Thanks-giving

One of the greatest keys to a joy-filled life is practicing the art of thanksgiving. I’m not talking about the feasting and fun holiday quickly headed our way, I’m talking about the daily habit of gratitude. Even science has shown that the people who express gratitude the most end up being happier because of it. Gratitude puts on display the condition of one’s heart and the trajectory it’s taking. And, as I've recently discovered, we have a great deal of control in these matters.

I once spent a semester delving deep into the Apostle Paul’s letters where I read all of them three times in three months. I was taking a course on the subject from a brilliant scholar from whom I learned a great deal, but one thing struck me in that process that has altered me to this day: the command to always be grateful. It’s not a suggestion, it’s not even an encouragement--it’s a command.

I hadn't thought of gratitude as a command before--something to diligently hold to and actively do. It’s the result of good circumstance right? When good things happen you’re grateful, when bad things happen you’re disheartened and upset. I am affected by my circumstances. Some things hurt, others bring joy where they tread, and I can’t change how things make me feel. Some people are ‘Glass half full’ kind of people, others ‘Glass half empty.’ That’s what I’d always thought.

But Paul has other thoughts on the matter. He tells his readers to, “Be grateful in all circumstances” (1 Thess. 5:18). “And in all that you do, whether in word or work, do it while giving thanks to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus (Col. 3:17). The verb “give thanks,” εύχαριστέω, comes up 38 times in the New Testament! Here’s a list of several. The point? Thanks-giving is not an option you can chose to leave on the table uneaten if you want to live full in the Kingdom. You must feast on it daily. Breathe it in and speak it out. The air on Earth contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.039% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. These are vital elements which keep our bodies pumping life through our veins. The air of Heaven similarly carries life throughout our soul but is made up of different substances. It’s 57% adoration, 38% gratitude, and a mixture of other elements too ineffable for human language at the present time. Breathe Heaven’s air and you invoke life to be on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue. You get to choose what you cultivate in your soul. Choose to be thank-filled. Choose life. Choose to thank God for every little detail of good in your surroundings with your first thoughts of the day, everyday, mingled with all your thoughts, all throughout the day. There is joy to be had, by goblets and gobbles when you sing the song of thanks-giving.

***** Rejoice all the time, pray unceasingly, and in every moment give thanks. This is God’s desire for you as you live in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thess. 5:16-18 (my translation)   ******

Up, Up, Away It Flew...

Up, up, away it flew,

    Her blue balloon of reddish hue.

For she let go, and in stead grew,

    A fresh young sprout, now well past due.

Crisp, country air let fly,

    Her spindling wisp, chasing off the dry.

Refreshment spurred an un-called sigh,

    Forgiveness found her how and why.

Let loose the bitter thoughts you hold.

     Release the past, set free the old.

Pray good for them, there you'll find gold.

     Come breathe the country air,

You'll see.

On Fear

        

        Do you think Kate is mad at me? She sounded so irritated with everything I said!

        No, she just gets like that sometimes. She's probably just had a shitty day or something.

        I don't know, she hates it when I bring up ______.

        Everything in the world thrives when it takes root in its proper place and all things grow into tyrants when they live where they were never meant to take a single breath. Fear is no exception. For the longest time I couldn't understand this. I only knew fear in the context of spiders, sharks, and scary movies. Fear was the unlit side of a dark schoolhouse, the shadows you hide from and scurry through. But then I saw fear in a place so odd it knocked all my preconceptions on their heads.

        "The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom." (Prov. 9:10)

        The first time I read this I pursed my lips, wrinkled my forehead, and pondered the thing 'til I had to move on, with only more confusion to show for my efforts. I would hear "the fear of The Lord" preached from the pulpit but not know what to do with it. I knew Jesus was loving; was God the Father of the Old Testament someone you wouldn't want to upset because you might piss Him off? Is that what this 'fear The Lord' thing was all about? That doesn't seem like my good God. For years I had no idea what to make of it.

        But I kept coming back to the idea that everything has its proper place. A son who has no respect for his mom or dad becomes the tyrant of a home. A daughter who cares only for pleasing her self quickly grows into quite an uncomely creature. We are the children of God. To grow up well, we need to fear displeasing Him. He has the right perspective on everything in life. He was, before time began. He spoke time and every universe into life. We see but a few short decades through our tiny scope of experience. He perceives all time through every perspective. His desires are the ones to be afraid of walking against. His delights shine fullest joy into the essence of everything they touch. Pleasing Him is the most beautiful object our minds could ever focus on. That sounds strange to our current culture's ears, I know, but remember how he's made us. His joy is to bring us joy, to raise all that exists to its complete maturity, and make us creatures capable of reigning over creation with Him, below Him, to serve and uplift all that is and is not yet.

        Fear with any object other than God only ever leads deathward. When we fear peoples’ thoughts and opinions we get caught up in a furious tornado that tosses us around until we are so disoriented we don't know which way's North. But when we are blown by the Wind of God, His Holy Spirit, we are floated to fresh lands, rich and nourishing. Fear of anything but God is a shackle that keeps us tied to failure. Jesus comes to set us free, free to fear one thing: walking our day without God's voice and presence, alone. It is here that we are free to run into our true identity in Him. It is here that we find life, here that we grow into adults who know light from dark, death from life, nourishment from slow poison. And it is here that we are free to live fully alive. Don't get me wrong, fear is not our focus, not a major player in our thought lives and days. What I'm describing is the only place fear can fill the purpose it was made for. It was not made for us to stress about what our friends think of us, or obsess about whether we’ll succeed in our career, or even necessarily to tremble in the face of danger. Fear has only one good place.

        I see you now Fear. You hold the wide boundary, the border between Love and Death. You are the darkness outside the light that keeps me looking bright full into the radiant face of Love. Keep your place, come not in me. I will fix my eyes on the one who loves--what's more, the one who is LOVE, who defines love, the only one who fully knows all that word contains. I will live in Love. Fear, know your place. Keep your border well.