The One/Two Punch

God, help us to see each other. Not with the broken and cloudy eyes of sin, but through the filter of grace, mercy and love. We are all broken in one way or another—all looking to be made whole—but let us lean into the brokenness instead of ignoring it or reasoning it away. Ignoring the condition doesn’t make it go away and the wishing or wanting of it to not be true doesn’t send it packing either.

What is our preoccupation with wanting to point fingers and cast judgment rather than to take the time to lean into the brokenness? To stare down the ugly? To admit and repent for the ugliness and brokenness rampant in us all?

It’s easy to make statements from behind a screen—both lofty or hateful. It’s easy to assume we know what’s really going on and how we got to where we are today. It’s easy to look at the situation and miss the person; to look at the crowd and miss the individual.

It’s laughable and ironic even that we’ve created more and more tools to connect us but still find lines that divide. And it’s not that we’ve found the lines, but we’ve illuminated them. We’ve chalk out the lines of separation and difference with a sense of pride all the while failing to realize that we are chalking out the outlines of our own bodies like shapes at a crime scene. And we do it with pride, with laughter and great satisfaction!

We’ve boxed ourselves in, erected walls to keep them out while failing to realize that it now traps us in. And if we’re not careful, if we don’t take the time—moments like these to search our own hearts—we’ll find ourselves gasping for air. We will find ourselves reaching out, but no one will be there to save us.  

But Christians, Christians don’t do that! We know the value of community, right? We know how to love our neighbors as ourselves? It’s what we’re known for. Right? Right.

When I was little, my parents taught me the principal of gradual growth and we did the very same thing with our kids as I suspect you did as well. You don’t jump right to solid foods, you start with milk and then move to more solid foods. A baby doesn’t know how to walk at first, so at first, they crawl, then gain their balance and toddle along.

It’s gradual. It’s where we get the word graduation from. When you graduate one thing you move to the next. And you can’t really move to the next until you pass the thing you are currently in. It’s getting one thing at a time—doing one thing first before moving to the second thing.

The Gospels, with such simplicity and clarity give us the one/two punch.

One. Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence. So, I’ll ask the question: have we passed the one? I think so. We love God and its likely because we realize what terrible state we were in when God found us. That naturally moves us to passion and prayer—relying on God to keep us and help us along the way. And when it comes to the display of our passion and the power of prayer, attending any church on any given Sunday and you’re likely to see that on display. Sure, we may not sing all the same songs (of course for reasons of accuracy and Scriptural authority we make sure we don’t accidentally say “sloppy wet” when we really mean “unforeseen kiss”).

Loving God, check. Passion and prayer. Check. Intelligence?

Oh yes, we love to talk about our own brand of religious intelligence! We know what Scripture is saying and have become specialists when it comes to doctrine, the do’s and don’ts of religion and it’s not that hard to extend or explain those components to any who are willing (or unwilling for that matter) to listen. Our intelligence of Scripture helps us separate who is deserving of God’s love and those living in a lifestyle that is dissimilar from our own, and it positions us to help those people—not by way of actual help, but more pointing out of all the things they are doing that are keeping them from God (identifying the problem but not actually giving them any help).

And bonus, we get to do it all on social platforms that the whole world gets insight to! Amazing! So, let me get this straight…I can take God’s love for me, personally, use it as a threshold of what the real love of God looks like, I can be passionate for Him, using prayer to show the depth of how much I love God and have been “set apart”, and then give the one/two punch of my intelligence in Scripture and communicate the ways God is speaking to me on a personal level and make that instantly universal. (Takes a deep breath) This. Is. Amazing.  

And while we are talking about bonus items, not only do we get to do this to the world—you know, those who are on the outs with Jesus right now—but I also get to do this with other Christians! I can let them know why following a pastor or preacher is so dangerous! That listening to a specific worship leader or band can really lower their theological potency of Scripture. I can engage in hours and hours and comb through post after post on topics I’m passionate about and feel obligated to address and straighten people out. Again—bonus—I get to do this on the world’s stage!

But what about the two? The second part, the second principal Jesus himself said was part of the greatest? 

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Hmm. Well, I mean, yah, we do that too. It’s more a side thing. You know, we’re busy doing all that other stuff that’s so important and wrapped up into the one thing.

Ok, ok, ok, enough of the sarcasm. What am I saying? If it’s not clear, let me take a moment to be a bit more overt.

Could it be that we’ve let things like racism, sexism and all the other isms in because we’ve gotten distracted and off track in the first principal? Of course, we know the correct response is to say how terrible and ridiculous and wrong things like this are (and we should), but is it just a band aid to a larger and more serious sickness? One that’s requiring more than a quick fix? A quick post on Instagram or Facebook?

And let me be first to say this: Of all the offenders, I am the worst. That’s how Paul felt, it’s how I feel even though I do my best every single day to not respond with bias or judgment. So, if like the Bible says there are spiritual principles in play, that we as Christians have been called to be the light and salt to the world around us, what is at the head flows down. Are we being the light and the salt in the one? Have we graduated to the two?

Have we perpetuated racism, sexism and judgementalism (and yes, I’m aware that’s not an actual word) because we’ve simply been doing it under another name? We are quick to extend bias to other Christians for all the reasons and examples I’ve given above, to spew hatred towards another lover of Christ because their brand is slightly different. Is it really that far-fetched to think we might be doing it when it comes to societal issues (or the issues we think we don’t have)?

And so, let’s where I’ll leave it and return to the prayer I started above.

God, help us but most importantly, help me. Help me to understand, comprehend and apprehend the value, wisdom and instruction of the one/two punch commandments that I think deserve more attention than I give them. Help me to see that if I did, it might take care of all the rest. It might naturally work out all the biases and isms that exist within me. God, that I would be both a lover of You and my neighbor regardless of color, religion or creed. Help me to see things for what they are and to be quick to do more than just say it’s not right. Help me to live the change I so desperately want to see—to what I think is the change that you so desperately want to see for all your kids.

Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Amen.

10 Question Challenge

Premise: Recently, I asked Londyn to write down any 10 Questions she could think of and I would write back to her with my answers. I did not give any specifications, I did not give her any prompts...just that simple bit of instruction. 10 questions I would answer. I was surprised and slightly overwhelmed by the depth and quality of her questions. Ok, no easy task, but here we go...

Question 9 | Why do we have names?

What a good question! And though this may be a little annoying, when I first read your question, it made me think of a couple of questions myself. And what are those questions? It’s not just, “Why do we have names,” in general, like for everyone on the planet, but why do you have the name you have and why is that important?

It’s one of those questions that you don’t think about that often—but your name is something you hear all the time. Think about it. We call your name when we need you to come inside. When we are looking for you. When we need your attention. Your name is one of those thing that isn’t really who you are (on the inside) but it’s the thing that identifies you.

Your name has a meaning, and if you can believe it, it wasn’t hard for me and your mom to agree on it. When mom found out she was pregnant, she had the thought, “I wonder what Matt would think of the name Londyn?” What’s crazy is that at the same time, I had the very same thought! So, when she asked, “What about the name Londyn,” I just smiled and agreed that it was meant to be!

It seems before you were even here, before you ever made your first little whimper and had trouble opening your right eye, your name was waiting for you. So that kind of explains how we decided on your first name. When we went to look it up (they have books that give you meanings to what names have become over many many years), Londyn meant, “Fortress (safe building) or Ruler (leader),” and from the first minute of your life, your personality (and this is the part of you that makes you, you) this was very clear.   

As for your middle name Mia, that too comes with some meaning. It means “mine” as well as the word “beloved,” which is just a fancy word for loved a whole lot! You add that to your first name and you get this short sentence: Londyn Mia = A Fortress (safe building) or Ruler (leader) that is beloved (loved a whole lot)! 

And even though that’s what the name means in some books, that’s just the starting point really. Think about it like a blank page that you’re going to draw on, a picture you’re going to create. You start off with an idea in your head, and as you start to put the marker to the page, you are taking the first steps to whatever it is that it’s going to become. Your name is just the beginning—it’s the start of who you are. It’s something you understand little by little. Something that takes on shape and color and looks more and more like a whole picture over time.

But what’s funny about it all, what’s so cool about a name, is this: just because someone knows your name, it doesn’t mean they know who you are. Who you are is the part inside of you that no one really sees. It’s your thoughts and dreams, your hopes and things that concern you. It’s the stuff that makes you smile. Even the stuff that makes you cry. The part of you that doesn’t like to watch movies that have sad parts, these are the colors and shapes that make you, you.

That means, you are the person who knows you the best. As you learn and figure out all those things inside of you, you can use that as a map of sorts. Friends around you may act one way or another. They may talk differently. They might use words that you either don’t use or know you shouldn’t use or act in a way different from you, but inside, you know who you are and you know what best for you to do.

Now, there’s one important thing about the sentences above. You are the best person in understanding who you are, but there is someone else who knows you even better than that. It’s not me, it’s not your mom. It’s not even your best friend in the whole world. Who is that person? Because you are smart, you probably already have some guesses, and likely, you even have said the answer out loud. The person who knows you best is God. Though I’m your dad and mom’s your mom, God is the one who created you and knows you best.

It’s kinda funny because just like you start a picture with a blank page and little by little you create something and put it on the page, God has created you and He also has a picture in mind. He can see everything about your life. Did you just have an itch on your head? Well guess what? God already knew you were going to have it. Did you slide on your skates and skin your knee? Want to know something neat? God, from the very beginning knew it was going to happen.

In those moments (and they will come) where you feel like you don’t know who you are, times where you feel like you don’t understand what’s happening around you, take comfort (basically just chill down) and say, “I’m no surprise to God, He’s got me, knows who I am, He knows my name and I’m good.”

And it’s not just with some of the silly stuff (skinning your knee or an itch on your head). Remember when you were outside playing and you felt left out? When you felt like you weren’t apart of the group? God saw that too. And though knowing God saw it or that it happened doesn’t make you feel any better in the moment, it is an awesome reminder that God see’s you and knows who you are and more importantly, what you will be one day. Maybe a singer, maybe an animal doctor…or maybe the leader of a great company, but whatever that is, God already knows.

If we didn’t have names, how would someone get your attention? If you didn’t have a name, how would someone call out to you? Over time, day by day, the reason you have a name is because it separates you out from the crowd. And as you start to add color to your drawing, as you add the different shapes to the page, you start to see for yourself who you are.

Here’s a little secret I’ll let you in on. Whenever I’m gone at work and I come home to see a table full of drawings and paintings, I can tell which ones are yours. Why? Because I see you in your pictures. There are ways you draw and color things that your brothers don’t. I see your personality (remember, all the stuff inside you that makes you you) and the things that you felt were important to get on the blank piece of paper. 

The same is true for your life. Your name comes with meaning from the beginning = A Fortress (safe building) or Ruler (leader) that is beloved (loved a whole lot). As you grow up, you start to discover all the cool things about you = what makes you laugh, cry, get excited, what’s important to you. Then, the best part, the most important part = nothing about you or your life is a surprise to God. And because of it, you can sit back, relax, and be confident in who you are.

Your name is Londyn Mia. Those are the words I use to get your attention, and as you continue to grow up, as you continue to figure out what your picture looks like, your life continues to grab my attention and affection. I already have an idea of who you are, but as your dad, I can’t wait to see what it really becomes.