This is my new internal setting on the sustainability conversation. “If its not social, its not green.” Social sustainability must become a balancing value to the math required for sustainable buildings and neighbourhoods. Our green ambitions become moot when the humans who inhabit those spaces are not able to be healthy in relationships and communities as they live, work, and play. Yes the ecological footprint of rooms large enough to accommodate community assemblies of 150 to 350 people are bigger, cost more, and ruin the green math. But without these kinds of spaces in our urban and campus communities, humans will not live well. Raising the social sustainability value will bring some sense to the whole sustainability conversation. If its not social… its not green!
Relationships
Grad School Fear Factor
Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-14
12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
Observations:
Beloved: Peter, loves this gathering of Believers and he knows God does too.
Don’t be surprised with troubles come because of following Jesus.
Rejoice when you are insulted because of Jesus.
You are blessed.
Because the Spirit of Glory and of God rests on you.
Application:
In his book, What Americans Really Believe, Rodney Stark observes that
people who did not enter college (34%) and those who attended college (33%) were equally likely to witness, but those who attended graduate school (16%) were much less likely to do so. This may be partly due to the fact that the graduate-educated were more likely than others to agree with the statement: “‘I have kept my religious beliefs to myself for fear of ridicule.’” A university faculty lounge would be a very uncomfortable place to do any witnessing. p. 26, What Americans Really Believe.
Fear of ridicule is another form of our fear of people. Social pressure is real. But the Spirit of God is calling us to lean into that realm of fear and actually let the glory of Jesus be revealed through our lives. Faith in the academy persists. But is does come with its social pressures. If you find yourself in such circles of humiliation because of your identification with Jesus Christ, count yourself blessed.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I have friends who are in the midst of their grad-school fear-factor. And I have friends who do indeed face the risk of “fiery trials” because of their faith in other countries. May your Spirit give them courage and wisdom to love people in your name and to proclaim your Gospel clearly. AMEN.
Who’s coming to dinner?
Scripture: 1 Peter 4:7-11 (Focus on verse 9)
7The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Observations:
Show hospitality to one another
Without grumbling.
Application:
Hospitality:
is the act of welcoming another person into your space.
is the act of welcoming another person to your table.
shares.
puts the other at ease.
recognizes that everyone who comes to the table has something to give.
creates space for the gifts of the other to be received.
honours the other.
loves.
We are hospitality-challenged. So much so, we don’t even remember what its like to grumble about hospitality. The loss of the table and simple hospitality makes us poorer even as we become richer. When we do go off of the fiscal cliff our poverty of relationships may become more apparent.
The Gospel encourages us to create space for relationships by using “our” spaces to welcome and honour others.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, you have welcomed us to your table. May my table be a glimpse of your great banquet table in heaven. May your Son always be the guest of honour. May strangers become your friends at our tables. AMEN.
Love is not a cover-up
Scripture: 1 Peter 4:7-11 (Focus on verse 8)
7The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Observations:
Above all: of great importance.
Keep on loving one another earnestly.
Since, love covers a multitude of sins.
Application:
At the end of an exhausting and stressful day my margins were spent and my mouth was the evidence: @&! *%^##!!!!
The next day I was amused and convicted as my wife proceeded to tell me how glad she was to hear me express my frustration. Ha!
Love is a not a cover-up when it comes to sin. There is no pretending about reality. Rather love deals with and metabolizes sin in an effort to value and build up the relationship. We leave and are done with sin because of a greater experience and vision of love. Being confronted, forgiven, and loved is life changing.
Love is a choice. The importance of being earnest cannot be underestimated! Earnestness is an attitude that keeps us leaning into the relationship. As a follower of Jesus we lean in with grace seeking to call out the Holy Spirit’s deep yearnings and longings for us to be to revealed as God’s children.
How can we be this way in the church? Where is the earnest community of Jesus’ disciples?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me with a long-suffering enduring love. Thank you for the grace of Jesus that mercifully covers our sin. I need your healing touch again today and the Spirit’s reminder to freely give. AMEN.
Dear Donald Miller, You set me up.
This weekend I lied to our congregation. It wasn’t on purpose. I was telling the part of your story I knew. And well, I only told them the part I knew and I was missing what Paul Harvey used to call, “…the rest of the story.” I told them that in your reluctant search for your father you discovered that he was dead. I shared with them that by starting the search you began to live a better story. So this weekend you illustrated one of the contrarian impulses that may come to us when we start living the Gospel by the Spirit of God: to include the mess-ups in a new family story.
Its Advent, and we launched our series with Matthew 1:1-18. Yes, its the list of names, the genealogy of Jesus, and I read every name. His family tree includes the stories of wonderfully messy characters. Abraham, David, Bathsheba, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and a slew of wicked kings. Jesus’ family list of the “bad” among the “good” shocks our desire to hide what we believe to be our shame. From Matthew’s perspective the genealogy of Jesus is the genesis of a new family and a new kingdom shaped by grace (Matthew 1:1).
The Gospel compels us to do something different, something contrary to our impulse to hide. Instead of hiding the past, we redeem the past by God’s grace. God is faithful. Now we know He is working through the messes of sinful people to accomplish His plan and purposes. While life in its current and painful construction creates a deep longing for family and for noble leaders our disappointment with reality may compel us to hide from truth and ignore the reality of our fallen families. And that hiding only creates more pain. But grace creates a new impulse: the impulse to include the mess-ups of our lives in our story and in our family story. Jesus did it, and He is the grace for it. You know this and have profoundly illustrated it in your writing.
And so, I told your story as you have told it in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years… and as far as I had read in the previous week. So I didn’t know that “rest of the story” until I finished reading your book last night. Like a good story teller you set me up… and for that I’m really glad.
Now our contrarian Advent adventure continues… and I get to tell the rest of your story and the search for your father this Sunday as Origin gathers to explore the rest of the Jesus-story in the Matthew 1:18-25. Thank you! I’m glad you set me up, because you showed me that sometimes God surprises us and the void in our heart gets filled up by grace. There can be a surprising “rest of the story.”
Merry Christmas Donald, and by His grace may we all live a better story.
Blessings,
Craig
urbanfoot 