Haiku crazy

I just had to post this because I wasted way too much time on it yesterday, and it was one of the highlights of the day for me. Included in the thread are my former Bible professor (who owes me a seminary reference) and HU campus pastor. Sorry for the poor formatting, I don't really know how to put these together well. 

Kenosis Love

With committing Himself to successive covenants with Israel, we see an unlimited God limiting Himself. With Abraham, with Moses, with David, the Lord makes these covenants to which He is bound to this people. The idea that a God who cannot be bound by anything in the entire universe (since He created it) would purposefully and humbly choose to be bound in such a way is pretty incredible.

With this new covenant we find ourselves in, this same Lord chooses to limit Himself even more, completely emptying Himself of all power, subjecting Himself to weakness and shame, even unto dying on the cross. The Greek word that is used here for the concept of "emptying" is kenosis. The place in Scripture that is most famous for this term is Philippians chapter 2:6-11, which is often called the Kenosis Hymn:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied (kenao) himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 The love of God compelled Him to empty Himself of all things. This is agape love--self-sacrificial, unconditional love that puts the needs of others before oneself. Jesus Christ became empty of all but love in order to save us. And it is through this emptying that He became exalted in glory.

Similarly, we are called to the same sacrificial, self-emptying love. Like Paul exhorts us: "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." We are called to pour ourselves out in love in the name and example of Jesus Christ. And in this we might find glory. This is the foolish logic of love, that by giving everything away we can then gain everything, that by dying we can find life, that by losing our life we can find it.

It does seem foolish, doesn't it? Because this kind of love is going to force us into weakness. It is going to cause people to take advantage of us. It is going to strike a blow at our pride. But it is only through this emptying, the pouring out of ourselves for the sake of God and others, that we can truly come to know the heart of God. No amount of studying theology or the Bible will get us to this intimate knowledge of the Lord. But only by becoming like Him in His love will we truly come to know Him.

We must become empty in order for the love of God to fill us. Let us follow in the example of the Lord Jesus, in Spirit and in Truth, to let the power of love show forth in our weakness. And in this we will find unity with God.

"By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, 'I abide in Him,' ought to walk just as he walked."
- 1 John 2:5-6

Quick Thought #4

Serving the poor is not about your politics (AT ALL!). It's about living like Jesus did.

Living in Mercy

It can be so humbling to stand before the Lord and realize that you are nothing without Him. That there is nothing that you can do to earn your own salvation. That you are only the person that you are because that's how He made you. That even every single breath you take is a gift from the Creator. That your efforts will usually end in failure without His help.

But at the same time, we have been given victory in Jesus Christ. (Given being the key term here, rather than being won ourselves). We have been given a spirit of power and love and self-discipline, not one of timidity. We have been called and charged as God's ambassadors in this world, to preach the Good News to all the world. We have been given the Holy Spirit to go with us and empower us. 

It is this balance that we find we have to walk in living the Christian life. One the one hand, knowing that we are worthless pieces of $*!#, and on the other, knowing that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. And this is what it means to live in the mercy of Jesus Christ. To live in humility, but to walk forward in confidence. To live in mercy means that you live knowing that your life is not about you, and knowing that the Source of your life is steadfast and mighty, giving you strength for each new day. 


Choose this day to live in the mercy of the Lord, choosing to be merely a clay jar through which the power of the Holy Spirit will be made known. 

Quick Thought #3

If you are convinced that you have a purpose for living, but aren't using every moment of every day to fulfill that purpose...what are you really doing with your life?

Quick Thought #2

Pacifism does not have the same root as "passive."

Quick Thought #1

Theology is great and has it's place, but if we really want to know God, we need to live like Jesus. It's time for us to stop living in the abstract and live out the Gospel in the here and now.*


*Spoken to myself, as well as anyone else who needs to hear it.

On Being Taken Advantage Of

I shared this thought last night at the community prayer meeting, and I figured I would flesh it out here, because this is something that the Lord has really been teaching me recently.

As I've wrote about earlier, the Lord has really been urging me on to serve the homeless and the outcast. To truly try to love like Jesus loved, in loving the unlovely, reaching out to the social outcast, and seeing the image of God in all people, no matter how skewed that image may have become. This is something that I have come to believe is essential for Christians to do, if we are to truly follow Jesus and continue His ministry to this world.

Anyways, this begins with a small story. A few weeks ago, after the Lord has laid this conviction on my heart, I encountered a homeless man on campus who asked me for money. I offered to buy him a meal instead, so we went to Jimmy John's. When we got there, I told him to order whatever he wanted, and in his slightly drunken speech he asked for the biggest thing on the menu. It was an $8 sandwich. Part of me was like, really? Can't you order the basic $4 sandwich to tie you over? But by the grace of God I kept my mouth shut and gladly paid for his meal.

The Lord taught me a lesson in that instance about serving: when you serve, when you give of yourself in order to love others as Christ loves them, then there will undoubtedly be many instances where you will be taken advantage of. And that's okay, for that's part of what love is.

For in that moment, I felt the Lord saying to me, How many times have you taken advantage of My love? How many times have you rejected my gracious offering to you, instead choosing to spit it back in my face? I came and I suffered, I was rejected, I was murdered, and my love was reduced to shame. And still you take advantage of me. But it's okay, for that's what love is. 


If we are to truly love as Jesus loved, then we have to be willing to put ourselves on the line, to put the needs of others before our own, to lay down our lives. And that can be terrifying, but that's what love is. It can make us feel weak and abused (and may I kindly point you to this), but somehow it is still the greatest thing in the world.


Let us love as Christ loves. Or rather, let us be the channel through which Christ loves. And as His love continues to transform our hearts and minds, may we love others with reckless abandon, as He has called us to.