Waiting and Watching

Blogging.....wow. It's been hard to do this year-not for a lack of ideas or material, but because everything on my heart centralizes around what's been happening in my life these past few months.

Whether it's been saying goodbye to my grandpa or getting ready to meet my son Jadon and becoming a daddy, everything seems to go back to those two things. These are the defining moments and events in my life.

Lately, I've been wondering a lot about Jadon and what he'll look like. He has no idea what's in store, and I can't even begin to describe what life will be like for him. How do you tell a baby in the womb what it's like to fall in love, how his first kiss will feel, or even the excitement of winning a basketball game or graduating from high school?

I don't think I can tell him in terms he'll understand. I think he'll just have to experience it for himself. And as much as I can try to describe these events to him, and prepare him for those moments, he still won't understand until he walks that path and discovers them on his own.

This week I was getting his room ready-painting, hanging stuff on the walls, arranging the furniture. And it made me think a lot of my grandpa, who's in heaven right now. It may sound odd that a nursery made me think about heaven, but here's where my mind went...

Jesus promised us that He was going to go prepare a place for us. In the same way that I'm preparing Jadon's nursery, He's getting our room ready, so that one day we can be where He is. And like a baby in the womb doesn't understand what's waiting for them after they are born, we have no idea what God has in store for us in heaven. There really aren't even words in our vocabulary to describe what my grandpa is experiencing and doing right now! It's something we know we'll have discover and experience to understand.

All I know is that I can't wait to be with my son, and that I already love him like crazy, even if he doesn't know that I love him yet. And I know that God's love for His kids is infinitely greater than what I'm experiencing in my heart these 9 months. This journey is going to teach me so much about my Heavenly Father-I can't wait!

Pro-life

Strangely enough, the two most divisive issues, religion and politics, have been colliding recently in our churches and in our newspapers. Here are a few thoughts regarding one of the issues that Christian voters have rallied around in recent years-the term "pro-life."

What does it mean to be for life? Where does it begin, and where does it end? Where is that principle of morality rooted, and how does it shape not only our worldview, philosophy and politics, but also our actions?

Many limit the issue of pro-life to abortion rights or the removal of those rights. As a Christian, it’s simple to look at scripture and see the commandment of not killing-and applying that to an unborn baby. What’s not simple, however, is to take a more comprehensive attitude towards being pro-life: from the womb to the tomb.

Being pro-life affects not only the beginning of life and abortion, but also end of life issues like euthanasia. But what about the many decades of life from birth until the grave? We shouldn’t only be concerned about issues of life when it comes to the beginning and end, but also during the proverbial “dash” in between those two dates.

During the dash, our concern for life should encompass how we see poverty, not only at home but also internationally. It should shape our view of medical care, not only in America, but throughout the world. It should affect our concern for those still enslaved-some by the sex trade, and some by economic policy and unfair trade laws.

For if we say that we are pro-life, we are then bound to carry that principle out to the nth degree. The truth is that we are called to obey more than just one of the 613 commandments found in the Old Testament. Life encompasses more than the taking of it. Life is about what you do and say as you live it. And this is the challenge we are facing as those who bear the name of Christ. For the greatest commandments were to love God with all we have and all we are, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Our philosophy must not be limited to our views on abortion and the sanctity of marriage. Yes, those must be included, for the breakdown of the family leads to the breakdown of society. But we must not be deceived into thinking that a vote for a candidate equals a political change. Nor should we think that if we elect “our” candidate into office, any office, that then we are absolved of personal responsibility to affect change.

No politician can truly love the mother of an unwanted child during her pregnacy. No politician will sit and care for the poor and diseased. No politician will visit those in the hospital or nursing homes to pray with and listen to those who are dying. But Christ will. And He does-but he also expects us to do the same. He expects us not only vote on His Word, but live it out in action during the 2 or 4 or 6 years between elections.

I believe there is a reason that Jesus didn’t call for change in Rome. He expected change to start with us. He didn’t run to the seat of the government and call for legislation to shift morality, he called for us to follow Him. No amount of law from government can return a nation to God-it must begin in our hearts with humility, not with speeches and committees in the halls of power.

Regardless of your vote this year, remember that these principles you are willing to argue and fight over should not only dictate your vote in the booth, but your life throughout the next year or two. Don’t find yourself in the position of arguing for a philosophy that you aren’t willing to live out.

If you want to see the end of abortion, please volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. If you want to see restoration of broken homes, become a foster parent or a marriage counselor at your church. If you want to battle the pains of poverty, help feed or clothe someone. If you want to see better healthcare happen, volunteer at a local free clinic.

Simply put, let’s become doers of the word, and not voters only. For James says if we only listen but don’t do, we are lying to ourselves. If we stand for truth, let us live it out in love, and let the world see what Jesus looks like in action.