Lost in Translation...

My father-in-law was an MD. He went to med school later than most. Upon completion he began private practice, before deciding to leave what would have become a lucrative career and invest in something that would mean more than financial gain. He and his family took their 4 children to Mexico, then Peru, to provide medical care to a missionary base and the local people surrounding the base. Having married his eldest daughter, I can tell you his investment paid off in ways he could have never imagined...The organization he worked with until the day he died is called Wycliffe Bible Translators. Wycliffe has a goal of translating Scripture into every language group's own language. I've been thinking about this work of translation lately. I believe that it is also my life's calling - not in the Wycliffe way - but translation nonetheless. What I am to do is to take God's words and "translate" them into the "language" of the people in my "world". So many "religious words" - words like faith, church, even God - today raise people's walls and barriers. When those words are used, dialog ends. So, translation is the work of explaining ("fleshing out") ideas and words in a way that barriers are torn down and not built up or reinforced. For I believe God is a God who pursues us. We too often run from an image of God that is inaccurate; an image that has been erected by misinformation, misrepresentation or even deceit. God aches over that misrepresentation. He longs for people to know him as he really is. We need more translators...

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall?

We usually picture Humpty Dumpty as an egg, right? Well, I've been thinking about the Humpster lately, given this global economic crisis we're in...I think much of the problem stems from EXCESS at a variety of levels: government, corporate, and...if I look in the mirror, personal. Things have been pretty smooth sailing in our economy for the past 20-25 years. Along the way, most of us have bought into a "more is better" line of thinking...I'm convinced that if at a fork in the road you find a signpost marked "more" and choose that path, it never ends...So, now we're dealing with the consequences of these excesses. It seems like the first two stages of grief have been experienced by most Americans either individually or collectively: Denial and anger...now we are finally beginning to ask, "Now what?" Well, without getting too embedded in the, "How did this happen?" and, "Where is this going?" conversations, it seems people genuinely are beginning to think about tightening their belts. This is a good thing...if we all follow suit, maybe we can come to a point where we can think in terms of "economic sustainability"...During the last month, I've had this picture in my mind that has helped me with perspective...the picture is of a 10 or 12-year old boy in Uganda (I call him "David"). David has lost both parents to AIDS and is responsible for his 5-year old brother and 3-year old sister. So, I call David on the cell phone and say, "David, you wouldn't believe this economic crisis we're in the midst of..." David looks at the phone and says, "Crisis...what crisis?" Maybe it's times like these where our lives (like Humpty Dumpty) crack open...and maybe when lives crack open, there is more room for more of God...will I give him that space? In that sense, I believe he wants us to have MORE...of him...

Conversations at 39,000 feet

I've become less and less thrilled with travel over time (I love being places - just hate getting there...), but last night's flight was an exception...I was at a conference in the Los Angeles area for two days and flew back to Portland last night. Ready to read my book, I sat down to a warm greeting from a guy named Ron and never got to my book during the 2 1/2-hour flight. He shared a quote that I said I'd never forget...Bitterness is the poison I drink hoping you will die... So, I got something better than good reading time...I got a phrase worth pondering...Oh, and that book I'm reading...Revenge...