Have you ever seen Wim Wenders film Wings of Desire? It's the story of an angle that falls in love with a human trapeze artist and chooses to become mortal to pursue her love.
That's an interesting leap of faith don't you think?
I've always been fascinated by the trapeze. Particularly the team work associated with the art. The typical team consist of two members the thrower and the catcher. You can't have one without the other. The catcher waits patiently hanging upside down with arms outstretched. But, someone has to jump out grab the bar and swing themselves through the air only to let go, reach out and trust that the catcher will catch them.
Do you think that they were born ready...or do they have to build up there trust in the catcher?
My local faith community
Gateway Church held a pubic Q&A a few Sunday's past. They allowed the audience to text and email questions as the pastors sat on stage ready to answer.
They begin the Q&A with what I thought was a really valuable description of three levels or categories of questions we commonly ask about faith or spirituality. The moderator drew a target with three rings and described them as level 1, level 2, and level 3 questions. With level 1 questions being those things that are most important to our beliefs about God and level 2 and 3 being more secondary and debatable ideas.
It was great stuff and they answered some wonderful question however; it did leave me wondering a few things. Most significantly... what is central, what things are at the middle of the target and who determines there importance?
It's a really a big question one that most of us will spend our lives exploring, answering, and living out. For me it's the most important thing.
A first century Jewish man name Paul wrote these words to his friends in Philippi about the God he had grown to know.
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:1-11 (NIV)
A group I hang with recently challenged me to carefully consider and write down my world view. Which I would suggest is just a shorthand way of saying what is at the center of your target in life. I came up with this.
The heart of my world view is my core conviction that Jesus is Lord.
I’m compelled by the reality that a good being (most commonly referred to as God) created the know universe and beyond. This God loves us ALL (is for us, not against us) so much that the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE lived and human life (as a first century Jewish Rabbi for the Galilee region in Israel) so that we all could know what he would be like if he were human.
His life, death, and subsequent resurrection has inspired a rescue mission through relationship, which we all are invited to join him on every day and in every moment.
What’s on your agenda this week...who's the catcher on your team?
Digging deeper...
Plane and Pine Together (
download MP3)
Mars Hill, Grand Rapids, Michigan
The Main Thing (
download MP3)
Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, Menlo Park, California
