The Illusion of the Outward Appearance

The Illusion of the Outward Appearance

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link. [https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church] https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church Scripture: Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have? Consider: We had an extended discussion this morning at the breakfast table about the merits of the phrase ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.’ We told one of our children that it matters what clothes they wear to school and that, while we will allow clean sweatpants, pajama pants were a step to far in the casual department for our family. It matters, we said, how you present yourself to the world because the clothes you wear and the way you present yourself affects your own attitude and how other people treat you. So you show up to school ready to learn. To which they responded, “I thought you weren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover.” Touche. There is a difference between using the outward signs of a person’s physical appearance - dirty clothes and unkempt hair do give you information about a person’s current state of mind - and using those markers as ways to define a person’s inward value. While they may be pristene and neat on the outside with a perfectly matching outfit and luxury brand clothes, the inside may not match the cleanliness of the outside. Our outward signalling to the world does offer information, but it doesn’t define who we are at the root. God sees past those sign posts to see what is in our hearts. While we can and do present ourselves to the world and we can and should use those clues from others to keep ourselves safe and informed, God asks us to look deeper and see the intrisic value of the human made in God’s image behind and underneath those signs. While book covers help you decide which books to choose, the books inside are not the sum total of the cover. The same goes for you. You are not your cover. Respond: When was the last time you found yourself using someone’s outside appearance and physical bearins to judge their value as a human? How about yourself? Do you look in the mirror and see a body which doesn’t live up to your (possibly impossible) standards and think less of yourself? The next time you find yourself equating appearance and value, take 30 seconds to name other attributes you have which can’t be seen from the outside. Pray: God, Our perception of others often gets mixed up in the jumble of information we can percieve about them from the outside. Help us to have the wisdom to see past the cover to the value contents inside, and the wisdom to use the information the cover provides. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com [https://wfpc.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Kingdom Sight-ed

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link. [https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church] https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church Scripture: For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. Consider: My father worked for a few years at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, WV. You are probably familiar with regular old astronomy, the kind where you look through the viewfinder and see, using the power of mirrors, a distant star or planet close up. You can see so clearly with some of those refracting telescopes that you can count the rings of Saturn. However, there are distant objects in the galaxy which we can’t see with that type of microscope. If you flew a spaceship right up to a distant nebula or galaxy, it would mostly look like a faint, grey smudge. Human eyes just didn’t evolve to see the faint, sprawling gas clouds of deep space. It requires a different tool. That’s where Radio Astronomy comes in to play. Astronomers use radio telescopes to capture data in wavelengths we can’t see, such as infrared or X-ray. They then use “false-color” imaging to map those invisible wavelengths to colors humans can see (like mapping sulfur to red, hydrogen to green, and oxygen to blue). This altered vision allows scientists to visually map the chemical composition, density, and temperature of the universe, turning raw data into a readable cosmic blueprint. They can be incredibly detailed. One of the telescopes at NRAO was even dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life. The downside of this technology is that it is incredibly sensitive to all Radio wavelengths - including microwaves, cell phones, and spark plugs. They have to use old 1950s suburbans to drive around the campus to prevent interference and the surrounding area is a radio quiet zone, banning all electronics which might produce radio waves and interfere with the incredibly sensitive equipment. I wonder how often we miss seeing the truths which are right in front of us because we are using the wrong equipment? We have a tendancy to view each other through mirrors, which often misshape and misout on crucial and important pieces of their humanity. Much of the time, that view misses their God-created belovedness all together. So what if we used a different kind of telescope? One which saw people in living color instead of black and white? The kind of telescope which reveals the person themselves, and also the entire world around them which gives them context and shape. Then, I think, we’d really be able to see each other as God sees us. Respond: Try this activity: Bring one person to your mind, maybe someone you are having conflict with or try to avoid but can’t quite figure out why. Give them a name and face, drawing their image into your mind. Now, name 3 things you “know” about this person. Consider how and why you know these 3 things to be true. Did they tell you? Did you guess? How certain is your knowledge about this person? Now, imagine you are looking at them through God’s eyes. What would God see in them? Pray: God, when life takes me through valleys I do not understand, help me trust that You are still working. Teach me to surrender the illusion of control and depend fully on You. Help me trust that even painful detours will be used to shape my character and deepen my faith. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com [https://wfpc.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Reclaiming the Vision

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link. [https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church] https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church Scripture: I will stand at my watchpost and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what he will say to me and what he will answer concerning my complaint. Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faithfulness. Moreover, wealth is treacherous; the arrogant do not endure. They open their throats wide as Sheol; like Death they never have enough. They gather all nations for themselves and collect all peoples as their own. Consider: Last week I “ran” a 5k. My daughter is in an after-school run club and their end of season celebration is a 5k which requires a running buddy. She has started running 5k’s on her own for fun and while this sounds like torture to me, I’m glad she has found something athletic which she enjoys. Which is all to say, she did NOT need a running buddy, nor did she wait around for hers during this event. Perhaps its because she actually ran while her buddy, me, walked about half of it. Maybe next time. Over the course of the 3.1 mile course I found myself trying to find motivation through different promises I made with myself. Just run 30 more seconds then you can walk. Don’t let that old guy in the orange shirt beat you. Run the last 500 feet so your sister can take a picture proving you ran. Small sign posts along the way to keep my feet moving. The Israelites of Habakkuk’s time found themselves in the midst of their own national marathon. They were there on the ramparts trying to outlast the siege from Assyria which surrounded their borders. The runners were starting to flag and grow weary. The old men were losing their hopes and the young men’s dreams no longer seemed to come. The water station was too far away for it to be a useful goal and they needed another sign. Habakkuk reminds them when their energy fades and their adrenaline no longer pushes them past the finish line, the best motivator is to refocus on the reason why you started in the first place. He wrote the vision from God on a placard big enough to be seen at the back of the pack, miles away from the finish line. Remember, he says, why you are here and who God has called you to be. This works for us in all the times of lives when we start to grow weary, stumble, and faint. Those are the moments when we remember why we started on this journey in the first place. We look to the sign which says “you can do this!” and it rekindles the flame which has died away. We center ourselves in the knowledge God loves us as and how we are, even when we are too tired to love ourselves. We look at the sign and remember. Respond: Get out a post-it note or an index card. Take a few minutes to remember: who are you at your best? Who does God say you are? What is one small goal you can make to take one step forward on this wearing journey? Now, take your index card and write a short phrase which will help you remember when you start to feel weak or weary. Place it on your mirror or in your car - someplace you will remember to look when the night feels too long to go on. Pray: God, when life takes me through valleys I do not understand, help me trust that You are still working. Teach me to surrender the illusion of control and depend fully on You. Help me trust that even painful detours will be used to shape my character and deepen my faith. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com [https://wfpc.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Community at its best

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link. [https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church] https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church Scripture: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Consider: Have you ever tried to set up a camping tent alone? Or perhaps put away an artificial Christmas tree into it’s storage bag on your own? These may be things that are simple and easily accomplished for you as a lone entity, but for me, they are two things that jump to the forefront of my mind when I think about the misery of having to do certain things on my own. This sounds rather trivial to be sure, but what about the large and looming things of life that we don’t want to walk through alone: the death of a loved one, the loss of a beloved job, the diagnosis that takes your breath away. One of the incredible gifts God offers us is the gift of community. It is about the theology of the restart. And restart seldom, if ever, need be done alone. Everyone stumbles or falls at some point in this journey of life. Sometimes exhaustion, disappointment, sin, grief, or any number of other stumbling blocks get in our path and wreak havoc. Sometimes it feels like we are kicked while we are down, and when that fall is done in isolation, it feels like an exclamation point to the already heavy burden. Scriptures like the one above offer some respite in those times however: falling is often the place where grace arrives through another person. “Two are better than one” means God often places people in our lives who help us begin again. They remind us who we are when we forget. They pray when we are too tired to pray. They steady our faith when our footing gives way. The restart becomes possible because someone reaches down and says, “Get up—we’re not done yet.” This is faith lived out in everyday life. Not abstract, not heady or intellectual, but embodied grace in the flesh. A friend who calls at the right moment. A spouse who refuses to give up on you. A mentor who speaks hope after failure. A church community that helps carry the weight when your strength runs out. This passage in Ecclesiastes assumes falling will happen because it does! The wisdom comes not in pretending weakness doesn’t exist but in recognizing the community all around us when it does. God designed community not merely for celebration, but for recovery. Sometimes the miracle is not avoiding the fall—it is having someone there to help you stand again. May we all be helped AND may we all be a helper in this journey. That’s how community grows best. Respond: A simple question to ponder this day … Who might God be calling you to encourage, support, or help “restart” this week? Pray: Lord, give us the humility to accept help when we need it and the courage to reach for the hand You provide. Thank You for the friends, family, mentors, and brothers and sisters in Christ who help us stand again when life knocks us down. Teach us to be that kind of presence for others too. Make us quick to encourage, ready to restore, and faithful to walk beside those who are struggling. Let our words bring hope, our actions bring healing, and our lives reflect the love of Christ. Strengthen our hearts today to keep walking forward together. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com [https://wfpc.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Permanancy of Scars

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link. [https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church] https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church Scripture: The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life is preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle. Consider: A couple of weeks ago at Little League Baseball, the 8 year old Shortstop on the other team got hit in the head with a baseball. He misjudged both the speed and trajectory of the ball and it went over the top of his glove and landed with a fairly loud thud on his forehead. Somehow, the ball miraculously bounced off the kid’s head right into the 3rd baseman’s glove for an out, who then threw it to first base to catch the runner who had not tagged up. The Shortstop’s head got a double play. And a concussion. Most of the team shook it off and kept playing, using the unique power of the young male brain to forget those things can happen to them too. But not Henry. He’s been afraid the entire season. We’ve been slowly coaxing him out of that fear by promising the ball wouldn’t hurt him as long as his glove was between his body and the ball. He’s gotten bolder and stronger throughout the season, braver. He’d started making better plays and not running away from it when it passed. Right before Forehead gate he actually got his first hit all season. By the time of the next game he’d lost every ounce of bravery. Every time the ball came towards him he turned away, forgetting the safety of the glove. One time he literally ran away from a ground ball which died on the ground 5 steps behind him. The fear of the ball was back as he’d had time to contemplate and remember. Our culture has an unspoken expectation we are just supposed to “get over it”. We tell kids to get up and brush it off, they are fine. Or we’ll tell them their fear of the dark is silly with off-hand comments like “there is nothing there in the dark that wasn’t there during the day.” I’m rubber your glue dismisses the lasting pain of words bullies in both the adult and children varieties hurl our way. We are supposed to forget, move past it, let it go. And sometimes it is right to get up and get going, but often times it ignores the permanency of some of our scars. There is no way to predict which comments will revolve in our heads for years to come, or which difficult circumstances seem to overwhelm our courage, or why some events leave lasting memories in our hearts. But some do. There is no moving past those kinds of scars, we only learn to live with them like a unwelcome friend we have to invite because we’ve known them so long. When pain changes your view of yourself and the world, it’s a holy act to recognize the change and make space for it in the inventory of your memories. Pretending it doesn’t exist only gives it permission to pop-up in unexpected times and places. Placing it on the shelf where it belongs allows us to revisit it when necessary, but to move it out of the way when we no longer need it. Respond: A highly effective technique when those scars rear their ugly head is called The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Method. It uses your five senses to pull your brain out of the fight-or-flight loop and anchor you back into the present moment. Let’s practice. * Acknowledge 5 things you can SEE: Look around you and name five objects out loud or in your head. Try to pick things you wouldn’t normally notice—like a scratch on the floor, a reflection on a window, or a specific book on a shelf. * Acknowledge 4 things you can TOUCH: Notice the physical sensations of four things around you. It could be the texture of your shirt, the hard surface of the chair supporting you, the cold smooth surface of a desk, or the feeling of your feet flat against the ground. Spend a moment feeling each one. * Acknowledge 3 things you can HEAR: Listen closely to your environment. Name three distinct sounds. It might be the hum of a refrigerator, traffic outside, birds chirping, or even the sound of your own steady breathing.’ * Acknowledge 2 things you can SMELL: Identify two smells. If you can’t smell anything immediately, look for things that have a scent—like the smell of your coffee, soap on your hands, a candle, or even the scent of the air in the room. * Acknowledge 1 thing you can TASTE: Focus on one thing you can taste right now. It might be the lingering taste of toothpaste, a mint, or just the inside of your mouth. If you can’t taste anything, simply swallow and notice that sensation. Pray: God, when life takes me through valleys I do not understand, help me trust that You are still working. Teach me to surrender the illusion of control and depend fully on You. Help me trust that even painful detours will be used to shape my character and deepen my faith. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com [https://wfpc.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]