Friday, October 31, 2008

I Do Not Choose to Be a Common Christian

I Do Not Choose to Be a Common Christian

I do not choose to be a common Christian, simply talking the talk. God calls me to be uncommonly His, glorifying Him.
I seek to be obedient, not necessarily to be secure in terms of life on Earth. I do not wish to be a slave to people or possessions – self-centered and dulled by seeking only to have my own needs met and my own desires fulfilled. I want to take the leap of faith, to catch God’s vision, to build up the kingdom of God – to fail perhaps in the eyes of others, but to gain eternal life.
I refuse to barter God’s gifts for temporary satisfaction. I prefer to pursue joyously the “impossible” dreams of God rather than to have mere existence. I prefer the joyous thrill of divine fulfillment over the stale calm of the status quo. I will not trade freedom in Christ for approval of friends, nor trade compassion for pride.
It is my heritage to be a child of God who lives in the divine abundance of God’s grace. It is my heritage to enjoy the glories of God’s creation and the benefits of God’s mercies. It is my heritage to face the world boldly and say:
“The kingdom of God is at hand: I repent! I am letting God be my God, and I am letting Jesus Christ be my King!”

Saturday, October 25, 2008

“Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed -- and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’” (Luke 2:34-35 NRSV)
Evidently Simeon was a very old man. We are told that within the Jewish community he was known as a man who was righteous and devout, and that the Holy Spirit rested upon him. We are also told that he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. This meant he was waiting for the vindication of Israel to her enemies by God's messiah or savior. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that rested upon him that he would not see death until that happened. The scripture we are looking at today contains what Simeon said to Mary after he had praised and thanked God for what he was privileged to see.
Many years ago a science fiction movie was made in which visitors from another civilization visited earth and left behind some strange little devices. As they were given into the hands of a wide variety of people the people were told that the devices represented life and death. When the first device was activated several thousand people died within the radius of hundreds of miles. As scientists clamored over the devices in order to study them a great controversy arose as word of the devices spread. Power hungry people and self-proclaimed saviors wanted control of the devices because they represented life or death. Soon the whole world knew of the devices, and panic began to spread as people feared power that might get out of control when unleashed. Finally one quiet individual understood what the aliens had really said. The visitors had spoken of the power of life and death and not life or death. Without asking anyone for permission that quiet person unleashed the power over the entire earth. Those who had compassion, caring, and love for others lived, and the rest did not.
That story is science fiction, but Simeon saw God's reality. Simeon saw not merely the consolation of Israel but the consolation of all humankind. Perhaps Simeon even realized that God's messiah was a redemptive and loving savior of life and death rather than a might warrior of life or death. Jesus, Simeon said, "...is destined for the falling and the rising of many...." What did Simeon see as he said that? We will never know. What did Simeon see when he said that Jesus was destined "...to be a sign that will be opposed...."? Again we will never know.
There are things that we do know. We know of the falling of the Roman Empire and of the rising of Christ's church. We know about the opposition to Jesus' ministry, and how that opposition climaxed in an open tomb instead of a cross. The church is a Christmas people because it is an Easter people. We are fascinated with the manger because of an empty tomb.
My novel, "Aliens Are God's Children Too," reflects on these realities by doing theology through storytelling.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Prayer

PRAYER

A scientific age proclaims the foolishness of prayer.
The media just lusts for facts and people's points of view.
We live our lives with stumbling steps and struggle, still aware
That things don't always come by chance or scientific cue.
So mysticism has its place and superstition too.
And luck is less a threat than facing power out of sight.
So we want power we can understand and keep in view.
And we want gods to be controlled with scientific might.
A humble person gathers scorn by those who relish strength.
And kneeling just is not a stance for those who want control.
When chaos reigns as people struggle, keeping fear at length,
Their comfort's sought in facts and trends or in opinion polls.
The ease with which a life of prayer is lived seems odd to some.
Unlike the lives of those who offer prayers when times seem right,
A life of prayer is one that lives each moment with the Son,
We pray and love the power found just walking in God's light.
There always will be some that do not seek the living God.
To focus on one's self is always easier for most.
To shift away from self-control, the concept must seem odd,
But life's a prayer for those who live to join the heavenly hosts,
And prayer is so much more than giving thanks to God above.
A prayer is even more than calling out in pain or fear.
Our God is waiting to forgive, relating just with love.
The bonding starts with prayer fulfilled, with God forever near.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Infinity and Eternal

"Love never ends," says 1 Corinthians 13:8a (NRSV). To put it another way, “Love is eternal.” Scientists talk about infinite things. Mathematicians use infinity as a device in doing a number of critical calculations. When scientists and mathematicians talk about infinity however, it is an incalculable distance or amount within our created universe. The human mind hardly comprehends the infinite in any useful way outside of science and mathematics. This is not a new challenge.
An eon is a stretch of time so long that no one can fathom it. Plato, a few years before the birth of Christ, coined a new word: aionios. What he literally meant was eternity. Eternity means having no beginning and no end, no change and no decay. Whereas an eon means indefinite time you cannot measure, eternity has nothing to do with time or anything measured. There is nothing created or destroyed in eternity. There is no past, present, or future. Eternity can only be applied to God.
The Greek word used in the New Testament which we translate eternal literally means without time, growth, past, present, or future. There are two areas where this word eternal is used in the New Testament. First, it is used in terms of covenant. When God makes a covenant with us, it has a beginning but has no end: Time is literally meaningless as far as God’s covenant is concerned, and that covenant cannot be destroyed.
The other way that the New Testament uses eternal with is hope. Our hope is eternal. The idea of eternal life is crucial to Christian faith. It is fundamental to our understanding of who Jesus Christ is, who God is, and how God works.
I am not one to do statistics of the Bible very often, but I have been fascinated by what I have learned about the word eternal. Eternal is coupled with a number of different words one to three times – except for one word. Eternal is coupled with life – eternal life – forty-four times. It makes us stop and realize how crucial the concept of eternal life was to the early church. It predominates the writing of John, of the Apostle Paul, and of all writers of the New Testament. How many times do we read, “His steadfast love endures forever" in the Psalms? Notice this word steadfast. It is coupled with dozens of different words in the Old and New Testament, but steadfast is coupled with love dozens of times. Love is constant. That brings us right back to the statement of the Apostle Paul in the eighth verse of I Corinthians: Love never ends. Love is steadfast. Love endures forever. We can really celebrate the ultimate source of the love that we receive from our mothers and fathers, for all love comes from God.
Once we acknowledge that idea and assimilate it idea into our minds, then we begin to get a feel for how much our God loves us. Moreover, we get a feel for how important it is to let God’s love flow through us, that others might see God's love in us. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful, nor is it arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. Love is not irritable or resentful. Love does not rejoice at wrong, but love does rejoice in the right. Love does bear all things. Love does believe all things. Love does hope all things. Love does transform all things with triumphant fortitude. Love never ends. Indeed!
I believe that beings on other planets that are more advanced than ours recognize the existence of God. I doubt I'll ever meet such and "alien," but the science fiction novel I just published explores the possibilities.

Friday, October 10, 2008

"Aliens Are God's Children Too" synopsis

Synopsis
"Aliens Are God’s Children Too"

A pastor who is about ready to retire is recruited by aliens to join an intergalactic police force. Soon he learns that he is living in the age when God begins speaking to members of this police force, and this former pastor is the first. As his adventures begin, lasting friendships are formed, romance blooms, and his faith is profoundly deepened.
The adventures are revealed in present tense by an alien who touches the reader’s mind directly. The reader begins to see God at work on other planets in ways that parallel the experiences of Earth’s humanity. Each of God’s appearances are strikingly similar to those experienced by people in The Bible. Seeing prophecies declared and fulfilled in the 21st century add to the adventures experienced by the reader.
Christ’s passion, teachings, and birth are witnessed and experienced by the reader on other planets. At last the plot comes full circle to the point where the main characters are simply in awe of God’s working love.

Friday, October 3, 2008

The Vatican and Aliens

Not long ago the Vatican made news because the Vatican astronomer had the audacity to suggest that aliens on other planets could be God's children too. It was ironic to read this just as I was releasing my novel, "Aliens Are God's Children Too" -- ISBN #978-0-615-18898-0. It seems absurdly arrogant for humans to believe that they are the only sentient species in the universe. Christians and Jews believe God created all of matter, energy, space, and time, so it would seem logical that God would create other sentient species on other planets that are loved as much as God loves humans.