A Slap in the Face

So, I've been thinking about grace a lot lately. Sometimes I laugh, because I think of the scene in "Christmas Vacation" where they ask the older lady to say grace, and she says, "Grace passed away years ago...", and her husband says "THE BLESSING!" As I just typed that, I realize how much truth is in that neurotic dialect.
I have to admit that when I watch a movie or a TV show where the bad guy gets punched, kicked, or shot, there's a part of me inside that pumps my fist, because the bad guy had it coming. We call it justice, because the word justice is a very positive and "just" word. I would like to announce that I have found out that Jesus thinks that's a load of crap (He would probably put it much better than me). In fact, Jesus would tell us that our "justice" is really "just-us" seeking revenge. The word revenge is not so positive to us. It's pretty much a dark term. When I think of revenge, I think of someone who is obsessed with getting back at his or her enemy. Revenge is a deadly poison that can ruin you as you're trying to ruin someone else. Jesus talks about it in Mark 5:38-42:

³⁸You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. ³⁹But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴²Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

This is exactly the kind of thing that caused Jesus to be so unpopular with the church leaders of his day, and it is exactly what will make you unpopular with a lot of church leaders in today's society. I love the church, and I think the church is here to stay. The church is doing amazing things in our world, BUT it is not perfect. I have seen some church leaders who seem to be unbalanced in their approach to justice. Jesus said to turn the other cheek, so that your enemy can slap you in the face again, if that's what they have to do. Give them what they want, because God owns it all, and He is in control of it all. The moment we take out our "justice" on the bad guy, is the moment we discount God's Word. Romans 12:19 says:

¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"says the Lord.

Jesus exemplified this. He turned the other cheek, and allowed the Father to be in control. He didn't have some smart, witty come back as He was being humiliated on the cross. He talked about forgiveness, and gave us grace as He received a slap in the face. If we, as Christ-followers, can mature in our belief in God's word. If we can actually believe that God is right, then we will have an impact on this world. I'm afraid that when people think about Christians, they think about negatives. We're attacking people! We're bombing abortion clinics, and discriminating against homosexuals. We're condemning people for their sins, and we haven't addressed the sins of the church. The sad thing is that the world sees our sins and we don't. Sometimes I feel like, just because I'm a Christian, I'm obligated to have certain political views about how we are supposed to run this country. I've been called a "dove", which I guess means I like peace, and not war. What a horrible character trait (sarcasm). I want justice, but not my kind of justice. I need God's justice. It's perfect and balanced. God will never lose his head and He will never go overboard.
Getting back to "Christmas Vacation", the old man had to yell the word "blessing" to his wife to describe grace. Right now, Jesus is holding out a blessing to the church. A blessing that can only be found in grace. I think the hardest part of salvation for people, is that you have to believe in grace. The Bible says, "By grace are you saved..." Grace is hard, because accepting grace means that you can't do it on your own. It's admitting that you are wrong, and that you are in need of forgiveness. Basically, there's no pride in grace. If we, as the church, want to be missional, then we have got to start showing some grace. Let's stop being the moral police, and start showing some tolerance. The reason we heard the gospel is because someone was tolerant enough of our sinfulness to show us Jesus.
Jesus was the ultimate revolutionary. He was progressive. Not in style, but in lifestyle. I think the most evangelistic thing the church could do is to truly accept people for who they are. Let's stop worrying about what offends us, and what annoys us, and start being big-pictured. Next time you get a slap in the face, look at it as an opportunity to paint a beautiful picture of grace and not revenge.

The NBA is Back

I'm really pumped about professional basketball again. I come from the Larry, Magic, and Jordan era, so I haven't been very intrigued with the NBA in a long time. This year is different. I'm actually watching and recording the games. The NBA looks like it's going into a competitive era again. Kobe and Shaq's teams both got knocked out in the first round, which is ushering in some great new rivalries. Tonight as I type I'm watching game 6 of Phoenix and San Antonio, after watching Cleveland advance to their conference finals. This is good stuff. Now, all I need is the Celtics to win a game and all will be well with the world.

Emo Spiderman

So I went and saw Spiderman 3 last night at the Rave Cinemas after indulging in some delicious Moe's. I have to say that I have heard a lot of negative comments about this flick, but also a lot of positive comments. Here's my thoughts:
I think the fight sequences were amazing. I thought they took it up a notch from the last movies, which is hard to do, considering all the effects we've already seen in movies. So I have to give them there props on that. I loved the venom character. I'm not trying to Christianize it, but you could definitely interpret some spiritual warfare from that. I thought Venom was probably the best villain of the last 3 movies. I didn't care so much for the Sandman character, because it doesn't look like he can be stopped.
Probably what people didn't like was the whole Emo Spiderman thing, where he actually looked emo, and kind of over played the angry, hurt character. I thought it was hilarious, so I kind of liked it, and I'm thinking they did it on purpose to make it funny.
The thing I did not like was the ending. I thought it was a little drab, and it seemed like they ended it so that they could either do another one with the same people, or not. Over all I thought it was a great movie. I was entertained, which is the main reason I go to the movies.

Running Away

The other day I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom. I was getting ready for work, and my little boy, Joshua, ran up to me and proceeded to tell me all that he was doing. He was telling me all the good things he had done that morning. Like, sleeping in his bed all night, and helping mommy with the dog. All this was said in hopes of getting some praise, which is exactly what I did. "Good boy", I said, and continued to cheer him on in being a good boy. One of the things I've learned in life is that timing is everything, and I thought I would capitalize on the moment by encouraging him to go to the living room and pick up his maze of toys, because that would really help mommy. The next thing I saw was Joshua's back as he sprinted away from me. His own father! He ran away from his father! All I did was ask him to pick up his toys. It wasn't punishment. It really wasn't that much of a sacrifice. But, evidently, it wasn't in his plans for the day.
The reason I remember this so well is because of my Bible reading that morning right before it happened. I just happened to read the book of Jonah. I actually walked away from it remembering a passage that stuck out. If you've read the Bible a few times you probably have had different things stick out to you every time. I've been familiar with the story of Jonah and the whale since I was a child, and I have never noticed this.

It's in Jonah 1:2-3 (nlt):
2) “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”
3) "But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord."

When Jonah went his own way, he was going away from God. Away from God's will, which is away from peace and fulfillment. My son running away from me is a perfect picture of myself when I run away from God. I'm not just talking about career decisions, or major life changes. This is a relevant lesson for the little things. Saying yes to God in the little things is an essential step on the road to saying yes to God in the big things. When we say yes to God, it's very much like saying no to ourselves.
As my son was running away from his father, he was running from a reward.