The Aroma of Brokenness

It's one of those ideas that just seems to be sticking with me. A couple of weeks ago, I spoke from 2 Corinthians 12:7 - 10 about the aroma of brokenness (you can listen to the message on our website). At the time, I had a sense that if I just lingered in the Spirit's presence long enough and meditated on this passage, it could be life-changing. I told our church that I didn't want to move on from that place too quickly, so I could make sure that I "got it." A lot of the inspiration for that message came from Peter Scazzero's book, "The Emotionally Healthy Church." He's written a related book, "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality." I recommend both.

I guess it's because I'm in one of those seasons in life right now where everything is a lot of work. I can honestly say that there isn't one area where I am coasting. Life is good, make no mistake. I'm healthy, have a wonderful family and the depth of my love for Christ is deepening almost daily. I also pastor a great group of people. Really great. But everything, well, almost everything, is hard. God seems to be testing me, refining me and even fortifying me. Ruth and I have four daughters and they're entering the teen years. Our church is remodeling its building and I find my time easily taken up with "construction issues." My heart is, at times, bored and listless. I sometimes wonder if I'm making a difference. Retirement, though still about 20 years away, has popped up on the horizon. I wonder if I'm as far along as I should be. I sometimes feel like I disappoint God.

And so, there are significant areas of my life where I have some deep questions and even disquiet. And that really bothered me, until I spent some time with Paul and his thorn in the flesh. I know some people think they know what this thorn was, but I'm not sure we can say with certainty. When I look at the context, it could have been physical, moral or even emotional. And I think that vagueness on the part of God is intentional. The bottom line is that it was tormenting Paul and was a serious threat to him. But it was exactly that desperate situation that God used to keep Paul true to the cross and in love with Christ.

And that's the bottom line for me: My failures, frailties, questions, doubts, fears, sin and even sadness sometimes, can be (if I'll let them) God's gifts, personally given to me, to keep me in love with Jesus. I love Him so much.

God has given me the grace to keep everything in perspective and it's beautiful. But I am learning to embrace my thorns as gifts and as things to be treasured. As I allow myself to be broken, I am praying that the aroma of Jesus will fill the space around me.

Thanking God for Entrepreneurs

OK, so we live and work in a town known for its government agencies, the Pentagon, embassies from around the world and lobbyists. But what about the entrepreneurs who have made our country great? During the July 4th weekend, I spoke to our church about the blessings that God has given to our nation. We prayed for and thanked God for all of the different types of careers represented in our DC area and the people who work so hard to make this country great. But I focused my attention this year on God's gift of the entrepreneur.

Often, the message of the church seems to be that entrepreneurs carry around an extra load of guilt and I'm not sure we really appreciate what a gift from God entrepreneurs are. To hear more of this message, check out the link on our home page under my picture, "listen to one of Rick's messages."

There are a couple of points I'd like to add to what I said. First, by creating capital, taking sizeable economic risks (so the rest of us don't have to), innovating, looking forward into the future, creating jobs (and blessing families), entrepreneurs are a significant force for growth and the greatness of our nation. Look, the Bible instructs us to tithe and give to the poor. And so there is a responsibility for business people to give to the church and to help those less fortunate. In fact, it's a strong mandate. But, even if a business gives nothing charitable, it is still a blessing to our nation because of the growth and opportunities it provides.

The parable of the talents, in Matthew 25:14ff offers a real life example of Jesus endorsing entrepreneurship. The servants who took risk, looked for the best return, and who reaped a reasonable profit were commended by Christ. True, the first and foremost implication of this parable is a spiritual one (we are to use the talents God has given to us and He expects a return on them). But, he uses an example from the business world and gives his approval by its example.

This was a unique sermon for me, but I really enjoyed preparing it and presenting it. I tried to present biblical principles as they relate to capitalism -- an imperfect system, but the best the world has ever seen. God works through capitalism and we see the blessings of God poured out, in part at least, through our economy based on Christian principles.

God bless America. America, bless God.

For more info on this kind of economic perspective, check out the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty.