"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."     Galatians 3:26-27

I still remember the year and the feeling.  1984, beginning of the school year, and I was sportin' some superfly charcoal gray parachute pants, with this smokin' no collar, layered, lay open break dance shirt.  First day of school, new clothes, feelin' good.  I remember wanting to wear those clothes the moment my mom bought them for me about two weeks before school ever started.  I tried them on about 30 times, and even broke out some sweet skills on the dance floor (which happened to be my kitchen floor) while trying them on.  Man, it's funny, because right now I can go to that place and remember the smell, the look, and even the songs I used to love at that time.  

New clothes make a serious impression on us, don't they? 

Paul says that for those of us that have been baptized into Christ (another way of saying that we have identified with Christ and experienced union with Him),  Christ has given us new clothes.  What kind of clothes are they?  From what era?  I mean, I already have my share of Def Leppard memorabilia, you might say, and I really don't need any more airbrush t-shirts from Six Flags that have an arrow pointing sideways and reading "I'm with Stupid."  Well, these are not clothes from the closet.  They're better.

They are Jesus.

Paul tells us that when we experience union with Christ, it is like He clothes us with Himself.  The greek word used for clothed is the word enduo and it means to cover over or to sink into.  He literally covers us.  We are covered in His righteousness, His grace, His freedom, His mercy, His wisdom, His love.  And, don't miss this, we are also covered by His sinlessness.  His perfection is what clothes us, and though we are not perfect in a practical sense, we have been made positionally perfect before God ONLY through the covering of His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus.

I was 19 years old when I got those new clothes from Jesus.  I will never forget it.  I can still remember the smells, the looks, the places, and the people.  And these clothes are, and always will be, in style.  Good thing too.......because my Members Only jacket is starting to get a little tattered.

"..for whoever is not against you is for you."  Luke 9:50

"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters."  Luke 11:23

It doesn't appear that these two phrases from Jesus add up do they?  They come within two small chapters of one another in the gospel of Luke, yet they seem to contradict each other.  Don't worry - they don't.  Jesus is the most brilliant teacher the world has ever known, and as very God and very man, He was (and is) incapable of contradicting Himself regarding truth.  With that said, it still doesn't make these verses easy to figure out - at least at first.

Jesus gives us a picture of the borders of the kingdom (using a McLaren phrase).  As I write, there is a heated political debate going on about the borders of our country, and what our policy on immigration should look like.  Jesus, here, is not talking about physical borders of a country, but I think He is saying something about entrance into kingdom country.

There are some who want to conclude exactly who is "in" and who is "out" when it comes to the kingdom of God (note the verses preceding Luke 9:50 and you will see that very spirit from some of Jesus' closest associates).  Taken further, some want to wall off the borders of the kingdom and not grant access to those who are on the outside.  To this, Jesus makes a statement like "whoever is not against you is for you" to his disciples; and in so doing points out the radical inclusion of the invitation to come into the Kingdom of God's Son, Jesus.  Anybody, of any background, race, pedigree or origin, has a radical invitation to come into the kingdom.  But not everybody can come............

Because there are others who are naive enough to think that the open invitation MUST include everyone, no matter the posture of their heart.  It can't be.  To them Jesus says, "He who is not with me is against me...".  That comment comes as Jesus points out that a kingdom that is divided against itself cannot stand.  So, those who don't have the kingdom in mind - who don't want to follow the King of the Kingdom - they can't come into the kingdom (as much as the King wishes they would and has done everything possible to see that they can).

What does this mean practically if we weave these two statements together?

Well, I think it means that the kingdom is open to everyone of every kind, but only those who really want to be there can come in.  Sound confusing?  Maybe at first pass it is, but think on it for a while and let it sink in.  It's like if you wanted to build a house and you invited anyone of any skill level to help build the house (men, women, children, those with physical challenges, etc.).  Everyone is welcome to help build the house........except, of course, anyone who simply wants to demolish a house.  They must be excluded, because the house would never get built that way.

So, too, in the kingdom.  The borders of the kingdom are inviting and open and welcoming.  But you better have the interests of the kingdom in mind if you desire to enter, or you won't be granted access.  The Apostle Paul echoed these sentiments by noting there are some who won't inherent the kingdom of God (specifically in Ephesians 5:3-7).

I guess our response to this ought to be that we continue to act as ambassadors of our King by proclaiming the great news that the kingdom is accessible to anyone and everyone, and reminding them that the only condition is that they give all their allegiance to King Jesus. 

And maybe if they saw what transformation the King has brought to our lives, they would want to.

"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!'........So he got up and went to his father."  Luke 15:17,20

You know the story - the parable of the prodigal son as some call it.  I like to call it "The Portrait of the Father's Love."  Either way, you know the story.

Young man gets itchy for his coming inheritance.  Dad gives it to him.  Young man goes out partying, in the words of Prince, like it's 1999.  Young man blows everything and is living on the bottom side of life (don't know if it gets much worse than the pig pen).  Young man comes to his senses and decides to return home just to work like a slave.  Young man is blown away that Dad runs to him, kisses him, puts a robe on him, gives him a ring, and throws a huge barbeque for him.  Older brother gets hacked off.  Dad shows him love too.  End of story.

Ok, so I condensed it and did no justice to the narrative itself.  Go back and read the whole story and live in it (Luke 15:11-32), then look closely to see where YOU are in the story.  My guess is that you can find yourself there (and don't say that you are the father).

This story raised some questions for me, like:

How much good can I handle?  Can I get to a place that I have more available to me than my character can sustain?  Do I ever ask for more than I am prepared for?

But this story also gave me some incredible truth, even hope.  I learned that I have available to me more than I realize from the Father, and I have the potential to squander it if independent of the Father, but to know and receive the Father's indescribable love alleviates the fear of both.

Maybe the core thing that I learned is that it is senseless not to get up and go to the Father (note v.17,20).  When the Father offers that kind of love, that kind of forgiveness, that kind of restoration...............it lacks all the sense I have to stay wallowing in the mud.  In fact, when we stay in the mud, we dull our senses.  Coming to Father makes our senses live again. 

Think of the senses mentioned in this creative piece:

"Touching the Father's love is a sweet embrace,  a big ole bear hug, a kiss on the face

Hearing the Father's love is a symphony of soul, it's music enough to make me whole

Seeing the Father's love is an irrational treat, a ring on my finger?  shoes on my feet?

Tasting the Father's love is the choicest of fare, the swine are forgotten with a feast in the air

But Knowing the Father's love, ah, that stands alone;  Yes, knowing the Father's love - that's what brings me home."

It's senseless not to come to the Father.

"My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer."  Psalm 45:1

I am scattered in mind today, but that is not too unordinary for me.  Though I am scattered, I am hopeful that my mind is racing to themes of nobility - themes that are worth the energy of my thought.

I know this will seem relatively random, but here is where, today, I am exercising some of my mental energy:

* Why is it that in South America there are nearly 50,000 people coming to Christ per week, 140,000 per week in Africa, and nearly 900,000 per month in China while there is, on a comparitive scale, not much of that magnitude happening in North America? (note - statistics are from the Barna Group).  Is our lack of understanding about mission, and our rugged individualism killing our opportunity to be part of the global harvest that God is initiating?  It seems we have some things to learn from the majority world when it comes to what it means to be a unified community geared toward a common mission (also known as "communitas").

*  What would a city movement of God look like in my city (Buffalo)?  What about your city?  What will it take for the churches to recognize their need to be the Church - one body of believers that are unified around a common cause?  What will it take my church?  Well, I don't think it will be from the email I just received while typing this............one of those "Ten Ways to grow your church and make all the other churches in your area look embarrasingly stupid and eventually hate your guts" type emails (ok, to be honest, I did just get an email about "Ways to grow your church", but everything after that was just poetic blogging license).  But, it is exactly the point I am making............it seems everything is about MY church - as if it is an isolated entity set apart from the greater whole.  I know there is a balance in there somewhere, but I think that we are living on the wrong side of the teeter-totter right now in America.

*  Why did I just use the words "teeter-totter"?

*  How much stuff do I need to unlearn about Christianity?  How compressed has my mind become by outside influences in culture and group-think that I am unable to see some things clearly about God's world?  What would happen if I (and you for that matter) pressed all of our ideas and thoughts on life up next to the lens of Scripture.....openly and honestly, not with the idea that we want to self validate?  I'm trying to live that way right now.  It's kind of messy, because some of my previously formed ideas of how things should be are being, well, peeled off like a dead layer of skin on a snake.

*  Why is it so hard to focus on things that really matter, and so easy to think about things that are meaningless for endless hours?

*  Why does everything have to be NOW?  Is God in a hurry?  If I don't hurry, will I mess up the universe?  I mean, I want to win the world today, have Jesus come tomorrow, and be cheating death by hanging out at the crystal sea talking with C.S. Lewis by mid-week.  Not really, but it seems that we operate that way doesn't it?  I wonder if our lack of depth in Scriptural understanding, our inability to think sanctified, critical thoughts, and our lack of reading (good reading mind you) in modern culture are facilitated by our hurried, pressed, no margined lifestyles.  What are we hurrying to?  Where are we going?  And what do we get when we arrive?

 Ok, there you go.....some thoughts rumbling in my head today.  I hope some of them have caused you enough trouble to make you stop and think too. 

I don't want to be miserable alone:-)