Choosing to Sing a New (or Repurposed) Song
Who are those people who play Christmas music year-round? I know a couple of them. And it irritates me a bit. It’s not that I don’t like Christmas-themed songs, it’s just that “Jingle Bells,” in my mind, doesn’t fit during a heat wave in July. Of course, my Down-Under friends in Australia have reminded me that Christmas is a summer holiday for them, and they have learned to accept snow-themed lyrics while sunbathing on a steamy beach.
So, maybe I just need to deal with it.
It reminds me of how songs that were written for a specific objective can be repurposed for a theme or cause never originally intended. Think Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”: It was originally written as a bitter critique of the ‘American Dream’ and how Vietnam veterans were poorly treated after the war. Yet it somehow became a chest-thumping patriotic hymn (people often don’t absorb all the lyrics). And then there is the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” It was originally released in 1978, with at least two of the group’s members claiming it celebrates queer culture and the YMCA as a safe space for gay men. But with its lively tune, fun arm motions, and ambiguous lyrics, it quickly became a family-friendly sports anthem, and a dance routine performed at wedding receptions.
Redeeming a Melody
Religious songs can go through similar metamorphosis. It’s fairly well known that the reformer, Martin Luther, took tunes from drinking songs and turned them into sacred hymns. The melody of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” first echoed in a German beer hall. Its familiarity grabbed people’s attention while its new sanctified lyrics touched people’s hearts. There was a definite redemptive arc.
Read MoreChoosing to Live by Grace
For as far back as I can remember, I have known the words to the old hymn: Amazing Grace. But the truly amazing thing is how long it has taken me to understand them. The lyrics were written by John Newton, an Anglican minister, on New Year’s Day 1773. They were part of a sermon he gave describing his conversion to Christ. He captained a slave ship in his younger years and almost died in a storm crossing the Atlantic in 1748. His tribute to the grace of God saving a wretch like himself was set to music a few years later. One of the most enduring hymns of all time then came into being.
In my mind, it was most meaningful for those “wretches” that had done unspeakably terrible things. I didn’t see myself as that bad.
Because of my self-righteous attitude, it was difficult for me to appreciate “grace.” To be honest, the word always felt a bit flimsy and fluffy. It seemed to be for those who couldn’t make mature decisions, who needed to have their hands held to get through the day. It didn’t fit my subconscious picture of personal strength and manliness (it was a girl’s name after all). And while I didn’t outright reject the idea, I did push it to the back of mind, never really examining it.
Read MoreChoosing What Lasts
The word “forever” can be interpreted differently depending on what a person wants. A couple reciting their marriage vows might intend the meaning to be “as long as I shall live” or “until things get too difficult.”
A child who claims to have a BFF (best friend forever) could be wanting it to mean “until we part ways,” or “until the end of the school year,” or even “until I find a better friend.”
That person who received a life sentence in prison likely chooses for it to mean “until a successful appeal can be made.”
The English language has so many words that can be used as synonyms for “forever:”
everlasting,
perpetual,
enduring,
undying,
unending,
perennial,
unceasing,
always.
It’s almost as if there is something hardwired inside us to expect, or to long for, things or situations that have no end, or at least things that feel like they have no end. Yet, it is so hard for us mortals to grasp a mental picture of any thing, any situation, any relationship, or any being that could exist forever. We seem to be stuck in an in-between place, imagining and desiring something we cannot fully picture, cannot hold on to, or even cannot decide if we truly want.
It Will Have NO END
The Biblical word is “eternal.” As followers of Jesus, we have been promised eternal life (John 3:16). What does eternal, unending existence mean?
Every once in a while, I realize how little I plan around the idea of living forever. I rarely think about possessing something that never ends and cannot be taken from me. But if I truly believe that endless life is my future, how should I think, respond, and choose differently in my everyday life today?
And horrors of horrors, what if those things to which I give all my time, energy, and thought in this life are the only things available to me in my eternal existence? What qualities, accomplishments, attitudes, or relationships that I presently possess do I want to live with forever? Which ones of them have any eternal value?
Read MoreChoosing to See What I Can’t See
I’ve written about this before: I’m color blind. It’s not severe, but it does prevent me from seeing some things. Certain shades of greens and reds or blues and purples are difficult and sometimes impossible for me to distinguish. More than once everyone around me was talking about a beautiful red cardinal sitting in a tree full of green foliage. I could see no bird. After decades of being a Star Wars fan, it was only recently that I was informed that Yoda is green! I always thought he was a tan color.
Friends and family still ask me the question, “So, what do you see if you don’t see the red or the green?” The only way I know to answer is that I see whatever my mind makes up to fill in the blank. But the interesting thing is that once someone tells me what the actual color is (like Yoda’s skin tone), I can usually see it then – or at least imagine that I’m seeing it.
The thing I have to constantly tell people, once they hear that I’m color blind, is that I don’t see only a black and white world; I’m not completely blind to colors. There are just certain shades that pass right by without my noticing them. And if no one tells me they’re there, I will never know.
Dangerous on the Road
It’s not unlike what we call “blind spots” while driving. Surely everyone who has spent any amount of time behind the wheel has experienced it. You are about to make a lane change only to hear a frantic honking (and maybe a few curse words if the windows are down). There is that place in between the sight of the mirrors where we can’t see anything. And it takes that extra effort to turn either to the right or to the left and confirm that the way is clear before changing lanes.
There is something eerily fascinating about the idea that a thing can be right in front of me or next to me and I remain completely clueless. It reminds me that blindness is a real thing.
Of course, to be blind limits what a person can do or, at least, forces that person to find ways to compensate. People who are completely blind at least know they cannot see. It is the other sorts of blindness, the ones where we see some things, but we don’t know what we cannot see, that give us special problems and make us dangerous. Though most of the time I can distinguish the red and green in a traffic light, I still have been urged (just in case) to memorize their positions – “top = stop” and “below = go.” Hopefully that make you feel a little better, knowing I’m out on the road.
Read MoreChoosing to Live on the Edge
The year 2025 has come to an end and we have now stepped into a new one. There are all kinds of things to wonder about: what will be different in 2026? What will be the same? What new hope will this year offer? What old dread will materialize? What things in my life can I change and improve? What old patterns are going to repeat themselves and increase those feelings of being trapped?
We stand at that place where one thing ends and another begins. The smaller questions all center around the one big one: will things be better or worse in the unknown future?
Of course, we simply do not know.
Meaningful Change
But, standing at the edge of one year as it ends and another as it begins offers opportunities that we let slip away at our own peril. “Edges” (endings and beginnings) fill every season of our existence and invite us to stop and evaluate where we’ve come from, where we’re at, and where we’re going if we will simply allow ourselves to see them. Meaningful change requires an edge.
Read MoreChoosing to Celebrate Christmas Year-Round
I didn’t grow up believing in Santa Claus. But as a child, I still enjoyed the image he provided for a special and “magical” season. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I made the connection between Santa and Saint Nicholas. And it has been through reading about the life and legends of this Early-Church saint that my appreciation for a variety of Christmas traditions has deepened.
First of all, though it doesn’t really involve Saint Nicholas, the idea of the 12 Days of Christmas has long fascinated me. I was not raised in a traditional high church, but I understand that there is an old understanding of the first day of Christmas being the 25th of December and the twelfth being the 5th of January, which is the day before the Epiphany celebration. So, in light of the fact that we are still in the midst of the 12 Days, I want to dig into the story of the great Christian saint who morphed into Santa.
A Jesus-Follower from the Very Beginning
He was born around 270 AD to Christian parents in what is today eastern Turkey. Christianity was still considered an “outlaw” sect by the emperors of Rome and thus was not a safe religion to align with. But Nicholas’ parents committed themselves to raising their son in the ways of Christ.
When he was still a boy, both his parents died in a plague. He went to live with his uncle who was an abbot in a local monastery. His Christian education continued, and he was eventually ordained as a priest. It wasn’t too long after that, while still a young man, he was made bishop of the port city of Myra. Then a wave of Roman persecution, under the emperor Diocletian, swept the empire. Among thousands of others, Nicholas was jailed, tortured, and placed in solitary confinement. For five years he endured imprisonment and harsh conditions while continuously pressured to renounce his faith. It wasn’t until Constantine came into power that he was released. Christianity was then declared a legal religion in 313 AD through the Edict of Milan.
Nicholas went on to live a long life of proclaiming Christ, serving the poor and needy, caring for children. He boldly stood up to political and military leaders, defending the defenseless. By the time he died at age 73, fantastic stories were attached to his name. It was said that he intervened and challenged powerful government officials to save individuals from wrongful executions; he secured shiploads of food for his city when a famine threatened thousands with starvation. And miracles were said to happen through and around him. His image would appear to sailors who thought they were going to die in storms, comforting and leading them to safety. It was said that he even raised several children from the dead who had been murdered. But the most famous story of Saint Nicholas secured his reputation as a GIFT GIVER.
Read MoreChoosing to Celebrate Even More!
Christmas is here, and we’re celebrating again. Food, presents, holiday movies, and family. At least those are the traditions for some. But why? And for those who have little to spend on food or gifts, who don’t like movies and, for whatever reason, aren’t connected with family . . .
What is there to celebrate?
It all centers around a theological word, INCARNATION. The term comes to us via Latin and was adopted by early Christian writers to describe what they read in John 1:14:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
To incarnate literally means to “make flesh.”
God (the Word who is Jesus) who is pure Spirit performed the greatest miracle ever by taking on a human body as part of His eternal identity. And He started out just like every other human, in a woman’s womb, born as a newborn infant, helpless and vulnerable.
Read MoreChoosing to Be Seen
Many times in my life growing up, I felt misunderstood. I tried to relate to those around me by being who I thought they wanted me to be. It felt like few, if any, ever saw the real me and said, “I like that person.” That took its toll on my identity, and withdrawing within myself became my default. I became, at best, a private person. I longed for a friend that would accept me for who I was. Yet, the truth be told, I never allowed the real me, with all my fears, insecurities, and sin to be seen. I built walls of shyness to keep the anticipated pain of rejection manageable and as far away as possible. But something within always ached for a connection with another that would provide a reason to open the door of my heart and truly be seen and known.
As a teen, I realized the name of the quality I hungered for was intimacy. Marriage, I then presumed, would satisfy this yearning. A sexual relationship, afterall, is the epitome of closeness and connection (at least that’s the message I got). And though it initially seemed to do the trick, I eventually came to an unexpected realization: a person can be married, sleep in the same bed with someone and still feel lonely and disconnected at times.
A Universal Desire
I, like so many, have longed for intimacy in my relationships but have found it elusive. There are moments when it seems to be within my grasp, conversations or activities with a friend or with my wife where the bond feels almost other-worldly. It’s as if we can see into each other’s soul. Yet it doesn’t last, fading with distance, time, and distractions. I want to believe, however, that those moments are glimpses of what can be mine continuously, forever. But how?
And then there’s my relationship with God.
Read MoreChoosing to Remember God’s Track Record
“He will order His angels to protect you.”
These words from Psalm 91 should be a great comfort for those who are putting their trust in God. It says in verse 6, “Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday” (NLT). What a reminder that no kind of sickness nor the threat of nuclear war, or even an unstable economy are outside God’s jurisdiction. The promises here are meant to stir confidence in our Heavenly Father’s love and power today in the same way this Psalm encouraged the original hearers nearly 3,000 years ago.
But interestingly, this Psalm has also been used as a tool of temptation. We’re told in Matthew 4 that when Jesus was tempted in the desert, Satan quoted scripture at Him, portions of this very Psalm. It was the second of three temptations (read post, Choosing to Not Take the Bait). The devil took Jesus to the highest point of the Jerusalem temple and dared Him to take a leap. “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone’ ” (Matthew 4:6 NLT). This actually sounds reasonable as a way for Jesus to prove He’s the Son of God: get everyone’s attention by performing a superhuman feat!
But Jesus did not give in to Satan’s use of scripture.
He responded: “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God’ ” (Matthew 4:7 NLT).
How do we TEST God?
What is that supposed to mean? I personally have never felt the slightest temptation to throw myself off a tall edifice to see if an angel would catch me. Curious? Maybe. Temptation? Definitely not. So, how am I to relate this incident to my own life? Is it testing God merely when I stupidly get myself into a dangerous situation and expect Him to snap His fingers and get me out?
No. That’s not it.
Read MoreChoosing a “Snail’s Pace”
So much of the truth revealed through the scriptures is counterintuitive. At face value it does not make sense. One of the results is that we have to stop, think about it, and go a little deeper. For example:
- To save your life, you must lose it.
- To live, you must die.
- To get, you must give.
- To genuinely love, there are things you must hate.
And there is one that is not explicitly found in the scriptures, but nevertheless is in there:
- To go farther you must go slower.
Yes! In the big picture of life “slow” is good and often the absolute best way to do things.
In our culture, here in the USA, we admire speed and often exalt it as the highest value. If something can be done faster, it’s better.
- Why do some of us push the accelerator to the floor to get to the next traffic light?
- Why are many restaurants rated according to how quickly they deliver food to our tables or to our doors?
- Why do we look for the shortest check-out line?
- Why are computers and phones praised and marketed according to their speed connecting us to the internet?
Go ahead; I bet you can add many more to this list.
Sometimes the preference for swiftness is to save money. Completing a four-year college degree in three years rather than six has strong monetary motivation. But most often the issue is that I just do not like waiting. I want to see things happen sooner rather than later. Waiting is another topic that I have written on more than once (Choosing to Wait). Here I want to talk about how valuing the slowness of a process can enrich our lives and better prepare us for eternity.
Read More
Choose This Day 