A Letter to a Disagreeing Church

Religion class got me thinking today. It was question and answer time for the whole two hour class period and the teacher was being asked some pretty tough questions about Adventism. Almost all were directed at doctrines, structure or beliefs. That's a tough spot to be in; answering questions representing the whole of a religion. I started thinking... Why is it so important that we focus on a religions belief system?

Not once, did a question come up about how we as Adventists live out our beliefs. For example, loving people and being "the light of the world". I recognize that beliefs are the foundation, they represent where we are coming from and I love discussing ideas from a variety of backgrounds. But I feel like we are missing the biggest key ingredient. Jesus! I think we spend to much time disagreeing with each other and trying to say who's right and who's wrong; whether woman should be ordained, if this world was created in 7 days, one day, or billions of years, or even which day of the week is the "true" sabbath.

I think that one of the reasons young people are leaving the church is because we spend a huge amount of energy on doctrines and duties. This is what's being portrayed to the people around us. This will never give a valid representation of a group because we will never agree 100% with one another. Instead, it creates tension, bickering and judgment. Everyone will live and describe their religion in a certain way, To judge the religion as a whole, by how the individual acts and lives alone, will get us into trouble. The truth is, we are all broken. We can't give a perfect representation of our belief system because... we mess up. As a human, we look for the "right" religion or ideas. (because why would we want to be wrong?). So how do we make sense of all this mess? This is where God comes into the story. 

God works in our brokenness. He made us from dirt! Dirt isn't flattering. He could have made us from rainbows, moss, or flowers but, he wanted to make a point. God can make beauty from something as mundane as dirt. 

I believe God works through people and I believe he works through many different religions. Trying to prove one is right and another is wrong ignores the example that Jesus set when he lived on earth. His mission was to love. And not to love just the people that followed him and believed what he was saying, but also to the people who hated him, argued with him, and talked poorly against him. 

May we stop becoming worked up about what each other believes, but start embracing the beauty in differences. May we start living and being the love of God that this broken world so desperately needs.

Value

The notification indicates a pending friend request, an event to accept or deny, a friend seeing how my classes are going. I pretend not to see them.
A friend asks if I want to make lunch with them on the weekend. It's monday, so I say, "I'm not sure yet what my plans are. I'll let you know." I want to "leave my options open".
In a world where technology is so advanced, and the ways of communicating with one another are so vast, it's easy to wait till the last second to make plans.

I love being spontaneous and waiting till the last moment, until I have all my options in front of me and then I choose what the best option is. Until recently, I thought it was a brilliant way to live. I was able to do exactly what I wanted. This was perfect because I hate going back on my word. For example if I tell someone I will join them for dinner and then something comes up, my greatest regret is having to tell them I am not able to make it anymore. So, in this way, I can make sure I keep my word.

However, over the last few days I have been thinking of value; how I feel valued and the way in which I make others feel valued.
My decisions, whether I want it or not, affect other people. I realized that my decisions of waiting till the moment, may cause someone to not feel valued. Let's go back to my friend inviting me to dinner. If I tell her that I don't know what I'll be doing yet, that first of all tells her I don't have plans set in stone. Second of all, it admits that I believe there may be something "better, or more fun" that might come up and in that case, I wouldn't eat dinner with her.
This realization puts me in a bind. It makes me ask the question, "Do I value my relationships enough that I would put them on hold just in case something else comes up that sounds more appealing to me?" That just makes it all about me. Selfish. It disregards that my friend may be planning to make the food and spend a long time preparing it to make it special. Instead, it places all the decision on where I will have the most enjoyable time.
If I am invited and say, "Yes! That is so sweet of you to invite me to dinner. I would love to hang out with you." That is telling her, 'You know, even if something that may be more adventurous, or something I've longed to do for awhile comes up, I am still choosing to spend the time with you, because I value you.'

With all these thoughts, I am going to strive to make sure I am not choosing my plans based on what I think will be the most enjoyable for me, but rather, what will make others feel valued. I don't want to be someone putting invitations off to wait for the best. The best, may be spending time with them and making them feel special.

Art

Art is not what you see, but what you help others to see.” - Edgar Degas.

A splash of green, a burst of yellow, a hint of brown. The painter is making the emptiness come to life. 
The melodious sound of a viola, the rich tones of an oboe, the brass joins the party. Musicians are creating emotions.
A squeeze of bleach, a squirt of windex, a swipe of a sponge. The Janitor turns a mess into beauty.
Voices of happy children, math lesson taught with victory, the red ink corrects. A teacher awakens the mind. 

We all play a part in creating something from what we’ve been given. It is our choice to make it beautiful. God, the artist, has created us to “bring out the God-colors in the world” (Matt. 5:14). As humans, no matter what we do in life, we carry the image of God. 

I saw an elderly man on his walk this morning, he struggled to get his foot up to the curb trying to bring it closer so he could bend down and tie his shoe. A runner on her morning jaunt paused and asked if she could lend a hand. She was bearing the image of God. 
A woman with hands more than full makes her way to the parking lot fiddling to find her keys. Her daughter is ready for a nap and not being compliant. One of the bags gives out and produce, cans and napkins fall to the unforgiving asphalt. A teenager clearly in a hurry, pauses and rushes over to help pick up the mess. He was bearing the image of God. 

Moments. That is all it takes, is a moment, to express the creative design of God. The challenge is that we are broken. We are cracked. But that’s what God uses best. He uses weak. He uses broken-hearted. He uses us. With Him, we can create art. We can create a masterpiece. We can help others see His beauty, His love.

Seeing, Being

Thoughts swirling through my head,
To do lists, homework, and errands.
Everything about me.

Traveling down my road
Another passed on by. 
I didn’t see them go. 

...

Pushing aside my future plans
Now wanting to be all here. 
Look a fellow traveler in the eye.

Glancing up to look at me
But then just going by.
A smile not received.

Passing yet another,
Smiles with the heart.

A moment, just a moment
Together traveling on.