Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Old Friends...Theology and The Kansas City Airport...or "The Journey to Chicago"

This morning Trey, my brother, and I arrived at Love Field at 5:10 AM, and checked our bags. I remembered what Angela told me about kindness getting farther than those who are rude. So, knowing that, and wanting to help someone else have a good day, we got ready to check out bags. When I got to the front of the line, I found out I was supposed to call ahead and get a confirmation number. So I was directed inside where I was to wait in another line to get a number, so I could go wait in another line to have a bag checked, to wait in another line to get a boarding pass, to wait in another line to board the plane.

We spend alot of our lives waiting. Waiting on someone, waiting on our food, waiting for the sermon to be over, waiting for the light to turn green, waiting to go to the bathroom (well, maybe not guys as much as ladies). I wonder if I do anything productive while I'm waiting? I hope I don't look back one day and regret living my life waiting for something else.

It also helps to keep a flexible, positive attitude when you're traveling, especially on Buddy Passes. Buddy Passes are free stand-by tickets which are great blessings. The catch is if the plane is full, you get kicked off for those who bought tickets. Which is where I find myself now...waiting to board the 9:30 flight to Chicago. Watching a bit of a movie, eating a grossly overpriced Chicken sandwich, and and typing this blog.

When i was in line this morning waiting to get my confirmation number I saw a group of guys I know that are in a band together. They were also going to Chicago for a Radio interview. Their Manager is a guy I grew up with and whom I had not seen in several years. On the surface the last several years he'd been, at least in my eyes, very successful with his craft. I equated career success with life success. This isn't always the case. God showed me this today in the great conversation I had with him. God's been working in his life in ways I really identified with. This realization took place not because
someone else told him what to think and what to do, but because of God speaking to HIS heart.
He said something that really struck me, I guess because of it's popular culture reference. Actually he said alot of things that were good, but he talked about Christianity and how so many people today, especially people in church accept Christianity as 'what to do' just like a iphone is 'what to buy' or a type of clothing is 'what to wear'. Alot of people simply 'wear' the clothes of Christianity because it's what's been sold to them through marketing of their families or church.
Don't get me wrong, I think the church has to do a good job of meeting people's needs. But are we teaching them the formulas and lists we've come up with from the Bible at the expense of the passion Christ had and instilled in His disciples? All this got me thinking about my own life. That's what following Christ is about isn't it? Not telling others what they should or shouldn't do, but walking your Journey with Christ and showing people how amazing and awesome Christ is, with your life, not just your words and such.
I wonder how much of my life I spend waiting and not being passionate, passionate about my marriage, my job, my family and most importantly, my walk with Jesus. To understand what it is to have the Creator of the universe, God Almighty living through me?
Donald Miller says in his book Searching for God Knows What: "Can you imagine something like that, what it must feel like in the soul to have God's glory shining through you? With that much gory, that much of God shining through you, you would never have a self-defeating or other-person-bashing though again." In other words, your life would be passionate.

I eventually made it to Chicago, met back up with Trey, got our rental car and I am now sitting in a Coffee shop concluding this post. It's amazing the encounters God sets up as movements of His mighty symphony called life, I'm glad I'm in the orchestra...
I want to play passionately.

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