On Palm Sunday, Christ UMC had a special guest…Speedo the Donkey. Speedo helped communicate the story of Palm Sunday to our children…and adults. It made for a very festive beginning to our worship services.

For some reason, I’m having difficulties embedding the video (probably due to the format) on this blog. So, if you want to see the video…follow this link:

http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/christ-united-methodist-church-brings-in-donkey-for-palm-sunday

Today, I’m thankful that Donald Miller is nothing like Joel Osteen.

I’ve never beaten around the bush about my thoughts on Osteen and the prosperity gospel. So, I won’t really go into that…or I’ll miss the intention of this post.

Here’s what I want to share from Miller’s book, “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.”

“I don’t believe an act of man will make things on earth perfect, and I don’t believe God will intervene before I die, or for that matter before you die. I believe, instead, we will go on longing for a resolution that will not come, not within life as we know it, anyway. If you think about it, an enormous amount of damage is created by the myth of utopia. There is an intrinsic feeling in nearly every person that your life could be perfect if you only had such-and-such a car or such-and-such a spouse or such-and-such a job. We believe we will be made whole by our accomplishments, our possessions, or our social status. It’s written in the fabric of our DNA that life used to be beautiful and now it isn’t, and if only this and if only that, it would be beautiful again.”

“Growing up in church, we were taught that Jesus was the answer to all our problems. We were taught that there was a circle-shaped hole in our heart and that we had tried to fill it with the square pegs of sex, drugs, and rock and roll; but only the circle peg of Jesus could fill our hole…To be sure, I like Jesus, and I still follow him, but the idea that Jesus will make everything better is a lie. It’s basically biblical theology translated into the language of infomercials. The truth is, the apostles never really promise Jesus is going to make everything better here on earth. Can you imagine an infomercial with Paul, testifying to the amazing product of Jesus, saying that he once had power and authority, and since he tried Jesus he’s been moved from prison to prison, beaten, and routinely bitten by snakes? I don’t think many people would be buying that product. Peter couldn’t do any better. He was crucified upside down, by some reports…I think Jesus can make things better, but I don’t think he is going to make things perfect. Not here, and not now.”

“What I love about the true gospel of Jesus, though, is that it offers hope. Paul has hope our souls will be made complete. It will happen in heaven, where there will be a wedding and a feast.”

“When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are. And when you stop expecting material possessions to complete you, you’d be surprised at how much pleasure you get in material possessions. And when you stop expecting God to end all your troubles, you’d be surprised how much you like spending time with God.”

“Do I still think there will be a day when all wrongs are made right, when our souls find the completion they are looking for? I do. But when things are made right, it won’t be because of some preacher or snake-oil salesman or politician or writer making promises in his book. I think, instead, this will be done by Jesus. And it will be at a wedding. And there will be a feast.”

I know a number of people who are facing difficult periods in their lives. Last night, while reading Donald Miller’s book , A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, I came across two passages that those who feel the weight of life breaking them down might find a bit of hope through.

“After a tragedy, I think God gives us a period of numbing as a kind of grace. Perhaps he knows our small minds, given so easily to false hope, couldn’t handle the full brunt of reality.”

“Pain then, if one could have faith in something greater than himself, might be a path to experiencing a meaning beyond the false gratification of personal comfort.”

While reading Adam Hamilton’s devotional, “24 Hours That Changed the World: 40 Days of Reflection”, I was reminded of a powerful verse that should be a call to action.

In John 15:12, Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

Hamilton writes that carrying out this command requires us to stay connected to Christ. He writes, “If we remain connected to the Vine, pursuing practices that help us abide in Christ, we will bear fruit – not just praying, reading the Bible, worshiping, and giving, but demonstrating our love for others through out actions. This love is more than just warm affection; it is a willingness to put others before ourselves and to practice kindness, to do justice, to seek the good of others, and to bless.”

As I read that passage, I found myself thinking, “Yes! That’s it! This is what this journey of faith is supposed to be about. It’s not about warm fuzzies and feel-good religion. It’s about real love…active love…selfless love. It’s about putting others first. It’s about ‘practicing kindness’. It’s about doing justice. It’s about seeking ‘the good of others’. It’s about finding ways to bless those around us.”

It’s so easy to get caught up in a selfish pursuit of faith. We pray, we read, we go to church…all in an effort to make ourselves better people…all in an effort to make ourselves feel better about, well, ourselves. Maybe the best way to make ourselves better people is to live out lives of love. A faith that is void of loving others isn’t much of a faith at all. A faith that is void of the pursuit of justice doesn’t reflect a faith modeled after the life of Jesus.

Today, I want to live out this kind of love. Today, I want to put into action the words of Micah 6:8, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”