Fool

Foolishness is measured in the expanse between what we learn and what we live.

The Bible is replete with description of and prescription for the fool:

“The fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet; a babbling fool will come to ruin; the mouth of a fool brings ruin; fools die for lack of sense; the way of a fool is right in his own eyes; wisdom is too high for a fool; crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle…yet his folly will not depart from him; the fool and the stupid alike must perish; the fool cannot understand; fools hate knowledge; fools get disgrace; doing wrong is like a joke to a fool; the heart of fools proclaims folly; a fool flaunts his folly; to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools; the companion of fools will suffer harm; leave the presence of a fool; the folly of fools is deceiving; a fool is reckless and careless; the folly of fools brings folly; the mouths of fools feed on folly; the mouths of fools pour out folly; a fool takes no pleasure in understanding; A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating; like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool; whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool; the fool walks in darkness; the lips of a fool consume him; the toil of a fool wearies him, for he does not know the way to the city; the fool speaks folly, and his heart is busy with iniquity; claiming to be wise, they became fools; foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them;; the fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’; O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.”

Our level of personal foolishness is directly proportionate to the span between what we know and what we apply. When we know more than we practice, we play the fool. When we practice more than we know, we play the fool.

“Fools despise wisdom and instruction… everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man.”

Discern

Discern - to separate, distinguish between, to detect with senses other than vision, to recognize or identify as separate and distinct, right from wrong, to come to know or recognize mentally, to see or understand the difference.

“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.” Philippians 1

“Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5

Discernment can only grow by “reason of use,” and this use takes place in the relationship of teaching. Too many Christians today have settled for an incessant role as learner. It is not humility to assume the learner’s position – it is rebellion against God’s call on all his children. Yes, not all should presume to take on the corporate position and responsibility of Teacher, but all Christians are called to enter into the relationship of teaching through the covenant of discipleship. We occupy this planet during an unprecedented time of accessible religious and spiritual information, yet we are plagued with immaturity within Christianity. This enigma is due not to a lack of learning, but rather to the abandonment of teaching. It has been said that the teacher has not taught until the student has learned. It would seem that Scripture adds to this that the student has not learned until he or she begins to teach. We cannot sit in the pew listening to sermons or in the office reading commentaries and expect to experience maturity – the kind of true maturity that is evidenced by discernment. We must commit to the sacrificial and humble discipline of teaching.

Try

Much of our Christian life could be described as trying. Not the “severely straining the powers of endurance” kind of trying, though there are those times. The “to make an attempt at” trying. We try to be a better Christian, try to serve more faithful, try to worship truer, try to give more, try to attend more, try to love more, try to sin less, and sometimes we just try to get by. I wonder if we’re missing the point. My oldest daughter and I took a walk together the other day to address some of these “trying” things. We had walked for quite a while trying to resolve these issues of trying when it occurred to us that God never tries. He simply is. If God never tries and we try to get closer to Him through trying, haven’t we essentially excused God from the process? I’m not questioning the validity of the desire to be a better Christian, a more faithful servant, a truer worshiper, etc. I’m questioning our means of attaining it. We need to stop trying and start being. I think God wants to be with us. I think He accomplished everything it takes in Christ. I think it is our responsibility to embrace who we are in Him and bask in being with Him in the duration of each moment. My guess is that in living this way, God will continue to shape us into that better Christian today then we were yesterday. My guess is that in doing so He won’t have to try. It was at this point in the walk that I realized that, regardless of the issues, I had just spent a significant part of my day walking hand in hand with my beautiful daughter. Oh what joy! The joy of being together. Thank You, Lord.

Expectation

Expectations pervade our very existence. Since that fatal decision in the Garden of Eden, when everything was gambled on the expectations of being like God, we are consumed in and controlled by our expectations and their subsequent disappointments. In fact, a world without the economy of expectations is nearly inconceivable. Perhaps you too were raised in this economy, communicated by some variation of, “I’m not angry with you…I’m just disappointed!” Yet, expectations do not seem to be God’s economy. Indeed, living within and communicating from the prison of expectations is the antithesis of grace. God released us of His expectations by dieing on the cross while we were still His enemies (Romans 5:6-11). If we are to embrace the life offered in grace, we must break free from the entanglements of this fallen economy of expectations. And as in most battles, we begin with semantics. I cannot find a single Biblical reference to God saying He is disappointed in His children. Not one. Yet there are hundreds of references to God being angry. The opposite side of the coin is equally represented. Just as disappointment communicates falling short of our expectations, pride communicates attaining our expectations. Both are hopelessly engrossed in this fallen economy. I cannot find a single Biblical reference to God saying He is proud of His children. Not one. Yet there are hundreds of references to God being pleased. God releases us from His expectations, and embraces us each moment in the authenticity of anger and pleasure. As we continue to grow in the Lord, let's strive to adopt His heart and His language. Perhaps it is time to purge our vocabulary of “disappointed” and “proud” and let grace effuse daily in the simple honesty of “angry” and “pleased.”

Lava

“These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” Matthew 15 :8-9

In essence, God is like flowing lava. He is constantly moving, consuming, and creating. Too much of religious life is spent on the cold hardened crust. We can take ore samples and conclude that God was once here, but God only lives in the now. He has moved on. The crust is predictable, sterile, cold, and lifeless – the perfect habitat for parasitic religion. The flow is dangerous, vibrant, peaceful, and free – God’s home. All too often, in hopes of finding stable ground, we settle for a second-hand description of truth – essentially rejecting the intense reality of living truth. Historical writings, commentaries, religious creeds, and systematic theologies are great when used in the right place and for the right reasons. If we look to them for the definitive interpretation of Scripture we are subjecting them to a standard they cannot uphold. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate source for interpretation. The disciple uses these cherished tools as catalysts. Disagreeing with them, he is thrust into scripture for truth to refute. Agreeing with them, she is thrust into scripture for truth that authenticates. As they spark new thought, we are encouraged that though nothing is new under the sun, God continues to reveal Himself afresh. Use the writings of others. Use the structures of religion. Use systematic theologies. But use them to get closer to the flowing presence of God, not to secure a self-preserving stronghold on the crust. We must risk the dangerous venture of intimacy with God through His revelation. We must ride the wave of life at the brink of flow.

Treasure

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44

It is so easy to read over this tiny parable of Jesus, as just one more “should” in a seemingly endless list of religious expectations. “If you really loved God, you would be willing to sell everything (spiritually, emotionally, relationally, financially, etc.) for the sake of the Kingdom.” But the context of Matthew 13 does not support this interpretation. In all the parables grouped in chapter thirteen, the “man” is God. This then is not another rule that we ought to live by, but rather the revelation of our Father’s love. God treasures us so much he is joyously willing to sell everything he has – Christ on the cross – to purchase our life. The greatest loss in our grim drudgery of self-conceived kingdom expectations is the accurate picture of God’s passionate pursuit of us. It is almost impossible for us to embrace the concept that God, who is in need for nothing, desires us with all of who he is. And yet he does. The beauty of this revelation is that as we embrace God’s passion for us, no matter what rock we feel stuffed under at the present moment, and begin to rest in that love, we cease from our work and begin to naturally desire God’s Kingdom above all else. Be still and know that God is God and that you are treasured.

Grass

I hear many adults crying out for God to answer their prayers. I don't hear many children voice this same concern. Every evening during our family worship time, my children are overflowing with places where they have seen God today and stories of answered prayers. I struggle to come up with one. After some analysis and introspection, I think my prayers are too big. Certainly not too big for God to handle, but too big for me to see their end. Our recent camping trip to the Ochoco National Forest is case in point. I prayed that God would use the trip to grow our family and me ever closer to Him -- a good prayer, no doubt, but one that is hard to bring the answer into view on a daily basis. Cayla, my 10-year-old, prayed for God to show her a wild horse -- no less a miracle but certainly observable today. God answered both our prayers with a resounding "yes!" But it took me two weeks to begin to see the answer to my request. Cayla celebrates daily. This reality can be illustrated by yet another fun-filled Walker vacation. Three summers ago we all piled in the 15-passenger Ford E-350 and headed 3000 miles to Texas. Somewhere in Kansas I begin to face the impending truth that my sanity was slipping away. We were on one of those cruel straight-stretches where I could see out on the horizon the place we would be spending the night...3 nights from then. From my perspective of the road ahead I couldn't even tell that we were moving forward. I think once, it even looked like we were losing ground. Right then, from the back seat, Cayla's excitement filled the van as she proclaimed, "Wow! We are going so fast!" I quickly looked in the rearview mirror afraid that she too had lost her grip on sanity only to discover that she was looking out the side window at the blades of grass along the highway. Most of my prayers, as an adult, are horizon prayers. Most of Cayla's prayers, as a child, are blades of grass. Perhaps in our striving to draw near to God through conversation we could find the right tension between the horizon and the grass.