weekend two

surprised in relationships. i interacted with a lot of people this weekend and it was a blessing. interesting at times, but overall a blessing. (a surprise for someone who struggles with breaking out of his introvertedness.) on saturday morning, i had the opportunity to spend a small amount of time with a couple of new friends from south africa, who simply took the time to share their stories and their hearts. i love stories. in fact, if i was able to, i think that i would just drop everything and immerse myself in them. stories are so powerful and have a way of drawing people in. i like to tell stories and i like to listen to stories. i guess that i’m a bit like jesus that way. he was a great storyteller. but he was also a great listener. in fact, i think that a lot of his content came from observing and listening to those around him. interesting thought – that jesus could have actually been inspired by us.

i know that i am inspired by jesus every day. the way he walked. the way he talked. the way he prayed. the way he led others. and on and on and on. but to think that he could have been inspired by us is a new thought. or maybe it’s not us that inspired him. maybe it was what he saw in us – a capacity for faith that would lead us into lives of freedom. that must be it, because that is what inspires me as i listen to others – their faith. faith in their struggles. faith in their courage. faith in their gifts. and on and on and on.

one of the things that i like so much about stories is that they are always new and fresh. each of us has a unique story to tell. but what happens when someone starts to share a part of their story that seems to fall into a script – a script that seems familiar because you’ve heard it once or twice before. or perhaps you’ve heard it many times before. i’m talking about a kind of script that feels generic and is used to fill in the gaps that we are too afraid to live out and experience for ourselves. and because it sounds good, no one questions it or tries to figure out if it really fits or not. i think christians do this a lot – especially with their beliefs. not all christians do this, but i think many of them do. and i think that i heard part of a script today.

i had been invited to an open house (earlier in the week) for a former youth pastor that had returned to minnesota. god had called him to another state to serve in a variety of ministry opportunities over the past fifteen years, but was now calling him back to serve as senior pastor of a newer church in central minnesota. it was so good to see him and others that were there – individuals that i hadn’t seen for many, many years. i found myself having some great conversations throughout the afternoon and was glad that i had decided to attend. but there was one conversation that troubled me. it troubled me because part of it sounded a lot like a script – a formula if you will.

i was speaking with a woman who has a gay sibling and was interested in hearing about how this sister of hers had been doing. i had known her in high school and just wanted to get an update on her life – you know, basis questions. i found out that she was still living in california (i had known that at one time but wasn't sure if that was still the case), but also learned that she had been traveling back and forth to minnesota on a frequent basis, which provided her family the opportunity to see more of her. she seemed to be in a transitional period in her life. as we talked, however, i could sense a deep struggle with how this woman's family was responding to her sister's lifestyle. and i could immediately tell that they had developed some strong feelings about the subject.

i was encouraged to hear this woman talk about wrapping her sister in the love of jesus, even though other members of her family didn’t necessarily agree with how she was doing this. but the love that she described seemed to have conditions attached. that bothered me. it bothered me because the jesus that i know loves unconditionally. obviously, this is easier said than done, but it still bothered me. (actually, it saddened me.) and there was one statement in particular that broke my heart. at one point in the conversation, i heard this woman say that she was just waiting for the day when her sister would return to her faith and be normal again. i wanted to speak – to tell her exactly what i was thinking – but refrained. instead, i just revealed to her that i still have more questions about the subject than i do answers – specifically related to how jesus would respond. and as my mouth said one thing, my mind was thinking about others. normal? isn’t she normal now? what is it that makes her abnormal? if homosexuality is sin, and sin makes this woman abnormal, doesn’t that make the rest of us abnormal? and doesn’t that make us all the same?

i’m finding that god is surprising me with questions. and this weekend he used relationships to bring them to the surface.