Bowling II

"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.
Mark 10:29-30

Have you ever considered a bowling pin? Its whole existence, its purpose, is to be hit and knocked down. It got me thinking about the Christian walk.
There is no promise in the bible that being a follower of Jesus means an easy ride, in fact the reality is quite the opposite. We will experience hard times despite our faith. Jesus leaves us in this dark world with a purpose, but although we are not of the world, we are in it and will experience pain, loss and suffering. God will give us the courage, strength and endurance to get through it.
Even more challenging is the promise from Jesus that we will experience persecution because of our faith. Many followers around the world experience life threatening persecution as a very real probability. I have to admit that I don’t fall into that category. The reality however, is that Jesus has left me here in the world as well, with the purpose of engaging the darkness. If we are truly engaging the darkness – striving against injustice and suffering, facing down that which destroys, bringing God’s love and representing God’s heart – then we must expect at least some friction.
I am not suggesting that we should seek out persecution or martyrdom or focus on our own suffering as that would be perverse and we see too much of that in our world. But I think we should ask ourselves, “are we too comfortable?” Like a bowling pin, if we are in the game – in active conflict with evil, then we should expect to feel it, and if we don’t we have to ask “are we in the game?”
Remember, however, that the pin is always getting back up. Though we might get knocked down, we will not be destroyed, though we face persecution we will not be abandoned (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

Bowling I

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
- Matthew 7:14

Last week some good friends took our whole family bowling. I think that it was the first time that we all played without bumpers (which are used to keep balls in play and avoid the gutters), even our two year old! Well, initially there were some frustrating moments as the kids adjusted to having to keep the balls in play on the lane. The lane seems so much narrower without the bumpers! Eventually, with a bit of coaching they were all learning were to stand, how to throw, how to use the guide arrows and how to stare intently and reach out to where they were aiming. The scene reminded me of words that Jesus spoke.
In Matthew 7 verse 13 Jesus instructs us to enter through the narrow gate for the way is broad that leads to destruction but the gate is small and the road is narrow that leads to life. How true this verse is for us today and in our culture, with so many philosophies, self help programs, religions and world views. I recognize that in our pluralistic culture it can be hard to accept some of the exclusive claims that Jesus makes. If Jesus is telling the truth however, then He is just stating fact and is simply reading the map to us – this path goes here, that path goes there. No one gets angry with a map maker for indicating which roads are dead ends.
Like bowling, there are many paths that we may follow through life, but at the end there is only one that can keep us in the game for eternity. It is quite possible that we could invest a lifetime of time and energy to a path that in the end, like a gutter ball, does not amount to anything.

Trouble

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
- Ephesians 2: 8-9 NIV

Trouble is a game of race-ahead and bump-back. The object is to race your pieces around the board and into home base but there is always the threat that another player will land on you, sending your player back to the start. I think this is similar in many respects to how some of us view getting into heaven. We imagine there is a line to get in and our place in line is determined by how “good” a person we are, and the good deeds we do. What happens, however, when there are other individuals as “good” or better than ourselves? Do we really get bumped to the back of the line?
As an individual who is far from perfect, I am thankful that the reality is quite different. Although the way in which we live our lives is of utmost importance in the Christian walk, it is a response of worship to who God is and all that He has done. It is the response and not the means to our salvation. John 3:16 reminds us that “…God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (NIV) It is through faith in Jesus that we are saved. The apostle Paul sums it up this way, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2: 8-9 NIV).

Chinese Chicken Balls

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry…”
John 6:35 NIV

A friend was recently telling me about a conversation she had with a relative who claimed to believe in God, affirmed a belief in Jesus as his Saviour and then in the next sentence was affirming his belief in re-incarnation! It really got me thinking about the Chinese Chicken Ball; a long time staple of Chinese take out and a pop cultural icon in its own right.
A great thing about living where I live is the incredible ethnic diversity and along with that comes the opportunity to experience truly authentic ethnic cuisine. I have come to realize that Chinese Chicken Balls with Sweet and Sour sauce are not really Chinese (and apparently they don’t serve Chimmychangas or meat squeezed from caulking guns in Mexico either). We have a lot of food that is really just North American (deep fried and breaded!), given just a hint of an ethnic esthetic and marketed as ethnic food.
We do a very similar thing with spiritual matters. Take re-incarnation for example. So often it is presented as a comforting belief, to know that death is not an end but that we will be returning after this life. A deeper look into Hinduism or Buddhism, however, reveals that it is not really such a comforting concept after all. In fact, the whole aim is live a good enough to be reborn as a higher life form, eventually being liberated from cycle of rebirth altogether and merged with the Ultimate Reality. The fact is, if you are re-incarnated you haven’t made it yet and that is not so comforting at all! This is a key point that differs dramatically from the central message of Jesus and the cross that I truly find comforting. It is not what I do, I do not have to be perfect to enter the Kingdom of God, but rather it is what Jesus did for me that assures my place. This message of grace is not really at all compatible with any other philosophy or teaching.
We will often be tempted to take a bit from here, and a bit from there and come up with a very palatable spiritual dish that is easy to consume and easy to market. Take a bit of Jesus, a good moral teacher, take a bit of re-incarnation and come up with the ultimate feel good religion! There is a caution, however, because food that tastes so sweet is not always good for you. Many people know that Chinese Chicken Balls don’t satisfy and that you are hungry again in an hour. Not so with Jesus, who is the bread of life, and the only spiritual food that truly satisfies unto eternity.
Let me encourage us all do dig in and find out what lies behind what we really believe. Start with the New Testament and start with the red letters – my son says those are the most important.