SHALEHARBOR

Recently in the news, a family from Missouri was reunited with their lost son after he had been missing for over four years. Imagine what the family must have felt when they received a phone call informing them that their son had been found and then the moment of beholding the face of the one they thought they would never see again. All the years of searching, hoping, waiting and praying and the pain of that suffering now turned to exceeding joy upon his return. Their son who had been lost was now found. He was coming home!

Jesus also told a story of a homecoming. In response to mutterings spoken by the religious leaders of that day about Jesus welcoming and eating with sinners, Jesus offers three parables, one of which is the story of the prodigal son. In all three parables the theme is the same, something is lost and is now found and with that is great rejoicing. While the first two seem to involve the depiction of a relationship that is two dimensional, something lost, something found, the parable of the prodigal son, unique to the other two parables, has the addition of a third element, the elder brother.

The elder brother was the obedient and dutiful son who always did as the father asked. While the story does not offer much surrounding detail, it seems that this elder brother was the “model son”, the one would set the standard for comparison, the one who was always praised, the one who could do no wrong, the one who was always highlighted in the annual Christmas letter. The younger brother is pictured, in stark contrast to this elder brother, as being aloof, interested in his own pursuits, demanding and selfish, and not at all concerned with duties and responsibilities at home. Only upon the return of the younger brother, is the heart of the elder brother exposed. I believe there is something in the exchange between the father and this elder son that offers us great insight into the economy of the divine.

When the younger brother returns, the response of the father is one of lavish love. He runs to meet him and immediately sets in motion the makings for a fantastic celebration. The elder brother, who is working in the field, hears all the commotion and is told by a servant that his little brother has returned and Dad is throwing a party. The elder brother refuses to join the celebration and Dad goes out to meet him. Instead of anger and disapproval at his son’s stubbornness, we see a picture that is gentle and heart that is longing for his family to celebrate together. The father pleads with his son to come in. The older son is angry, though, and begins spouting a list, comparing what he has done and what he has been rewarded with what his brother has received and it seems grossly unfair. Yet again, the father’s response is soft, “My son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:31-32).

We don’t know how the story ends and whether or not the brother had a change of heart, but there is no question of the longing of the father’s heart. The brother responds from a place of presumed merit while the father is inviting him to a place of lavish grace. The father is making clear, “It’s not about the money. It’s not about what you do or don’t do. It’s about us being together!” The elder brother was looking for a reward, looking for something else that he had “earned”, and the father was inviting him to see that the reward was being together!

The economy of the temporal is so vastly different from the economy of the divine. The temporal toils and earns while the divine lavishes and receives. It is often only through great suffering and loss that one catches a glimpse of this vast difference. For some, the heart is moved and the eyes are opened to see the world through different lenses. For others, the heart continues to remain cold and distance. Anyone who has lost a loved one or faced the possibility of such loss knows the joy of the homecoming. There is nothing temporal that can replace or exceed the value of simply being together once again! There is no expense that is spared when there is hope of a return. There is only one goal, to bring the lost one home.

Only when we have the heart of the Father can we truly celebrate. When the heart is so intimately tied with the one that we love that the only longing that we have is for all to come home that is when our heart is free to celebrate, no matter what the offense. When our motivation for service is what we get, it will always appear as though someone else has gotten the better deal and our duty is no longer a labor of love.

God’s passion is for all of His children to come home. Scripture is clear that the angels celebrate the homecoming of every one that returns! Living at the father’s house with family is the reward! We cannot earn it, we don’t get more because we have been obedient longer, and we aren’t given special merits because we stay at home. The privilege is being home with dad, working with dad, and sharing in all that he has.

Where do you see yourself in the story? Are you far off and needing to come home? He is watching and waiting for your return. Are you doing all the right things and hoping that it will pay off in the end? He is coming to meet you too and remind you that the reward is not only yet to come, but now. Are you like the father watching and waiting, hopeful of the return of your loved one? The heart that loves deeply, grieves deeply, but the homecoming is worth the pain.

Sonship is the gift! May your heart overflow with great joy as you consider your homecoming and celebrate the homecoming of your family! In the end, nothing else matters.

Ashley Vass

While I was preparing to meet friends for dinner the other night, I had to admit to myself that I was so thankful that we had decided to dine out this time. The week had been long and taxing, so I was not up to the task of preparing, serving, and cleaning up afterward. I was so delighted to focus my attention on simply getting ready, showing up, and being free to enjoy someone else’s hard work. I didn’t have to plan; I knew my costs would be minimal and planned for, and best of all I didn’t have to dirty my own hands.

During our ride home the conversation was flavored by critiques of the experience, the restaurant choice, the food, the service, and the ambiance. We even “assessed” the other patrons who were dining there as well. After our discussion, the vote was unanimous; we would most certainly dine there again.

Days later I was writing out my schedule for the upcoming weekend, making out my list of things to do. I discovered that when I wrote out the word “Church” under the Sunday morning block, I paused to ask the question, “How does my preparation for Sunday morning compare to my preparation for a dinner party?” While this comparison initially seemed odd and misplaced, the questions persisted. “In preparing for Sunday morning, what is my focus? What is my attitude? Do I spend time preparing my heart or simply my wardrobe? Am I showing up to be entertained or to participate? Am I looking to make an investment or hoping that my expense will be minimal and calculated? Am I coming to be a consumer or to make a contribution? Am I pleased to not get my hands dirty or am I coming ready to serve? Is my time afterwards spent critiquing the execution of the service or considering what God might have me to learn?”

It seemed the question wasn’t misplaced after all. Sunday morning…dinner party…how about you?

Ashley Vass

I recently returned from a trip to Thailand, a country well known for it’s rich tradition and practice of Buddhism. Interestingly enough, the King of Thailand passed a decree several years ago that allowed for the distribution of Bibles to students at school, and even forbade the refusal by school staff to allow this distribution. I had the great privilege of witnessing Bibles being personally handed out to over 5,000 students. I was greatly moved to see the students line up in single file to receive their gift. After receiving their gift, each one would bow and speak words of thanksgiving. They then would scatter throughout the schoolyard to thumb through the pages of their new gift with eagerness and anticipation.

It was difficult to stop crying when I beheld so many seeing the printed words of God for the first time ever. I cannot begin to imagine what such an experience would be like. In fact, I tried to remember my first encounter with the Bible. Unfortunately my memory failed me. I was saddened to admit that the image that took its place was one of having reached for my own Bible, but having opened it with sighs of exhaustion. My eyes were too weary to read and I portrayed an attitude that I wasn’t really interested in or entertained by reading the words that were all too familiar. I thumbed lackadaisically through the pages with little passion, eagerness, or anticipation of what I might find therein.

Bibles are commonplace in so many homes. They decorate our coffee tables, our nightstands, and our bookshelves. Many people have numerous Bibles of various sizes, in different translations, and in different languages. Yet, I fear that that kind of “overexposure” and our easy access to Christian teaching have somehow left our own discipline in our study underdeveloped. We have the luxury of choosing from an array of places to worship. In fact, we do not even have to leave our home. We can watch services broadcast over the television or even listen to them on the radio. While I feel blessed that we live in a country that allows us the freedom to worship, I cannot help but wonder, ‘has this freedom somehow corrupted our gratitude as well as stifled our desire to take responsibility for our own spiritual growth?’

With such an abundance of possibilities, it seems we have reasoned that it is almost nonsensical to devote time to study on our own while we can much more easily enjoy the hard work of someone else. Why reinvent the wheel, right? I mean, most people have not gone to Bible school and certainly pastors understand more of the Bible than the common layman. Most of us cannot even pronounce some of the words in Scripture, let alone understand all the history, culture, and language. And who has the time or energy to devote to that anyway? Thus we justify ourselves as being practical and intelligent when we turn over our responsibility for personal growth to our Spiritual leaders and burden them with fulfilling our expectations for our own developing character.

Sadly, many people are lead astray by this unhealthy dependence. Other people remain underdeveloped and see a distorted view of themselves like when an anorexic girl looks at herself in a mirror. Is it possible to live a healthy Christian life dependent solely on the teaching of someone else? What if there was no weekly service? What if there was no one to teach? Would we continue to grow in faith, love, and service to God? Would the discipline of studying the Word be easier or more difficult? Would it be important at all? If we were to consider the number one factor that contributes to our developing relationship with the Lord, what would it be? What should it be?

How much of our Christian journey is spent feasting on the provisions provided by others while we fail to prepare our own feast in which others could share? How much of what we learn comes from the experiences of others and not from our own? How much of what we spout as “new knowledge” is simply regurgitated rhetoric and not original discoveries found in our own explorations with Him? How often do we base our continuing development on the findings presented by our leader instead of carefully considering and testing with Scripture what is told?

This challenge is not meant to shame but to invite. While our culture is saturated with Christian teaching, let us not entrust the responsibility of our spiritual growth to someone else. Let us not miss the opportunities to discover our own treasures with Him. Let our freedom of worship be celebrated by our discipline and our hunger to know Him personally!

“Now [they] were of more noble character…for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).

May your journey be characterized by eagerness and examination!

Ashley Vass

Recently someone asked me if I was working out. I knew that this question certainly was not prompted by any positive noticeable change in my physique and the random placement of the question in the conversation rather caught me off guard. Not wanting to admit that I had been totally undisciplined, I responded with, “Not consistently.” It was hours later before I thought to ask this person why, in fact, he had made such an inquiry. His response, “I knew it was a goal of yours at one time and was just asking how it was going.” So before I begin, I feel it important that I answer that question with complete candor, “I have not worked out since May even though I have spent one hundred and eighty dollars in gym membership charges since that time.”

This conversation prompted me to think about why I haven’t worked out since May, and in the spirit of true self-evaluation, why I haven’t really worked out consistently in over ten years. The list of reasons or “excuses” that I have used to justify my lack of discipline in this particular area includes, but is not limited to, vacation, work, too tired, too cold outside, too hot outside, not enough time, not really ready yet, gym clothes are dirty, everyone there is so in shape and I will look stupid, housework, other commitments, hanging out with friends, I can’t work out and smoke, holidays, don’t want to go by myself, I feel sick. I am certain that I have forgotten still more, as it has been ten years.

It is interesting to examine the relationship between the changes that we allegedly want to make and our willingness to actually change. We all know the things we want to and/or should do, but when it comes to actually doing it, that’s a different story. What I have realized is that, sadly, most of our life is spent making excuses for why we can’t and/or won’t do the things we ought to. We typically don’t have such a laundry list of reasons why we can’t do the things we ought not do because again, if we’re honest, those are the things we are actually doing most of the time.

Let’s consider some of the things that we want to do but usually don’t get around to. We want to save more, spend less, live on a budget, eat healthy, work out, focus on our marriage, work less, invest more in our kids, quit smoking, cut back on drinking, start a new hobby, read and study more, cut back on television, repair broken relationships, work on the house, volunteer, give to charity, tithe, say “I’m sorry”, ask for forgiveness, quit gambling, stop looking a pornography, enhance personal growth, develop my relationship with the Lord. This sampling is obviously a microcosm of an exhaustive list.

What I have seen in my own life and witnessed in the lives of others is that before we know it, we wake up one day and realize that another year or maybe even ten, have gone by and still no positive change, no closer to reaching the goal. Do not be deceived into thinking that change has not taken place for with the passing of time there is always change. The difference is that through the passing of time, instead of moving ahead, we find that we have actually slipped down the mountain even further, making the summit seem an even more impossible feat. We have gained more weight, have become more out of shape, have only increased our knowledge base of the latest reality series and not real life happenings, increased our debt, our relationships have become more distant and cold, our dreams seem more of a burden than a blessing, the clutter continues to mount both inside and outside the house; and all the while, life has become rather comfortable and routine.

While going through our days, I think it rare that we really devote much time to pondering the actual consequences of our choices and decisions. My hunch is that if we took even a few minutes for reflection, our hearts would be moved to action. We see the immediate call to change as a sacrifice that is inconvenient in “the now” while failing to consider the greater sacrifice we are making through such neglect. The reality is that we are making sacrifices everyday. We are sacrificing our health, our families, our personal satisfaction and fulfillment, our potential, our personal growth, our ability to impact the world around us, our present as well as our future, our dreams, our relationships with others, and most certainly our relationship with the Lord.

It has been said, “Change happens when the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of change.” The lack of immediate pain that we feel in the present however, is often what keeps us from not changing. This lack certainly is one of the facets that encourages the belief that tomorrow we will look at the world differently and consequently want to “do life differently”. If we don’t want to do it today, what makes us think we are going to want to do it any other day? Another day passes and still we tell ourselves, “It’s just not the right time. I’m not ready yet.”

There will, however, come a time when we will all have to reckon with the choices that we have made and our decisions not to change. Sadly for many, it will be too late. Life is tragically impacted by the diagnosis of cancer, a heart attack, the death of a loved one, the end of a marriage, missed opportunities when kids are grown and have moved away, the debt that will take two lifetimes to settle, the limited ability to pursue dreams, the inability to enjoy physical activity. Everything has a price. What I am learning is that the sacrifice I can make now is much smaller in comparison to the one that I will have to make if I continue wait.

So how long will you wait? How long will I wait? Change is inevitable and always comes at a price. What are you willing to sacrifice? What are you sacrificing now? Time passes so quickly and, before you know it, you might wake up and find that most of your life here on earth is behind you. Will that time be one of regret or rejoicing? I know the changes and decisions that I must make. And with tears in my eyes and sadness in my heart, to some things I still say, “Not today.”

What will you say?

Ashley Vass

During his speech in London’s Trafalgar Square for the campaign to end poverty in the developing world, Nelson Mandela remarked, “Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation” (2005). Whether as a young child, a teenager, or a mature adult, I think we have all hoped at one time or another, that one day we might be able to do something or be part of something really great. Upon reading his speech, I began to ask myself, “Are only some generations destined for greatness?” and, “What does it take to become such a generation?”

Where does greatness come from? How can one become great? Who is the judge of what is great? In America, we are taught from an early age that we can be anything that we aspire to be and can do anything that we put our minds to. With the right education, the right connections, the right combination of skills, and the right resources, the world is ours for the taking…or at least that is what we are told. We are taught that greatness comes in the form of power, leadership, influence, and having a platform on which to stand. Is this truly greatness? Do the Lord and the world define greatness synonymously?

As Christians too often we answer this question with a “yes”. As a result, we seek to hold great positions and to do great things (sometimes in the name of the Lord) by seeking to change the culture and the world around us. We stand to proclaim a message, promote a cause, protect a value, or protest against anti-Christian politics. This is not to say that all of these cannot be good things. All too often however, our focus is outward and not inward. We seek to influence and impact the world without doing the necessary internal work to first change as individuals. We buy into the idea that change comes through the masses and thus our efforts become concentrated outwardly.

The Christian community as a whole, for example, is unhappy that prayer has been taken out of the schools in America. We have conducted research studies to link the increase in pregnancy and violence in schools to the time that prayer was taken out. It should be noted that Christians were not banned from schools, nor were their freedoms of speech or right to worship taken from them. The presence of prayer in school didn’t have to change just because the legislation did. We can be certain that one day a year there is prayer in school though. There is a National campaign called “See You At the Pole” where students show up for school early to pray around the flagpole. I have no objection to this collective National prayer time. However, if prayer is really an important value to everyone participating, why not show up everyday to pray? This is what I mean when I say that we concentrate on things outwardly vs. inwardly. We make a lot of noise, when so much more could be accomplished if we just practiced the very things that we are fighting for!

There was One who walked among us who showed us with His life that greatness does not come through power, education, position, or majority consensus. In fact, His life portrays almost the antithesis to what the world presents to us as greatness. He did not have any formal education, never wrote any books, was hated by the religious leaders of His day, was scoffed at, mocked, beaten, and ultimately crucified. And yet, He was the greatest Man who ever lived. He changed the course of history and the destiny of all people for all time past, present, and future. He said that greatness comes through serving, “Instead [in contrast to what the people had been taught], whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be the first must be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43b-45).

Jesus taught and demonstrated to the world that greatness comes through humility, sacrifice, service, and love. How we invest our life is up to us and what He chooses to do through that investment is up to Him. Greatness cannot be manufactured. It cannot be earned with degrees, negotiated with positions, or purchased with money; greatness comes as the result of becoming a servant.

What does your life say about greatness right now? If you were to ask others what makes you great, what might they say? Is your life characterized by service and sacrifice? Where do you focus your energy and resources? What message do you communicate to others about the love and life of Jesus through your own? Could it be said of you that you live life to serve and not to be served and offer yourself for the sake of others? If not, what needs to change? What will change?

Our life and our legacy, through Him, could be used to impact generations to come. Are we willing to humble ourselves through service and sacrifice, trusting that though the world may never see it as great, we are pleasing to the One who judges justly? What will it take for us to be that great generation?

I believe that it falls upon every generation to be great. I believe that each one of us is destined for greatness. But greatness as a generation cannot take place without the commitment of individuals to first become great individually.

Ashley Vass