Think. Love. Engage

If you have not heard of St. Augustine, a church father from the 4th century, you might want to check him out. Chances are real good that you have heard a quote from him and didn’t even know it. In his book, Confessions, he was famous for saying “Our hearts are restless until they find rest in you, oh Lord.”

The rest that we pursue can only be found as we learn how to trust. True, trust can be considered the foundation of any relationship, but I think trust is much more. Trust allows ones character to develop because when trust is evident, people are secure in that relationship. Perhaps the reason we are not able to “rest” is because we have not been faithful and therefore don’t know how to trust ourselves. Trust and faithfulness go together. We will never be fully faithful to anyone, or anything for that matter, if we cannot be faithful to God…

Maybe that is why Jesus said come to me and I will give you rest. He knew that if we learned to be faithful to him, we would be faithful in all the other areas of our lives that we have been trying to for so long. Where do you need rest most? Perhaps it’s time to be faithful to God.

You won’t find a good ole fashioned barn raising in the middle of Dallas, Texas. But what you will find is a suburban fence raising. Four years ago, while I was living in TX, it became time to replace the cedar fence that was falling down in our backyard.

So, 7 of us who each shared the same problem and the same fence, decided to tear down the fence and put up a new one. While we were not without our challenges, as in the over zealous engineer, old out of shape backs put to the preverbal plow, spring showers, and urban commutes, we succeed in getting that new fence up. What I don’t think any of us was ready for was the fence that was actually built in our lives. We ate together, laughed together, and even helped each other move when our jobs changed.

True we built memories that lasted a lifetime, but, I discovered something else…

1.)    When the fence comes down, so does the wall.
2.)    When the wall comes down, so does perceptions
3.)    When perceptions come down, so does judgment
4.)    When judgment comes down, so does the barrier to sharing life.
5.)    When the barriers to sharing life come down, the respect goes up
6.)    When the respect goes up, so does the commitment
7.)    When the commitment goes up, so does the love
8.)    When the love goes up, so does the value of sharing life
9.)    When the value of sharing life together goes up, so does my understanding of why I am created.

Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself”. How is that possible if you surround yourself by a fence? If you want to fulfill the mandate of your heart, which is to love, then start with a simple act of tearing down the fence. You’ll be shocked at what is on the other side…  It is true that memories and community was developed that warm, wet spring season that wouldn’t have if the fence didn’t come down.  When the fence came down, a lot more went up. Love. Commitment. Respect. Everything that the broken fences kept out.

What walls need to come down so that you can build a fence?

Life is a precarious thing, really. Last night my wife’s father died of metastasized cancer that was quickly spreading through his stomach, liver, and other mid sections of his body. He was at the VA or Veteran’s Affair Center in Claremore, OK. He was watched by a phenomenal staff who cared for him through every turn of his sickness.

True, walking through the VA is a reminder of the effects of war that have been fought, but, walking through the VA is also a reminder of another war that looms in our bodies. I am not a doomsayer by any stretch, but I am a realist. Watching men and women confined to a wheelchair, who, less then a decade ago went anywhere they wanted at anytime they wanted remind me that soon I will be fighting the same war.

In order to win a war, you need a Hero. Someone who is willing to fight and lose their life, if need be, in order to preserve what they hold dear, precious, and true. My wife’s dad fought because he drew strength from his Hero who fought for him nearly 2000 years ago. This is a Hero who allowed mankind a choice to do what they wanted (Genesis 3) but a Hero who knew when to fight. This Hero, with love and great compassion, was born to fight for the hearts and souls of mankind in order to uphold what is true. This Hero, won a mighty victory when he swallowed up the keys of death and opened up the grave so that all who will believe in him, would not parish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

As a result of this Hero, we, and my wife’s dad for that matter, are not fighting to stay out of death’s door. We are fighting to get in! He followed his Hero to death’s door. In the end he fought valiantly and with honor. My wife’s dad showed us how to fight through death and how to die gracefully and with dignity. My wife’s father slipped into eternity after eating his dinner and going to bed. I am glad he fought! While he couldn’t save us like the Hero who saved him (and saves us), he has shown us how to die and how to follow the Hero to death.

The war is coming for us all, but, our hero’s give us strength and show us how to fight and win.

Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?” I Corinthians 15:55

The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives.

The Message 2 Corinthians 5:17-18