Month: May 2013

Trees, Roots and Barred Owls

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

There’s a park in Davidson, NC called Fisher Farms that’s very close to my house. I go there quite often to run and walk the trails. It’s pretty cool, I’m even friends with a Barred Owl that lives there in the woods. Mind you, I’m his friend. I don’t think he’s mine yet, but I’m working on it. Anyway, I haven’t got to that point that I’ve heard runners allude to as to how running is a “spiritual thing” for them, but I did have some thoughts out there in the woods, and figured I’d pass them along.

One of the first things I noticed as I began to frequent the trails was all of the exposed roots from the various trees that literally carpet the ground. There are so many trees and so many roots that you can’t tell which roots belong to which trees. Obviously, the trees are distinct, but the roots twist and turn and overlap in such a way that makes it impossible (at least for me) to assign a tree to the roots. I started thinking that that is kind of how it is (or should be) for us Christians.

We are each ” planted” in Christ, our “roots” are all drinking from the same source. And as we spread out, growing in Jesus, there should be a “blending,” a unity in the Spirit  as our common thirst, the need we each have to drink of Him  produces an “overlapping root system.”  As we grow in Christ together, our roots mingle, and we began to look alike- conformed to the image of Jesus.

One last thought about trees and roots and Barred Owls. Occasionally, while running through the woods, I’ll trip over one of the roots. In fact, my right “ring-finger” has never been the same because of one of those falls. But it got me thinking how we Christians can stumble over one another, and even hurt each other. Now don’t get me wrong, I do know that there are such things as “stumbling blocks,” but I think more often than not we trip over each other simply because we’ve taken our eyes off the trail, and have gotten distracted by other things. Something I’ve learned is that while I am quick to blame others for my missteps, usually the problem originates with me. I take my eyes off of Jesus and boom!! A Barred Owl goes flying by and a root “reaches up and grabs me.”

It takes more than one tree to make a forest and more than one Christian to make up the body of Christ. May our roots go deep into him, each of us taking on his likeness, reflecting his glory in congruent diversity. And oh yeah, don’t let the Barred Owl distract you!!

 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7, 8 ESV)

Acoustics

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

Test. Test one, two. Test, test one. Test, one, two. Can you hear me? How ‘bout now?  How’s your hearing, your spiritual hearing that is? It’s not just a matter of if you can hear or not, but it’s how you hear as well. Check this out:  “And he said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.’” (Mark 4:24, 25 ESV)  So often when we hear Mark 4 preached or taught, it centers on the four types of soil and the preacher asks, “Now what kind of soil are you?” I do believe that’s a valid teaching, but I think there’s a little more to it than that. I think part of what Jesus is saying to his disciples is an exhortation to effective hearing. How’s this for a cool catch phrase? Jesus is teaching us to: “Develop Kingdom Ears.”

If you read Mark 4 in its entirety, you find that Jesus refers to his disciples as “insiders” who have been given the mystery of the kingdom of God. Jesus had just spent the day teaching the crowd with parables, but now, alone with his followers; he is speaking plainly. Because of our proximity to Jesus, we are able to hear him speak regularly. By his Word, by the Spirit, through our brothers and sisters, we are hearing God (or should be) speak to us. But the question is how we are hearing. What “measure” are we using? The context of Mark 4 gives us a couple of indicators we can use to help figure out if our hearing is okay.

First, someone that’s hearing properly will be a light to those around him. “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.” (Mark 4:21, 22 ESV) A person with Kingdom Ears (I kind of like that) isn’t just sitting at home thinking deep spiritual thoughts, but is regularly sharing with others what he has heard from the Lord. You are the light of the world, and if you are really hearing from God, you will be shining, bringing revelation into those around you.

Second, the effective listener lives the lifestyle of a “seed planter.” It just comes natural. “And he said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.’”(Mark 4:26-29 ESV) Like Jesus who sat in a boat that day and threw “seed” out on all kind of soil, the disciple with Kingdom Ears will be one who, as a natural way of life, scatters seed all over the place, leaving the outcome to God.

Jesus promises that if we will pay close attention to what we hear, if we will shine and scatter seed as a way of life, we will receive more. More understanding, closer intimacy, more seed, and more light! However, if we are only casually listening, we may actually not be hearing at all, and are at risk of losing what we thought we had to begin with. In light of what we’ve talked about today, I’ll ask you again, “How’s your hearing?”

Immanent Love: When God Assumed

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

One of the things that had the greatest impact on me during my time in seminary is not some great theological truth gleaned from one of the countless books we had to read, but rather part of a prayer one of my professors (Dr.G!!) prayed at the beginning of class one evening. He was praying along and then he said, “And Father, I thank you that you decided that you didn’t want to be God without us.” BOMBSHELL!! I had never heard someone say anything like that before. Honestly, I was a little taken back. There was a part of me that thought that perhaps he shouldn’t have said that. For some reason that part of his prayer kind of offended me a little.  It seemed wrong somehow. Now, looking back, I can see that it was merely my Western religious paradigm that had been shaken to its core by a simple prayer.

 We good, Protestant Christians of the West speak of God’s love, but many of us (if we are honest) see God as some kind of egotistical tyrant  who can barely stand the thought of us and puts up with us only because we forced him to send Jesus to pay for our sins. Our understanding of God centers on the wrath of God and sin. Our God is a God far removed from his creation (transcendence), and the thought of his actually wanting to be near us (immanence) offends us somehow. We are taught that even after we come to Christ, we are still filthy, rotten to the core. And really if you get right down to it, the part about God being your Father is just theological mumbo jumbo – you best just be concerned with being good!! If the truth were told, it is fear and not love that binds many of us to God.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not minimizing our sin problem. We’ve all got one, and it brings about death, separation from God. But that’s precisely the point. Because God loves us so much, the Father sent the Son to redeem us and make it possible for us to partake in the eternal life that is in God. We brought sin and death into the world, our loving God provided the way back to Life and fellowship through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. God does not hate you, but loves you and desires to reveal himself to you. You were created for him. The Triune God who is eternally holy, existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, perfect and in need of nothing, because of love desired to have a people who would be indwelt by his Spirit and conformed into the image of the Son. He may have not needed us, but hallelujah; he wanted us!! He wanted  you!!

Our theology has evolved into an extremely lopsided thing. We’ve stressed the transcendence of God and our own sinfulness at the expense of the immanence of God and his love. We emphasize the judiciary aspects of salvation and have lost sight of the fact that the One we fear as judge is the same One who created and desires us. My friend, the cross is not the image of a horrible God that demands blood in order to satisfy his insatiable wrath, but rather a demonstration of a God who assumed the brokenness of his creation in order to satisfy his  insatiable love.