Live By Faith

For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7

Today’s Reading: Proverbs 13-15: 2 Corinthians 5

When you go some place new, you never really know where you are going until you get there.

This past Friday I went to a happy hour event to celebrate the birthday of a good friend of mine. She had it at a lounge that I had never heard of. It was somewhere in Beverly Hills so I figured that I wouldn’t have too hard a time finding it with some help from your good friend and mine, Mademoiselle Google Maps.

So I hit the road and the Google Maps lady is telling me where to go. All goes well until I get to the destination. She tells me to turn right but doesn’t say the street. So I drive up to the next stop sign and she tells me to turn right again as if I am not following directions. When I hit the fourth right turn I said wait a minute! This is getting ridiculous. I looked at the map and the destination dot is right in the middle of a block… it’s like I am supposed to drive into the center of a building.

She is leading me astray!

So I parked and decided that I would find the place on foot. As I started walking I encountered someone I hadn’t seen in years. I knew she was probably there for the party so I asked her where to go and she led me in the right direction.

Life is often like that. We may not know where we will end up but we know that we have to start taking steps in the direction. And as we take more steps it can be scary because with each additional step before seeing the goal we realize that we are farther away from where we started.

But that’s ok. Along that journey messengers will be sent to us to guide us along the path until we reach our destination.

We must have faith in what we cannot see. Otherwise we will never go anywhere new. We will never learn or grow into the person we were destined to become. 

Be What You Want To See In The World

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Corinthians 3:2-3

Today’s Reading: Proverbs 8-9; 2 Corinthians 3

When I was in college I took several classes that explored race and representation in the media over different times in American history. I saw how the media’s representation of people can shape and mold how we perceive others.

This led my friends and I to talk a lot about how certain movies, television shows, rap songs and videos were bad representations of very specific groups. We would complain about them and criticize their creators; wailing about how these people were a disgrace to the rest of humanity in how they depicted their fellow man and woman. What once started out as an awareness of how art can shape perceptions turned into a kind arrogant judgmental terribleness.

Then I started to think to myself… “self… what are YOU doing to change things?”

This stopped me cold. It is one thing to identify a problem, but it is a totally different thing to commit to be a part of the solution.

One of the most wonderful things about life is that it really is what you make it. We make decisions every single day that mold our future. It is these decisions that make up the fabric of our being. Each one is a stitch in the tapestry of our lives.

What does your fabric look like? Do your actions show what you believe to be the contents of your heart? Are you doing anything to combat the ills that you see in the world? Are you as passionate about changing the world as you are about describing what is wrong with it?

These are challenging times but I think that we are up to the challenge. Sure, things may seem bad and it may seem like there isn’t much you can do from your little position to have any kind of substantive effect; but that is a lie.

The world is exactly what we have made it.

We really have two choices in this life. We can decide share the goodness of our hearts with the world through our thoughtful action or we can be quiet, and allow others to dictate the terms of reality for us. If we each endeavor to shape the world around us into the place that our hearts dream it can be then little by little the whole world changes.

Let’s try a little harder every day to be what we want to see in the world. I’m betting that the more people we can get to commit to this change, the better the world will become.

Life freely, love freely, and share freely the blessings of your heart. Freedom lies within; and exercising that freedom is truly revolutionary. 

The Power of Love

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Today’s Reading: Psalms 137-139; 1 Corinthians 13

I’ve been thinking about these passages for the past several days and they have left me awestruck. I had always read about the spiritual gifts in chapter 12 and then about love in chapter 13 but never had I paid attention to the last sentence of the 12th chapter.

And yet I will show you the most excellent way. – 1 Corinthians 12:31

And then something that I have known in my spirit to be true was just spoken clearly in the text.

Love is the most excellent way.

Love is the fuel behind all positive action. Love builds and heals. Love creates and nurtures. Love is the source of our best selves. It is what motivates us to act outside of our selfish desires. It is the mother of empathy, charity, and sacrifice.

But as I read it in the context of spiritual gifts I was fascinated. The gifts are quite powerful indeed, healing, prophecy, knowledge of the past and future. They are the kinds of things that superhero stories are made of. But the notion that the source of that miraculous power is love is something that really speaks to the potential that we have to transform our world.

If we learn to love then everything will change.

It all fits in so nicely with what Jesus was trying to say. He told us to love our neighbors as ourselves and even to love our enemies. And he provided, through his life, and example for us to strive toward.

He also did all kinds of fancy miracles. He healed the sick, turned water into wine, walked on water, knew people’s past and future. His life was filed with amazing things; so much so that it seems like it must be a fairytale. To the casual observer it must seem hard to believe.

But tell me this. What is harder to do? Is it harder to love your enemies or heal the sick? Is it harder to love your neighbor or walk on water?

They are equally difficult.

What I am starting to see now is that both sides, love and the miraculous, are two sides of the same coin. We would become powerful beyond measure if only we could learn to love. Our love is purest when we allow God to work in us; when we act with the freedom of complete obedience to our purpose.

This is inspiration.

“The Way” is becoming clearer to me now. If you want to achieve the impossible, pursue the dreams that you have in your heart for your life, then first you must pursue love. And through your ability to love others and yourself you will find the power to make all of your dreams come true.

And odds are that powerful love will mold and shape those dreams as well…

From the inside out you will become brand new.

Some Preachers STAY Gettin' Paid...

Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.- 1 Corinthians 9:13-14

Today’s Reading: Psalms 120-122; 1 Corinthians 9

I used to look at some of these preachers in disgust. It seemed like they were living entirely too good off of their flock. I have heard of preachers who have elevators in their homes, private airplanes and helicopters. I’ve heard of pastors receiving “gifts” from folks in their congregations in the form of Cadillacs and Bentleys.

There was always something about this that didn’t seem right.

Then when I went to Catholic school I heard about monks and nuns who took vows of poverty. They lived lives of hunger and struggle because they gave all that they had to those that they wanted to help. Some of them renounced all material wealth in the effort to live a more sanctified life. When it came to folks like this I thought to myself, “yeah that’s cool and all… but good gracious couldn’t you help folk better if you weren’t hungry”?

Of course there are a multitude of folks in the middle of these two extremes. Some spiritual leaders are like my father; they work a day job to help support their ministry. Many other pastors have churches that are big enough to support their needs. They earn a modest salary from the church so that they can focus 100% of their energy on growing the congregation. It is interesting though that this has been an issue from the time of the early church. The question of how much a religious body ought to pay their leaders has always been a touchy subject.

When I think about it I really don’t have a right or wrong answer. How much money is too much? How much money is enough? Should the church leaders live any better than the least of their flock? If not then do we want them to be starving while trying to do God’s work? If so, then how much better? When is does it become too much. If a pastor builds a multi-million dollar ministry that reaches folks all over the globe then why shouldn’t he have a high salary? Should they make as much as a CEO of a similar sized organization? What about half as much?

Yuck… this makes me cringe.

One thing that I have come to realize is that there really is no right answer here. There is always going to be someone who doesn’t like whatever the arrangement is between a pastor and his or her church. But what is most important is whether or not they are doing God’s work.

If the quality of life of the folks in the pews is improving then that is what matters. If folks souls are at peace, if their spirits are filled, if their intellect is engaged, then that is what matters. If the folks in the church are growing as loving children of God and as constructive citizens of the world then that is what matters. That shows that the leader is doing their job. And when it comes down to it, that kind of work is priceless.

Now with all that said… elevators and planes and such things do rub me the wrong way… But who am I to judge? I’m sure God will work it all out in the end. 

Get Out of Jail Free?

To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. 1 Corinthians 7:12-14

Today’s Reading: Psalms 116-118; 1 Corinthians 7:1-19

This is funny to me.

At first glance it might seem like a strange and archaic thing to say. It might even sound very closed minded. But it is very specific and for that matter specifically hilarious.

I never understood this passage till my Dad taught on it one day. He was talking about the Christian family and what marriage means from that perspective. Then he came to this passage and was like… “so all of y’all who are now Christians and have been taught that it is bad to be unequally yoked (a Christian being married to a non-Christian) that doesn’t mean that you have a license to leave your spouse! This ain’t no get out of jail free card.”

When he said that I realized what Paul was doing here. Paul is addressing questions from the church at Corinth and clearly someone asked this question. I imagine it went something like this.

Unhappily Married woman: So now that I’m a Christian do you think I can leave my good for nothing husband? After all I’m not supposed to be married to someone who ain’t Christian right?

Local Pastor: Umm… I don’t know about that.

Unhappily Married Woman: What you mean you don’t know? The rule is I’m supposed to be married to a Christian. Free at last! Thank God almighty I am free at last!

Local Pastor: Umm… that don’t sound right… let’s ask Paul about this.

The idea that we should marry someone with our values makes sense. Our values are what lead us and guide all of our decisions. How can we march in the same direction as a person whose values are taking them in a different direction?

In that case you can’t help but to be pulled off of your own path.

But what’s interesting here is that Paul reaffirms the importance of the wedding vows. Marriage is a promise that is not meant to be broken. People change. The person that you married will not be the same ten years later. And neither will you. Marriage is about compromise; but, it is about growing together, allowing the other the freedom to become fully themselves as individuals so that they can in turn contribute to a stronger union.

Or so I hear…

But it’s funny to me that someone actually posed this question. It’s actually a good question when you think about it. If one’s core values radically change in a marriage it could cause serious problems.

That’s why it is good to search within ourselves to understand the foundation of what makes us who we are before we make that kind of commitment. Once we become settled in the fundamentals of our identity we are finally capable of understanding what we truly need, the kind of person that will fulfill us for a lifetime.

So be careful jumping into serious bonds with folks before you are ready; because even if you do get a divorce later on, odds are the life you lived together will stay with you until the end of your days.

Search within and try to understand the core of your beliefs. Do the work necessary to understand where you are coming from and the trajectory of the path for where you are going.

If you are reading this as an unmarried person then WHEW! Gotcha in time.

If not… I hope you’re happy and good luck!!!

Meditation Day 3: The Body Temple

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Today’s Reading; Matthew 5-7

For the last several days my back has been hurting a lot. Of course much of that has to do with the fact that I work a job that has me sitting for eight hours a day. It also doesn’t help that I come home and sit for at least two more hours when I write.

But the main reason is that I haven’t been honoring my body.

You know how it goes. Life gets busy, things get stressful and you start to neglect things. Normally I work out like a fiend, but lately I haven’t had the energy. So yesterday when I got home super late after putting in extra time at work I realized that I gotta do something about this.

And then I remembered how I used to stretch as a form of meditation.

Stretching is very important to me. Since grew up playing basketball my body was trained to be more explosive than flexible. When I made the change from basketball to capoeira my lack of flexibility was painfully exposed.

Over the past three years or so, as I became more serious about my faith, I also became much more serious about my health. To me they go hand in hand. If the body is a temple then of course we should not only keep the temple clean but we should also improve it right? What good is a clean temple if it cannot withstand the earthquakes of life? As we prepare ourselves to fulfill the huge purposes that God has for our lives we have to not only be mentally and spiritually ready, but also physically ready.

Yesterday I realized how much I had fallen off on the physical part, so after I got home and ate I decided to get my stretch on (If you have never stretched in a focused, organized way I suggest you pick up this book. It is a great resource). After the first fifteen minutes of stretching my hips, legs and back I felt brand new. I felt my blood flowing much more freely in my body. I could feel different muscles in my body waking up. My body was smiling.

Christianity, as it was taught to me growing up, focuses a lot on our bodies in relation to sin; especially sexual sin. While it is important to make sure that we honor ourselves with the choices that we make with our sexuality I find it sad that we tend to get stuck here on the negative. Why don’t we discuss having a positive relationship with our bodies in other ways: good diet, exercise, sleep, and balance? Why isn’t this part of the fabric of our faith?

Part of this is because Christianity made a pretty serious departure from living by laws. As Paul said, all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial.

But as Jesus said he didn’t come to destroy the law but to fulfill it. Maybe things like the kosher rules do not technically apply to our faith but we can learn something from them.

I think it is time that we take a serious look at ourselves and our community and figure out how to right some of these obvious imbalances. Let’s look at how we treat our bodies. Let’s look at the extra weight that we carry every single day. What are we eating? What does this do to our hearts? How does this affect our fatigue? And most importantly, how does this affect our ability to do what God wants us to do with out lives?

This week I realized that my failure to properly honor my body from a fitness stand point had a huge effect on my energy and my focus. It seriously impacted my ability to meditate and focus on God which is the purpose of this week for me!

Step your game up Clarence…

But yesterday was the beginning of turning that around. As I focused on honoring my temple I could see more clearly that God was there inside as He always is.

Question of the day: What can you do to improve your relationship with your body and your physical health?

My Challenge to you: Find a physical activity that you enjoy. Maybe it is running, or yoga, or capoeira like it is for me. Try something new!!! Not only will this be great for your body but it will get you out into the world and expose you to new people and ideas. If you try something new and don’t like it try something else. If you try something new and do like it, keep exploring! Don’t quit until you find a sport or discipline that you ENJOY. Find more than one if you can. Diversity is the spice of life. Exercising shouldn’t be a chore. It should be a challenge that your mind, body, and spirit enjoy.

Today’s Meals:

Breakfast: 3 Scrambled Eggs

Snack: Nuts

Lunch: Mediterranean Chicken Salad

Dinner: Albacore Tuna Steak and CHICKEN

Beverage of the Day: Water

Clearly I need more veggies. I also discovered that I CAN eat fruit but it just can’t be citrus. I need to  make sure of that before I go crazy. Also I need to bring rice into the game. I was entirely too hungry yesterday.

Meditation week continues…

A Convo with Kofi About Sex

So I wrote this post yesterday about the passages in 1 Cor 6 regarding sexual immorality. 

Shortly there after the homie Kofi hit me up on chat with some challenging questions and the following conversation ensued. I believe that one of the ways that God speaks to us is through those around us. 

My man Kof makes some good points... Enjoy

Kofi: haha...interesting, I gotta run, be back later. I just wanted to ask several Questions: Did you look at all the other verses having to do with sex before coming to the conclusion of permissibility? Have you considered 1 Cor 6:12 in the context of Matthew 5:28, 1 Cor 7:9, and Job 31:1? What do you think it means that sex is never discussed in the Bible in a positive way before marriage? Have you truly searched your spirit man for not just wisdom but 'understanding' on some 1 Cor 2 stuff (before writing this particular piece)? How explicit would the writers have to be to convince people that sex before marriage is sin, and would that be practical? Would it be spiritual? If even thinking lustfully at a woman is sin, how could actual sex not be? Is the lack of definition of sexual immorality a call for us to get away from seeing sin through adherence to ' 'law' and really seeking God's spirit rather than our human intellect to decide how we should live or who we should we?

me: haha just saw your comments. Let me read through them..

Did I look at all of the scriptures no. but I'm not even convinced that "fornication" is sex outside of marriage.

Regarding Matt: 5:28 adultery, by definition, implies that one has already entered into the marriage bond. Even so that is an impossible standard. I'm not sure if you read my entire post but I do submit to the fact that Paul is right about it being bad, assuming that he is talking about sex outside of marriage.

Regarding 1 Cor 7:9... look at verse 6 for context.. “I say this as a concession, not as a command.”

In both chapter 6 and 7 he is clear that this is not a command.

He is also clear in saying that this is wise and the best way to go... and I agree with him.

Job: 31:1: Wasn't Job married? Also this is not part of the Laws of Moses. I'm certain of that. It is a New Testament thing.

I'd argue that sex isn't discussed at all in terms of it being before marriage. I've seen sex discussed in marriage, in adultery, and with prostitutes. It may very well be the case that folk really weren't having sex with women outside of marriage (unless they were prostitutes) because it was such a taboo.

I have searched for wisdom on this. And I readily accept that I could be wrong but I felt compelled to write this because I'm not the only person thinking about it. If having a dialog about it means that I come out as being the one that is flawed then I'm ok with that. But I didn't want to shy away from writing about it just because I have problems with it (I almost punked out).

I do think it would have been practical to mention it explicitly. The old law is explicit about not having sex with animals and homosexuality... why not be explicit about this? In the New Testament verse I mentioned in the blog, Mark 10... I can see someone using that as a rationale… but still it is in the context of divorce and marriage. I don't understand why the Bible is explicit about so many other general aspects of sex and not this one.

The part about seeing God's spirit... you've got me there

Maybe this really speaks to the sickness of our society. I do not believe that it is ideal for human beings to be unmarried into their 30s... at the time folk were getting married in their teens… big cultural changes have occurred... again I'm not saying this to explain away the situation... but maybe our society is so sick that the sexual part of obedience is that much more trying.

Let's discuss further.

Kofi returned

me: well you made the point that I made in the second half of my post

 In terms of the will of God and what the spirit says on the matter, which makes the definition of "fornication" kinda a moot point

Kofi: I want to go back to a couple of points you made

me: ok

Kofi: I’m interested in the definition of adultery

me: INTERESTING

Kofi: adultery, as I interpret it in the bible does not mean marriage. From our reading of the whole book its essential meaning has to do with faithfulness to God

me: see… now that is what I have heard about fornication

  never about adultery

  

Kofi: well going back to Matthew 5

  and lustfulness

me: fornication meaning not putting anything before God

  ok

  listening

Kofi: to me Matthew 5 is really getting at God wanting us to be free of a lustful mind

  that's why he doesn't break it down into specific sex acts

  because if we could sniff each others butts to fulfill lustful mental desires

  we would do it

  like "God didn’t say we couldn’t do this"

to me marriage is part of what justifies sexual gratification in Gods eyes

me: hmmm

Kofi: because going back to adultery, and faithfulness,

  these fleshly bodies

  aren’t ours

  they're his

  bought with his blood

with his spirit inserted into those who receive it

coming together in lust, lust in itself being a sin, to me is definitely sin

me: still here listening FYI

Kofi: Rather than breaking down specifics, he focuses on lust, because it is an affliction of the spirit, that deals with all of the physical acts associated with it

me: great point

Kofi: like if you kiss a girl on the mouth, like I'm feeling you, I love you, shoot I love the God in you

  not necessarily lust

whereas if you kiss someone and you're like, "dang I just want to knock the stuffin’ out that English muffin"

  its lust

me: hahahaah

  is it possible to knock the stuffin out the english muffin in a "i love the God in you" kind of way without being married?

  j/k kinda

Kofi: hahahahaha

me: hahahahaha

Kofi: well in marriage, presuming a whole lot of other factors outside of the bounds of this convo, God's cosigned on the union

  we got justification

  its like, right now

  I'm still a sinner

  I'm just justified

  by his grace

Sex without marriage is Sex without the grace covering

  does that make it fall short of being actual sin?

  I dont think so, because sex without lusting

  dont exist

me: damn you

Kofi: I was thinking the exact same thing

  lol

  {damn me}

me: hahahahahhaa

  thank you for being a great friend

Kofi: thank you brotha, unlike Wesley Snipes in New Jack City, "I am my brothas keeper" (trying to be)

me: hahahaha thanks man

I still don't follow you on the expansive definition on adultery...

  but I do understand you taking the leap on the lustful mind

  adultery or not

  That's where the Holy Spirit comes in... cause otherwise it's impossible.

  The lustful mind part

Kofi: Got you, I got my concept about adultery from verses like Jeremiah 9:1-3 and Hosea 7:1-5

in which he calls people adulterers, for being unfaithful to him. You know how there's that verse about a married person's priority is their spouses and a single person's is God's business? He seems to be saying you're never really single. You're either in covenant with him, or him and your spouse, either way, your heart, mind, and body belong to him first.

me: I don't read these verses the same way

why isn't calling them adulterers just one extra thing they are all doing wrong?

 yeah that's 1 Cor 7

Kofi: well in Hosea 7 he says they are "all" adulterers

me: yes

  he says all in Jeremiah too

  maybe they all were just sexin’ all kinds of prostitutes and scalawags

Kofi: maybe, I think they were bad

  but as bad as we are

  we aint that bad

  and our generation is pretty terrible

me: hahaha

  yeah that's real

he makes it sound like Sodom 10.0!

  all kinds of unsavory, skullduggerous pandemonium

The Company We Keep

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!  And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. 1 Corinthians 5: 1-2

Today’s Reading: Psalms 110-112; 1 Corinthians 5

Ummm… did you read the passage above?

Ewwwwwwww

Let’s look at this a minute. A man has his father’s wife. There are a few things that stick out here for me. The first is “father’s wife”. Dude is not sleeping with his mother (wipes sweat off brow), but he’s messing with his stepmother! Yuck. Still gross but only mildly less gross since it is not in the same blood line.

The second thing is “has”. This indicates that this is no one time affair. Not only is dude booed up with his step mother but he’s been bringing her to church like it’s all good and the other members haven’t done anything about it.

And this is where it gets interesting.

We have seen prominent church folks in the news lately who have been accused of doing some pretty sad stuff. Bishop Eddie Long is the most recent example. According to Paul here we gotta throw them out! And you know what… I feel him.

Now of course this doesn’t mean you get thrown out forever. We are supposed to be a forgiving people.  When someone truly repents and displays reconciliatory actions that demonstrate a desire to heal old wounds then we should allow that process to take place over time. But yo man… if you’re running any kind of organization based on some moral values and you’ve got folks in there trampling all up on said values then they got to go.

I think this is why folks have such a hard time with Christians. We tend to be the first to tell other people what they should believe, how they should act, that they are condemned to eternal damnation. Then it seems like every time you look up, the folk screaming loudest in condemnation of others are the ones doing the wildest things. The preachers hollering the most violent anti-gay and lesbian vitriol is the dude hiring male prostitutes. The dude preaching abstinence to the young college aged kids in his congregation is the one accused of trying to have sex with them (and it was young boys… double whammy).

Even as a Christian myself I have been discouraged by these things in the past. Why can’t folk just act decent? Why do the folks screaming the loudest have to be the ones who act the worst? Why don’t they just shut up already?

If you make a mistake and try to right that then cool, I can dig that. But if you decide to live in such a way that not only habitually hurts yourself and others but also affects the faith of those around you…

You got to go.

We gotta be careful about what we allow into our house. In the same way that you would think twice about allowing a thief in your home, even if they were your child, we gotta really think carefully about who we have in our spiritual homes.

Whether we like it or not we are all role models. Regardless of your faith or lack of faith others look to you to be an example of what you say that you believe. Those same silent observers will use their observations to color their perspectives of other people who claim to think like you do or believe in what you believe in.

So if you’re gonna act wild and flaunt it for the world to see… keep that to yourself. Don’t bring it around me. I still love you and wish you the best. But on the real… kinda hard to break bread with you homie if you’re gonna bring your dad’s wife to the dinner table with you.

You are the company you keep. Never forget that.

A Freedom Ride

Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. - 1 Corinthians 4: 1-4

Today’s Reading: Psalms 107-109; 1 Corinthians 4

I’ve been reading this book by Taylor Branch called Parting the Waters: America in the King Years. The book is essentially a biography of the Civil Rights Movement through the prism of the life of Martin Luther King Jr. It’s a fantastically brilliant work.

The book was given to me by Paula, the mother of a good friend of mine. We first met back in High School when she was my film study professor; but, we had our first real conversation on a fateful bus ride on a retreat that my school organized. On that bus we shared a lot of things. We got to know each other beyond the student teacher relationship. We got to know each other on a basic human level that transcends all boundaries.

Soon after this experience her daughter and I became good friends and we are still good friends to this day.

As I read through this book and came across the part about the Freedom Rides I was overwhelmed with emotion. I cannot fathom the courage it must have taken to ride through the South on interstate buses, blacks and whites together, to test integration. They were beaten to the edge of their lives in some cases, barely escaping southern white mobs. Tears of pride welled up in me as I thought about the integrated group of pioneers who embarked on that journey into a new racial frontier.

Simply amazing.

But then I thought about the wonderful woman who bought me the book I was reading. It was these same Freedom Riders that suffered the hard knocks necessary for her and I to ride together decades later, sitting next to each other on the front of the bus, as we talked for hours about life, the world, and our common dreams.

The riders paid the cost because they were not concerned with how the law of the land judged them. They acted with the conviction of people who know what is truly right, and will fearlessly defy earthly judges and magistrates trying to enforce their wrongs upon them. In their actions they proved to be true stewards of the mysteries of God.

It’s crazy how their stewardship allowed me to get on that bus and sit next to Paula. And years later Paula would guide me back to those Freedom Riders to help me unlock one of the mysteries of God:

There are no accidents. There are no chance occurrences. All that happens works out for the good of those who love the Lord.