I was having a conversation with my son Matt over breakfast and somehow we ended up talking about the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The interesting thing is he has a whole lot more knowledge about this subject than I thought he would (and loads more than I did at 14). So where did the info come from? I asked if he was already at this point in his American History class and he said no. The source of the info – Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Yes, a video game. The latest version of Call of Duty is set during the Cold War era and takes place variously in Cuba, Vietnam, the Soviet Union and the United States during this period. I have always been impressed with the ability of video games to teach. While it is not the primary goal of most video games (aside from things like The Oregon Trail etc) certain players sensitive to the background material tend to pick up loads of info.

History has always been a fertile source for video games with both world wars, the Roman empire, the Napoleonic era, etc. have all provided a depth of content that would surprise many nay sayers. History is not the only subject utilized however (see Assassin’s Creed for some amazing historical and artistic experiences). Physics is thoroughly exploited in many games, mathematics (Geometry Wars), biology (see Spore, SimEarth etc.), urban planning and development (SimCity), social development (The Sims), music (Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Dance, Dance Revolution), etc.

Video games have drawn loads of criticism, some founded, much unfounded, as being a waste of time. The reality however is it is simply one more venue for learning. For decades we have focused on the row-by-row lecture structure of learning which works for some but quite frankly is simply insanely boring for most unless you have one of those rare dynamic teachers.

Here’s what we know – we know that people are far more likely to learn when they are in a dynamic and enjoyable environment. We also know that people learn better when more than one sense is involved in the process. Video games touch on more senses than any other medium available for learning. Sight, sound and touch are all involved in complex puzzle solving, strategizing, hand-eye coordination, full body involvement with Wii, Microsoft Kinect and Sony Move.

When the Montessori formula for education suggested a far less structured, more student led form of learning, it was widely criticized. Now the waiting lists for Montessori schools are huge and the cost for joining enormous. It is successful because it recognizes that  there are many different ways to learn.

While with every medium there comes content unworthy of the individual, video games should not simply be thrown into the fire as “a waste of time” but embraced as a new learning medium. Game manufacturers will provide deeper educational content is the market demands it.

Another medium that is often criticized is the comic book and graphic novel. Literature is not what it used to be but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Studies have shown that boys tend to prefer the comic/graphic novel format and will read as much or more content then a typical novel if it is presented in this format. I don’t really care if my son is reading comics or graphic novels – as long as he is reading.

Anyhow – you get the idea. We need to start thinking outside of the box as the old cliche goes…or perhaps we need to start thinking inside the (x)box? 🙂  (INSERT GROAN HERE).

Sometimes when a person dies you learn things about them…even people who didn’t know them learn things. Elizabeth Edwards died the other day in the US. The wife of American politician Jonathan Edwards went through a lot in her life – the death of her teenage son, the breakup of her marriage, and the cancer that would eventually take her life.

I greatly appreciate this quote I heard this morning from her:

“Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good.” – Elizabeth Edwards

we are made to bear
to bear up under
the weight of the air
mile after mile
of the crushing sky
presses down upon
the backs of you and i
azure shell stops nothing
but it holds our breath
which is something
i guess

but who wants to breathe
just breathe and breathe?

where is the life in that?

I have random thoughts today about things.

The Distinctiveness of the Body of Christ: I have questions about the distinctiveness of the body of Christ today. It is a bit of a puzzle in my mind that I must share with you. Today Christ is visible primarily through the church. I was going to say ‘only’ but there is still general revelation to consider (creation, the heart of humanity, etc). That being said the primary means of witnessing Christ in all of his distinctiveness and therefore God, is through his church in all of its variety.

Here’s the problem though – all of the things the church has been called to do seem to be being done as well and sometimes better by secular voices and organizations. While we enjoy meals together as a community secular organizations like Oxfam are out there feeding the hungry. While we gather together in homes to enjoy one-another’s company and read or learn the things we have read and learned a thousand times before the healing of the sick is left to others.

Hospitals were first founded by Christians. Social welfare was first championed by Christians. The first great universities like the University of Paris, Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton, Yale and others were all started as Christian schools. In Canada, in the 1800’s churches created settlement houses for new immigrants. Places where they could be assisted with everything from health care, finding employment, clothing, education, etc. All of these things we have gladly given over to secular organizations except of course when it comes to our own community.

The hard reality is this – when we clothe the poor, heal the sick, visit them or the prisoner, when we feed the hungry or the like, we are most often doing this for other Christians. We have become like a snake that eats its own tail. Of course we are called in scripture to care for one-another first and foremost but this is only so that a healthy body of Christ exists to accomplish its primary task – to go into the world and do all these things for the one who is not part of the body. Christ exists for one purpose and one purpose alone – to save the world.

In the Bible, the New Testament book of Mark, chapter 2, verse 17 says – Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

There is a double-meaning here and it is intended. First Jesus tells us that God is concerned with those who need him in a very real sense. All of humanity needs feeding, healing, comfort, love and compassion and can find it perfectly through Christ. Jesus first priority is to reach those who have turned away from God or have been so overwhelmed by the shit of the world that they no longer see his grace.

Secondly Jesus is being a little sarcastic. It’s ok, Christ had quite the wit and it is evidenced throughout the gospels. The setting of the Mark 2:17 is a meal Jesus is sharing with people the Pharisees deemed unworthy of such privilege. Mark 2:16 says –

“When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

His response forces the Pharisees to either claim a righteousness so great that they do not need God’s presence or humble themselves and accept the status of sinner along with the tax collectors, prostitutes, etc. whom Christ spent time with and dined with.

In this sense Calvin was very accurate in insisting that we accept a particular truth, as harsh as it sounds – that humanity is totally depraved. Completely and utterly and desperately sinful. Any belief in only partial depravity sets us up to be like the Pharisees and say to ourselves- “of course I have my issues but I am not as bad as them and so God must favor me more and I should avoid them to show God how serious I am at following him and avoiding sin.”

We have no righteousness. None. It sounds terrible but it forces us to identify with the rest of humanity. We all equally need God from the filthiest child murderer to the most noble Mother Theresa…each of us has the same need – no more, no less. By understanding this the barriers to the world can come down and we can go out into it and declare what the apostle Paul declared in verse 21 of chapter 5 of his second letter to the Corinthian church –

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

In Christ we are declared righteous. Right before God. Not ourselves but Christ who shelters us. Christ who contains us. Why this righteousness? Not simply to go to heaven as some unfortunate people have been taught although eternity with God is part of being in Christ. No, we need to look at the verse just previous to this to understand the primary reason for this righteousness which overshadows and covers our own continuing depravity:

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

God implores us to be reconciled to him that we might be effective ambassadors to the world. All that we are to do in Christ is for the sake of the world. The Westminster Catechism asks a profound question:

Q. What is the chief end of man?
A . Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

First we glorify God, than we enjoy Him (or possibly as a result we enjoy him). How do we glorify God? By recognizing our own need for him and than coming to capture his vision which is to complete Christ’s mission on earth. That mission – “save the entire world”. How? By bringing the presence of Christ to every corner of the globe. All that we do as followers of Christ is geared toward one thing – presenting Christ to the world.

Why do we gather as a community of believer’s once a week in celebration? For the sake of those outside?
Why do we prayer? For the sake of those outside?
Why do we read scripture? For the sake of those outside?
Why do we learn about God? For the sake of those outside?

While we are unrighteous and depraved, relying on Christ’s righteousness, and we demonstrate this unrighteousness on a minute by minute basis each day we must come to accept that God’s vision for us is the redemption and restoration of all of creation.

A church without God’s vision becomes lost and ultimately replaces God’s vision for one of her own. Certainly it may act like it should but if the primary purpose is to please self or neighbour rather than serve those outside the church, those who are antagonistic to the church, than she has failed ultimately to be the church.

A person without a vision is blind and lost. An organization, group or communitywithout a vision is blind and lost. Knowing this we all strive to have a vision. Some of us create a vision while others capture their neighbour’s vision. When this vision is not God’s for the world it is ultimately humanistic which means it is rooted in the frailty and depravity of our race and therefore ultimately doomed to failure.

The vision of Christ is God’s. The vision of God is for the world. Those who are sick. The depraved like you and I no matter how hard you strive. To understand this fully means to let go of any sense of our own righteousness and seek shelter in Christ’s. We must then, in this sense, die to ourselves so that we might live in Christ and for one reason – that others would come to live in Christ and God’s joy would be made complete.

Simply put…Christianity is not about self. Never about self. It is about the one who does not know Christ and therefore does not know God. It is ONLY about the other and any other vision is doomed to failure, be it a personal vision or a corporate one.

I was having coffee the other morning with my good friend Ben. Our conversation weaved all of the place as it usually does and at one point it stopped at failure, specifically why does a loving God allow us to fail? Does God, in fact, set us up for failure? These are tough questions to which I have found no easy answers. Certainly as Ben and I conversed we did not come to any spectacularly helpful conclusions.

Ben fancies himself something of a carpenter. He likes to work with wood and I wonder if he ever enters into any projects he knows he will fail at. Is there value to failure? I am not talking about the kind of value that people mention as a way of comforting those who have failed…I am talking about the kind of value that would actually cause one to consider doing something because they know they will fail.

As a Christian I tend to believe that for the most immanent (see previous post) example of God we need to look to Jesus. Christ is as close as we will come in this life to understanding the nature of God. Jesus interacted with his disciples in a way I believe God seeks to interact with us and quite often our response is not unlike the apostles’.

Look at the following text from Matthew 17:

“When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

While it is not clear if Christ sent the apostles to heal the son it is clear that they failed. They ask Jesus why and he tells them because of their faith (note to faith healers that Jesus does not point in this instance to the faith of the one being healed but the faith of the healer). In their failure Jesus finds room for instruction.

Take also the apostle Judas. It is clear Jesus knows that Judas will betray him before the betrayal occurs. Why would Jesus choose such a man as an apostle. Cynics suggest it is because he needed to be betrayed so he chose Judas specifically for that purpose. The text does not say this however. I believe he chose Judas as a follower for the same reasons he chose the others. He loved him and saw him as someone he could instruct and lead despite his failings. He chose Peter to take the mantle of church leadership after his death despite his failings. He chose Peter as an apostle knowing in advance that he would fail him and abandon him at the cross. Why not John? Why not the one apostle left standing with the women at the cross. The one apostle who appears to remain faithful through all trial. Who knows?

What we do know is that Christ finds failure to not only be instructive, it appears he does not believe failure to be a reason to remove his love and calling on our lives. Take the Old Testament example of God’s choice of David as King over Israel. Why David? God knew he would fail in spectacular fashion again and again. In some ways David’s failures not only serve as instructive to himself but as opportunities for God to demonstrate trans-formative forgiveness and grace.

We do not, as Paul warns, seek to fail so that we might have grace abound in our lives but we do in fact receive grace when we fail. This is why the warning from Paul is necessary. Do not abuse the grace of God that WILL come when you fall. He never says “don’t abuse this grace or God will stop giving it” he simply says “don’t abuse this grace”.

Failure, while not to be sought, is an important part of who we, as humans, are. Just as pain is an important God-given gift to alert us to the fact that something is wrong and needs to be addressed, failure can point us to God, or rather in our failings God draws us nearer to Him. Through our failings we find God’s hand pulling us up…or to put it another way “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9.