Hope for 2011

Robert has not been in church for several years and was telling me his story, "Not a day goes by that I'm not thinking about God and what He wants me to do. Church is hard because I'm turned off by the legalism, all the talk about change without doing anything..."

He shared a desire to find a place that is real, to make a difference in the world, and to personally make some progress in his marriage and relationship with God.

As I pondered his words, the opposite reality of most people's experience hit me - local church community marked by pride and pretense, self absorption and spiritual stagnancy (known by the simple "h" word).

Jesus hates hypocrisy, always did. Maybe because hypocrisy always chokes out hope...

Yes, He comes to make wrong things right. And thankfully, Jesus is merciful because every local church community is imperfect, because we are all imperfect.

I've seen glimpses of HOPE in recent years. We've made some progress but have a long way to go. Humility and love are still the twin victors over pride, pretense, self-absorption and stagnancy.

Another friend shared how his life started to change when he humbled himself and started letting Jesus deal with his stuff. That humility was in response to God's love.

I love the way the Message Version translates Romans 2:4 "God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change."

That is the place where HOPE is found! ...relationship with Jesus together with imperfect people, all of us experiencing God's kindness, taken firmly by the hand and led into radical life-change!

As we walk into 2011 may we at SHV and other local church communities experience more of this kind of HOPE and LIFE! And may we be the people where guys like Robert find a place.

December memories

We were shooting baskets after school at my grandparent’s house, something we did most every day. The air was crisp and the competition fierce on that December afternoon. I was in 3^rd grade and playing “horse” against my uncle.

Fred was my dad’s brother, about 20 years older than me. With Down’s syndrome, he was mentally and emotionally at a first grade level. Fred was a fierce competitor. Every time he made a basket I would yell “Swish!” and he would gleam. He loved to shoot the ball, and didn’t like to pass (ever).

His fingers were webbed together at birth, and they had only succeeded in partially separating them. As a result, he held the ball in the palm of his hand and kind of shot-putted it toward the basket. He had grown quite proficient after countless hours of shooting.

If I ever commented on one of my shots, or shot more than once, he would grunt and ask me to pass him the ball. Whenever we finished the game, I would tell him he was the “CHAMP,” something he never grew tired of hearing.

Fred wanted to play ball even when it was freezing. He had an unbelievably high pain threshold. And he had a knack for inflicting pain if I teased him too much (and he caught me).

Those were amazing times, hour after hour shooting baskets, chasing the ball down the driveway. Just thinking about Fred’s smile brings tears to my eyes.

Every Christmas was a special time, as Fred got way more presents than everyone else, and no one was jealous. There was a particular joy in seeing him happy. Almost like the best of God’s creation was getting a small portion of the treatment he would receive for all eternity.

Fred went to be with Jesus a couple years ago, as my mom was singing over him “Jesus loves Fred, this I know…”

This Christmas I’ll reflect on the gift of Jesus, and how He was so present in those times of shooting hoops with Fred.