¿La luz o el Camino? • The light or the Way?

ESPAÑOL (for english just scroll down)

¿Alguna vez te has topado con una iglesia (o grupo de creyentes en algo) que creen que sólo su método te llevará al cielo y que si estás en otra congregación estás frito? ¿Te has preguntado por qué pasa esto o en qué punto del viaje es que una iglesia sana se confunde por completo? No estoy diciendo que todas las religiones llevan al mismo Dios, porque no es así. Todas las religiones llevan a alguna parte, pero si querés llegar al Dios bíblico, el único camino es Cristo. Ni María, ni Pedro, ni Tomás, ni Gabriel, ni Vos Mismo.

Entonces, si existe una variedad de iglesias que predican a Cristo como el único camino al Padre ¿por qué algunas de ellas terminan diciendo que sólo su forma de seguir a Cristo es el camino correcto? La respuesta está escondida en Mateo 5:14.

En el famoso "Sermón del Monte", Cristo le dice a las personas que lo estaban siguiendo: "Ustedes son la luz del mundo". Esas personas son como nosotros, la Iglesia, ya que estaban siguiendo a Cristo. Pero si analizamos bien la frase, podremos encontrar la clave de lo que estamos hablando: El problema de que una iglesia se confunda y llegue a creer que ella es el único camino nace cuando cree que ella es El Camino. Entonces, obviamente, la lógica dirá que quien no esté en ese "camino" no está "yendo al Padre". El error es simple: Pasar de ser la luz que alumbra el camino, a ser el Camino.

Toda iglesia local es vulnerable a este error, pero si tenemos la información adecuada, podemos evitarlo porque la verdad es que la Iglesia no es y nunca será el Camino. Sólo es la luz que alumbra y señala el Camino (Cristo) para aquellos que quieren ir al Padre.

ENGLISH

Have you ever bumped into a church (or group of believers-in-something) that believe that only its method will take you to heaven and if you are in some other congregation, then you're fried? Have you ever wonder why does this happen or in what point of the journey a healthy church gets confused? I'm not saying that every religion can take you to God, because they not. Every religion can take somewhere, but if you want to reach the biblical God, the only way is Christ. Not Mary, nor Peter, nor Thomas, nor Gabriel, nor Yourself.

So, if there's a variety of churches that preach Jesus as the only way to the Father... Why some of them end up saying that only their way of following Jesus is the right way? The answer is hidden in Matthew 5:14.

In the famous 'Sermon on the Mount', Christ tells to the people that were following him: 'You are the light of the world.' Those people are like us, the Church, since they were following Jesus. But if we really think about the phrase, we can find the key for what we're talking about: The problem of a church being confused and believing that it is the only way begins when she starts to believe that she is the Way. Then, obviously, logic will tell that anyone who doesn't walk in that way, is not walking towards the Father. The error is simple: Switching from being the light that lights the Way, to being the Way.

Any local church is vulnerable to this error but if we have the right information, we can avoid it because, the truth is that the Church is not and never will be the Way. It is only the light that shows and lights the Way (Jesus) for those who want to go to the Father.

El poder unificador de la separación • The unifying power of separation

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Hace unos días leí un correo que me envió uno de mis hermanos menores. En la lista de destinatarios estaba el nombre de alguien que fue (durante muchos años) uno de los mejores amigos de mi papá: Álvaro Perdomo, y que ahora volvía a ser parte de nuestra vida familiar.

Yo era todavía un niño así que no recuerdo por qué la amistad de mi papá y Álvaro se había terminado. De esa "ruptura" nació una iglesia y varios ministerios que aún hoy están vivos en esa congregación. Mi papá y Álvaro no se hablaron durante quizá más de 15 años y, obviamente, nosotros crecimos sin tener contacto con él y es por esta razon que me llamó la atención el correo de mi hermano.

El año pasado, debido a la muerte de mi hermana mayor, Álvaro se acercó y mi papá no se alejó. Ambos se olvidaron del orgullo y dejaron que el dolor de una pérdida los llenara del poder más paradójico que hay en esta vida: El poder unificador de la separación.

La separación de mi hermana reunió de nuevo a los amigos.

¿Alguna vez te has preguntado por qué pasa esto? Es extraño que la separación más dolorosa que existe en este lado del río tenga tanto poder de unificación. Pareciera que la muerte invoca al perdón y el dolor convoca al abrazo.

Aunque pensándolo mejor, el fenómeno de la unidad por separación no es tan extraño. Si no me equivoco, el día que Cristo fue separado del Padre en el Calvario, nosotros fuimos reunidos con Dios. ¿Lo ven?

El poder unificador de la separación es tan extraño y maravilloso como el poder vivificador de la muerte.

ENGLISH

A few days ago, while reading a mail sent by one of my younger brothers, I saw on the "to" list the name of someone that (for many many years) was one of the best friends of my dad: Alvaro Perdomo. Now he was becoming part of our family life again.

I was still a kid so I don't remember why my dad's friendship came to an end. Some of the direct fruits of that ending was a new church and a few ministries that are well and alive until this day in that new congregation. Anyway, my dad and Alvaro didn't spoke to each other for more than 15 years and, obviously, we grew up without having any contact with him. This is why my brother's mail made me think about all this.

Last year, because of my older sister's death, Alvaro came to us and my dad didn't left from him. They both forgot about the pride and they both let that the pain of losing Ruby filled them with the most paradoxical power in this life: The unifying power of separation.

The separation from my sister reunited these long time friends.

Have you ever wonder why does things like that happen? Is extraordinary how the most devastating separation that we can experiment on this side of the river has, at the same time, so much unifying power. It looks like death calls forgiveness and pain calls the embrace.

But... if you we really think about it, the phenomenon of the unity by separation is not so strange. If I'm not wrong, the day that Christ was separated from the Father at Calvary, we were reunited with God. Do you see it?

The unifying power of separation is so weird and wonderful as the resurrection power of death.

PERSEVERANCIA • PERSEVERANCE

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Estoy convencido que prácticamente nada sale bien en el primer intento (leer mi post anterior).

Pero además, si algo he aprendido de todos mis maestros es que, no importa qué tan mal hayan salido las cosas, hay que seguir adelante, hay que perseverar.

Hoy logré hacer el famoso "Pastel Imposible" o "Media Noche" o "Chocoflan". Fue mi tercer intento y por fin salió. Y aunque esto no significa que soy un respostero profesional, sí es una victoria importante.

Y es que la vida está llena de victorias esquivas y el sabor del logro es mucho más rico que cualquier pastel... bueno, quizá exageré un poco, pero el punto es este: ¡No te rindás en eso que no te salió como esperabas en el primer intento!

ENGLISH

I'm convinced that virtually nothing goes right in the first try (read my previous post).

But... one thing that I have learned from my many teachers is that, no matter how bad things may have ended, you must keep on going. You must persevere!

Today I successfully baked the famous "Impossible Cake" aka "Midnight Cake". It was my third try and finally it was a hit! And although this doesn't mean that I'm a professional "caker", it is an important victory.

You know, life is full of those dodgers victories (Am I using right the 'dodger' adjective?) and an accomplishment is tastier than any cake... well... I might be exagerating a little there, but the point is this: In that thing that didn't result the way you want it the first time... Don't you give up!

El primer intento • The first try

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Anoche hice mi primer "cargamento" de pastelitos de chocolate para vender y aunque no salieron mal, tampoco salieron como queríamos. Honestamente, fui tan idiota que pensé que me iban a salir perfectos en el primer intento. Entonces, luego del respectivo enojo, la frustración y la vergüenza, recordé algo que dijo el inventor Edison, no sé si sea leyenda o verdad, pero que me ayudó: "Ahora ya sé una forma en la que los pastelitos no salen bien."

¿Cuánto bien nos haría recordar esta frase cuando intentamos algo para Dios? Yo creo que mucho. Y es que incluso con Dios de tu lado, las cosas no siempre saldrán como esperabas y menos aún en el primer intento. Así que, si nada te ha salido como esperabas últimamente, tranquilo, tranquila, ahora sabés una forma más en la que no vas a obtener los resultados esperados.

¡Ahora, intentalo de nuevo!

ENGLISH

Last night I made my first "load" of chocolate brownies (the ones I pretend to sell) and although the result wasn't bad, it wasn't as planned either. Honestly, I was such an idiot that I thought that everything was going to be perfect in my first try. So, after the obligated anger, the frustration and the shame, I remembered something that Edison (the inventor) said, and even I don't know if it's truth or pure legend, it helped me: 'Now I know another way to not bake correctly."

How good would it be that we'd remember this sentence when we're trying something for God? I think it would help us a lot! You see, even with God on your side, things might not come up the way you were expecting, and certainly not in the first try!

So, if nothing has been the way you expected lately... easy! Now you know another way not to do things for God!

Now... give it another try!

The Map to be free from the boring christian-manhood

Being a christian man is not an attractive idea. For outsiders, the idea of manhood, according to the church, is boring, weak, powerless and testosterone free.

I agree.

Too often the ideal of the Christian Man is a lamb who can’t defend himself or his dear ones. A man that, if his wife is about to be abused, will get on his knees, will pray for her, will pray for the abusers, but won’t do a thing to save her.

Let’s say it like it is: That kind of a man isn’t ideal! No wonder why men don’t want to come to church.

This amazing book, written by David Murrox, is about rediscovering real manhood in Christianity. I mean, Jesus was a lamb, but he was also a lion and fought hard when he had to. He screamed, he insulted, he attacked, he roared. He made himself a whip and gave a royal-anger scene getting everybody out of the Temple. He went silent to the cross, but hours before He put on the ground a lot of soldier’s rear ends.

Was Jesus bipolar? No! Was Jesus on crack? Again, no! Was Jesus the real ideal of Christian Man? A big yes!

So how can we reconcile the lambness with the lioness and live our lives like real men? Well… just follow The Map!

A book that is really different and inspiring!