Practically Perfect in Every Way!
Mary Poppins is a memorable 1964 Disney musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. It is the story of a magical nanny who descends (literally) upon a family living in London in the spring of 1910. Mary brings a healing presence to the home before the wind blows her away to a new destination and a new mission.
Julie Andrews won the Best Actress Oscar that year for her performance and as you can imagine, with her beautiful face and lyrical musical ability, she was able to portray Mary as "practically perfect in every way!"
The line "practically perfect in every way" has become a popular, catchy phrase from the film and one that I was reminded of recently when I attended the musical while it was here in February at the Gammage Theater.
I have been rolling this phrase around in my mind and I find myself considering the subject of perfection. I don't know about you, but when it comes to perfection there is only one place to head to and that is to God's Word. As you may know, the Bible has a thing or two to say about perfection.
For instance in Psalm 119:96, I find this interesting tidbit:
I have seen a limit to all (human) perfection,
but Your commandment is exceedingly broad.
"Broad" meaning, the Lord's commandment has no limit to its perfection, because it is resourced by God's own limitless perfection. Wow! And amazingly, when we as Christians seek to live in conformity to Scripture, we are, in fact, pursuing the very perfection of God.
The way we move toward that perfection is by remaining steadfast in our obedience. Then, throughout our lives, we continue to grow in holiness but are not yet perfected in it because perfection will only be realized when Jesus returns.
But, hey! How encouraging is it that God lets us see His perfection and even feel it a little as we press toward the day that we are completely perfect in His presence.
Until then, here is my latest version of the phrase:
God is "absolutely perfect in every way!"
He easily trumps the Mary Poppins version.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
I've been thinking about skin...
Losing Forty Pounds of Flesh
While sitting in my dermatologist's office waiting for my appointment, I noticed a TV screen with a slide that said that a normal person will shed forty pounds of flesh or to be more specific - skin - over the course of a lifetime. (Now I know why the "dust" keeps piling up at home!)
I tried to imagine what forty pounds of butter, or in this case, the hide, the pelt, the skin of my sleek, well-fatted body would look like piled up. And then I tried to imagine what would happen if I did not slough off my old skin but instead built up a hardened impenetrable hide, coarse and rough to the touch.
Then, fast forward to the study of Hebrews where I learned that God continually warns me about hardening my heart and succumbing to unbelief. Apparently it is possible for my heart, the center of my personality, intellect and emotions, to become hardened toward the things of God. What a precarious position if an organ in my own body really needs to shed the callous skin of unbelief and I am unaware of it.
What can I do to reverse hardening of my heart? Here are a couple of thoughts:
1) I must take time to examine my personal commitment to God. Am I paying attention to Him or am I drifting away? Have I become dull and unresponsive to God?
2) I must take time to evaluate my relationships with other Christians. Am I paying attention to my brothers and sisters in Christ or have I stopped listening? Have I become callous, lacking sympathy toward others?
If I am going to lose forty pounds of flesh over my lifetime, than I want to lose it from my callous heart. I want a responsive and vibrant faith. I want the things that please God to sink down deep into the central core of my being where my thoughts, feelings and choices are born. And, I want to experience body life with my brothers and sisters. I want dissonance caused by sin to be challenged and excised from my life. Most of all I want a soft and pliable heart because I want the best that God offers. I want it all!
Proverbs 4:23 says, Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
While sitting in my dermatologist's office waiting for my appointment, I noticed a TV screen with a slide that said that a normal person will shed forty pounds of flesh or to be more specific - skin - over the course of a lifetime. (Now I know why the "dust" keeps piling up at home!)
I tried to imagine what forty pounds of butter, or in this case, the hide, the pelt, the skin of my sleek, well-fatted body would look like piled up. And then I tried to imagine what would happen if I did not slough off my old skin but instead built up a hardened impenetrable hide, coarse and rough to the touch.
Then, fast forward to the study of Hebrews where I learned that God continually warns me about hardening my heart and succumbing to unbelief. Apparently it is possible for my heart, the center of my personality, intellect and emotions, to become hardened toward the things of God. What a precarious position if an organ in my own body really needs to shed the callous skin of unbelief and I am unaware of it.
What can I do to reverse hardening of my heart? Here are a couple of thoughts:
1) I must take time to examine my personal commitment to God. Am I paying attention to Him or am I drifting away? Have I become dull and unresponsive to God?
2) I must take time to evaluate my relationships with other Christians. Am I paying attention to my brothers and sisters in Christ or have I stopped listening? Have I become callous, lacking sympathy toward others?
If I am going to lose forty pounds of flesh over my lifetime, than I want to lose it from my callous heart. I want a responsive and vibrant faith. I want the things that please God to sink down deep into the central core of my being where my thoughts, feelings and choices are born. And, I want to experience body life with my brothers and sisters. I want dissonance caused by sin to be challenged and excised from my life. Most of all I want a soft and pliable heart because I want the best that God offers. I want it all!
Proverbs 4:23 says, Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
I've been thinking about resistance...
Ungovernable or Assaulted?
I read an article by a commentator who says she believes that Americans have become "ungovernable" because we are too focused on ourselves and our greed. I reacted to the article when I read it because, although I think greed is a factor in many lives, it is not something I struggle with personally.
After carefully examining my reaction, the word "assault" came to mind. An assault is defined as a violent physical or verbal attack. We all know cases where an assault was carried off with terrible consequences and, therefore, we know threats are real and need to be taken seriously.
There is also a nuance of the word which means an apparently violent attempt to do hurt to another without actually doing the hurt threatened (as by lifting the fist in a threatening manner.) To illustrate this kind of threat, let me relay an experience that happened to our family recently at Disneyland, which as you know markets itself as the happiest place on earth.
Our family was enjoying Disneyland in early December with our son Kent's family. One night, we took over a couple of tables in the wharf area of California Adventure to have dinner. After spreading out to retrieve different kinds of food, we gathered to sit down and eat together.
While we were busy getting organized, two young men sat down in vacant chairs at the end of our table. When Kent got up to help our grandson, Ethan, who is three years old, with his food, the two men made direct eye contact with him. Then, with the knowledge that they had Kent's full attention, they began to hold hands, nuzzle and kiss each other.
Needless to say, we were all caught off guard by their blatant behavior. After an interchange where we suggested they find another table (because we were here first - so to speak), they glared at us and would not budge. Faced with a no-win situation, we quickly decided to remove ourselves to another table nearby. However, even after we moved, and probably because we chose to move, they continued to glare at us, calling us narrow-minded because of our lack of tolerance.
And then growing even more angry, one said that he had been an employee of Disney and that he knew how to get us thrown out of the park. To show he meant business, he called over a park employee, complained about our behavior, and asked the employee to report the incident to security.
Much to our amazement that the situation could escalate to this degree, two security guards showed up at the scene. One, a lower level employee, simply attempted to hear each side of the story while the other decked out, more intimidating guard, stood about 25 feet away monitoring the situation. As it turned out, the threat to have us removed from the park did not materialize, but the assault upon our values and the intended threat lingers to this day.
So, why am I part of a growing resistance to a morally bankrupt liberal agenda? Because I have been personally threatened by two men who desired to hurt our family and who, upon even more reflection, apparently targeted us for this very purpose. It is a shocking but true reminder once again that we will not remain untouched as Christian conservatives. We may even be assaulted in the most innocent of situations.
I read an article by a commentator who says she believes that Americans have become "ungovernable" because we are too focused on ourselves and our greed. I reacted to the article when I read it because, although I think greed is a factor in many lives, it is not something I struggle with personally.
After carefully examining my reaction, the word "assault" came to mind. An assault is defined as a violent physical or verbal attack. We all know cases where an assault was carried off with terrible consequences and, therefore, we know threats are real and need to be taken seriously.
There is also a nuance of the word which means an apparently violent attempt to do hurt to another without actually doing the hurt threatened (as by lifting the fist in a threatening manner.) To illustrate this kind of threat, let me relay an experience that happened to our family recently at Disneyland, which as you know markets itself as the happiest place on earth.
Our family was enjoying Disneyland in early December with our son Kent's family. One night, we took over a couple of tables in the wharf area of California Adventure to have dinner. After spreading out to retrieve different kinds of food, we gathered to sit down and eat together.
While we were busy getting organized, two young men sat down in vacant chairs at the end of our table. When Kent got up to help our grandson, Ethan, who is three years old, with his food, the two men made direct eye contact with him. Then, with the knowledge that they had Kent's full attention, they began to hold hands, nuzzle and kiss each other.
Needless to say, we were all caught off guard by their blatant behavior. After an interchange where we suggested they find another table (because we were here first - so to speak), they glared at us and would not budge. Faced with a no-win situation, we quickly decided to remove ourselves to another table nearby. However, even after we moved, and probably because we chose to move, they continued to glare at us, calling us narrow-minded because of our lack of tolerance.
And then growing even more angry, one said that he had been an employee of Disney and that he knew how to get us thrown out of the park. To show he meant business, he called over a park employee, complained about our behavior, and asked the employee to report the incident to security.
Much to our amazement that the situation could escalate to this degree, two security guards showed up at the scene. One, a lower level employee, simply attempted to hear each side of the story while the other decked out, more intimidating guard, stood about 25 feet away monitoring the situation. As it turned out, the threat to have us removed from the park did not materialize, but the assault upon our values and the intended threat lingers to this day.
So, why am I part of a growing resistance to a morally bankrupt liberal agenda? Because I have been personally threatened by two men who desired to hurt our family and who, upon even more reflection, apparently targeted us for this very purpose. It is a shocking but true reminder once again that we will not remain untouched as Christian conservatives. We may even be assaulted in the most innocent of situations.
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