People like attention. Nobody wants to be just another nameless face in the crowd. We all want to be known, to have people wave at us and yell, "Hey David, how's it going?!" And then there are the unfortunate incidents where you think you see someone unexpectedly wave at you, so you sheepishly raise your arm to wave back, only to realize that they were actually waving at someone behind you, and you feel like a complete idiot and decide not to make eye contact with anyone for the rest of the day.
But the point remains that we all like to be recognized. The reason FFA kids spend so much time learning how to judge livestock is so that they can get a nice shiny medal to drape around their necks. Grown men spend hours playing Pac-Man at the laundromat so that they can enter their initials in the high scores list. Band students nearly make themselves go crazy from practice in hopes of nailing that sweet oboe solo. And perhaps too often, Christians do good things, waiting to be applauded for being so spiritual or loving or pious.
In John 5:41-44, Jesus says, "I do not accept praise from men, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?"
If there has ever been someone who had the right to bring attention to himself, it would be Jesus. He could do whatever he wanted. He would have been the most interesting person in any conversation, and he could one-up anyone's clever comment or funny story. He lived a sinless life and could have gone around saying, "Hey everybody! You should all come tell me how great and awesome I am!" But Jesus' focus really wasn't on himself as much as it was on glorifying the Father. He wasn't all that concerned about whether or not everyone thought he was the best thing ever, and he was the best thing ever. Actually, he knew that people would hate him and want to kill him, but he didn't change the things he said or did just to suit their preferences. His sole purpose was making God happy, and he knew that if he did this faithfully, the Father would glorify him (Jn. 8:54).
I wrote for my high school newspaper, and I was always excited on days when new issues would come out. It was always satisfying to see a byline with my name on it on the front page, and I would see a bunch of students at lunch or in classes flipping through the pages that I had worked on. It was even better when I was the editor my senior year, because each issue I would have a column where I could write about whatever I felt like, and not only did my name appear, but my beautiful picture as well. I loved when another student or a teacher would see me and comment that they thought my column was funny.
It's the same kind of desire for recognition that creeps its way into the rest of our lives, even our pursuits to do good things for God. All of us want others to notice all of the great things we do from time to time, unless I'm the only one with an inflated ego. We like it when the little old ladies at church tell us how much they loved our sermon, when we get asked to lead worship for a chapel service, and when all the lazy bums in a congregation notice us dutifully stacking chairs. We put little pictures of ourselves looking thoughtful on the sidebar of our blogs. So even when we're working for God, we try to slap a sticker with our name and smiling face on it, just so people know who's responsible.
I wonder how many of us are willing to be anonymous for God's sake. Would I be content spending my life humbly serving at a little church in the middle of nowhere if it meant bringing more glory to God? Would I be happy if no book ever has my name on the cover, no conference has my picture on the speaking schedule, and no podcast has my voice broadcast to cyberspace? Not to mean that we shouldn't dream of doing crazy-big things for God, but we have to make sure that we're actually doing them for God and not ourselves.
Tomorrow (Sept 22) is National Elephant Day. Go nuts. Life is good.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Going to the Chapel
I went to a wedding this last weekend. That's what Ozark people do on their weekends--they go to weddings, because there's one pretty much every weekend, and we all really like cake and little cheese cubes. It was a very nice wedding, with a very simple service and a ton of guests and a little candy buffet at the reception. Fun was had by all, although the lengthy drive along I-44 was less than riveting, except for the mysterious fog that was centered on an adult video store by the highway on our way home.
Many weddings have a time of special music during the ceremony when one of the participants' friends sings a song while the couple takes communion or lights a unity candle or pours some unity sand or whatever, and this wedding was no exception. I always feel like this time is a little bit awkward, because the song usually goes a little longer than the partaking of community and the sand, so it ends up with everyone standing around while the musician finishes up. During this time, you can see the couple talking to each other a little bit to break the awkward tension of just standing there.
I commented to my friend sitting next to me at the ceremony that I always wonder what the couple is saying when they're talking up there. If they follow the tradition about the groom not seeing the bride on the wedding day until the ceremony, then this is the first time the two have talked all day. It's got to be a terribly odd time, I would think. So I thought about what I would probably talk about, and it would probably involve such enthralling statements as: "Hey...so....how are you?" or "So what'd you have for lunch today?" or "Did you see that the Reds won last night?"
I'm a pretty poor conversationalist as it is, and I can't imagine that I'm going to become wildly entertaining when I'm dressed in a tuxedo on stage with all of my family and friends staring at me. So if the future Mrs. Heffren is out there reading this, I apologize far in advance for that slot in the ceremony. But hopefully by that time, you'll already know that I'm fairly lame and at least have become used to that fact. If you haven't realized it by then, I guess you're in for a pretty long life.
Many weddings have a time of special music during the ceremony when one of the participants' friends sings a song while the couple takes communion or lights a unity candle or pours some unity sand or whatever, and this wedding was no exception. I always feel like this time is a little bit awkward, because the song usually goes a little longer than the partaking of community and the sand, so it ends up with everyone standing around while the musician finishes up. During this time, you can see the couple talking to each other a little bit to break the awkward tension of just standing there.
I commented to my friend sitting next to me at the ceremony that I always wonder what the couple is saying when they're talking up there. If they follow the tradition about the groom not seeing the bride on the wedding day until the ceremony, then this is the first time the two have talked all day. It's got to be a terribly odd time, I would think. So I thought about what I would probably talk about, and it would probably involve such enthralling statements as: "Hey...so....how are you?" or "So what'd you have for lunch today?" or "Did you see that the Reds won last night?"
I'm a pretty poor conversationalist as it is, and I can't imagine that I'm going to become wildly entertaining when I'm dressed in a tuxedo on stage with all of my family and friends staring at me. So if the future Mrs. Heffren is out there reading this, I apologize far in advance for that slot in the ceremony. But hopefully by that time, you'll already know that I'm fairly lame and at least have become used to that fact. If you haven't realized it by then, I guess you're in for a pretty long life.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
This Is The Song That Never Ends
"Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.' Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
-Revelation 4:8-11
"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!' Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!' The four living creatures said, 'Amen,' and the elders fell down and worshiped."
-Revelation 5:11-14
"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: 'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.' All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: 'Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!'"
-Revelation 7:9-12
This may be the best post I've ever put up, simply because it's going to include very few words from me and already has a lot of Bible in it. There's a worship song that's pretty popular in churches right now called "Revelation Song." I've been hearing it a lot for the past several months, and I really like it. A lot of the words are straight out of the passages above, and it very much has a "throne room" feel to it. It's good.
I think there's something really cool about the church singing praises to God together. I understand that worship is a much bigger concept than singing songs at church, but I still think that singing songs is an important part of it, and when I use the word "worship" here, that'll be what I'm talking about. But anyway, communal worship is an incredible thing. The various members of Christ's body coming together to amplify the sound of adoration to him. And of course, we experience this in a limited sense now. Most churches are small, only a couple hundred people or less. Even the biggest churches aren't more than fifteen or twenty thousand. But then we look at Revelation, where all the church is gathered around Christ in worship, and it's absolutely mind-blowing.
During worship at church a few weeks ago, we were singing "Revelation Song," and I thought for a moment just about all the people that I've been fortunate to have worshipped alongside in my life. The guys from my floor as we sit behind the deaf ministry students in chapel. Homeless guys in Atlanta. A hundred sugar-charged sixth graders in Indiana. My friends in California. Villagers spouting off Spanish in Honduras. My mother and grandmother. The old ladies at my home church. And one day, all of us will be back together, shouting and singing and dancing for God. And people won't complain about style or instruments, because all of the focus will be on Christ, who will have overthrown Satan and ransomed his people and is ruling the universe. And all the problems and hurts and crap that I deal with now will no longer press on my mind, but as the hymn says, "And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace." That's something worth looking forward to, I think.
That's it for tonight. No criticisms or sarcastic remarks or urges for you to change something. Just something I'm excited about, and that I hope you are too.
I preached at my home church last week. The audio from it is up online if you care to hear the voice that unfortunately accompanies my typing: www.tccchurch.org/sermons.html.
-Revelation 4:8-11
"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!' Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: 'To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!' The four living creatures said, 'Amen,' and the elders fell down and worshiped."
-Revelation 5:11-14
"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: 'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.' All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: 'Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!'"
-Revelation 7:9-12
This may be the best post I've ever put up, simply because it's going to include very few words from me and already has a lot of Bible in it. There's a worship song that's pretty popular in churches right now called "Revelation Song." I've been hearing it a lot for the past several months, and I really like it. A lot of the words are straight out of the passages above, and it very much has a "throne room" feel to it. It's good.
I think there's something really cool about the church singing praises to God together. I understand that worship is a much bigger concept than singing songs at church, but I still think that singing songs is an important part of it, and when I use the word "worship" here, that'll be what I'm talking about. But anyway, communal worship is an incredible thing. The various members of Christ's body coming together to amplify the sound of adoration to him. And of course, we experience this in a limited sense now. Most churches are small, only a couple hundred people or less. Even the biggest churches aren't more than fifteen or twenty thousand. But then we look at Revelation, where all the church is gathered around Christ in worship, and it's absolutely mind-blowing.
During worship at church a few weeks ago, we were singing "Revelation Song," and I thought for a moment just about all the people that I've been fortunate to have worshipped alongside in my life. The guys from my floor as we sit behind the deaf ministry students in chapel. Homeless guys in Atlanta. A hundred sugar-charged sixth graders in Indiana. My friends in California. Villagers spouting off Spanish in Honduras. My mother and grandmother. The old ladies at my home church. And one day, all of us will be back together, shouting and singing and dancing for God. And people won't complain about style or instruments, because all of the focus will be on Christ, who will have overthrown Satan and ransomed his people and is ruling the universe. And all the problems and hurts and crap that I deal with now will no longer press on my mind, but as the hymn says, "And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace." That's something worth looking forward to, I think.
That's it for tonight. No criticisms or sarcastic remarks or urges for you to change something. Just something I'm excited about, and that I hope you are too.
I preached at my home church last week. The audio from it is up online if you care to hear the voice that unfortunately accompanies my typing: www.tccchurch.org/sermons.html.
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