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It was one of the highlights of my teenage Christian-rock-music loving years. My favorite band was coming to perform in a city only an hour and a half away, and a friend of mine and I were going to go. They would be performing twice, Friday night and Saturday afternoon, and we had tickets to attend both concerts! I remember Friday morning, arriving around 10am for the 6pm concert. We were almost first in line, and surrounded by lots of other fans.

The concert was everything we’d hoped for. Our seats were okay, and the music was awesome. This was a show they did before starting their tour, so they were trying out all sorts of new things, and asking the crowd for feedback.

We had made arrangements to stay (for free) at a pastors house nearby, because we’re cheap. But with blizzard conditions outside, we were taking our time. It was getting late, and we’d been told the band had already left, so we were just killing time on couches in the public lobby. We’d just about fallen asleep when the band came out from their devotional time.

They asked us what our plans were for that night, and in our stunned stupor, we told them we were just about to fall asleep there. They invited us to come back and have spaghetti with them, and so there we were, two high school guys eating pasta with a band we were probably a bit too excited about. But the awesomeness did not end there. When they found out we were coming to the show the next day, they asked if we’d help them out. They had family nearby, and some young relatives who’d never gotten to be in the front row, because it’s usually too crowded. They asked if we’d come in with them in the morning, and protect their family members so they could be down front….of course we quickly agreed!!

Sure enough, the next day we met up with them outside. As we got to the entrance where dozens of fans were already waiting anxiously, they told us to follow them. We were able to go where no one was allowed, backstage, and entering early into the place everything was going to happen in just a few hours. We heard the soundcheck, and experienced a bit of backstage life, simply because they provided us with the opportunity. It’s something I’ll never forget.

Now imagine someone opening the door to something a thousand times more incredible. Something so incredibly out of this world, that we have a hard time explaining it. A window shade was drawn back. A curtain was torn. A door was opened. A path was pioneered. A veil was lifted. Jesus has given us a connection to be sourced in the life of the Age to Come even today!

Hebrews 2:10 says, “It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

It definitely didn’t come the way the disciples were planning.  Still today, there are times when we wish God could reveal Himself as Lord more as a “Superman” type, and less of a “loving servant” type.  Nevertheless, we read in Hebrews that in Jesus Christ, we now have access to God, and His Life, as never before.

Do we live in response to that knowledge?  Will we follow the trail that has been blazed on our behalf?

Here we go again with another “Five Minute Friday” post!  I had a great time trying it out last week, discovered some new writers, and I think a few new people even read my words!  What a great way to share this journey of writing and sharing life.  To learn more about “Five Minute Friday” (FMF), check out the linked image here.
This week’s theme is, “Roots”, so without further adieu…5 minutes of uninterrupted, and unedited writing:

“Roots are your home.   Don’t Deny.  New ideas, are worth a try.  In regards, what’s wrong or right?  We can do this.  Flee or fight.  Prides okay, but understand – no true person, is Superman.  Your domain – called future tense, your environment – your residence.”

It’s a quote from a song called “Residence” from a band called “Everyday Life” back in the 90’s.  A generally grunge-rap-core type band that I listened to when I was upset with the bad stuff in the world.  But it planted seeds for paying attention to the location roots were being put down.   Attention to the role of a parent to know the environment of their family, and change it if necessary.

So it’s with a bit of pride and thankfulness that I look back on the move we made back in 2005.  Far from any family, but wanting to begin having children of our own, we felt like God was calling us to move closer to family.  We moved to where my wife is from, and where much of her extended family still lives.  We also ended up centrally located to where many of my siblings moved to live as well.

But that’s not all.

I’m a youth pastor, and the trend is toward “short-term” living situations for most of us.  We’ve been here almost 7 years, and I still feel like we are only beginning what God has for us here.
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Grr….5 minutes is up.   So that’s what I wrote.  But it’s very true – I feel grateful for all the elements God connected to allow us to put down “roots” that our children can connect to.  Not simply “where we live”, either.  But the identity of our family in Christ, following His call, especially at these early years.

Fun. 🙂

Hebrews 1:3, “He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high..”

There are moments with my children where they are shining with the characteristics of their father. I remember one of the first times we let Addie eat an orange by herself. She sat there, meticulously pealing the orange skin away. Then she separated the pieces of orange one slice at a time. When we came back in the room, she had piled all of the peel together, and lined up the slices in a row, single file. No one had taught her daddy’s love of order, it was something naturally imprinted on her. 🙂

Although what the author is referring to here is much larger, and much more literal. The word used here is the word we get “character” from in English. As in “the characters in a play”, or the “characters of the alphabet”. But what did it mean as it was written then? The root of the word points to something like engraving or imprinting an image onto something else. In most cases, it was used to describe the imprinting of coins. The emperor would find an expert engraver, someone who could create an exact replica of his face to put on the coins used. He would create and cast a “stamp” so that the coin gave the “exact impression” of what was on the stamp.

As NT Wright has said, “It’s as if the exact imprint of the Father’s very nature and glory has been precisely reproduced in the soft metal of the son’s human nature.”  Going back to the first verses of this chapter with the same illustration – it’s as if for a long time, God didn’t have the metal necessary to receive his exact imprint. So he was sending out sketches and drafts on paper and other materials throughout the prophets, priests, and kings. Finally, in Christ, He can reveal what he’d been pointing to for generations.

Jesus has provided “purification for sins”. A way for us to be cleansed from the impact of sin in our lives, and on the world.

So why were the people being written to here tempted to turn away from Jesus?  This book was written about 60 years after the resurrection, and they were no doubt being pressured by family and friends to stop this Jesus-nonsense, and return to things they’ve known for generations.  Things like the Law, and the words of the Prophets.

To see the big picture, an illustration may help. Remember Christmas morning, when the children have unwrapped all the presents, and the floor is just covered with paper and tape and cards and boxes? That frustrating moment, when your 2 year old grabs the most expensive toy they received, dumps it out of the box, and runs away with the box itself, squealing with joy. Imagine God’s frustration and heart yearning, when His people are finally able to receive the gift God has been wrapping in the prophets, the law, and so on for generations….and yet they cling to the boxes and wrapping papers. They cling to the words of the prophets and living by the law, and shove Jesus to the side.

How are we like the audience of this book?  Are we being told to simply “be good people”, and don’t bother with specifics like the words of Jesus?  Are we told that having a vaguely “spiritual” side is “enough”?  Do you know the 10 commandments like the back of your hand, but when it comes to forgiving others, or serving the poor – well….it’s a lot easier to not murder someone.

May we spend some time re-orienting our lives to not simply be “good”, but to be centered on Jesus and on following Him.