as far as heroes go

he·ro/ˈhi(ə)rō/Noun

1. A person, typically a man, who is admired for courage or noble qualities.

2. The chief male character in a book, play, or movie, who is typically identified with good qualities.

In a world where "hero" gets tossed around with reckless confusion in just about every form of media these days, it is hard to imagine what a true and real "hero" would look like. This "hero" word seems to have been classically used in describing horse-riding, hair-grooming, dragon-slaying, gym-junkie princes who ends up with the princess from the tallest room, in the tallest tower, of the tallest castle, on the tallest hill. It seems that an era of want-to-be heroes were perfectly catered for by the Disney phenomena, where strength and charm wins the day. After that, our emasculated society called for a different kind of "hero". Men no longer saw themselves as protein-guzzling princes, but have been perfectly stomped into the mold of a working class loser. Here we seem to have a shift from the horse-riding, hair-grooming, dragon-slaying, gym-junkie prince to a not so royal no-car, don't-shower, down-beaten, alcohol-junkie prince who ends up with the princess from the bombed-bedroom, in the paint-peeling-house, of the slummiest neighborhood. It seems that this era of unlikely-heroes were accurately catered for by the feel-good-movie phenomena, where sympathy and pity wins the day. The "hero" typecast is sure to change again, who knows to what kind of prince next...only one thing remains unchanging, and that is that nothing stays the same. Uncertainty is ruling in this world of inconsistency. Change is as sure as tomorrow will bring it and as yesterday cannot remember what it looks like. What will "being a hero" look like to us, and more importantly, what will a "hero" be for us? This question seems to take another 'relevance step' forward as there is sure to be yet another end to one of these metamorphic "hero eras".

We are a society which need heroes, and when not being told what the next hero typecast is, we continually look into the distance to see if we can see what the next "hero phenomena" will be that comes galloping, or moping, over that far green hill, or distant potholed-road. We need heroes, and seem to always be frantically looking into the distance to see what this might look like. This continual view to our hero-future though, seem to hold the possibility of driving hero-status to levels of insanity, so maybe it's time to stop looking so far forward into our fantasy-future of inventing new heroes, and simply see what reality has already dished up.

In an ever changing world...in an ever so uncertain and inconsistent world of fantasy heroes, we lose sight of what a real hero looks like, consist of, and live like. We seem to be a society that constantly compromise the very definition we set for a hero so that somehow the next great hero-producing phenomena may frame not only the definition of what a hero would be for us in that particular era, but therefore, frame our very inspiration and being. If we were a society who dare not compromise on our definition of a hero, our eyes might hopefully wilt blind to the ever so inconsistent hero forgery that we seem to embrace. If we were a society who then dare apply the uncompromising definition correctly, our hearts might hopefully grow open to the ever so consistent and present heroes that already exist and should be embraced in our lives.

Maybe when we look at history and stay true to definitions and attributes in our definition of a hero, and apply the premise that only the very best would suffice , open hearts would see that the only person who really satisfies the concept of a hero that we look for and need, and a big-H one at that, is Jesus. Small-h heroes merely point to him. God and man, courageous in suffering, noble in death, chief shepherd in the greatest book ever written, chief focus in this play called life, chief hero in this movie of eternity, and the only one who can ever be identified, not just as good, but as perfect, and therefore the only one qualified for being our true big-H Hero.

he·ro/ˈhi(ə)rō/Noun

1. A person, typically a man, who is admired for courage or noble qualities.

2. The chief male character in a book, play, or movie, who is typically identified with good

qualities.

Jesus has been and will remain the Hero phenomena of all eras, there's no other big-H Heroes and never will be. There is, however, the small-h heroes who live to magnify Jesus as the only big-H Hero. They are not as significant, but significant nevertheless. One such small-h hero is my father-in-law, more appropriately known as dad-S. There are not a lot of small-h heroes in my life, and I am immensely privileged to be able to have such a man in my life. He is undoubtedly a modern day faith hero. This world seems to be driven by self-help, selfish living, inwardly focused people who live for self, encourage the acquisition of earthly wealth, and preach "your best life now". Dad-S stands firm as a man in this world not of this world, driven by helping others, selfless living, and an upward focus who live for others, encourage the acquisition of treasures in heaven, and preach "Jesus will give you your best life then".

When I look at dad-S I see how the life Paul describes in the Bible is lived out practically. That the Christian life is painful yet joyful, discouraging yet empowering, depressing yet hopeful, and dead-like yet Christ.

In a world stained with want-to-be heroes, Jesus stands out as the ultimate, and yes only, big-H Hero. And no-one makes as much of this wonderful truth as dad-S, the ultimate small-h hero...a hero I am wonderfully privileged to know.

The Great Healer

We all have our good days and we all have our bad days, this morning was the start of what feels like a really good day. In fact this past week has been a really good week...God is great, my wife is amazing, things are good. Back to this morning ...

Making the long journey home from work (Greenslopes) to our temporary home for the next few weeks (Gold Coast) I decided to put on a sermon, to assist in alertness more than anything else. Toward the end of my travel down the coast my eyes did more than just stay open however, they welled up with a watery substance some apparently refer to as "tears"...

[I will, for the sake of manliness, simply refer to this phenomenon as liquid emotion...something that only occurs in a male when extremely tough male-creation meets extremely tougher male-Creator.]

Now, the reason for this phenomenon played out with a brain-busting Bible passage, followed by a heart-melting exposition...the following is the layout of this play...

Luke 18

¹ALSO [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up).

²He said, In a certain city there was a judge who neither reverenced and feared God nor respected or considered man.

³And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, Protect and defend and give me justice against my adversary.

⁴And for a time he would not; but later he said to himself, Though I have neither reverence or fear for God nor respect or consideration for man,

⁵Yet because this widow continues to bother me, I will defend and protect and avenge her, lest she give me intolerable annoyance and wear me out by her continual coming or at the last she come and rail on me or assault me or strangle me.

⁶Then the Lord said, Listen to what the unjust judge says!

⁷And will not [our just] God defend and protect and avenge His elect (His chosen ones), who cry to Him day and night? Will He defer them and delay help on their behalf?

⁸I tell you, He will defend and protect and avenge them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [persistence in] faith on the earth?

...and the thought that followed is so simple, yet so profound....

Jesus here contrasts us with a widow, and our big-"D" Dad with the judge...

How we, unlike a widow, who is the lowest in the society, are not poor, are never alone, are not looked down upon, and not outcasts...but children of the King, the bride of Christ, who not only promise we'll never be alone, but says that we're rich in spirit, high in humility, a part of an eternal community.

How God, unlike the judge, is not impatient, not short with those who come to him, not stingy...but caring, and giving, and tender-hearted, and good, and fair, and just.

Therefore we get to go to a judge who calls himself our Father, our Dad. A God who cares deeply, and loves intimately, and gives freely.

And so when we go to our big-"D" Dad and ask for something like healing, we do not have to go and go and go and go and persist because he's stingy or because we'll change his mind...no...we keep going to God in prayer to request, to plead, to ask, not out of negative pestilence, but out of a loving heart. A heart that doesn't keep going back because we're afraid he won't listen otherwise, but a heart that keeps going back because he's all we have!

We are far worse than we think we are, and God is far greater than we think he is.

And we are not orphans or widows, but adopted children and brides. And God is not a stingy judge or abusive partner, but a loving dad, and a caring husband.

We get to go to God freely, any time, any place, any how. So don't just go to him, but run frequently and often. Ask and ask and ask again, and know that He is good, and know that you are loved.

Our God is a good God, and he has inclined his affections towards us. Like I said, today is going to be a good day.

the wonder of missing someone

it has been an incredibly difficult yet satisfying past week or so. difficult because i do not like, or for that matter handle, not being with my wife or not having her with me. difficult because she's not there to see when before going to bed and not there when waking up. satisfying because i love that i was able to have my wife fly down to Sydney to spend some time with her brother, sis-in-law, and little niece (and god-daughter).

i miss you beauty, i miss everything about you and having you around, but missing you is not a bad thing, just difficult. i cannot wait to see you when you get back, to see your beautiful eyes, gorgeous smile, and the rest which i won't write here :)

you should know that you are the most wonderful person, the most beautiful woman, the most wonderful wife that any husband could ever asked for, wish for, and have hoped for!

you are wonderful, i miss you, but only because i love you so incredibly much!

thank God for my wife, God blessed so much with this girl, it's beyond words to describe.

love you beautiful wife

the best news you've probably never hoped for

[from "+good.friday"] ... Jesus was treated like we deserve to be treated (he was mocked, his friends betrayed him, his leaders sold him out, the system he was under failed him, he was unfairly accused and sentenced without proof, he was beaten till skin and muscle and bones were literally ripped from his body. as if that wasn't enough, he then died the death we should have died and still deserve to die, nailed onto a wooden cross. on the cross all the low-lives, the perverts, the prostitutes, the sluts, the abusive husbands, the drunks, the druggies, the hypocrites gathered and mocked him and laughed at him and gave him the finger ... all of this in a public place, that if it was today would be like in the car park of the local shopping center. that should have been and still should be us.

so how is this good news? ...

after the humiliating, wrongful, public execution Jesus suffered for us he was taken down from the rugged wooden tool of torture and being declared dead was laid in a tomb. at this point it does not seem like there is going to be good news, our rescuer died for us, but he is dead, we are okay, or are we? what now?

Jesus' friends go to his tomb, and this is where they find the wonderful news, that it is empty! dear friends, muslims travel many many kilometers to a dead persons tomb, buddhists travel from everywhere to the place where buddha is still lying, jews still this day cry at a wall waiting for their rescuer to come. people, your rescuer has come, and he's not dead, he's alive, and if your trust is not in a dead guy or an empty promise, but in the one and only rescuer, Jesus, God, who came on a rescue mission into our world, who suffered and died for us, in our place, for our sins, then you too will not be left for dead, but will have eternal life. Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life, only a live person can be this, not an empty promise, not a dead guy rotting in the ground, only Jesus!

Jesus lived the life you aught to live, He died the death you should have died, and He gives you free life you could never earn. Trust in the living Jesus...your rescuer, your savior, your God!

THIS is the good news, Jesus finishes it with this on the cross ... for all the bad you have done, for all the good you fail to do, for everything that has been done to you, your rescuer has come on a rescue mission for YOU, and there is nothing left to do but trust in Jesus ... because he said "it is finished".

i do not even know how to begin to tell the most amazing story of grace and love that is to be told about my life, and it is still only the beginning. so much to be thankful for, so much to be hopeful about.

there are many famous love stories in the world, many stories about a boy meeting a girl, many stories about matches made in heaven, and many stories finishing in happy endings ... this story is mine, and even though it has not finished yet, already has a happy ending...

this story includes many little stories as a part of the plot, and in a way has some fascinating events that make it the unique story that it is. quite simply, this is a story about a boy meeting a girl, winning her heart, fighting evil dragons, moving away from an evil castle where a perceived evil king is ruling, and starting their lives, which might seem difficult at times, but it's their own.

i have come along way with my princess over the last two years, we've been through a lot, and God has been gracious and good. there is a remarkable truth in the saying "marriage is not suppose to make you happy, it's suppose to make you holy", and how true was that to be found, and how wonderful was that to be found. my princess is a gift of a King, she has grown me in so many ways, and made me happy beyond description. there comes a point normally when someone asks then, "knowing what you know now, would you do it again?" ... and my answer would have to be, as i think back about all the struggles and good times, the tears and the laughter, YES, without a doubt yes!

God has been gracious in what is only but a two year sparkle of a marriage, and God will be faithful in fanning this in a full blown passionate flame in the years to come.

my wife, if you are reading this, i love you more than you could ever imagine! you are my princess and you are the greatest blessing next to Jesus himself. you are wonderful, and beautiful, and gracious, and precious, and good, and i cannot wait for the rest of our lives...living as a family, living for our God. happy two year anniversary :)

the bloody and gross joy of the first +good.friday

if you are like me you have probably at some stage at least spent some time thinking through the whole easter thing. why do we celebrate eater? what's the deal with eater eggs? why is it so dark and bloody and yet "good friday"?

i surely don't claim to have all the answers, but maybe, just maybe, by God's grace this will make some sense and shed some light on these not so new and very common questions surrounding this "christian holiday". It helps to start with Jesus, and not in some weird wack-job, knocking on people's doors kinda way, but just because ultimately it is about him, and here's why...

we know that the world we live in is not an ideal place, it does not seem to exist for our benefit or good, and life is definitely not, in spite of how some might think, "what you make it". we're building more jails, our yards have fences, our houses have security locks and screens, our cars have alarms, we have car insurance, home insurance, life insurance, CTP insurance, liability insurance, funeral insurance, and we continue to come up with more ways to secure ourselves, our family, our property and more things to insure because there is this natural anticipation that the stranger outside is more clever and more evil than we are and therefore have to continually come up with more and better ways to keep ourselves safe. the natural human propensity is to assume the worst, prepare for the worst, expect the worst, and why should we think any other way if all of life and society continually positively reinforce this. we are naturally bad people with bad idea and bad intentions, and therefore expect others to be the same also. so what does this have to do with good friday?

lets start at the beginning, briefly. when the first people were on earth, they were made good (yes, made, evolution is a very weak theory at best and all efforts to create scientific backing has been less than convincing, and lets face it, scientifically and academically poorly constructed). people then decided to separate themselves from the God who made them by wanting to become like Him (something we still struggle with today, wanting to be our own gods, make our own decisions, living our lives selfishly and inwardly as an individual instead of selflessly and outwardly as a community), and by doing this trying to run their own lives without a conscience or authority. the problem is though, the moment you pull a plant from the goodness of it's soil it dies and ceases to be a good plant, all that would've been a joyful life is lost ... and so we pulled ourself from our life source and happiness who is God, and all our joy and goodness was lost. the God who made people out of love was terribly hurt and angered by this betrayal and since He is good and just this terrible betrayal and separation deserved punishment, the punishment of which was death.

in early times, this good Creator God, out of love and grace, was willing to accept an animal life in the place of the deserving human life. there was to be a special day, once a year, where the people would come to the temple (God's resting place on earth, or actual presence on earth) and the high priest (mediator between the good and rightfully angry Creator God and His bad and selfish people) would then intercede or mediate between the people and God, making the relationship right again, appeasing God's anger for another year by killing a perfect and scar-free and clean animal, the blood of which is shed and therefore hiding the people's bad deeds and thoughts and motives in the animal sacrifice, so that God and His people could be united again for an amount of time.

this happened for hundreds of years, and history tells us that since this was never really enough, that God had another plan, from the beginning, a permanent one, to replace the temporary one. Since people were, and still are, and always will be imperfect by nature, their sacrifice were required and deserved, and animals would never be enough, and would ultimately not permanently satisfy a perfect God. So the Creator God in His goodness and grace bridged the gap created by us by humbly entering into human history as the man Jesus. Like only a perfect person could, Jesus lived a perfect and good and selfless life, therefore not falling under the same judgement deserving of death, also meaning that if he had to die that his death would not be permanent but result in life since the penalty cannot apply to a perfect and good life. Jesus willingly and selflessly, like the animal sacrifice, took upon himself the bad deeds and thoughts and motives of all the people believing in him and made the relationship between God and His people right again by appeasing God's anger, this time not for a year, not temporary, but forever, permanently.

Jesus was treated like we deserve to be treated (he was mocked, his friends betrayed him, his leaders sold him out, the system he was under failed him, he was unfairly accused and sentenced without proof, he was beaten till skin and muscle and bones were literally ripped from his body. as if that wasn't enough, he then died the death we should have died and still deserve to die, nailed onto a wooden cross. on the cross all the low-lives, the perverts, the prostitutes, the sluts, the abusive husbands, the drunks, the druggies, the hypocrites gathered and mocked him and laughed at him and gave him the finger ... all of this in a public place, that if it was today would be like in the car park of the local shopping center. that should have been and still should be us.

so how is this good news?

we did this to God, and God did this for us!

...blog "+easter.sunday" is a continuation of this blog ... comming soon ...

all this talk about losing yourself?

the reality of it is, is that we lose ourselves to something or someone or some cause every day. people give themselves or lose themselves to alcohol, to drugs, to cigarettes, to the pokies, to a sports team, to a band, to a charity, to a church, to a husband, to a wife, to a friend, to name but only a few. it would also seem that we do this for many different reasons, but in the end people always seem to get involved in something for what they will get out of it, and some might disagree but it's true.

we lose ourselves to alcohol by too much drinking, to drugs by too much consumption, to cigarettes by too much smoking, to the pokies by too much spending, to a sports team by too much enthusiasm, to a band by too much following, to a charity by too much giving, to a church by too much involvement, to a husband by too much pleasing, to a wife by too much protectiveness, to a friend by too much friendliness, too much too much too much. and why? for what reason? in most cases for completely selfish reasons, because it takes away painful reality, because it removes fearful anxiety, because it pushes aside concern and worry, it brings along feelings of acceptance, feelings of inclusiveness, feelings of worth, feelings of greatness, and feelings of hope ... and all things feelings are false! none of them last! which is why we go back to the bottle and the cigarette box and the needle and the casino and the sports stadium and the concert hall and the wallet and the house and the church events ... time after time after time after time after time! ... and still we're empty!

i want to put this to you, that ultimately the reason we lose ourselves to everything is because we want to find ourselves in anything, and we keep going back, because we don't. those things cannot give you your life, it has no life to give! and the more you lose yourself to those things the more you will lost yourself to those things, and in the end you will be lost! when it comes to all those things the end of losing yourself is losing yourself, you won't find anything!

and here is what i am absolutely sold out on, and this is not about another thing to try or an alternate view of jesus ... it is about your life, because it is about your life! losing yourself does not have to end in losing your life ... losing yourself is not an end, it is but a means to an end, the end of which is Christ! don't keep trying to find meaning or save yourself in those things that takes and takes and takes... Jesus says:

"For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it"

if you have to drink or smoke or use and keep losing yourself to a bottle or cigarette or needle to numb the pain of reality, you probably already know that it only last for so long and then you have to lose yourself to it over and over and over again. don't keep losing yourself to false promises of dealing with the pain of reality, keep losing yourself to these things and you will lose your life, not find it.

if you have to give to charities and attend every church event and keep pleasing your husband or wife or friends so that you find worth and satisfaction and feel better about yourself, you probably already know that the next thing just has to be bigger and better, the effort is greater and event grander, and you lose yourself to these moments and persons and events over and over and over again. don't keep losing yourself to false promises of receiving acceptance and worth and satisfaction, keep losing yourself to these things and you will lose your life, not find it.

it is not bad to enjoy a beer, to enjoy good company, to attend a good event, but enjoy it for what it is, not for what it is not. it is not life giving.

there is not anything worth losing yourself to, there is someone worth losing yourself to, and his name is jesus, not as a figure on a dashboard or grand idea on a sunday, but as the giver of life!

if you don't know him then get to know him, you will not and cannot be dissapointed. if you think know him and you are thinking "i already know him, all those poor bad guys who don't" then you should repent and get to know him too.

there's only one way to find acceptance, to find happiness, to find hope, and it's not in things or other people ... whether you call yourself christian or not, find life by losing yourself to jesus!