Grace and Truth

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are a reflection on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://www.myencounterchurch.org/#/messages-media]

Christians who represent Christ poorly sure are easy to find, aren't they? I've seen the fruits of their labors all over: in church social circles that are closed off and cliquey, in political Facebook posts, in signs held on street corners. I don't know how you feel when you see these mishandlings of God's reputation, but I often feel embarrassed and hope that no one one associates me personally with such sentiments.

But of course the mishandling of God's reputation happens in my life every day, too. A snide comment about a co-worker makes everyone in the break room uncomfortable. An old college friend sees me snap at my kids and decides not to say a quick “hi” this time. I come in late to church looking frazzled rather than welcoming.

These are times to respond with grace. And truth. And that combination of grace and truth is much more difficult to execute than it might seem.

There was a time back in college my when my social life was, maybe, an 11/10 but my academic life was hovering around, oh, a 2/10. I was enrolled at Calvin College on a Presidential Scholarship, and the scholarship was renewable for four years as long as I maintained a certain GPA. Which, given my social life, obviously did not happen. When my scholarship was revoked after my freshman year, I was called before a committee to explain any extenuating circumstances and to petition for the reinstatement of the award. I told the committee that I had a lovely time participating in dorm activities and that I enjoyed early morning (5:30!) rowing sessions on the Grand River as part of the crew team and that I was in off-season training for lacrosse. I didn't mention that I was also dating a handsome young man who would eventually became my husband, but I did manage to let the committee know that I didn't find all of my courses entirely...useful...or interesting.

The committee had two choices, obviously:

1. Banish me from Calvin forever for being an ignorant, ungrateful, spoiled, entitled youth; or

2. Kindly explain to me what a privilege it was to take philosophy from the Greatest Philosophy Department of the Western Academic World.

Obviously, my scholarship was not reinstated, but I think that's part of the lesson grace and truth. I needed to hear a word about taking my studies seriously, and I definitely needed to be reminded that my tenure at Calvin was made possible through God's grace (and now my four part-time jobs) and that I ought to respond properly with gratitude rather an excuses.

Over the years I have had many opportunities to speak grace and truth into another's life, and sometimes I have done that well, and often I have done that poorly. And when people have offered me a gentle correction, I have sometimes accepted the words well, and often accepted them poorly. But Christ calls us to this, so we must do it. We must offer the truth in grace, and learn to receive it as well. 

[Kristin vanEyk lives and writes in Kentwood, MI where she attends Encounter Church.]

Amelia Bedelia Bible Readers

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are a reflection on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/hear-a-message]

As a kid, I loved the Amelia Bedelia books. For a second grade project, I even decorated a pumpkin to look like her, with the classic yellow flowers bordering her bonnet. 

My dad, however, did not love Amelia Bedelia quite so much. As far as children’s books go, the Amelia Bedelia ones tend towards the longer side, which I think was part of the reason my dad didn’t like them. His problem with the books went beyond length though—it was saying “Amelia Bedelia” out loud over and over and over. After a while, he’d start calling her “Emmy Lou” to avoid the bouncing syllables of “Amelia Bedelia.” Having read the books out loud to my niece, I now understand the temptation to do just that.

It seems to me that we often do a similar thing with the Bible. Even as we read Matthew 6:19-24 on Sunday, it struck me that I’ve rarely heard anything about verses 22 and 23. I’ve heard verses 19-21 used as a nice reminder to not seek after the things of this world, and verse 24 often gets quoted in messages about not loving money. But verses 22 and 23 are a bit confusing. They don’t seem to fit with the theme of the passages around them, about where our ultimate treasures should be found. It’s tempting to gloss over them and just carry on with what we can understand. 

The problem is, when we take this approach to the Bible—of turning “Amelia Bedelia” into “Emmy Lou” for the sake of ease—we miss out on really important things. When we dig into Matthew 6:22-23, as Pastor Dirk did on Sunday, we discover it’s about having an open heart, and ultimately a lifestyle of generosity that reflects God’s generosity towards us. Suddenly, its placement among talk of where we store our treasure makes a lot more sense. If our treasure is truly not in the things of this world, it should cause us no pain to be generous with we have—with our money, our talents, our time, and whatever else God has given us. 

Replacing tricky Bible passages with simplified explanations is tempting, but it’s not the way to learn what God is really teaching us. When we refuse to gloss over the difficult verses and really dig into them, we can find that everything around it begins to make more sense as well. 

[Brianna DeWitt attends Encounter Church and lives, works, and writes in Grand Rapids, MI. You can see more of her musings on her personal blog at http://awritespot.wordpress.com and on Twitter at @bwitt722.]

Shema

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are a reflection on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week:http://myencounterchurch.org/#/hear-a-message]

As a culture, we have a nearly obsessive desire to classify items and to rank them against one another. One Internet phenomenon, Buzzfeed (an organization that I don't particularly endorse), earned its spot as an app on many of our iPhones because of its self-proclaimed “definitive rankings” of anything and everything, from The Definitive Ranking of Ice Cream Truck Treats (fudge pops are towards the bottom while the Choco Taco reigns supreme) to The Definitive Ranking of Oreos (Tripple Double Neopolitan Creme Oreos are bad, apparently, while the Winter Oreos rank near the top). Aren't all Oreos just kind of...blah?

But we participate in this ranking thing almost compulsively, don't we? For example, I haven't ever eaten at a Culver's, but when I tell people that I'm thinking about giving it a try, they all weigh in with their rankings:

“The burgers are better than McDonald's, but the fries aren't as good.”

“The custards is way better than any ice cream you would get at other fast food chains.”

“The prices are a little higher than Wendy's or Arby's.”

We do the same with books in a series, TV show seasons, movie directors, grocery store brands, vehicle makers, and more. So we shouldn't be surprised to learn that people have been doing this for centuries. Mark 12 records the story of one of the teachers of the law asking Jesus to choose the most important command. Here's how Mark records the answer:

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Mark 12:29) In his response, Jesus quotes one of the most familiar passages from Deuteronomy, one that every one of Jesus' listeners would have memorized. In Jesus' day they sang it in Hebrew, and Jews today still sing the Hebrew words: “Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Ehad.” The larger context of Deuteronomy 6 provides important insight: the Lord has just rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and Deuteronomy 5 and 6 are instructions for how the Lord's people ought to live if they wish to “live and prosper and prolong [their] days in the land” (Deut. 5:33). The beginning of Deuteronomy 5 includes the 10 commandments, and over the course of these two chapters, God makes it abundantly clear that he wants good things for his people if they will only obey his laws. Deuteronomy 5:29 includes this message from God: “Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever.”

That ancient word Sh'ma (or Shema), has deep implications. It means more than “to hear”; it means to obey the laws of God always, to love God unconditionally, to study his word faithfully, to talk about the work of the Lord continuously, and to tell our sons and daughters about the one true God with every word and action that we use. It's a command to obey, to be faithful in everything. The greatest commandment, according to Jesus, is to live in sacrificial obedience, to live like Christ himself. God makes a promise in Deuteronomy 6, one that I want to claim for myself and my children, and it's one that I would hope that you would claim as well. When Moses returns from speaking with the Lord he issues this promise: “These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.” What a great reminder that God's laws and commandments are to bring us enjoyment rather than confinement.

[Kristin vanEyk attends Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. Find out more about Encounter at http://myencounterchurch.org/]

What It Really Means to Follow Jesus

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are a reflection on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/hear-a-message]

As a kid, I was intrigued when the missionaries my church supported came to visit. Sometimes they’d wear tradition clothing from the area where they worked, and they’d give an update on what they were doing. They’d often show pictures or a video, and especially if there were any children in the family, I’d think how hard it would be to live so far away from everything that they knew—and to not have TV. Certainly these people were better at loving and following Jesus than I could ever be.

Even now, I sometimes think that way. When I hear stories of people selling all their possessions and moving to a far-off country to tell people about Jesus, or quitting their jobs so they can spend all their time to a church or charity, or starting organizations that help feed hungry people, I struggle between thinking “Good for them” and “Well I can’t do that, so I must not be able to do much for Jesus.”

When Jesus called his disciples, which we read about in Matthew 4:18-22, it’s true that he did call them away from what they were doing and to something else. In that day and age, there was much that was unusual about this situation. Jesus picked his followers, when most rabbis were sought out by students who wanted to learn from them. A rabbi’s followers were usually the best and brightest of the crowd, those who had risen to the top in their academic endeavors, and Jesus picked fishermen who had probably failed out of school at some point. The people Jesus picked to be his disciples did not have the usual qualifications, but he chose them anyway. They made a life-altering decision of giving up their daily routine and the way they made a living in order to follow Jesus—they  were willing to use what they had to follow him.

For some of us, that may be what Jesus calls us to do—to leave behind everything we know, to start a new life somewhere and work for him.

But, despite what I sometimes thought as a child, following Jesus does not automatically mean moving to another country, quitting our jobs, or starting charities. It certainly can mean that, but it doesn’t always. The interesting thing about the way Jesus called his disciples to follow him is that he used language they would understand. He was talking to fishermen, so he talked about being fishermen who catch people. Jesus met them where they were at, and he does the same today. We can follow him wherever we are. 

It might volunteering in children’s ministries and committing to show up. It might mean volunteering at the food pantry. It might mean living with half the income we’re used to in order to give the rest to God.  It might mean walking across the break room at work to talk to someone who looks like they’re having a rough day. It might mean moving to Africa to work at an orphanage. 

Following Jesus will look a little bit different for each one of us, and it can be done wherever he’s placed us. 

[Brianna DeWitt attends Encounter Church and lives, works, and writes in Grand Rapids, MI. You can see more of her musings on her personal blog athttp://awritespot.wordpress.com and on Twitter at @bwitt722.]

All In: Everything

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are a reflection on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/messages-media]

The current sermon series at Encounter Church is about going “All In: No Reserves, Retreats, or Regrets”. Many of us have “all in” experiences to share—some at Encounter have labored for hundreds of hours as volunteers on church renovation projects—they have tirelessly salted sidewalks, mowed the grass, laid flooring and trim, fixed odds and ends, and done so much more. Other people have performed amazing physical feats, like finishing the Riverbank or a marathon or even an Ironman (yep, you guessed it, I finished an Ironman. NOPE.) I would think that one would have to dig pretty dip to swim 2.4 miles, then bike 112 miles, and finish the day with a 26.2 mile run. But when it comes to going “all in” it’s not just about completing the day’s challenges or spending weeks installing trim, it’s also about the years of training the lead up to these endeavors.

If you know me, you know that I have a tendency to go “half in”. This, as you can imagine, is not nearly as glamorous as going all in. I tend to flit between activities, enthusiastically starting something and then quitting it days (or hours) later.  For example, I was into mountain biking for a couple of years, I played guitar for a year or so, I was vegan for a couple weeks, and I made my own baby food, well, once.  Have you even blanched, pureed, and frozen spinach? Yuck. I’m afraid that I may have passed this trait along to my daughter, because two weeks ago as I carried her off the soccer field in the middle of her second practice ever she wailed, “I don’t like soccer. I want to go back to ballet.” And that was that for soccer.

Many of us approach our spiritual lives in the same ways. We might enthusiastically read our Bibles every day for a week or a month and then taper off. We might commit to prayer or to a Bible study and then find ourselves fledgling after a short time. We know that a healthy spiritual life is important, just as we know that it’s important to eat well and take a walk. But I wonder if sometimes our reticence to go “all in” for God might be a result of something that can be difficult to admit: we don’t actually want to live godly lives. At least, we don’t actually want to do everything that God requires.  

What if God tells me to change my major after I’ve already finished three years of college?

What if God calls me to be single for longer than I’d like?

What if God tells me to change jobs or to take a job in a far away place?

What if God tells me to give away a lot of money?

What if God keeps nudging me to have that difficult conversation I’ve been avoiding?

That’s the problem with going “all in”, and oddly, it’s the solution as well. Because even if we aren’t brave enough to go “all in” today, Jesus already braved God’s demands when he sacrificed his life for ours. In a few days we’ll hear the last installment of the “All In” series. In the meantime, we’ve certainly been challenged to take our spiritual disciplines and God more seriously, even when it feels like it just might require everything.

[Kristin vanEyk attends Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. Find out more about Encounter at http://myencounterchurch.org/]

A Different Call

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are a reflection on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/hear-a-message]

There are certain topics I tend to write about more than others—some because of the stage of life I’m in, some because they interest me, and one in particular…because I’m terrible at it. I keep writing about it because I keep being terrible at it, and I suppose I think that if I’m terrible at it, maybe other people are too—so maybe we’re at least in it together.

I’m terrible at comparing myself to other people. Actually, I’m really good comparing myself to other people, which is exactly what makes it terrible. In our social media-saturated world, it’s easier than ever to do. Statuses proclaiming the miles she ran or the complicated dinner he made, photos of pets and vacations and boats and weddings and children, Pinterest boards full of completed crafts and artfully made recipes. And I see it all and think, “Why not me? God, why can’t I have those things and go those places do those things?”

In I Kings 19, Elijah calls Elisha to be the next prophet. I wonder what Elisha thought when this happened. We’re not given much insight into what he thought or felt about it, only that he wanted to be able to say goodbye to his parents. Then he went all in, burning the tools of his former trade and committing to follow Elijah and learn from him. Elisha understood that this call was from God, specifically for him. So he did it.

The Bible doesn’t mention anything about whether Elisha had siblings or cousins or friends around, so we don’t know what they did—but clearly they didn’t get called to become prophets, or we would have heard about it. Maybe they worked with Elisha in the fields or baked bread or built houses. Whatever it was, their call was no less important than Elisha’s; it was just different.

It’s the same way for us today. As Christians, our broad call is the same—to love and serve Jesus and follow him daily. There are a million different ways that can get played out in our everyday lives though--maybe as a teacher, a welder, a photographer, a grandma, a best friend, a husband, a youth leader, a guitar player, a greeter, or any other number of things.

Whatever our calling is, we shouldn’t be distracted by what someone else’s is. We’re free to go all in, fully committing to the unique call God has for us, not comparing ourselves to what he has for others and wondering if their call is “better.” It’s not better, it’s just right for them—and ours is just right for us. Wherever, whatever it is. 

[Brianna DeWitt attends Encounter Church and lives, works, and writes in Grand Rapids, MI. You can see more of her musings on her personal blog at http://awritespot.wordpress.com and on Twitter at @bwitt722.]

Obedience at the Fork in the Road

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are a reflection on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/hear-a-message]

As an English teacher and a novice linguist, I’ve always been amused by Jesus’ words to his disciple in Matthew 16:18. Speaking to Peter, whose name means “rock”, Jesus says, “You are Peter [rock], and on this rock I will build my church.” Although this may not be the funniest pun, I like to think that Jesus’ clever play-on-words was not lost on his early followers.

But while the puns continue, the tone changes quickly. Just five verses later, Jesus rebukes Peter, referring to him as “Satan” and a “stumbling block” rather than a sturdy foundation. It may still be a play-on-words, but the humor is conspicuously absent.

Those of us who read with Western eyes may think that Jesus’ words are a bit harsh. After all, Jesus does compare Peter to “Satan”. But when we understand that “Satan” here translates to “adversary”, we come to a deeper understanding of Jesus’ displeasure. Peter has run out ahead of Jesus, and in so doing, has overrun his rabbi and taken on an adversarial role. Jesus issues a pointed reminder to Peter that he would do well to return to his place as disciple, his place behind Jesus, the place he first occupied when Jesus first extended the call to “Come, follow me” (Matt. 4:19).

Some of us run on ahead of Jesus with regularity. We believe that because of previous experience we know best, or we want something now that we know we ought to wait for, and so we put our own plans ahead of God’s. The call to discipleship is not an easy one, even though we may bear it lightly from time to time. When it’s time to deny ourselves, it is then we see what kind of disciples we are. At that fork in the road, where Jesus calls us to sacrifice what we want to preserve, or when Jesus calls us to forgive what we want to begrudge, then we see what kind of Peter we are—whether we are the foundation or the stumbling block, the adversary or the disciple. Jesus, of course, showed us the way to the ultimate denial of self: he was “obedient to death--even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8) and because of him we bear our sins and shame no more.

[Kristin vanEyk attends Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. Find out more about Encounter at http://myencounterchurch.org/]