But this morning what arrested me and got me to thinking was the invective Paul gives three times in vs. 10-13 to “stand firm”.  Going back to the Greek the word there is Histemi: To cause or make to stand in place before others or in the midst of/to make firm or establish/Uphold or maintain the authority of. To me it serves as a pretty good word to describe what an army, a soldier does (even if he is wearing a bed sheet). But what struck me was not the firmness of stance, something we all hope we would do do when faced with a challenge, but the aggressiveness of the stand as it is described in scripture. Paul talks about our resistance in the struggle, not endurance of a siege and therein lies my challenge:

If we’re talking soldiers and armor it is one thing to be well armed trained and equipped, that’s good, but if you don’t use that army, if you don’t put your soldiers in the right places, if you allow the enemy to move around you and dictate the terms of engagement all the equipment in the world is not going to bring victory (as an avowed history nerd I could site example after example but will spare you the ennui and me the embarrassment). There is an old military maxim used to describe how to effectively command forces in battle that states simply “march to the sound of the guns.” In essence this statement of bravery is saying use your troops where the battle is being fought. If I am to resist, if I am to stand, how often am I standing and resisting where there is no battle in the first place? If that is the case then how valid REALLY is my “steadfastness” and how pleasing is that stand really to my God?

As stated in Ephesians our struggle and our resistance is to the enemy, to Satan and his evil schemes. Every day I see and hear that battle raging, and not just on the front page of my favorite news site, but among my family members, at my workplace,  and in the lives of my friends. That struggle hardship and suffering IS the battle, and how often am I content to observe, take notes, and maybe even offer “logistical support” instead of marching to where the battle is fiercest and resisting in a way that may be dangerous to me but that actually means something?

I’m not sure exactly why I shy from that conflict be it a desire for ease, distraction of self, or a lack of faith in my equipment and my God that strengthens me to stand. But the fact is that I am too passive, too self involved, too mis-deployed. Prayerfully I want to change that, and look forward to seeking how.

Vive la Resistance!

Christians go to this text for instruction on a healthy and vibrant church, how husbands and wives should interact, how salvation is by faith alone and on and on and on. But I think the thing that has been bubbling below the surface for me is that even though I can go to this letter for some fantastic instruction, great sound bites, and a wealth of material for a “verse of the day,” I’m still missing the greater context of how this should be read, and I think I’m becoming aware of how hard it is to identify the tone in which Paul, and other Biblical authors wrote scripture, the inspired word of God.

In my american middle class mindset I think I naturally lack two basic assumptions when I come to scripture that the original authors, their readers, and even other believers around the world have today: 1) Urgency 2) Minority.

Urgency: The thing I often forget is that much of scripture is writen by or for people “under durress”. This is especially true the epistles from which so much of the theolog of our faith is fleshed out. Many of these letters were written from prision, some to churches struggling with harecy, some suffering pursecution, one even written to a slave owner begging mercy on that letter’s carrier over whom he had the power of death. Suffering, attack, discomfort, and struggle were all around the authors and recipients of these letters, but so was the tangible victory of Christ and the advancing of His kingdom. There was a very real and immediate price to pay then for following Christ. Being a Christian was SCARY, stampig out sin was necessary, and the need for fellowship in pursuing the faith must have been incredible.

In our comfortable world it is easy to blaze through passages talking about tough times or suffering. Often we look at them, nod our heads, mark them for later so we can go back to when a crisis REALLY hits and we need to go back to get comfort until the storm passes and we feel normal again. But what if this urgency, this need, the struggle and suffering so often refered to in scripture was supposed to be made applicable to the majority of our life and the bulk of our days because of the commitment, extremity, and headlong pursuit of our discipleship of Christ. I think I miss too much of what God is saying through these biblical authors when I do not read scripture with the same urgency with which they wrote. I want to really live a life where I know I’m in that battle, have that continual need, and can constantly experience the life of Christ in me through sharing in His sufferings and carryg around His death.

Secondly my mindset never goes to that of the minority. Often I am diluted to think that a world that hates Christ will understand and will want to live like Him. The closing of schools to prayer, the consistent rejection of holiness, even a huge Miss America flap about a politically incorrect answer to a political question should not shock, dismay me, or ruffle my feathers. Early Christians knew they were in the minority, assumed that they always would be, and that that difficult place was exactly where God wanted them. I ought not to be discouraged by the decline of the world around be, but be heartbroken for it to the point of wanting to procalim the truth that God would work in the hearts of some and show His mercy.

So when I read it ought to be from the perspective of a stranger in a strange land. I should expect opposition, maybe even seek it out as a barramoter of my faithfulness to the Lord. If I am always surrounded by people with whom I totally agree, if I am always in the majority, am I living the life I am suppsed to live?

But for me both in the curriculum we were studying (Discovering Your Role in God’s Family at Fellowship) as well as the discussion that night I kept feeling that I was missing something. Most of the lesson was couched in a person’s need to hear something positive about themselves or their circumstances as well as our role as believers in Christ to be proactive in sending those positive words. Goodness knows I love it when someone tells me something I’m good at, or that I’m headed the right direction in the right way, but I still did not feel that that was really where I needed to go to hear what was being impressed on me concerning encouragement.

Since I am jobless at the time I’ve had the day to think on this a little and to do some digging. Our main texts for the study were Ephesians 4:29-5:2, Hebrews 3:12-13, and Hebrews 10:19-25: using the power of the Internet I looked into the original Greek meanings of some of the words used in these text, particularly the call to encourage in the Hebrews passages (http://www.studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=3870). Turns out the word for encourage in the Greek is the word, “Parakaleo” (from Para: at, beside, near and Kaleo: To call) meaning “to call to one’s side”.

So that really got me thinking that if I am to REALLY encourage someone (biblically speaking) in a meaningful way that means that my position is as important as that person’s circumstance. What if in calling someone to my side what I am really doing is calling them to accompany me in comfort, or laziness, or selfishness. If that is where I am standing, if that is where I am content to be, then my encouragement is no better than “Barney Time” 0r mushy milk toast. Something that is sweet at first but in reality is too mushy and insufficient to be of real power.

In true community, real ministry, part of the body of Christ the onus is on me to be running after Christ, be walking in obedience, to be bold in what I give Him and how I live. That way when I call someone to my side, when I “parakaleo” I am  calling them to be with me in something adventourous, real, and powerful.

The ironic thing is as I think about it is that I naturally do not stand in that place of adventure. I find it difficult to get off my spiritual (and physical) couch and run after Christ so often. What I need as well is a Paraclete, someone that is running as well to call to me, someone that bears the name I want to bear. I need that kind of encouragement as well to live the life after Him that I want to live in my heart of hearts.

So I guess I’m resolving to live there this week, remain in a place where it is worth standing next to me, so that when I am used to call to my side it is exciting and life giving to be there. I’m just thankful for those around me who are already standing where I want to be. May we all be dilligent to have sides worth being called to, and be intentional to continue to issue that call, kaleo, whatever.

Para Kaleo

So welcome to my blog, hopefully better things will follow…….

I’m not really even sure that I’ll be able to blog again anyhow. I have a “one size fits all” password I use for most of my security and was guilted into not using it to access my brand new blog because wordpress.com said it was “weak” so I had to make another one up. I guess I need to write it down somewhere. Still, how lame is it to get your favorite password disrespected like that? Dang. I will take suggestions for new passwords as well: Those whose strength will be deemed by wordpress.com as “Awesome”, “Totally Impenetrable”, and “Top Secret Government Grade 128bit Encryption” etc. let me know and don’t tell anyone else in case I use your suggestion.