Moving on

Black-topped roads that hug the countryside inspire something within me.... (Hocking Hills, Ohio 2016)

I launched Road Report in year four of a career search that I have since mothballed.  A theme behind Road Report included my desire to work in my own hometown.  Another was depicting life as a journey that often encountered the “back roads” more than the main ones.

Road Report at FarmingtonGlenn(.net) launched in April, 2012. Thanks to friends Todd Waller and Dan Rose for crafting the framework that made it a reality.

Road Report primarily shares how God is shaping my day-to-day experiences, reading and encounters with others.  I pray these “reports” from my own  “roads of life” resonate with fellow Christians to also grow in their relationship with our Lord.  My highest hope is to intrigue people “on the fence” about, or even opposed to Jesus to be open to consider receiving his invitation to enter into a relationship with him.

Inspiration for "FarmingtonGlenn" within 2-blocks of our home - to work locally.

While “FarmingtonGlenn” was inspired by a similarly-named local swim club a couple blocks from our house, I didn’t limit my search just to local opportunities.  Using multiple searching strategies, I pursued recommendations and sought companies and positions fitting my competencies and experiences, even if only remotely.  

Many setbacks later, I work locally now but not as I envisioned. Time for me to move on, philosophically, to key on God's musings for me vs. my own.  As I close the FarmingtonGlenn chapter, Road Report continues as Road Report Journal.

Thanks for following along with my FarmingtonGlenn journey.  Exit here to jump over to Road Report Journal.

While my career as a operations manager/leader appears to be over, life continues and God is faithful and good. As Rick Warren wrote in the very first line of “Purpose Driven Life, ‘It’s not about you.’”  That first chapter is entitled “It All Starts With God.”  I’m grateful to know that.

I believe everyone discovers that truth at some point.  Sadly, most people learn this too late.

 My passion is to show that life starts and ends with God.  My platforms are where God allows or leads me to occupy such as Road Report Journal and as I into being a husband, father, neighbor, elder and for now, serving customers in the aisles of a True Value hardware store.

Our pastor has advised that if we are disappointed with our story, stay tuned.  God is the only storyteller who counts and he promises something special for me and you that continues to unfold and will not be complete until we die.  

“I tell no one any story but his own,” said the lion Aslan in C.S. Lewis’ third Chronicles of Narnia book, “The Horse and His Boy.”

If you tend toward skepticism, look no further than the repentant thief crucified next to Jesus. We can only presume but don’t really know his story except for that brief exchange with Jesus in his dying moments as recorded in Luke 23. Turns out his ending was the moment that mattered most for him.

Ending with Jesus is essential but living with Jesus is best no matter how difficult the roads. For me, more roads ahead and more stories to tell.  

As I close FarmingtonGlenn and transition to Road Report Journal by filing this 300th Road Report, I offer these thoughts by Dallas Willard from “Divine Conspiracy,”

“Jesus’ good news about the kingdom can be an effective guide for our lives only if we share his view of the world in which we live. To his eyes this is a God-bathed and God-permeated world. It is a world filled with a glorious reality, where every component is within the range of God’s direct knowledge and control—though he obviously permits some of it, for good reasons, to be for a while otherwise than as he wishes. It is a world that is inconceivably beautiful and good because of God and because God is always in it. It is a world in which God is continually at play and over which he constantly rejoices. Until our thoughts of God have found every visible thing and event glorious with his presence, the word of Jesus has not yet fully seized us.”

— Dallas Willard, Divine Conspiracy

The repentant thief might argue with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s popular notion that “Life is a journey, not the destination.”  In his case, the destination was what mattered most.  But for those fortunate enough to receive Jesus during life, much, much more is possible for both the journey and the destination - life to the full!  (See John 10:10).

No shame, imagined

Wearing a cross: shame redeemed?

I cling to pride even though I never would have thought myself very prideful.

Shame is pride’s offspring.  We know we are proud whenever we feel shame. Shame cannot exist without pride.

Was reading Psalm 26 by David when the phrase in the NIV “be put to shame” caught my attention.  I was particularly struck by verse 3 when David claims:

““No one who hopes in you (God) will ever be put to shame” ”

— Psalm 25:3a, NIV

Ever?  As in never?

What about verse 2 when David wrote, “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me?” (Psalm 25:2)“

Is David wishy-washy or is he simply admonishing himself to always resolve to trust in the Lord so that, among other benefits, he will not be put to shame?  He concludes the Psalm with another reminder:

““Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.” ”

— Psalm 25:20

I relate to David’s struggle. I revere God too but sometimes shame weighs heavy on me.

While David had much to be proud about - warrior, hero, musician, king, author, he is also open about his weakness and sinfulness.  Note verses 7 and 11 where he asks to be judged by God’s character not his own.   Really proud people would rarely say anything like that.

BibleGateway produced 147 uses of the word “shame” in the NIV including 52 variations on the phrase “put to shame.”  While the very first mention occurs before the first sin, when “Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame” (Genesis 2:25), most of those mentions regard the shame of those who have little or no regard for God.

How long will you people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? (Psalm 4:2)

Even a cursory study of shame in the Bible clearly shows shame presented as a primary  language and manner of the world.  

“Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush.

To answer before listening— that is folly and shame. ”

— Jeremiah 6:15a and Proverbs 18:13

Modern life holds this to be as true as ever.  In stark contrast is God’s assurance as echoed above by David and elsewhere:

““As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him (the Lord) will never be put to shame.”’ ”

— Romans 10:11 referencing Isaiah 28:16

Never?  Imagine never experiencing shame, especially in 2017?

Here’s another never to bank on - that God doesn’t leave us to depend on imagining what never/ever experiencing shame looks like.  In answer, he sent his son Jesus to model life that drew completely from God and completely disregarded every other influence. (See Philippians 2:7, ESV)

Every person and being who came against Jesus failed to put him to shame.  Jesus’ ultimate triumph over shame was when...

“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

— Hebrews 12:2, NIV

While the cross was for a moment in history associated with one of the most diabolical execution methods ever conceived by humanity, today it is a symbol of redemption, not to mention an adornment,.

Imagine forsaking pride and never again suffering shame?  Imagine drawing life only from the Lord and giving no other person or being or idea a foothold for pride or shame to take root?

Thanks to Jesus, we don’t have to imagine.

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Image source: wearing a cross

Passion Week Tribute to Rufus and my Parents

Station V of the Stations of the Cross

While meandering along the roads of life, anything can happen to instantly change everything.  In honor of Passion Week, I offer this story about such a thing happening to a man named Simon whose son, Rufus became a small part of my story of faith.

A couple thousand years ago while traveling along a Jerusalem road during Passover week, Simon from Cyrene found himself unexpectedly enveloped by a raucous crowd. Perhaps as he strained to get a look at what all the commotion was about, he was noticed by a Roman soldier who pressed him into an unwanted duty – to help the condemned man the crowd was following to carry the cross upon which he would soon be crucified. 

That moment catapulted Simon from Cyrene from obscurity because that condemned man he unwittingly helped was Jesus Christ.

Simon from Cyrene is mentioned in three of the four gospel accounts of Jesus’ road to Calvary. His role is memorialized in the fifth of the 14 stations of the cross that adorn most Catholic churches. A great depiction of Simon’s service was captured in Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of the Christ.”

The account in Mark notes that Simon is the father of Alexander and Rufus who Christian scholars believe were known in Rome where Mark wrote his gospel. In his letter to the Romans, Paul thanks a man named Rufus and his mother for their support of him (Romans 16:13).  Many scholars say this Rufus is Simon from Cyrene’s son.

Rufus became part of my story when my parents urged me to take his name for receiving the sacrament of Confirmation in 1967. Catholic parents often choose first and/or middle names for their children after the names of canonized saints or people in the Bible, like Joshua or David or Matthew.  My brothers have middle names like Patrick and Daniel.  Then these saintly/Biblical names are also reused for their Confirmation name.

My first and middle names are Glenn Roy. Glenn was a favorite name of my mom and Roy is my dad’s first name.  However when it came to choosing a name for my Confirmation, we knew of no Glenn's or Roy's in the Bible or among saints.  However, my parents claimed that Rufus was an origin for the name Roy.  Despite that Rufus was not a cool-sounding name to me, I let my parents talk me into using it for my Confirmation name.

While taking on a Confirmation name is a significant marker of taking a major step in faith, I didn’t actually receive Christ as my Lord and Savior until many years later. Nevertheless, I participated in the Confirmation ceremony with the name “Rufus.”

I vividly recall regretting the choice during the ceremony. When my turn came, I knelt before the bishop who laid his hand on my head and loudly declared me “Rufus!” I imagined everyone looking oddly in my direction at the unusual name I’d chosen.  Confirmation is often a memorable ceremony for young Catholics.  However, all I really remember was the Rufus part – being embarrassed to be connected with that name.

I feel differently now.  Today, I am a Christian and know about this Rufus, son of Simon who helped Jesus with his cross.  If I could redo that ceremony, I would be honored to claim the name of Rufus.

Also, I hold a special place in my heart for my parents’ role in my choice thanks to perspective and that I have since become a believer.  This part of the story greatly increases my love for my parents and for God who knew I would come to him long before I did.

Interesting how for both me and Rufus, our parents factored significantly in our stories of faith. Possibly, Rufus and his brother were there when their dad carried Jesus’ cross.

When I first took the name of Rufus for my Confirmation, it signified little more than embarrassment and possible parental conspiracy.  But it has since emerged to take on a significance well beyond what my parents probably hoped to achieve - me taking a next small step in my faith.

As a parent now, I pray that one or two of the little things I’ve done to nurture faith in my own children blossom in a similar manner.

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Notes:

1)  This post is an edited version of a Road Report entitled “My Rufus Story: Hope for Conspiring Parents” posted September 3, 2012 at FarmingtonGlenn.net

2) Gospel mentions of Simon from Cyrene in BibleGateway: Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21 and Luke 23:26

3) 14 Stations of the Cross

1. Jesus Is Condemned To Death
2. Jesus Is Made To Carry His Cross
3. Jesus Falls The First Time
4. Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother
5. Simon Of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry His Cross***
6. Veronica Wipes The Face Of Jesus
7. Jesus Falls The Second Time
8. The Women Of Jerusalem Weep Over Jesus
9. Jesus Falls The Third Time
10. Jesus Is Stripped Of His Garments
11. Jesus Is Nailed To The Cross
12. Jesus Is Raised Upon The Cross And Dies
13. Jesus Taken Down From The Cross And Placed In The Arms Of His Mother
14. Jesus Is Laid In The Sepulcher

4) Here is an article about Simon from Cyrene.  It offers some interesting conjecture about this man – maybe a Jewish convert or a Gentile, maybe a black man, and whose his wife and sons were well-known in the Christian church in Rome.

5)  The seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church: 1. Baptism (Birth); 2. Confirmation (Adulthood); 3. Eucharist (“Communion”), 4. Penance (Reconciliation); 5. Matrimony (Marriage); 6. Holy Orders (Priesthood); 7. Extreme Unction (Sickness, Death).

Growing Underneath

Aspens in Colorado

Have you seen the recent story about the earth’s biggest living thing?  According to Public Radio International,

“The largest organism on Earth probably isn't a whale or a giant octopus or anything else you might naturally think of first. It's a tree — or a group of genetically identical trees that stretches across more than 100 acres of Utah's Fishlake National Forest.” 

Aspen trees, specifically. The U.S. Forest Service calls the massive, “single-tree” aspen grove “Pando,” Latin for “I spread.”

Found coast to coast across North America, aspens grow in groups called stands. Within these stands, a single tree will spread by sprouting new stems from its roots that either sprout into new trees or live underground, sharing nutrients with each other for a long time.

Aspens are a favorite of my wife, Cindy. She likes how the leaves "waver" in the wind due to their triangular-shaped stems. An Our Daily Bread devotional we read together last week offered another aspen feature - how their underground root system plays a vital, re-foresting role after a natural disaster.  

Apparently, aspen root systems sleep underground for hundreds, even thousands of years, whether or not they produce trees.  After a fire, flood, or avalanche clears a space for them in the otherwise shady forest, aspen roots can sense the sun at last, sending up saplings that become trees.

“Just as natural disaster clears a forest to make new aspen growth possible, our growth in faith is also made possible by difficulties,” wrote ODB contributor Amy Peterson. 

“Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds,” wrote the apostle James, “because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2–4).                 

According to James, not lacking anything is what a mature and complete faith looks. That’s problematic for me.  While I can claim occasional moments of not lacking anything, I generally lack something that I want or convinced myself I need.

Pride is my struggle.  As a guy, I want to support my family and be competent and capable in my responsibilities especially in my work/career. Unable to secure or retain positions that sync with my competencies, I've accepted other work where I struggle through learning processes that inevitably include embarrassing rookie mistakes.

Each new position presents a new learning curve to work through.  I try to handle the inevitable rookie errors with grace but often I'm shrinking inside, my self-confidence taking another hit. Are these tests of my faith, of God coaxing me, ever reluctantly, to trust more in him and less in myself?

While I do find being a rookie again for the sixteenth time in nine years a little frustrating, I am better about not letting the next mistake "get to me" or define me.  As I gradually learn new duties, I remind myself to thank the Lord for another opportunity to “let perseverance finish its work” in me. 

Like the aspen roots grow underground for a chance to re-forest a devastated region in the distant future, God allows and uses devastation in our lives for his own, re-foresting-type purpose.

Jesus himself established this "organism" that he invited me into, where my maturing faith feeds yours and ours melds with other believers.  Collectively, we are "growing underneath" but seen and approved by God, nurtured into a formidable, reckoning force .

“upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

— Jesus, Matthew 16:18b, KJV

We are what St. Paul metaphorically called “the body of Christ.”

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church...to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ ”

— Ephesians 4:11, NLT

May I suggest that the largest organism on Earth isn’t a tree after all?

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Notes:

1) Pando story

2) Our Daily Bread, 2/29/2017