Dale Cresap's blog

Have you heard of people described as having an iron will? Are you one of these? Is this a trait that you find admirable? Those who do would say that this is resolute and steadfast. Those who do not would refer to it as stubborn and pig-headed. Whether this is admirable or not depends on what you are committed to. If your interests are selfish or evil then your resolve works against the greater good.

Do you view vulnerability as weakness? But vulnerability is a prerequisite for growth and creativity. It is exposure to risk, but some risks must be taken to move ahead. Can you be known if you don’t express who you are in a real undefended way? Yet you cannot be vulnerable with everyone, for some will mistake your openness for weakness and attack. Beware of those who will respond with judgment, condemnation, exploitation, and abuse. Think of this as an opportunity to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.

How did you acquire your faith? Was it by the instruction of family, community, and culture, or was it by encounter with me? Children are receptive  to beliefs and adopt them readily. Adults are not as easily persuaded, but are still subject to the influence of those they associate with. Once established, beliefs tend to endure, so adults will continue in the faith they learned as a child unless they revisit the issue, and most do not. But isn’t the premise of your faith that you can have a direct relationship with me?

Is it reasonable to expect your faith to make you a better person? By what measure? Within churches proper belief and adherence to doctrinal positions is highly rated, but this carries no weight outside of the church. Kindness, generosity, love and other virtues are admired without, and hopefully within too. Do not let your regard for doctrinal purity confuse you about which is more important. Consider my own life and teachings. What common theme do you observe about the Good Samaritan, The Prodigal Son, and the two sons asked to work in the vineyard?

Have you heard of the church referred to as a hospital? There are valid aspects to this comparison, for it is the sick rather than those who are whole who need a physician. Yet no one lives in a hospital, and those who go there aim to make their stay as short as possible. Is this true of a church? Perhaps you could also think of the church as a school. Students expect to attend routinely and for the long term. Good students know their education continues even after they graduate. Do you come to church with the same expectation of studying and learning that you did in school?

Marksmen intend to hit their targets and take pride in doing so. You don’t have to be a marksman to realize that shooting yourself when you meant to hit your target is an extreme failure, but have you ever done this? People heap contempt, scorn, ridicule, and derision on others in attacks upon them, but this says nothing at all about the target person. It says very much about the person pressing the attack. Contempt is not an appropriate action toward anyone for those who are called to love not only their neighbors, but even their enemies.

Were you graded on your schoolwork? Was this your primary motivation, or were you more interested in mastery of the subject matter? Did you see some students who were naturally bright and to whom learning came easily, who got good grades and seemed indifferent to the material they were learning? Were there others who struggled yet were determined to know the subject? Academic credit is a construct of this world, not the one above. Do you delight in learning? Delight also in putting your knowledge into practice, for learning information makes you responsible for it.

Who do you think of when you think of my people? Christians? But Jews were my people before there were Christians, and they still are. That does not diminish the fact that Christians are my people. Selecting the Jews to be my covenant people was a sovereign act, and not a reward for them being more numerous or special than others. My intention was that through them should all the nations of the world be blessed. So there are multiple perspectives on this question. Are you prepared to think of all people when you think of my people? Were not all created in my image?

Do you make confident assertions about your future plans? Have you ever had a disruption intervene in what you intended to do? Perhaps you should adopt more humility in your planning process. For your life is but a vapor, and your future activities are subject to influences that you cannot control. It is better that you should not vow, than to vow and be unable to carry it out. It is good for you to make plans, but consult me in your planning process, and then leave room for me to intervene in the execution. Have you ever done this?

Do you live with a sense of destiny? You can succeed by the standards of the world around you in the amount of money you can make, accumulate, and spend, but does this by itself fill your life with meaning and purpose? Your destiny may be attached to the way you earn your living, but then again, it may not be. Do you find greater satisfaction in a bank balance, or in knowing that you were put here to make a unique contribution to make the world a better place? The world is groaning in travail for the manifestation of the destiny of the sons and daughters of God. I am too.