world's most pressing social problems. He says that religion has always had a role in globalization, and that past missionary activity had the effect of shrinking the world. His goal is to encourage connection between faith-based groups and social activists.    

While Blair’s ideas are very interesting viewed through the lens of end times and the role religion will have on the global scene before the LORD comes back, what jumped out at me from this article was the description of the way Blair's faith is viewed in Europe.  His statements about the necessity of factoring in belief in God and spiritual life to make the world work properly “will be met with a snort of derision” in his home country, to quote the article. It describes Britain as “one of the most aggressively secular societies on the planet.”   

The TIME article points out that while he was in office Blair’s faith was a source of something like contempt for many Britons. One well-known intellectual labeled his religiosity “incomprehensible.” After he left office he was received into the Catholic Church; many have attributed this recent conversion to Catholicism to “snob appeal.” 

Blair’s sense of conviction would be fine if he were a U.S. politician, the article explains.  Americans expect a politician to profess his faith even if he doesn’t have much of one. This article reminded me that perhaps the most fundamental difference between the US and Europe is that believing God exists and being taken seriously are not mutually exclusive in the US; generally, in Europe they are. 

No matter what you think of Tony Blair and his ideas, this four-page article about a European leader who stands out simply because he has said publicly that he has faith brings Europe ’s spiritual climate into sharp focus. This is the atmosphere our European church planters work in. This is the air our European fellow Christians breathe.     

A June Thanksgiving

Everybody knows Thanksgiving is in November. But now and again there is so much to thank God for that it just can’t wait for a holiday. So today is my personal Thanksgiving Day. 

Like in November, family is at the top of today’s thankfulness list. Moving home from France, we stayed with our daughter the first few days. Pulling our suitcases behind us after 18 hours of travel, we sighted our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter waiting for us as we walked through the arrivals gate at the airport. Now that’s a great welcome! 

After a trip to South Carolina and with a stop in Virginia, we made our way from North Carolina to Pennsylvania.  Our youngest son was waiting for us there, at home in a friend’s hospitality. He joined us for our travels from Pennsylvania to Indiana, adding fun and technical know-how to the trip:  I am writing from the passenger seat of the car! 

It happens that our oldest son lives minutes from the headquarters of our mission, so this business trip is also a visit with him. Thirty-seven days ago he turned 30 and a milestone birthday like that calls for face-to-face celebration! And he’s moved since we were last in Indiana 2 years ago, so it’ll be fun to visit his new apartment, too. 

This is a business trip, but the term seems too cool to describe the warm working relationships we enjoy in the mission. The staff in Indiana, the workforce around the world, our European team, our fellow missionaries in France, and the Chateau personnel are all friends as well as co-workers. It’s good to be part of this global team! 

That’s why this last 600 mile road trip to Indiana as a missionary family is Thanksgiving Day.  I’m thankful for supportive friends in South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York and the Philippines. I’m full of gratitude for great European teammates. I’m filled with appreciation for awesome family and so grateful for my husband, my wonderful partner-in-travels.        

This Thanksgiving Day I’m thankful to God for team. I’m thankful to God for teammates. I’m thankful that God coaches and assigns. And I’m looking forward playing a new position.