Process

Two artists I love talk about the joy of the process of creating music.  The end product is a fraction of the story. I find it to be a great reminder as the Lord takes me through various processes in life.

We are all artists in one way or another - enjoy the process and you will that much more enjoy the end product!

Below each video you will find some favorite quotes of mine from the respective videos that I think are musts to take with us on our journeys so that we do not miss out on what the Lord has for us along the way as well as at the end.



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"Most of the process behind this work of art is the actual carving into the wood, and the final product, what everybody else gets to see, is just this thing on a piece of paper. They don't get to see the process and the beginning - all the intricate little maneuvers that actually go into creating the final product."

 "It's this really interesting process of collaboration. All of that goes on in the background in the beginning, and is really only for us to experience and to see. And in the end all that people get to see is the imprint of that, but this is the most amazing part of it for me - the carving. And I think that's really beautiful and I feel really lucky to be involved."

 

 "Whatever is left on the canvas when you strip it all off, that's what this record is. I love that. I love that concept of it being the sort of remainder because we sort of burned away a lot of the distractions, and it's just very raw and pure and honest."

 "I want to be that record in your ear. I want to be the sound of something that's soothing, but something that's really heartfelt and honest."

Control and Creativity

The more I release control by entrusting the Lord with more and more of my life, the more creative and free I can be!  I become less dependent on other people's reactions and the more receptive to acknowledge and express how the Lord has made me and desired me to reflect in the world His glory He has given me.

Confidence comes through faith in God and in His transforming power.

But what, after all, is freedom?  Does freedom have limits?  Currently, it seems many would say that true freedom does not have boundaries.  "Boundaries" and "limitations" are dirty words and are intolerable in many settings.  This led me to search God's Word for what freedom means:

Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.  -Psalm 16:5-6

Such a statement about the beauty of boundaries strikes me because if anyone has the power and freedom to do literally anything, it's a king in a monarchy.

What, after all, is freedom?  Is it doing whatever you want?  Again, insight from king David:

I will always obey your law, for ever and ever.
I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.
I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame,
for I delight in your commands because I love them.  -Psalm 119:44-47

From a Christian standpoint at least, living in freedom means having boundaries as well.  These are not boundaries that we make for ourselves to earn God's love, rather through faith in Jesus, God gives us His Spirit to follow His ways, and thus living in true freedom:

I [God] will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
-Ezekiel 36:26-27

That being said, living in freedom is anything but clean cut, formulaic, and being like a well oiled machine.  It's chaotic, messy, non-linear, and relational.  We take risks, we get paint on the canvas and on the carpet, and we invest in lives that are unpredictable.  Let us not hoard our mina because we fail to realize the true nature of our heavenly Father.

"Let us live and die with God.  Sufferings will be sweet and pleasant to us while we are with Him; and the greatest pleasures will be, without Him, a cruel punishment to us."
-Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God


Speaking of messy freedom and creativity, here are two audio/visual representations that echo and add to what I've shared  above.  Check the first one out here and the second one here!

Luther, Pascal, Aquinas

"The love of God does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it...Rather than seeking its own good, the love of God flows forth and bestows good." -Martin Luther

"Certainty of knowledge is a long way from security of life...By thinking, by clear and distinct thinking, it is possible - perhaps - to gain conceptual certainty, but never existential security."

-Blaise Pascal

"Better to illuminate than merely to shine, to deliver to others complicated truths than merely to contemplate." -Thomas Aquinas

Holiness

I am reading John Webster's book "Holiness" for my theology class this semester. The following is an excerpt that really changed my perspective on some of what it means for God to be "holy."

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"And so, once again, God's utter separation from wickedness is to be understood within the scope of God's dealings with humankind. Holiness is not the antithesis of relation - it does not drive God from the unholy and lock God into absolute pure separateness.

Rather, God's holiness is the quality of God's relation to that which is unholy; as the Holy One, God is the one who does not simply remain in separation but comes to his people and purifies them, making them into his own possession.

Talk of God's holiness indicates the manner in which the sovereign God relates. As the Holy One, God passes judgement on sin and negates it. Yet the holy God does this, not from afar, as a detached legislator, but in the reconciling mission of the Son and the outpouring of the sanctifying Spirit.

That is, God's destruction of sin is accomplished in his triune acts of fellowship with humanity, in which he condemns [God the Father], pardons [God the Son] and cleanses [God the Holy Spirit] by taking upon himself the situation of the ruined creature, in sovereign majesty exposing himself to our peril and only in that way putting an end to our unholiness. God's 'active opposition to sin' is thus known in the economy of salvation as a 'unity of judgement and grace.'"

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Thanks be to God for His judgment and grace!

Surface Scratches

The problem is not the government. The problem is not the structure. The problem is us. The problem is me. The solution is Christ in us. The solution is Christ transforming us. The solution is Christ transforming me. The solution is going from autonomous to co-laboring with Christ. It is not about the agenda of man, but God's agenda and His original purpose for what He created. What is freedom? What is "for the good of society"? What is "good"? No one is good but God alone. God's presence is for the good of society.

"Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.'" John 8:34-36

The problem is not external. The problem is internal. Both external and internal are valuable, but one must be healed before the other can be healed.

Untitled

"We in the West are well trained to do jobs. We are not skilled in building relationships. Yet the fruit of the Spirit are expressed in relationships, and relationships are at the heart of all lasting evangelism." Paul Hiebert

"Both dogmatic scientism and extreme relativism had disastrous consequences. In one case the point of departure was the utter reliability of unaided reason; in the other it was personal preference or experience. In both instances it was purely self-referential; its criteria were immanent. Both models celebrated freedom; but people were unprepared for the freedom they have arrogated to themselves: they cannot handle it." David Bosch

"It is not enough that we should understand others (this can be a subtle form of patronizing); they must also understand us." Eugene Nida

"Christ did not teach and suffer that we might become, even in the natural loves, more careful of our own happiness...We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them and offering them to Him; throwing away all defensive armour. If our hearts need to be broken, and if He chooses this as the way in which they should break, so be it." C.S. Lewis

Scholar on Fire

Just recently I found a treasure trove of GCTS videos that some talented folks at my school made concerning the seminary. Some of the more interesting ones for me have been the alumni videos that briefly look at what GCTS alumni are doing now. The following is a video of the adjunct professor for the OMP course prior to my trip last summer. He is one of my favorite personalities on campus and radiates a genuine Christ-like character. I am truly blessed by the global perspective he and other professors give with their lives.

Alumni Profile: Dr. Paul Borthwick from Gordon Conwell on Vimeo.