Not My Relatives

A number of months ago I was walking in the hills above where we live and I saw a tree with some unusual looking fruit.  I had forgotten about that tree until I came across a photo of these fruit last week which enabled me to identify the tree.

Turns out the tree is called Engelhardtia spicata and it is in the Botanical plant family Juglandaceae.



Juglandaceae!?!

I remember that from my forestry school days.  That is the same plant family as pecans…



and walnuts…



How can these relatively closely related trees have such different fruit.   I think of Juglandaceae and I think of large, edible nuts.  And here is this tree in Wiang Kaen with a small, leafy bract at the base of which is a minute seed.

The relationship between these trees as being in the same plant family is determined by scientists using the principals of phlyogenetics-trying to figure out what might have derived from common ancestors based on genetic studies.  The results are sometimes quite interesting, with apparently related organisms having very dissimilar appearances.

As we look through there trees and roots of our human family relationships, we may often be surprised at who our relatives are.  We may be quick to trace some line of our family tree back to some famous, good person.  We are perhaps less apt to make the connections to notorious criminals.  There may be cousins we wish to deny relationship with.  Other relatives make us question the veracity of the adage, "the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree."

"We can't pick our relatives," the saying goes.

And while we can't pick who we're related to, we can choose how we relate to them.

Ultimately, we're all related to each other.  It's our choice how we relate to all these relatives.

Jesus told us that one of the great commandments is to "love your neighbor as yourself."  And he chose to illustrate the concept of neighbor with a person who would be regarded more like an enemy.  (Luke 10:25-37)

Elsewhere, Jesus was more direct.  "Love your enemies," He said. (Matthew 5:44)

I confess, I am not always a fan of that commandment.

My dad was fond of they saying, "There are no strangers, only friends I haven't met."

But it is hard to keep up that sentiment with people who are threatening to annihilate you.  It's hard to love someone who killed or hurt someone you love. And it is easier to not love someone if they aren't like you.

So just because you're a walnut and they're an Engelhardtia, and you don't look anything like them, it doesn't mean you're not related.

I can think of lots of reasons no to love some people or even some whole categories of people.  But Jesus didn't give us this option.

Ultimately, Jesus showed us how to love our enemies by offering up His life for those who hated him (which would include me).  "While we were yet sinners", Paul writes, "Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8).  Jesus did not wait for me to start loving Him before He started loving me.

Someone has to make the first move.

In this day and age we justify the killing of people as a preemptive strike.  "Kill them before they kill us," we say.

Jesus was all about preemptive strikes: Love them before they love you.

Love your enemies.

After all, they're your relatives.

Phumlamnao-ภูมิลำเนา

In my Bible reading today, I started in Mark 6:1.  I didn’t get too far when I came across the word (I’ve been reading in Thai): ภูมิลำเนา

This is not a word I see a whole lot, in fact, it is only used 4 times in the Bible translation I am using.
I looked it up in my translation notes and found the following definition:

birthplace or place you have spent most of your life in and identify with

Upon reading that definition, I immediately thought: “I’m not sure I have one of those.”

I grew up in Connecticut and spent the most years of my life there.  But I have not lived there for ages and I don’t keep track of anyone there except a few relatives.

My childhood home

I lived almost an the next greatest number of years in Calfornia, but in three different places (or perhaps four, to be a bit more precise) and the place we lived there the longest was Fresno.  We were in Fresno less than 10 years and were even gone part of that time, so perhaps 9 years altogether.  That is only a little bit longer than we spent in Bakersfield, California or l’Etang, Haiti (just over 7 years each).

Our house in Fresno, back in the days where there was water there.

Currently we are in Thailand, but having spent only 4 years here living in as many provinces, I can’t say we’ve found a home here yet, either.

View of me current home town on a smoky winter day

Right now I would perhaps identify mostly with Fresno, but only because we have the most number of current relational connections there.

So where is my phumlamnao?

I really don’t know.

I am a sojourner.  Trying to follow Jesus where he leads, though not always sure I am successful.

Interestingly, it may be the place I identify most with is a place I’ve never been.  As Paul wrote to the church in Philippi:

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ

Hey, did you happen to see…

…the most beautiful girl in the world.

Me and the most beautiful girl in the world

A few months back, I was at a conference, the theme of which was idolatry.  The speaker mentioned a number of things that can become idols to us.  One of the things he mentioned was the idol of beauty.

He went on to mention how some of us see the images of beautiful people in magazines or on TV and we can either become obsessed with trying to be like them or we can feel bad about ourselves because we aren’t like them.  In those cases, beauty has become an idol for us.

(I find it interesting that when you think of all the photo editing that goes on before a photo is published, even these “beautiful” people cannot even attain to their own image of beauty.)

Beware of edited photos
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/off-the-mark-slideshow/

On at least one occasion I have been at a conference for men where we are told something like “there will always be someone better or more beautiful” and so you need to learn to be content with the wife you have.  When I would hear that, I figured it must only be a problem for others, as I was already married to the the prettiest girl this side of the North Pole.

And for a long while I figured that since I was married to the most beautiful girl in the world, everyone else had to settle for less.  (Too bad, fellas.)

But the person speaking about idolatry got me to thinking—what is God’s perspective on all of this?

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.
(Genesis 1:31a, emphasis mine.)

Everything was very good.

So in God’s eyes, is there someone who isn’t beautiful?  Is it possible there is some person who is more beautiful than another?

Hardly seems possible.

I remember many years ago when I was at the University of New Hampshire, there would usually be a bunch of girls sitting by the window at Wildcat Pizza who would rate the guys as they walked by outside.  They would hold up cards, much like the judges at gymnastics competition.  (I thought I was doing pretty good when I got a 7.)

Does that seem like something God would do—rate people by their beauty?

I don't think so.

And so—this is for you married guys—I’ve come to realize that you, too, can be married to the most beautiful girl in the world.  And you have to neither change wives nor change your wife.

You only need to change your perspective to that of God’s.

God, help me to see people through Your eyes.

IQ?

My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

Ecclesiastes 12:12 (ESV)

Recently, my brother made a post about IQ.  I haven’t read it yet, but it got me thinking.

I, too, have an IQ.  I’m sure of it.  But I’m getting older and I can’t always remember where I put things.  So, if you see my IQ lying around somewhere, please let me know.

I always wonder about the way we measure our smartness.  Is smartness the ability to make good decisions?  Then, in that case, I know I have that ability because I have done so on at least two occasions in my life:

1. The decision to follow Jesus.
2. The decision to marry Ingrid.

After that, I’m not always so sure.

Is smartness measured by the facts we know?  In that case I know all the important facts I need to know:

1. I know my wife’s birthday.
2. I know our anniversary date.

Facts beyond that may or may not be worth remembering.

Once we went to a church where we met this really awesome woman.  She was not in any position of leadership.  She was not highly educated.  She did not have a high paying job.  She was perhaps not, by some measures, one of the brightest persons in the church. BUT (and this is REALLY important)—she led more people into a relationship with Jesus than anyone else in the church.  She was active in reaching out to the disenfranchised people of the city.  When the crowns are passed out, I’m sure she will get a much nicer one than I do.

My IQ might be higher than hers, but she is far smarter than me.

In the internet era, but long before the days of facebook, I once took an online IQ test.

I passed.

Meaning that after I answered a bunch of silly questions, I did NOT click on the link that would have given me the opportunity to forfeit some of my hard-earned money in return for which someone would tell me what an awesome person I am.  Anyone who would do that must not be very smart.

I know I’m an awesome person.  I don’t need to take a test to tell me that.

You are an awesome person, too.  I tell you that for free, and without your having to take a test.

By the way, the number I got in return for answering the silly questions was 135.  This is a really cool number:

     1+3+5=9
     1x3x5=15

     9x15=135

(My wife got a higher number and she can’t do that with her number.)

I’m not sure what the number means beyond that. I can't even get a small blended mocha in Starbucks in Thailand for 135 baht.  But I can get 3 large ones at our local coffee shop for 120 baht.  That's right--40 baht each.  And it tastes better.  And it's locally grown.  40 vs. 145, your choice.

40

Now that's smart.

What type of herder are you?

Recently, some events in our lives got me to thinking about leadership styles.

Some people are goatherds.  They drag their team with them, usually with a lot of effort because the team is so reluctant.



Some people are cowherds.  They let the cows go and come back and get them—sometimes months later—when it is time for them to move again.



Some people are shepherds.  They lead their sheep to where the food is and then hang out with them to make sure they’re okay.



God expected His kings to be shepherds. 
Regarding David we read: “And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’” (2 Samuel 5:2)

Jesus called Himself the good shepherd.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.(John 10:11)

Church leaders are to be shepherds.
It’s not surprising that we call the leaders of our churches pastors. Our English word pastor comes from the Latin pastorem, meaning shepherd.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (Ephesians 4:11, 12)

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:1-4)

Sometimes I would rather be a goatherd.  If I drag the flock with me, I can make sure the flock does the job right.

Probably more often, as an introvert, I would rather be a cowherd.  Unengaged with the herd most of the time.  Just letting it do its own thing while I do my own thing.

It takes a lot more effort to be a shepherd.  Building a relationship and trust with the team so that it wants to go with you.  Continually checking in on the team to make sure they have everything they need.

As a leader more by chance than by choice, I need to be reminded occasionally (often?) that I am a shepherd and not a cowherd.  People won’t use those terms, but that is more or less what they are saying.

What kind of herder are you?

That all nations might believe and obey...

About 35 years ago I was sitting in the arena at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign surrounded by about 17,000 people who were followers of Jesus. It was the largest gathering of any kind that I had ever attended and was a test of my wits (as I start to get more and more withdrawn as a group exceeds a size of about 8 people).

I wasn't exactly sure why I was at the Urbana 76 missions conference.  But I do know that it drastically altered the course of my life.

The theme of the conference was That All Nations Might Believe and Obey.

It was through this conference that I hooked up with an organization called Emmanuel International though which I went overseas for the first time and though which I met my beautiful wife of now 31+ years.

I can't say I remember much about the speakers either, except for two.

John Stott led us through an expositional study of the first few chapters of Romans talking about the word "justification".  I always remembered the catchy way he defined it: God's righteous way of righteousing the unrighteous.  That middle word confounds the dictionaries a bit, but it is also hard to forget.

The other speaker I remember is Elisabeth Elliot, who passed away yesterday.

Two things particularly stick with me.

First, to illustrate a point she was making, she quoted a poem by a missionary to India named Amy Carmichael.  And she recited the poem in a very beautiful and memorable way.

     From prayer that asks that I may be
     Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
     From fearing when I should aspire,
     From faltering when I should climb higher
     From silken self, O Captain, free
     Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

     From subtle love of softening things,
     From easy choices, weakenings,
     (Not thus are spirits fortified,
     Not this way went the Crucified)
     From all that dims Thy Calvary
     O Lamb of God, deliver me.

     Give me the love that leads the way,
     The faith that nothing can dismay
     The hope no disappointments tire,
     The passion that will burn like fire;
     Let me not sink to be a clod;
     Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.

The second thing that stood out to me was her story.  It wasn't the story of her initial move to Ecuador which resulted in the martyrdom of her husband the the husbands of her teammates.  The lives of these men was a testimony to their profound commitment to Jesus and the exceedingly good news he brought to mankind.

No, to me the truly amazing thing is that she went back.

SHE WENT BACK!

HOW COULD SHE DO THAT?

She went back to those who killed he husband because she knew that they killed him in ignorance.

She went back to those who killed her husband because she knew that as awful a thing it was that they killed her second love, Jim; her first love, Jesus, still loved them.

She went back because Jesus helped her to forgive them.

Her testimony that night 35 years ago had a profound impact on me.  I listened to it over again many times on my cassette player.  I would read and re-read it in the syllabus we received.

My power to forgive has been tested--but never quite that much.

My power to forgive is currently being tested, and sometimes I find it a hard thing to do.

But I remember how much Jesus loved me--enough to forgive me over and over again for the stupid things I do that dishonor His name.

Thank you, Elisabeth Elliot, for sharing your testimony.  For helping me to know about how powerful a thing forgiveness can be.

Elisabeth Elliot 1926-2015
image:www.elisabethelliot.org

Armed and dangerous

Last week my wife brought in a leaf from our rose bush.  It had several very small, yellowish-green insect like creatures crawling over the back of the leaf.

On examination, I wasn't sure if they were some kind of caterpillar (moth or butterfly larvae) or if they were larvae or nymphs of some other insects.

I did notice that they were covered with some furry hairs.

While looking at them, I accidentally touched one of them.

Ouch!

Limacodidae-Spiny slug caterpillar
Yes-that's my thumb for scale

How could such a minute hair on a minute insect inflict such an intense burning pain!

And why is it that the hairs on some creatures are soft and cuddly while others are itchy and painful?  How does one even know except to purposefully or accidentally come in contact with the animal?

Appearances can be deceiving.

I have lived in several countries and I have noticed a commonality among all of them: people like stuff.  People mortgage their homes and their souls in order that they might obtain more and nicer things in order that they might be fulfilled, happy, comfortable, or perhaps perceived as having higher status.

But it fails so often.

Why do people who seem to have it all end up committing suicide?

Why do winners of mega-lotteries often end up worse off than they started?  (And why do governments promote such systems that ultimately fail at what they are hyped to achieve?)

Jesus calls it "the deceitfulness of riches."

That which appears soft and cuddly may in fact be prickly and poisonous.

As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.  (Matthew 13:22)

Not only does that which appears to be good actually fail at being good, it ultimately ends up choking what little good one had to start with.

While I am not a proponent of Buddhism, I have had the opportunity to visit is an interesting temple about 10 miles south of Chiang Rai often referred to as "the white temple".  The artist/creator of the temple makes an interesting contrast.

The temple is divided into two sides.  One side is very ornate with lots of interesting sculptures and such which draw the eye.  It is quite beautiful in many ways.

The other side is quite plain and almost boring.

The two sides are reached by bridges from a central structure.  One starts their journey there and has to decide: "Which side shall I choose.  Should I choose the beautiful and ornate side?  Or should I choose the plain and boring side?"

The catch here is that the "beautiful" side is side of karma-the endless cycle of birth, suffering and death.  The "plain" side is the side of Nirvana.

Many years ago, two men representing two large, extended families stood at a crossroad.  Their combined families were too big to be raising their livestock together and they needed to separate.  The older man said to his nephew, "take your pick, you go one way, I'll go the other."

The nephew looked one way and saw barren, rocky hills.  He looked the other way and saw a lush fertile plain.  He said to his uncle, "I think I'll head down to the valley over there."

The older man took his cattle to the barren hills.  God blessed him and he prospered.  The younger man found himself living among people whose only purpose in life was having a good time.

Eventually the older man had to rescue his nephew from the destruction of the city. The younger man ended up spending the rest of his life in a cave.  The older man prospered and became a great nation. (Genesis 13; 18:22-19:38)

Sometimes, that which appears soft and cuddly is in fact prickly and poisonous.

When you come to the crossroad, which side will you choose?

Wat Rong Khun (วัดร่องขุ่น) - the 'hell" side

Wat Rong Khun (วัดร่องขุ่น) - the "heaven" side