Dear Faith Family,
We are now several weeks into a shared aw-ha moment, one of those experiences when what's been there all along in knowledge and faith becomes vivid and tangible in daily life. Our collective light bulb flipping on by an unfamiliar reading of a familiar text.
Now that I've put you on a hilltop, on a light stand--shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
(Matthew 5:16)
For those joining me in this epiphany, we still have a few bends and turns before we reach our conclusion. But, before we go any further, let me provide those who are not in for this particular journey a chance to step off the trail for now. While I'd love for you to continue with us, I pray you'll find your way back here another time, knowing how much you are loved and how much I yearn for you to be filled with the fullness of God.
Alright, for those still with me, how's the discovery going so far? As we've meandered through the text, meditating on our life's grounding in the actions of "this generous Father in heaven," allowing Jesus' assumption that our tomorrow is today to examen our ambitions and anxieties, what's stood out to you? What has the Spirit revealed to you about how you are living?
We always get to the “how,” don’t we. The natural flow of our verse also happens to lead us here too. How we're to live as salt, a city, and light. What we're supposed to do in this place God's put us. Jesus offers us a rather succinct description, saying, "Keep open house, be generous with your lives."
This "how" question often consumes and overwhelms us Jesus followers. How do we live out our calling, purpose, faith? How do we do what God wants us to do? Whether in career, in home, in neighborhood, or in community, "How-To's" continue to be the best sellers among us Christians. How many do you own? I've got more than a few!
Whether you're a reader, a podcaster, or a program/bible study junkie, it seems many of us want to figure out how to "let our light shine before others," which is a good thing. And it's undoubtedly helpful to learn from the way others have done the same. Still, at least for me, there is a problem. It's not so much the means and methods (though honestly, sometimes it is!) but rather the excuses such examples foster.
Learning others' "how" can be inspiring, for sure. But, if I am honest, they can also distract me. I tend to walk away with things to do before doing the thing I am "supposed" to be doing. The thing I picked up the how-to for in the first place. Whether that before-thing is rearranging my schedule, figuring out what I'm passionate about, finding myself a quiet space to reflect, or following a step-by-step guide, I find myself with plenty to do before doing much of anything and also a bit exhausted. Have you ever experienced something similar?
Now don't get me wrong, a life of faith takes schedules, passions, contemplation, and planning seriously. Faith's first supplement, says Peter, is "excellence" (2 Peter 1:5). The problem is, we (at least I) start there, whereas Jesus assumes our actions have a different origin.
Hopefully, by this point in our journey, you've discovered along with me that before we get to what we do, Jesus assumes we know (and experience) what God is doing. Before we get in on the action, Jesus assumes we know (and experience) who and where we are is because God is acting generously, placing us at the peak of existence for the joy of all the earth. So, how we live out our purpose, how we do what God wants us to do, does indeed have a before; it's just God who is doing the before, not you or me or us. And this makes all the difference in the world, literally!
Think about what Jesus is implying. Our purpose in this together life with him--our mission as the church--is not achieved through sophisticated strategy, a fully-trained, organized, and fluent preparedness, nor any particular event, program, or ministry, as useful as these may be. Rather, how we get in on the action--God's action--is through confident humility.
I don't know about you, but keeping an open house cultivates self-assurance. Knowing people will come into our home, see the details of our daily living, and probably make judgments about our preferences, convictions, cleanliness, prosperity, etc., means we have to rest in something more foundational, more sure than whatever we can show off. To "Keep open house," continuously making room in our individual lives and our faith family for others, means we are not bound by petty and plaguing shames and prejudices. Instead, we are confident in who we are and are meant to be because of who God is and what he has done is doing.
And, we are humble because of our confidence. Because our confidence does not come from something so fragile and fleeting as our ego or actions, we can live generously. We live off and out of what God has given. As C.S. Lewis so aptly stated, it is humility that allows us to live a healthy others-oriented life, for "True humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less."
So, how are we living? Confidently humble? Does our life demonstrate confidence, unashamed to invite others into our lives personally, as well as into our faith family's life together? Do we live humbly, neither self-diminishing nor self-absorbed?
Let these questions poke around your heart this week. Use them to invite the Holy Spirit to examen your daily interchanges and habits. Think about what things you do regularly and what things you'd like to do that you don't. Note what drives you to do or not to do. Consider your interactions with co-workers, family, roommates, friends, neighbors, and strangers. Note your emotions and reactions to situations, whether positive or difficult, mundane or out-of-the-ordinary. Where do you see confident humility in your relationships, and where is there fear, shame, timidity, arrogance, or self-centeredness?
There's still a little more to get into in our verse, and we will. But Jesus assumes that before we get there, we'll have to rest in God's before. May it be so for us this week.
Love you, faith family! God bless.