lectio divina:: ephesians 5

I’ve been studying and thinking through the book of Ephesians lately- and there are some interesting phrases in there that make me stop and think. one of them is in the beginning of Ephesians chapter 5: “be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children…”

the other day, a friend of mine called, who I haven’t talked to in awhile. He commented that I seem to have a lot of pictures of me and jane spending time together. I responded like I often do, “oh- she’s an only child- she is the apple of my eye- she is a joy and a delight to me…” and then I subconsciously added, “she is a dearly-loved child…”

jane happened to be on the playground while I was talking to my friend, and after we hung up, I kept thinking of that “dearly-loved-child; dearly-loved-children" as I watched jane skip around the playground- 

paul says that you and me- we are God’s dearly-loved-children.

I’m to Him, what Jane is to me.

You and I, we are the only-child to Him: the apple of His eye- His delight- His joy. a little spoiled, and free to be completely comfortable with Him; we can ask Him for anything, because we know that He loves us so much, that He will say yes. He can’t resist.

We are God’s dearly-loved-children. wow. that’s a thought that you could dwell on forever I suppose-

but then paul says, “be imitators of God as dearly loved children…” I started thinking of the ways that jane imitates Deanna and I. Sometimes I look at her and think, “someone shrunk Deanna!” because she sits and laughs, and talks just like her. jane loves to dress like me, she loves to read like me, and she loves to be doing the things that I am doing. she loves to watch the shows that I watch- sitting right next to me on the same couch. sometimes she imitates things about me that I wish she never even noticed. but she notices and she copies.

and paul seems to says to you and me, “God is your dad- who loves you, and spends time with you and showers you with gifts, so imitate Him! be like Him! love like He loves. be gracious and compassionate just like He is. be forgiving and humble and gentle just like He is with you. love what He loves; love who He loves. walk like He walks, talk like He talks, follow Him around in His footsteps. watch how He works and be just like Him! be a little version of your dad.”

after all, we are dearly loved children. isn’t that the way that all dearly loved children behave?

God is love.
rev-rob

strength and bravery, 2/2011

jane and I have been spending a lot of time at chuck e. cheese lately. they got all new games, and in the daytime, the place is clean, quiet, and a super-cheap way to have some kid fun. at the one closest to our house, there is a little air-hockey table that she loves to play on. I consider myself to be a fairly good air-hockey player, but I always let her win. lately, its been getting easier to let her win! she’s got quite an accurate shot!
a few weeks ago, I scored a goal on jane and she pulled the puck out of the side, placed it on top of the table and said, “wait a minute, dad.” and with her most serious face, she made a heart shape with her hands, pointed it to the ceiling, and then grabbed the puck with a determined look on her face.

“what was that?!” I said. with a straight face she said, “that’s my strength and bravery.” “WHAT?! where did THAT come from?!” “oh- I just made it up.” and she continued her game with fierceness and resolve.

strength and bravery shows up all the time these days. during yatzee games, uno games, anytime jane needs to gear up, she gets those heart-hands out and her strength and bravery comes out.

yesterday we went to the jungle and I told jane that I would get her a toy if she rode the orange slide. jane has been avoiding the orange slide for years. it has a dark section to it, it involves a wobbly net-bridge, and its been intimidating her ever since we have been going there. she responded to my offer by saying, “I have enough toys.” I offered two toys. a lunch at burger king. I appealed to her age- after all- she’s six now, she’s not 3 anymore. nothing worked. I brought her flashlight with me and told her she could use it in the dark section, and she was not interested. finally, I said, “what if you got your strength and bravery. I bet that would help you do it.”

she took a deep breath. her lip kind of quivered, and those heart-hands went up to the ceiling. she gave me that serious look and simply said, “flashlight?” I handed it to her and off she went. she was strong and she was brave. she slid down that slide so fast that she flew out and landed on her bottom. she had tears in her eyes, but she did it. she faced her fears with strength and bravery. I was so proud. she slid down that slide 20 more times, and we got the last one captured with the cell phone.

 we drove to burger king, and the preacher in me was thinking about all of the spiritual applications from what we just experienced- about trusting your Father, about the passage in psalms that calls the bible a light for our feet and a lamp for our paths- and i was thinking about strength and bravery- and who it ultimately comes from.

“this is my command—be strong and courageous! do not be afraid or discouraged. for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” -joshua 1:9 (new living translation)

I’ve taught jane much- and she is teaching me much too. imagine what we could accomplish if we could remind ourselves to be strong and brave whenever we are afraid, intimidated or overwhelmed?

God is love.
-rev-rob

patriology:: entry 124

I do some of my best thinking in the shower. yesterday, I was in the shower, and the thought came to me to go and get a bike for jane. it was perfect bike riding weather out, and she seemed to be more and more interested in bikes recently. so after we got ready, we went over to target and picked out a pink and purple big-kid bike. not a tricycle- a big kid bike with training wheels.

we took it home, pulled it out of the box and got it all put together. Deanna got a matching helmet and a bell for the handlebars.

in the afternoon, we took it for a spin in our little parking lot. it took a little getting used to, but jane did really well. I walked next to her the entire time she was on it. sometimes I was in front of her, sometimes behind, sometimes right next to her. when she was about to fall I would catch her. sometimes I saved her and the bike, sometimes I just saved her to show her what would happen if she wasn’t paying attention or steering straight. there was this moment when I was walking next to jane; her handlebars started wobbling and I reached out one hand in front of her, one hand behind, ready to catch her. and I was reminded of a verse out of psalm 139, “You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!” I think I took a step forward in understanding what that meant.

today jane and I took her bike to a trail near our house to get more bike-riding practice. as she was riding I walked next to her thinking about that verse. “this is how God deals with me. He follows me. He catches me. He rescues me. He does this more times than I even know- and I'm sure most of the time I’m completely unaware of it.”

that psalm goes on to say, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.”

God watches over you and me like a father watches over his child riding a bike for the first time. sometimes we are rescued, sometimes we fall, but we are never alone.

this morning, on the trail, jane went down a little slope and her bike picked up speed. she panicked a bit. instead of letting her bike slow down on its own or hitting the brakes, she let go of her handlebar and reached out and grabbed me hand.
sometimes along my way I panic too. I could try to fix the problem myself, or I could reach out to the One who can rescue me. since He’s right there, its not a bad idea.

God is love.
-rev-rob

spoiled

I started a thought on sunday morning during my offering meditation that I think that I’ll finish here.


how do you keep yourself from becoming spoiled?


everyone knows what a spoiled kid looks like:
ungrateful;
demanding;
selfish;
pouting;
having everything, yet never satisfied;
materialistic;
without compassion for others.


I love to buy jane gifts, but I need to control myself for the sake of her heart. I don’t want her to think that she deserves everything that she sees. I want her to understand that when she gets a gift, that it’s a gift; not her salary for being my kid.


when we were children, our parents monitored whether we were spoiled or not. some parents do a great job with this, some don’t. when we’re grown, we don’t have anyone who monitors whether we are spoiled or not. we have to keep ourselves from becoming spoiled rotten. but how?


as I typed that list of what a spoiled kid looks like, I can’t help but think that it describes so many people in the world that I live in. in a lot of ways, that list describes me.


it seems that once our parents stop monitoring whether we our spoiled or not, no one does. we don’t seem to monitor ourselves very well. we buy anything, and everything that we want, without giving consideration to those that have nothing, or what these self-gifts are doing to our hearts.


how do you keep yourself from being spoiled?
maybe we need to say to ourselves the same things that our parents used to say to us:
“you don’t need that.”
“we can’t afford that.”
“you’ll stop caring about that in a week.”
“think of the kids who have nothing.”
“you have so many toys already, you don’t have space for anymore.”
“wait until christmas.”


how do we keep ourselves from being spoiled?
by saying no to ourselves.
by becoming content with what we have.
by sharing what we have with the poor and with the church.
by supporting great organizations that are helping others.
by having an open hand with our money to God.
by remembering that there are so many that have so little.


jane and I had a funny conversation the other night. we were looking online at some mickey mouse golf clubs, when we saw a mickey mouse shopping cart with all kinds of mickey mouse groceries in it.
she said to me, “I need that dad.”
I told her, “you already HAVE a shopping cart! you don’t need 2!”
“but this one is a MICKEY shopping cart.” she said.
“you make a pretty good point.” I said.

patriology:: entry 122

ever since jane graduated from her crib to her big girl bed, she has been able to get up whenever she feels like it. she was getting up pretty early, so we told her that she had to stay in her room until 7am, or she she calls it, “seven-zero-zero.”


i usually hear her wake up around 6:45. she usually starts reading a book out loud or practices her alphabet. most days i call out, “jane, want to come in mom and dad’s room?” and she says, “yes!”


then she crawls up onto our bed and says, “does dad want to talk about something?”
and i say, “sure! what should we talk about?”


she puts her fingers on her chin to make a thinking face and says, “hmmm…what should we talk about?”
and then she thinks of a topic that she can make some sort of list for- like: what can we do in the tub? what can you di at the park? what starts with the letter H? what foods do you like to eat?


whenever i come up with an answer she says, “that’s a good idea.”


then we make our list. when we finish it she says, “want to talk about something else dad?” and we start the whole process again. i always enjoy when jane comes to talk with me in the morning. she seems to enjoy it too. it’s a special dad and daughter time for me each day.


i was sitting in church this morning thinking about how i missed my talk this morning (because jane and deanna are in modesto this weekend). it dawned on me that my heavenly father must enjoy when i come to Him in the morning and say, “want to talk about something?” i enjoy it too. it’s a special moment that i can share with Him each morning- and i’m sure that He misses it when i don’t initiate the talk.


“how great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! and that is what we are!”
-1 john 3

patriology:: entry 119

tarzan is no longer king of the jungle- now jane is the king (or should I say queen) of the jungle!


let me explain- the jungle is a local indoor playground for kids. they have two locations in san jose. one is made for little kids, and one is made for older kids. they both have these climbing structures in them – kind of like the ones at burger king, but on steroids. inside these climbing structures, kids can climb, crawl, swing, and jump in ball pits. the entire structure is fenced in by a black net. we try to get to the jungle as soon as it opens so that there won’t be a lot of kids rough housing around my girl.


we usually go climb in the jungle for big kids, because the climbing structure isn’t very big at that one and the big kids usually stay out of it. today we went to the jungle for little kids. the climbing structure there is gigantic.





you could lose a kid for days in there. today, for the first time, jane took on the giant climbing structure- and she loved it. i couldn’t get her out.





so i just followed her around from the outside of the climbing structure, trying to keep her in sight and trying to coach her up levels and through tunnels.


there was a strange moment today- she went through some tunnels and down some ramps and found herself in a big ball pit. she was chilling in there, plotting her next move, when a group of four big boys rushed in like a back of rhinos. they dove into the balls, jumped around and tossed balls around- all completely oblivious of a small girl almost under the balls.


what would i do? what could i do? should i climb into the play structure and rescue janie? should i yell at those boys to watch where they were going? should i just watch and wait? that’s what i did. there i was holding on to the black net watching my girl play around these crazy boys, and cringing and hoping that she would be ok. as soon as she got out we had a big hug.


it got me thinking- I wonder if this is how God feels when we are far from Him? does He watch and cringe and hope that we’ll make good choices? does He consider just jumping in and rescuing us? does He consider obliterating the ones who might hurt us? does He feel so far away, even while watching us so closely? does He long to embrace us as soon as we come to our senses? is He watching and coaching and directing us all along? have we been rushing around obstacles, too busy getting lost and stuck to listen and hear and obey?


jesus used to tell a story about a dad who longed to be near his son- even though his son was surrounded by danger in a distant country- it started off, "there was a man who had two sons. the younger one said to his father, 'father, give me my share of the estate...'


I’m not saying that jane was making bad decisions, its just that I felt that she was in trouble, and i was on the outside of a net- not powerless to help, but again, not as helpful as i could have been. her vulnerability made me feel vulnerable. anyhow, I'm glad that my girl got out ok- and I'm glad that I didn’t scare those boys.


“the father said to his servants, 'quick! bring the best robe and put it on him. put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. bring the fattened calf and kill it. let's have a feast and celebrate. for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found…”

swings

i was on a walk
on one of my favorite walking trails
near my house,
the los alamitos creek trail-
i was close to the end of one of the sections,
when i discovered
a secret park!
it had all of the
things that my little girl would love:
stuff to climb on,
a slide, and most importantly,
swings for little kids!
my little girl LOVES the swings.
she could swing for hours if i let her.







so today, janie and i checked this place out.
it was great-
we had our snack out there,
she climbed, and slid down the slide-
and when it came time for the swings
i noticed that there were big swings
right next too the little swings!


so i pushed her on her swings
until she was really high,
and then i hopped onto the big swings
and swung next to her!
it was a crack up for both of us.


i kept having to stop swinging
every time her little swing
stopped swinging high.
so i thought about teaching her
the art of riding the swings.


i asked her
“who is pushing daddy? daddy can do it by himself!”
“look! when i go back i kick my feet back!”
“when i go forward i kick my feet forward!”
“can you do that?”
she kicked her feet wildly.
she wasn’t getting the concept.
i started calling out foot movements as we swung:
“feet back! feet front! feet back! feet front!”
it worked for a little bit-
mostly it just made my girl laugh at me.


i started thinking-
what if i didn’t know how to swing?
what if i as a grown man,
had to ask some jogger to stop and give me a push?
that would be weird!
but no-
I can swing!
I can swing so well- that i can push others!
i can teach them how to swing-


but janie- she is just learning to swing.
she needs help.
she can’t get into the seat-
she can’t go back and forth,
she can’t get out.
that’s ok for a little girl,
but it wouldn’t be ok for a grown-up like me.


i was thinking about my role
as a leader at church-
i help people to grow in christ
to be discipled, to mature as a believer.
its like i’ve learned how to swing-
and now i can push others
and teach others-
and someday- they can push others
and teach others.
but still we hear at church-
“i feel like i’m not being fed.”
and its awkward- because these are people
who are all grown up, so to speak-
they should have learned to swing by now-
they should be pushing others-
they should be teaching others-
they should be calling out-
“feet front! feet back!”
but they’re stuck and they say to others-
“push me! i need a boost!”
these folks who are “not being fed”
should have learned long ago
how to feed themselves-
when they come in,
it shouldn’t be about getting fed,
it should be about feeding others-
and teaching them to feed themselves.
but instead, they are like a grown-up,
sitting in the baby-swing,
asking for a push.


awkward!


“we have much to say about this,
but it is hard to explain
because you are slow to learn.
in fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers,
you need someone to teach you
the elementary truths of God's word all over again.
You need milk, not solid food!
anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant,
is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.
But solid food is for the mature,
who by constant use have trained themselves
to distinguish good from evil.”
-hebrews 5


“we tell others about Christ,
warning everyone and teaching everyone
with all the wisdom God has given us.
We want to present them to God, perfect
in their relationship to Christ.”
-colossians 1 (nlt)

patriology:: entry 81

Patriology: The Doctrine of the Father.


my kid is super cute.
and it makes me want to hug her.
but the hugs have been few and far between lately.
i say
“dad needs more hugs.”
and she says
“NO-O-O-O!”
i put on a sad face,
but she doesn’t budge.
sometimes she even rubs it in
by going over and giving deanna a hug.
ouch!


i was trying to get a hug earlier today-
and she was wiggling out of my arms
and i got a thought:
“what if i took janie
to see someone she doesn’t like?”
then i’ll get lots of hugs
because she’ll cling to me
to be safe from a relative
or a friend that she doesn’t like!”


at first i thought,
“no- that wouldn’t be right-
its just that my kid is so cute!
and i adore her!
and i want to be close to her!
would i go to that kind of extreme to get a hug?”


and then i thought about my heavenly father-
does he feel the same way about me?
does he adore me?
does he want to be near me?
and have i been wiggling away?
would he go to extremes to be near me?


and so i imagined
God being in heaven saying
“ok rob-
here is some financial trouble.”
and then i run to him
and am close to him-
until its gone.


and then he says
“ok rob-
here is some relational issue.”
and i run to his side and cling to him-
and that pleases him-
and then i wiggle away
when the danger is gone.


and then he says
“ok rob-
here is a work problem.”
and i spend all sorts of time with him
just the two of us.
and that pleases him.
and then off i am again-
even though i’m small and he is big
i think i can do it without him.


and maybe when i’m in heaven
i’ll look back on all of the trials i’ve seen
and discover that God
didn’t just want to teach me things
or grow me,
he sent me through them
so that i would stop running
for him,
and from him,
and start running
to him.


maybe i should just be near him.
and recognize
i can’t do it without him.


i took a break from writing this
for my favorite time of day-
bathtime!
that’s when deanna washes janie,
and then wraps her up in a fluffy towel
and then sends her out of the bathroom.
janie yells out in her loudest voice:
“DA-DEEEEE! DA-DEEEEE!”
and then i scoop her up
and “dry her off”
with long hugs.
i laid her on her changing table
and she said
“dad
needs
more
hugs.”


dad loves hugs.


“the LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
-psalm 34:18


“come near to God and he will come near to you.”
-james 4:8

laughter

i love the sound of my daughter’s laughter.
absolutely love it-
its like- better than any music i’ve ever heard.
i love it so much, that i do just about anything to hear it.
i’ll completely humiliate myself
or drop all sorts of cash on a random toy
if it will let me hear the sounds of her laughing.
i’ll totally wear myself out swinging her or tossing her
just to hear her laughing,
i have it recorded on my voicemail
and i listen to it from time to time.

and she loves to laugh.
she doesn’t just laugh, she squeals.
she shrieks with joy- she laughs until she’s out of breath.
its hilarious and wonderful.

tonight i was lying on the floor
and she was sitting on my stomach
and i was lifting her up over my head
so that she was upside down.
i’d let her head tap the floor and then i’d bring her back to my stomach.
she thought that was a crack up.

then she was laying on the floor and i was standing over her
dropping a stuffed animal onto her stomach and face.
it was bath-time, but she kept saying
“mmmm-oh da-da!” (more daddy!)
i couldn’t say no to a request like that!

i was thinking later-
when did i stop laughing like that?
when did things stop being hilarious?
when did i learn that laughing uncontrollably wasn’t cool?
i wish i could unlearn that!
i want to laugh like that again! it sounds like fun!
is there a connection between age and joy?
innocence and laughter?
peer-pressure and freedom?

if i, as jane’s father love to hear her laugh-
does my heavenly father love to hear me laugh?
does he delight on my joy?
i like this one:

psalm 30:11
“you turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.”

clothed with joy… that’s a cool picture-

and this one from jesus himself- laughter is a promise:

luke 6:21:
“blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.”

isaiah foretells that heaven will be a place of laughter:

isaiah 35:10:
“they will enter zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

that’s a cool picture too-
of everlasting joy as a crown-
and being taken away with joy and gladness-
like a 2-year old.

well- if i’m going to spend eternity clothed with joy
and overtaken with gladness,
i better start practicing now!
i better start laughing along with my heavenly father-
and make that promise made by the psalmist:

psalm 31:6
“i will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.”

so if you see me being happy or silly or laughing out loud-
i haven’t gone crazy or started on drugs-
i’m just practicing for what’s next.