Where Is That Burden Coming From?

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” - Matthew 11:28 - 30

I read this passage earlier this week.  As I pondered it, I could not help but think of recent conversations I've had with friends who are feeling overwhelmed by the demands of life.  When I read a passage like this, it seems that it was never Jesus' call for His followers to feel overwhelmed in this way.  If our burden feels heavy, it may not have been placed there by God.  Therefore, I cannot help but wonder where this overwhelmed feeling comes from.

There is no denying that real challenges and real pain exist in in life.  In the past few years, I have had friends who I greatly respect experience some very real pain in life.  As I've watched them navigate through the grief and pain, though, I've seen a depth of character and peace emerge that often goes beyond my scope to understand.  Still, in these situations the burden itself does not come from God.  Instead, it may come directly from Satan or may simply be the byproduct of living in a world that has fallen from the greatness God has designed for it.  God may allow the difficult situation, while also providing the strength to carry the burden.

Still, there are other times when day-to-day expectations seem to overwhelm us.  There are things each of us is responsible for, but I often wonder if we place more expectations on ourselves than God ever has.  These may be the heavier burdens that Jesus invites us to lay aside as we take on His lighter yoke.

I know when I have felt the greatest amount of stress in my life, often it is because of what I think others are expecting of me.  These expectations may only exist in our minds, though.  Those are the times we need to ask the Spirit to help us discern what is real and what are the imaginary burdens we have placed on ourselves.  If another person's expectations are real, we need to bring them to God and ask if the expectations are from Him.  If not, we must trust Him to watch over us as we ignore the expectations of others for the sake of His call.  If they are from Him, we must trust Him to provide everything we need to bear the burden.

Let us seek the light yoke that comes from God.

The Significance of "How" over "What"

This weekend I've been pondering the significance of how we live our lives over what we do for a living.

This past Thursday there was a shooting at a business in Minneapolis.  The next day I learned that one of the victims was a family friend during my teen years in Green Bay, Keith Basinski.  Keith and I were part of the same church in Green Bay.  He had graduated high school and gone to college six years before me.  Like many in our denomination, we attended the same college.  When he started college many of us younger members of the youth group looked up to him and his peers for their decision to attend North Central Bible College.  Since Keith was no longer at NCBC when I enrolled and we were in different social circles during our years in the Twin Cities, I had very little interaction with him after high school.  Seeing his name in the news caused me to take some time to learn what he had done for all these years.

Though our alma mater specialized in training people for vocational ministry at the time, Keith pursued a different career after college and worked for UPS.  He was driving the route he had worked for many years on the day he visited Accent Signage Systems that final time.  Some who see ministry as a profession only may not understand a person who trained for vocational ministry driving a UPS truck for 29 years.  As I read the news article comments of many of his regular customers, though, I can't help but think he demonstrated Christ to many of the people he interacted with on a daily basis.  As they learn more about the man who delivered their  packages with a smile, they may understand more of why he was the person he was.

Here are just a few examples of comments customers made:

"I am so shocked. I was one of the last people to talk to Keith before this happened. I work at Hirshfield's. Keith has been our driver most of the 26 years I have worked there. I would see him twice a day, deliveries in the morning and pick ups in the afternoon. Many days we are shipping enough that it take 5-10 minutes to help load his truck and we would talk about our kids, vacations, etc. Our birthdays were on day apart. Keith picked up Thursday's load about four or just a little latter. I had Friday off and we wished each our a good weekend. Then this happened. Just makes no sense at all. He was a great person. Everything everyone else said about him is true. He wasn't just my UPS driver, he was a friend. I will remember him forever. May he rest in peace."

 

"Keith was a great man... so kind to us on his route.... he delivered to my home and shop since I moved here in 83, he enjoyed seeing the projects being built at Further Performance and looking in on some of my projects, then zoom, out the door to another delivery ... he would wave when I saw him driving about town.. keep an eye on my house, and was truly a dear member of our Bryn Mawr neighborhood. Its got to be rough for his family ...and I send my condolences ...the metro lost a very good man."

 

"We are one of the businesses on Keith's route. He has been our driver since the day we opened 8 and a half years ago. He was always such a kind person and a cheerleader for the business. He was a hero in one of our greatest crises. I'm devastated to hear he was one of the shooting victims and will always remember him specially. My heart and prayers go out to his daughter and family."

 

"I am so very sad. Keith has been our UPS delivery driver for many years in Bryn Mawr. Keith always took time to talk and joke around with us every week when he delivered books to us from Amazon. His energy was amazing. He always jumped out of his truck smiling, with a sparkle in his eye. My children called him the "Nice UPS Guy" and whenever they saw a brown UPS truck on the street, they would want to wave to Keith. He will be greatly missed. Our prayers go out to his family and loved ones."

I will be sub teaching a business class at our local high school tomorrow.  I may take some of these comments with me for the students to show that how you do your job says more about you than what you do for a living.  Another way that the influence of Keith will go on.

 

The Power of "Hide..."

Like most people, my Facebook news feed has been overtaken by links to political blogs and statements regarding this upcoming election.  Many contain strong statements or "proofs" of why one candidate or the other is "bad for America" or "someone a follower of Jesus would never vote for." (I have both Republicans and Democrats as friends.) 

This has become a topic of conversation with friends who share similar faith values as me.  We all share a concern that some friends who profess faith have shared items that can be a little over the top, even when we agree with the person about which candidate to vote for.  The concern is always how to respond and / or communicate without alienating people with deep feelings that we are trying to introduce to Jesus.  I've even shared a couple of blogs and photos encouraging people to think twice before posting.  They usually receive a positive response from friends who cover the broad spectrum of political discussion in our country.

Though it is appropriate to caution friends to think twice about how what they post will affect those we know who have not yet met Jesus, there is a second attitude we should consider in our Facebook conduct during this election cycle: how we choose to read something.  Some people have considered unfriending offenders or just avoiding Facebook and Twitter all together.  I don't know if I can go quite that far.  I usually want to stay in contact with those people.  If they happen to post something more personal, I want to celebrate the joyous events and pray for them in the times of need.

I'm finding the "Hide..." feature to be a great tool these days.  If a friends post something that I find over the top, I can simply hide that post or perhaps all posts linked from the source pages that feed these attitudes.  This allows me to still love my friend without letting a particular offense get in the way. 

That really is the nature of love within the Body of Christ.  Even in the first century church there were times that fellow believers offended each other.  The epistles are filled with examples of leaders addressing an offense in a particular congregation.  Peter addresses this in one of his letters to a group of churches.  "Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins." ( 1 Peter 4:8)  Love helps us to overlook the offense and find more appropriate times to address it privately (perhaps over a cup of coffee) and not over Facebook or Twitter.

Lets learn to let love cover (or "hide...") a multitude of offenses.

When God's Plan Doesn't Seem Logical

 “But I am afraid to surrender,” the king said, “for the Babylonians may hand me over to the Judeans who have defected to them. And who knows what they will do to me!” Jeremiah replied, “You won’t be handed over to them if you choose to obey the Lord. Your life will be spared, and all will go well for you.
Jeremiah 38:19, 20 (NLT)

The dialogues between Zedekiah and Jeremiah prior to the fall of Jerusalem are very intriguing. Jeremiah never had good news for Zedekiah when asked what message the LORD had for him. Still, Zedekiah kept asking, as if he hoped that somehow the message would change. It never did, though. The only hope he was given was, if he surrendered to Babylon, his punishment would be less severe than if he fought to the end.

Zedekiah's response is predictable. Surrender did not seem logical for a king that was under siege. He fears what others would do to him. Kings who surrender are normally put to death by the conquering king. Worse yet, what would happen to him if the Babylonians turned him over to the Judeans who had already defected?! Anything could happen. He may likely die at the hands of a mob. What God commanded was not the reasonable thing to do. The fear of what humans could do kept him from obedience to God.

Sometimes God asks us to do things that do not seem logical or reasonable. It is easy to list several rational arguments of how others will respond and what could go wrong if we obey. Will we be misunderstood? Or ridiculed? Or ignored? There can be many reasons to fear the response of humans when we seek to obey God, but in the end, He promises that it will go well with us if we obey.

The fear of humans won out with Zedekiah. He and the entire city of Jerusalem paid a severe price.

But the Babylonian troops chased the king and caught him on the plains of Jericho. They took him to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king of Babylon pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. He made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons and all the nobles of Judah. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.

Meanwhile, the Babylonians burned Jerusalem, including the palace, and tore down the walls of the city.
Jeremiah 39:5-9(NLT)

We may not face as severe of consequences, but we may well miss a much better outcome if we ignore the voice of God because of the fear of people.

Living In An "Empty" City

This evening our city is hosting a meeting to discuss ways to resolve the problem of abandoned properties. (http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/marion_county/vacant-homes-a-danger-for-indy) Last fall a list was published that had Indianapolis ranked as the second "emptiest" city in the United State in terms of abandoned properties: http://www.wthr.com/story/15976887/indianapolis-near-top-of-emptiest-us-city-list.  In spite of all the positive headlines this city received over the winter by hosting the Super Bowl, this statistic leaves a dark shadow.  It speaks of loss.  It speaks of a void that is not being filled.

I can't help but think of the spiritual implications of such a shadow.  An empty city speaks of more than empty houses.  Each of the houses that is empty speaks of a family that is now missing from their community for whatever reason.  Those around are left to wonder what happened to the family across the street.  Sometimes they know, but not always.  Children lose contact with classmates.  Perhaps, a school loses a volunteer.

It also speaks to me of a greater emptiness.  Though I live in a very religious city, I see many who have a spiritual emptiness that shows through all appearances.  We feel empty and then fill the void with what will never satisfy.  So, we seek out more things to fill that void.  In our part of the city many of the empty homes are remnants of the search for the most space for the dollar.  The quest for more sometimes costs us everything.

So I live in an "empty" city, but I pray that it will be filled again.  Filled with purpose.  Filled with Divine Presence.  Filled with a realization of completeness found only in union with Our Creator and nothing else.

Words That Must Be Spoken

But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord
or speak in his name,
his word burns in my heart like a fire.
It’s like a fire in my bones!
I am worn out trying to hold it in!
I can’t do it!  Jeremiah 20:9 (NLT)

Jeremiah prophesied in a hard season.  It was a time when destruction was eminent.  It was a hard and unpopular task he had.  He suffered physically. He was called a traitor for telling people to surrender to Babylon.  Even those who claimed to speak for God ridiculed him.

Jeremiah often wondered why God gave him this message.  It would be easy to play it safe and just stay quiet.  He could simply go along with what was considered acceptable prophetic ministry.  If he did, though, he felt the words just burn within him and he could not hold it in.

Sometimes I identify with Jeremiah.  I feel a burning sense that things are not right with the world.  It feels as if things are off kilter.  Sometimes it even rests within attitudes considered acceptable by popular religious culture.

Speaking of these things seldom bring a pleasant response, except by those whose hearts have been softened by the Spirit and have ears to hear.  It is easy to be misunderstood, even by those who claim to follow Christ.

It would be easy to play it safe: just be quiet and go along with the flow.  Still, I cannot.  I cannot help but feel that some attitudes need to really change if we are going to ever truly be Christ's royal priesthood on this earth.  So, I say something.  I must.  To hold it in would only be more painful than any negative response from those who do not want to hear.

Basis for Compassion and Justice

Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command.
Deuteronomy 24:22 (NLT)

Many of the codes listed in Deuteronomy 24 deal with justice and compassion the people of Israel were to observe in their business dealings with others, especially the poor.  God gives Israel a reason for observing these regulations in verse 22.  They should have compassion on the oppressed and needy because they were oppressed themselves and needed God to deliver them from slavery in Egypt. 

The heart of compassion was not based in the how great they may become, but in their own history of neediness.  No matter how much their nation prospered they needed to always remember this.  Loosing sight of this would inevitably create a hierarchical system of benevolence that dehumanized those in need.  Remembering their own need would create a healthy bond of identity between the benefactor and the beneficiary.

In the same way my compassion for the poor needs to be based in the realization that I have been freed from bondage to sin and the unjust system of this world by the grace of God through the work of Christ.  I am no better than the one receiving my charity or my acts of justice.  We share a common bond of being people in need of compassion that connects us much more strongly than any act of benevolence can.  I and the beggar are one.