Say What?

I was sitting in my office annex the other day and was listening to folks use Canada's third official language as they ordered double doubles, triple singles and four by fours.  Which begs the question: is a coffee with four creams and four sugars still a coffee or is it liquid candy? But again I digress.

As I listened to the customers speaking in a code readily understood by them and those who served them, I wondered about the language we speak in our churches.

How often do we assume that everyone who comes through our doors on Sunday morning speaks the same language as we do?  And I'm not talking about English.

I have to remind myself from time to time that not everyone understands "churchy" language. Part of my job is to act as a tour guide, as I lead people to catch a glimpse of the eternal.  And part of that job is occasionally acting as a translator, translating "Christianese" into everyday English, so that it can be understood.

If you get the wrong coffee because of a miscommunication, that's a mistake that can be corrected. If you miss eternity because of a miscommunication, that is a tragedy and it's forever.  Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

. . . as sin!

I was looking for a specific product at a hardware store last week, apparently in vain.  When it became obvious they didn't have what I needed and I would have to look elsewhere, the clerk sympathetically commented," What a sin!"
An inconvenience yes, a nuisance maybe, but hardly a sin.
It kind of made me think of a conversation that I overheard about Croc footwear when they first came out. The final opinion of those involved was that they were incredibly comfortable but “ugly as sin.”
Now granted ,Crocs are ugly, at least as ugly as earth shoes and probably even uglier. I've maintained that Crocs don't actually float, they're just so ugly the water repels them. But ugly as sin? I don't think so.
Sin is the deliberate violation of God's will and God's law. It's not an inconvenience and it's not a nuisance, it is sin. And it is ugly and it is dangerous and the Bible says it will separate us from God.
So let's be careful that we don't minimize and trivialize sin by flippantly using the word to mean what it doesn’t.
On the other hand, let’s be careful that we don't minimize and trivialize sin by calling it a mistake or an oops.
Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

First Silence Your Critics

I fear for Canada!  While we can’t claim to have been founded by those seeking religious freedom,( unless it was a freedom to trap and sell beavers), for almost 150 years our public policy and laws were shaped with at least a nod to our Christian heritage.  However, it would appear that those who lean to the right are now being excluded from the public arena.
Some of it is spill-over from our neighbours to the south. Recently HGTV cancelled a new reality show.  The reason? It appears the hosts, twin brothers Jason and David Benham are vocally pro-traditional marriage and pro-life.
But we can’t just blame it all on the States.  
Last week it was announced, first by the liberal party and then by the NDP that pro-life candidates would have no place in either party.  Seriously, the “Conservative Party” have said they are not interested in re-opening the abortion debate, but that is a discussion for another day. So why did Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulclair find the need to limit who can run for their parties?
Because the reality is that this will not just remove the Pro-Life and traditional marriage voice from the public forum, it will remove the conservative Christian voice from the same forum.
Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.

Deja Vu

It is like Déjà vu all over again… the quote of course comes from Yogi Berra, but it seems to be a reality in the present day situation in Ukraine.  In 1940 Russia began what is known as The Occupation of the Baltic States and for almost fifty years they occupied the countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.  And the West fumed and grumbled and refused to recognize the Soviet Occupation, but that didn’t seem to bother Russia…… much. 

And while the occupation of the Baltic States has been forgotten by most of the world it seems to be playing out again in Ukraine.

And it’s easy to think it’s simply about geography, but ultimately it’s about people.  My Great-Grand-Father left Estonia as a young man so he wasn’t there for the occupation; however he lost his family in the purges that followed under Stalin and that left him devastated.

I don’t have a solution for the crisis in Ukraine any more than the leaders of the NATO nations do.  However my faith in these situations rests in the reality of God’s word, in particular Psalm 20:7 “ Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
 Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.