Halt the presses! I made a mistake.

Yes, go on and enjoy it. It may be the only time you see or hear those words from me, but I did. I made a mistake.

Well over a year ago, a cowboy walked into the place where I was working. I looked him over and sized him up pretty quick. He was quiet, took some care in his appearance, and used the word “ma’am” when he spoke to me. All in all a nice guy, who was able to carry on an amusing conversation when he came in. I liked him, but he was a little too clean cut for my tastes, a little too nice. But through a weird series of events, I found out that he isn’t quite what I thought he was. Amazing how quick a Harley can realign your perception of a fellow.

Now we all know that it isn’t right to label people right off the bat. Our mama’s taught us different, or at least she should have tried, but we do. And if it is not bad enough that we do it with people, most of us have a tendency to do it with God. He shows up at the church we attend. He’s kinda quiet, he wears a suit and tie, and he says “ma’am” when he speaks to us. We smile and nod when he talks. His conversations are amusing, entertaining even. He says and does nothing objectionable, but we can’t really work up any type of real excitement about him either. He is just too nice, a little too clean cut, but let me tell you right now, if that is how you see him, you have made a mistake.

You see we think we know this guy called God. We gave him the once over at the door, and we thought we sized him up right. We’ve thought we figured him out. We know how to describe Him. God is love. God is good. God is kind, forgiving, and a million other things made up of puppies and rainbows.
But let me tell you a secret, the person you have figured out is the most boring person on earth. There is no fascination to be found in them. You can’t get excited about who they are and what’s left to discover about them. And until you realize that there is wonder and beauty in walking through the mystery you just won’t take the time to get to know him better.

So maybe it is time that we stopped “knowing” who God is. Maybe we should take a moment to develop a relationship and see what he has to show us. Because he is so much more than our clichés, and he is so much more interesting than the person we thought we knew. It is what makes him infinite. There is always something new to discover, some new exciting bit of information waiting to be revealed, but as long as we are content with our definitions we fail to see how amazing he truly he is.

For some of us, the idea that we may have made a mistake is scary. We like the nice guy God who fits well into our boxes and categories. There is no risk, no danger, and no adventure waiting to be experienced. It is how we protect our hearts, pretending like we know it all, putting nice neat little labels on him so we know the proper response without ever having to feel the emotion. Because a God who can stir our hearts, arouse our passion is a God who can compel us to move in ways that can be terrifying.

Knowing him changes us, because as we realign our understanding of him we have to realign our understanding of who we are. We have to admit that we made a mistake when we sized him up too quickly. We have to confront the reasons why we dismissed him out of hand, and learn some things that aren’t always too pleasant to learn about ourselves. This is the purpose of knowing him, to become more conformed to his image, to be who he created us to be, people full of life, ready to live an adventure shared with him, but we can’t do that until we are realize that he is the adventure.

Does mean that God isn’t loving, kind, good, or compassionate? No, it just means that all of those things go beyond our definition and understanding. He is all of what we know him to be, but he is so much more. So we get the chance to know him, and that only comes through experiencing him. And each experience we share should challenge us to greater levels of faith, deeper expressions of love, and leave us standing in awe of who he truly is.

So the next time you start feeling comfortable with God, maybe even a little bored by him, you might want to take a peek into the garage, because there’s a sweet Harley waiting to be taken for a ride and who knows where it will take you.

Sex !!! Now that I have your attention. . .

Recently the topic of many of my conversations has been about sex, from discussions with friends to my brother texting me to complain about how the subject was handled on Christian radio. It seems there are a whole lot of people out there trying to formulate a Christian perspective on the topic, and a whole lot of them are confused. Sex is one of those topics many good Christians shy away from, treating it as if it were the toxic by-product of our existence. Somewhere along the line many of us seem to have forgotten that God created sex, and what’s more He even created the means to have sex.

What I find both amusing and frustrating (depending on my mood) when discussing sex with a fellow Christian is that we often make the “don’t”s the center of our conversation. Don’t do that. Don’t do this. And by no means should you ever even think of that. I’ll let you fill in the blanks, whatever you can think of, it has probably made the list. The reason this is so frustrating is that when our vision becomes this myopic we tend to forget what we should really be talking about – personhood.

My sexuality is part of who I am as a person. There is no divorcing my intellectual skill, emotions, or world view from the fact that I am a woman. It is part of how I was created. It is hardwired into every bit of my DNA, and there is no escaping or denying the defining elements of my sexuality. The same holds true for each of us. Just listen to the descriptions we give of each other, “She was a blond.” “The man in the red shirt.” “The boy with the ball.” “The girl in pink.” Each one betrays our sexuality, and there is nothing wrong with that. It is simply an acknowledgment of how God created us.

So why are we so embarrassed by the topic? Since when did sex become a four letter word, and when did shame enter into the equation? (Yeah, I know the whole Garden and Snake thing, but could we be giving that old serpent just a little too much control over our live?) Don’t get me wrong, sex is an intensely private and intimate act, but when we focus on the act instead upon the person we forget the most important aspect of the conversation.

It is no coincidence that God chose to use the metaphor of marriage to describe His relationship with His people, and no, it was not some gross oversight that allowed Song of Songs to be included in His Bible. It is our sexuality as a part of who we are as person that sets the tone for how we have relationship. It is our biology that allows us to physically take part in intimacy. God figured this one out all by Himself, and He is bold in His speech about His desire to be intimate with His people.

I have this crazy theory wherein I believe that knowing God as a person leads to healthy perspectives and choices regarding sex. Sure some of us need some guidance on what is and is not appropriate, and we need it put in concrete forms, but what if a person was able to see themselves the way God sees them? What if young women were able to realize that God made them beautiful for a purpose and presented their beauty in manner that showed pride and reverence for the one who made them? Do you really think we would have to measure the length of skirts at summer camp? What if young men understood that God has empowered them to protect and revere the beauty that God placed in young women? Do you think they just might want to be the men God created them to be?

Okay, sure, not everyone is going to get the concept, but what about those of who do? Shouldn’t we be teaching the ones who look to us for guidance to deepen their relationship with God and not just harp on how they are going to get it wrong? Should those in leadership be reaffirming the value of who our brothers and sisters are, and God’s desire to have relationship with them? Maybe if we stopped talking about sex in a way that brings shame for how we were made these young people (and some of us older ones, too) could realize that their sexuality has value. Because it is the things of value that we fight to defend, that we only share with those who are able to appreciate its value.

I have to wonder if our culture’s casual approach to sex stems less from ignorance of what is right and wrong, and more from the degrading manner in which we present it. And make no mistake, we as Christians degrade sex every time we present it as something shameful. We degrade ourselves when we approach our sexuality as a source of shame. In this we contradict God by declaring that His creation is no longer good and placing our judgment above His, and act that causes me to tremble in fear of our arrogance.

You see, a lot of people have figured it out, even if they lack the words to articulate it. If my sexuality is bad then I as a person am bad. People often live up to our expectations of them, and our culture is doing precisely that. Maybe it is time we stopped striving so hard to teach everyone the rules and work a little harder at reminding that God values their sexuality. He created it for a purpose, and He delights in who we are as His creation. He loves us enough to seek relationship with all aspects of who are as a person, and He is not scared of physicality. Maybe then we could empower people to reclaim the value of all of their personhood, and show them beauty of a relationship that redeems the whole of who we are.

He looked like what?

I recently overheard a heated discussion about what Jesus looked like.  One person's argument was the Bible did not describe Jesus.  This is a true statement.  The Bible does tell His lineage and where He lived His life.  Therefore, we should be able to assume His appearance based on these facts.

But is Jesus' appearance as important as his life and purpose?  Should His looks have any affect on our response to His message?  Is salvation based on His hair being a certain color or style?  Is our relationship with Jesus' formed and nurtured due to the clothes He wore?

A person's appearance does not have any bearing on salvation or one's relationship with Christ.  Jesus did not care about people's dress, lineage, or history.  Jesus saw people's spiritual need instead of their need for new clothes or a haircut.  Jesus knew a person's physical and spiritual needs would be met when they accepted Christ.

In today's society, looks, beauty, and wealth seem to indicate one's worth in society.  Jesus uses none of these to determine a person's worth.  His message is everyone is of worth as God's creation and is worthy of being saved.