Dung Goggles and the New Arithmetic

Posted on 11th Nov 2011 by Alison

Read these astounding words from the Apostle Paul…

7But whatever things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8But no, rather, I also count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them to be dung, so that I may win Christ 9and be found in Him… that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death; 11if by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead. (Phil 3:7-11 MKJV)

And then read this slightly different translation of Paul’s words…

7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him… 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another, I will experience the resurrection from the dead! (Phil 3:7-11 NLT)

Paul truly was an alien. A strange man in this world! He was a man who wore “dung goggles”. He looked at life through these lenses. Everything was dung compared to the desire and longing to know Christ and to be one with Him. But we read his written words above and we just can’t seem to connect. We are quite in love with this world; we are enamored with this life. The thought of dying and losing our lives and our lifestyle and our possessions seems more like a tragedy than a genuine upgrade! We certainly don’t consider our lives on earth as “dung” (garbage, rubbish, worthless stuff…). We’d much rather wear some trendy shades than to put on dung goggles.

Continue reading →

Consecration and Surrender to God’s Will

Posted on 6th Nov 2011 by Alison

An amazing quote from E.M. Bounds on consecration, surrender and God’s will:

“God’s great men have not been men who have originated great plans for God, but rather men, who, like Christ, the great model, have laid aside their own wills, however wise and good, and submitted themselves to follow so these mighty and renowned workers for God have felt the pressure of God’s hand. They were flexible to its slightest touch, listening to His softest whispers, and obedient to His every call.

“This submission to God’s will is an active virtue; it works, as well as suffers, under the sweet supremacy of God’s direction. It bears the rod, but works under the rule of the same divine will when the rod is not seen, feared, or felt. The consecrated life adores the fact that God is sovereign. It is His business and wisdom to plan and arrange His own work, settle His methods, and choose His agents to carry out His purposes. The efficiency and success of these agents does not depend on the maturity of their plans, or on their skill, but on their submission to God’s will, and their faithfulness in executing God’s plans.

“To surrender our life purpose to God’s will; to put forth all our energy in doing that will, and walking in God’s ways, this and this alone is consecration. In this, the servant will not be above his Lord. Active submission to, and working out God’s will is consecration.”

(E.M. Bounds)

Why I Sing

Posted on 30th Oct 2011 by Alison

Do you want to know why I sing? This quote says it quite clearly:

“Christianity is about the crucified Christ and the dancing Christ. We exist to wash the feet of men as Christ washed the feet of the apostles. But inside of our hearts joy should sing, for if our faith does not sing it is a kind of dead faith. For love is a song, the echo of God’s voice, and we must make this echo available.” (Catherine Wild)

This comes from the wonderful book by Father Robert Wild on the life of Catherine Doherty, called “Journey to the Heart of Christ”. I can’t shake this picture of the crucified AND dancing Christ. Truly, as Christians, is it not both the juxtaposition of mourning and joy together, that makes our faith so rich, deep, and somewhat surprising and unexpected?

We die daily, but in this death, we find joy everlasting! In our dying, we pick up life eternal.

Let the sound of singing come from a heart that is alive in faith. And if there is no singing, let faith arise once again! And let the song arise again within us, lest in our silence, the rocks would cry out!

This echo must be heard on this earth…

Marriage to Death

Posted on 26th Oct 2011 by Alison

My brother sent me this article. If my brother sends me something, I know it will be deep and profound; and this is no exception. Curious, from the title, what this article is about? Without any introduction, I will just say: read it, you’ll be better for it.

ARTICLE: A Bridegroom’s Reflections on his Wedding Day
By Sub-deacon Adam Deville

There comes a moment in life at which one’s perspective begins to shift from the unending gaze of youthfulness to the finite view of adulthood. There comes a point when the significant milestones of early life have all been crossed and one enters a new phase, acquiring a new outlook. There comes a time when one begins to think of death.

Such thoughts do not typically occur on one’s wedding day! For marriage, to be sure, begins in joy but – as Fr. Paul Evdokimov reminds us – “…the hour has not yet come.” That “hour”—as the word is invariably used in John’s gospel –pertains to the hour of Christ’s death. When one is baptized into Christ, one dies with Him; when one is married in Christ, one dies to self. In all things, one seeks that transposition of self which can only come about through death, so that, with Saint Paul, one may say “It is no longer I who live but Christ Who lives in me.”

The life and death of Christ is powerfully illustrated in the icon of Christ the Bridegroom. About an hour before I was married at St. Elias, I took my bestman – himself engaged to be married in the spring of 2004 – into the church to show him this icon. He and I had been having ad hoc discussions about what Christian marriage, properly so called, requires and entails, but I knew that all my disquisitions would be powerfully supplemented – if not supplanted – by that one sacred image which conveys everything I could hope to say in an hour or more. It is an exceedingly simple, and therefore exceedingly powerful, image.
For those of you unfamiliar with this icon, its most salient feature is a downcast Christ crowned with thorns and pierced through with many arrows. It makes that point that Saint Paul articulated so powerfully in his letter to the Ephesians: Continue reading →

Dear Friend: The Death of You is the Beginning of True Life

Posted on 3rd Sep 2011 by Alison

Note: This is a continued series of letters between a friend and I, as she embarks on a spiritual journey. You can read her original letter here and then my original response here. I haven’t included her latest letter, but below is my most recent response.

—

Thank you, again, for sharing the struggles within your heart with such openness. Again, in prayer, I have many thoughts welling up on the inside of me and I will share them now:

It seems that you are caught up in the torture of division. You have a divided heart. There is double-mindedness in you. This is the diagnosis of all mankind. You have your foot in many different streams, dabbling in a polygamy of pools. This is not strange or surprising. There is something within the fallen condition of all humans that resists solidarity of commitment and faithfulness to just One, and is drawn to the desperate grasping of many ‘others’.

The truth is, though, that when we come to Christ, our life dies, and our life is no longer our own. Our life, from that point on, is His life lived out through us. You are now hidden in Christ. You are no longer seen, so that He can be seen and glorified.

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I live; yet no longer I, but Christ lives in me. And that life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith toward the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself on my behalf.” (Galatians 2:20)

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)

Maybe some of what you admire in me (and this is not to say that there is anything praiseworthy about my life) is just seeing a life that died many years ago (not to say I don’t kick and scream from time to time!!!!). Alison Lam, solo identity outside of Christ, died long ago. There is no other path for me. A life, apart from Christ, is no longer a reality. It is an illusion. When I try and go my own independent way, I am just living in an illusion. It is not real. Continue reading →