I often forget that people are created in the image of God. I mean not mentally forget… but in my heart it often doesn’t register that I or anyone else have the image of God inside of them. Generally its because I think I have a pesimistic view of people. This view that pretty much wonders how people so horrible… people that cheat, lie, lust, rape, murder, destroy, can in anyway be in any relation to a perfect God. (Im working on it)
I love my job mostly because Im around people all day… and these people are created in Gods image… and So whether I believe it or not Im surrounded by Gods image. All the time. Tonight He made that glaringly obvious.
I was trying to bring some order to a clearance run full of school supplies. Clearance at Target is pretty rough because people rummage through it searching for something precious for a good price… Or maybe just pencils that will be lost by the end of the week. Either way this is how clearance works. In any case I dropped a notebook on the floor and before I could even think to pick it up this kid, maybe around the age of 10 or 11 was bent at my feet picking it up for me. He was a cute kid too. Really outgoing, confident, and intelligent for an 11 year old. What caught my eye the most though was how at a moments notice this kid was willing to stop instantly whatever he was doing to serve me… For whatever reason.
He reminded me so simply in that moment the call of Christ. To serve others, to love others, to put them above yourself. He reminded me that at a moments notice we need to be okay with putting our priorities aside for those around us. Those that need it. To serve… To be the hands and feet of a living, giving, loving God.
I often also forget that God isn’t concerned with how awful we are… He’s concerned with our potential and our capacity of doing good. Not to say that God doesn’t care when we sin against Him but when we realize we are a people meant to give, and serve, and love I think we’ll soon find we become less about ourselves, and less about our sin, and more about the glory of God. His love, His mercy, and how much He is giving us.
Its very humbling to see someone serving you on their knees. In that moment it also made me think of Jesus washing His disciples feet. Jesus was giving them an example of service as did this kid show me the very same example.
I leave you with this: John 13:12-17
“When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”
Once upon a time many moons ago before the age of digital, I can carry thousands of songs within the tiny confides of my pockets music, there were things called CD’s. Round Discs, maybe 4 or so inches in diameter that you had to carry around in bulky cases. Well, this day many moons ago all of mine got stolen. ALL OF THEM! Every music piece I had ever owned… Gone. I brought them to a church gym while me and a few friends played hoops. Me being absent minded forgot the disks at the church and on multiple occassions went back to try and recover the music to my ears with no success.
For the last year and a half of my life I have been trying to recover all of my lost art while still maintaining a current knowledge of the ever changing, growing, music industry. Its hard looking back on all those glorious tunes gone, especially knowing just a few months later I was going to have this thing called an Ipod. If your like me… You realize the older music becomes, the more you appreciate it. I don’t mean old by over played on the radio. I mean aged gems that you find on bottom tracks of older albums…
Anyway, Today my sweet loving girlfriend bought me Switchoot’s “Nothing is Sound” album as an early birthday present. This CD which most of Switchfoot nation didn’t really appreciate is probably the album I enjoy most of all. One because I love the sound and the story of the songs and two because it brings me back to my life when the album was first released.
Today has been a bit of redemption as I’ve sat and listened to these beloved tracks over again. It has been a bit of me that has been brought back. It has brought me back to the days of when… and it has brought the days of when back to me. Switchfoot wrote a song on the album titled “The Shadow Proves The Sunshine” Today the shadow has proved the sunshine at least in my heart and my ears… if only a little bit.
Hopefully I can get this album on my ipod before it gets stolen.
Thanks Love.
Does anyone else find leadership funny? I mean we put people in charge of things… Or make people heads of things for what reason? Because their right? Because they are better at it? Because they care and have a drive to succeed? Why do we put people in charge… Really? Its funny to me, because the more I think about it the less clear my answer has become.
I was sitting in a leadership meeting recently in which someone got their panties in a bunch because they felt their leadership was being questioned. I thought to myself isnt that the point?
The point of leaders is to challenge, question, and test everything. Leadership is a curious thing for curious people. Its not for people that want to be right or people that want to hear “yes” all the time. Its not for people that do not want to be on a direct line for turmoil and uncertainty. Leaders are people that cant stand for the status quo. People that will give their lives for what they believe to be true and nothing short of that. Leaders are people that are not afraid to be wrong because in their mind what their fighting for is the only way to be right. The funny thing is no leader is ever right all the time… (aside from Jesus) Which is why if leadership is never questioned, if its never challenged, if its never pushed to another level, it will never lead anyone anywhere.
If you get defensive about your leadeship being questioned… Maybe you should ask yourself if your really searching for the truth or better yet ask yourself if your even leading anything to begin with.
“Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world
Free us from bondage to sin and death
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world
Hear our prayers prince of peace
For the victims of war
Have mercy
Women, men, and children
Have mercy
The maimed and the crippled
Have mercy
The abandoned and the homeless
Have mercy
The imprisoned and the tortured
Have mercy
The widowed and the orphaned
Have mercy
The bleeding and the dying
Have mercy
The weary and the desperate
Have mercy
The lost and the forsaken
Have mercy
Oh God have mercy on us sinners
Forgive us for we know not what we do
For our scorched and blackened earth
Forgive us
For the scandal of billions wasted in war
Forgive us
For our arms makers and our arms dealers
Forgive us
For our Caesars and our Herods
Forgive us
For the violence that is rooted in our own hearts
Forgive us
For the times that we turn others into enemies
Forgive us
Deliver us oh God
Turn our feet to the way of peace
and Hear our prayer, grant us peace
From the arrogance of power
Deliver us
From the myth of redemptive violence
Deliver us
From the tyranny of greed
Deliver us
From the ugliness of racism
Deliver us
From the cancer of hatred
Deliver us
From the seduction of wealth
Deliver us
From the addiction of control
Deliver us
From the idolatry of nationalism
Deliver us
From the paralysis of cynicism
Deliver us
From the violence of apathy
Deliver us
From the ghettos of poverty
Deliver us
From the ghettos of wealth
Deliver us
From the lack of imagination
Deliver us
Deliver us oh God
Turn our feet to the way of peace
We will not conform to the patterns of this world
Let us be transformed by the renewing of our minds
With the help of God’s grace
Let us resist evil wherever we find it
With the waging of war
We will not comply
With the legalization of murder
We will not comply
With the slaughter of innocents
We will not comply
With laws that betray human life
We will not comply
With the destruction of community
We will not comply
With the pointing finger and malicious talk
We will not comply
With the idea that happiness must be purchased
We will not comply
With the ravaging of the earth
We will not comply
With principalities and powers that oppress
We will not comply
With the destructions of peoples
We will not comply
With the raping of women
We will not comply
With governments that kill
We will not comply
With the theology of empire
We will not comply
With the business of militarism
We will not comply
With the hording of riches
We will not comply
With the dissemination of fear
We will not comply
But today we pledge our ultimate allegiance to the Kingdom of God
We pledge allegiance
To the peace that is not like Rome’s
We pledge allegiance
To the gospel of enemy love
We pledge allegiance
To the kingdom of the poor and the broken
We pledge allegiance
To the King who loves His enemies so much he died for them
We pledge allegiance
To the least of these with whom Christ dwells
We pledge allegiance
To the transnational church that transcends artificial borders of nations
We pledge allegiance
To the refugee of Nazareth
We pledge allegiance
To the homeless rabbi who had no place to lay his head
We pledge allegiance
To the cross rather than the sword
We pledge allegiance
To the banner of love above any flag
We pledge allegiance
To the one who rules with a towel rather than an iron fist
We pledge allegiance
To the one who rides a donkey rather than a war horse
We pledge allegiance
To the revolution that sets both oppressed and oppressors free
We pledge allegiance
To the way that leads to life
We pledge allegiance
To the slaughtered lamb
We pledge allegiance
And we together proclaim His praises from the margins of the empire to the centers of wealth and power: Long live the Slaughtered Lamb” — From fellow followers of The Way.
