I was eighteen and entering college full of hope and aspirations. My dad and I had not always seen eye to eye but I had appreciated his plain wisdom and down to earth advice. This was that moment - the moment of wisdom. He was about to hop into the car with Mom and take off for home some 500 miles away, leaving me completely on my own for the first time in my life. I asked him if he had any words to live by. With a doleful look and his best pastoral voice he said words I will always remember. "Son," he said, "don't do anything stupid." With that he was gone, while I, with the predictability of a Tom Hanks Oscar, completely and utterly failed to live up to his advice.
Entries Tagged as 'Law vs. Grace'
Grace in a Three Stooges World
Posted by Mark Kruger
The Kruger Fairness Doctrine
Posted by Mark Kruger
Sometimes I question God's fairness. When I am in a situation rife with injustice or I feel wronged by someone or some circumstance, or I work hard at something yet fail to achieve my objective, I have a tendency to stamp my foot and say to God "that's not fair". God patiently and gently reminds me that fairness and justice are not the same thing. Fairness, is a very personal perspective. I think our brand of fairness can only be achieved by keeping our circle small and our perspective narrow. I don't have to look very far in my own life to see this in action. After all, I have teenage children.
Asking and the Unkept Heart
Posted by Mark Kruger
Certain things have been engraved upon my heart by God's grace. I know, both in my head and my heart that God loves me. I know he has redeemed me through Christ and that he has a plan for me, and that all the good things in my life and world proceed from Him. I also know that when I suffer (whether through my own waywardness or through his plan) that he is there with me, shepherding me and caring for me. I do not doubt His passion for me or his presence in my life. Indeed, the evidence of his care for me is personally overwhelming and I could scarce do more than yield to it. This then is the basis for my walk with Christ - the combination of my will, my heart and my intellect yielded to a living Jesus. For me, this is settled and unshakable ground.
Then too, when it comes to miracles and the gifts of the Spirit, I do not doubt that they are real and that God moves daily on people all over the world. I have seen miracles and experienced mind blowing manifestations of God's presence. This too is settled for me. God does move and I have seen it. If that is not something that is settled for you, re-read the first paragraph. You might recognize that the first paragraph represents a greater leap of faith than the second - even though we often get them reversed. Relationship with a living God is a miracle not to be discounted as ordinary. It's not as splashy as filling teeth or growing limbs, but it is certainly far more powerful and life changing.
So, I have a firm belief in both the inward life of Christ and the outward manifestations of His presence. Still, I have a problem. I don't really ask God for much. You see, I have somehow adopted a path of basic non-resistance to life's events. I accept things as they come and do not ask for God's intervention very often. In fact, I have to say that I have not been asking God for anything other than to grow in knowing him. Perhaps that seems noble. You might say that such a deep and Spiritual sentiment is a testament to my maturity in Christ. You would be wrong. I have needs and hurts and wants. I feel desperate and hungry. There are times I feel trapped in a circumstance where the way out is closed. These are things I should be giving to Jesus.
In fact, I usually choose not to ask for some very unspiritual reasons. Perhaps you are like me and we can figure out how to start asking God together. First, let's talk about those dynamics of giver and receiver and what it means to "ask".
Tevye's Quandary - Religion or Relationship
Posted by Mark Kruger
I recently had the honor of seeing Fiddler On the Roof at my daughter's high school. I love the character of Tevye. He is the main character - a simple milkman in the small Russian village of Anatevka on the eve of the Russian revolution. Tevye feels blessed because he knows his place. The secret to this special knowledge (says Tevye) is found in the traditions of this little Jewish village where he and his fellow Jews reside in a close knit community. In the opening scene he gives us this particular insight.
A fiddler on the roof... Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof. Trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask, why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous? Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word! Tradition!
He goes on to say, "...because of our traditions everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do". In his traditions, Tevye thinks he has the answer to the two questions of life, "who am I and why am I here?"
Tevye's sense of identity is rooted in the customs of his faith. Even though He talks to God almost casually throughout the play, when Tevye says that because of tradition everyone knows what God expects him to do, he is not referring to a sense of destiny that flows from a personal relationship with God. Instead, he feels a sense of security in knowing how everything ought to be. Like his father before him he expects to live by a strict code handed down through centuries of eastern European Judaism. The play starts with this poor man struggling with ordinary life, but content with the knowledge that life holds no surprises for him - as long as he does what he ought to do. He is in for a rude awakening at the hands of his three eldest daughters.
Bob and the Malibu Blues
Posted by Mark Kruger
For those of you who missed it, I just got back from Disneyland. If you don't already know, the original house of mouse is located in sunny southern California. The weather was a balmy 65 to 80 degrees the whole time we were there. We went with my brother, his wife, and his three kids, so there were 10 in our party. We ate, went on rides and stood in lines for two days straight. Going to Disney land is rather like attending a re-education camp. Everyone wears funny hats and speaks in chirpy, elated tones that can give you a serene buzz if you listen too long. Most people think Disneyland is epitomized by the Space Mountain roller coaster or the Pirates of the Caribbean theme ride. Personally I think it is characterized by It's a Small World After All - a mind-numbing, interminable ride with a song that won't end, sung in 10 different languages!! Even so, like the gossip column in a small town newspaper I can safely say that "a good time was had by all".
On our third day we went up the coast to Malibu along the Pacific Coast Highway (the "PCH" in the local vernacular). The drive to get there was an epic Dantian journey through stop-and-go L.A. traffic. In L.A. there are so many cars you suspect everyone is driving a rabbit. Take the hassle of Omaha traffic and multiply it by 5, then add something like a back-ache or hemorrhoids and you will get the idea of how awful it is to drive in L.A. The journey was worth it though. We went to Point Dume - a peninsula that juts a few miles out into the Pacific ocean. What we saw there was magical in a way that Disney could never match.