What is lacking? Colossians 1:24

I don't know about you guys, but I read God's word and accept it as the truth, but sometimes, I have no idea what something means! This year, I have been reading a lot of Colossians, and I love it, but one verse that trips me up:

Colossians 1:24
²⁴Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. (NIV)

*And KJV, for good measure:
²⁴Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

Now, what is lacking? I certainly don't think that Christ's sacrifice was lacking in any way for my salvation, so then what does it mean? Well ta-da! Dr. Sam Storms wrote a little summary of some possibilities for this. Also, I believe John Piper is a wise man of God, so I liked that his commentary was present in the essay. It all makes a little more sense now...

"The fifth option has been defended by John Piper (Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, 2003). "Paul's sufferings," he explains, "complete Christ's afflictions not by adding anything to their worth, but by extending them to the people they were meant to save. What is lacking in the afflictions of Christ is not that they are deficient in worth, as though they could not sufficiently cover the sins of all who believe. What is lacking is that the infinite value of Christ's afflictions is not known and trusted in the world. . . . So the afflictions of Christ are 'lacking' in the sense that they are not seen and known and loved among the nations. They must be carried by the ministers of the Word. And those ministers of the Word 'complete' [or 'fill up'] what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ by extending them to others" (268).

What is lacking, then, in Christ's afflictions is not propitiation but presentation. In other words, the sufferings of Jesus fully satisfied the wrath of God, but there is lacking "a personal presentation by Christ Himself to the nations of the world. God's answer to this lack is to call the people of Christ (people like Paul) to make a personal presentation of the afflictions of Christ to the world. In doing this, we 'fill up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.' We finish what they were designed for, a personal presentation to the people who do not know about their infinite worth" (269).

The amazing think about this text is how Paul envisions himself (and others) filling up this lack. It is in his "flesh"! In other words, "God intends for the afflictions of Christ to be presented to the world through the afflictions of His people. . . . Our calling is to make the afflictions of Christ real for people by the afflictions we experience in bringing them the message of salvation. Since Christ is no longer on the earth, He wants His body, the church, to reveal His suffering in its suffering" (269-70)."

(The entire article is here: http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article/filling-up-the-afflictions-of-christ-124/ ).

A Laugh for You (at my expense)

So, it started with a trip to Santiago. This week I spend some time with the poopers (more on that later). Sharls is out of town on business, and I stayed at her apartment with her roommate, Steph and the tweems. Since I obviously wasn't going to be doing any driving around Santiago, I didn't have any keys to the apartment. This never posed a real problem until, yesterday...



The boy's "Nana," Teresa was coming to pick them up last night to keep them for a couple days, and she was so very kindly going to take me to the bus station so I could go back to Puerto Plata. Well, seeing as though I didn't have keys, I brilliantly thought: "Oh yea, I should go out the back and lock everything up behind me!" (So responsible).

After the boys and all their stuff were out the front door and I locked it, I started out the back. There is a kitchen door to a little utility area enclosed by a gate. I pushed the little lock on the kitchen door behind me, closed it, and turned around to see...the iron gate-- deadbolted shut. Did I have a key for this gate? Of course not!

First thought that went through my mind: "Did I really just do this? I can't believe I just did this. Yes, this really happened."

Second thought that went through my mind: the story of when my dad and my uncle Kevin locked my uncle Jay in between two hotel doors, but I digress.

Yes, I definitely locked myself OUT of the apartment but IN from the outside. The area in which I was enclosed is pictured above (at least there was a toilet!). Once Teresa came around back to see what was taking me so long, she said, "Well, we have to laugh about this..." Let me just add to this story that Steph, Sharla's roommate, was on a little beach trip until the next day. A neighbor, Chris, and his wife were very helpful through the whole ordeal, but I had just met them and was in the middle of one of the stupidest acts of my life (don't mention any others, dad).

I tried a bunch of little McGyver manuevers with a credit card and a bobby pin for about an hour or so, and made a bunch of phone calls for another hour. We decided that worst case scenario, I would stay there for the night until Steph got back. Problem: when Steph called we found out she wasn't coming back from her trip until tomorrow night. The possibilities ranged from her sending the keys on the next bus to me breaking off the doorknob. She was so sweet and apologetic (like it was even her fault at all) and told me I should just break off the doorknob since it only costs about 300 pesos. When I finally got a hold of Sharls on Skype chat, she said I should break the doorknob to get back into the apartment-- there was a spare gate key inside somewhere. Finally, per Sharla's advice, I jammed a flathead screwdriver into the knob and voila! FREEDOM! It smelled so lovely. Obviously I had to blog about this. As you can see, when I took the pictures, I left the kitchen door open because of my paranoia that it would spontaneously shut and lock me up again. The good news is: the children are safe. Their apartment is very secure.

By the end of it all, I spent one more night in the apartment since it was too late to catch a bus, and now I am home again!

I realize that I blogged with the risk of being humiliated by my friends and family, but it's ok, because you have to love me.

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!

Un Poco de Mayo

Ah, so many things have happened this month, and I have yet to blog about them. Ah, well. Once again, I'll just give a "chin" of information about everything que ha pasado. This picture has no real significance at all, except for the awesomeness of Dominican restaurants. This is our little lunch outing after church one sunday. 100 pesos a plate PLUS a carwash. It's not rare to see a Dominican restaurant/carwash/discoteca/bowling alley. What more could you want?! (I will tell you: chips and dip).

This little man is Diego. Jennie and Miguel, his parents, are Makarios peeps, and he is awesome. He turned ONE this month, and we had the privelege of going to his par-tay. It was lovely. He got to play in his baby pool, and he took the "no hands" approach to conquering his first-ever birthday cake. It was amazing. This is Diego playing on our river day.

What's that she said? River Day? Oh yes, the Makarianos celebrated Dominican Labor day one Saturday in May. All the staff went down to the river bank and hung out all day. This picture pretty much outlines the day: the girls sitting around (and sometimes playing in the river) while the hombres prepared lunch! Nice. Javier from the construction group made sancocho, a Dominican stew that is pretty much amazing. It is my favorite Dominican food (even though I really think there are only like...4 Dominican foods).

Ay, mi amor. This is Gustavo, the kid I pretty much love. He is a little crazy at times, but still awesome. On this day, Kendall and I caught him on the way home from school, so we took him by Colmado Luis, the best place to get fresh juice (with about a full cup of sugar added). Gustavito chose cherry juice-- that little weirdo. Anyway, I had to stop and take a picture to remember that moment. I am really hoping Ashley and I can take our little poopers (Gustavo y Luis Fernando) on some "date days" during the summer. The kids won't have school, but will have some weeks of camp, so we might be able to steal them away and take them to a movie or something. Yay!

This gringo right here is the newest member of our staff, Riley. He is our website person, webmaster, IT guy? I don't really know what he calls himself. He is here for six months working with Garrett and Miguel to add on to the school and continue building the new Makarios house! Riley is the one of the reasons I will come home about ten pounds heavier than I left: he makes brownies probably weekly. On river day, we all ate such a huge, late lunch that we decided to have a light dinner. Light dinner = popcorn + one quarter of a pan of brownies. It's true, people.

This beautiful lady is Kendall with one of her babies, Wilson. Wilson was fresh up from a nap to come see her. He is pretty cuddly. Kendall is leaving us today for the summer! :( She is awesome, and I am so glad she will be able to spend her summer in the states and with her soon-to-be new nephew! Kendall is returning in the fall to be a teacher's aide for a full year, so you can be praying for her for that!

This is El Garaje, our favorite restaurant (our = Kendall y yo). Other people like some other places better, but no one beats the fried plantains here. I just took this picture because they served my coke with a Mickey Mouse cup. I may be the only one who found that hilarious. Sidenote about El Garaje: there are these two kittens that live there, and if you order meat, they will literally come and punch you in the leg so you give them a piece.

Whew. Some things you can be praying for:
- We are kicking off the summer! This year, summer will be a trade off between mission groups and literacy camps with the kiddos. It's really exciting! I think I will be helping Anne some with coordinating the groups who come in, and I am looking forward to that. (I don't want to feel useless during my last weeks here).
- Staff: I am pretty much the only one leaving here for good this summer. Like I said before, Kendall is coming back for the following year, as well as Robin, Cara, y Ashley. (There are other staff staying as well: Garret+Anne, Jennie+Miguel, and more). Pray that God continues to prepare their hearts for the upcoming year.
- Makarios school is growing, yay! We are planning on adding 1 or 2 classes next year depending on the staff that God provides. In addition, school days are going to look a little bit different, and we are really excited about the new developments. The construction team is adding on to the school, so be praying for that. In true Dominican style, building has begun though the entire project is not fully funded, and we will keep building for as long as we can. The Makarios people have felt that this new building is what we need to really continue on with the vision to continue to grow one grade each year and to really equip these kids with education and with the knowledge of Christ. So, God will provide, but still be praying!
- I am leaving here in 50 days. What?! It's weird how fast things are happening. People have been asking me what I am going to do when I get home. Well, that is a great question. I have been struggling a tiny bit lately feeling like the only one who is leaving, but for some reason, I feel like I need to go home and look for a job. That's right, on to the job hunt again. This time, it is going to be a little bit different. Pray for some opportunities for me and for discernment to know what I should be doing!

Claro, I am probably missing things in this post, but I will post more soon. Summer is starting, so congrats to all the people graduating and to all the teachers and students in the EEUU who are finally getting a break! (To all the folks with a "real" job: tough cookies).

I stole this from my Dad's facebook page. Oh, Jon.

Mother's Day Musings for Men (mostly)

As a general rule, I don't like Mother's Day because I miss my Mom. Also, it tends to be very confusing. Apparently you have to get a Mother's Day gift for your wife. She's not my mother and as a matter of fact, if not for me, she would not be eligible to receive gifts on this day. Yet, I am still expected to buy her a gift.

I have struggled for years about what to buy my red hot smokin' wife on gift giving occaisions. For all the men out there, this year, I have given my wife the perfect gift. I simply thought, what do I know about my red hot smokin' wife? First, she's a tightwad. B, she really does not like me to have fun. So I just did something that really wasn't that much fun that didn't cost any money and BINGO! Success!

Warning to men: Please realize that this exact gift won't necessarily work for your dearly beloved. You need to find a gift that fits her profile. If she likes shiny things...my gift won't work.

Today I "detailed" her car. I didn't buy anything to do it. I didn't have any fun. Some of you guys may have already figured this thing out...but you never shared the info with me. Today I'm thinking, wow, I wish I had some little kids to help me...that would be a total bonus. What Mom could resist her husband taking the kids outside for an hour and getting them to 'help' wash the car. You wouldn't even have to do a good job. She'd be happy anyway.

Other important gift giving notes:

- You can't really mess up on a gift to your Mom. Mom's just love it when their kids remember it's Mother's Day, or her birthday or whatever. Just don't forget.

- If she (Mom or Wife) says you don't have to get me anything...it's a trap. Do not fall for it. At least get a nice card or something that looks like you had to think a little to select.

- Anything that can be found in the appliance section of a store is generally not a good idea. My red hot smokin' wife told me one year she wanted a vacuum cleaner. I got her one. BIG MISTAKE.

- You can use your children...especially the small ones to deflect blame for a bad gift. "Honey, I wanted to buy you some diamond earrings but little Susie thought you would really like to have a new putter". That's probably not the best example but you get the idea.

Men, we need to support and educate each other. Please take some time to add words of wisdom to the comments section of this note for the benefit of us all. Let's leave no man behind!

As for me, I will sleep well tonight because I done good today.

Promises

<sup>Zephaniah 3...

14</sup> Sing, O Daughter of Zion;
shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O Daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵ The LORD has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.

¹⁶ On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
"Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.

¹⁷ The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."