Keep Us Near the Cross

---

Some things are built better these days, and some are not. Some cars and trucks can last 200,000 miles no problem. There are even two Toyota Tundra trucks that surpassed 1,000,000 miles on the odometer. They were built quite well. Then there are cars that don’t last to 100,000 because they rust out or have mechanical problems. We live in a consumer world that can make products well, but our society is based on making a profit, so things are only made well if they can be made profitably. If Ford can make cars cheaper overseas they will. If Chevy can save money by using thinner sheet metal for their cars they will, and they do. If Ram can get a cheaper transmission from a foreign contractor, they won’t hesitate to buy that one as opposed to one made domestically. That’s why we see things like, “Made in USA, with foreign and domestic components.” Companies have a bottom line and must ask. “Is what we’re doing profitable?” “How can we increase our profit margin?” The question of reliability is secondary. But that was not always the case.  Craftsmen used to build things for the future generations. They would use products that were more than adequate. Have you ever seen some buildings that are constructed with timber beams that weigh thousands of pounds? Machines and tools that were made from cast iron that last for generations. (This is why I enjoy old tools so much)  This type of craftsmanship is quite impressive. I appreciate the idea of “over engineered products.” It means they didn’t use the cheapest materials. It means they thought about how long it will last. 

As we have mentioned before, we live in a consumer driven, disposable age. Its often times cheaper for the consumer to buy a new product than have the old one fixed. Its certainly cheaper to buy a new TV than pay a shop to fix it. I don’t know why this is our reality, but it is. Maybe if products cost more, people would want to fix them rather than replace them. Isn’t it ironic that we are a consumer driven society, even though we have moved away from being a manufacturing society? Most of our wealth comes the service industry these days. Someone figured out a while ago, around the 70s and 80s that manufacturing products with cheaper overseas labor and importing it, would be more profitable. Now many of our domestic jobs deal with this function of bringing in foreign made goods to supply domestic demand. It was not that companies in the 50’s and 60’s were not profitable, they simply wanted to be more profitable. 

Now, what does this have to do with church? Apply the principle of exporting jobs overseas to exporting faith outside of the church. It’s “cheaper and easier” to be a Christian by myself at home or whenever I want. It’s easier to just call myself a Christian than to actually go to church or to tithe. It’s easier to “worship” outdoors while going for a walk, or staying in bed, than to deal with people at church. These are excuses to genuine worship. Just like some domestic companies say “Buy American” but they are made with many foreign components. It comes down to authenticity. The church will not survive if more people export their faith, meaning they don’t engage in the church community and think they can be Christians alone. Similarly the US manufacturing sector has diminished greatly because too many American companies sought profit over worker stability, loyalty and job security.  How rare is the sentiment in corporate America that states, “We can close this plant down, the town will suffer.” This is a non existent point of view. 

What can be done. Its not totally simple, but we should start by thinking about the future.  Much of the blame for the loss of US manufacturing has to do with short sighted gains and long term losses. In the business world, everyone wants higher and higher returns on investments, and quickly. However, many fail to consider the long term effects of squeezing out every nickel of profit. If we are always driven by the financial point of view, we start worshipping money. (This is already happening) The remedy to this is looking to the future beyond ourselves. You and I are not a permanent fixture in this universe. What will life be like when I’m gone? And what can I do now, to ensure a better future for my kids, grandkids and neighbors? These are the questions the world should ask when it comes to business decisions as well as in the church. 

Life is not all about me. It’s about others, family, friends, neighbors, even “enemies.” How we treat others is what our kids see and emulate. How we treat the faith community will be seen as the “norm” and if we dismiss it or diminish it, it will decline. However, if you make the effort to be involved in the community you build up the faith for future generations. I enjoy hearing the pride in the family of a member who has passed, when they say, “He was a deacon and a trustee, he loved the church.” It’s a source of pride that this person devoted their time to something bigger than themselves. We must think about our posterity (future generations) that will benefit from me living with an eye towards the future. I challenge us all is to look to the future; how can we make our church community stronger for the future. What can we do to ensure it is not weakened as the manufacturing sector was weakened by short sighted profit? We must not relegate faith to a DIY experience, where everyone does whatever they want because of convenience. Rather we need to faithfully come together and strengthen the community through our involvement and support. Imagine this self talk conversation, “I can’t miss church today… the church will suffer because of my absence.” We do this for posterity, because Jesus said love your neighbors, and I think he also meant, our future neighbors. May it be so.  

The narrow path that takes you to the city of Petra is called the Siq, its Arabic for shaft. It’s about three quarters of a mile of gravel and narrow passages. It’s like walking down a long hallway, twisting and turning through the red rock cliffs that stretch over a hundred feet straight up. It was this narrow passage that allowed the inhabitants of Petra, the Nabateans, to defend themselves against foreign invaders. When you get to the end of the Siq you see the treasury. It is the building that was featured prominently in the third Indian Jones movie, “The Last Crusade.” It is a marvelous structure that was carved by hand (obviously) in about 400BC. The whole city is magnificent and quite worth the arduous travel to get there. Like many other things in life, it’s that much more special because of how long of a journey it takes to get there. It is quite possible, maybe even probable that St. Paul visited or stayed in Petra as he states in Galatians that he went to “Arabia” before going to Jerusalem. 

Jesus also uses the imagery of narrow paths to help us understand the value of what is at the end of the journey. He said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. But narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14). How difficult it can be to go on a journey alone. How stressful to fall asleep in the wilderness with no one to keep watch. How anxious life gets when we don’t know where we are going, and can’t find our way. How tempting it can be to go along with everyone else, to follow the crowd. The problem is the crowd is not going to the Celestial City. Jesus is interested in the crowd, but the crowd is not interested in him. He’s telling you, to choose the narrow way that few find. 

Part of choosing the narrow way is to observe the season of Lent. Few people even know what Lent it, and even fewer observe it. I didn’t observe it growing up, but I do now that I know more. It’s a season of self reflection and examination. A season of fasting from something to understand better that Jesus suffered so much and gave up so much for us. Even though grace is free, it is not cheap. Something that cost Jesus his life, cannot be made cheap by us. And so we observe Lent as a way to more fully appreciate Easter. This Lenten season I chose to fast from food for a 24 hour period. While I didn’t do it perfectly, I did learn about how it can be done, and what happens when you fast. The first thing I learned is that the hunger pains go away. I think that’s the biggest hurdle to fasting is that gnawing feeling of being hungry. At this point many people stop and get some food. But the pains go away, if you but resist for a while, you will persevere, and water helps. The second lesson I learned is that God is near. I knew this, but it was reinforced in many ways. My prayer conversations with the Lord became easier, more fluid. I could discern the Holy Spirit speaking versus my own voice much more clearly; not always but much more readily. The overall affect had me saying, “God is good” over and over and in various conversations. 

At the end of the a purposeful journey is always a good result. Partly because the journey accompanies the destination in importance. Discipleship is part of the reward of heaven. Becoming like Jesus is the journey towards being with Jesus for all eternity. This is our life’s work, this is what we need each other for; to assist on the narrow path. We are to be encouragers along the way for other pilgrims that have entered the narrow gate. But we must not give up. We must be faithful to the end. If the end of Lent is the glory of Easter and resurrection, just imagine what lies in wait for us at the end of the narrow path. No ear has heard, no mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Cor. 2:9