Salmon and the Journey

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to observe salmon swimming up river in Issaquah with my family and friends. The salmon were headed upstream against the current to spawn. They are beautiful in the last days of life, a bright red crimson color that makes them very visible in the water.

Yet, when you really observe them closely, you see that their beauty is most noticeable at a distance. Upon closer look you notice that their bodies are deteriorating. The journey upstsream wears them out physically and they become susceptible to bacteria and fungi. Some of them really look quite gross in the last leg of their quest for the spawing grounds.

The salmon's life cycle lasts from three to seven years. Instinctively they are guided through the cycle from freshwater beginnings, to ocean living and back up the streams to die. It is the life process that it carried out for salmon, created by God.

Solomon ponders our life cycle this way in Ecclesiastes chapter 3.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

We men are in a life journey with our Creator. Much like the salmon, we are in a life cycle. The beauty of this journey for us is that we have been given free will, intellect, emotions and God's Word for guidance and discernment to sense all that He has to offer. We have the mystery of uncertainity in that we don't know when our life season will end. We are left to TRUST our God, love Him with all our heart mind and soul. By His design, unlike the salmon, we are given the gift of relationships with others to pass on His love, acceptance and forgiveness; something that is everlasting.

Jesus makes this all possible for us and we get to take action, LOVE, for his glory.

The difficult truth for us humans (me) to come to grips with is that our bodies are slowly deteriorating much like the salmon. If I knew that my life cycle had an specific end point, (for example say 60 years), I wonder if I would live differently? What effect would that have on my life decisions? Would I be more understanding, more compassionate, more loving? Would I begin the "unpacking" process with a sense of urgency (develop my manhood plan), for the purpose of becoming the authentic man who lives a life of LOVE, GRACE and OBEDIENCE?

Your thoughts?

Uncertainity in Unpacking

We are almost to the end of October and entering into our 7th session of the Quest for Authentic Manhood. I am so thankful for the bunch of men God has joined together for this journey. It is a privilege for me to be part of the "Quest" and discover all that God has for me with these guys.

As we continue on, a degree of uncertainty seems to be lying just under the surface of this journey for me, and I think for some others. What are you doing with me Lord in this "unpacking"? Why Lord? These are important questions to ask of God and continuing asking. I think this message from Oswald Chambers is a good one that speaks to uncertainty.

Gracious Uncertainty…it has not yet been revealed what we shall be…-1 John 3:2

Our natural inclination is to be so precise- trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next-that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Consequently, we do not put down roots. Our common sense says, "Well, what if I were in that circumstance?" We cannot presume to see ourselves in any circumstance in which we have never been.Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life-gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. As soon as we abandon ourselves to God and do the task He has placed closest to us, He begins to fill our lives with surprises. When we become simply a promoter or a defender of a particular belief, something within us dies. That is not believing God - it is only believing our belief about Him. Jesus said, "…unless you…become as little children…" (Matthew 18:3). The spiritual life is the life of a child. We are not uncertain of God, just uncertain of what He is going to do next. If our certainty is only in our beliefs, we develop a sense of self-righteousness, become overly critical, and are limited by the view that our beliefs are complete and settled. But when we have the right relationship with God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy. Jesus said, "…believe also in Me" (John 14:1), not, "Believe certain things about Me". Leave everything to Him and it will be gloriously and graciously uncertain how He will come in-but you can be certain that He will come. Remain faithful to Him.

Your thoughts?

Unpacking The Suitcase

As we enter the fall season of "The Quest for Authentic Manhood" it is a blessing to report that over 20 men are gathering together in the journey and locking arms to pursue all that God has for them in authentic manhood.

Right now we are all in the process of what Robert Lewis calls, "unpacking". The truth is, every man has a story. The story is referred to as his "suitcase". As our discussions begin in the process of "unpacking the suitcase", I find this tendency prevalent; life is running so fast, that it is easy to pass up the opportunity to "unpack". This is tragic, because it is in the "unpacking" that the healing process can begin and true freedom can be experienced.

I pray that we can set aside our fears and the pace of life so that "unpacking" takes place.

Socrates spoke these words to the jury in the court of Athens in the year 399 A.D. after he had been found guilty of heresy and sedition.

"The unexamined life is not worth living".