On Identity, Prologue: Introducing A Topic So Pervasive That Challenging Any Part Of It Likely Will Trigger Angry Responses

I'll cut to the chase: I'm a loyalist.

So.... what does that mean, exactly?

Part of my returning to the blog this year and reshaping my blogging picture includes reposting old posts from previous eras of my life. After some thought, I recently added four posts regarding my political perspective journey, with the fourth one culminating with some convictions I've had from the beginning.

For reference, here are the links to the four posts, in chronological order:

April 18, 2005: The night I officially became a liberal

June 14, 2009: The night I officially became a conservative

November 3, 2010: The night I officially became a moderate

September 3, 2012: Re: politics: underneath, I've always been this way

I imagine that the casual reader just glancing at those four headlines might think I'm either a lunatic or a flip-flopper. While I don't think I'm a lunatic, I could see why one might think I'm a flip-flopper. After all, I have flip-flopped my perspective on various topics from time to time. Specifically, I think both capitalism and socialism have merits. I also have things I don't like about either economic system. That said, I'm not as market-inclined as many other people are. I don't know how stocks work, and I'm not sure I care all that much. So, regarding economics, I simply pray and wait, and I don't opine on this. (At least not any more than I just did.)

There is also something to be said for feeling pressure to care about topics I don't care about. For example, I also don't particularly care about the topic of drugs, specifically around legalization or criminalization. The simple reason is that I don't use drugs. I've never used, and I don't ever plan to use. I have concerns about use of drugs in general in that they have addictive qualities, many of which tend to be destructive. To wit: the younger brother of a classmate of mine died of a heroin overdose a couple years ago. He was only 26. I resonate with that. But with the topic of, say, marijuana, I've heard arguments on both sides: 1.) marijuana is a drug and therefore should be illegal. 2.) marijuana is no more destructive than alcohol is, and alcohol is lawful for a consumption base of mature age. As far as I'm concerned, both arguments sound valid to me, and I'm in no rush to cast my own judgment. Not yet, anyway.

There are of course many other topics that I feel similar about. I'm not going to rush to judgment on any of those things, either. A few things I learned from my young-adult days: 1.) I chose to develop opinions on all sorts of topics, not because I particularly cared about them (although some things I did care and still do care about); 2.) when I did so, I found myself really angry any time politics or general news came up; 3.) in my anger and in my fear, I developed an "us" vs "them" mindset regarding the people around me that I now realize robbed me of the opportunity to get to know more of them, to make more friends (and even to date a few people that I think may have been interested in me...); 4.) I did all these things because I wanted to belong (i.e. "fit in") with certain select groups of people that at one point were in my life when I was in an especially rough season.

I look at some of these things I decided to form opinions about, and learned that I was also forming an identity in the process. The truth is, what one thinks and what one believes is a key part of one's identity. It is off this point that I now introduce a new topic series, one on a topic so pervasive that challenging any part of what people consider their identity will likely trigger angry responses.

I get it: identities are personal. Let's first admit the obvious: my identity is personal to me. Your identity is personal to you. His or her identity is personal to him or her. And so on.

I imagine the next question then goes like this: why, then? Why dare challenge people on what they think their identity is? Why challenge them with what you think their identity should be? They've been through enough. Let them be. Let them do what they want.

Well, that's actually the point. "Let them do what they want." And the questioner would be right; I cannot force anyone to change his or her mind. (I learned that the hard way regarding a disagreement that I actually cared a lot about, and one that had nothing to do with politics!) And from my human point of view: it is so incredibly hard, especially when I want someone to see something that I see that is important to me, even critically so. I don't think there is a human alive who doesn't have that view.

"Let them do what they want." Here's the thing: our choices affect ourselves. (OK, so what?) Our choices affect others. (So?) Even though we are not responsible for others' choices, our own choices can and do also affect choices that they make. Um, yes, that's right. And, whether or not you believe in God, let alone Jesus as the Messiah, our choices affect Him. Doesn't matter if you don't believe. He still exists and is affected by what you do and don't do. Our choices affect not only our futures but also our eternities. And what informs our choices? Our identities, or namely, what we believe it to be. What we think of ourselves affects what we do, and consequently affects (even if minuscule) what others think of themselves, as well as their choices. From there, it is a never-ending chain reaction of choices and responses. As such, we really are in this together, which ironically I suspect is an opinion of those who also hold the belief "let them do what they want."

"Let them do what they want." But... "we are (also) in this together." Hmm... Is there anyone alive who really believes only one of these statements but not the other? There is more to excavate from this, but I think I best save that for another post.

To circle back to the question from the beginning of this post that I've left open this whole time: even though one reason I might flip my perspective on various topics is particularly because I don't care to be rushed to form a passionate opinion on it, I also will change my perspective based on who I'm forming friendships and close relationships with. The fact is, I have friends on both sides of the political aisle that I care about and tend to be loyal to. I care about and am loyal to my Democratic-voting friends who just want all people to be treated fairly (and in my words, to be treated well). And I care about and am loyal to my conservative-voting friends who want our nation to be restored to what we were when we were at least trying to follow the Bible, when we were trying to trust God, when we were also following a system (one laid out by the Constitution) that, at least for a while did honestly and truly work, and can work again. And in each case of friends on one side of the political aisle or the other, what I do hear is a common cry for us all to do better. (Common ground! What a concept!)

I agree with all of you. I think we can and ought to do better. To that end, my two fundamental views are this: 1.) the Bible is the Word of God (and a reliable history book); and 2.) people matter (their lives, their dreams, their wishes, etc). Even though I also care about several other topics, they pale in comparison to these two truths, or fit under these two truths. And when I engage with my various friends in terms of talking about what's going on around us, I owe it to each and every one of them to listen to them and hear what they have to say. I don't have to agree with what is said or even to understand it. (As a matter of fact, that's a great opportunity to ask them further questions!)

I will close this post by linking you to another post I wrote a decade ago on how I felt about the state of our nation:

September 29, 2009: A message to politicians and politically-inclined people

My message: I believe our nation is in serious trouble, folks, and have for many years. And if I thought we were in trouble in 2009, I believe that in 2019 we are in even worse trouble. Not explicitly because of who's in office (although I know many I'm connected to believe strongly about it), but because of how all 300+ million of us have progressed in our attitudes, our beliefs, and yes, in our identities.

More to come.

The truth about temptation and confusion

This post's theme is more under the line of "an oldie but a goodie" ...

I had an exchange with a friend just yesterday that involved me asking him a question about something I was confused by (specifically my confusion was regarding if I heard from someone else what I thought I had heard). His response confirmed what I'd known all along, which also confirmed that I could basically throw out what I wasn't sure if I heard or not.

I'm being cryptic for confidentiality's sake.

I'd had a rough few days, in part because of my confusion that dated back to the beginning of the week, which led into temptation over those few days. Both the confusion and temptation, however, were broken once I heard from my friend what had been true all along. As I was driving home, I started praising Jesus by repeatedly declaring: "I declare that Jesus is bigger than my circumstances!" "I declare that Jesus is bigger than my fear!" "I declare that Jesus is bigger than my worries!" Because, especially during the day yesterday which had a bunch of little things happen that stirred up my fear of lack of security in my life (and especially for my future), and activated my desire to control every little thing around me. And I was angrily yelling at Jesus basically the opposite of what I finally declared at the end of the night.

So why is this an oldie but a goodie? Because while I was thanking Jesus, I repeated a verse that has been inscribed in my mind and heart for almost a decade now: "Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away." James 1:14, New Living Translation. (It's hard for me to prove it, but this passage I typed from memory, unlike most that I post. Usually I go to Biblegateway.com and copy and paste the verse from there.)

Furthermore, when I went on Facebook, one of my friends posted as his verse of the day the verse that immediately preceded it: (this one I will copy and paste from Biblegateway.com) "When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;" James 1:13, New International Version. (This one I did look up.)

Often when I have experiences like this where I come across one Biblical truth from one source, and then shortly after hear the same thing again from a different source (or something similar), it's a clear signal that that's Jesus was and is trying to get my attention.

Not many verses are written in my heart where I know it verbatim (or close to it) plus book, chapter number, and verse number. There are many where I can approximate the gist of the passage and then a vague reference like "it's in the Gospels somewhere", or "it's in Psalms somewhere", etc. The origins of this section of the book of James (James 1:12-18) came from a time basically a decade ago when my own obsessive desires were affecting my life to the point that they were beyond unmanageable. Specifically, I had a friend who was the object of said desires who I visited (she lives in a different part of the country from me), and in my time there I experienced a lot of fear, anxiety, and pain. In the end it was clear that, as a key early step in God's restoration project that was my mind and heart, she needed to be removed from my life. The passage from James 1:12-18, specifically about temptation, about the fact that our own desires can and often do lead us into sin, and if we take it far enough, to spiritual death, spoke directly to that. It hurt. A lot, I might add. But it was also an opportunity for Biblical truth to be rubber-stamped in my being.

As a side note, the other verse that was stamped into my being at the same time was Romans 5: "not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, for suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope is not in vain, for God poured out His love in us. And while we were still His enemies, He sent Jesus to die for us. You may or may not die for even a good person, although you might if that person was especially good. But Jesus died for us while we were still sinners."

I'm pretty sure that isn't verbatim. But it's close. Because I don't want to misrepresent the Bible in any way, below is the exact passage:

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

Romans 5:3-8, NIV

Kinda-sorta. It has been a while since I last came across this verse. I'm glad I posted the correct version. But even with my so-so-at-best take on it, you can see how certain seasons when certain verses are used for my growth, I'll remember the at least the important parts.

The story continues. Even since last night, I've had two interactions, one last night and one this morning that I'm bookmarking and keeping my eye on. Potential signs that may or may not answer the "now what?" question that often accompanies periods of temptation and confusion.

Some revelations on Revelation

I'm finding I'm beginning more and more Bible-intensive posts with disclaimers. This post will not be an exception.

I don't spend a lot of time thinking about the end times, nor the book of Revelation. For starters, its contents are tricky. Whereas the entire rest of the Bible consists of accounts from the past, or letters written in the past about a situation that was present at that given time, the last book in the Bible reads as a record of a vision someone had regarding events yet to happen. At worst, it gives rise to my retort "how many 'winners' who write history books write about the future?" (regarding the phrase "the winners write the history books")

At any rate, this book -- I think more than any other -- has served as a lightning rod for the question that many skeptics have had of the Bible's reliability, and debates that have stirred up as a result. I do think there are legitimate questions, given that this is a record of a vision a man named John had. Having spent almost the last decade attending a church where prophecy and prophetic prayer is a key part of our ministry, I can definitively say that prophecy is tricky. It really is. Primarily, we have to interpret it rightly, and us humans often get the interpretation wrong, especially if we don't know the history of the Bible and the history of how God had shown up both in Biblical history and in our own lives. I've often received prophetic words and visions, only for me to realize that they don't apply to me. (We have learned as a church to be very intentional and upfront about adding disclaimers.) But, I will also stress that I have also had experiences -- usually more so with commands regarding how to handle a situation or a friendship -- where I experienced that God has spoken clearly, and I too have seen how my following through (or not following through) resulted in the consequences that they did.

Regarding the book of Revelation, though, we also have had preacher after preacher predicting the end of time based on mathematical formulae, and each time having been proved wrong. Embarrassing. As it well should be. After all, Jesus Himself made it clear: "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36 AND Mark 13:32, New International Version)

So when I look at this last book in the Bible -- which isn't often, mind you -- I do so knowing that I have no clue as to the timeline of when and how all these things recorded in the prophetic vision will happen. I do believe that what is described in Revelation 12:1-6 did indeed happen on September 23, 2017. I even posted about it. (You can see it here.) But that's it.

But a headline about New York City deporting homeless people to other states woke up my conscience. I did check to see that it was a real headline. The first article is courtesy of the New York Post; the second article is courtesy of New York's NBC TV station. I won't go into a whole lot of depth about the content of these articles, but they both state that the city has been sending homeless people away on one-way tickets to places like Hawaii and Mississippi.

What prompted me to post about this at all (after all, I don't think about the end times a whole lot, and I don't read the book of Revelation a whole lot) was a recent string of posts on Facebook from a friend of mine who thinks a lot about the end times. Has for years. The one post that jumped out for me, though, referenced FEMA and guillotines in the same sentence. Earlier this year I had a conversation with another friend who had said that FEMA has ordered a mass number of guillotines, over the last couple of years. If that sounds scary, it's because it is. A simple Google search with the words "FEMA guillotines youtube" revealed the following results: Guillotines at US Military Bases ; One Man's Opinion on FEMA's Welcoming Campaign ; FEMA Receiving 16,000 Guillotines From Mexico ... (these are just a few of the results, three out of like 20,100 results, according to the aforementioned Google search)

I'm not going to go on record and say that this is absolutely what's happening. In this video, PNN appears to set the record straight about US law on lawful execution, basically that there is no US law that allows it. However, the following verse from Revelation says this (boldface mine):

I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4, New International Version

It seems clear that those who stay true to the cause of Jesus and the cause of following Him will at some point, either in the near future or a few generations down the road, will face this fate. I don't know that this specifically says that the homeless being deported will also face this fate -- if anything, it doesn't seem to suggest it at all -- but I then come across the following passage:

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.
Revelation 6:9-11, New International Version

As I've mentioned in the past, I've seen persons with signs asking for money at street intersections. Over the last year especially, I feel like Jesus has brought them more and more to my attention. Usually I've avoided them. Sometimes I'll give something. In the past, I've chatted up a guy or two. While I was living in Rogers Park I often came across a guy named "Tom" in a wheelchair at the intersection of Howard, Western, and Asbury. When he was out there and I stopped at a red light, I would chat him up and ask how he's doing. When he wasn't out on the street, I sometimes saw him hang out inside the Starbucks.

But generally I don't really know what to do. My defense against giving these folks anything is that 1.) it won't really help them (specifically referring to the folks I've seen out there for months, perhaps years); 2.) if I keep giving and giving, eventually I'll be broke like them. But, in June I had a couple experiences -- where I ended up avoiding interacting with the person -- that spoke to me my own failure of conscience regarding using what I had to help them. One of them was a guy holding a sign that said "bad back, need help", a mere few weeks after my back really went bad.

Today as I post this, I still don't know what to do. I've been getting myself to give a little more often, particularly if an individual does catch my attention. But, in going back to the passage from Revelation 6, I can't help but wonder how many of these people could also be counted among those referenced.

Finally, a stern warning from Jesus:

The Sheep and the Goats 

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” 

Matthew 25:31-46, New International Version

I don't think there is anything more that can be said right now.

Debunking common myths about seasons

Growing up, I was taught that there were four seasons. There is truth to that. But one thing I've discovered as an adult is that I was long under the impressions that each season was equal in length: spring went three months (March, April, and May); summer went three months (June, July, and August); fall went three months (September, October, and November); and winter went three months (December, January, February).

I can definitively say that that's not true. March is definitely a winter month. September is definitely still a summer month. Fall (or autumn, if you prefer to call it that), based on what I've seen, lasts two weeks, more or less the last two weeks of October. Spring also is short, albeit much more variable. This year spring actually lasted a while, from sometime in late-April through late-June.

What I've concluded is that winter and summer are the long seasons, and spring and fall are the short seasons. It's reflected also in the rate of change of how much sunlight we get. I consulted a chart many years ago, from which I deduced that the days are really long from about May 1 to August 15, really short from about November 1 to February 15 (both spans of 3/12 months), and then either rapidly get longer or shorter over 2 1/2 month spans. You can find the chart "here"...

If I were a teacher in school and had to teach the subject of seasons, here is what I would tell my pupils:

1. summer lasts about 4 months (more or less from the beginning of June to the end of September and perhaps even into October).
2. winter lasts about 5 months (sorry! but it's true! from the beginning of November to mid-April sometime).
3. fall lasts really about two weeks, but longer depending of the length of the foliage season.
4. spring can last about a month or two, depending on how long winter hangs on, how much rain we get, among other things.

And most importantly:

The seasons fade into one another.

Contrary to what it appears that even I might have said thus far, oftentimes in months like November, like March and April, like May and June, and like October, we will see weather in both the season that we are leaving, as well as the new season that is coming. Often what happens when one season leaves and another begins to enter is we start experiencing a glimpse of weather in the new season for a day, and then return to the weather from the outgoing season for the next 2-3 days. Then another day of new-season weather, then maybe another day or so of outgoing-season weather. Eventually, the ratio between new-season weather and outgoing-season weather hits 50/50, and then after that we begin experiencing more weather of the new season and less of the outgoing season, until finally, when we are far enough into the new season that we have no more weather from the previous season, until the next year.

To close my point, in Chicago we had a snowstorm on Halloween this year. Here are photos from the following morning, after the snow had finished falling.

The temperatures shot back up into the 50s later that day.

Why I Say The Bible Is A History Book, Part 3: "It's Up To You"

As I was wrapping up writing Part 2 to this series, I felt it in my spirit that a Part 3 was forthcoming, along with the phrase "it's up to you." And then I promptly lost a bunch of the vision, particularly some Bible passages or scenes that were also coming to mind.

Sometime in the first couple years after I graduated from college, a classmate of mine posted a link to a web comic of sorts on her Facebook page. I've forgotten the exact words, the exact details of the comic, but it illustrated the difference between wishing and hoping for something to happen vs. taking action and making that thing happen. It appeared to paint the Christian faith as the former; it painted the idea that praying and trusting in God as some kind of victim-mentality approach to reaching one's goal vs taking action steps to make the goal happen.

I now think of it more as commentary on how non-Christians have seen Christians, particularly American Christians, practice their faith. (I don't know that the creator of the strip saw it that way, but it's how it came across to me, anyway.) For example, "Let go and let God" has been a common saying among many mainline churches (especially megachurches) for the last several decades. The idea here is for us to surrender control of whatever it is we pray for, seek, desire, want, need, etc. Where I think it has gotten twisted, however, is the idea that letting go of control means we just do nothing and expect God to do everything. I'm not saying it can't happen that way; I am saying that typically, letting go and letting God means trusting God to direct our path, while we still are active doing the things we are already doing in our lives.

For example, I do remember the comic strip commenting about losing weight, and the commentary specifically painted two diametrically opposing approaches: 1.) praying to God to lose weight, but doing nothing; 2.) taking action steps, like dieting and exercise, but not even including God at all in the process.

For the record, I'm not even saying there aren't cases where the latter doesn't work -- in fact, one could successfully argue that the latter approach, taking action but not including God -- does work. For that goal. But, the person that does that runs the risk of idolatry: whether it's idolizing the goal itself, or idolizing the process itself, or worse, idolizing themselves, because, "wow, what a good job I did at reaching this goal! It's all because of me!"

The thing is, the non-Christians aren't inherently wrong on this. To a great extent, no matter what one's goal is, one has to put in the effort. If you want a healthier body (whether that revolves around physical appearance or around physical energy), sitting around doing nothing but hoping and wishing for it won't bring about the change you desire. Rather, looking at what you eat, doing some research, and then implementing a change in your eating plan will go much further toward positively affecting your body. (I've actually been there myself recently -- I've been having sustained gut issues for the last few months. I did nothing for the first couple months, and predictably my body didn't get better. It was only once I started systematically making changes, including seeing a doctor and a gut specialist, as well as switching around several foods that I regularly eat, that change started occurring.)

I think about famous figures in history. Because of the simple fact that they took action, we remember their names:

Abraham Lincoln didn't sit by when the young United States were in tension over the issue of slavery. God called him to step into politics, first and foremost: first, as a lawyer; second, as a congressman; third, as the president of the United States. He oversaw the Civil War, and used his skills as a lawyer and politician to push the 13th Amendment into law, the first step towards criminalizing slavery. While he also oversaw the end of the Civil War, he would be assassinated before he could have the opportunity to oversee the next phase, Reconstruction.

Martin Luther King, Jr. didn't sit by when God called him to speak out against the Jim Crow segregation laws. He first chose to step into the call of pastorship. Then, he started speaking out against specific local laws that discriminated against African Americans, including initiating the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and organizing rallies to overturn similarly unjust laws in Albany, Georgia, in Birmingham, Alabama, and in Selma, Alabama. He didn't stop there: he continued saying "yes" to the call of speaking out against other injustices across the US, and continued spurring on those who only had known oppression to continue standing up, just as he had done. Like Lincoln, his choice to answer the call cost him his life in the same manner.

Harriet Tubman didn't sit by when God called her to free others from slavery. Due to her plantation owners trying to sell her (she had struggled with illness off-and-on, possibly related to aftereffects from head trauma she incurred as an adolescent and was deemed useless), she was motivated to gain freedom for herself. She returned back to the area where she had been in slavery, risking her own freedom, let alone her life, to bring others also to freedom. (About 70 in all.) Not only that, but she also helped many of them find work. Later, she served as a cook in the Union Army during the Civil War. She spent the latter portion of her life helping with the women's suffrage movement.

Martin Luther (not King, Jr.) didn't sit by when he saw his beloved Roman Catholic Church increase in corruption. God called him to speak out, particularly against the indulgences that the papacy was selling, a way of manipulating church-goers spiritually to make extra money. Speaking out cost him his freedom; he was consigned to a tower as a result. But in that tower, Jesus led him to translate the Holy Scriptures -- at that time only written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin -- into German. He paved the way for Europeans who didn't understand Latin to be able to see and hear the Scriptures in their native languages, and paved the way for the Bible to be translated into many other languages, including French, Spanish, Dutch, and English. Personally I have him to thank for being able to read a Bible in my own language.

There are many others, of course. But here is something else (and it may shock some people). The Bible also is full of people who took action:

Abraham (not Lincoln) didn't sit by when God called him to be a father of what would eventually become the Israelite nation. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing." Genesis 12:2, NIV. His challenge was believing and following through, given his wife, Sarah, was unable to conceive any children for a long time. (Abraham did try to get around that by having a child -- Ishmael -- with someone else.) God did call him again, though, 24 years later, and still no child with Sarah, to be a father of the Israelite nation. Eventually they did have a child, Isaac, in their old age (Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 (??!?)). But that's not all -- years later, God even called Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on top of one of the mountains, to see if he would actually obey Him. God did tell Abraham to instead sacrifice ram in a nearby thicket, once He saw Abraham was willing to sacrifice his long-awaited-for son. After this, through the succeeding generations, did Abraham's family line expand to a fuller-size family, and later, into a nation.

Joseph didn't sit by when God called him, through indentured servitude and prison, to lead a nation about to go through a drought. His story began with circumstances out of his control that happened to him. His father, Jacob, gave him a coat that made him the envy of the family (and his older brothers already hated him). His older brothers, jealous of both their father's favor on him, and Joseph’s typically annoying little-brother behavior (“I got a coat! nyah-nyah-nyah!”),tricked him into being sold into slavery. That led him to more circumstances out of his control in Egypt: working as a slave for one of the Pharaoh's officials, being thrown into prison, until eventually, finally being promoted to second-in-command to the Pharaoh. But even though Joseph had all these circumstances put on him, he jumped on opportunities to serve well:

• When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. Genesis 39:3-4, NIV.  
• “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.” Genesis 40:8, NIV. 
• In the end, he reaped. So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” Genesis 41:41, NIV.

Gideon didn't sit by when God spoke to him while he was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress, hiding from his country's rival the Midianites, who were oppressing them at the time. Even though he questioned God about his calling (“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Judges 6:15, NIV) he obeyed. God's promise to be with him helped change his mind. On God's command, Gideon pulled down his father's altar to a foreign deity that they had been worshiping, and also cut down a precious pole standing next to it. His father's response to the townspeople who were angry at his actions: But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.” Judges 6:31, NIV. Gideon went on to defeat their country's enemy, the Midianites, and finally put that rivalry to an end.

David didn't sit by when God -- via Samuel -- called him to become king of Israel, once He had decided Saul was no longer fit for the job. David stepped up when Israel's present enemy, the Philistines, led by their giant leader Goliath, was threatening to take over the kingdom. While the other Israelites -- including King Saul -- gave into their fear of the Philistines and particularly Goliath, David trusted God when he felt He was giving him an inside opportunity to defeat them. Not only did David topple Goliath, but he also finished the job by cutting off his head. (Yes, the Bible has bloody moments. Just like every honest history book ever written.) David also continued to trust God to protect him for the next few years while evading Saul, who tried repeatedly to kill him. "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." Psalm 23:5a, NIV. But in the end, David ends up, through his relationship with God, and by God's grace, the best king in Israelite history.

Paul didn't sit by when God directly and supernaturally intervened as he was en route to Damascus. God told him in direct terms that he was persecuting Him. "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? ... I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Acts 9:4,5, NIV. (Paul up until that point was a Pharisee -- the equivalent to modern radical rule-enforcing, shaming, right-wing American Christian.) During the three days that he was blind (and also not eating anything), he spent the entire time with God, during which their time together transformed him and completely changed the rest of his career. Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. Acts 9:17-18a, NIV. Paul dedicated the rest of his life to telling the Good News about Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension, visiting and writing letters to churches that been planted across what is now Turkey, across Greece, and ultimately in Rome. His actions cost him his freedom, and in the end his life as well.

And of course, there were many more individuals scattered through the Bible. You might have noticed I didn't include Jesus on this list. Of course He would be the most prime example! And truly, all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are full of example after example where He followed His Father's call, healed where He was called to heal, delivered where He was called to deliver, spoke hard truth where He was called to speak hard truth. But, what is also true is that Jesus was perfect. And is perfect. For mature Christians, this wouldn't be a preclusion whatsoever. But for non-Christians and/or new Christians, the truth of Jesus' perfection could theoretically come as a handy excuse for dismissing the magnitude of all that He did. I know in my own journey I've done that a lot, by discounting my own call with the idea that there's no way a vastly flawed human being such as myself could ever live up to a call that the perfect Creator and King of the universe has put on me. But that's the point with sharing about all the others: Abraham, Joseph, Gideon, David, and Paul; along with Lincoln, King, Tubman, and Luther. They were all flawed people, just like anyone not named Jesus. And they still were called. And they were able to obey.

Here's something else that may shock some people: the Bible also has a bunch of proverbs (particularly in a book titled Proverbs) that speak directly about passivity.

• Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! Proverbs 6:6, NIV.
• Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. Proverbs 10:4, NIV.
• As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them. Proverbs 10:26, NIV.
• The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway. Proverbs 15:19, NIV.
• A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth! Proverbs 19:24, NIV.
• The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work. Proverbs 21:25, NIV.
• A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. Proverbs 26:15, NIV. (Looks a lot like Proverbs 19:24... hmm...)

Finally, in my own personal life I have been hearing Jesus gently challenging me, specifically my own avoidance pattern, as well as spots of coldness in my heart that may be directly related. More recently, I have been reading a story that God has been using to reveal deeper pains and yearnings that I have, and I believe He has been using it to prepare me to answer the next call. My prayer, like the above historic figures, is to not let fear impede my obedience like it has in the past, regardless of how extravagant or how humble the call may be.

In both the Bible and in human history people have been called to great and extraordinary things, to great and extraordinary cost. And these people obeyed the call. The individuals in the Bible that God called are no different than the individuals in more recent history that God also called. First, it shows that true Biblical Christianity is not being a victim and relying on mere wishing and hoping for a goal or a call to be accomplished; rather, Scripture shows that it does take action and that it's no different from the rest of human history in this regard. Second, because it confirms the above, it too must be a history book. In the same way that my previous post revealed that bloodiness, defilement, rape, and murder are every much a bit of history (both Biblical and otherwise) as all the good things, seeing folks answer the call to lead and serve and change lives for the better are also reliable indicators of not only something being historical, but also being consistent with history, both forwards and backwards.

It's up to us to make history once again by following God's leading.