The True

Formation and Friction

In recent weeks, you and I have considered story after story about automation, innovation, technology, and convenience. The incredible acceleration of technology is, without a doubt, the dominant story of our day. Every time you look around, there is another way to make your life easier. More convenient. More prosperous. Less difficult. On and on it goes.

As we’ve acknowledged together in the past, this is a wonderful gift in many ways. Praise God for the gift of innovation and ingenuity! But there is also an unmistakable temptation to allow technology to eliminate as much friction from our lives as possible, and that carries with it a very profound risk.

Romans 3:3-5 is a passage you and I have returned to with some regularity, because it contains numerous truths that are essential to cling to in our days: “[W]e also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

This passage is so critical for our time for the very reason that we are increasingly offered the option of avoiding suffering and struggle. In my mind, the word that best describes it is friction. You and I increasingly have the option to minimize or even eliminate friction in our daily tasks, and to be clear, this can be a very helpful thing! For example, my wife, Brooke, and I have benefited greatly from automating and syncing much of our family’s calendaring. There are always so many moving parts between the six of us, and the automation of calendaring has been an immense blessing. I’m sure you can point to dozens of similar examples in your life.

But it would be a mistake (and a very easy one to make) to assume that all removal of friction is a good thing. Why? Because friction is essential to formation.

Our passage gives us part of this truth. We are to be endeavoring to be like Jesus, and to have His eternal hope in our spirits. Working backwards, to achieve hope, we need His character. To embody His character, we must develop His perseverance. And to possess His perseverance, we must share in His suffering. It is that suffering and that struggle that allow us to lift our eyes from ourselves and set them on Him. It is the friction of that struggle that refines our inner beings.

The second part of this truth is in what scripture repeatedly calls the “refining fire.” My personal favorite use of this analogy is in 1 Peter 1:6-7: “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

It can be difficult to recognize in our human finiteness, but comfort and convenience—the removal of friction—is nowhere close to the goal of your existence and mine. The goal of our being is to bring praise and glory and honor to God, and that is accomplished through the proving of our faith that occurs through testing.

My friend, if the friction is removed, so is the formation that brings glory to your God. In a world where convenience abounds and a frictionless life is all the rage, remember that your primary mission is to be formed in the likeness of Jesus that you might bring Him praise!

Friction, after all, is required for formation!

U.S.

Oregon School Shooting

Three students ages 11, 8, and 5, and a teacher are dead after a 16-year-old opened fire inside a Bend, OR special needs classroom last week. A 7-year-old student and another teacher are injured but expected to recover. The shooter, identified by authorities as a former student at the school, was shot and killed by the father of two other students who entered the school after hearing gunshots. Authorities credit that father and a teacher who confronted the shooter with saving lives by stopping the attack.

Analysis and eternal perspective: ‘Senseless’ is the word so often used for an attack like this one, but ‘evil’ is probably more accurate. The brokenness of our world is on vivid display in the details of this story, and as a result, several families are dealing with catastrophic loss and grief. We should begin our contemplation of this story by praying for the parents and family of the victims. God, carry out your promise to be close to the brokenhearted today (Ps. 34:18).

Next, we should pray for the comfort of the heroic father who put his life on the line to stop the attack. According to reports, he is struggling with not having been able to stop the attack sooner, and we should pray for his comfort and peace after being called upon to respond in such a courageous manner.

Finally, this story is yet another reminder of the depth of the fissures in our society. While it is unequivocally true that we should live with the joy of the Lord in our spirits and as our strength (Neh. 8:10), it is also incumbent on us to be aware of the times in which we live (Rom. 13:11), and to gird up in God’s truth in order to respond in a manner that is life-giving and life-preserving (1 Pet. 1:13). There is only one power that adequately vanquishes the kind of evil evidenced in this story, and it is the power of the living God that abides in you!

Sports

World Series Set

Major League Baseball’s World Series is now set. The Milwaukee Brewers will represent the National League against the American League’s Tampa Bay Rays, with game one of the best-of-seven series set to be played on Friday. The Brewers have never won the World Series and will be playing in it for only the second time, while this will be the third appearance for the Rays, who have also never won the title.

Analysis and eternal perspective: This year’s baseball playoffs have been the sports version of David defeating Goliath. Both Milwaukee and Tampa Bay rank in the bottom half of payroll (Milwaukee 17^th and Tampa Bay 19^th out of 30), and near the bottom in market size (Milwaukee 27^th and Tampa Bay 28^th according to one form of measurement).

To put a finer point on it, the Los Angeles Dodgers (who were defeated by the Brewers in the National League Championship Series) have an annual payroll of more than $370 million, which is more than that of the Brewers and Rays combined.

The result is a World Series that will be played outside of the largest media markets in the country, and between teams that are unaccustomed to the game’s largest stage. As a baseball romantic myself, it is an incredibly fun dynamic, though I readily concede that my Chicago Cubs getting knocked out in the first round of the playoffs diminished my interest significantly.

As Jesus followers, sports should not be the ultimate object of our affection, but they frequently represent prime opportunities to gather with others in a spirit of community and camaraderie. Psalm 133:1 says, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” If you are following the World Series, or perhaps the early stages of the NFL season, consider how it may be a chance to commune with fellow believers and with those around you who don’t yet believe.

Technology

Flying Cars

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a flying car!

Tesla, the world’s highest valued automobile company according to market capitalization, launched its new Roadster model by literally launching it upside-down to demonstrate its ability to flip mid-air and land safely (see video). While the new hotrod is not yet available for delivery, the “flying” model was originally expected to cost a cool $250,000, and many industry experts now expect that figure to be even higher.

Analysis and eternal perspective: We live in a technological age of wonder. This story is quite literally fitting for a sci-fi action-packed thriller on the big screen! God has gifted mankind with an incredible ability to discover, innovate, and create! In doing so, we are exercising the character of the Creator. Of course, this gift can be used for all manner of good or evil, and it is incumbent on us to use our gifts in a way that bring Him glory.

You may not be inventing flying cars (but if you are, please drop me a line and invite me to take a test flight), but your mission is of paramount importance. You were created for the glory of God (Is. 43:21) and He desires relationship with you (Rev. 3:20, Jer. 31:3). He also entrusted you with carrying His mission into all the world (Matt. 28:16-20). This is an awe-inspiring fact that should never cease to amaze and inspire you!

It is easy to get caught up in the wonder of a story like this. It is also easy to feel small against its backdrop. But this week, gaze anew in wonder at the astounding reality of all that God has invited you into. His love for you is everlasting, and you have an eternity to learn of it!

“The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness’” (Jer. 31:3).

The Beautiful

Taste

We’ve been reveling in fall these last few weeks at The Equipped, and you can almost taste the sweetness of this week’s image—caramel apples! My grandma regularly had homemade caramel apple dip available for meals or as a snack, and it always hit the spot!

How fitting it is that God’s kingdom is frequently compared to a feast or delicious food. His goodness is meant not just to be observed or admired, but to be consumed and enjoyed! This week, don’t just be an admirer. Get a taste of God’s goodness for yourself!

“Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8).