23oct15 STATUS QUO
When your home is a steady influx of people, it is hard to be in the status quo.
Visitors keep you out of the rut. That’s why I love them. Especially if they don’t think like me or believe like me. I think the rut and status quo go hand in hand. That’s why it isn’t a prerequisite for the visitors who come down to be Christians. I’ve had lots of people come down here on Christian teams who weren’t Christians. Some said they were, but they weren’t. Who knows. Who cares. As long as they follow our loose guidelines, and are safe around children and women I am fine with anyone visiting us..
I always have wondered about words, where they come from. We had the opportunity to have a visitor this week who taught me that there is actually a word for that. Etymology. I have been having a blast with google now that I know there is an actual word for that. I like etymology. I wouldn’t have ever learned that probably if I hadn’t received a stranger *NOW FRIEND* into our home.
Status quo is the theme of the week. Status is condition. Quo means nothing changes . Status Quo… a condition that never changes. Every one seems to want to live in the ‘status quo’ zone. It’s comfortable. Status Quo actually is mediocrity… who wants that? I think it is the polar opposite of true Christianity. I think status quo comes when our eyes are on ourselves and on our neighbors. The problem is that it is prevalent in the american churches of today. When you are living in the status quo, you begin to think everyone else is in the status quo as well. You see a picture of a boat coming in from Syria *built for 100, holding 1000*. As a religious person you see problems. You are a citizen of the world. You are not thinking as a peculiar person just passing through a strange land *by definition, a true Christian*. World citizens, status quo people, the religious say,,, Oh no, here comes another 1000 problems. That is corporate church status quo thinking. It is not Jesus thinking. The church, and government can only see Haji Terrorists, Jesus’ eye is on the sparrow. He sees that one salient father defending his little girls on that boat. He sees the grieving parent. He sees the 1 Christian, standing for his faith *Jesus’ faith actually*. on that boat, 1 in a 1000.
Status quo is synonymous with Happy Endings. Therefore the concept of status quo is a myth. There is NO happily ever after, except for heaven. Yet people strive for status quo because they think they will have it when we get there. We all wish for it. We want to be like the Jones’. Even missionaries, who supposedly have sold out and are living their lives as a flame for Jesus, often find themselves doing the same thing that hundreds before them had done, because it is the safe way of doing things. Have you every wondered why country roads are so deeply dug in? The sides go up 2 or three meters! It is because those roads used to be Indian paths. Indians hacked their way through the woods,, then trampled the grass and brush until it was dead. Then the path turned in to dust and mud, and as the dust was blown and washed away, it started going down inches or feet every year. Years & centuries later, that trail became a rut, then a road. Now it’s paved, but it used to be just a path through the woods or fields. Those paths and roads are fun to walk down but deadly.. Once a mad cow tried to horn me, and I literally was trapped in by those high sides of that ‘safe path’. Snakes expect you and will bite you, because they’ve seen humans before. In war, we learned to NEVER walk down a path because that is where all the booby traps are. Complacency, mediocrity, status quo KILL. If you are guided by the Spirit of God, *because we are children of God* we will NEVER walk down the path of mediocrity. We will never be status quo. God does call us His Peculiar people. It is impossible to ‘fit in’ if you are truly following God and His spirit.
The story of the prodigal son is the biggest example of ASSUMED status quo.The son thought he was missing out on life. Everyone else was disobedient, so he wanted to party with the bad boys. He wanted to be in the rich kid ‘status quo’ club. Then when he was with the pigs, the Spirit of God led him out of there. We all assume that it is a happily ever after story but it isn’t. It is NOT a static story. Who knows what happened to the prodigal son 5 years later? Maybe the self righteous son was coming back, after doing his time in the pig pens, and maybe the prodigal son might be standing there in righteous indignation?
We STRIVE to make the ranks of status quo, but it is a vain gesture. NOTHING is static. Except for God’s love. Instead of striving for status quo, we should be relaxing in God’s love.
Working with children here in Managua is NEVER static nor boring. Things change. FAST. The kid loves you and is obedient, hangs on your every word, prays ‘the prayer’, etc etc. you use him as an example, or her. You put them up on a pedestal.. then WHAM…. their biochemistry changes, their home lives change, and one day the perfect kid is in utter chaos and you don’t know who you are talking to. ALL your efforts and work have been destroyed by one bad event…or so it seems.
Working with the less than perfect, praying and hoping things work out… almost ALWAYS ends in disaster…… that is where faith comes in… we have NO IDEA what the future holds. Maybe they have to be in prison and remember the words of God, or on their death bed. One thing is for sure, if you don’t leave the mediocre rut of the status quo, you will never have the chance to impact that life.
Our only goal and certainty is everlasting life for these children You can only do that by teaching them to be led by the Spirit of God and not by the status quo. Speaking of pedestal,, here is our little praise and worship leader David,, I love this little boy so much,,, look at him working the crowd as we are waiting for the rest of the kids to get there. Pray that his little life isn’t thrown into chaos. We get out of the rut when we have to help others to get out of theirs. Can;t do that from the ranks of the status quo.
Dean Peters
USA NUMBER 1-240-345-9268
local cel in Nicaragua 55010927
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