The Image of God in the Mirror

Don’t you just hate people that go on and on about their grandkids?  Or even worse, they make you scroll through their photo gallery while narrating what little Johnny was doing when this picture was taken.

People like that drive me crazy! 

Oh yea… I just remembered… sorry… I am one.

This has been a tough week for more reasons than you want to hear about.  When I have a week like this, one of the most therapeutic things I can do is look into the face of a child.  (And honestly, my grandson’s faces work better than yours.  Again… sorry.)

In the book of Genesis we read the ancient Israelite account of the creation of the world and everything in it.  The Spirit of God “moved” over the face of the waters.  The word translated “moved” means “to brood, to grieve.”  I don’t know; maybe it's not too far off to think of God grieving over primordial emptiness.

So God begins to speak and creation begins to unfold.  It’s a beautiful image, don’t you think?  God, the “uncaused first cause,” finds joy in creating day and night, sky and sea, land and vegetation; the sun, the moon and the stars.  And then wildlife.  God delights in filling the newly created sky with birds and the sea with fish.  And on recently exposed land, cattle and creeping things appear.

And then God creates human beings.  The writer says that God created them “in his image. In the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)  In chapter two we listen in on a more poetic version; a word picture of God scooping up dirt, forming the first human being and then breathing into his nostrils the breath of life.  “And the man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7)

Imagine an old Jewish grandfather sitting by the fire at twilight telling his wide eyed grandson the story of a God who bends, who stoops, who kneels down to form the first human.  Imagine that grandfather cupping the face of that grandson in his old calloused hands and telling him, “You were created in the image of God.”  Pretty heady stuff, don’t you think?

Imagine how that little grandson would feel about himself.  To know that he bears the image – that he is an icon – of God.  And that old grandfather looks into that little beaming face and sees mirrored in that face, the face of God. 

Here’s the deal.  However imperfect, however broken, however sinful you and I are; we carry the image of God.  The pips, the pushers and the prostitutes; the thieves, the thugs and the theologians; Washington senators, Wall Street executives and soccer moms; whoever you are, whatever you have done or failed to do, no matter how much you feel like a sinner or a saint; central to the message of the sacred Scriptures is that every human being ever conceived bears the image of his or her creator!

You may think of yourself as a true naturalist (a person who can’t embrace the idea of an external cause in the process of creation).  And if so, I respect that.  It’s hard, I know to imagine a God who could and would create the universe and everything in it.  It’s hard, I know to imagine that same God creating and caring about every human being that lives on one tiny planet in that vast universe.  It is even harder to think that you are included in that list of human beings and it is even harder to believe that in your very being, you carry around the image of that creator.

Yet, if I had to take a guess I would guess that there is also something deep inside you that intuitively knows, it is actually true.  When you look in the mirror, however blemished, you see the image of God.  Maybe the image comes into clearer focus when you look into the face of a child.    

I’ve got to be honest with you.  After the week I’ve had I need to be like that old Jewish grandfather.  I need to take the face of one of my grandsons into my hands.  I need to look deep into those beautiful blue eyes and once again be reminded that there is a God in heaven. 

Learning from Jesus and GCB

ABC is airing a new show called GCB.  It is based on a book by Kim Gatlin entitled Good Christian B…… (I will refrain from finishing the last word but I’ll give you a hint – it ain’t “Belles.”)

Although at times the content can cause Christ followers to cringe, I think the show can also help us to reflect, to think, maybe even grow a little. 

The show is set in Dallas, Texas; the buckle of the Bible belt.  While some of the characters are portrayed as faithful – even fanatical – church goers, it is really clear that they live up to the “B” in the audacious title. 

Let me see if I can sum it up succinctly so that you will have a fairly clear picture, just in case you haven’t tuned in.  The GCB’s are hypocritical and judgmental.  They are able to slander and gossip and manipulate and condemn, all while shrouding their malicious intent is the guise of being “concerned Christians.”  They are greedy, ambitious, materialistic and shallow.  They use their church connections to further their business ambitions.  They seem uniquely gifted at rationalizing their own sin while pointing out the sins of others.  Sound familiar?

Except there is one character, a young mother of two who has to move back home to Dallas after her ponzi scheming husband dies in a car accident caused by frolicking with his mistress while behind the wheel.  This young woman, Amanda Vaughn (played by Leslie Bibb), is significantly different from the other suburbanite church goers.  Let me give you a couple quick examples.

First, unlike her fellow Christians, Amanda is ruthlessly honest with herself about her own sin.  She is a recovering alcoholic who works as a waitress at a “Hooters” type restaurant – owned, incidentally, by a corporation whose major stock holder is Cricket Caruth-Reily, one of the members of the church.  Cricket condemns Amanda for her choice of employer, but is totally oblivious to her own culpability as the owner.  It’s hilarious!

But before I laugh too much maybe I should reflect on how often I’m more like Cricket than Amanda.  If I’m honest I have to admit that I possess the uncanny ability to look past the log in my own eye in order to point out the speck of saw dust in someone else’s.  I can gossip about people who gossip, hate the haters, judge the judgmental and reign down righteous indignation on the self-righteous.  Maybe if we’re honest we all have to admit that we all have a little Cricket in us. 

Secondly, (and I promise I’m going to wrap this up in a minute – a typical preachery comment) while it is very apparent that almost every character believes in Jesus, it is equally apparent that Amanda is different.  She not only believes in Jesus, she believes Jesus.

Amanda believes that what Jesus said is actually true!

She believes, for example, the teachings of Jesus recorded in Matthew chapters five through seven; the Sermon on the Mount.  She believes that the poor in Spirit – those who are plagued by a sense of their own brokenness, the spiritual losers, the ones who don’t measure up, who fail again and again – are blessed.  Jesus said that “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  She can be honest about her own sin because, unlike her friends, she believes what Jesus said about sinners; we are included. 

Here’s the pertinent question; do I actually believe Jesus?  Do I believe that what he said is true?

I could list a lot more examples but it would be too painful.  I could talk about what Jesus said about the use of violence, generosity, loving my enemies and hoarding money.  But I don’t think I can handle it. 

Maybe, just maybe, if you’re honest with yourself, you can’t handle it either.  At the risk of switching media analogies, maybe you and I epitomize what Col. Nathan R. Jessup (Jack Nicholson) said about Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) in the film A Few Good Men; we “can’t handle the truth!”

Maybe the next time we’re watching GCB or reading the Sermon on the Mount we can open up our hearts to a little more truth.  Maybe we can even be ruthlessly honest with ourselves.

Finding Closure after Amendment One

A couple weeks ago I wrote a blog about the Marriage Amendment.  I didn’t really expect to generate the volume of feedback that I received.  I was just trying to give words to a different perspective that I thought some others might share.

Since then many of you have responded through comments on the blog or emails.  This week I felt like I needed to find some closure (for me and you).

Some of you have been very supportive.  It always helps, I think, when you express a particular perspective and others offer some affirmation.  Thank you for that! 

Some of you have offered a different perspective with the obvious intention of bringing something positive to the conversation.  I am extremely grateful for your contribution as well.  It helps me when fellow Christ followers shine light from a different angle.

Some of you seem to think that I’m a false prophet plunging head first into destruction and taking others with me. As bitter as your words taste to me, I’m sure your intentions are good (sort of like when my mother – or my wife – force me to drink nasty tasting medicine).

In some way, I think every comment has been helpful, but it is surprising how intense our discussions can sometimes become. 

Maybe we should not be surprised.  After all, Jesus became extremely intense when he entered the Temple in Jerusalem.  He pretty much – as my parents would say – “pitched a fit.”  He overturned tables, made a whip and drove people out, publically castigated prominent religious leaders for altering the original purpose of his Father’s house.

To the extent that I have been that kind of religious leader I apologize. 

Whatever your perspective on Amendment One was, my prayer is that all the followers of Jesus in our community can come together to share his love with human beings who desperately need it.

Blessings!  

Life Lessons from…. Chipper Jones and… my Dad!

Last night, in the bottom of the 11^th inning, Chipper Jones hit a walk off home run off of Brian Sanches, leading the Braves to a 15-13 win against the Phillies.  Just another day at the office for Chipper!

I remember the first and only time I saw Chipper Jones play in person.  I knew a guy who knew a guy who had VIP seats right on the third base line in the old Fulton County Stadium.  I could have had a conversation with Chipper while he played his usual third base position.  (Of course, that would have been extremely distracting.  It may have bothered Chipper too.)

That night I sat beside my dad and watched the Braves beat the Marlins with the help of a grand slam off the bat of… you guessed it… Chipper Jones.  It was a truly great experience. 

This morning at 6:30, my father called me to ask if I saw Chipper hit the walk off homer last night.  I had not, so he gave me all the details as best he could remember them.  He’s 82 now and sometimes the score gets changed or the player’s names get mixed up.  Sometimes he can’t remember who hit the winning run or who pitched the last inning.  Yea, sometimes he gets the players and the plays mixed up some… except when the player is Chipper.  He always knows when it was Chipper who made the play – whether it was at the plate or in the field. 

Now, you may be wondering why I’m going on about Chipper Jones and my dad.  Well for one thing, I definitely didn’t want to write about Amendment One again this week. 

But the biggest reason is because, sitting on my exercise bike this morning at 6:30, I started thinking about some things.  I started thinking about some ways my father and Chipper are a lot alike (besides the fact that they are both really old).  And here’s a couple observations.

Chipper Jones has been playing for the Braves for nearly 20 years.  In 1999 he won the Most Valuable Player Award.  He is the only switch hitter in MLB history with a .300 plus career batting average. 

Here’s another observation.  The Atlanta Braves have never been known as the highest salaried team in the league.  (The Yankees hold that dubious distinction.)  The point I’m making is that years ago Chipper could have made a move that would have made him more money.  I haven’t spoken with him about it, but the only reason I can come up with is that, for Chipper, there are some things more important than money.

For my dad and Chipper there are some things more important than money – like family, friends, faithfulness to a team. 

I’m a pastor, so I get paid to think about things like this.  Plus I get to talk to people who are nearing the end of their journeys in this world.  And what I’ve discovered is that the happiest people are the people who learn that there is more, so much more, to life than career and bank accounts and toys and stuff.  I know, I know, you’re probably thinking that Chipper Jones is definitely not hurting for money and you are, I’m sure, right.

Yet, I know that my dad has enjoyed many baseball games a whole lot more because Chipper Jones knows how to stick with his team. 

Oh, and by the way, now as a mid-life male, I know that my life has been made much richer, much fuller, much more blessed because my father knew how to stick with his team. 

That’s the legacy I want to pass on to my children and grand children.