Have A Scandalous Christmas!

Christmas Constroversia

I know you will be surprised when I tell you that Christmas is not actually a biblical holiday. God never declared Thou shalt celebrate my Son’s birth on December 25th of every year.  Apart from the historical accounts of Christ’s birth in each of the four gospels, Christmas as a holiday is never mentioned in the Bible.  The early Christians did not celebrate Christmas.  In fact, the church didn’t celebrate the birth of Jesus until about 300 years after his death and resurrection.  The only thing Jesus actually instructed us to do in remembrance of Him, was to practice the ritual of the Eucharist, the  bread and wine (communion), as a reminder of the sacrifice He made for mankind. 

Christmas is actually a "spin off" of the winter solstice celebration which began hundreds of years before Jesus was even born.  On the longest winter day of the year, knowing the days would be getting longer, the people celebrated the hope of spring when there would be new life and new crops.  Plants which stayed green during the winter months were used to decorate their homes to symbolize the hope that life would come forth again from the  barren earth when the warmth of spring would awaken it from its frozen, sleepy state.  

Branches from the evergreen tree became the most popular plant used to decorate for solstice celebrations largely because the tree is... ever green.  

Ba-dum-bum! Thank you very much, folks.  I’ll be here all week! 

Anyway...

By the beginning of the fourth century Roman church officials decided to institute a holy feast day marking the birth of Jesus. Since the Bible makes no mention of the date, or even the time of year, when Jesus was born, Pope Julius I arbitrarily chose December 25th as the day for the “Feast of the Nativity". There is no official accounting of why Pope Julius chose December 25th as the date for the Nativity Feast, but most likely he did so with the hopes that, since Christians were celebrating the solstice festivals anyway, they would adopt or incorporate Nativity into their revelry. Although the Church decreed the holiday, it gave no instructions on how to celebrate it.  So, people borrowed traditions from other cultures.

It shouldn't be surprising that Christians (Catholic or other) took a common, secular festival and infused Jesus into it.  Essentially, they took the “common” or the "secular"  and used it as opportunity to point others to God.  Every culture did it. So, why is Christmas so controversial?  The same tactics have been used for centuries!  In fact, they are being used by Christian churches today!  

For example, there is a church in Florida this year that is spending what will no doubt be a ridiculous amount of money to present their Christmas Play  in 3D!  Just a guess, but I highly doubt that was sanctioned by God.  Now, whether you think such an event is as  ridiculous as I do or not, they claim they are using it to bring the gospel message to their city - or to draw their city to the gospel message - and the matter of whether they are or not is between them and God.  While God certainly doesn't need a 3D reenactment of His incarnation to touch lives, I have no doubt that He can use their common and secular efforts for His good. The power to change lives is not in the method - but the message.

But listen, isn't that what the birth of Jesus represents, though?  Taking something that is otherwise secular, common or unholy; immersing Himself into it; and turning it around for good? Let's take a look.

Scandalous Love!

Creator of everything seen and unseen, a holy God, loved humanity so much that left His throne and riches and chose to be born into the poorest of society.  His incarnation alone was scandalous! Mary, a 15-year old teenager, wasn’t even married when she became pregnant!  Joseph, the man she was engaged to, knew full well the child was not his and tried to find a way to  graciously divorce her. He would have but for Divine intervention.  

The two youngsters were so poor, that when it came time to obey the Levitical offering for the birth of their child, they had to give the poorest offering of two doves.  The law read that in the event the mother could not afford a lamb for the offering, she was allowed to offer two doves or two pigeons. (Lev. 12:8)

The poorest of poor.  The most common. 

The Creator God was born in a smelly old cave, in a wooden box to two poor people.  He shed his heavenly robe to be wrapped in rags.  The first scent he smelled with his tiny human nose was not the fragrant smell of one of His glorious fragrant creations, or even the welcoming smell of fresh baked bread or pie in His new home, but of animal dung and urine soaked straw.

So, why would the Eternal God of the Universe trade all that He had, wealth, reputation, honor, power and glory to become impoverished and eventually murdered? Love.  Pure love. He wanted to redeem His creation.

The birth of Jesus was a revolutionary, paradigm-shifting event, not to mention the greatest love scandal ever! He literally changed the world!

So, why not take an old common, secular solstice celebration whose message was already "hope" (just in an agricultural sense), and redeem it for the purpose of pointing others to the knowledge of the greatest gift and love known to mankind (Jesus), whose message is eternal hope and new life? 

Didn't God look at humanity in all its depravity, perishing in a sin-sick condition, and declare He would redeem us back to Himself?  Jesus voluntarily immersed Himself into the dregs of humanity, fulfilled all of the righteous requirements for God’s justice so that He could offer abundant, eternal life to all who would believe in Him.  To ALL. To everyone. Regardless of gender, culture , creed, social status or religious affiliation.

His birth was revolutionary.  

His life was controversial.  

His death brings hope.  

His resurrection brings new life.  

His love was scandalous.

In the cold, dead, winter solstice of this human existence, 

Jesus is our evergreen of hope!

Definitely worth celebrating!

There are many well-meaning people who stand in opposition to celebrating Christmas because of its origins, and if that is their personal conviction, that is fine.  Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think Jesus cares so much about whether we celebrate Christmas  as a holiday or not.  I think He cares more about the condition of our hearts.  Whether Christians should or shouldn’t celebrate Christmas is an individual decision based on individual conviction.  But perhaps we should just do a little self-check before deciding:

• What is the true reason you celebrate Christmas?  

• Where is your heart regarding Christmas? Is it to genuinely commemorate and celebrate the greatest gift to the world, Jesus?  Or is it simply an outward ritual used for personal gain? 

• Do you just go through the motions because that's just what you've always done?

• Are you capturing the spirit of scandalous love toward others and effectively sharing that in your celebration?  Or are you just caught up in the superficial ceremony of it?  

• Do you give scandalously for the betterment of others, or for the promotion of yourself?  

Look at what Christmas has become and wonder if those who celebrated solstice weren't a tad more spot-on with their reason to celebrate their hope than modern-day Christians are with ours.  At least they knew what they were celebrating!  If you have gotten a little lost or feel you have no real sense of purpose for celebrating Christmas, you are not alone.  Many people have. Guess what? There is hope!

The Advent Conspiracy

A group of pastors in 2006, decided to put the real scandal (Jesus' scandalous love) back into Christmas by starting a movement called The Advent Conspiracy.  If you need help trying to find a more meaningful way to participate in the Christmas holiday, visit their website and see if there is something there for you.  AC is based on the premise of reclaiming Christmas for the purpose of Christ, and not commercialism.  

Worship Fully

Spend Less

Give More [Presence]

Love All

The organization does not receive donations, but offers a wealth of resources for how to make Christmas more of what it was intended to be, than what it has become.  They do not suggest that you quit buying gifts, only that you give thought to spending less and giving more in other ways.  You may also  find ideas and suggestions from others about how they have joined in scaling back their own participation in the insane $450 billion dollar commercialism that has become Christmas, and found more meaningful ways to touch lives through benevolent love and compassion.

I encourage you to prayerfully consider what you can do this year to bring Christ to the forefront of your Christmas celebration.  It doesn’t have to be monumental - just sincere and done in a spirit of humbleness, love and good will.   

Remember, the greatest revolution known to man did not start with the wealthy, the one who had the most stuff, or the best church play production...  it started with a baby in a small wooden box...

May we love one another scandalously this 
Christmas season,

and all through the year!

Christmas Lights

As I was driving home last night, it became clear to me that I was not the only Christmas elf  putting up decorations and lights this week!  Many homes in the area had gorgeous Christmas light displays inside and outside their homes.  There’s just something special about Christmas lights shining in the nighttime that warms the soul with joy if for no other reason than somehow it makes an otherwise cold dark night glisten with beauty.  Think about it. The lights themselves are absolutely nothing to marvel at in the daytime, but when day becomes shrouded by the darkness of night, how stunning the colorful lights become!

Centuries ago, back around 1995, I made my debut as a guest speaker at the church I attended.  The topic I chose was none other than “Light.”  While that was a lifetime ago for me, the message is still the same:  light changes the effect of darkness.  A person can be in a pitch dark room, stumbling around, disoriented, unsure, not knowing what is ahead of or behind them, and darkness will eventually paralyze their movement because of the uncertainty of what is around them and the fear of falling.  However, strike one little match or turn on the tiniest flashlight, and they can begin moving again because they are able to see what is before them as well as fear less what is around them.  Light brings comfort because it makes known the unknown, and that knowledge brings assurance and hope.

In our quest to remember and participate in the true meaning of Christmas, I wanted to share some of the most beautiful Christmas "lights" I have discovered and rediscovered over the past 25 years.

Have you ever been overwhelmed by life, just going through the motions, feeling beaten down, joyless?  Do you ever feel like you have no direction, or lost your perspective or purpose? You ask yourself, “Is this all there is?” or “What does it all mean?” or even “How can I go on?”

The earth was without form and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep

…

Then God said, “Let there be light: and there was light.

Genesis 1:2-3

You've heard about “peace of mind” and “peace of heart” but you have only experienced fleeting moments of it either recently or ever.  You cannot understand what the void is in your life much less begin to know how to fill it.  Perhaps you had a strong faith once but it has diminished and you find yourself more confused than before.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  

John 1:4-5

There is good news!  Hope for those who may be walking in darkness and despair!

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and on those who sat in the region and shadow of death, Light has dawned.

Matthew 4:16

The One who created light, is the light that can shine in your deepest, darkest despair! Light changes the effect of darkness, making the unknown known and bringing hope to life!

Then Jesus spoke to them again saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

John 8:12

The great love of God desires to bring us out of the fear of darkness into the light of life, through faith and knowledge of His son Jesus Christ.

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.

John 12:46

 
God created everything out of nothing!  God IS light, and His light can overcome any darkness you may be experiencing. 

You are of God… and have overcome… because He (light) who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (darkness).

1 John 4:4

Remember, God wants to 'light you up' (in a GOOD way!) with His love so that you can become light to others.

For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. 

Walk as children of the light.

Ephesians 5:8

The reason God sent His Light (Jesus) to the world?

Simple.

So that we could learn to love God
and one another - better!

This Christmas season, each time we enjoy the beautiful display of lights shining in the night, may we bear in mind the true Christmas Light and find tidings of great comfort, inexpressible joy, and the knowledge of God's light and love condescending to earth to make its home in our hearts!

The Greatest Love Story Ever Lived

Christmas means many things to many people.  So, as we approach the Christmas season in one of the most globally challenging economic and social times ever known, we have before us the perfect opportunity to take a moment to focus on the very fundamental and true meaning of Christmas.

Most of us know that Christmas goes a bit deeper than the commercialism we’ve come to know and secretly love, or the mere acknowledgment that yes, God’s son was born some time ago and this is the day we elect to celebrate it, blah, blah, blah, now let’s get ready for the Christmas party.  So what is the fundamental meaning that seems to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season every year?

Christmas is simply all about love; the love that God has for you, and the love that God has for His creation.  

Pure and perfect humble love.

Spurgeon once said:

If I had a tale to tell you this day, of some king, who, out of love to some fair maiden, left his kingdom and became a peasant like herself, you would stand and wonder, and would listen to the charming tale; but when I tell of God concealing his dignity to become our Savior, our hearts are scarcely touched.

Christmas is the greatest love story ever lived! Over the next couple of weeks we will look at Christmas in this light and hopefully discover and be challenged to approach the holiday with a humble and enlightened sense of not only what it is truly about, but how to participate more fully in the love story since, by virtue of your humanity, you are the object of God’s affection and love!  Let's begin with the basics.

The Humility of God

As I know all too well, he does nothing to demand my attention when I decide that I’d rather focus on worldly pursuits rather than on him. When I choose to think only of myself and my selfish wants instead of him, he does nothing to stop me.

It is stunning, really, the humility of a God who lets us do that.

Jennifer Fulwiler, The Ignorable God

That it can be said of God that He is humble is perplexing, especially since according to the scriptures, God is perfect.  How can a God who is all-powerful, all-knowing and perfect be humble?  Simple. God cannot be prideful.  He is, after all, the highest being, El Elyon, the Creator of everything seen and unseen.  He cannot think more highly of himself because there is nothing higher than Himself!  Yet, in His perfection and high estate, He loves us, perfectly!  

Because He is the Most High and there is nothing above Him, His love can only go one direction and that is downward to His creation, making Him the author and perfect example of humility.  He forever maintains His integrity, His power, His perfection, His honor and His wealth, all the while stooping down to love and care for His creation.

Can our finite minds ever fully grasp the height of God’s love by understanding how low He condescended to embrace humanity with His love?  Could we ever understand what The King of Kings gave up when He chose to wrap himself in flesh and live as one of us?  

More power, wealth and honor than Spurgeon's king who fell in love with the maiden could ever imagine, Jesus Christ had everything because He is the creator of everything!  He speaks a word and things come into existence!  Yet, like the king whose love for the maiden was such that he chose to leave all that he had to be with her, Christ’s love compelled him to leave all his wealth and glory to be with us.  

Still, the greatest part of the Christmas love story lived is not that God through Christ came to be with us in our lowly estate, but that He lowered Himself for the purpose of elevating us to His high estate.  

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might be rich.

~2 Corinthians 8:9. 

Having all things at His disposal, God could have chosen a million other ways to demonstrate His love toward us, yet He chose to set aside not only His own glory, but  to disregard human grandeur and associate with the poor and the lowly.  

As Mary (the mother of Jesus incarnate) so aptly stated:

He has regarded the lowly estate of his handmaiden ~Luke 1:47

Whatever your lowly estate may be this holiday season -  be it economic poverty, sickness, brokenness of soul, discouragement, hopelessness or failure - please consider that Christmas is about the humble love of God in Christ who not only regards your lowly estate, but is able to lift you from your lowly estate into a place of hope and healing. He is the King who loves you so much that He left everything to be with you and bring hope into your life.

This Christmas, may we better understand and trust in the humble and very humbling love of God through Christ Jesus.

Thank You!

Hello!

Hoping all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!  Hopefully by now we are all emerging from our turkey comas and getting on with life!  

I will be taking the weekend off from posting to my blogs, but all three of them will have fresh new posts and perhaps a little redesigning next week!  I want to also take a moment to thank you for your faithful reading and visiting of my blog(s) and let you know how much I appreciate your ongoing interest and encouragement!

In the meantime, please feel free to browse the ads on the sites.  The advertisers have some great Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals going on right now and more than what is showing in their ads so visit the sites and see what kind of deals you can find!  

Have a safe and fun after-Thanksgiving shopping/recovery weekend!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Thanksgiving Facts, Figures and Folklore

 Did you know that there are at least three American towns named after Thanksgiving dinner's main course? There's Turkey, Texas, with 496 residents; Turkey Creek, Louisiana, with 357 residents, and Turkey, North Carolina, with 267 residents. There are also eight places and townships named Cranberry, and 20 places named Plymouth, after the location of the first Thanksgiving.

Here is a website all about Thanksgiving!  If you are looking for recipes, decoration ideas, fun facts, videos, etc. this is a great place to start! Have fun!

Thanksgiving on the Net - Did You Know? (Thanksgiving)

You Can't Stuff This

Someone speculated once that if the United States were being observed by space aliens during the end of November, they might conclude that Americans worship turkeys!  Well, for at least that one day a year while who knows how many of us are stuffing ourselves with those tender, juicy and delicious birds and subsequently slipping in to an L-Tryptophan coma, perhaps we do.  

But have you ever wondered what the turkey's perspective on the holiday is though? Here's a little message from M.C. Turkey:

 

And how about this message from The Turkey Supremes:

Happy gigglin' giblets everyone!

Beautiful Thanksgiving Song

Thanksgiving Song 

Mary Chapin Carpenter

 
Grateful for each hand we hold
Gathered round this table.
From far and near we travel home,
Blessed that we are able.

Grateful for this sheltered place
With light in every window,
Saying " Welcome, welcome, share this feast!
Come in away from sorrow."

Father, mother, daughter, son,
Neighbor, friend and friendless;
All together everyone in the gift of loving-kindness.

Grateful for what's understood,
And all that is forgiven;
We try so hard to be good,
To lead a life worth living.

Father, mother, daughter, son,
Neighbor, friend, and friendless;
All together everyone, let grateful days be endless.

Grateful for each hand we hold
Gathered round this table.

Thanks Listing

Day #7

As I have been searching the internet looking for all things pertaining to Thanksgiving, I have read so many Top Ten Things I am Thankful For or Top 100 lists.  There is such a variety of thankful lists out there!  I can’t remember where I read it, but one lady was even thankful that her long-time, therapist would have the day off on Thanksgiving to spend with her family and could focus on her family rather than fixing other people. Despite my opinions about "long-term therapists," I thought to myself, how very thoughtful!

So, I thought I would encourage my readers to take a moment sometime in the next seven days to do your own.  It is a great exercise to help change attitudes, focus, and thinking to a much more positive one.  Of course, I could not ask you to do what I had not actually done myself, so I thought I would do a type of daily thanksgiving list of the little things we may take for granted.  The biggies are obvious: faith, family friends, health, home, etc., but the lists I have  read went way beyond that.  So let’s just go through the day:

1. I am thankful for my cell phone which doubles as my alarm clock.  
2. I am thankful for texting because I do not have the luxury or inclination to spend much time on the phone. 
3. I am thankful for indoor plumbing and running water
4. I am thankful for coffee!
5. I am thankful for my treadmill and for Zumba! 
6. I am thankful for my computers and the blogging community and email. 
7. I am thankful I hopped off the Facebook crazy train because I am watching people abuse it and quickly lose touch with reality by doing things they wouldn’t normally do in real life.  It's getting kinda creepy!
8. I am thankful for food. I love to cook and I love to eat! Thankfulness includes all the tools that help keep us fed: refrigerator, freezer and stove, small appliances.
9. I am thankful for medical equipment and ability to care for and meet my mom’s needs at home, and the place and people who assist in taking care of our 87-year old family friend. 
10. I am thankful for naps. 
11. I am thankful for stores & local businesses. 
12. I am thankful for my dog. 
13. I am thankful for television and music.  

Hmmm.  I can see how once you begin, your Top Ten List can quickly turn into a Top 50 or Top 100 list!  There are a miriad of other things pertaining to my day that I can think of as well! 

Most of what you may list or think of may make sense only to you, but it reaffirms the fact that with just the slightest effort, we can change our outlook/attitude for the day simply by being thankful!

Try it!  It doesn’t take long and it yields wonderful benefits!   You have 7 days to make your Thanks Listing!  Let me know how you do!

 

Thankful for What?

Day #8

"Then the sicknes begane to fall sore amongst them, and the weather so bad .... the Gov/r and cheefe of them, seeing so many dye, and fall downe sick dayly, thought it no wisdom to send away the ship...."

In November of 1620, a group of people stepped off of a ship called the Mayflower and set foot on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  We tend to idealize the pilgrim story both in word and pictures, if we remember any of the original story at all.  But the truth is, it was a cold winter and there was already sickness and disease on the ship from treacherous conditions of the voyage.  By the spring of 1621, when they finally left ship to build huts on shore, only 5 of the 18 women who made the journey were alive, and only 53 of the Mayflower's 102 passengers were alive. 

And yet, they set aside a day of giving thanks.  Despite the tragic losses and the unbearable difficulties, they knew the importance of being thankful to God in whom they trusted regardless of the extreme difficulties in pioneering this new venture toward a better way of life.
 

The true test of whether or not we have developed an attitude of gratitude is whether or not we can give thanks for what we do have, despite the injury, wounds and pains of our journey in this life.  

Are we sincerely thankful for what we have, or are we too busy wanting more? 

Have we developed strength of faith characterized by resilient trust in the midst of failure, difficulties or pain, or have we allowed our trials to make us fair-weather believers?

Thanksgiving is about setting aside at least one day out of the year to give thanks to God and to each other for what we have - as the pilgrims did -  inclusive of the past hardships, present  difficulties and future hopes.  

Truth is, we are all pilgrims here on earth in this life.  We are all seeking a better way of life.  Each one is blazing a trail in some capacity for someone who will come after us.  Are you blazing a path marked by gratitude and faith, or something else?

I wonder.  If we begin practicing being thankful the way those first pilgrims did, understanding what their true conditions were... will our pre-dinner prayer change next week?

****************************************

Thanksgiving Funny:

Thanks Living

Day #9

 Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving was a holiday to express thankfulness, gratitude, and appreciation to God, family and friends for which all have been blessed of material possessions and relationships. Traditionally, it has been a time to give thanks for a bountiful harvest. This holiday has since moved away from its religious roots. (Wikipedia)

While the majority of us are not agriculturalists since most of society is now urbanized, we still have a harvest of material possessions and relationships for which we should be mindful to be thankful for.  Do you have a car, a home, friends, family, a faith?  Then you have a harvest!

I am grateful for my family, extending to aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. all whom have colored my life in some wonderful capacity. 

I am grateful for my friends, both old and new, who have also added so much color and shape to my life through their uniqueness, loyalty and love.

I am grateful for my material possessions.

I am grateful for my faith in God which has kept and preserved me through some of the most trying times and is a constant source of strength and hope and joy.

What are you grateful for?  I love the holiday of Thanksgiving because it is a reminder that more than once a year we should practice an attitude of gratitude.  We should practice...

And now, for the Thanksgiving funny for Day #9:

Ten Days of Thanks Giving

DAY #10

Hello Readers!

Only ten more days until Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving, not just because of the great food, the laid-back mood of the day, football, and the after-dinner food coma/nap, but because of the idea of spending an entire day being focused on gratitude more than any other life element. Despite what is going on with the world or as individuals, we do have much to be thankful for. 

I have been scouring the internet looking for humorous, traditional, inspiring, or just plain odd items and pictures related to the Thanksgiving Holiday, and will be sharing them with you over the next ten days. Here is one of my favorite pictures:

One fellow blogger (teresak) wrote: 

10. I jumped in my Honda, drove to Glasgow this morning wearing my pajamas and didn’t realize I was almost out of gas. I am soooo thankful I didn’t get stranded on the side of the road!

Additionally, I would love for  you to leave a comment and let me know what you are most thankful for this year. Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving as a holiday or not, gratitude is one of the most important character traits to cultivate in our lives. Ten days ought to be sufficient to get us in the holiday mood!

  Now let's begin the Thanksgiving Palooza!

MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY, MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP.
MAY YOUR POTATOES 'N GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP,
MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS,
MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE,
MAY YOUR THANKS GIVING DINNER
STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS.

GOBBLE TIL YOU WOBBLE.........

AND IN ALL AND FOR ALL THINGS GIVE THANKS!

The Paradox of Brokenness

 Everything inside the skull, that is,

 I seem unable to think, or take action, or do much at all, lately.

I think maybe I'm broken.  

Aaron F. Stanton, Paralyzed from the Neck Up, from his blog,
Aaron's Random Thoughts www.afstanton.blogspot.com

Have you ever felt that way?  Paralyzed from the neck up?  Broken? Not able to make even the simplest decisions or move forward with your life?  Have you ever had the same script play over and over in your head? While you can basically function in your daily activities, every moment of rest which could be used for creativity, refreshment, repose, or other productivity is spent replaying the same script over and over again.  Sometimes the details change, sometimes the dialogue changes, but the results are always the same: nothing.  You just feel more exhausted and hopeless after every session.

Broken people are all around us. You see it in the news everyday, yet some of the most broken and desperate people are those who we come in contact with every day and never realize it.  People become pushed to their limits with economic or social issues.  Others may be broken by another's careless or thoughtless actions. Sometimes, people become broken by way of their own mistakes or bad decisions. Brokenness happens with tragedy and death.  There are many causes for brokenness in people and every person at some point in life feels broken.  So what do we do with all the brokenness?

… people change only when they hurt enough that they have to, learn enough that they want to, or receive enough that they are able to. 

- Leadership Gold by John C. Maxwell

I write so much about purpose, passion and movement in individual lives because it is so easy to become paralyzed from the neck up.  Our bodies, minds, emotions, and spirit were all created for movement and growth.  Lack of movement brings about a condition called atrophy which is a partial or complete wasting away of something.  If we allow ourselves to atrophy in any area of life for too long, we lose function.  Ultimately, if not remedied, the atrophied part of us becomes useless or altogether dies.  So, movement is vital to our health and growth. If we become broken in any area, movement is stopped or stalled at best and atrophy has an opportunity to set in.  So, what do we need to do?

Identify the Problem and FIX IT!

Face it.  Life is complicated at best, and it's certainly not always fair.  One of my favorite Saturday Night Live skits was made during the 2008 Presidential campaign/stock market plunge. Politics are hilarious when you see problems with simple solutions being made so complicated by politicians for financial gain or political glory.  Our minds are like that sometimes, aren't they?  Sometimes we take a problem or situation and make it so complicated that we fail to see the simplicity of a solution.  SNL came up with a skit about that very thing that made me laugh out loud.  Here is a clip:

More than once I have mentally played that clip/catchphrase in my own head when I recognize that I am “politicizing” some issue of my life that is broken or impossible to resolve. So, let’s take a look at the humorous wisdom in Mr. Keenan’s advice.  

Step One: Identify the Brokenness.

If your leg is broken, then it doesn't make sense to rehabilitate your arm.  You must first identify your brokenness.  Identifying it is key to healing. Is it a bad memory? A broken heart? Death of a loved one? A physical injury that altered your life? Abuse? Addiction? Depression? Identify the source of brokenness.    

Step Two: Fix It!

The goal of rehabilitation for brokenness is restoration to wholeness and independence. The process of physical rehabilitation has three main goals.

1.    Strengthening

Without proper strengthening, the end result of rehabilitation may be limping or the need to use a crutch.

In the initial stage of rehabilitation, you are trying to gain as much strength in the broken part as possible.  This is usually accomplished through what is known as resistance training and repetition.  For actual physical rehabilitation, the connotation is obvious.  But in matters of the soul and spirit, resistance training can be as basic as doing the exact opposite of what has kept you paralyzed, as well as doing it as many times as necessary to achieve the results.  If you have had some movement/improvement in the area of brokenness, then perhaps you need to increase the ‘weight’ of the resistance in order to create greater results. In either case, please note that resistance training brings with it some pain.  

• Perhaps it is making that conscious effort to forgive– whether it is yourself for a wrong you have done or someone else for wrong that was done to you. 

• Perhaps it is letting go of some one or some thing that keeps re-injuring you.

• If you have not properly grieved a death or tragedy, you will need to resist the denial or avoidance that has kept you broken and walk through the remaining stages of grief.

2. Flexibility

Flexibility must be fostered in the surrounding areas of the brokenness to avoid unwanted tensions and to allow the broken part to 

perform/function properly.

The term kinetic chain is a term used by most sports medicine and exercise science professionals to describe a sequence or a chain of events that take place in order for an athlete perform a specific function. For a pitcher, the sequence of events start from the push off of the rubber on the mound to the follow through where the pitcher rolls off of the mound.

In life, kinetic chains happen daily, usually without us thinking about them.  The only time we notice is when we become broken.  Perhaps daily activities that once were simple to do become weighty and complicated. Maybe you are unable to handle daily tension or basic pressures the way you used to, and you find yourself with elevated levels of anger or sadness.  Whatever it is, rather than disconnecting or isolating your brokenness, you need not only to strengthen the area involved in the break, but incorporate it back into the surrounding areas of your life so that you regain your flexibility and better handle issues as they come up without re-breaking.  

Why is flexibility important? Because life will continue happening and if we do not learn to be flexible in times of difficulty – we will continue to break.

3.    Functionality

With any injury, scar tissue may be present.  This may increase the risk for inflammation later down the road.  Proper rehabilitation minimizes inflammatory effects of brokenness.

The final goal in rehabilitation is to restore the broken part to functionality.  It is not a total pass-fail situation.  In the area(s) of your life that you begin rehabilitation, keep in mind that if you have more than one area affected, you should fix one area at a time, then move on to the next, with the goal of restoring each broken area to optimal functionality.
 

The Paradox of Brokenness

Christianity offers a wonderful paradox with regard to brokenness.  In life, there are no quick fixes for deeply ingrained injuries of the soul.  For both Christians and non-Christians, being caught in a cycle of fear, guilt, anger, shame, unforgiveness, regret or abuse can make simply getting through each day a tedious exercise in grace.

However, there is a certain ethereal beauty in brokenness.  It is only when we come to terms with our brokenness that we finally surrender to the healing available to us through faith in God.  The beauty is present not so much in the brokenness itself, as in that it finds its home in the process of surrender.

In a physical break, if you just cover/wrap it up, it will never heal properly.  However, if you take the time and surrender to the process of pain to fix it properly, it can be functional again.  The same is true for the soul. The only One qualified to fix the soul is the One who made it - God.  If you know the gospel story, then you know that Jesus fully understands brokenness.  The concept of a broken, bleeding Savior is beautiful only to the believing enlightened soul who understands the power and purpose of the brokenness of Christ. He now lives to help you with yours.

Only a person who has experienced brokenness may truly offer genuine comfort, affirmation, hope, understanding, compassion, and, as St. Augustine put it, restore to health the eye of the heart whereby God might be seen. It is only in the depths of our pain that we become awakened to the heights of God’s grace and mercy.  If brokenness served only to bring us a clearer view of God’s love, it would be enough.  Yet it goes beyond that into making us people that God can use to bring hope and healing to others.

Brokenness is never wasted when your faith and trust are placed in God through Christ Jesus.

If you feel like the gentleman who wrote in the opening quote, or have said to yourself recently I think maybe I’m broken, the analogy above will give you some practical steps to rehabilitating your area of brokenness.  May I encourage you to go one step further in that process and surrender your brokenness to God and trust Him with your pain.    

He gives beauty for ashes, strength for fear;

Gladness for mourning, and peace for despair.

Based on Isaiah 61:3