As I continue my journey into the imponderables of the Christian life, I ran into another thing that we as Christians do almost reflexively. Yet I have never understood why we do it. That thing is standing every time we sing. Why on earth do we do that?
Does the music sound better 6 feet off the floor than it does 3 feet off the floor? Do our voices sound better to us or God? Are we closer to God because we are standing? I just don't get it.
This past Sunday I chose not to stand for some of the songs. Partially because I have an aching right knee (prayers appreciated) and partially because I had some stuff on my mind that I was praying about. And I pray better sitting than standing.
A well-meaning young man in the congregation was prompting me to stand, and I had to politely tell him that I wasn't going to, which made me ask why do we do this anyway? In the current church era, the 20-minute song sets get a bit tiring on my aging legs. If I wanted to stand that long, I would go to a Pink Floyd concert and wave my lighter.
Seriously, does anyone know why we do this?
Monday, October 30, 2006
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Grave Robbing
One of my favorite movie scenes is in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" The plague comes to town and a man goes through the village with a cart collecting the dead so they can take them out of town to prevent the spread of this dread disease. A bit of a discussion ensues between the dead collector, the person carrying the dead person (who isn't dead yet) and the nearly dead person. You really have to watch the movie to see that scene. But it illustrates a larger point about dead things. You can't let them hang around. And you can't bring them back.
Colossians 3;3 speaks to this "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." We are dead in Christ. But so many of us keep digging up our old life and dragging it around, long after it was buried.
How many of you know people who have been in Christ for years, but keep dragging around hurts and injustices from back in the day? They hold onto them like prized possessions and get them out whenever they need a crutch. And that is another separate topic.
When we were born again, our past was nailed to Christ's cross. So whatever was done to us is gone, because it was done to a dead person. That is part of the victory we have in Christ. But we diminish that victory if we keep digging up the stinking corpse and strapping it to our bodies as a shield. It's gross, it smells, and no one will recognize it for what it once was.
Let the dead rest. Including all of the sins we committed and the ones committed against us. Christ paid the price and buried them. Leave them there.
Colossians 3;3 speaks to this "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." We are dead in Christ. But so many of us keep digging up our old life and dragging it around, long after it was buried.
How many of you know people who have been in Christ for years, but keep dragging around hurts and injustices from back in the day? They hold onto them like prized possessions and get them out whenever they need a crutch. And that is another separate topic.
When we were born again, our past was nailed to Christ's cross. So whatever was done to us is gone, because it was done to a dead person. That is part of the victory we have in Christ. But we diminish that victory if we keep digging up the stinking corpse and strapping it to our bodies as a shield. It's gross, it smells, and no one will recognize it for what it once was.
Let the dead rest. Including all of the sins we committed and the ones committed against us. Christ paid the price and buried them. Leave them there.
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