echoes of redemption

This is a terribly backwards post to start the new year with… but here we go.

Last night Emily and I were shopping at Wal-Mart and I saw powdered donuts on the end-cap of an aisle. Of course, we haven’t bought powdered donuts since we were in college, but I threw in my plea anyway: Ohhh… powdered donuts sound good…

Emily: yeah they do… (mischievous smile) Let’s get ‘em.

Me: No way. It’s January THIRD – everyone has fitness goals right now. You know how much of a quitter you would have to be to buy powdered donuts in January?

It’s the beginning of the year and we’re almost universally uncompromising on our goals. Of course, that might change as time moves on (typically bottoming out around the beginning of summer). But we’re dedicated (at least to the illusion) now.

Which begs the question, why don’t I set more goals around the concept of sustainability?

Our lives are arranged around the idol of productivity and we work until we have nothing left. We don’t rest. We don’t breathe. And after a while, we don’t even enjoy life anymore.

But Jesus lived differently.

Jim Gaffigan said that he wants to live like Jesus because Jesus seems to eat and sleep a lot.

And he’s right.

Jesus took a lot of time to rest. To breathe. To enjoy life.

This year, I’m continuing to refine a goal I’ve had for the last three, but only taken seriously for the past year: sustainability. Can I design my life rhythms for the long run? Can my marriage get stronger over time instead of weaker? Can my body get more healthy because of how I’m taking care of it? Can my gifts and skills be sharpened by times of intense use and committed rest?

On another personal note, I’ll be spending a year studying the life and teachings of Jesus (and I would love for you to join me). The study is designed to be sustainable – and has a lot of rest. Because that’s what Jesus did.

And it’s no good just to read about how Jesus lived if I’m not willing to adjust my life to become more like him.

Everyone expected Messiah to make things better now. To change now.

And for Jews in Jesus’ day, there was a lot that needed to be fixed. But Jesus didn’t do life the way they expected. He didn’t conquer, slaughter, oppress or destroy anything. He shunned fame and fortune. He refused to engage politically.

So a lot of people were disappointed in Jesus.

He came with a message about how the Kingdom of God works. About how we could all live in ways that would change the world we live in.

In a way, it was a message that would change now. But it takes time. And a lot of work.

Of course today it’s more common to hear Jesus’ message distorted into a message of later. Do you know where you’ll go when you die? (Because living in judgmental ways and ignoring injustice so we can all go to heaven later was clearly Jesus’ message.)

Jesus seemed to be consumed with bringing pieces of heaven to earth – through people.

Which is part of why his life is so powerful and echoes through the ages like it does. He is the example that we can follow to live more deeply than we knew possible. The model of how God intended the world to operate. And he is the key to the freedom that we so deeply desire – and know has to be the way God designed us to live.

So the question is, how am I living now? Am I an agent of restoration? A man of peace? Am I bringing the culture of heaven to earth? Do I fight injustice? Am I a voice for people who have no voice?

Because Jesus message seemed to be more about now than most people thought. And the way that message engages with now is through those that follow the way of Jesus.

There is this foundational theme in the Scriptures that God always hears the cry of man.

The biggest example is the Exodus of Israel from Egyptian oppression. God’s response seems to be rooted in the idea that he heard their cry rise up from the struggle of slavery.

Over and over you’ll watch God move in response to the cry of his people. All the way to the point that he sends Jesus in response to the cry of the people under the burden of sin and the weight of the law.

In a way, Jesus coming to earth is just another extension of God’s character – responding to the cry of his people.

Of course, I live in a country where much of what I need is at my fingertips. I can insulate myself with possessions and money. Finding comfort in my home. Security in the different accounts I where keep my money. I can find answers to most of life’s problems without looking outside of myself.

But am I missing an expression of God’s character because I’m never in a spot where I need to cry out?

Maybe crying out is a privilege. Maybe when the pain of life lands on me I shouldn’t just try to solve the problems on my own. Maybe I should cry out.

Because God hears the cry.

And when God hears the cry, the real miracles begin.

The waters part.

The Messiah comes to redeem his people.

And life is never the same again.