“He forgot to ask us to…

Soon after email was invented a friend sent this story to me:

Abraham Lincoln often slipped out of the White House on Wednesday evenings to listen to the sermons of Dr. Phineas Gurley at a local Presbyterian Church.  Lincoln generally preferred to come and go unnoticed, so when Dr. Gurley knew the president was coming, he left his study door open.  On one of those occasions, the president quietly entered through a side door of the church, took his seat in the minister’s study, located just off the sanctuary, and propped the door open just wide enough to hear the preacher.

During the walk home one Wednesday evening, an aide asked Mr. Lincoln his appraisal of the sermon.  The president thoughtfully replied, “The content was excellent…he delivered with eloquence…he had put work into the message…”

“Then you thought it was an excellent sermon?” questioned the aide.

“No,” Lincoln answered.

“But you said that the content was excellent, it was delivered with eloquence and it showed much work,” the aide pressed.

“That’s true,” Lincoln said.  “But Dr. Gurley forgot the most important ingredient.  He forgot to ask us to do something great.”

“He forgot to ask us to do something great.”

So much of our lives are built on the average and the every day and the need for daily faithfulness in the routine–even in the small and the mundane–and this is very good.  It is essential.  But it is also true that every life should strive for a contribution to some great cause, to do something noble, to invest deeply in something bigger than self-preservation and self-pampering.

A completely self-absorbed life is the smallest life in the world.  A deeply self-giving life is the largest life in the world–not usually the largest in terms of recognition but certainly the largest in terms of fulfillment and meaning and noble accomplishment.

“Af anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”  Jesus in Mark 9:35

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”  Jesus in Matthew 16:25

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”  Jesus in Mark 10:45

Jesus, unlike Dr. Phineas Gurley on the particular Wednesday evening, calls us to something great.  He calls us to sell out our lives for the Person of God and the reputation of God and the work of God and the good of others.  He calls us to noble living and Bible causes.  He calls us to deep dedication to the Kingdom.

Life is so much more exciting when we follow Jesus’ call to “do something great.”

Let me ask you to do something great in the next ten days.  Here it is:  “Ask God to show you a noble cause that is far greater than self-pampering.  Ask Him to plant in your heart something great that is far above even self-preservation–more important than saving you life.  Ask God for the gift of a great dream and for the joy that goes with it.”

When He shows you, go after it!  That would be great!

The Essence

 

“Less is more.”

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

A few years ago I was at a conference in Washington State and I got up early to read my Bible and drink a cup of coffee.  I found a local Starbucks and sat at a table in the corner—thinking that I was in an out-of-the-way, quiet place.   Unfortunately my table was also near the place where the barista would set up the freshly made “coffee-like-drinks” and would also call out the description of the drink.

The variety and options that you can order at Starbucks are staggering.  “Tall, no whip, extra hot, skinny, soy,upside-down, caramel macchiato.”  The options must exceed a million.

A singer/songwriter named Keb Mo has a song called “Keep it Simple.”  Part of his lyrics read:

“Well I went down to the local coffee store

The menu went from the ceiling all the way down to the floor

Decaf, cappuccino, or latte said the cashier

I said gimme a small cup of coffee and let me get the heck up outta here.”

 

In many ways we have too many options in our lives in America.  This causes a number of problems for us.

The first problem with too many options is that we can be paralyzed by option overload.  If the choice is “vanilla” or “chocolate” most of us can make a fairly quick decision between those two.  If the choice is “which one of these 71 flavors” we can get immobilized by the array of options.

The second problem is that we can choose the wrong options—either the immoral option or the second class option.  Some part of life is making choices between moral and immoral things.  In my experience much more of life is making choices between the best things and the good things.

The third problem is that we can choose too many options.  We can end up doing dozens of things poorly and the important things either poorly or not at all.

In our world of limitless options the trick is finding and pursuing “the essence” or the things of “core” importance right now.

Years ago I read a question that has helped me a great deal in relation to the issue of essence or core or high-leverage choices.  Unfortunately I cannot remember the source.  The author asked, “What three things, if pursued faithfully, would make an 80% difference in my life right now?”

Life has hundreds of “seasons” and in each of these seasons there are essential things that make the most difference.  Certain foundational choices are right and essential for all seasons of life—pursuing God, service, humility, loving others well, purity, etc.

But in every season there are “seasonal choices” that get at the essence of what is important for me right now.  As I have fought to think of and pursue the essence or core things for myself right now I have landed on three things.  Simplicity.  Physical fitness.  Finish my book.

Regarding simplicity I am simply overloaded with appointments and commitments and stuff.  I would experience a stark change for the better if I succeeded in living a simpler life.

Regarding physical fitness I have let my fitness slide in recent months and I am suffering for it and I am in a season of life where I cannot afford this.

Regarding my book it is completely written and I have been unfaithful in honing the chapters for months and months now.  I need to just finish and move to the next step.  I am not going to write the next great American novel but I do need to simply finish.

What is at the “essence” or the “core” for you in the current season of your life?  What are the three things that would make the 80% difference in how you are experiencing life and how you are honoring God and how you are helping others?

1. _______________________________
2. _______________________________
3. _______________________________

There are seasons of life when we need a “small cup of coffee” far more than we need a “tall, no whip, extra hot, skinny, soy, upside-down, caramel macchiato.”

The way Jesus said this is, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.”

The happy people are not the ones who have it all but the ones who have the essence.

Commute (A poem by former commuter Dave Gibson)

Shower.  Shave.

Fight for a place in the violent, driven snake as she slithers into the city.

Work.  Worry.

Fight for a place in the violent, driven snake as she slithers out of the city.

He Dog, South Dakota and Paris, France

A visit to my hometown in 2006.

When I was born my parents were living in He Dog, South Dakota.  (I am not making this up.)  He Dog was then, and is now, an Indian day school on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.  My mother was teaching there and my father was a government trapper.  He Dog is only a school, dropped in the bottom of a small swale, with no other services at all.  You cannot buy gas or groceries or get your hair done in He Dog.  From two miles away—in any direction—you cannot see He Dog because it sits so low in its little bowl.  About 20 teachers and administrators live there full-time.

He Dog School is named after Chief He Dog who was a war chief for the Oglala Sioux.  He Dog was a lieutenant for Chief Crazy Horse and he fought against Custer in the Battle of the Little Big Horn.  He died in the early 1900’s.

I lived my first year of life in He Dog and then visited there for two hours about 50 years later.  No one knows me there but I did list “He Dog, South Dakota” as my hometown on the program when I got my doctorate a few years ago.  I was more than a little proud of that fact.

Paula Bierman Gibson (L) at He Dog School in 1952.  She is pregnant with me.

Today on my flight home from a visit with my Dad I looked through the June issue of Sky Magazine.  The lead article, complete with a stunning French actress on the cover, was “French Allure: The Enduring Influence of Parisians on Popular Culture.”

This article in Sky Magazine overviews the lives of 13 young, beautiful, hip, brilliant, trend-setting, entrepreneurial, culture-influencing Parisians—a journalist, a barista, an actress, another actress, a designer, a first lady, a chef, a model, four rock stars, and an author. Each of these people, in his or her own way, is impacting the culture and the feel and the mystique that is Paris.  And they really are quite amazing people for their levels of giftedness and their diligence to pursue their various areas of art and expertise.

I visited Paris for four days one time and did the regular tourist stuff and frankly loved the city.  At one point I turned to my faithful little dog and said, “We’re not in He Dog any more Toto!”

The contrast between Paris and He Dog is harsh. Huge vs. Miniature.  Famous vs. Obscure.  Influential vs. “Never Mind.”  World’s Most Famous Tower vs. Invisible Swale.  World Famous Mystique vs. “Whoever Heard of This Place?”  Everything Available vs. Nothing Available.  Hip vs. Hick.

I am more “He Dogian” than Parisian.  (Yes, “He Dogian” is a brand new word that has never before been used!  You read it here first but it will never make the Webster’s Online Dictionary.)  I will not be written up in Sky Magazine.  I will never be a “pop culture influencer.” I would enjoy being hip and influential. However, it is a long way from He Dog to hip and I am incapable of the trip.  That trip would require far more education, giftedness,  cultural savvy, and entrepreneurial ability than I have.

At times in my life I have felt insignificant to the point of self-pity.  “Woe is me for I am a He Dogian!  I couldn’t write a movie script to save my mortal soul.  I couldn’t design an evening gown on a dare.  I couldn’t bake an edible Quiche to save my life.  I couldn’t act my way out of a paper bag.” (I can write clichés!)  I am not disparaging these fields of expertise—any of them can be done to the glory of God.  God is the Inventor of beauty, design, food, story, color, acting, and art. He is perfect at all of these.  Anyone who creates these is imitating God in some imperfect way.

All that said, “What is a He Dogian to do? What is an “also ran” to do?  What is a regular person without trend-setting, culture influencing ability to do?  What good is my life if I am from He Dog instead of Paris and my gift is for clichés instead of soufflés?”

Two major options are set before me:  self-pity or faithfulness.

Faithfulness is available to all of us no matter what our hometown.  The route to a successful life is very clear—simply adopt the values of God and pursue those values with faithfulness.  This isn’t easy but it is clear.

This is not flashy stuff and there are certainly times to innovate and try new things but God values faithfulness greatly.  To me this is great news.  With the help of God I am capable of faithfulness.  I cannot act, cook or write screen plays. I can be faithful in the skills and responsibilities that God has given me and my hometown has no bearing at all on this.

He Dog Day School.   South Dakota.   April 2006.

“Climbing Together”

Much of life is uphill is it not?

It is so good to have ahold of someone’s hand.

“The One Great Circumstance of Life”

 

During the last half of the 1800′s a remarkable man named Hudson Taylor worked to evangelize, provide food, clothing, and medical care the people of inland China.  (Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret is well worth the read–if you have any sensitivity to the Spirit of God that book will arrest you repeatedly.)  Taylor’s heart for the Chinese people was unparalleled in any other human.

Taylor was from Great Britain and he had a towering commitment to reach China with the Gospel.  He was compelled.  His commitment was obsessive–I might even say it was insane.  It was an insanity that was God-driven, Apostle Paul-like, noble, and deeply rewarding to Taylor as well as many others.

In the course of pursuing China for Christ, Taylor suffered extensively and ran against roadblocks too numerous to even remember.  He had long and bitter campaigns to get money to go to China.  He had constant setbacks in recruiting workers.   He had prolonged times of poverty, illness and hunger.  He had uncountable times of danger from people, governments, wars, and natural elements.  He suffered the premature death of family members–including his wife and a child–while serving in China.  He worked unimaginable hours for unimaginable days.  He nearly lost his life from exertion and was forced back to England to recover.

At times, understandably, the circumstances of Taylor’s life got him down.  He had emotional struggles, dark days full of fears and second guessing.  He had doubts about God’s commitment to him.  He had extended times of sadness and anxiety.  He had uncertainties about the choices he had made and about the future he had or did not have.

The circumstances of life can get us down–get us severely down.  The hard circumstances of my own life have often gotten me down but my circumstances have never approached the hardships of Taylor’s life.  As I read the Spiritual Secret I was convicted about my own lack of stamina and perseverance.  I was convicted about my whining and easy willingness to focus on circumstances.  I have a gift for making circumstances big and making God small.  It is a sin.  I have a similar gift for making people big and God small.  This is also a sin.

At some point early in his vocation as a missionary to China Hudson Taylor leaned “to think of God as The One Great Circumstance of Life, and of all lesser, external circumstances as necessarily the kindest, wisest, best, because either ordered or permitted by Him.”  (Page 79)

What a great help this is to me.  If I can come to see God as “the One Great Circumstance of Life” then the rest is secondary–even secondary if the other things are bitter and painful and prolonged.

From now on, if I am overwhelmed by anything in my life, I want it to be by The One Great Circumstance of my Life.

Today is not a Rehearsal for Tomorrow

“I always made the mistake of thinking that today was some sort of rehearsal for tomorrow.”

Spoken by an old and dying man to a young boy in the film “The Earthling.”

 

What?  The successful Christian life is so deeply “daily.” This life is only well lived day by day—trusting and obeying God in this very day.

“Give us this day our daily bread.”  “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”  “Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow has enough troubles of its own.”  “Today salvation has come to this house.”  “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

God is concerned about how you and I live today.  As the famous and true (and bitterly overused) saying goes, “Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not guaranteed—so we must make the most of today.”

The way I live today is the day that counts most in my pursuit of God and in my usefulness to Him.  My mistakes of the past are forgivable and to one degree or another redeemable—though consequences still remain.  Today is the day I have and if I am excusing myself for not pursuing God today and not making myself available for His use today then I am squandering my life—squandering the most precious resource God has given me.  Wasting today and planning to live for God tomorrow is the life equivalent to the financial insanity of shredding $100 bills.

Question:  “If I live every day of the rest of my life the way I have lived today where is my life going—who am I becoming, what difference will I make?”  We have the option, if we will, to extrapolate our lives and see the “trajectory” of our choices into the future and see the destination and fruit of that life.

The trajectory or character or sum of our lives can only be the sum of the way we live our days.  We are foolish to think that our finances will be good in the future if we shred $100 bills today.  We are also foolish to think that our future will be near God and useful to God if we are not living like that today.

How?  We live faithfully today by leaning on God—by appropriating the resources He has already given to us.  

“…seeing that God has given to us all that we need for life and godliness.”

2 Peter 1:3 

If we have faith in Christ we already have the indwelling Holy Spirit and we already have the option of submitting to Him and thus gaining His power and His guidance.  We already have the guidance of the Bible—the very Manual for how to live life from the very One Who created life.  We already have the example of those who have pursued God before us.  We already have fellow sojourners to help us in the journey.  We already have a conscience that can guide us in our choices.  We already have the example of Jesus to emulate.  We already have the things we need for life and godliness in this day.

We already have all these things and the key is to use them.  The key is to make a choice to saturate our lives today with these things that God has already given to us.

You?  “What are you up to today?”  This is such a common greeting between friends or family members on the phone.  It is used to orient ourselves to the other person’s life and get into a conversation and know where they are emotionally and practically.  It is a touchstone to lead into an appropriate conversation.  If someone says, “I am just walking out the door to my mother’s funeral,” the conversation is certainly going a different direction than if the person says, “I am just walking out the door to go on a 10-day cruise that my wife won at work.”

“What are you up to today?” is a life-orienting question.  It is a question to ask ourselves daily.  We ask it daily because what we are “up to” today is a major piece of who we are and who we are becoming and where we are going and how useful we will be to God.

“Many people die with their music still in them.  Why is this so?  Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live, anticipating life in some dreaded, ill-defined, or very tentative future.  Before they know it, their time runs out.” 

Oliver Wendell Holmes.

 

“How we live our days is how we live our lives.” 

Francis Chan

 

“What are you up to today?”