by Chad Lewis on February 17, 2009
A date night. A movie. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
What if we were born old and grew young. Growing Young is one of my favorite Rich Mullins’ songs and it definitely sparks some emotion in me.
Rich writes,
I’ve gone so far from my home
I’ve seen the world and I have known
So many secrets
I wish now I did not know
‘Cause they have crept into my heart
They have left it cold and dark
And bleeding,
Bleeding and falling apart
And everybody used to tell me big boys don’t cry
Well I’ve been around enough to know that that was the lie
That held back the tears in the eyes of a thousand prodigal sons
Well we are children no more, we have sinned and grown old
And our Father still waits and He watches down the road
To see the crying boys come running back to His arms
And be growing young
Growing young
My beautiful date (my wife Ginger) and I left our movie feeling melancholy. The movie was really, really well done. But even so, it didn’t hold out hope to me. The one reminder I took away was that life is short, rather you live it forward or backward. However, when I read God’s Word, I know that even though we are broken, tattered, and have grown old inside, God is doing something in His children that is bringing about restoration. I am growing young inside.
Many people who are later on in life are cynical and jaded because of life’s tough lessons. By God’s grace, He has taken my hard heart and continues to make it soft. Many older people are fearful and keep themselves locked up. By God’s grace, He has taken my fear and tendency to isolate myself and given me confidence that He is in control. In many more ways, God is growing me young and I pray that He will never stop.
How are you growing young?
by Chad Lewis on February 6, 2009
I get made fun of quite often for the illustrations I use and how I act them out in front of crowds. Inside I chuckle because it just shows that people remember the illustration.
The performance treadmill is one of my favorite illustrations. I act like I’m on a treadmill and then ask how far it gets me. People reply, “Nowhere.” I then tell them how it just works up a sweat and if you stop running, you actually get hurt pretty bad.
For years, this described my Christian life. I had no rest. I had no soul rest. I was constantly trying to win God’s approval with how I lived and of course I could never stack up. I would either dwell in the land of despair if I was not doing well, and if I was doing alright, I would live in self-righteousness. Despair was my land more often.
Then, in 1997, God awakened my heart to start understanding what the finished work of the cross really was and how that applied to my life. I was not called to live to win God’s approval, but rather, God’s approval through Christ was already mine and that should be what stirs me to live.
So my motivations began to change. God continues this work in me today.
Hebrews 4:9-11 says, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.”
Do you find yourself on the performance treadmill today? Do you find yourself trusting in the finished work of the cross? Is the center of your motivation for living that God loves you and longs for what is best in your life? The best gifts God can give us are those things that shake us to the core so that we will find our greatest treasure in Him alone and not in the passing things of this world.
So take a breath and reflect on the cross. Thank God for what He has done and ask Him to help you live in that reality today.
by Chad Lewis on January 8, 2009
Peter Scazzero writes in Emotionally Healthy Spirituality,
“Picture a beggar. Not someone you might find on the streets of a North American city, strolling along looking for change to buy beer or cigarettes. Rather, picture a person in such abject poverty that he is incapable of doing anything more than lying in a corner with a palm upraised, hoping someone will take pity on him. Picture someone who knows he will die unless someone has mercy upon him.”
How often do we really see ourselves in such need? I was with two brothers in a meeting yesterday and we discussed some of our struggles that occurred over the holidays. I told them that we have two things in common. One: We are very needy people. Two: We realize it. I shared that it was a gift that we realized how needy we are.
As you find that you are needy, don’t let it lead you to despair. It is actually the very thing that God has placed in our lives for a reason. God will never lead us to a point where we will stop needing Him. As we grow in the Christian life, we should become more acutely aware of how needy we actually are and thus depend on God more each day.
by Chad Lewis on April 12, 2006
As I looked out of my Jeep window, I observed Jason and Scott getting ready to join me for a ride to church. The year was 2000 and I was living in a ministry house in Atlanta, Georgia. Jason and Scott had recently been homeless and I was one of three leaders in the mission house. Our goal was to help the helpless and try to train them with basic life skills so they could get off the streets and have a second chance at life.
As I watched, I looked down at what I was wearing and looked into the rear view mirror. My hair was a bit long and I wore my hooded jacket and jeans. Jason was lacing up his combat boots and was covered in piercings and tattoos (most of which were homemade tattoos.) Scott was dazed from sleep and putting out his cigarette butt before getting in for the ride. He also had the biggest afro I had ever seen on a white man. He would stuff it under a baseball cap.
Thoughts raced through my head and I imagined that we would be a group that others would try to avoid. I thought about how unlovely they seemed, how bad they smelled and how frustrating it was to help them as they usually were very difficult to get along with. I thought we must look like a motley crue.
In those 30-seconds before they got into my vehicle, God shot an arrow to my heart that still sticks with me today. The impression cut to the core and humbled me deeply. The thought rang in my heart, “Chad, you are no different than they are.” The thoughts continued about how I had no choice in the home I was born into or the I.Q. that I had been given. How was I to take pride for anything that God had given me? My body, mind, heart, circumstances and most of all the grace of God to transform a wretch into a beloved child – this is all God’s grace.
It is helpful to me to be reminded that all that I have is a gift of God’s grace. Apart from His strong hand being present in my life I believe I could be an alcoholic, addicted to all sorts of vices, selfishly abusing others for my own gain, and the list goes on and on… We must humble ourselves before our Maker and with thankfulness, submit ourselves in surrender. Just like the parable of the talents, to whom much is given, much is required.
Let us rejoice for the life that God has given us and the means with which He has blessed us. He desires that we give it all back to Him and give our lives away to point to the wonderful gospel message and to the cross. For it is here that we find true life.
So next time you see a homeless man, remember that could be you and thank God for His grace. You might also want to take him for a cup of coffee and lose some of your fear of the unknown.
A date night. A movie. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
