Today’s Readings: Psalm 54; Daniel 6:16-28; John 10:22-30; 1 John 1:1-4; Psalm 93
When I first read today’s passage from Daniel, I was a little uneasy by King Darius’ proclamation that read: “I decree that Daniel’s God shall be worshipped and feared in all parts of my kingdom” (Daniel 6:26 from The Message). That part made me uneasy because of the language King Darius used. Instead of simply calling God “God”, he made a point of calling God “Daniel’s God”. That language seemed awfully provincial. As I thought about it, however, I remembered a story from my own faith journey that made me a little more comfortable with the language. Having grown up in a small town, I was taught a faith that was primarily black and white – one that didn’t equip me with the ability to wrestle with some of the gray areas I faced in life. As a result, by the time I was a sophomore in college, I started to think I had outgrown Christianity. It wasn’t until I took a political science class from a brilliant professor who casually mentioned her Christian faith in class one day that I started to reassess everything. I thought to myself, “If Professor Kelleher can be brilliant AND a Christian, then maybe I should re-think this whole, ‘I’ve outgrown Christianity’ thing?” In other words, I wanted to get to know Professor Kelleher’s God. Of course, once I started to pursue a more mature faith that moved beyond black and white and actually addressed the shades of gray that are all around us, God moved from simply being Professor Kelleher’s God back to being God. In the years since, I’ve realized that many of us who fall into the camp some label “progressive” (those of you who know me, know I HATE labels) often serve as role models to those who have completely given up on the Christian faith. We become agents that allow/encourage others to give the God of Jesus a second chance. What a wonderful way to be used. Today, I would encourage you to remember this and ask for God’s abiding spirit to be with you as you continue to be a beacon of light for those seekers in your life. Til next time…
When I first read today’s passage from Daniel, I was a little uneasy by King Darius’ proclamation that read: “I decree that Daniel’s God shall be worshipped and feared in all parts of my kingdom” (Daniel 6:26 from The Message). That part made me uneasy because of the language King Darius used. Instead of simply calling God “God”, he made a point of calling God “Daniel’s God”. That language seemed awfully provincial. As I thought about it, however, I remembered a story from my own faith journey that made me a little more comfortable with the language. Having grown up in a small town, I was taught a faith that was primarily black and white – one that didn’t equip me with the ability to wrestle with some of the gray areas I faced in life. As a result, by the time I was a sophomore in college, I started to think I had outgrown Christianity. It wasn’t until I took a political science class from a brilliant professor who casually mentioned her Christian faith in class one day that I started to reassess everything. I thought to myself, “If Professor Kelleher can be brilliant AND a Christian, then maybe I should re-think this whole, ‘I’ve outgrown Christianity’ thing?” In other words, I wanted to get to know Professor Kelleher’s God. Of course, once I started to pursue a more mature faith that moved beyond black and white and actually addressed the shades of gray that are all around us, God moved from simply being Professor Kelleher’s God back to being God. In the years since, I’ve realized that many of us who fall into the camp some label “progressive” (those of you who know me, know I HATE labels) often serve as role models to those who have completely given up on the Christian faith. We become agents that allow/encourage others to give the God of Jesus a second chance. What a wonderful way to be used. Today, I would encourage you to remember this and ask for God’s abiding spirit to be with you as you continue to be a beacon of light for those seekers in your life. Til next time…
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