Thoughts on life's experiences and God's nature by Robby Hyche…

It seems that this year there is not as much yuletide spirit as we normally see this time of year.  People seem really frumpy right now in my part of the world.  There are not as many decorations on the homes, people are struggling to smile, there is less holiday “bling” being worn than normal.  People seem agitated around Trussville.

I don’t know if it’s the economy, the political hangover after the massive elections, the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq, or of the situation in the world in general, but there seems to be a dreary cloud hanging over everyone…myself included. 

Christmas seems to have come to us rather quickly this year.  We really only had three full weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas whereas we normally have four.  There’s a lot of stuff to make us more sad this year, I guess.  Maybe we’re just ready for 2009 to get here.  Let’s get it over with, euthanize 2008 and may she rest in peace.

I don’t think that is the sort of peace God intended for us to have when the Angels declared “peace on earth, goodwill toward people.”  I am ready for some peace – and hope.  Micah 5:2-5 says that Bethlehem will be a small place among the places of Judah but from her will come a ruler who is from the ancient past.  Judah and the rest of teh country will be in trouble until… (Micah 5:4-5a) ”He will stand to lead his flock with the LORD’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored around the world.  And he will be the source of peace.”  This is a source of hope for me and I pray a source of hope those around us.  Jesus is our source of peace but we can only receive this peace if we turn to him for it.  It is way to easy to give ourselves to something or someone else to look for that peace, but we must find it in him. 

It is a Merry Christmas because we have in Jesus our source of peace.

When I was single, I met two great people named Tracy and Marta.  Marta has gone on to her reward in heaven and Tracey now lives in Costa Rica (or last time I talked with her).  When I knew these girls they were studying nutrition and as all good nutritionists should do, they would try to get me and my other friends to eat right.  They would try to make sure that I had all the right nutrients when I ate.  I argued that I took vitamins every day so leave me alone.  I don’t need to worry.  I worked out, jogged, biked, and was generally active.  And I took vitamins.  I had all the nutrients I needed.  After all, pizza has vegetables, cheese, and bread – right?!  Well that was not good enough for them. 

And then they would make fun of my penchant for sweet tea.  “That’s just sugar water!” they argued.  My simply reply would be, “No! It’s the nectar of the gods.”  Well, it was a never ending argument.  Finally, one of them explained that food is more than just getting the basic nutrients.  It is the “trace nutrients” that makes food good (or even bad) for you.  If a person took nothing but vitamins they would deteriorate and eventually die because vitamins lack all of the various “things” that we need to survive.  It was the totality of eating which helped to make us healthy.

That’s kind of like relationships in Biblical community.  Yes, we need to understand the bible.  Yes, we need to serve.  Yes, we need to be corrected by Scriptural principles.  And yes, we need friends.  But it is when all these aspects come together that we begin to understand more about ourselves and God.  We can begin to see ourselves from a different light and allow God to change us.  As Calvin Miller has indicated, life is lived mostly at the edges.  It is in the fray of life that we begin to make friends and find out who our friends are.  Serving others within the rubric of friendship, Scripture, and Biblical Community come together to make our life more complete and feed us in way that one by itself cannot.  I have to admit that while I began to learn that several years ago from my friends, I still learn that from my family – and within my spiritual community.

Beginning in January, our new Young Adult worship event will be called Relevant.  I have had a hard time trying to communicate what I think this time should be about, but during this week’s commentary onthe Great Commission1 from Life Matters, I found the words I couldn’t describe by Beth Clayton Luthye (on p23 of the winter leader guide):  

Relevance is about so much more than style.  it’s about substance.  It’s about connecting with people at the core of who they are.  it goes beyond surface interests and begins to dig into the depth of others’ stories.  It means engaging – really engaging – in people’s lives in order to help connect them to the living God.  The focus of relevance is other people, not ourselves.  Relevance always ties back to mission. 

I will probably comment more on this as time goes on, but I thought her comments were worth noting, considering that I want the Wednesday worship time to be about connect with God and others and taking the gospel to those who have not heard.