let there be light

Today I discovered my new favorite Christmas song of. all. time.  Buy the song on iTunes and/or check out these lyrics by Ross Byrd of High Street Hymns (in Charlottesville!):

One Winter's Night

If only that which is assumed could ever be redeemed

Then come to us within a womb; be born and wash out feet

And not our feet alone we pray but everything we know

That thou O Love would come and stay and all our sorrows go

Yet thou will not be welcomed here, still Love please come and be

Our refuge, wipe away our tears though we will murder thee

But darkness only turns to day if You become the night

And we on You our darkness lay that it be swallowed in light

The gods we trusted and became will find no solace here

Beside his creatures low and lame the Son of God appears

A thousand years of "progress" past, a million hearts beguiled

Now Love alone will reign and last within one little child

O Love, make a way, come find us

Search the darkness, light the way, come and guide us Home

Oh the sunrise burns the night away

Find us, find us

Blessed One, born today, come and find us

Search the darkness, light the way, come and guide us Home

One winter's night begins eternal summer morn

If only You are born

Those words have ruined me for cheesy Christmas music.  Beautiful.  I listened to this song on repeat yesterday--no less than 25 times--and then found myself in tears throughout the day

when the single woman on a TV drama underwent in vitro while a sick little boy lay in a hospital bed without parents

when a friend told me about a marriage that is failing

when I read about women who are still enslaved in brothels

And it just struck me again and again how much we need this LIGHT that has come!

to dispel our darkness...

 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

to come and find us..

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

   and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you. 

Psalm 139:11-12

to put His light in us...

“I will keep you and will make you
   to be a covenant for the people
   and a light for the Gentiles,
⁷ to open eyes that are blind,
   to free captives from prison
   and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness."

Isaiah 42:6-7

You are the light of the world.

Matthew 5:18

The power of the Incarnation is that in Jesus, the Kingdom of Light breaks in and dispels the darkness of broken humanity. 

As Simon Tugwell has put it, "He has followed us into our own darkness."

In Jesus, we have hope that things will not always be as they are, that as C.S. Lewis so masterfully wrote, it will not be "always winter and never Christmas."  That all things will be set right when this Heavenly King returns, once and for all.  That all of our longing is stirring up anticipation for Him.  That the light of the Son continues to shine in us, His Church, even as we wait.

"One winter's night begins eternal summer morn, if only You are born"--what a thought!

 
You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

Psalm 18:28

New article about adoption and my friend Svitlana

My latest article is posted at www.myMISSIONfulfilled.com. You can read it here.

This month, I got to write about my friend Svitlana, who has an amazing testimony. Svieta grew up in an orphanage in Ukraine and was later adopted--by not just one, but TWO families, one of which is the Causey family, dear friends of mine from Forest Hills Baptist Church in Nashville! Svieta is leveraging all that God's given her in some pretty cool ways. She will inspire you!

And as always, if you know women in their 20s and 30s, let them know about My Mission Fulfilled!

Thanks for reading!

love,
Chelsea

Rwanda On My Mind

My sweet friend Sarah is on mission trip to Rwanda this week and next, so I've been praying for her a lot these past few days (and of course the Pat Green/Texas On My Mind reference is in her honor!). I even made an "Africa" playlist on my Pod to listen to while she's away! I'm especially excited about her time in Rwanda because that's where my Food for the Hungry sponsored child, Nishimwe, lives! (You can find out more about Nishimwe and FH's ministry here.) Look for more of Sarah's stories from the road when she returns...

As if my heart weren't a little bit in Rwanda this week anyway (because of Sarah and Nishimwe), my roommate told me last night about the coolest story I've heard in a long time. A Furman grad she knows from college has made a documentary called As We Forgive that's playing tonight in Nashville and this weekend in Franklin about the aftermath of the Rwanda racial genocide. Apparently, the government has released roughly 50,000 Hutu war criminals because of insufficient funds to continue paying for their incarceration. But where are these men--who are responsible for the brutal rape and murder of hundreds of thousands of Tutsi citizens-- supposed to live? Among the family members of their victims, in the villages where they lived before the genocide. It is a horrific thing, but in the midst of such terrible circumstances, Tutsis are choosing to forgive. It's an End of the Spear kind of story, except instead of four families, it's many families. Reconcilliation is healing Rwanda. You can learn more about the film and its makers (and the accompanying book by the same title) here.

Immediately after I read the Furman alumni magazine's article on As We Forgive last night, I received an e-mail from my second cousin, Karen. She and her husband are in the process of adopting a precious little girl from China, and she informed me that they are considering a second adoption through a program in Rwanda! This is exciting news because I've never heard of anyone adoptiong from the war ravaged country...I think it has probably been pretty difficult in the past, so I'm encouraged to learn that perhaps God is making a way--and that my family members will be part of the process of Rwandan healing! You can read Karen's blog here.

And here's another cool tidbit: DailyCandy, an e-mail service that alerts subscribers to great deals and fun things to do in various large cities, sent a plug for Blue Marble ice cream. The NY based ice creamery is planning to open a philanthropic shop in Rwanda, of all places! Read more and donate here. (You may have to register your e-mail before you can view the link, but the e-mails are amazing, so it's worth it!)

The way God brings things to our attention is so profound to me. I'm praying for Rwanda, for His Spirit to be made known there more and more, and for eyes to see how I'm called to be a part of what He's doing.

Adoption Stories

Hey, friends!

My most recent article is up and ready to be read at myMISSIONfulfilled.com. You can read it here. I feel so blessed to get PAID to write about things that are close to my heart, and this article is a perfect example. When my editor wrote to offer me the assignment, she said, "please just tell me if you hate this but...I need someone to write about adoption..." I told her that I didn't hate it at all; in fact, I LOVED the topic! And when I asked her how she felt about my interviewing my friends (not exactly kosher in hard-hitting journalism) and she said "Go for it!" I felt especially blessed to be not only writing what I love, but interviewing people I love (and not having to conform to the standards of "good" journalism)!

I'm so excited for you to read the stories of my dear friends, the Tims and the Takamotos. I just know you will be so blessed by their hearts for their kids, their ministries, and adoption in general. Both families are such a beautiful picture of the gospel in my life, and I know you'll be inspired by them, too! (Read more posts about adoption and about a brilliant sermon Rob gave last summer at FHBC here.)

And here's another shameless plug for the site (you knew it was coming!): please let the young women in your life about myMISSIONfulfilled! There are lots of great Bible study and ministry resources, along with stories of missionaries on the field at home and abroad.

Thanks for reading!

Food For the Hungry in Rwanda

Sponsoring a child through Compassion International while I was in college was an incredible experience. I loved corresponding with Carmela, a little girl in the Philippines, and knowing that my small monthly gift was providing her family with a better life.

When I studied abroad in Italy, I was no longer able to support Carmela...but Compassion International was able to find her a new sponsor quickly. After a hiatus from child sponsorship that lasted much too long, I decided to sponsor a child through Food for the Hungry this year. I learned of FH at the Art* Music* Justice tour's stop in Franklin this fall, and I have loved learning more about the organization's efforts not just to care for children, but to revolutionize entire communities.

My sponsored child, a nine-year-old girl named Nishimwe, lives in Gisanga, Rwanda, a community highly affected by AIDS. Nishimwe spends several hours each day carrying large jugs of water from a shallow well. Many people in her village suffer from worms, malaria, and malnutrition. But thanks to FH she has an opportunity to attend school and will receive adequate food and health care, and her community will see first-hand the love of Christ.

Sara Groves and her family have partnered with FH in hopes of finding a sponsor for every child living in Nishimwe's community. Sarah and her husband have been in Gisanga this month, and she will be writing about their time there on her blog.

If you're interested in partnering with the Groves in Gisanga, or in sponsoring a child with Food for the Hungry in another part of the world, you can learn more here.

A Prodigal Father and His Less-than-loving Sons

I just love it when I learn of a great author or teacher, and then start hearing about him or her everywhere I turn. Tim Keller has been like that for me recently.

Keller, the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan, made an appearance at a local church last night to talk about his new book, The Prodigal God. Listening to him speak from an overflow room (the church was literally packed out), I was easily persuaded that far more than promoting book sales, this man's heart was to see Christians live in such a way that their faith would be attractive to the world. I'm not talking about seeker-sensitive services or programs, but about real heart-change that is contagious. I was convicted and encouraged beyond belief.

Keller's new book is called The Prodigal God. I had heard before (in a sermon at my church in Richmond) that prodigal means "recklessly or wastefully extravagant; lavish." Of course the adjective could very well refer to the story's younger son, who indeed spent his father's wealth wastefully. But a second glance reveals that it is the father who is most reckless with his wealth and his love. Therefore, the parable would be better titled "The Prodigal Father." (Keep in mind, of course, that the headings in our Bibles were not part of the Divinely inspired writings, but rather an addition of editors who compiled the Canon centuries later.)

Explaining the application of the parable, Keller said that the rebellious Christian (the younger brother, who skipped town with his inheritance) and the legalist (the older brother who stuck around and did the right thing) sit in the same pew at church on Sundays...and unfortunately "both sons want the Father's things and not the Father." As Keller put it, one brother tries to be good and one is rebellious, but both are "outside of the feast." And at the end of the story, it's the bad boy who is saved while the good boy is so proud of his good works that he refuses to come into the feast. Keller pleaded with the audience to learn from the illustration of the older brother, who is too proud and too bitter to have compassion over his lost brother. To be a true older brother, he said, "you've got to be humbled to the dust but know that you're loved to the sky!"

This parable, meant to indict the Pharisees (and now us!) as "older brother" types isn't the only place in the New Testament where where we see the distinction between the rebellious son and the legalist. We see the Pharisee contrasted with the tax collector and the harlot again and again throughout Jesus' ministry. It seems God loves to ransom the most hopeless cases! The way He does this, according to Keller, is by sending a true older brother, His Son Jesus, with whom we are co-heirs of the Kingdom (Romans 8:17).

Keller told the story of a man whose younger brother was lost in Vietnam during the war. The older brother flew to Vietnam and went out into the jungle in search of his lost brother, and both the U.S. and the Communist troops so respected his commitment to his family that they allowed him to search unharmed. He explained that the true older brother goes after his younger brother, and at his own expense! And surely we need an "older brother" who flies not just from the States to Vietnam, but from Heaven to earth. The only way we can be brought back into the family, to join the feast, is at His expense.

At the end of the story, when the younger brother returns, the father puts a robe and a ring on him. The ring, Keller said, can only be a signet ring, the marking of association with a certain family in ancient culture. So, the father is adopting this lost son back into his family. Obviously it's a perfect picture of God's extravagant, reckless love toward those of us to belong to him because He has adopted us as sons (Romans 8:23).

Oh that we might hear the Father say to us "My son (or daughter), you are always with me and everything I have is yours" (Luke 5:31) so that we may rejoice when a younger brother returns home!



*Keller's podcasts can be downloaded for free from the iTunes store, and you can listen to his defense of faith in God (an Authors@Google talk) on youtube.com. I haven't been able to locate a talk on the Prodigal God anywhere online, so let me know if you come across something!

Adoption

On the topic of adoption (Ephesians 1), this article [click here to read] by Steven Curtis Chapman on CNN.com is a good read. Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, recently lost their youngest daughter in a tragic accident in their driveway here in Nashville. Chapman addresses the issue of adoption beautifully--and I'll commend to you again Rob's sermon from a few weeks ago as an even more detailed explanation of the biblical mandate to adopt (see my post on Ephesians 1 for a link to the podcast).

Even though I'm not in a place to actually adopt, the article and the sermon have compelled me to start back up with Compassion International this fall. See www.compassion.com for information about sponsoring a child.

Glorious Grace: Thoughts from Ephesians 1

I've been making my way through the book of Ephesians this summer, and it is rich with truth about God's grace. In the first chapter of his letter to the dearly beloved church at Ephesus, Paul lays out some weighty spiritual principals, namely, the idea of predestination. The modern Church has struggled with the implications of the idea that God himself chose before time those to whom He would impart grace--this is one of those places the gospel is especially offensive--but it seems to me that there is no other plausible explanation for our faith. If we are not able in and of ourselves to come to God; if, as Christianity suggests, we have fallen from relationship with Him because of the nature of sin, then it seems only logical that nothing but His grace, His choosing, could save us. Since I don't have the time or space here to go into the Scriptural arguments for reformed theology, and since I'm certainly no expert on the matter, let's suffice to say that Ephesians points clearly to predestination, and Paul's claim to that end negates several expressed and unexpressed ideologies of the current age.

Paul writes, "for he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure and will--to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves" (Ephesians 1:4-6).

Of course this is one brief passage, but there are many others throughout scripture that support predestination. (For scripture specifically using the word "predestined," see Romans 8:29 and 8:30 and Ephesians 1:11; for scripture alluding to the concept, read almost any part of the Biblical text with critical eye.) Looking at this passage alone, I find it hard to understand how some can proclaim open theism, or, the belief that God is in some way limited in knowing the outcome of His creation. Verse eleven negates this idea, as well: "In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will." (I am reminded of a favorite Caedmon's Call song, in which the lyrics go, Cause You knew how you'd save me before I fell dead in the Garden, and You knew this day long before You made me out of dirt. And You know the plans You have for me. And You can't plan the ends and not plan the means.)

Equally difficult to fathom is the current vernacular regarding salvation in most mainline churches; the emphasis has become about us and our choice as opposed to God's choosing us in Christ. For more on this subject, listen to my friend Rob's sermon "To the Praise of His Glory!" which was perfectly timed with my own study of Ephesians. [Clicking here will redirect you to the church website, where you can download a podcast.] I love the phraseology Rob uses to explain predestination: "God's before-time decision versus our real-time decision." Another consequence of the dismissal of reformed theology is that many of us act as though the salvation of those around us were dependent on us and our competencies. We rely far too little on God to do the work and see ourselves not as vessels of God's grace, but as those burdened with the impossible task of convincing people of their need for God. In reality, we cannot convince them. We are utterly incapable of doing the work except that God works through us. It is His work.

Of course, the criticism of reformed theology is that it breeds lazy Christians who don't understand the value of working for the Harvest. But a correct understanding of predestination, I would argue, includes that we are indeed called to be diligent ambassadors of Christ's grace, doing so with humility and reliance on Him to soften the hearts of those whom He has called.

Moving on from that lengthy tangent, another thing that struck me in studying Ephesians 1 was the implications for the Kingdom, specifically what some theologians have referred to as the "already/not yet" nature of the Kingdom. Having studied the Sermon on the Mount with Greek InterVarsity at the University of Richmond this past semester, I'm kind of on a "Kingdom" kick. In verses 9 and 10, Paul writes, "And he made know to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ." In other words, because Christ came and brought a new vision of what holy living looked like (see Matthew 5-7 for a description), we are already enacting the Kingdom by following Christ, thereby allowing His lordship to reign on earth as He reigns in our lives. But at the same time, we are awaiting the glory of the Kingdom that has not yet reached its fulfillment.

Another theme that stands out to me from this first chapter is that of the Trinitarian essence of God. The other day, I was expressing to my friend Goodie my desire to write youth curriculum on the nature of God. She shared that in a seminary course she took recently, her professor emphasized the importance of dwelling on the Trinity as the primary aspect of God's nature and then seeking to discover His attributes (i.e. loving, faithful, etc.), which are secondary. (I believe the early Christians talked about this idea in terms of the essence of God, or His ineffable person, and the energies of God, those qualities we can define.) It was interesting to look back at my notes from Ephesians after our conversation and see that the Lord had revealed something similar to me through Paul's words. He mentions each Person of the Trinity, and then describes their functions in grace. Here is a brief laundry list: the Father blesses us, chose us in Christ, predestined us in love, lavished grace upon us, and made His will known. Christ is the One God loves, our redemption, our forgiveness, the riches of grace, the mystery of God's will, the one head who chose us with the Father. The Holy Spirit is a seal that marks us and a deposit guaranteeing our salvation. More on Ephesians later...

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know Him better" (Ephesians 1:17).