Day 7 of Lent {...and this, the first of All My Fatherless Winters...}
From the very beginning of this piece, let me say that I do not see myself as “fatherless” in any spiritual or ultimate sense. The Living God and I have an intimate, sweet, father-daughter relationship. It began well, when I was 6 years old, in a tiny Presbyterian church. That relationship has only grown sweeter with the years.
Truly, “the longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.”
And that was my earthly father’s favorite song.
Was.
He went to heaven, this past August. Because he was a good dad, my relationship with my Heavenly Father has also been good, and has only deepened and become more beautiful, over time. Scarcely a thing I write is without some reference to my good, good Father.
By contrast, there are at least a dozen blog posts I have written in years past, about how Old Man Winter and I have a horrible relationship. He has never been good to me, and it’s no wonder - I’ve always dreaded his arrival and celebrated his departure. I won’t bore you here with back-link after back-link, each old blog post proving to you allllll the words I’ve written about that old man - the grey, the gloom, the lack of sunshine, seasonal depression, etc etc.
You might imagine my surprise when, as Old Guy Winter is loosening his grip on the culdesac, I sit here this morning and look back over the span of time between the Christmas Star until right this moment…
…and it has been my best winter yet.
It has not been without its deep challenges. (So let that give you an idea of how profound the struggle has been, in past years. Winter often translates into a fight for life for me. I only wish that was hyperbole.)
What has changed? What has made such a huge difference?
Honor.
I believe it’s the power of honor.
I heard a message by a friend of the family, Sean Whaley - Sean is the son-in-love of our dear friends Rob and Glenda Rufus of City Church International in Hong Kong. (Here’s the link to his message, if you are interested) and in the message he made this observation:
“The Kingdom of God operates on two principles…”
Humility
&
Honor
He said that the Kingdom of God operates on the principles of humility and honor. I’ve heard that said before, in years past, from various teachers. The more the decades fly by, the more I believe these words to be increasingly true. (John Bevere has a powerful message on honor - and the way that it attracts very real reward into ones life.)
In no way is the concept of “honor bringing reward” meant to be antithetical, or a challenge to the message of grace. Of course, I cannot earn and deserve my blessings. This concept of honor and reward is far more tied to friendship with God. When you understand who He is, what He is like, what He loves, and the sorts of atmospheres that He finds irresistible - well, faith is at the top of the list of “these are a few of His favorite things”. Humility would be on that list. And honor would be perhaps second only to faith.
The Living God finds a culture of honor to be irresistible. Embedded into the Ten Commandments, the first commandment with a promise concerns honor. And the promise? “Honor your father and your mother, that it may be well with you…”
God loves to show up with wellness and blessing wherever people honor Him and honor their leaders and honor one another. When we dishonor someone who He has planted in our life, someone who is meant to be honored by us, His Spirit is grieved. The Bible even goes so far as to say we do a level of damage to our own soul, when we dishonor certain people.
This.
I made a promise, in this moment, on that day. I made a quiet promise to honor his memory by refusing despair. And by walking in a consistent level of leadership.
Like he did.
Little did I realize that the summertime promise made, would bring me a harvest of wintertime blessing.
Not because I earned it, or deserve it. Rather, because the Kingdom operates based on honor.
Day 6 of Lent {...process > product...}
In art circles there is a popular hashtag: #doitfortheprocess
Do it for the process. Not the product.
I think this process-oriented mindset is such freedom for artists because it originated in the heart of the First Artist. God does everything for the process. I mean, consider it: Christ was the plan of God from before the foundation of the world.
“God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.”
God waited a really long time to “get to the point”! Why?! Because He was painting a picture. All through creation, the Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant, and the Covenant of the Law, all the way up and until Christ, He was painting a picture.
And He is still painting pictures. He is still longsuffering, still delighting in process. Instead of fast forwarding all of human history to the end goal of a glorified Jesus, God is still relishing the details in His unfolding of His masterpiece!
My friend and fellow creative, He is pleased, fascinated, and gratified in the process He is using with you. How can I say that? How can I know?
Because the Lord binds Himself to His own word. We can take what we learn about His character and nature in the Scripture, put it through the lens of the New Covenant, and realize that He is the only being that is never bored, He is endlessly creating, doesn’t get frustrated with us when we don’t get it. If the Lord tells us to “count it all joy” when we encounter various troubles - how much more does He count it all joy in His process of loving His own?
It helps me to quietly meditate on the processes of God. The degree to which He involves Himself in a human life is beyond profound. He is perfectly patient, and He feels happy in the process, because He is patient (not the irritated kind of “patience-with-a-sigh”)…
…He is endlessly interested in the works of His hands, He knows the outcome, because it all is His artwork anyway. He began the masterpiece, He sustains it, He works on it throughout the course of our collective lifetimes, and He will complete it. He knows exactly what He is doing, and where He is going with all His designs.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below - does any of this feel like a challenge? Does it sort of “mess” with your church-y ideas of God? Have you known these things all along, and thus you’ve experienced great freedom in your processes?
It has taken time for me. I need to preach to my own soul, and right often, at that! So here I am, in the school of Christ. For me, it is both art school and seminary. I am in this school theologically, practically, relationally, and in my art practice. The goal is the learning…not a certain outcome. The goal is the learning to become as passionate about the process as Jesus is.
Because of this learning, this letting sound doctrine get tangled up with my practice of free-wheeling art, I can no longer put God in neat theological boxes labeled "judgement" and "mercy". Justice and Mercy hang out together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other, you see. They’re close companions, if not lovers. Much in the same way, my Bible study and art have become much more than disinterested associates. They are much more than friends. They have this degree of intimacy. Now, each one defers safely to the other.