The Perfect Tree

Well I suppose by now we're all starting to think about getting our Christmas trees up and decorated. Finding the perfect tree can be a daunting task--it's finding the right size, color, shape and type.

Growing up, we had Douglas Firs and then one Christmas we broke with tradition and got a Scotch Pine in a box from Sears. But back in the 60's, nothing said Christmas better than my grandmother's tree. It was an aluminum tree with blue ornaments!

The Christmas tree is a wonderful symbol of the perfect tree of life: green and full of life year- round. The purpose and reason for Christmas takes us back in time to a garden. In that garden there was a tree. It was from the fruit of a tree in the Garden of Eden that sin and death entered into our world. It was a tree that was to be avoided. God's love and abundance had said, everything is here for your use and enjoyment, just don't eat from that one tree. That's usually how it works. We want what we are told we can't have, even though there's so much to choose from.

We chose to eat that "forbidden fruit." In God's plan to restore the relationship that had become broken, another tree would be needed. It would be cut down and made into a cross. That tree would make possible a solution to the problem and curse of sin and death.

On a Christmas tree, the ornaments tell a story. In addition to the selected store bought ornaments we also have the best ornaments--the one's that our boys have made over the years, and one's that have special meaning. It was on a tree that God hung His greatest gift to humankind.

God's looking for "real" trees to decorate. At certain Christmas tree farms you can actually search out the tree you want, tag it, make a claim on it, purchase it, and call it yours. It would then be cut and given to you for your purpose and use. In the show The Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie goes our with his friend Linus to find a tree for their Christmas pageant. They get to the lot and find many shiny and full trees. Then Charlie spots one that is "real." The tree looks lonely, and Charlie says, "I think this one needs a home." "I don't know Charlie Brown," says Linus. Charlie buys it anyway.

Charlie Brown takes the tree back and when the other kids see it he becomes the laughing stock. Deep down he knew in his heart he picked the right tree. We're like that "Charlie Brown" Tree--God sees potential through what he can do, even though the world laughs. He tags us and he places his name on us. Though sin and guilt may press down on us and make us look like it killed us, God brings new life. Because Jesus was willing to accept the curse of hanging on the tree of the cross, we have the joy of being acceptable to God. And now we can sing.

If we feel like that "Charlie Brown" tree, God wants to decorate us. He wants to hang his grace, love, hope, and peace from our branches. God can give us a whole new look. The tree that brought sin and death, has been conquered by the tree that brought life.

Hark the herald angel sing, glory to the newborn King. May we know His great Peace.

Wisdom Learned Here

I have the privilege to serve at a church that has a Christian school as a part of its ministry. Directly across the street from us is an elementary school. That particular school has a very good reputation and is highly ranked for academics and standardized test scores. So why should we (Trinity, or any Christian church that chooses) be in the "school" business? There is a significant cost and sacrifice that a church has to make to have a school as a part of its ministry. If it is to have a "safe" place for our kids to go to school, that's not a good enough reason for the sacrifice and cost. If it is to have a "nurturing" environment for our kids, that's not good enough. If it is to have a "private" school education for our kids, that also is not a good enough reason for a church to expend its resources. There is a reason. And it is also the reason we send our two boys to our school (Trinity Lutheran Christian School). The reason is found in Daniel 1:1, 3-7: "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility--young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. ... They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter into he king's service. Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananah, Mishael, and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego." The best and the brightest were taken. They were given new names, and were "re-educated" for three years. During that time of "training" they were taught a new world view. What those four young men had learned prior to their capture and what they knew in their hearts remained. The reason we have a Christian school here at Trinity, is to partner with parents and the church to give an academically rich education to children with a world view that focuses on the supremacy of Jesus Christ. So, when the world tries to "besiege" our kids and tries to capture them and enslave them to its philosophy and way of seeing things (its world view), they will see how hollow and deceptive it is--they will see it for what it is. Daniel rose above and beyond the others. His integrity, loyalty and education caused him to be significantly different. Over many years, I believe they (the worldly rulers and kings) put up with his religion and practices because of what he was as a person. Besides a Christian world view, another thing the Christian School can teach that the public school cannot is wisdom. Wisdom is the missing link. Wisdom is the application of what we have come to know. Biblically, it's the taking of what we have learned and putting it into practice in a way that honors God. True wisdom is "from above." God is the source of all wisdom and understanding. James tells us if we lack wisdom we "should ask God, who gives generously to all..." In Proverbs we are told that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." A right understanding of God and ourselves causes us to humbly turn to the correct source. I have a vision to see more "Daniel's" raised up. Children raised in homes that allow a commitment to Christ to be nurtured, brought to church to worship and grow in their faith, and challenged in an academically rich environment where they can be exposed to people living out their faith and shown how to apply the things of God to their lives. I desire to see this generation, and generations to come offer up people who are wise--who can lead with integrity and who never lose focus on the things that matter most. "He who walks with the wise grows wise," Proverbs 13:20. I want my boys to be where wisdom can be found. My sincere prayer is that when others try to give them a different name or re-educate them they would remember their new name, "child of God," and "call on the name of the Lord."

A "Summer of Love"

Forty years ago this summer, 1967, was the "Summer of Love." Thousands of young people, united for a new social experience, came to the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. But why there? John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas took twenty minutes to write the lyrics for the song "San Francisco"--the song was designed originally to promote the June 1979 Monterey Pop Festival--the world's first major rock festival which was attended by over 200,000 people.

The song went:

If you're going to San Francisco,

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...

If you're going to San Francisco,

Summertime will be a love-in there

The song became an instant hit and went well beyond its original purpose. The Beatles and their music also contributed to the global impact of the "Summer of Love." Their album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, was released in June, 1967. Rolling Stone magazine has referred to it as the "greatest" and "most influential album of all time." On June 25, 1967, the Beatle's song, "All You Need is Love," was heard around the world as a part of the "Our World" radio broadcast--empahsizing the countercultural ideas of love, freedom and unity.

During the "Summer of Love" as many as 100,000 young people from around the world flocked to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. It was not long, however, before huge problems arose--the whole scene deteriorated rapidly. Overcrowding, homelessness, hunger, drug problems and crime afflicted the whole scene and neighborhood. People just started to leave. On Ocotober 7, 1967, those remaining in the Haight staged a mock funeral: "The Death of the Hippie" ceremony, to signal the end of the scene.

What they came for, what they longed for didn't happen. The song, "All You Need is Love" supposedly emphasized the ideals of love, freedom and unity. After reading Galatians 5:1, 13-15, you could make a three-part outline of Paul's emphasis of love, freedom and unity.

We as people long for love, we want to be free and we desire unity. What we have is two sources offering what we long for--two completely different ways to find it and two compeltely different results. What started as an "outward" quest turned "inward" to find those things like love, freedom and unity. Members of the Beatles and others turned "east" in a spiritual quest. Another element went spiritual too--it was then that we saw the birth of the "Jesus Movement"in the late 60's.

Paul tells us that Christ is our liberator. Christ has liberated us so that we can love, have true freedom, serve one another and experience true unity. Freedom, Christian freedom, does not mean permisison to do whatever we want--rather, Christian freedom is liberation from the prison of self-absorption and freedom from enslavement to insecurity and pride. We grasp that God, in Christ, reallyt does love us and accepts us. We realize he can live within us to change us, to meet our needs, and to touch others through us. We no longer have to strive to get his attention or earn his approval or stay in his good graces. We are emancipated to turn our focus and attention to the needs of others. We serve by letting divine love flow through us.

What's the secret to a life of freedom? Resting in his perfect grace and relying on his infinite strength. Paul tells us where we can find true freedom, love and unity. Following the cravings and desires from within will only lead to where those who came to the Haight did back in 1967--looking for something more. Jesus talked a lot about love, and could also say, "All you need is love," but understand what kind and from what source.

Jesus came in love to serve us. and he calls us to his table and says, "Eat"--he has prepared a table of bread and wine--where offers himself and the benefits of his sacrifice for us. He dwells in our hearts to change our desires and affections.

The "Summer of Love", forty years ago this summer, taught us a lot about freedom and how to find it. It's not about putting flowers in your hair and heading for San Francisco, it's about seeing that it's not something we can come up with on our own, but given to us as a gift from God. Look to Christ and this will not just be a "Summer of Love", but a lifetime of love--that will last for all eternity.