How to Engage

 

So far this week, we have imagined a horizontal line, a continuum, from information on the left to inspiration on the right.  As you have thought about that, you can notice how you engage things matter.  For example, if you come at Scripture as information to be distilled and discerned, the Psalms are really going to frustrate you.  Or if you come on Sunday mornings wanting a lecture on the cultural context of the passage, I will disappoint you.  Please know that information is good.  When my kids started driving, I didn’t only give them a pep talk, I gave them information that I have picked up over the years of driving.  Or when I started here at the church, I wanted to hear the stories, which gave me background, about the people.  I still love meeting people and hearing where they came from and what is inspiring them.  Imagine a horizontal line of information to inspiration.  Now right in the middle of that continuum, insert a vertical line that has the word, “equip” at the top and “empower” at the bottom.

If you focus on equip, this is different than inform.  For example, Wikipedia can give you all kinds of information about a hammer, but not tell you how to swing that hammer so you don’t hurt your hand.  Or I can get all kinds of information about a Bible passage, but that doesn’t mean I can put that into a sermon.  Information, facts, ideas, and data points are important, but equipping someone is to put that knowledge to work. 

When was the last time you took information and put that in motion?  When was the last time you learned something then went to test and try that out?  It could be a YouTube video you watched on how to repair a broken pipe.  Or it could be a new tip or technique you learned in relationships that you are now trying to embody with another featherless biped.  Equipping moves the information from your head to your heart or hands or practice as you participate in this art project called, “life”.  Where and when was the last time information moved you to a new way of being or to try something out?  To be sure, your first efforts may have faltered or failed. Sometimes, I learn more by doing it wrong than getting it right, even if that is so frustrating.  Ask yourself where do you long to take the information of life and move that into a practice and way of being in your life?  This may take days, weeks, or months to answer.  You may need to return and refine the places where you are curious (see the post from Tuesday).  But I assume that you would like information not just for the sake of filling your head with more data, but because you want to shift toward a different way of being.  May the grace of God that supports all our growing continue to equip you to be God’s people in these days. Amen.