"Fully alive people do not see their lives as a perennial funeral procession with one day following uneventfully on the heels of another. Alive people see tomorrow as a new opportunity which they eagerly await. They are on the growing edge of life." (Father John Powell)

Monday, September 15, 2008

"Red Letter Christians" and the Way of Jesus - Can it Work in the Real World?

Presently I'm leading a group in a study of Tony Campolo's most recent book, "Red Letter Christians." The group, "Red Letter Christians" are a movement of folks that seek to follow what Jesus actually taught and said. In some Bibles, the words of Jesus are printed in red. Hence, the term "red letter Christian." In Campolo's book, he seeks to take the words of Jesus and shine the light of Jesus teaching on some hot button issues of today. For example, he has a chapter on war and one on gay rights. There is also a chapter on illegal immigration and one on the environment. All of these issues are challenging and bring with them a variety of sides of which to look at each issue.

As the group discussed the chapter on war, we looked hard at Jesus words to "Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you." I could tell that as much as we wanted to follow the words of Jesus, it was hard for most of us to imagine living those words out in a world of terrorists and continual violence. I'm not implying that every person in our group was ready to go out and kill someone or intentionally hurt someone. But, we each seemed to wonder if what Jesus taught could actually be lived out in the "real world."

And, that's what I often struggle with. I want to believe that what Jesus taught has some validity in the "real world." I would not want to think that all that Jesus taught was just poetic sounding idealism but that it truly is designed to guide us in the 21st century. I often wonder if the reason I have problems with it at times is because I fail to realize that maybe what Jesus is actually saying is that this is how God intended to the world to function. Now, it may not be functioning that way right now, but God's intention - God's dream- is that the world function in such a way that enemies are loved and persecutors are loved. If anything, Jesus' teachings ands words seem to offer us a way to "break the cycle" of sin and disharmony and bring life back to and often dying and pain-filled world.

In many ways, I'm alot like the character in the Bible who said to Jesus, "I believe - help my unbelief." In other words, "Jesus, I get it..but help me with the stuff I don't get." I'm glad that there are some parts of what Jesus teaches that I get. And, there are some parts that I don't get..and don't even follow. But, I can still pray, "Help me in those areas as well". And, I don't have to be getting an A+ in following Jesus before I even start doing what he says.

What do others think? Poetic idealism on the part of Jesus or stuff that actually works in the real world?

Thursday, September 11, 2008

More Quotes On Possessing a Growing Edge

From author and pastor Gordon MacDonald ~

"...I've become newly convinced that the refining of self is a key to a long and vital life. This is what it means to be on the growing edge. Not just to acquire more things, or do more things, or know more things, but to be a genuinely noble person, to be a better companion and friend, to serve with greater humlity and effectiveness, to love God more fully."

And, from Howard Thurman ~

"look well to the growing edge. All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree, the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves, fresh blossoms, green fruit. Such is the growing edge! It is the extra breath from the exhausted lung, the one more thing to try when all else has failed, the upward reach of life when weariness closes in upon all endeavor. This is the basis of hope in moments of despair, the incentive to carry on when times are out of joint and men have lost their reason, the source of confidence when worlds clash and dreams whiten into ash. The birth of the child - life's most dramatic answer to death - this is the growing edge incarnate. Look well to the growing edge."

To live on a "growing edge" is not to collect more information. It's to live in such a way that our souls are stretched and we live with deeper resolve and resilience. As Thurman says, "It is...the one more thing to try when all else has failed.." I don't live on the "growing edge" when I choose to give up or if I choose to play it safe. If I am to grow, I need to be on that edge, living on the edge of my soul, moving foward even when I don't feel like it.

Fully Alive On The Growing Edge

Whenever I find a quote or thought that uses the term "growing edge', I am immediately drawn to it. It helps me to think in deeper ways about what it means to be growing, evolving, and developing what God has given me. This quote comes from Father John Powell, a Loyola University professor and author:

"Fully alive people do not see their lives as a perennial funeral procession with one day following uneventfully on the heels of another. Alive people see tomorrow as a new opportunity which they eagerly await. They are on the growing edge of life."

I can always tell the ones that are on a "growing edge" because they live "fully alive." There is an energy about them and an aliveness that comes from deep inside. Life is meant to be lived while on a "growing edge".