T(r)oy Marbles

3. simplicity saturday: i am but a servant

This is part of a series of pictures that were taken in late July 2008 when our family took a holiday in Salzburg. Each photo, in its own way, reminds me of the beauty of simplicity. I post one here every Saturday. To view in a larger format, click on the image. --Troy

Follow these links to...
Start the series at the beginning.

2. simplicity saturday: time and light are relative

Follow these links to...
Start the series at the beginning.
View the next image in the series.

beauty matters

My 8 year old son reminded me of something recently: Beauty matters.

While looking at a marble fountain, he wondered: "Dad, why do people make fountains?"

I thought for a second and said, "To make the world a beautiful place. It's important to make beautiful things because God made things beautiful."

He still does.

grace cannot become excessive

God’s grace is the landfall after 134 solitary days at sea. It is the one thing for which you have long awaited and the only thing that can save you.

It is, in fact, easier to find than the speck on a world map, yet somehow eludes us like an uncharted island. As long as you keep rowing, you will always keep going in circles, forever destined to remain adrift and lost. Cease your striving and let the current take you. It will carry you where you need to go. Have but a little faith, or, if not, at least give up, for mercy’s sake.

God’s grace is the only thing that rescued me. Yet, somehow, I take up the oars again as if paradise is somehow lacking.

We have too little faith in the power of forgiveness. Our problem is that we place too little hope in grace, not too much, yet we often act as though grace could somehow become excessive. But all grace is a gift from an infinite God and is therefore always limitless. Grace could no more become excessive than worms could become omnipotent.

We do not trust the sufficiency of God’s goodness, truth be told. We’d rather bet on our tired, hungry, frailty. But without forgiveness we have no hope. Without infinite grace, we are lost. Without grace we are but worms trying to scale Everest. We do not realize that, far from reaching the heights, we have actually sunk below the depths, like worms, and we are longing, longing for landfall, now long in coming.

And when we reach that shore, we shall be changed. Grace is life. You can never have too much of it.

1. simplicity saturday: waiting

I took these pictures in late July 2008 when our family took a holiday in Salzburg. During that holiday, we visited an outdoor museum. Each photo, in its own way, reminds me of the beauty of simplicity. Each Saturday, I'll post one here. To see the photo in a larger format, click on the image. --Troy

Follow this link to...
View the next image in the series.

a prayer of blessing

Yesterday, we had a special visit with Gretchen and Emma. I say that it was special in part because Gretchen and Emma leave for the States on Monday. They are moving there permanently, and we will miss them greatly.

I had meant to pray a short blessing over them before they left on Thursday, but something distracted me and before I knew it the time was up and they were gone. Well...better late than never, eh?

Gretchen and Emma, if you are reading this, this is my prayer for you. It comes from a group of Celtic Christians.

"I bless you, Gretchen and Emma,
in the name of the Holy Three,
the Father, the Son and the Sacred Spirit.
May you drink deeply
from God's cup of joy.
May the night bring you quiet.
And when you come
to the Father's palace
may His door be open
and the welcome warm."

unless you become like a little child

I want to remind you that simple trust is enough. You don’t need to add anything to it, nor should we add anything to it. When we attempt to add something to trust (anything, no matter how well-intentioned, how noble it may seem) we essentially enslave ourselves to doubt—for to add to trust is to doubt God’s sufficiency to meet all our needs, to satisfy our true desires.

You are secure in Christ. Rest in that. Just rest.

When you first came to Jesus, you did so by faith and faith alone. All those who would identify themselves with Christ do so by faith alone.

So, it stands to reason that, even as we find ourselves in Christ by faith alone, so shall we continue to remain in Christ by faith alone. Simple trust is enough. You have need of nothing else, for childlike faith lacks no good thing, and simple trust is fullness of hope.

trying to mix oil and water

How can I be harsh with you while trying to say we need more of Jesus?

Jesus was gentle.

A fig tree cannot produce grapes; nor can peace come from violence. The violent thought and word can never heal; it can only wound.

My friends, I cannot, in good conscience, preach the gospel out of anger.

When I forget that, please forgive me.

Holy Spirit, shield others from my bullets. Jesus, forgive me for stabbing you.

for heather on our anniversary

17 years ago we operated under the assumption that we knew where we would go and what we would do. At the time we didn’t know that we didn’t know. 17 years ago, we had no idea that special days would be littered with cockroaches and pastors from hell. We didn’t know I would trim trees and break bones. God, in his mercy, spared us the foreknowledge of difficulties in conception and relative homelessness. 17 years ago I didn’t know that one can’t love without fighting. At the time we didn’t know that we didn’t know.

But 17 years ago, to the day, there was one thing we did know and that one thing was enough. We had passed through the accidents of doubt that previous spring, so when our day came, we were healed and strong again. I have never been more certain of anything than the vows I spoke on our wedding day. I remember your lop-sided smile that day, your warm laughter and disliking the wine together. I remember thinking, “Is this really happening to me? Could I be so blessed?” I remember sharing a bed that night, and sleeping peacefully, knowing that as long as we stayed side-by-side we could face anything.

In my projections about the future there have been only two things that have come to pass: God has remained faithful to us and we have remained faithful to each other. And I can honestly say that that is enough, my love. 17 years on, we still share the same bed and I still think, “Is this really happening to me? Could I be so blessed?” 17 years on, I’ve learned that small things are big things: potato salad, frothed coffee, and a listening ear. This morning, your lop-sided smile made my heart jump again and tonight we shall celebrate with Argentine steak and a soothing glass of smooth Spanish red.

You’d think that, with 17 years behind us, I’d know more, but today I am keenly aware that we do not know where we will be 17 years from now. (Could it be that I have finally come to know that I don’t know? I hope so.) 17 years from now we may be slapping mosquitoes or mourning a loss. I will probably still spurn sushi and make your eyes roll, but who knows what other variables will define us? We may be holding a grandchild or buying a dog. We may be car-less or sun-burnt. There are many things we do not know.

In spite of that, though, there are two things I am certain of: God will yet abide in our hearts and you will abide in mine. One way or another, we will fight to love. You will continue to smile most days and anger me others. We will improvise but we will not gamble. 17 years from now you will interfere with my comfort, tearing up my straight pavements, turning them into small, wild, crooked paths. Come what may, with you by my side, my soul will find its imperfect home. Yes, the windows will always need washing there, but I would not want it any other way, for we are together, my bride.

arbitrary limitations (or, death to the artistic soul)

arbitrary limitations (or, death to the artistic soul)
a poem by troy cady

that
Important Man
ignored you.

no matter.
I know you.
I see you.

you sat
to His left
but He craned
His Neck
to the right
to talk
with
The Author
of
A Book
with
Many New Ideas.

earlier,
The Author
wanted to discuss
with you
something that was of grave concern to Him.
“Should blind persons paint
and
deaf people compose?
Is that…right?”

He didn’t think so.

meanwhile,
Jesus
sang and danced
over
those foolish enough to be themselves.

God of beauty

It is because God loves you that he never takes his eyes off you. You may think he watches you in order to "catch you in sin", but that is a lie. God watches you because he loves you. There is never a moment he stops loving you, so there is never a moment he stops gazing on you.

He simply sees you in beauty. He gazes on you continually because he thinks you are beautiful. He created you, so you are beautiful. He is, after all, The Maker of beauty. In fact, he can only create beautiful things; it is not in his nature nor capacity to create anything ugly.

Rest in this: He created you. You are beautiful. He loves you. He never wants to stop beholding you. You are his lovely child.

I just wanted to remind you of that.

God of surprise

On July 20, a handful of Oasis Madrid folks went out to La Pedriza to celebrate Christine's baptism. Following is the text of the short sermon I gave. I hope it helps you in some way.

--Troy

God of Surprise
a short sermon by Troy Cady

God is perfect and we are imperfect. Because of this, God appears to us as upside-down. We worship the God of Great Reversals.

The Bible tells us that, because God is perfectly sovereign, our plans (which are imperfect) often change, because God steps into human history to reverse our spiral towards entropy. Because of this, God appears to us as a God of surprise.

Historically, there have been many ways God has surprised us, but The Greatest Reversal of All is the Christ-Event. No one expected that the Messiah, the King of Heaven, would be born in a barn. No one expected He would work on the Sabbath.

During His ministry, Jesus taught about the Great Reversal, which His very life would embody. “Blessed are those who mourn...Love your enemies.” These teachings run counter to our natural human impulse; they appear backward to us because Jesus is perfect and we are not.

Because of His great teachings (and His miracles), many placed their faith in Jesus. But, even in this we got it wrong. See, those who placed their faith in Jesus never expected Him to give up His life. Jesus told them He would be crucified, but still they did not believe it. His Kingdom would come in a way we never expected, because His way is perfect, but ours is imperfect.

On the third day, however, the world would see that God is the God of Great Reversals. He brings life out of death, victory out of defeat. He demonstrates power in weakness, and descends to the depths so He can carry us on to the heights. He is a God of joyful surprise. And He invites us to walk with Him on this path of joyful surprise. Still, to this day, through His Holy Spirit, He leads us in ways we do not expect. Because of His mercy, He is still the God who steps into history to graciously change our plans. Even today, His ways are still perfect and, yes, ours are still imperfect. That’s why He calls us to simply trust Him when we want to do one thing while He wants to do another.

Christine, you have seen for yourself that God is full of surprises. You have seen that sometimes we have one idea in mind, but God has another. When you came to Madrid, you came with the idea that Madrid would be a brief stop-along-the-way. But God, in His gracious mercy, had another idea. Christine, we are together today because our God is a God of joyful surprise. And today our hearts are filled with gratitude to the God of Great Reversals because you are a part of this family and we are a part of you. Today, we worship the risen Christ together, because He has bound us together through His crazy, backwards ways. Today, we worship Christ together because of the living truth of His surprising death and resurrection.

That’s what your baptism signifies. As you go under the water you are testifying to His surprising death and burial; and as you come up out of the water, you are testifying to His surprising resurrection. You are testifying to this surprising power in your own life, as you’ve experienced it personally. Your life is no longer the same, because faith in the crucified and risen Christ has changed you from the inside out. Christ’s death and resurrection is so powerful, in fact, that it not only has changed the course of past history, and it not only has changed your life in the present, but it will continue to stun us even in the future. Yes, just when we think we’ve got it all figured out, God will step in once again and show us that, though we thought we’d understood, we really didn’t.

In I Corinthians 15, when the apostle Paul taught about Christ’s resurrection, He also taught how its power spills over into the future in still more surprising ways. Here’s what he writes: “Listen, I tell you a mystery: …we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye...For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will all be changed…Then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ Thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The power of the resurrection can never be imprisoned in the cell of past history. It is something that will yet spill over into the future—and in still surprising ways.

Because of this, Paul continues with a practical matter as to how we should live in the present. Because we will yet experience a new dimension of Christ’s resurrection power in the future, Paul tells us: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

It is for these words that I chose this text today. Christine, I think of you as someone who “gives herself fully to the work of the Lord.” This is because you’ve experienced the life-transforming power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. And today I read this text in hopes of fanning into flame even more your heart to labor diligently for the Lord. In this way, your baptism is a commissioning.

See, when you minister to others what you are really proclaiming is this: “I believe God’s grace is boundless because Jesus is alive; He lives in my heart and I want nothing more than for Jesus to live in your heart, too.” And, because our future transformation is certain, you are also saying, from a place of hope: “The life of Jesus is not something that is confined to today. It is also for tomorrow. I serve you because I know that one day ‘we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye…we will be changed.’ One day, we will finally be able to say ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’”

In your baptism you are foretelling God’s great work of renewal. So “stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” As you are baptized here today, the risen Christ is pointing you to the future. God has surprised you by keeping you here in the present because He has some very special things prepared for you in the future. Today, as you are baptized, you have Jesus and you have His promise to go before you. This is the death and resurrection of Christ, and this is your baptism. A future hope. A future filled with still more surprise.

just rest

You need not fear. You can close your eyes now, because God is big enough to keep the demons at bay. You can be silent now, too. You need not use speech, many words, to impress. Your value is not dependent on your ability to say things others regard as clever. You need not even have hands to write or the capacity to construct a structured thought. You are loved. Just rest. Just rest now, my child.

God sees all in love

I want to remind you that your significance is not dependant on publication.

I want to remind you that your value cannot rest on whether or not you have gone to Yale.

It matters not how many people know you, how many people proclaim after hearing you speak, "My, that was incredible!"

You need not dance for the Russian ballet or act on Broadway for your life to matter.

Nothing need be added to love to give your life meaning because God is love. God, in love, sees all--and God sees all in love. God sees the hungry child, God sees the forgotten hostage and the unsung composer. If God sees you, you matter. If God sees you, He does so because He has a good purpose for you. There is never a moment from which you slip God's mind. He Knows All, Everyone. He knows you, He sees you, He loves you. And His love really is enough; and the very creation publishes this as a glad welcome. All are invited to partake of the wedding feast; all are welcome at His table, for He created all, in love.

stop hating yourself; let God love you

I want to remind you that you cannot hold tight-fistedly to the lie that your life amounts to nothing and receive God’s love at the same time. For the love of God proclaims unequivocally: “You are of inestimable worth!” True humility consists of the simple acknowledgement that one need only stand like a child in front of a loving Father, knowing one need only to receive one thing: the love of the Father. And when you receive that one thing, you come to know, to really know, how deeply you are valued, cherished and loved.

The love of God imbues every human with dignity. All who come to Him, with head bowed low, undergo a wonderful transformation: Jesus, the Suffering Servant, lifts our head. We may even be blind, but fortunately, we need not sight to come to Him; He accepts us just as we are. He calls us, even in our frailty. And His call is all we need, for He calls to us with a clear, drawing voice: “Come, and I will give you rest. My yoke is easy, my burden is light.”

His voice is enough; we need only hear Him, but if we do have the capacity to see Him, we shall not see someone greater than us (though He, in fact, is)—no, we shall see someone just like us. The Son of God, in becoming a man, dignified Humanity. In becoming one of us, He showed His love for us. In loving us, He esteemed us. That is why you cannot simultaneously hate yourself and let Him love you. In doing one, you exclude the other. In letting Him love you, you come to know that you are worth loving.

So, the question you must ask yourself is: will you let Him love you? Indeed, this is the question I am asking myself right now; this is why I am writing this.

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”

Stop hating yourself. Let God love you.