My ancestor was a fellow named Conraad Martense Hooghteeling. He came on a boat from the Netherlands in about 1635. He was (we think) an indentured servant that worked for the land owner Kiliaen Van Rensselaer in the New Netherlands settlements. He married a woman named Maria Hendrikse Marselis and they had eight children, thus starting the Hotaling clan in the New World. He was my ninth great grandfather.
Alex Haley's novel Roots was published in 1976, and the subsequent television mini-series aired a year later to rave reviews. One of the results of Roots was a surge in the interest and research of geneology and ancestry. We discovered culturally that we have a need to know where we came from, who are people were, and by knowing about the lives of our ancestors, we know more about our own lives. Our roots matter.
I had lunch the other day with a friend who has spent most of his life in Ranson and Charles Town. His people have been in Jefferson County for generations. My friend is integrated into his community, and he willingly shares his life with that community. His roots are here. He knows who he is, and he is comfortable with that.
I confess to a small amount of envy to those who are deeply rooted in community, who are content with a sense of place. My life has been more of a tumbleweed existence, a rolling stone. I have enjoyed the adventure of seeing new places and learning new cultures, and I cherish the memories and friends of the many places I have lived. But I cannot say that I am deeply rooted in place.
That is beginning to change. Charles Town is beginning to feel like home, and our community of faith is beginning to feel like family. I feel like my roots are taking hold and growing in, and I believe I will stay a while. My wife and I have finally bought a home in Charles Town, and we are planning to be here for as long as we are able.
Regardless of the depth of our roots in this place, no matter where we or our people came from originally, the word family truly describes the church and community of faith. We are brothers and sisters in Christ and, spiritually speaking, we come from common stock. We are adopted into the family of God, we are given a new place in a new family, and we belong to one another by common faith in an uncommon God. Our heritage comes from a brave and courageous Man who revolutionized the world's understanding of God and His love.
Romans 8:14-17 tells us For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ...
We belong to God, and we belong to one another. We have a rich and glorious heritage in this family, and our future is bright. Just as knowing the heritage and ancestry of our people gives us a sense of identity in community, knowing who we belong to as Christians helps us understand who we are in Christ. It grounds our faith and gives us depth as the people of God. As we identify with Christ and His people, our own identities are formed and strengthened.
John writes But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13
May you be deeply rooted in Christ. And may you walk boldly as a child of the King.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Living Within the Limits
For an hour, I have sat at my computer desk and stared at the blank page of Microsoft Windows, pondering what witty and insightful words I might share with you. My secretary Dawn has put me on a deadline. The clock is ticking, and I have not an idea, not a thought in my head.
This forum is one of those areas in which I have pretty free reign. I can write here just about whatever I chose to, nearly any thoughts on just about any topic, and most of you are too polite to disagree or criticize. There is no formula, no handbook of topics, no professor to give me an assignment to fulfill. Beyond common sense and fundamental morality, I have no limits, no rules, and no guidelines. And therein lies the problem.
The millions of topics and ideas that I could broach here, the countless number of combinations of letters, words, sentences and paragraphs, the absolute freedom from any kind of restraint serves as an obstacle, a hindrance of its own kind. All this liberty is too overwhelming, and I just don't always know what to do with it. With an unlimited number of choices, I know not which to choose first. I want to choose them all at the same time. And because the choices often hide their consequences, I hesitate to choose anything, for fear of choosing poorly. (Don't worry, this will make sense soon.) All this ambiguity is too much for me to deal with.
If there were some parameters, if there were someone to look over my shoulder and give me a direction, well, that would be wonderful right about now. If there was a handbook published for pastors that need to write for a monthly newsletter, then I would have no problem. Last week when I was in Atlanta for seminary, I was brilliant. The professor gave us the assignment, I knocked out four pages of sheer awesomeness, and came home happy. There were some parameters, some instruction there. There were limits and direction. Back home on a Tuesday morning with no rules, I feel like a blithering idiot in my absolute freedom.
When I drive up Flowing Springs Road, I always stay in the right hand lane. I always stop at the red light and go when it turns green. I always wear my seat belt and occasionally I abide by the speed limits. These are the simple rules for good driving. We know the rules, and when all the drivers abide by the rules and limits, everybody gets home safely. Sometimes we break the rules and get away with it, sometimes we break the rules and tragedy hits. But we still have some rules and we know what they are. And the traffic laws are necessary for us. If we had no rules, we wreck our cars weekly. And hurt ourselves and one another.
In a world of no rules, no limits, no restraint, we have uncertainty, ambiguity and danger. A large part of the Bible gives us instruction in how to live well, and I am grateful for it. Can you imagine of God never gave us any direction about how to live in light of His love and grace. It would be like in the days of the Judges, when everyone did what was right in his own sight. With some limits and guidelines, we have direction and clarity.
So when Jesus says, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and Love your neighbor as yourself, (paraphrase Mark 12:29, 31) that gives us a simple direction about how to live this Christian life. It is good for us. When Paul says, Put away all your bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking and malice, but instead be kind to one another, tenderhearted and forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you, (paraphrase Eph 4:31-32) that is clearly some instruction that limits our behavior and gives us a good direction to move in. A few simple rules, limits, parameters for our behavior and attitudes.
Our faith is clearly much more than a bunch of rules for moral living. But we do have some limits to what behavior is appropriate and acceptable, and what is not good for us. And the limits are good for us, and help us to abide in His love and grace, and to live peaceably with one another.
I heard a story a few years back about a new elementary school that had been built. The playground was bordered on two sides by a busy street, and as the children went out for recess, the traffic would go zipping by. Because the school year began before everything was completed, there was no fence around the playground. The children were uncertain about how close to the road they should be, so they all stayed huddled close to the building. Recess was not much fun.
Within a few weeks, a chain link fence was installed around the schoolyard. The chain link fence made boundaries for the children, limited the distance they could get to the street, and kept strangers off the property. And all the children were able to roam and run and play throughout the playground, safely and within the limits, and have a tremendous fun time at recess.
Blessings to you
This forum is one of those areas in which I have pretty free reign. I can write here just about whatever I chose to, nearly any thoughts on just about any topic, and most of you are too polite to disagree or criticize. There is no formula, no handbook of topics, no professor to give me an assignment to fulfill. Beyond common sense and fundamental morality, I have no limits, no rules, and no guidelines. And therein lies the problem.
The millions of topics and ideas that I could broach here, the countless number of combinations of letters, words, sentences and paragraphs, the absolute freedom from any kind of restraint serves as an obstacle, a hindrance of its own kind. All this liberty is too overwhelming, and I just don't always know what to do with it. With an unlimited number of choices, I know not which to choose first. I want to choose them all at the same time. And because the choices often hide their consequences, I hesitate to choose anything, for fear of choosing poorly. (Don't worry, this will make sense soon.) All this ambiguity is too much for me to deal with.
If there were some parameters, if there were someone to look over my shoulder and give me a direction, well, that would be wonderful right about now. If there was a handbook published for pastors that need to write for a monthly newsletter, then I would have no problem. Last week when I was in Atlanta for seminary, I was brilliant. The professor gave us the assignment, I knocked out four pages of sheer awesomeness, and came home happy. There were some parameters, some instruction there. There were limits and direction. Back home on a Tuesday morning with no rules, I feel like a blithering idiot in my absolute freedom.
When I drive up Flowing Springs Road, I always stay in the right hand lane. I always stop at the red light and go when it turns green. I always wear my seat belt and occasionally I abide by the speed limits. These are the simple rules for good driving. We know the rules, and when all the drivers abide by the rules and limits, everybody gets home safely. Sometimes we break the rules and get away with it, sometimes we break the rules and tragedy hits. But we still have some rules and we know what they are. And the traffic laws are necessary for us. If we had no rules, we wreck our cars weekly. And hurt ourselves and one another.
In a world of no rules, no limits, no restraint, we have uncertainty, ambiguity and danger. A large part of the Bible gives us instruction in how to live well, and I am grateful for it. Can you imagine of God never gave us any direction about how to live in light of His love and grace. It would be like in the days of the Judges, when everyone did what was right in his own sight. With some limits and guidelines, we have direction and clarity.
So when Jesus says, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and Love your neighbor as yourself, (paraphrase Mark 12:29, 31) that gives us a simple direction about how to live this Christian life. It is good for us. When Paul says, Put away all your bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking and malice, but instead be kind to one another, tenderhearted and forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you, (paraphrase Eph 4:31-32) that is clearly some instruction that limits our behavior and gives us a good direction to move in. A few simple rules, limits, parameters for our behavior and attitudes.
Our faith is clearly much more than a bunch of rules for moral living. But we do have some limits to what behavior is appropriate and acceptable, and what is not good for us. And the limits are good for us, and help us to abide in His love and grace, and to live peaceably with one another.
I heard a story a few years back about a new elementary school that had been built. The playground was bordered on two sides by a busy street, and as the children went out for recess, the traffic would go zipping by. Because the school year began before everything was completed, there was no fence around the playground. The children were uncertain about how close to the road they should be, so they all stayed huddled close to the building. Recess was not much fun.
Within a few weeks, a chain link fence was installed around the schoolyard. The chain link fence made boundaries for the children, limited the distance they could get to the street, and kept strangers off the property. And all the children were able to roam and run and play throughout the playground, safely and within the limits, and have a tremendous fun time at recess.
Blessings to you
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