Life As I Live It… » 2008

Archive for December, 2008

Our Saviour Is Born

Thursday, December 25th, 2008

Merry Christmas! I pray that this entry finds you safe in the care of the God who's birth we celebrate. I can say without a doubt that Janna and I definitely are. The year that we've lived since last Christmas has been filled with opportunities to see Him at his best. There are obviously too many stories to even touch the surface here, but I did want to share one major blessing that has changed our lives forever. In the spring of this year I accepted a job with the Salvation Army, and that decision has brought about an indescribable blessing in our life together. With the 'job' has come the lives of many who struggle to find meaning, purpose, freedom… the list is endless. These lives have deeply touched ours, and know find no exagerration when I say we will never be the same.

I've learned so much from these people, and from my daily interaction with them. I've learned that very little seperates our lives, and sometimes am awe struck by how close our realities really are. God has shown me a piece of his heart as I've spent time with those who have little, but often give generously, love without pretense, and show genuine passion for justice in a world filled with injustice. I know count many my friend who were only months ago hidden to me. They teach me daily what it looks like to live honestly even when the honesty of their lives may discust even themselves. I've seen too the 'wages of sin' and have felt the sorrow of seperation from God like I've never seen it. Lonliness, regection, faiilure, shame, drunkeness… the tip of the iceberg where the 'desires of our sinful nature' are realised. (Galatians 5.16ff)

There is one thing I've head God say louder than any other this year. It is simply but profoundly this – "We need a Saviour". The reality of this need grips me even as I write this. I can help but think of those I just spent time with at a community Christmas dinner. Men lost in drunkness. Women overwhelmed with sorrow on a day that should be filled with praise. People who often know no hope. The reality of Jesus birth, the coming of a saviour! I am filled with worship and moved to prayer for those who don't know Him. Father, speak… show your face… touch hearts… that they would come to see You, and join in the truest song of Christmas- Christ, our Saviour is born.

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Silent Night by Joseph Mohr 1816 – Preformed By Chad & Janna Block

17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
      for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
   He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
      that the blind will see,
   that the oppressed will be set free,
      19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

Luke 4:7-21 (Isaiah 61)

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The ‘Ministry of Presence’

Monday, December 15th, 2008

Lately I've been finding myself deep inside a tension between caring and becoming overwhelmed. I have the deep privillage of being invited into peoples lives daily. I sit with multiple people everyday and listen to their stories, share laughs, hugs, tears, etc. I get to pray, encourage, give to, and receive from people countless times every week. It really is an incredible blessing to have been given the life God has given me. That said, I often become quite overwhelmed by life. The world is with out question in a bad way, and I'm consistently surrounded by people who have lost all hope.

It's in these moments of overwhelming and desperate need for peace, rest, guidence, wisdom, etc… that God has proved to me His faithfulness time and again. A couple weeks ago I was feeling particularly defeated, and God encouraged me during a chat with a buddy. He, like me, spends his days surrounded by marginalized people. He was able to speak such encouragment and life into me when I so badly needed just that. We talked about how often we wonder if what we do is enough, when God reminded him of something he'd read. The following was written by Henri Nouwen, and God spoke to me deeply through these words:

“More and more, the desire grows in me to simply walk around, greet people, enter into homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice the simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be a part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets.

It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them but truly love them.”

[Henri Nouwen in Gracias! Published in 1983, pg. 147-148]

At the end of last week I started to feel very heavy again, because while I believe Henri's words completely, I very quickly loose sight of their simple truth. Is it really enough to just 'be' with the broken, lost, tired, lonely, afraid, abandoned, abused, rejected… ? This question isn't new to me, but neither is the answer. God very clearly spoke to me about a year and half ago. I had just asked the same question (while working at Starbucks) and His answer was – "Share life with others and love them as you do. Always remain true to who you are in Me." As I read Henri's words again today I hear the voice of God saying: "Yes, it's enough, because I am in you, and I AM enough."

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