Author: Wick

You don’t have to look very far to find a topic that polarizes these days. Lately, it seems the one topic I’ve heard/seen people talk vehemently about….is the issue of whether or not a mosque should be built so close to where the tragedy on September 11th, 2001 happened.  Just click the links in the previous sentence and you’ll see the latest stories, filled with intense drama and effort in both directions.

For most of us, it doesn’t quite matter what we think.  You don’t have a national “vote” to make a decision like this.  So whatever side we fall on…we give our opinion, and walk forward into whatever comes next.  But in how we state our opinion, much can be said about who we are.

It seems to me like an issue that should not have been made such an issue.  So much time and energy has been wasted, relationships have been broken, and hate has been spewed, all between several religions who claim peace and love as highly important.

I can’t speak to the Muslim side of things.  I’ve heard accusations of different reasons they may be motivated to build such a building on that location.  So let’s say it’s true.  Let’s say somehow this Muslim community IS connected to the terrorist group that was behind the attacks on 9/11.  Let’s say they wanna build a giant building with a sign that points at “Ground Zero” and says..”Boo Yah”.  ( I don’t believe this is the case at all.)

Even with that, I believe I can speak to the Christian approach.  I believe we are called in many places throughout scripture to live and respond prophetically to the events happening all around us.  (Luke 12:56)  Not that God wants us to make predictions and see if they come true, but that God desires those who follow Him to respond to current events from the perspective of  New Creation, and the Kingdom of God that is, and is to come.

What does that mean?  We understand that by reading the rest of Luke 12 leading up to those verses.  Jesus is talking about letting go of possessions.  About giving things away.  About not storing up treasures on earth.  Reminding us that where we invest our time, money, and energy; there our “center” will be.  That we should “consider the lilies”, not just as inspirational decoration choices – but as a reminder not to allow worry over temporal things to have such a hold on our lives.

I’ve heard many loving followers of Jesus who oppose building on the basis of “showing love, respect, and honor to those who suffered in 9/11”.  I can understand that desire, but I do not believe Christ calls us to reinforce anxiety over possessions out of Love for those who suffer.  I’ll finish with a quote:

“..the new kingdom didn’t look like they had thought it would…No violence, no hatred of enemies, no anxious protection of land and property against the pagan hordes…Rather, a glad and unworried trust in the creator God, whose kingdom is now at last starting to arrive, leading to a glad and generous heart toward other people, even those who are technically “enemies.” ” – NT Wright, “After You Believe”

In reading “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains“, one of the many things he discusses is the extreme lack of boredom most of us face in our daily living.  Overstimulated, our brains yearn to be unplugged or at the very least to read something printed on paper that doesn’t offer us the option to click a link to a connected article.

There was a quote of similar position in the most recent “Parents” magazine, that talked about the need children have for a bit more boredom in their life, as it leads to important developments in imagination and creativity.  Don’t pile 20 toys in front of a kid, they’ll only get overwhelmed.  Give them 1, and allow them to make the fun last by discovering all the new ways that thing can be played with.

It reminds me of a quote I discussed with some of our leaders recently, from the movie “Ratatouille”.  The main rat was explaining to his brother why he loved humans, and he says something to the effect of, “Humans don’t merely survive, they CREATE!!”  He wants to create also, and falls in love with creating new taste experiences, etc.  Great movie.

His line offers something for us to think about as people who have been created by God, and in the image of God.  It’s something to chew on, and it’s tune is noticeable behind all the random poems/spoken words/things I’ve been writing/recording lately.  In following Christ, and worshiping a creative God who has made us in His image…ironically we often find ourselves in the position of consumer.  It’s easy to stay there.  God Himself is working to remedy that problem, and in the meantime invites us to experience that remedy.

To join in His creative work in making all things New.  To have our very existence be something that yields creative fruits.  Not simply “things to sell”, or “things to check off a list”.  Not even something that we can bring to a Christian “show-and-tell” every week.  But to make sure that our lives are involved in expressing who we are, who God is, and what beauty there is in the “Creation being made New”…thereby giving worship to God.

Which brings another element into the picture.  This isn’t merely talking about grabbing a canvas and tossing paint onto it.  Though that may happen.  This isn’t talking about crafting a poem with meter and rhyme.  Though it may be that.  Not about perfecting a new recipe, but it might taste like it.  Not talking about sculpting a masterpiece, though you might.  You get the picture.  There is something eternal and “from God” that I’m referring to here.  From/involving/to God, and all of a sudden this temporal creation takes on meaning beyond where moth and rust destroy.

One could even go so far as to agree with the rat….if we are merely consuming, we are not “being” human as God intends.  Which begs the question…what will you create this week?  Not just fitting “Peg A” into “Slot A”, but something that actually fires the synapses involved in creative activity, connecting us to a God who created all things in the beginning, and is renewing all things even now.  Where will you join with God in bringing about a bit of Kingdom beauty/living?