{"id":1535,"date":"2011-08-10T11:30:13","date_gmt":"2011-08-10T18:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richarddahlstrom.com\/?p=1535"},"modified":"2011-08-10T11:30:13","modified_gmt":"2011-08-10T18:30:13","slug":"grace-generosity-gratitude-god-the-real-4g-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/richarddahlstrom\/2011\/08\/10\/grace-generosity-gratitude-god-the-real-4g-network\/","title":{"rendered":"Grace, generosity, gratitude, God – the real 4G network"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\n

There was no way it could happen<\/em>. \u00a0Last Thursday afternoon, I was watching ESPN and happened to see that the \u201cbiggest series of the year\u201d was about to happen for the Red Sox, as they met the Yankees at Fenway park in Boston. \u00a0Then it dawned on me that, with the red-eye flight out of Seattle Friday night, I\u2019d be IN Boston<\/em><\/strong> on Saturday, which meant that, in theory at least, I could go to the Sox\/Yankees, in August, with these two teams tied for first, at one of the few remaining ballparks in the country that has any vestige of history left in it (built in 1912!).<\/p>\n

Unless you grew up in a baseball family, you can\u2019t appreciate this fully, but it would be like being in Vail on the best powder day of the year if you\u2019re a skier, or being in Vancouver when the USA is playing Canada for the Olympic gold medal in 2010. \u00a0You\u2019re there, but on the outside. \u00a0And for me this past weekend, moving from outside to inside was an impossibility. \u00a0I visited stub hub and discovered that standing room in right field was going for $109 per ticket. \u00a0Did I want to sit down? \u00a0That would be another $35 at least. \u00a0And even if I had the money, I was due in camp that night, 2 hours north, at just about the time the game would be over.<\/p>\n

Still, I decided, \u201cyou only live once\u201d so I took the first step, boldly asking the camp director if I could arrive late since I wouldn\u2019t be speaking \u2019til Sunday anyway. \u00a0I told him why, writing, \u201cI know it\u2019s shallow, but it\u2019s been a lifelong dream to go to a game at Fenway, and since the Yankees are in town, tied with Boston for first\u2026well, I had<\/em> to ask.\u201d \u00a0His response:<\/p>\n

\u201cShallow? \u00a0You\u2019re talking about light and darkness. \u00a0Good and evil. \u00a0An epic battle. \u00a0Tickets. \u00a0Ride. \u00a0Covered.<\/strong> See you late Saturday night.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

We met our benefactor just outside the stadium, and he\u2019d warned us not to eat anything all day because he had something special planned at the game. \u00a0He treated my wife and I, and \u00a0another friend, to a buffet, endless salad, chicken, scallops, prime rib, and more \u2013 available through the bottom of the third inning, right behind home plate.<\/p>\n

We ate, and enjoyed the game from spectacular seats, all because of the amazing generosity of one man, and I learned some lessons that day about grace and gratitude. And though, yes, \u201cit\u2019s just a game\u201d \u2013 I was reminded on that day of some important truths about real life:<\/p>\n

1. God\u2019s thinking is different than mine. <\/strong>I wanted to get in the park. \u00a0My generous friend gave me a buffet and club seats. \u00a0I want to get through the day. \u00a0God wants to bless me with every spiritual blessing. \u00a0I want to be safe and secure. \u00a0God wants me to enjoy the adventure of living generously because God is our abundant source. \u00a0I need to recognize that God\u2019s desire is to fill me up, and that God\u2019s notion of full are fuller than mine.<\/p>\n

2. Asking is important.<\/strong> Jesus taught us that it\u2019s appropriate to ask. \u00a0I like the Boston experience as a teacher here, because though I asked, I knew that I didn\u2019t deserve, couldn\u2019t afford. \u00a0I just asked anyway, knowing that \u201cno\u201d is a perfectly fair answer. \u00a0Sometimes we get into trouble because we don\u2019t ask. \u00a0Sometimes we get into trouble because our asking is really our way of saying, \u201cGod, if you really love me then your answer will be yes.\u201d \u00a0Both of these errors impoverish our hearts. \u00a0Learning to ask, not demand, is part of maturity in Christ.<\/p>\n

3. God\u2019s Yes is a gift to be enjoyed. <\/strong>This side of perfection we all live, daily, in the realities of the fall, and this means we live with unfulfilled desires and longings. \u00a0Whether it\u2019s in the realm of our health, our sexuality, our finances, our friendship, our vocation, or\u2026 , none of us enjoy wholeness.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s also true that right in the midst of our brokenness, and the painful realities of the fall, there are gifts of grace: \u00a0A sunrise; good coffee; real connection with a friend; a moment in prayer or meditation when our life with Christ opens up; tickets to the Red Sox vs. Yankees, with the Red Sox winning; standing on a summit cross in the Alps \u2013 all these things are gifts of grace: undeserved, yet freely given. \u00a0It\u2019s our job to be like children and receive them freely, and express our delight and love to the giver of the gifts.<\/p>\n

This same attitude of gratitude has been expressed by Sophie Scholl just before her execution, Dietrich Bonhoeffer in prison, Nicanor Tamang in jail, and a friend on his death bed, just before cancer overtook his body. \u00a0Gratitude isn\u2019t the opposite of ease \u2013 it\u2019s the capacity to see gifts: \u00a0Every. \u00a0Single. \u00a0Day. \u00a0\u2026and express thanks.<\/p>\n

I have a lot of philosophical discussions with people about the basis of faith in Christ. \u00a0If you need to, I\u2019ll go there with you: modernity\/post-modernity; ontological essence; textual criticism; emergent vs. neo-Calvinist;\u00a0epistemological\u00a0foundations in a world of deconstruction and cynicism. \u00a0Going down these roads is not a problem.<\/p>\n

But when the day is done, I tell people this: \u00a0\u201cI\u2019m a Christ follower, and because I am, I\u2019m like a little kid and every day is Christmas.\u201d \u00a0Sure, some days are better than others, and some days are really dark. \u00a0But even on those days, at some deep, deep level, there\u2019s a sense that God is working in the world, bringing hope, healing, reconciliation, transformation. \u00a0There are gifts, and signs of grace \u2013 if we\u2019re willing to pay attention.<\/p>\n

Today, in New Hampshire, there are lots of gifts: \u00a0Fresh rain, new friends, beautiful children all around the camp, rich conversations with adults about faith, and sore muscles from a hike to the top of Lafeyette peak yesterday. \u00a0Thanks God for the gifts; none of them deserved, all from you, because of your love.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There was no way it could happen. \u00a0Last Thursday afternoon, I was watching ESPN and happened to see that the \u201cbiggest series of the year\u201d was about to happen for the Red Sox, as they met the Yankees at Fenway park in Boston. \u00a0Then it dawned on me that, with the red-eye flight out of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[34,23361,23362],"class_list":["post-1535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-body","tag-faith","tag-generosity","tag-intimacy"],"yoast_head":"\nGrace, generosity, gratitude, God - the real 4G network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There was no way it could happen. \u00a0Last Thursday afternoon, I was watching ESPN and happened to see that the "biggest series of the year" was about to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/richarddahlstrom\/2011\/08\/10\/grace-generosity-gratitude-god-the-real-4g-network\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Grace, generosity, gratitude, God - 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