Author: Wick

Rewind the clock about 7 months.  We’ve got a flat tire, and I’m looking around at options to see how much it’d cost to simply make the van “drivable”.  In the midst of this, my wife calls me to say a house she really loved has come down in price recently, and she wants to know if we could go look at it together.  I will pause here to tell you – looking at houses is definitely NOT a hobby of mine.  But I love my wife.  She bears with me during playoff season, and I walk through a house once in a great while.  I mustered up as much cynical love as possible to say, “Sure hun, let’s find out how much we owe to get new tires, and if it’s not too depressing, we’ll go walk through a house with no expectations.” 🙂  I figured I was off the hook. 

Through the kindness of a church friend, we had 2 used but good condition tires installed free of charge.  His actual words – “Go take your family out for lunch.”  Yes sir.  But little did he know the wheels he was used to set in motion.

We looked at the house.  I’ll admit, it was pretty sweet.  Almost twice as much room.  A dining room.  Sidewalks for the girls.  Neighbors that were extra neighborly.  Closets as big as small rooms.  A fireplace.  But to try and sell our house in this market?   To try and increase our mortgage even slightly on our fixed one-income budget?  Again, with cynicism, I agreed we would put our house on the market, and see if this house might be work-out-able. 

Time passed.  Our contingency offer expired, and they wouldn’t sign a second one.  Someone else made an offer and they accepted.  They were working toward closing.

That closing never happened, and the house was back on the market.  Sarah was leaving for the Philippines.  Maybe when she got back to the States, we’d figure out some way to put fliers up around town, you know, really ramp up our sales techniques.  But while she was gone, someone wanted to walk through.  Decided we may as well show even though it’s probably another “no thanks”.  Then an offer came. 

Picture taken in early Fall 2010

We began working it all out on paper, and honestly didn’t know exactly where the dust would settle.  But here we are, paying $10 less each month for our mortgage, for soooo much more house.  (Interest rates CAN be your friend.)  Still a lot of unpacking to do.  Still quite a few things on our lists to make it “home”.  Definitely some projects around the house.  But we still can’t believe how it has all come together. 

I hear stories like this, and people say “But we prayed, and then…”  I will not claim to bend the heart of God that He should act in our favor.  But I also cannot deny that we gave every step of this, including our financial frustrations from the very beginning, in His hands.  If anything, maybe he’s a bit taken by our kids.  They are pretty stinkin’ cute.  Thanks God. 

This past week we heard from Romans 6:15-23, and Pastor brought a message focused on “Living in all that God has for us: Holiness”. It was a great reminder that there are basically two paths ahead of us:

1. Living for ourselves (either selfishly (which includes the “who cares/whatever” realm), or even un-selfish humanism), which allows us to be free from “righteousness”, but also leads ultimately to death. Obviously, whether due to selfish desires being unbalanced, or due to human efforts ultimately only being able to accomplish a limited amount. 

2. Living obediently in Christ. This leads to righteousness (things being put right, and happening the way God designed), which leads to holiness (being set apart for God’s use/purposes). Obviously we cannot expect for “all things” to be put right in our own time/effort, but as Christians we live toward the expectation that we join God in what He is actively doing and will bring to completion.

Ancient Greek philosophy isn’t too far removed from what goes on in many hearts and minds today. The word “telos” means “goal, purpose, result/outcome”. Many of ancient times, through today are giving thought to the goal, purpose, or intended result of our actions and lives.

So what is the “telos” of choice number one here?  Death (Rom. 6:21).  Not something simple, like being dead.  Not the time-bound activity of dying.  But death itself.  Misery, brokenness, and separation from God.  We mourn that many will actually choose this, either out of selfish desire for pleasure, or a chosen desire to deny any need for the existence of God as loving “other”.

What of the “telos” for choice number two?  Eternal Life.  (Rom. 6:22).  Not something simple, like life that becomes invincible.  Not the time-bound activity of living forever from now on.  But life itself.  Stretching in more dimensions than linear time, and more powerful simply by definition than any walls or boundaries.  We not only hope toward this, but are already being transformed by this life that is breaking through our world today. 

So how does that impact our lives today?

We make decisions on a daily basis, both for what we will be about, and for what our families will be about.  May we make choices obedient to the Truths revealed in the Word and the Living Word of Jesus Christ.  It may not always be received well to a world built on choosing “death”…in fact, it may very well lead to our death (both literal and symbolic).  But even if it ends in such a death, we believe in the promise that we share in the Resurrected Life of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23).

May our end be His end in the end…:)

Moving toward Christmas, we have the season of Advent. Weeks marked by various themes and scripture, we share conversations with our family as we light the candles. We hope toward the birth of the Savior. We wait to celebrate. We anticipate all that God is and will do.

Moving toward Easter, we have the season of Lent. We don’t get a wreath with candles. Sure, we have the lectionary, but it hardly gives themes unified around preparing for a celebration of Easter. There are many different resources out there, for ways to use Easter with your family. Learning the virtues, the fruits of the Spirit, activities to do with your children.

One of the main things we’ve been doing with our kids, is to ask the question: Why do we need Easter? Asking my daughters to name things that are wrong/broken/unjust/etc. in the world, and looking forward to God actively “making all things new”, which begins in large way at the resurrection of Jesus.

Last night, my wife and I finally sat down to watch “Waiting for Superman“. Wow. Seriously. There aren’t many things that move me to tears, admittedly, which probably isn’t a very healthy thing. I realize the movie doesn’t depict ALL education systems, and has a few flaws here and there.

But seen as a testimony to the brokenness, and unjust-ness of many places we live in…and recognizing that even the most broken areas of the American education system are vastly beyond what many places in the world have for their children.

We parents want so much for our children. One part of this is education. But that is only one pixel of the big picture. It will not happen by waiting for the “Superman”, or anything that promises to be what we need. It will not happen by humanity “getting it right” on their own.

But in the celebration of Easter, we get a glimpse of what “it happening” will be like…