I have an idea that has been swirling around my head for years now. Here is the idea; Most of us have a cheap substitute for true forgiveness called “understanding.”
I first thought of this when listening to a Christian. They were describing some sin that another Christian had committed. Then they said, “I just don’t understand how they could do that!” This person was right, it was hard to understand how someone could do this despicable action. My question is “does God call us to understand everything?”
Here is what I know about Christians. We are called to forgive one another even if we do not or cannot understand why this bad thing happened. True forgiveness looks at an incident and says “I will never understand how you could hurt me like that, but I know that God wants me to forgive you. So I will.”
This is where gossip becomes so deceitful.We think, “If I just tell people the rest of the story then they will understand.” We spread rumors and gossip in an effort to “help people out.”
The reality is that God does not want us to attempt to understand everything in the world.  He wants us to forgive the evil as he has forgiven us.
So the question for you is this:“Are you offering people forgiveness or are you trying to understand their behavior?” There is a world of difference.

I watch a lot of sports. I used to play, now I watch it on TV and most recently I have watched my boys participate. There is something about amateur athletics that has caught my attention for years. After most games they make the teams line up and shake hands with the other team.
I remember doing this in grade school, and people are still doing it. We always said a deeply heartfelt, “good game” to our opponents.
Upon watching this, I realized how fake these handshakes are. One team just lost and the other just won. One group wants to say, “We’re better than you,” and the other just wants to hide somewhere or throw something.
While watching this post game ritual I couldn’t help but think about Church. How many people walk in and out of worship shaking hands and saying “Good morning,” without really meaning it? They would rather be yelling at you or hiding from you than shaking your hands.
I am not sure what to do with this information. I can post it here and put it in a sermon. I can encourage people to do better, but I understand it might not make a difference. The only thing meaningful I can do with this info is look at my own life and try to become more real and authentic. I can ask questions of people and honestly try to open up myself. I know it won’t be easy, but it is better than being fake.

Much of the advice and information that I read is useless. But occasionally some good advice comes along that helps shape the way I think and view people. So here is something serious for you to consider.

“We judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions.”

If you think about it, it will help mold the way you look at people.

I read this quote in a book by an author I am not sure I want to announce. He is definitely not Christian, but he is funny. This is one of my favorite lines of his:

“I’m thinking of parceling off portions of my brain,” I once told her. “I’m not talking about having anything surgically removed, I’d just like to divide it into lots and lease it out so that people could say, ‘I’ve got a house in Raleigh, a cottage in Myrtle Beach, and a little hideaway inside a visionary’s head’”

Last night I watched the Superbowl just like much of the world.  I am always saddened to watch the game when my Packers are not in it, but I watch anyway.  I must admit that when I do not have a team I am cheering for, I do want to see a good game.

Well, last night’s first half was pretty boring.  It looked like the Ravens were going to win big.  Then the second half started and the Ravens ran a kickoff back for a touchdown and I thought the game was over.  Unbelievably, not to long into the second half the lights of the stadium went out.  I can’t remember ever seeing anything like it before.  I imagine someone lost their job over that mistake.  I hope not, but it was a major event and power loss was not in the plan. During the time that the lights were coming back on the players relaxed and did stretches.  Then after a 30 minute or more delay the lights were completely restored and the game resumed.

Then this interesting thing happened; the 49ers came to life.  They looked loose and started scoring.  For those of you who watch football you know that the Ravens still won by 3, but they were outplayed for the final part of the game.

It made me think about how many people I know need someone to throw out the lights on their life.  Maybe it is their marriage, their parenting, their business life or maybe just the whole thing.  Things are falling apart and nothing good seems to be happening.  They need to throw out the lights and take time to regroup.

What makes it so hard for us to step back and take a break?  Is it because we are so busy?  Is it because we think we can’t do it?  Whatever the reason I needed to remind myself that when things are going crazy – throw out the lights, regroup and go back out again with renewed energy and strength.  In the end I may not win but at least it will be fun to watch

I had the privilege to spending some time with my youngest son alone last night.  He is quite a character, but I was reminded of a story from him when he was about 4 years old.

On night my wife and I were looking through photo albums. She has made a personal photo album for each one of our sons and a family one for all of us to share. This day she was looking through Gage’s personal album that dates back to Michelle being pregnant with him. The album has baby pictures, birthdays and every big event. As she flipped through the pages Gage asked a question. Now you need to understand that the first couple years were not taken on the digital camera and have had no altering like I can do now with my Picasa program. So he asked, “Why were my eyes so red? Was it because I was always angry?”