Grace Undeserved

We all have people in our lives who need our help, and who need our grace. They could be people with large or small problems. They might be family members, friends, or even the strangers that God occasionally sends our way. One thing is always true though:  if you care about people, if you put yourself out there, you are going to get hurt sometimes. Your heart will be broken, or at least bruised, and that is just a part of life. In fact, the more you care the more likely you are to be hurt because when we open up our hearts is when we are most vulnerable. And it’s easy to write people off, or to give up on them. In fact, when folks need us the most is when they are also most likely to offend us … and that is the challenge, dear friends.

As a Christian my example is Jesus, who showed me so much more grace than I could have ever deserved. His love for me, and for you by the way, has no basis whatsoever in my deserving it. Indeed, rather than being based upon any inherent value in me, His love is actually what gives me value. God could have given up on me. He could have written me off when I offended Him, and turned His back on me when I turned my back on Him. Instead He sent His Son to die for my sins and draw me into eternal relationship with Him. That is the meaning of grace, and one of the foundations of Christianity. This morning in church we sang a song entitled One Thing Remains, the chorus of which repeats the words, “Your love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me.” That captures the spirit of grace beautifully, and that kind of love must, by nature, trickle down into our human relationships.

So what about those people in my life, the ones who need my help … and my grace? If I am the recipient of so much undeserved grace how can I possibly withhold it from others, especially when my love and grace may actually be, at least in part, the manifestation of God’s grace to them? I have to love them and offer them the kind of grace that I have received.  So think about your own life. Who are you getting ready to write off or give up on? Better yet, who do you feel called to love and show grace to?  

Here’s what I know for sure. I’ve received way more grace than I’ll ever be able to reciprocate. But I’m going to do my best and I call upon you to join me. Together, and with God’s help, we can change this hurting world.

Grace Undeserved

In a moment of frustration
I was ready to declare
“That’s it, I quit, let’s walk away
It just hurts too much to care”
But then God calmed my spirit
As He soothed me patiently
And I realized I can’t give up
Even when folks challenge me
Because my Lord and my example
Had the chance to walk away
He could have left me to my sins
And God knows where I’d be today
But He didn’t quit, He didn’t judge
He didn’t abandon me
Though I was utterly undeserving
Jesus still chose Calvary
So when I seem at wit’s end
With those I’m called to serve
I remember that the grace I’ve known
Was not what I deserve
So give me strength, oh Savior
And remind me constantly
That I must love as You loved
The ones entrusted to me
           By Frank Carpenter ©

For more on this subject check out this previous blog entry as well:  http://frankcarpenter.blogspot.com/2005/02/forgiveness

A New Beginning

As we come to the brink of another new year, it’s a time to reflect upon the past and look forward to the future as well. If you had a great year then you’re probably hoping to maintain your momentum. Maybe 2011 fell below your expectations. If that’s the case, then a new year may hold the promise of a fresh start or a do-over. The wonderful thing about this life we live is that no one’s path is set in concrete, no destiny is yet determined, and every day offers the opportunity to change our course and adjust our sails. In that spirit, I offer the following essay as an encouragement to anyone who looks ahead to a different or brighter tomorrow. As I close I am reminded of a familiar chorus from the musical Annie which reminds us, “Tomorrow. Tomorrow. I love you, tomorrow. You’re only a day away.” That’s just what I was thinking.

A Ring Around The Moon
By Frank Carpenter
The iridescent moon was not quite full, though seeming somehow larger than usual... almost as if it filled the entire evening sky. And then there was the ring, that big beautiful ring around the moon. Not a small ring like halo or a belt. No, a giant, endless, wonderful ring. For that moment, the ring seemed to encircle all that I knew or could imagine. For that moment, the moon and the universe within the ring which enveloped it were everything. The silver sky, or something within it, held me entranced, as it were, for a time unmeasured, or immeasurable. Perhaps I lay there only for a moment, an instant, though it might just as well have been a lifetime.
Nonetheless, I felt as though everything changed during the encounter. That conclusion was unmistakable. The winds of change blew over me. Silently, sweetly, certainly. They were not such winds as I could detect merely with my senses, or which disturbed so much as a single blade of grass around me. They were were the winds which blow through our souls and swirl within our very being, the winds of inner change.
The moon was still there, and very much so. The ring was still there. Yet, suddenly, I became aware of other things around me. Other things which had long cried out to be noticed, to be understood. Whose voices had been carried away by other winds and drowned out by more urgent voices. Yet now I saw, I felt, I knew.
I became aware of the ground beneath me. How long had I lay there, in the wet grass beneath the moon and its ring? Ah, the ring. It had been raining for days. The ground was wet, more than wet. It more held me than supported me, but the feeling was not unpleasant. The grip of the wet ground against my back, against my long soaked clothing was a comfort, almost a relief. Without the pull of the moist earth, I might well have drifted off toward the moon above, lured by the intoxicating glow.
I could feel more than just the ground beneath me. There was more, much more. There was a whole world. The same world I had always known, yet which now seemed strange and wild and undiscovered. That was the change. I could no longer accept everything which before had been so clear, so concrete. I knew the world had not changed in the least, but I had. So, in relation to me, everything else must change as well. I inhaled deeply. Not the kind of breath which merely replenished oxygen in my lungs. I inhaled something better, deeper. It was a breath of life, of things so long left undone, unsaid, unknown. I was different.
However, I understood somehow that I could not be different alone. I must make the world around me to be different like me, or with me. Was it a calling? Perhaps more of an accepting. The acceptance of a call so long unheeded, one nearly snuffed out in the shuffle of daily life with its minutia of urgent details begging to be attended to. We get so busy with living that it becomes something less than living. I had forgotten how important every minute detail is. I had forgotten how very important life is. Now, I remembered.
All of this happened within the circle which held me through that time. The ring around the moon. Just an optical illusion, water vapor, reflected light, barometric pressure. Perhaps. Moon dust and magic are, however, somehow more appealing. A sign, a signal, a catalyst. It was enough. For whatever reason, I would never be the same. I could not, nor could anything else be. Blame it on the ring, the moon, the movie, romance, whatever. The world, the universe, were entirely different than they had been just a short time before. It matters not the reason, for the why and the hows only serve themselves, yet they would be our masters if we tarry long enough to let them enslave us. No, there are other more pressing issues at hand ... broader frontiers yet undiscovered. Let it begin.

May you have a blessed New Year ... and make it an even better one than the last.

God With Us

One last thought before we get to Christmas weekend. There are a lot of distractions this time of year. But let us all remember that the root word of Christmas is Christ. That is what we celebrate. So here's my take on the Christmas story based upon one of the names Isaiah foretold for the Messaiah. Emmanuel means "God with us" and that is exactly what Christmas is about ... about God choosing to be with us, to love us, and ultimately to redeem us. Merry Christmas to all!

 

Emmanuel

For centuries, we were in darkness

And God seemed so far away

But, in compassion, He reached out

To the world on Christmas day

Keeping his promise to rescue us

And bless man through Abraham’s seed

God offered the olive branch of a Savior

Showing His faithfulness indeed

After four hundred years of silence

God chose to among us dwell

Clothing Himself in human flesh

As the long awaited Immanuel

That is really what Christmas means

Not presents or trees nor snow

But the mighty God of the universe

Reaching out to men below

Immanuel means “God with us”

As the prophet Isaiah foretold

And the angel in Joseph’s dream confirmed

The messiah God promised of old

Jesus was born and laid in the manger

So long ago and far away

But that was just the beginning

And He is with us still today

As the victorious, risen Savior

Whom the Christ child grew into

Sent to reconcile men to God

And, at last, make all things new

So when you celebrate your Christmas

We pray you remember well

How God sent His only Son to us

As our Savior, Immanuel

     By Frank Carpenter       

Days of Infamy

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. Most of our parents and grandparents remember right where they were when they heard the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Those of us who are at least a generation away simply remember the poignant opening words of President Roosevelt’s speech to Congress: “Yesterday, December 7th 1941, a day which will live in infamy...” That attack drew the United States into World War II and the rest is history. As I considered this day, however, I realized that those of us who missed WWII recently had the opportunity to experience what Pearl Harbor felt like to the average American. That is because we lived through September 11, 2001. Like Pearl Harbor, that day brought an unprovoked surprise attack on American soil, resulting in a similar number of deaths. We experienced the shock, the sorrow and, eventually, the rise of an anger which cried out for justice. Perhaps all the more so because the September 11th attacks were primarily against civilians. Also, due to our modern technology, virtually every American repeatedly saw the news footage of the planes striking the World Trade Center and the collapse of the towers. So today is a day to think back over the years, to remember the events of 1941 and how they changed the course of history. I would encourage us to remember 2001 as well, for it evokes the same feelings and the war it sparked is still under way. That war is not just one of armed conflict, but a war of ideologies which will help to shape the next fifty years of history. As we look back on those two days, I offer a pair of poems which return us to that roller coaster of emotions. I wrote them both on September 11, while sitting at my desk that morning and watching the endless reruns of the images that terrible day brought to us. Below the poems, you will also find the entire text of FDR’s famous speech to Congress on December 8, 1941. I believe you may discover the emotions expressed therein to be familiar, even if you weren’t born yet. I daresay that “Happy Pearl Harbor Day” is most likely an inappropriate greeting to offer you, being something of an oxymoron. Nonetheless, I do encourage you to think long and hard on this day in history and take it’s lessons to heart as we march forward in the creation of our own current history. Every once in a great while there is a “day of infamy” ... and they must never be forgotten.

Somewhere in the Rubble
Somewhere in the rubble
At this moment, there are tears
Suffering we can’t imagine
The very worst of all our fears
Calamity in such proportion
That we can scarcely comprehend
Hours of darkness, just beginning
And we have yet to know their end
But somewhere in the rubble
In that city far away
Thousands still are clinging
To a thread of hope today
Our hearts are filled with anger
With bitter shock and with dismay
But let us not forget this hour
To pause and simply pray
For those who are in peril
And their would be rescuers
That God somehow may protect them
Give them strength to yet endure
That He might comfort those with loss
Give wisdom to the leaders there
And wrap His arms around this nation
In our hour of despair
Let us lift our prayers together
As we struggle just to cope
For somewhere in the rubble
There is still a ray of hope
By Frank Carpenter ©

The Heart of Freedom
Beware, you foes of freedom
Who dare to maim and kill
Who, by force, would stand against us
You have galvanized our will
You have struck the heart of freedom
Spilled sacred blood upon our soil
Stung the bastions of democracy
Yet, though we may recoil
Be it known, we shall not falter
In the midst of travesty
A sleeping giant has awakened
Which will rise from the debris
With a resolve and with a fury
Such as you have rarely known
Freedom’s mettle has been tested
And now its true strength shall be shown
By Frank Carpenter ©\

FDR’s Speech to Congress on December 8, 1941: "Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with the government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleagues delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack. It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island. This morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God. I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire."

From site: http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/fr32/speeches/ph.htm

Information

I stumbled upon a quote recently from Albert Einstein which intrigued me: “Information is not knowledge.” This is a very profound statement by a man who was one of the great minds of the twentieth century and it got me thinking as well. I’m clearly not one of the great minds of either of the centuries I’ve lived in, but I had been pondering a similar subject of late. There is now so much information available to us, not just from books but also through our easy access to the nearly limitless data coffers of the internet. In fact, Einstein himself would probably be overwhelmed by how much we know … and can know. He missed the computer age by just a decade or two and the world has changed so much since then. However, I’m not here to sing the “aren’t we amazing” song. My interest today lies not in expounding our informational achievements, but in quantifying the value of the volume thereof. Especially in light of the advances in handheld wireless devices we have more information at our fingertips than we could previously even have imagined ... and we’re obsessed with it. The issue I see developing is that we seem to revel in accessing a broad spectrum of data, of facts, figures, news, opinion, history, gossip, technology, etc. However, I don’t always see it improving the quality of our lives, nor the value of our lives. This leads us to the next question. Fortunately, it was previously posed by someone more intelligent and articulate than me. The poet and critic T. S. Elliot once wrote, “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” Interestingly Elliot also died just a decade or two before the true computer age. Yet he, like Einstein, observed this phenomenon as early as the mid twentieth century. They both understood that just knowing things, and having access information, does not make us better as people, or as a society.

So for clarification, let me take Elliot’s wise words and condense them to a formula that Einstein may have appreciated:

           INFORMATION ≠ KNOWLEDGE ≠ WISDOM
In the spirit of the information age I myself went to the internet in search of a way to express my train of thought. I found an article on foundationsmag.com that helped clarify the difference between these three words. “What is this elusive quality called wisdom? How do we get it? … let’s begin taking a look at the four levels of thinking.

The first level is data-simple facts and figures. Second we have information. Information is data that’s been collected and organized. It is a reference tool. Something we turn to when trying to create something else. The third is knowledge. This is information that we have digested and now understand. Organized as knowledge, the information we have collected is given context. The fourth and final level is wisdom. Today, wisdom has become for many, indistinguishable from knowledge. But they are two different things. Often, what we find touted as wisdom is simply opinion. Knowledge is not wisdom. There is a big difference. Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge. To be more precise, wisdom is knowledge that has been applied in a way that takes into account all its pertinent relationships and that is consistent with universal laws.”

That’s exactly what I meant to say. There is an undercurrent of belief that our technology, our education, and the sheer data we posses makes us somehow better than our predecessors or those in third world countries. I’m not so sure because sometimes it seems that we have become dependent upon information, requiring larger and more convenient doses to satisfy us. That’s why it is important to differentiate between information, knowledge and wisdom. We may have become more technologically advanced, but it’s not clear that we have advanced morally or ethically, that we have grown in wisdom or character or virtue. These are the real measurements of better people or an elevated society. Our access to unlimited information does provide tools for actually making us better people, but so often they are lost in such an expansive mine of data that it can be difficult to dig out the nuggets that are really worth finding. There are just too many distractions, and as is the case in so many areas of our lives the good and the interesting tend to distract us from the great and the truly valuable. Thus we become, in a sense, intellectually ADD.

So, my friends, I would encourage us all not merely to fill our minds, but to improve our minds, not to mention our hearts and souls. Consider what would actually make you a better person, a better husband, father, mother, friend or citizen. Too much information without purpose actually makes us shallower rather than deeper. Wise Solomon once wrote: “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding.” (Proverbs 3:13) Those would be fine words to live by, and they shed encouraging light on this subject. The secret to life lies not in what we know, but how we know it … and what we do with it.

Have a Little Faith

I had the pleasure and unique opportunity this afternoon to interview Brad Moore, president of Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions for the past twenty-nine years. We discussed their latest movie, Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith which premiers this Sunday, November 27, on the ABC Television Network. (9:00-11:00 ET) The movie is based upon Mitch Albom’s best-selling book of the same name, his first nonfiction work since Tuesdays With Morrie. Albom also wrote the screenplay and played a big part in the production. When I asked Brad what was so special about this film he replied, “It’s a wonderful story of redemption … a true story of regaining faith and overcoming cynicism.” That sounds to me like the kind of story we all need to hear. The synopsis from Albom’s web site seems to capture the beautiful dichotomy of this story best:

"Have a Little Faith begins with an unusual request: an 82-year-old rabbi from Albom’s old hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy. Feeling unworthy, Albom insists on understanding the man better, which throws him back into a world of faith he’d left years ago. Meanwhile, closer to his current home, Albom becomes involved with a Detroit pastor-a reformed drug dealer and convict-who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof. Moving between their worlds, Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, impoverished and well-to-do, Mitch observes how these very different men employ faith similarly in fighting for survival: the older, suburban rabbi, embracing it as death approaches; the younger, inner-city pastor relying on it to keep himself and his church afloat. As America struggles with hard times and people turn more to their beliefs, Mitch and the two men of God explore issues that perplex modern man: how to endure when difficult things happen; what heaven is; intermarriage; forgiveness; doubting God; and the importance of faith in trying times … Have a Little Faith is a book about a life’s purpose; about losing belief and finding it again; about the divine spark inside us all. It is one man’s journey, but it is everyone’s story.”

This is just the kind of inspirational story we have come to expect from Hallmark Hall of Fame, but it’s also brought to life through an amazing all-star cast. Laurence Fishburne plays Henry Covington, a Detroit preacher who overcame a life of drugs and crime. Martin Landau is the aging New Jersey Rabbi, Albert Lewis, the spiritual and cultural counterpart to Covington. In the middle is Mitch Albom, played by Bradley Whitford. Covington’s wife, Annette is portrayed by Anika Noni Rose. There is every indication that the chemistry between these outstanding actors perfectly compliments Albom’s already very personal story in a way that gleans all the emotion and meaning from his original words. In the case of a writer as gifted as Albom that’s a very tall order to fill, but they definitely do.

In the words of Brad Moore, Have a Little Faith is “deeply moving … and very satisfying.” Brad’s excitement about this film was definitely contagious and I’m truly looking forward to seeing it this Sunday evening. I would encourage my readers to do the same. I believe it promises a welcome and insightful look at two relevant versions of faith that we should all understand better, but it is also a wonderful launching point for further and deeper conversations. That’s why it would be a good movie to watch with either friends or family. It offers something beyond mere entertainment value. The very title is intriguing to us, especially in these difficult times, and it promises some hope to people that they might discover something within themselves, or beyond themselves. Without a doubt many on either end of the religious spectrum will find some spiritual shortcomings or feel like they may have been underrepresented. But this isn’t a film about doctrine or about whose faith is the right one. It acknowledges a higher power in a way that can appeal to a broad audience. It’s a starting point to get your own intellectual, spiritual and emotion gears turning. That’s one of the reasons I believe it has so much value. Watch it with an open mind and an open heart. Then talk about it. Just as Mitch Albom finds himself in the middle, between two faiths, many people in our society find themselves in the middle as well. That’s a good starting place for anyone … so share it with someone.

It’s been a pleasure for me to learn about this inspirational story and the people involved in it. Many thanks to Brad Moore, of Hallmark Hall of Fame, for taking the time to speak with me this afternoon, and to Grace Hill Media for making that possible. Remember that Have a Little Faith airs this Sunday evening on ABC. Every once in a while a story comes along that tugs at our hearts, one that supports traditional values and challenges all of us to take our eyes off of ourselves for a few hours and to look up together. This is one of those stories. I could not think of a better way to close today than to simply encourage all of you to just … Have a Little Faith.

The Call of God

Today I’d like to share a poem which I actually employed here once before, way back in 2004. But I came across a quote this week that re-framed the context of it for me. One of the things I enjoy about my poetry, and the written word in general, it that it has a long shelf life and God continually finds new uses for it. I had picked up the book “Wild at Heart” once again and opened to a page containing the following quote from Oswald Chambers:

“There comes the baffling call of God in our lives also. The call of God can never be stated explicitly, it is implicit. The call of God is like the call of the sea; no one hears it but the one who has the nature of the sea in him. It cannot be stated definitely what the call of God is to, because his call is to be in comradeship with himself for his own purposes, and the test is to believe that God knows what He is after.”

As my readers may know I have a clear affinity for the sea, or as Chambers so eloquently put it, “the nature of the sea” in me. So this quote speaks directly to my heart. I’m also reminded that we have a creative God who speaks to each man in a still small voice that is personalized to that man’s heart. In my case, God used the sea. But He might just as well speak to the engineer in practical terms, to the geologist through the physical world, or to the astronomer through the skies. Whoever we are, wherever we are, whatever we are going through, God speaks to us in a voice that our heart will best understand. Bible translators are committed to their work because they understand that God may speak most effectively to people in their native tongue. And God knows every language, not only the written and verbal languages of men, but the unwritten languages of the human heart as well. So if you seek to hear God listen to him in your unique areas of passion and openness. Most importantly though, listen for God and be open to His call. He is almost never silent. The problem is that we are far too often deaf.

So now I shall return to my own example. There was a time when I didn’t even believe there was a God. However, it was clear to me that something was going on because I understood that some of the people who professed to believe in him were different than other people I knew. So I sought them out. Yet, God understood that the only way to get through to me was to speak to me in the language of my heart. I have always loved the ocean and God wisely engaged that passion in order to engage me. The below poem explains to true story of my conversion and the creative and personal way in which God eventually got through to me.

I still try to be open to God’s calling, especially in this current season of my life. My question for each of you today is, “How is God speaking to you?” We need to continue listening for His voice, not merely with our ears, but with our hearts as well.

Out of the Depths
I feel so very small sometimes
when I look upon the sea
Imagining its vast expanse
its awesome power and majesty
The sea was my one first true love
and the thing that I adored
The wonder of it pierced my heart
and brought me to my Lord
For I would not believe in God
or trust that He could be
However those who claimed I should
sought to prevail upon me
Their arguments were well rehearsed
and true enough, I deemed
But I required something more
I lacked the key it seemed
Yet, God called upon His advocate
the mighty sea I loved so dear
Which softened up my heart in time
and sought to draw me near
How many times He called to me
as I sat upon the land
In a thundering voice I could not hear
but longed to understand
Countless nights I sat alone
and gazed across the sea
So unaware that every wave
was God's own call to me
Yet God wore down my disbelief
as ocean waves might do
And brought me to the moment when
my life-long search was through
He piloted my restless soul
to quiet waters and a quay
Where He came aboard my empty heart
and promised He would stay
And now, all these year later
I pause to look out on the swells
And thank God for the choice He brought me to
for it has served me well
I thank Him for the beauty
and the power of the sea
From which He chose to reach out
and take hold of such as me
May I ever gaze upon it and
in so doing, see His face
Rediscovering His majesty
and the wonder of His grace
        By Frank Carpenter ©