An Invite

I feel like a Gospel writer.

Not in the literal sense but in some way I feel like I'm sitting down to re-write what I have already written before. The writer of Mark sat down (or was in the mode of running) as he scrawled out his Gospel in a torrid like fashion. Many believe for this reason (and it's brevity) that the Gospel of Mark stood as the first Gospel written with Matthew and Luke following suit while utilizing Mark as the frame-work. Matthew takes a cultural influenced stance as he incorporates the Jewish heritage of his audience and Luke scribes his Gospel through the eyes of a physician with painstaking details. John is of a different cloth altogether, touching on allegorical references, drawing in grand comparisons of light and dark, night and day and moving through the shadow of Platonism.

So why make the comparison between the Gospels and getting ready to sit down and write about my new son? Because I already did this on Sunday with facts a plenty and short inflections of emotion. Today though, this afternoon I seek to write this entry from the perspective of a new father who is coming to terms with the vastness of being blessed in this new role. I'm looking to write not with the brevity of Mark, but with a balanced mix of heart and soul (Matthew) and of deep theological wonder and power (John). Oh and the kicker... this story has Jesus front and center in it (oh and Judah, Tina and me)

I'm going to be a writer and this is where it begins. (some would argue I've been writing for awhile but I would contend that something is different now)

Before I write “The Judah Story (#2)” I'll mention that I'm praying that this entry acts in a way as an introduction for the book I'm writing. I'll be writing on conversion. I'll be writing on hope, on loss, on patience, on belief, on love and life, on purpose and destination and a host of other God drenched emotions and events. I'll be writing from the perspective of a young Christian man with a wife and a baby boy, I'll be inviting others to look into my life and the moments that shaped me into who I am today. Which comes across as rather narcissistic but please read a chapter or two before coming to that conclusion. I don't believe that there is a lot of men out there writing on the heartaches and profound joys of life- from getting married, to losing a baby, to coming into faith and to peering into the eyes of his first born child. There is not a lot of men out there writing about the “love needs” that they have or rather need from the father figures in there life or the sustained respect and admiration that they need from there wife. Not many men are writing about grappling with being a Dad, about attempting to live out a life like Christ while living in a world that looks absolutely the opposite.

Not many men are willing to write with utter honesty and loving conviction... to invite you inside a place that is culturally promoted as a shrine of secrecy, of exterior toughness and inside strained melancholy.

I introduce to you a short book, with short chapters, about an average man, a beautiful woman, an awe capturing child and a God who is indescribably loving, encouraging and trust worthy. Hold on, buckle down, gather questions, have expectations and peer back into the mirror after-wards to see if you too feel, move and budge towards getting to know Jesus as God and I pray this writing blesses you in the same way as the people who I talk about in it have influenced me.

Peace be With You,
Lance