Friday, December 28, 2007
Pick a Tree...
the scripture says this:
Rom 14:5 One indeed esteems a day above another day; and another esteems every day alike. Let each one be fully assured in his own mind.
Rom 14:6 He who regards the day regards it to the Lord; and he not regarding the day, does not regard it to the Lord. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, does not eat to the Lord, and gives God thanks.
And interestingly enough, it's sandwiches in between these 2 verses:
Rom 14:4 Who are you that judges another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. But he will stand, for God is able to make him stand.
AND
Rom 14:7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
I guess for me, it comes down to this. You've found your 'version' of Christianity you like. Enjoy it. Other folk have found 'their version' allow them to enjoy it.
Let me tell you a story.
I came to Christ in an Alter call when I was 8 years old at a Independent United Methodist Church. Was mocked by my parents (who were the ones who took me to the church. bizarre yes?) The one thing I hear (remember hearing them say) still sometimes was
'you're never going to change.'
then we moved from South East Wash DC to Orange County Virgina. Total culture shock. I didn't even know what a redneck was! Now I was ducking them when I could fighting them when I had to...
at age 12 ended up in a couple of baptist churches until around age 15/16 then cause dad thought I was a wuss ( he would say Pussy) he enrolled me in Okinawan Kempo. (which didn't change his opinion, but now he was scared of me. sigh).
it was from friendships there I ended up going to a commune called the Rainbow connection in Richmond, Virginia.. and spending weekends. Was there I met Sadguru Sant Kishavadas... and all that other 'stuff'.
Then when I got out of that mess, ended up at age 18 joining the Roman Catholic Church... Then the Vineyard, then the Church of God etc... then many years later in 2000 was received into the Ukrainian Version of the Eastern Orthodox Church at age 33. (this after being a catecumin for a number of years. I think I met Fr. Michael in 1996..)
Anyway, I think I got into my head that if I could find the right Church, I'd stop being so screwed up and life would stop being so frellin hard.
Now -- go back to 1988 just before I got out of the US Navy. A British Exchange Chaplain came over one day for lunch, and I shared all my 'stuff' 'baggage' if you will with him, and he the next time I went to work had me before the commander as needed to go into some sort of counseling program.. sheesh. (I think here my dislike of Chaplains began -- the Commander already didn't like me, because he was an American Baptist and I challenged his theology as crap when he tried to preach this Universal message)...
Anyway I ended up having to go on this retreat, and it was there I learned a few things. One is I always try to fix other folk rather than just listening and trying to fix myself. I think I've gotten much better at this.
One of the things we had to do was become a buddy or friend to someone there over the weekend... and you didn't know who or what they did.
The guy that befriended me listened to all my grief and bitterness towards Chaplains and religion and how I couldn't find 'the Church'...
I really really liked that guy. Don't even remember his name now. Of Course you know he turned out to be a Chaplain, right?
sigh. One day we went for a walk and he showed me this grove of trees. They were all lined up and they were basically all trees, but they were different kinds of trees.
He said Christianity was like that. It was a tree. And while there were different types of trees, at the end of the day the different denominations, different streams of Christianity (EO/RC & Prot -- he made it clear he wasn't talking about cults, JW's/ LDS, 7thday etc) where all trees. They were different but at the end of the day were a Tree.
HE also said I could look at them like Restaurants. Basically I at some point just needed to pick a franchise.
Cause no matter what Church you picked they all had alot of things right (There is a God, who is a Trinity. Mankind can only be reconciled to Him thru the life passion & death/resurrection of Jesus) and some things wrong...
but that if I never picked one, I'd never grow and never be happy.
I'm still trying to realize this truth I learned almost 20 years ago now. And sometimes I still long to be part of a specific local church.
But in the final analysis. If you never go to a building, but meet in homes, and you love Jesus and seek to have your walk match you love for him to become love for others...
or if you are devoutly RC and go to daily mass and folk know you as being like Jesus...
or if you are Eastern Orthodox -- Protestant Baptist or Methodist, Anglican or Episcopal... If you are loving Jesus and counting on him for your Life now and Forever..
What's the big deal?
Rom 14:5 One indeed esteems a day above another day; and another esteems every day alike. Let each one be fully assured in his own mind.
Rom 14:6 He who regards the day regards it to the Lord; and he not regarding the day, does not regard it to the Lord. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, does not eat to the Lord, and gives God thanks.
And interestingly enough, it's sandwiches in between these 2 verses:
Rom 14:4 Who are you that judges another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. But he will stand, for God is able to make him stand.
AND
Rom 14:7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
I guess for me, it comes down to this. You've found your 'version' of Christianity you like. Enjoy it. Other folk have found 'their version' allow them to enjoy it.
Let me tell you a story.
I came to Christ in an Alter call when I was 8 years old at a Independent United Methodist Church. Was mocked by my parents (who were the ones who took me to the church. bizarre yes?) The one thing I hear (remember hearing them say) still sometimes was
'you're never going to change.'
then we moved from South East Wash DC to Orange County Virgina. Total culture shock. I didn't even know what a redneck was! Now I was ducking them when I could fighting them when I had to...
at age 12 ended up in a couple of baptist churches until around age 15/16 then cause dad thought I was a wuss ( he would say Pussy) he enrolled me in Okinawan Kempo. (which didn't change his opinion, but now he was scared of me. sigh).
it was from friendships there I ended up going to a commune called the Rainbow connection in Richmond, Virginia.. and spending weekends. Was there I met Sadguru Sant Kishavadas... and all that other 'stuff'.
Then when I got out of that mess, ended up at age 18 joining the Roman Catholic Church... Then the Vineyard, then the Church of God etc... then many years later in 2000 was received into the Ukrainian Version of the Eastern Orthodox Church at age 33. (this after being a catecumin for a number of years. I think I met Fr. Michael in 1996..)
Anyway, I think I got into my head that if I could find the right Church, I'd stop being so screwed up and life would stop being so frellin hard.
Now -- go back to 1988 just before I got out of the US Navy. A British Exchange Chaplain came over one day for lunch, and I shared all my 'stuff' 'baggage' if you will with him, and he the next time I went to work had me before the commander as needed to go into some sort of counseling program.. sheesh. (I think here my dislike of Chaplains began -- the Commander already didn't like me, because he was an American Baptist and I challenged his theology as crap when he tried to preach this Universal message)...
Anyway I ended up having to go on this retreat, and it was there I learned a few things. One is I always try to fix other folk rather than just listening and trying to fix myself. I think I've gotten much better at this.
One of the things we had to do was become a buddy or friend to someone there over the weekend... and you didn't know who or what they did.
The guy that befriended me listened to all my grief and bitterness towards Chaplains and religion and how I couldn't find 'the Church'...
I really really liked that guy. Don't even remember his name now. Of Course you know he turned out to be a Chaplain, right?
sigh. One day we went for a walk and he showed me this grove of trees. They were all lined up and they were basically all trees, but they were different kinds of trees.
He said Christianity was like that. It was a tree. And while there were different types of trees, at the end of the day the different denominations, different streams of Christianity (EO/RC & Prot -- he made it clear he wasn't talking about cults, JW's/ LDS, 7thday etc) where all trees. They were different but at the end of the day were a Tree.
HE also said I could look at them like Restaurants. Basically I at some point just needed to pick a franchise.
Cause no matter what Church you picked they all had alot of things right (There is a God, who is a Trinity. Mankind can only be reconciled to Him thru the life passion & death/resurrection of Jesus) and some things wrong...
but that if I never picked one, I'd never grow and never be happy.
I'm still trying to realize this truth I learned almost 20 years ago now. And sometimes I still long to be part of a specific local church.
But in the final analysis. If you never go to a building, but meet in homes, and you love Jesus and seek to have your walk match you love for him to become love for others...
or if you are devoutly RC and go to daily mass and folk know you as being like Jesus...
or if you are Eastern Orthodox -- Protestant Baptist or Methodist, Anglican or Episcopal... If you are loving Jesus and counting on him for your Life now and Forever..
What's the big deal?
