NO...and I mean it!

I dropped this into a YFC newsletter this week and it seems to have been helpful, so...

"The word 'No.' is a complete sentence." That's what our DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative trainer said last week to a dozen YFC City Life staff and 60 others from New York, Washington DC, Cleveland, Dallas and Miami. He was teaching about the virtues of a balanced and holistic lifestyle. I began thinking about how Jesus modeled this.

When Lazarus was near death there was an urgent message for Jesus to quicken his pace and arrive at Bethany ahead of his planned schedule. Jesus did not comply, lingering until his late arrival on the scene assured that the story line about Lazarus' resurrection would likely include a phrase commonly uttered about middle school boys' showering habits: "after 3 days he began to stink!" (John 11)

I don't know exactly how many people had applied to be part of Jesus' circle of constant companions, but he only chose 12. By refusing to give everyone an all-access pass he protected the priority of his mission. He could not invest deeply in a few if he also said "yes" to the masses. Jesus' prayer in the Garden testifies to his preservation of this most important agenda. (John 17)

The rich young ruler was an earnest seeker of truth. He was loved by Jesus. But he wanted to navigate his relationship with God on his own carefully measured terms. Jesus refused this conditional response and, though it was a thing to behold for the disciples at the time, we now understand that the truth of the gospel was at stake in Jesus' loving "no." (Mark 10: 17-31)

Public opposition to his ministry often came in the form of someone trying to get Jesus to perform a miracle as a demonstration of his power. Religious cynics would put the challenge in Jesus' face, the most ill-timed being Herod's mocking request for a sign during his inquisition. Jesus' "no" came in the form of a silent dismissal, a rejection as complete as the best of Dwight Howard's shot blocks. (Luke 23: 6-12)

When our Lord Jesus came to earth as a man he accepted the limitations of being human. Like us, he could not be in two places at once. Like us, he could not possibly respond to every request made of him in a way that satisfies everyone who does the asking. Like us, he had to divide his time according to priorities.

Unlike us, Jesus perfectly knew his priorities and practiced the disciplines that would guarantee his focus on what God wanted him to do--every minute of every day. He used the word "no" to be faithful…a good pattern to follow.

Crammed

I've been a Covey zealot for years. His stuff has helped me have hope that I can organize and live my life with integrity. Each moment carries with it the potential to be leveraged as an asset on my balance sheet of what's most important. This high-yield hope energizes me, feeding my Strength-finder profiles of Strategist and Maximizer. It drives me to work smarter and harder, imagining that I could be the 10-talent hero in the parable (Matt 25:28). INNERMOST THOUGHT TRANSPARENCY: Maybe I could be the one to please the Master so well that I help cover for those who squander their opportunities.

But I have a natural drift toward the production side of life. The DOING micro-lobbyists within me are far too aggressive, invading my soul constantly. Every once in a while I actually think about the pleas for help smuggled out by the besieged, peace-loving, internal forces who insist that I need to be more and do less. Then--as if it were hand delivered by someone bent on my destruction--an irresistible opportunity comes along. BAM! Let's do it!!

It feels like I got crammed by life this week. Some fabulous Rahn family highlights took place with my daughter getting engaged and my son and his bride-to-be making a first time home purchase. Each of these (and other events) had an unanticipated impact on my scheduled activities. Drop everything else for what's most important, right?

A month ago it looked like I was in great shape to prepare well for being away all next week and get my taxes done. That's probably why a month ago I agreed to squeeze in a high impact timely ministry audit, though I knew it was probably 40 hours of work. And by the way, that big project deadline I failed to meet by April 1? It also got carried over into this week, screaming URGENT all the way.

Decisions I made a month ago ensured that last week would be crammed. Life piled on. Life will do that. When will I learn? Thanks for not flunking me, Jesus.

Matt. 11:28-30
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”

Unexpected energy from the cave

I've been toiling in private for a couple of days. Yesterday I could have been on house arrest and not been thrown off my game one iota. A lot of times when I'm "in my cave" cranking on some assignment it can really suck the life out of me. Not this time. I'm pumped up.

I think I know why.

The writing I've been working on has required me to think deeply about our YFC mission statement (it's written on the graphic above my pic on this blog site). I have sought to introduce some biblical commentary to five different phrases in the mission statement. So I've also been flipping through a lot of pages in the scriptures, immersing myself in some very rich passages from God's word. It feels like my spiritual digestive system just got a big ol' colon cleanse.

And we will never stop thanking God that when we preached his message to you, you didn’t think of the words we spoke as being just our own. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it was. And this word continues to work in you who believe. -- 1 Thess 2:13 NLT