Getting to the GIST of Things

I have a hummingbird feeder in my backyard, placed where I can see it when I go out there in the mornings with my (white) tea and my Bible. Three hummingbirds regularly come and visit it, but I think other birds are helping themselves to it too as I see them often chasing the hummingbirds away and I have to refill it every few days. The hummingbirds are so used to me being out there that almost every day they come and say hello to me by buzzing only a few feet in front of me and then taking off. That always feels like a butterfly kiss from God - a small reminder of His goodness.

What fascinates me though is that they seem to not get a long with each other at all. I often watch air wars a la Top Gun before one of them feels free to come and drink. It seems that hummingbirds are highly competitive and territorial. Who knew? And this morning I could not help but wonder about the extensive effects of the fall in Genesis 3. We know that we humans now have a permanent sin nature, but birds?

Romans 8 says that the "creation was subjected to futility, not willingly but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the whole creation would be released from its bondage to corruption and obtain the glory of the freedom of the children of God." I see that in my hummingbirds.  But scripture says that there will be day when "the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together" (Isaiah 11:6) and the hummingbirds will be able to share a place to drink. I am looking forward to that day.

Tiina

downtown Madison, Wisconsin

image from here

I have been thinking a lot about the difference between these three terms for some time mainly because  I have been pondering the balancing acts of doing what we have been called to do with excellence and doing it while keeping God at the center. Finding that balance can be so tricky in a world that values excellence based on our own strength which often creeps into perfectionism. 

I wrote this post for one of my favorite blogs called Word of Williams which outlines some preliminary thoughts I have had on this topic. Then, just this week, I began to read a book which has been on my list for some time called Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance. The author, Bruce Ware, outlines some terribly fascinating intricacies of the Trinity that I had not previously thought about but I remember that something jumped out me while reading that was applicable to this discussion. 

Ware was discussing the beauty of Jesus' life and specifically was talking about His relationship with the Holy Spirit. Luke 14 tells us that everything Jesus did was because He was lead by the Spirit. Ware elaborates that not only was Jesus led by the Spirit but He was living in utter obedience to the Father. He says, " Live as Jesus has lived before the Father, abiding in his truth and speaking only what the Father has taught them (pg.75)." Another part that struck me was when Ware pointed out that everything Jesus did was to ultimately bring glory to God. 

Thus, in a book that was not about excellence, perfection, or perfectionism, I was given a bit more to chew on if you will. In my guest post I made the distinction between excellence being founded in Christ and perfectionism in our own strength. Likewise, perfection must always be about our relationship with God. This section of the book then just brought more dimension to my thoughts about this... that if we are truly going to be followers of Christ then what we are doing should always bring glory to the Father. It is here then that excellence and perfectionism can be seen as the opposites they are. 


As I continue to live in a world where that distinction is rarely clear, I pray that I continue to do only what the Father would have me do and that everything I do would be a testimony of His greatness. 

I have a phone with swipe texting. It has been a source of some fun at times. Like the time I texted, "Do you want to go to a pregnancy exchange?" to my daughter. Or "How was your nothing?" to my husband. This morning a foibled text I was sending to my friend, who is in the middle of a tough relational struggle, made me stop and think. I meant to say, "No healing is ever going to happen unless...." The phone texted, "No breaking is ever going to happen unless...." And it hit me. Is there healing without breaking?

What really is brokenness before God, but a path to restoration and healing? The admittance that we have been wrong all along and are surrendering to His ways, which will effect the healing of our souls and will the conduit to heal broken relationships.

I have been in the middle of a tug-of-war with God on some of the things I want to cling to for some time, and more and more He is showing me that I won't heal from these unless I let myself be broken before Him.  It's not a whisper anymore. He has picked up the megaphone.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶  For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Psalm 51:14-17

Tiina

Image from here

Picture Source

This is a post I wrote some time ago that was previously posted on my personal blog, but I like to refer back to it from time to time as a reminder when things are a little rough.

 Do you ever stop and think that life would be so much easier if you just stopped doing so much and led an “ordinary life?” Here, I am not talking about setting priorities and ceasing to strive. I am talking about those moments when the life you have been called to just seems too much. I will be honest, I sometimes grapple with this very feeling. Sometimes being a woman in Seminary seems like too much work. Sometimes being in charge of new programs seems like too much work. Sometimes being a Christian seems like too much work.

Can I say that last statement? Is it too raw for Christians to say that sometimes our lives just seems like too much work? That the calling on our lives is too much, that the spiritual warfare we face is just too daunting?  That sometimes we just want to be people who go to work and take care of our families. Yes, we want to love Jesus but not in that dangerous, stand out on the end of a cliff type of love. We want to be safe. We want things to be just a little bit easier.

I am gone through these moments in my life because I have this very interesting inner struggle. In some ways, I thrive when I am walking in the destiny that God has for me. Yet, sometimes the task in front of me seems so daunting. As a woman, I will always face an uphill battle in the arena of Christian academia. I will always struggle against those who say I don’t belong in Seminary or those who say that I am not able to teach.

So, then, I begin to back pedal a bit into this more comfortable area. But here too, I am uncomfortable because my heart is aching for something that is missing. My mind spins with the vision that God has given me for my generation. So I have to make a choice. Either way, some aspect of my life will be uncomfortable. Will I choose to be uncomfortable because of the sinful world I operate in or will I choose to be uncomfortable because I am defying God’s plan?

This is a choice that I made some time ago, yet I was reminded of it again this morning and I sat and looked out the window of my office. Many new opportunities are presenting themselves, which would put me exactly where I would need to be for this vision to start to come into being. Yet, I am very much standing on the edge of a cliff. Not many people get my vision, fewer believe in it.

I thought for a second about retreat. I thought about my to do list, my laid down dreams, my tiredness. I thought about ordinariness and a simpler life. I thought about the work ahead and wondered what my future holds. But then I remembered that I would rather be uncomfortable because I am standing in opposition to the world than uncomfortable because I am embracing it.

I may not know the whole plan that God has for my life, but I know enough. No Christian is every meant to be ordinary because we all have a predestined role to play in the kingdom. To be sure, life is a continual balancing act in which we must determine priorities and boundaries, die to ourselves daily, and learn to rely on the strength of the Lord. It is messy and beautiful at the same time, exhausting on one hand and thrilling on the other.

The world is not the way it was meant to be and we are a sinful people who are continually being sanctified. The reality is that we will always be uncomfortable until the Lord calls us home. Today, I choose to be uncomfortable because I embrace my call to stand opposition to the world.