The Code

No....not the code at the 35+ singles group at my church that says you cant date someone at the church until you've known them for 3 months.....that's just too messed up to cover in one blog. I'm writing of the Da Vinci Code book and movie which I immersed myself in yesterday determined to complete both and figure out what exactly is driving this force of great division in our society. After reading the book, I can certainly see why it has been on the NY Times bestseller list for so many months. It's an exciting page turner with many twists and it makes you feel like you could potentially fall into the role of an art historian should the position open up, or maybe a cryptologist. I know everyone has dreamed of pursuing at least one of those career paths, if not both. After viewing the movie, I can certainly see why Christians (mostly of one particular denomination that I wont mention for fear of offense) are so upset. It certainly doesn't paint church history in a very positive light. What I am failing to understand though, is why this controversy has created such a stir. Rumors of Jesus and Mary Magdalene are not a new concept. Though I believe them to be false and fabricated, those "conspiracy theories" have been circulating throughout church history. All of those paintings by Da Vinci had secret meaning because of the theories, and from what I understand, he never hesitated to take a jab at the "church" when commissioned to paint a scene. They are not photos or home videos people, just an artist's rendition of a particular event in history. An artist who also happens to have a very large chip on his shoulder.

Another question I have, is should those rumors about Jesus having a continuing blood line be true (again I don't even validate that as a reasonable theory, this is just an illustration), how would that change the role of Christ in my faith? The answer would simply be....it doesn't change a thing. Should Jesus have procreated during His time here on earth, I would still believe His divinity to be the same. He would still be the one and only GodMan. Marriage, having sex, and having a baby doesn't separate you from God. In fact God kinda created the whole idea.

Overall, I would say to my non-Christian friends, don't buy into this "theory" of Christ's continuing bloodline. Like a friend said last night, some of the world's most intelligent people have spent entire their lives trying to uncover and reveal some sort of conspiracy (even the pharisees tried when they were looking Jesus right in the eye), and it's highly doubtful that this guy Dan Brown is onto something new. Faith, and Christ as the divine substitution for the sins of the world, lives on while this book and its theory will be shelved on the discount rack someday soon. To my Christian friends, this really isn't that big of a deal. Note that both the author and the movie producers wrapped the entire story up into one nice, neat little package of relativism. Ahhh religious America.....Even when attempting to stir controversy we manage to gift wrap a theory so as to not truly hurt any feelings. Until the argument against Christ is founded on something more solid (and that will NEVER happen) we can rest in the unchanging solidarity of God's greatest gift to the world. The gift of His Son.

Femininity at its Finest

I always find it so fascinating how you can read a book, or a chapter, or even just one verse out of the bible that you've read a hundred times and totally discover something new that has never impacted you before. I love the way God can open your eyes to insight and meaning in new ways when you expected to just review what you thought or "knew" from before. Here is my case in point...

Recently I have found myself drawn to the story of Queen Esther, one of only two women in the Old Testament to receive a mention in the form of an entire book. I was origionally seeking out her story on the recommendation of John Piper in his book "Don't Waste Your Life" after he pointed out her famous line "if I perish, I perish." She approached the king univited, at the risk of being put to death, in order to plead on the behalf of the Jewish people because at the time, some bad men in upper levels of government had issued a edict to have the jews eliminated from the land because they wouldn't bow down to the govenment. Esther, as a jew herself, felt obligated to defend her people and risked her own life to save them. It worked. God worked. The Jewish people not only survived, but conquered as a result of her fearless leadership in spite of great risk.

This afternoon when I was reading this story, something new that truly touched me was how she got into the position to be named queen. Sure she was a natural beauty, but the bible specifically mentions that Esther spent and entire year making herself beautiful before appearing before the king for selection. If only I was so fortunate to get 12 full months to work on my appearance! The gym membership fees, makeup, and receipts for nice new clothes would be outrageous. Anyways, it was because of her beauty that Esther was made queen and able to save an entire nation. God truly used her feminine allure to work out His wonderful purpose.

God has probably not planned on saving the Jewish nation through me or the majority of women in the United States during this century, so it probably wouldn't be wise to spend a year working on physical appeal alone. However it might be wise to apply this little insight by spending a few prayers and a few days seeking out how God is using femininity to fullfill His greater purpose. The answer probably isn't in looks, since sex appeal is so shallow and manufactured during this generation, but probably something deeper that is unique to a woman's character and that ever changing, mysterious and allusive female heart.

Newton and a False Sense of Security

No...I'm not talking about the scientist who's theories explain gravity and all sorts of physics behind why a 766,800 pound hunk of metal can blast through the sky at .84 mach while hundreds of passengers take little blue pills in the back to help them sleep better through the little bumps that are characteristic of flying over 30,000 feet above sea level. I'm actually referring to my guinea pig, Newton. Two days ago I was cleaning his cage and could not stop laughing at him while I was trying to coax him out of the cage. Newt's godfather bought him this little semi-circular wooden tunnel a while ago and Newt just barely fits under it. In fact when he is "hiding" he is so long that his head sticks out on one side of the tunnel and his rear sticks out on the other. He always runs for cover when I reach for him though, and it is rather easy to pick him up because I can just remove the tunnel and expose him for what he truly is.... my little furry rodent who will always have to submit to my superiority.

This little weekly excercise got me thinking about those little "tunnels" of my life that I think offer protection. Things like air bags on a car and locks on a door and a savings account that is confirmed by a guy in a building wearing a suit. It also got me thinking about how God watches us live out our lives putting so much faith in those locks to keep us safe, those airbags to keep our faces from being mangled in accidents, and that money in an account that surely will give us life should we lose a job or face a financial tragedy. He must see those little items of security much like I see Newton's wooden tunnel. It's cute that we think those things will "save" us, but really it's just a matter of reaching down and removing that item so that His true purpose can unfold. Just see the story of Job to understand what I mean.

The other consideration I had while cleaning Newt's cage was that though I scare him every time I remove his tunnel of "safety" and lift him out of that cage, truthfully I am picking him up with his own good in mind. Usually either to feed him or clean him up a little. Yancey put it well in his novel "the Jesus i Never Knew" when he wrote of how his fish would go into hiding every time when he would come to feed them. Though he loves them and needs to feed those fish daily for their own survival, they always will fear his presense. For them to truly understand his intentions, he would have to become a fish and swim around in the tank with them for a while and speak their native fish language to them to gain their love and trust. What a beautiful analogy of what Christ has done for us!

I'm prayerfully considering now what I might recognize from my guinea pig Newton's false sense of security and apply into my own life. What are those things that I place my faith in sometimes, instead of fully trusting the God who gave me life? The God who above all, loves me more than my own comprehension can grasp and works all things for His glory and for my own good? I have the advantage over Newt and Yancey's fish in that God already has come down to speak a new life into me and given me a new system to abide by. One that recognizes the pitfalls of finding security in a door lock or seeking safety in a well padded savings account. Obviously I'm going to continue to lock my doors and save my money, but my desire is that I live a life that points only toward God as my only true source of safety and provision. Any thoughts fellow bloggers?