Do clothes really make the man?

For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.
 - 2 Corinthians 5:2-3 (NASB)

Today is confession day. In the 1980's and 90's, I was a bit of a clothes horse. Maybe I was celebrating the end of the 70's, and was overjoyed that I could do away with platform shoes and nylon shirts with Tony Manero-inspired designs.

Nylon, long, pointed collars...you know

The 80's was a dangerous time to be a fashion plate. There were several trends that, thankfully, didn't stand the test of time...I'm looking at you, leg warmers. No, I was into a more classic look for the most part, but I did integrate enough of the 'now' stuff to make it cool. One of my big limitations was funding. You just can't dress out when you have a minuscule budget. I'm sure my mom wasn't the only one who said, "You've got champagne tastes on a beer budget."

So what's a young airman to do? First, I scored a nice tweed blazer. It had neutral colors so I could wear it with a lot of different ensembles. One area that I did, sort of, splurge on? Sergio Valente jeans.

Simple logo - tight jeans

For decades, people have realized that jeans are the ultimate fashion accessory. I could wear my Sergio's with a t-shirt, with a button-down, with a shirt and tie - with or without a blazer, with sneakers, with loafers...the options were nearly endless.

So why the fascination with clothes?

Besides the relatively modern trend of showing out, there is the basic need for us to be covered in polite society. 

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

 - Genesis 3:7 (NASB)

From the beginning, humans have been worried about their clothes. Some would say that Adam and Eve ruined it for all of us. If it weren't for that fruit incident, clothes would never have been an issue.

Other than clothes, a lot of people worry about their houses. I see pictures on Facebook and elsewhere that friends post up, which illustrate beautiful homes, or kitchens, or even bathrooms. We loves us some big houses, don't we?

In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.

 - John 14:2 (NASB)

Photo courtesy of McMullen Real Estate

In fact, Christians are looking forward to having the great Century 21 agent in the sky hand us the keys to our mansion, right? The other day I posted a blog about the passing of our friend Sister Mary. I quoted Revelation 21:4, which says, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

So what could be more exciting to look forward to? We escape the pain, the tears, the heartache of this world, AND we get a big house. 

Wait a second...I'm not sure that's how it's going to work. Up at the top, I noted what Paul was talking about in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 - he was relating to us how, if we think about it, our eternal dwelling might not be the McMansion we are dreaming of. Instead, once we cast off our human bodies, as Sister Mary has, we will receive an imperishable one - the eternal body that we can look forward to.

To my non-Christian friends, this probably makes no sense at all. But if you believe that we each have a soul - something that makes us more than just a blob of water, tissue and epidermis - then that soul needs a dwelling once our time on this earth, and in this body, is finished.

What? No dress code?

Fortunately, once we get to Heaven, I don't think we will have to worry about the fashion mistakes we made in this life.

What do you think?

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The Stairway to Heaven

I grew up in the 70's. That's the 1970's, not the 1870's, as our young X-men may believe sometimes. If you grew up in the 70's you are aware of Led Zeppelin. I state that as a matter of fact. I suppose there may be people living in the Amazon rain forest who have not heard of Led Zeppelin, but they probably don't read my blog either.

In December 2012, Led Zeppelin reached the pinnacle of western civilization with their recognition by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Each year, JFKCPA selects a group of artists to honor. Their criteria reads, in part, "The Kennedy Center Honors provide recognition to living individuals who throughout their lifetimes have made significant contributions to American culture through the performing arts."

I was pleased for the band and amused at the cultural ironies involved. Then I learned David Letterman was being honored in the same program. Letterman and Zeppelin are not even in the same talent universe, but I didn't have a vote, so...

 Photo: Linda Davidson / The Washington Post via Getty Images

Jack Black was tapped to introduce the honorarium for Zeppelin.

The first two minutes of the video above contain Black's intro for the band, as well as the video montage that highlights a few of the reasons for their inclusion. In a statement that will have as many strident defenders as detractors, he names Led Zeppelin the best Rock and Roll Band on the planet - better than the Beatles, better than the Stones...

The encore of the evening is led by Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart singing Stairway to Heaven...

There has been a tremendous amount of discussion over the years regarding the meaning of the song, whether it contained satanic messages if played backwards, and whether Robert Plant would ever sing it again (which he did in 2007). What I see in the video above is perspective. Playing any song over and over again, night after night, no matter how good it is, must get old. The magic that Plant and Page caught in a bottle at Bron-Yr-Aur and Headley Grange back in 1970 had diminished over the decades. But on this night it was clear that distance had made the heart grow fonder. That is as much a testament to the greatness of the song as it is to the sterling performance by the Wilson sisters, Jason Bonham (son of the late Zeppelin drummer John), and the supporting orchestra.

Stairway to Heaven means a million things to a million people. Something else I noticed when viewing the performances of Zeppelin's songs: the audience. In particular, there is one lady who appears to be 'praising' during Stairway to Heaven, her hands raised, eyes closed. Others in the assemblage are also lost in the music.

Even more powerful to me were the reactions of the band. We can only wonder at the thoughts passing through the minds of Jimmy, Robert and John as they sat in their tuxedos, beside the President and other luminaries, listening to their anthem...what memories were playing out behind teary eyes? How many shows? How many faces in the crowd? How much pain and loss remembered as the familiar chords echoed across the auditorium?

If you watch the entire program you will hear Jack Black reiterate his challenge - his statement of fact - from the introduction: Best band...ever.

But for all their greatness, for all their amazing music, for all the wonder I have felt when listening to their songs...I know in my heart that Led Zeppelin do not stand at the foot of that stairway. John Bonham's death was tragic. Robert Plant's son's death was tragic. But Jesus' death on the cross was the most tragic event in human history, while at the same time the most powerful and uplifting. Because Jesus truly is our Stairway to Heaven.

This is not a popular sentiment. People get offended when you tell them there is only one way to get to Heaven. Just like the meaning of the song Stairway to Heaven, people want to define their own wisdom, their own understanding, their own path, their own truth. The disciple Thomas was a skeptic. In John 14:6 Jesus tells him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."

Yet later, in John 20:29, Thomas finally accepts the truth of things while being chastised just a touch when Jesus says, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."

Paul writes that when we accept Christ as our Savior, when we put our feet on the true Stairway to Heaven, we are to put off the old man and put on the new.

One of the things that seems to puzzle critics of the Church is how it can be filled with people who still sin. In 2001 I accepted Christ as my Savior. I had a real and personal experience that left me, like Thomas, with no doubt that Jesus is who He says He is. In the intervening years I have worked to be the man that God created me to be but I am still very much a work in progress. How can I be a Christian yet still listen to Led Zeppelin and wonder at the amazing talent and true giftedness of these four mortal men? As long as I don't put them ahead of God, I think I'm going to be okay there. The very first Commandment God gave us was that we were to have no other gods before Him. I've heard Zeppelin called the gods of rock. Look at the Kennedy Center audience again. There are some worshipping folks in that crowd.

But Led Zeppelin won't get you to Heaven, no matter how many times you play the song. The three surviving members of the band won't get you to Heaven, no matter how many honors they receive - no matter how much praise you give them. People talk about how great Heaven is going to be. They discuss who all will be there, wonder if they will get to see their favorite old dog again, and if their friends and family will greet them as they walk through those pearly gates. Over the years I've heard people talk about the music that will be made in Heaven by all the artists that have gone on before us. And perhaps they're right. Maybe Heaven will be a big party.

Who knows what the Stairway to Heaven will be...

All I know about Heaven is what's in the Bible. Near the end, John writes, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

The Bible also says that we will worship Him and any rewards we might get for things accomplished on Earth in His name will be cast at God's feet. I've heard folks say, "How boring if that's what Heaven is all about...just standing around and worshipping God for eternity."

From my perspective, trading in death, mourning, crying, and pain for an eternity in God's presence sounds pretty good to me. But hey; I'm still human. Maybe Led Zeppelin will be there. Who knows? But I'm not too worried about them playing for me. If they are there, they will be too busy playing for One who is much more worthy.

And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.

What do you think?

X

Space, the funeral frontier

I wrote a blog entitled Space...the final frontier (that we'll never get to?) on December 6, 2011. It was all about the seeming-impossibility of humankind ever traveling to a distant, earth-like planet, despite our best efforts to find one (or more). The catch is that the planets which seem to be good candidates are so far away that we'd all be dead before we could even get close.

                                         It sure is pretty out there...

This blog - which could be construed as a follow up to my December 6th missive - may offset the notion that we shouldn't bother looking for distant, habitable worlds. Why? Because, it seems, there are a fair number of people who will pay good money to send a few of their ashes into space. As this BBC article highlights, there are people dying just to get into orbit - never mind traveling to strange, new worlds.

There is no doubt that space is an amazing place. Having recently moved to northern AL, my wife and I have already taken the time to lay in the back yard at night and gaze up into the dusky heavens while pointing out the few constellations whose names we remember. For most of us, space is something we can see but never touch. Despite decades of enjoying Star Trek, Star Wars, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and countless other space-based offerings - including the Apollo missions - I know that I'll never get there. At least on this side of heaven.

Apparently this inability to actually get into space bugs some folks enough to shell out good money so that a tiny amount of ashen remains can be carried into space in varying degrees. I say varying degrees because there are several programs run by companies like Celestis; these programs range from shooting a tiny canister of your loved one's remains out of the atmosphere and giving the capsule or module to you after it returns to earth; to the more Trek-ish, the Voyager program is where you wave goodbye to that same small capsule/module as it heads off into deep space.

 

           These are the voyages of...some dead guy

As romantic as that sounds, I have my glass of cold water handy. Simply getting a capsule containing a single gram of ashes into space (defined as a zero-gravity environment) will cost you $995. Want a larger representative sample? To blast a module containing seven grams of ashes into space will cost you double that.

There are orbital and lunar options as well. But the creme de la creme is Celestis' Voyager program. Launching a single gram of ashen remains into deep space exploration will run $12,500; prefer the module option in which seven grams of ash can boldly go where no (dead) man has gone before? That'll be $25,000 please.

Twenty-five large - to send seven grams of ash hurtling into space?

I don't mean to be insensitive; I can definitely see the attraction. But especially after this 60 Minutes episode where it was discovered there is a fair amount of 3-card Monte going on with earthly remains in cemeteries all over the country, I'm not sure I'm up for spending the equivalent of a nicely equipped Toyota Camry on sending seven grams of my ashes into space. I mean, how do I know they won't just make a big to-do about putting my ashes in the capsule or module, give my loved one a nice plaque and go out back and dump me in the butt-can?

I know this may rain on some folks' parades but we're talking about someone who has already passed on to the happy hunting grounds, gone to be with their maker, risen into heaven or descended into Dante's Hot & Spicy. We're talking about spending a lot of money on shooting ashes into space.

I respect everyone's beliefs; I respect the fact that it may give someone closure or at least comfort to think of their loved one hurtling through the dark, airless vacuum of space. They can spend $25000 and believe that dear, sweet Harold (or Ethel) is in a better place, helping mankind chart the unknown reaches of space.

My belief is that when you die you are, well, dead. Whatever is left of your human form is a lifeless shell bereft of anything you may have been during your life. Burning that shell and shooting a portion of it off into space may sound romantic but what about the important part?

What about the soul of the person who has passed? Where is that?

In my opinion, it would be better to spend your money on taking care of your soul - and the souls of others - than worrying about these fleshy modules we inhabit here on earth.

What do I believe? God has already got a place in the heavens for me when I die. When it's my time, I won't need Celestis or anyone else to blast me into the heavens. I'll already be there.

Sorry about that old capsule I left behind...

What do you think?

X

That's it - you're off!

It's Sunday. No one wants to think about Hell.

Sunday is about Heaven. I'm not going to cast aspersions on anyone's interpretation of Scripture but in my opinion, there are far too many who believe that by going to church on Sunday, they can make up for a multitude of sins committed between Monday and Saturday.

Church becomes the limbo bar that we duck under to avoid paying the penalty for our sin(s). Hell is the inexorable stone door that modern culture has taught us we can avoid with some effort and a little luck.

Indy loses his whip, but we all know what happens...

Not hardly. I can go to church every Sunday of my life and it won't make a bit of difference as to my eternal place in this universe. From conversations I've been a part of the big stumbling block for most people is: Why would a loving God consign His children to a bottomless pit of fire and misery forever?

I'm not in any way intending to make light of a very serious subject, but in effect, anyone who does not accept Christ as their Savior (read John 14:6 to get started on the need for Jesus), gets shown the eternal red card.

In sports and in life, there's always a ref

From the rule book of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association):

A player, substitute or substituted player is sent off and shown the red card if he commits any of the following seven offences:

1. Is guilty of serious foul play
2. Is guilty of violent conduct
3. Spits at an opponent or any other person
4. Denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area)
5. Denies an obvious goal scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick
6. Uses offensive or insulting or abusive language and/or gestures
7. Receives a second caution in the same match

In football (the real kind), a caution is also known as a yellow card. So above, you have the immediate sending off offenses and below are the ones you can commit once and get away with it, but do it twice and you're off!

A player is cautioned and shown the yellow card if he commits any of the following seven offences:

1. Is guilty of unsporting behavior
2. Shows dissent by word or action
3. Persistently infringes the Laws of the Game
4. Delays the restart of play
5. Fails to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick, free kick or throw-in
6. Enters or re-enters the field of play without the referee’s permission
7. Deliberately leaves the field of play without the referee’s permission

Go back and read those again (please)...

Now, think of God as the referee and all of us as the players.

In the caution department, I can't count the number of times I've been guilty of unsporting behavior in life. I have shown dissent, persistently infringed the laws of the game (Ten Commandments) and done many things without the referee's permission. So from that alone, I have earned more than one caution and deserve to be sent off. 

In football, getting a straight red is not helpful to the team. It leaves your mates a man down and at a distinct disadvantage for the remainder of the game. In the realm of bookable offenses, I like to think that I've not been that bad. But in my younger days I was guilty of foul play, violent conduct and abusive language and gestures. I would have had no leg to stand on if God had decided that He'd had enough and showed me the red.

"That's not fair!" you shout. "We have no way of knowing for sure if God is who you say he is. And besides that if I haven't even played the game I don't deserve to be punished!"

All great points. I'm not here to judge anyone. I'm just sharing what I think about this whole Heaven and Hell thing. My understanding is that Hell was not created for us to begin with. Although Revelation 20:15 indicates that anyone who's name is not found in the Book of Life is cast into the Lake of Fire, I don't think that counts as an eternity of torment for those who did not accept Christ in this life. I'm just guessing, but the Lake of Fire sounds like an eternal red card: you're out of the game.

There also seems to be a lot of chatter about how unfair it is that people who don't even know about Jesus can end up getting shown the red through no fault of their own. For that particular point, I typically refer to Matthew 24:14 which indicates that everyone will get the chance to hear and make a decision.

I believe that God is a God of love. He is like our earthly parents. Our parents punish us when we mess up but always give us another chance. We get things that we don't deserve and we don't get things that we do (deserve). Getting things we don't deserve can be called Grace. and not getting things that we do deserve can be called Mercy. 

I'm not a bad guy. I work hard, I do the best I can to support my family and be a good husband and father; I'm like billions of other people on this planet. Nothing about me is special except for one thing:

I have accepted that Jesus was/is the earthly Son of God and that he died on the cross for my sins and then defeated death so that I, too, might defeat death at the end of my days here. In other words, I may be guilty of multiple red card offenses but through Jesus, I've escaped a lifetime ban.

You can believe that I'm crazy or whatever you prefer to think. God can't be defined in a blog. All I can do is share what I think and hope that spurs a dialog about what others believe.

So, what do you think?

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