14 Years of Kevin Christmas

... and what a joy it has been ... mostly =). A few words about Kevin are in order at this point. Without going into much detail about how great the youngest of the Christmas clan is ... I think this quote works well: "Never tell a young person that something cannot be done. God may have been waiting for centuries for somebody ignorant enough of the impossibility to do that thing." Attempt the impossible Gus ... God will provide peace and courage when you are tempted to believe it cannot be done. Live with passion. Love ya, Robby

Stop Babbling and Spread Out

It's winter, you're under the covers curled up in a ball to keep all your body heat in, the last thing you want to do is spread out over the whole mattress, and at this point you strangely resemble ... the tower of Babel?! What?! Yes, the people that descended from Noah after the flood assembled at a plain in Shinar and are responsible for the fact that you can't understand some of the more festive stations on your radio dial. Genesis 11:1-9 tells the typical tale of rebellious creation more concerned about its desires than the Creator’s. Because of the fall man is prone to think of himself rather than God and live for his purposes rather than God’s.

God had clearly said to increase in number and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28) and had even restated this mandate twice after Noah and his family came out of the ark (Gen. 9:1, 7). God's not into isolationism. The original idea was to spread out on the earth and display God's image (that He had given them) throughout the world, but the sinful heart of man desired to build a great tower to the heavens and “make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (Gen. 11:4). So, everyone spoke the same language and they decided to build a huge tower, but God took some corrective measures to thwart their plans and keep His plans and His name ultimate. So He confused their language and “scattered them from there over all the earth” (11:8). That is why people speak different languages today, and that is why if someone can't understand you they say you are babbling.

The diversity is great, but remember this came about as a result of sin, and the consequences pose problems today as missionaries struggle to overcome cultural barriers while sharing the gospel. This passage not only gives us the origins of languages and people groups, it also provides an indicting picture of what can happen to those in a similar situation today. Think about the American church, all curled up in its own comfort, not wanting to spread out. Strikingly we even have similar building projects as those in Genesis 11, and God has made it clear that we are not to build anything for our name, but to spread out and fill the earth. The barriers begun at Babel are not to be strengthened through the same selfishness, but rather torn down through an intentional global mission.

In His grace God follows up Genesis 11 with Genesis 12 (not just cause it works so well numerically). Genesis 12 tells us of Abraham's calling. It is immediately after the Tower of Babel that God chooses one man to father a nation that would bless all nations, the very nations that were just created through rebellion. In the same spirit of Genesis 3:15, right on the heels of rebellion, a light of hope is shone through a man named Abram who would be blessed to bless the nations. The Messiah and the Mission continue to pervade the OT. In the spirit of Abraham, let us be willling to leave our country and our father's house and go to a land He will show us.

Purpose of Pain, Part II

From a previous post in reference to running a triathlon: "All who choose to enter such misery must understand the meaning ... the sweet purpose of pain. That day was a physical picture of a spiritual reality ..." What's that all about? Misery with meaning? Purpose in pain? What?! Is there ever purpose in pain? I would have to argue yes. Consider a few examples. A woman goes into labor and experiences great pain, but she is overjoyed by the new life that results from this painful, and purposeful, experience. Consider a doctor who has to reset someone's bone so that it will heal correctly. I've never experienced that, though I think it's safe to assume it's painful; but it serves a purpose: realigning a bone that was separated so that it can heal. And the most purposeful pain ever experienced on this earth was for a similar reason, only it wasn't a bone that needed realigning, it was the human race; it wasn't the human body that was broken, it was the human soul. The painful event took place a couple thousand years ago, but the purpose is just as relevant today as it was then.

So, let's consider why it had to happen. Things were out of alignment with the human race. There was brokenness and pain at every turn. And no one seemed to have the solution. Why so many questions, why so much sorrow? The answer to those questions could only be found by going back several thousand years even before that ... to a garden. The book of Genesis in the Bible gives an account of the earliest days of human history. The first man and woman were in a garden. The garden was planted by the Creator to be enjoyed by the creation. They were given the freedom to experience the world God had created and make their own choices, and they chose to disobey a simple command God had given them. (See Genesis 3 for more details). This one decision brought severe consequences, not only for Adam and Eve, but for every human that would come after them. This act of treason against the King of the world threw things out of order in a cosmic sense, so that all the earth was effected, especially humans. They had commited what amounts to treason against the King of the world. And what is the penalty for treason? Death. So the human race is living on death row, separated from God, with no hope to be proven innocent. This is not the way God wanted things to be, hence the need for cosmic realignment and relational restoration with the Creator-King. How could all this be accomplished?

It could only be accomplished if the penalty for sin was paid by someone who never committed treason, a perfect human to take the penalty for all humans. Problem - no human was qualified to do this ... Until Jesus of Nazareth was born. This human being, who entered the pages of history two thousand years ago, offered to take the death penalty for humanity. But how? How could he do it? He'd have to be perfect and everyone knows that all humans mess up at some point. This is true, but Jesus was more than human, he was also divine. He was God on earth as a man to save men from their pain and to realign humanity. He is the only one who never committed treason against the King, and so He was qualified to take the penalty for the whole human race ... your penalty, my penalty ... our pain. In fact, that was his purpose in being born. (see Luke 19:10 and John 12:27)

Purposeful pain? Yes ... it is seen best in the picture of Jesus on the cross, taking the pain that we deserved, for the purpose of realigning our relationship with God and reuniting our souls with Him. As I ran the triathlon and felt the pain, I couldn't help but remember what the Bible says in Hebrews 12:1,2 " ... let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross ... " The joy set before him? You ... me ... humanity ... restored ... that was the joy, that's why he endured the pain.

Because Jesus experienced meaningful misery and purposeful pain, all humanity has the opportunity to be freed from spiritual death row and realign their lives with God's original purpose in creation ... a relationship with Him, the Creator, the King.

Well Mom, I guess we're the champions ...

Said Kevin leaving as he walked out of the gym with his sweet mother. Now, you might be thinking, wow they must have had a great season. No, not even a great game. In fact this comment came on the heels of yet another defeat for Kevin's first basketball team ... hardly a championship season. But you couldn't tell Kevin that. They were champions, and most importantly, he was a champion. And today, years later ... he still is.

Kevin was young, but he understood a very important life principle - attitude is more important than circumstances. And this is a principle that I believe he will continue to follow in all areas of life. Whether on the game field, the practice field, or possibly one day ... the mission field. Because as much as Kevin loves football, I believe he understands that football is temporary, but God's love is eternal.

So Kevin will continue to be optimistic ... about football, about friends, about life. And Kevin will continue to be a champion ... as he loves God, loves people, and loves life.

I'm proud of you little brother.

Me holding my youngest brother ...

My youngest brother holding my son


The brothers Christmas

September 3, 2005 ... The Day My Life Changed Forever

I started to write a poem, but when two of the lines went like this:

Two people, two lives, two stories being written
Merge into one, like fingers in a mitten.

... I decided I should scrap it and just speak from the heart. But I'm having some trouble ... I don't have the proper tools. You see all I have to communicate what's in my heart concerning that special day is ... the English language, which seems to come up so short right now. No offense to all my anglo-saxon ancestors, I mean, nice work fellas ... we've come a long way in the past several centuries. And usually it's sufficient to communicate ... but not this time, not in an attempt to express the steady-rising, slow-burning, heart-consuming love that I cultivate for my wife.

That's my wedding day by the way, September 3, 2005. And tomorrow is Septemeber 3, 2008 ... three years of marriage ... to Joanna ... Joanna Marie Christmas ... the mother of my child, the thief of my heart. Now, I know stealing is typically frowned upon, but in her defense, I don't think she did it on purpose. Something about her was captivating and there came a point where I had to admit my captivation ... also it would've been hard to keep living without my heart ... and she had it. Besides ... let's be honest people ... who could resist this ...


But maybe a better question is ... how did this guy get that girl?!

(that's me in the middle, with brothers and sister in the background on go-cart ... but that's another blog for another day)

Well, by God's grace two became one and I got the better end of the deal. And by His grace we are living and loving and learning ... together ... as one ... reflecting the oneness of our God. It's a tall order to paint a picture for the world to get a glimpse of the kind of relationship Christ desires to have with the church ... but it is our desire to be accurate artists ... for His glory.

So, happy anniversary sugar-love-pumpkin-drops ... the best is yet to come. I love you.

Meaningful Misery ... Purposeful Pain

There I was ... wading out into a murky lake, on a chilly morning in the foothills of Virginia ... with 174 of my favorite friends, and I thought to myself ... this is it people, this is what we trained for. Soon I and my friends would begin to swim in the murky lake, some faster than others, all in the same direction, all with the same purpose - to finish the race. After the 3/4 mile swim we would head up a hill to where our mountain bikes awaited us, ready for the 11 mile ride through tight twisty trails. All this fun would be followed up by a 4 mile trail run, and then ... the finish. All who choose to enter such misery must understand the meaning ... the sweet purpose of pain. That day was a physical picture of a spiritual reality ... we are in a race, there is pain involved, but there is purpose in the pain (more on this, in part 2, coming soon). This is a strange paradigm to embrace in our convenience driven culture, but it was embraced that day ... by 175 crazy people who ran the Charlottesville Xterra Triathlon. Many of whom probably didn't realize the depth of the spiritual picture they were painting with their looks of exhaustion, stumbling steps, broken breaths ... as they pressed through the pain ... with one purpose - to finish the race.

Two of those 174 people were men I have history with ... fellow race buddies, Spencer and Andruis (respectively below). We've done an adventure race together, and now a triathlon, and we've really developed a cool bond in the context of purposeful pain. (note: in picture below, Andruis is taller than both me and Spencer ... but we're standing on my running boards ... I always seem to find my way onto some sort of step when I'm around tall people)

Andruis lives in Washington D.C. and is working on his PhD in biocellulochemicalogiconucleic theory (or something like that). Spencer lives next to us in Wake Forest with his wife Jana, who is friends with my sweet Joanna. They are great. For Andruis and Spencer this was their first triathlon; the second for me (so I shared my wealth of knowledge given my vast prior experience). It was a day we won't soon forget ... and we're already looking forward to the next one.

Here are some of the interesting highlights from the experience:

* Picked up two hitchhikers, one out of gas, one just walking b/c he got his license temporarily taken away ... he told us all about it ... he talked a mile a minute.
* Stayed at a tent camping site at the KOA; this was a first for each of us. Question - how can they charge us 34 dollars for that?! We brought the tent! No wake up call, no continental breakfast, no way that's worth 34 bucks. Anyway ... oh, yea, there was a picnic table at the site, it makes sense now. But, really, I'm not complaining ... it was fun to camp out ... besides, that led to my next highlight, though I feel strange calling it a highlight ...
* We met this nice couple at the site next to us. They were unmarried, but on vacation together, which broke my heart because I know that's not God's plan for a relationship between a man and a woman. But we enjoyed talking with them, shared our beliefs and visions for serving God and hopefully demonstrated that Christians don't have to be boring, stiff weirdos. But after we had left their site and were winding down getting ready for bed I noticed that they too were getting in their tent. I noticed this b/c they had a lantern on ... inside the tent ... casting a silhouette on the side of the tent ... the side near us. So, I'm thinking ... these are educated people, both with college degrees ... they'll turn the light off. Time passed, I got more nervous, light still on. Looked like fairly normal get-ready-for-bed type stuff at first, ya know, fluff the pillow, set the alarm clock ... then the movements became more rhythmic ... I'll stop now. But I did make a mental note to self if I ever find myself in their situation ... turn the lantern off.
* Spencer's financial issues ... background: The first time we hung out w/ Spencer and Jana we went to Golden Corral to eat ... and Spencer "forgot his wallet" ... convenient. So we get to the race registration table Saturday afternoon (race was Sunday morning) and they inform him that he can't pay w/ a debit card til the morning ... back in the morning ... misunderstanding - can't pay w/ a debit card at all, and the race starts in like 45 minutes. None of us has a check or enough cash ... I end up explaining to the race director and promising to go to an ATM and bring the money back right after the race. Spencer raced. Thank you race director Ed.
* Ya have to have fun at these things ... so as I neared the Gatorade station w/ the volunteers I thought a cartwheel was in order ... it must get so boring just to watch everyone run by ... the camera man happened to catch the beginning of it ... it was a big hit. (I kept the picture pretty small b/c I have spandex on and ... yea, anyway)

It was a great experience, one that I look forward to having again before too long. Because there's nothing like the feeling of finishing the race.

The Lord Is With You Mighty Warrior …

Right, that’s how I feel when I wake up in the morning … like a mighty warrior, ready for anything, with the strength to overcome … no, not really. Most days I wake up just feeling like me … and I know me … not a mighty warrior … more like a wimpy wiener. (can I say that?) But, regardless of how I feel, there’s more to me than me … there’s He … Him … the Lord who is with me. Let’s not forget the first part of that charge: “the Lord is with you.” The “mighty warrior” part only makes sense when combined with the “the Lord is with you” part.

So where does this fancy phrase come from? This was spoken to a young man named Gideon several thousand years ago. Gideon was an Israelite living in a time when his nation was under the oppression of another nation, the Midianites. The Midianites would come in to Israelite territory, ruin crops, steal camels, and ravage the land. And even though the Lord allowed this because the Israelites turned from Him, when they called out for deliverance, their God answered. He answered by calling a young man to wage war against the Midianites … enter Gideon. Now, you’re probably thinking, “wow, this Gideon must have been some B.A.” (and I’m not talking about his academic credentials) That’s not how we find him … the record of this encounter (found in the Old Testament of the Bible, Judges 6) tells us that Gideon was hiding out in a winepress trying to keep his wheat from being stolen by the enemy … doesn’t exactly sound brave. But it was in that context that the Lord himself came to Gideon and declared him to be a mighty warrior. I call it truth before proof. God tells Gideon what is true about him, before there is any proof that it is so. And Gideon responds in total faith, accepts his new identity and is ready to wage war … no, not really. Gideon says “but …” Why does it always seem easier to question God than believe Him? Then God throws in some more truth: “go in the strength you have.” “What strength?” says Gideon, “my family is weak and I’m weak.” Then God reemphasizes the very first thing He said to Gideon … “I will be with you.” And that makes all the difference.

Gideon spent too much time focusing on his puniness rather than on God’s presence. I spend too much time there as well. I have to understand that what God has declared to be true about me is true, regardless of how I feel. Gideon went on to lead an army of 300 against thousands and was victorious without losing a man. A mighty warrior … who was found hiding food from the enemy and was used by God to bring victory for His people. How ya feelin today? Doesn’t matter … go in the strength that you have, for the Lord is with you … Mighty Warrior.

Dedicated to my brother Matthew … a Mighty Warrior.