Liberty and Justice for All

 

Today marks two very different things in our country, but one is likely to be talked about more than the other. Most people will see the inauguration of the next president as far more important than the remembrance of a life given in service to the principle of equal rights for all. But the fight for proper treatment of all God’s creatures should always take precedence for Christians over the rise to power of any individual human being.

This past week I watched the movie “Cabrini”, which tells the story of Francesca Cabrini, a Catholic nun who fought for services and the rights of Italian immigrants in America and other poor people around the world between 1880 and 1917. She helped thousands of immigrants and established 67 institutions like schools, hospitals, and orphanages worldwide. With Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the horizon, I couldn’t help but think about how little has changed between the beginning of the 20^th century and today.

More than forty years after Mother Cabrini’s death, MLK Jr. was fighting terrific prejudice and opposition regarding civil rights for black Americans that mirrored the battle Cabrini had fought for Italian immigrants. And nearly sixty years after King lost his life, we are still struggling to treat every human being in America with equal respect. Programs and services are not the problem; human nature is.

Not surprisingly, Jesus was faced with the same kinds of issues in his day – the powers that be doing everything they could to increase their power while failing to treat marginalized people with the God-given respect they deserve. There’s something about our sin nature that is drawn to power and resists caring about other people above ourselves.

But the Bible makes it clear that all people are created in the image of God, and this includes every person regardless of race, color, economic status, or any other distinction. Each person exists because God thought they mattered; and God loved each of us so much that he was willing to send his Son to die for us in order to restore our relationship with him. No one is excluded. How God’s heart must break to see how little regard we humans sometimes have for those he loves.

So as we celebrate another Martin Luther King Jr. Day today and another Sanctity of Human Life month (January), let’s not get caught up in the rise of another human to a powerful position with the presidential inauguration also happening today. As our country’s founding document stated, we are all equal; and God loves each of us equally. And let’s make sure that, as Christians, we are modeling God’s love to ALL people and truly loving our neighbors as ourselves.

A Faithful Witness

 

I didn’t vote for Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election. As a naive 18-year-old non-political first-time voter, I wasn’t thrilled with either candidate. So I wrote-in the name of someone else who I thought would do better. Of course, the result was a wasted vote.

I know there are mixed feelings about Jimmy Carter’s presidency, and I am still a non-political person who hasn’t studied the history enough to comment on that. But there is one thing that has stuck out to me during the two weeks since his passing: both political foes/rivals as well as loved ones and friends all seem to agree that Jimmy Carter was a man of integrity – the same person in private settings as he was in public ones.

As I watched his funeral service last week, I heard the same adjectives describing Carter over and over again from both Republicans and Democrats alike. Words like humble, honest, kind, tenderhearted, principled, disciplined, and frugal. Everyone seemed to agree that he was a man of character with a strong work ethic and an unwavering faith who lived a life of service to others. Jimmy Carter treated all people with respect regardless of their color or station in life, and he put people over politics and chose to love his neighbor as himself. He stood for truth, peace, and justice; and he fought for both human rights and civil rights long after his presidency ended.

We know that Carter’s real relationship with God guided his life completely, but he seemed to excel at allowing faith to direct everything he said and did. As a former President of the United States, he chose to return to the small town of his origin and put down deep roots with the people who lived there. He seemed to have no problem living most of his life in a county where a large percentage of the residents belonged to a different race and social class than him.

These glimpses into who Jimmy Carter was make me stop and think. How many of us will be able to have the same kinds of things said about us when we leave this world? How many of us are exactly the same in private as we are in public? How closely do I follow in Jesus’ steps, placing people and relationships above any other agenda I might have? I’m pretty sure Jimmy Carter heard “Well done, good and faithful servant” when he entered his heavenly home, but what about the rest of us?

Food for thought, but don’t forget that we don’t have to succeed on our own. Praise God for his presence with us and that he helps us to live in ways that bring him glory. And thank you, Jimmy Carter, for your selfless example for us all.

 

The Music of Christmas

My last post walked through several ideas for maximizing the potential to keep our focus on the true meaning of Christmas in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. But there was one element that wasn’t addressed in that post because, at least for me, it stands alone and therefore needs to have its own post. And that’s the music of Christmas.

Last week I attended a Women’s Christmas Dinner at our church and sat at a table with a couple people I knew and a few I didn’t. One thirty-something woman proudly announced that Christmas music was only played at their house from about noon on Christmas Eve until about noon on Christmas Day. After I picked myself up off the floor (metaphorically speaking), I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for what she and her family were missing throughout the season.

You see, music has always been a welcome guest and held a special place in our home; and so it has been natural for Christmas music to also be held in high honor. This might be too much for some people, but the first Christmas music of the season begins over two months ahead of December 25^th for me – probably a holdover from years in worship ministry where practice and preparation of music for the season had to begin long before the actual performance/presentation dates.

Why this great love affair with Christmas music? There are several reasons:

► Christmas music puts me in a good mood because it reminds me of good memories from my past and the cozy feeling that accompanies those memories. Music can bring generations together in ways that nothing else can.

► The Christmas music I listen to has been carefully selected and honed over 40+ years of gathering and includes nearly a hundred CDs, about a dozen LPs, and even a few cassette tapes (yes, I still have a stereo that plays all three types!). In order to even get through all of them once a season, I have to start playing Christmas music pretty early in the Fall!

► But here’s the catch: while I enjoy several popular Christmas songs, most of the albums I listen to are by Christian artists and therefore focus my attention on the true meaning of Christmas and the One who came as a baby to bring us hope, peace, and joy. Music can touch our souls in ways that nothing else can, and Christmas music with lyrics about our Savior and King helps to keep my soul tuned into what really matters during an otherwise busy and stressful season.

► Many of the lyrics in traditional Christmas carols and many contemporary Christian Christmas songs remind us of who God is and what he has done for us, and this can bring comfort to us if our lives or the world around us don’t seem to be working very well. Words like:

“The wrong shall fail, the right prevail

With peace on earth, goodwill to men.”

(from “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”)

 

“God is with us, God is for us, God is in us”

(from “The Promise” by Michael W. Smith & Ryan Smith)

 

“Immanuel, our God is with us

And if God is with us, who can be against us?

Our God is with us, Immanuel”

(from “Immanuel” by Michael Card)

Space does not allow me to list them all, but there are dozens more meaningful lines. These and lyrics like them bring me to my knees in worship of my God and remind me that he is still sovereign and intimately involved in both my life and the world around me. They keep me from fretting over things that are stressful and provide a vehicle for finding true peace in the setting of beautiful music.

I hope you will choose to turn most of your attention to the Reason for the Season and that you will allow music to become an important part of your journey to true peace and joy this Christmas season, drawing you closer to the Savior who came as a baby for all of us.

Purposeful Christmas-ing

You’ve heard me say it before: I love Christmas! But as I was getting out my decorations this weekend and starting to plan for the upcoming season, I was once again reminded of how easy it is to get off track and become absorbed with the trappings of Christmas instead of the true meaning of Christmas. And I remembered a post on this blog from many years ago about trying to find the balance and infusing the trimmings and activities of Christmas with real purpose beyond our enjoyment. I hope you won’t mind a replay of portions of that post in order to start our December with some meaningful thoughts. Here are some suggestions I gave before to guide our thinking:

1) Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).  Each time we look at the beautiful Christmas lights, we can remind ourselves about the True Light and the difference his light makes in the world.

2) What about the special foods and the baking?  My ability to enjoy these once-a-year delicacies should lead me to praise God, “who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17), for his constant provision for me.  Too often we overlook God’s role in providing for all of our needs, but Christmas can be a time to shift our focus in this area.

3) In 1 Thessalonians 5:19, we are told not to “put out the Spirit’s fire”.  Every time we light a fire in the fireplace this Christmas season, we can remind ourselves of the gift of the Holy Spirit and the flames that he fans in our lives to do what he calls us to do for the kingdom of God.  I am so thankful for his work in my life as comforter, counselor, and guide (see John 16); and I want to remember that when I’m enjoying a fire in my fireplace.

4) It is easy for gift-giving to get out of hand and fail to be God-honoring.  There are probably many different practical approaches to avoiding this (limiting our spending, choosing gifts that are edifying, focusing on giving rather than receiving, etc.).  But the most important thing we can do is to use the giving and receiving of presents as a tool to remember God’s lavish giving of blessings to us – and to cultivate hearts that are truly thankful beyond this season.

5) I enjoy receiving Christmas cards and letters from those I don’t otherwise see or hear from often.  This year, as the cards arrive, I want to try and focus on the gift of God’s constant messages to me – through his Word as well as the Spirit’s promptings in my life.  Whether we keep in touch with those we know here on earth, our God is always “keeping in touch” with us if we will just listen.

6) And the Christmas tree should remind us of another tree – the one God willingly created and nourished in order to provide a means for the sacrifice of his own Son for our redemption.  Imagine how our focus would change if we saw the cross every time we looked at our Christmas trees!

7) Since my adult children have not always lived in close proximity to me, spending time with family is an especially important part of this time of the year for me.  But I don’t want to glorify my earthly family over my heavenly Father.  We can choose to enjoy our families in the way God intended – by remembering that they are an earthly picture of the heavenly principle of God’s church and the broader family of believers that we belong to.

8) And as we decorate our homes with beautiful Christmas things, we can remember the importance of decorating our own lives on a daily basis with the things that God considers beautiful:  

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”  (Colossians 3:12-14)

This year, I want to take every opportunity that this wonderful season affords to focus my heart in the right direction.  I’ll always love Christmas, but I’m hoping to become more purposeful about my reasons.