If there were ever a group of people on this planet who embody Reckless Living it is Moms! They give of themselves inspite of the consequences. They go without sleep, personal space, and snot free shirts for us. We showed this video in church this morning in appretiation of Moms everywhere. It was created by The Church on the Move in Tulsa, OK. Enjoy!

When I was in middle school I was fascinated by shipwrecks. For some reason there tends to be a latent morbid curiosity within most human beings that draws us to stories of the macabre. We run from the idea of death but are also intrigued by it. Shipwrecks are spooky and romantic and tragic all in one package.

I remember going to a book sale one day and coming home with two coffee table size books on the subject. Both were filled with pictures and stories of the doomed ships, and tales of how they met their fate. I still have both books somewhere.

One was a general book on shipwrecks from the 20th century. It told the stories of chips like the Andrea Doria, the Empress of Ireland, and the General Slocum.

The other book focused on what is arguably the most famous shipwreck of all times: RMS Titanic.

Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. There were TV specials and commemorative ceremonies. One company offered a memorial cruise that replicated the voyage of the Titanic, stopping over the wreck site for memorials at the exact time of the ships tragic encounter with an iceberg and subsequent plunge to the depths of the North Atlantic two hours later.

As someone who is intrigued by the Titanic I have watched several of the shows and read articles and pondered myself the events that took place 100 years ago. I’ve had several thoughts and so this will the first of two posts here at Reckless Living that focus on the Titanic disaster.

The first is this: Did Reckless Living sink the Titanic?
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This post contains excerpts from chapters 2 and 3 of my book Completely Reckless. Like it? Buy the book here!

Because we know that God is complete in and of himself, we can know that the cross is not the act of a spurned lover making one last dramatic gesture to capture their beloved’s attention. But this is often the way that it is perceived. The thought goes something like this: the sacrificial system of Judaism wasn’t working and so God stepped in with a new system, a new “covenant.” This idea implies that God was making things up as he went along, like a quarterback calling an audible because he saw that the defense was expecting his pass play. God tried Judaism, and it didn’t work, so he decided to go to plan B.

What if the cross was part of the plan from the beginning?  What if the Bible, the story of God’s interaction with humankind, the story of redemption and renewal was a narrative that was planned before it was begun? Any good author knows where they are going with a story before they begin to write the text. Should we assume that God is any different? The cross is a planned part of this redemptive narrative.

In his book The Original Jesus, Tom Wright makes the case for this kind of narrative view of scripture: “When we read the gospels, then, we are reading the books which tell the story of Jesus as the story of how the long drama between Israel and the covenant-God came to fulfillment and fruition. They only make sense as the completion, the final chapter, of a great drama that had been running for two millennia.”  Jesus coming to this earth was part of the plan before God said “let there be light.”

The Apostle Paul wrote it this way: “God decided in advance to adopt us into his family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” (Ephesians 1:5)

God created man in his image, not for companionship, but out of love. He knew full well that all of us at some time in our lives would reject that image within us and choose to go our own way. And he knew that Jesus would eventually come to this earth and be crucified. When we begin to understand this, the cross is now a planned act of love rather than an act of desperation. The depth and beauty of God voluntarily dying for humanity when he did not need to is staggering. God did not need the cross.  We did.
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St Patrick’s Day! It is the day for green beer, Leprechauns, and wearing a shade of green somewhere on your body to avoid getting ridiculed — also the one day a year when wearing a green bowler hat is socially acceptable.

I think one of the reasons St. Patrick’s Day has become so popular is because it is the ultimate no pressure holiday. Think about it. It is one of the few holidays where there is no expectation. There is no expectation of a family gathering or a romantic date. You don’t have to buy a present for anyone and if you happen to forget that it’s St. Patrick’s Day no worries, the worst that will happen is getting pinched by that annoying person in your office.

St. Patrick’s day is also the celebration of the life of one of the most Reckless people who have ever lived.
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