I saw a neat sight the other night; only in IL would weird weather like this happen. It was storming out, raining and lightning, and yet in the middle of the sky a large hole opened up in the storm (at night by the way) and went all the way to the sky where I could see the stars and the big dipper. Stars. Lightning. Rain. All at once? Amazing!
Last night, I was driving home from work around 11pm, and I saw that it had rained, and now the air was getting chilly, which made a thick rolling fog. So thick it obscured vision beyond 20 feet. I drove over this bridge on the road, where the land on either sides was sloped downward, and it felt like I was driving in some strange fantastical land far away from reality.
I recently re-read Eight Cousins, by Louisa Alcott. I like the book, despite its shortcomings, I think in some ways it was a little pretentious about a few things, but I mostly enjoy it for the story, I wish I had as many awesome boyish cousins like that. I also feel most closely associated with the cousin Mac, as he suffered from eye problems, is a bookworm, and generally oblivious sometimes to life around him. I remember reading this book for the first time about when I was 15, and I felt Mac's fear when he began to loose his eyesight after a stroke. Literature is amazing, the power of words, the gift of stories, and the relevance to which an author can relate to the reader even emotionally. A picture is worth a thousand words, but words...words can mobilize armies, rally nations, bring peace and growth.
Is it any wonder David prayed.. "Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.." Psalm 141:3
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
The Creator's creators
I sometimes wonder why it is so satisfying to create something new. And like always, I have a hypothesis, otherwise I wouldn't be tapping my fingers on the keyboard to write this up! So here goes...
I've pondered the verse where it says 'we were made after His image', (Gen 1:26-27); and thought about the possibilities. Certainly the verse implies that God put a LOT of thought and heart into us as His creations. I bet He really enjoyed it too! And I have a conjecture, that in making us, He put a little bit of His own expression into us. Kinda like how some musicians, artists, and other 'creator' types of people have their own distinct signature so to speak; their pictures and music and whatever has the original artist's own expressions put into it. "
This makes me think that we all have some little expression of God in our personalities, His little stamp of artistry. Kinda cool right? So in fitting that in with creation...
This is for all the people who like to create things. I love to create things; and I find a joy in finishing a creation that just makes me want to leap and yell into the air. Even if its as simple as a batch of cookies. There's something fun about it, adding the ingredients, taking the time to measure it correctly, experimenting with measurements of cocoa and flour to produce the right combination for a chocolate cookie; all the subtle details. And then when I'm finished and bite into the first warm cookie, I just want to go crazy and share them all with anyone who's nearby.
And you know what? I think that feeling that I have, isn't so alien to God. I mean...can you imagine how excited He must have been when He began forming the dust into our shape, pouring His loving thought into creating us. And then finally giving life and WHOA. Here's a talking chocolate cookie with free will! Not really, but seriously stop for a moment and think. I like to think God must have leaped and yelled and got really excited to share His new creation; which was us.
I think that's why as creator's, we love it when we get a fresh new idea, and feverishly we pour our being into it, until we run into a wall, or finish it. And when its finished...man gotta tell the whole world! I can't eat a whole batch of cookies by myself..got to share it.
That's what creator's do; create something beautiful, and then give it away.
"Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours." -C.S. Lewis
I've pondered the verse where it says 'we were made after His image', (Gen 1:26-27); and thought about the possibilities. Certainly the verse implies that God put a LOT of thought and heart into us as His creations. I bet He really enjoyed it too! And I have a conjecture, that in making us, He put a little bit of His own expression into us. Kinda like how some musicians, artists, and other 'creator' types of people have their own distinct signature so to speak; their pictures and music and whatever has the original artist's own expressions put into it. "
This makes me think that we all have some little expression of God in our personalities, His little stamp of artistry. Kinda cool right? So in fitting that in with creation...
This is for all the people who like to create things. I love to create things; and I find a joy in finishing a creation that just makes me want to leap and yell into the air. Even if its as simple as a batch of cookies. There's something fun about it, adding the ingredients, taking the time to measure it correctly, experimenting with measurements of cocoa and flour to produce the right combination for a chocolate cookie; all the subtle details. And then when I'm finished and bite into the first warm cookie, I just want to go crazy and share them all with anyone who's nearby.
And you know what? I think that feeling that I have, isn't so alien to God. I mean...can you imagine how excited He must have been when He began forming the dust into our shape, pouring His loving thought into creating us. And then finally giving life and WHOA. Here's a talking chocolate cookie with free will! Not really, but seriously stop for a moment and think. I like to think God must have leaped and yelled and got really excited to share His new creation; which was us.
I think that's why as creator's, we love it when we get a fresh new idea, and feverishly we pour our being into it, until we run into a wall, or finish it. And when its finished...man gotta tell the whole world! I can't eat a whole batch of cookies by myself..got to share it.
That's what creator's do; create something beautiful, and then give it away.
"Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours." -C.S. Lewis
Monday, October 24, 2011
One of the worst enemies you'll face...
Sephiroth? Barney? Darth Vader?
One of the worst enemies you'll face in life is yourself. Sounds surprising..but not really when you stop and think about it. I mean, consider how many times you've managed to talk YOURSELF out of doing something that might have been beneficial? How many times have you come down on yourself as a failure? When you've taken a especially hard blow by life...how many times have you been there for yourself?
You know, one of the worst parts about all this is, not only does it bring you down mentally and spiritually, but you can score vicious "critical hits" on yourself if you don't change yourself. Critical hits are when after telling yourself that your a failure repeatedly you begin to compound the repeated damage, and eventually it reaches a 'changing' point where you critic yourself and experience a point of compounded damage that really strips you away in hurt and pain. It can cause you to do things that aren't you.
Permit me to explain critical hits, its a bit of a game jargon. In this one computer game I play, there is this ability for a unit called "Critical strike" which is a passive/aggressive ability. Its set so that it has usually around 20% chance to score a vicious 2 or 4 times normal damage multiplier with every hit you land. The compounded hit does massive damage over time.
The same is true of you when you critic yourself badly. You pull yourself down enough over time and then the chance of hurting yourself becomes even greater. I speak from painful experience, I far too often forget to check my thought when I fail at something that "I'm a failure", because its just not true!
I find it interesting in the scripture (particularly in Romans) where Paul talks a lot about the old self vs the new, and how we must die to the old self and take on the new. I was listening to a Linkin Park song a few days ago called "Numb" and the lyrics really made me think of this old self vs new:
"I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes..
Every step that I take is another mistake to you.."
I..the REAL you, is tired of being what you (the old self) want me to be. Every step I take is another mistake to you (the old self). The chorus then bursts into what the real you is and needs to be saying to the old self:
"I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you"
I've become so numb! Old self, I'm becoming numb to you as Jesus fills me up. Its a tiring fight, but I'm becoming more aware, I'm becoming more like the real me, and less like the old you.
I know this is a rather unconventional way to explain, but this is just my thoughts. Take what you will from it; just watch out for yourself, when your caught in that failure and hurt, its not the failure itself you need to be worried about...its you.
One of the worst enemies you'll face in life is yourself. Sounds surprising..but not really when you stop and think about it. I mean, consider how many times you've managed to talk YOURSELF out of doing something that might have been beneficial? How many times have you come down on yourself as a failure? When you've taken a especially hard blow by life...how many times have you been there for yourself?
You know, one of the worst parts about all this is, not only does it bring you down mentally and spiritually, but you can score vicious "critical hits" on yourself if you don't change yourself. Critical hits are when after telling yourself that your a failure repeatedly you begin to compound the repeated damage, and eventually it reaches a 'changing' point where you critic yourself and experience a point of compounded damage that really strips you away in hurt and pain. It can cause you to do things that aren't you.
Permit me to explain critical hits, its a bit of a game jargon. In this one computer game I play, there is this ability for a unit called "Critical strike" which is a passive/aggressive ability. Its set so that it has usually around 20% chance to score a vicious 2 or 4 times normal damage multiplier with every hit you land. The compounded hit does massive damage over time.
The same is true of you when you critic yourself badly. You pull yourself down enough over time and then the chance of hurting yourself becomes even greater. I speak from painful experience, I far too often forget to check my thought when I fail at something that "I'm a failure", because its just not true!
I find it interesting in the scripture (particularly in Romans) where Paul talks a lot about the old self vs the new, and how we must die to the old self and take on the new. I was listening to a Linkin Park song a few days ago called "Numb" and the lyrics really made me think of this old self vs new:
"I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes..
Every step that I take is another mistake to you.."
I..the REAL you, is tired of being what you (the old self) want me to be. Every step I take is another mistake to you (the old self). The chorus then bursts into what the real you is and needs to be saying to the old self:
"I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you"
I've become so numb! Old self, I'm becoming numb to you as Jesus fills me up. Its a tiring fight, but I'm becoming more aware, I'm becoming more like the real me, and less like the old you.
I know this is a rather unconventional way to explain, but this is just my thoughts. Take what you will from it; just watch out for yourself, when your caught in that failure and hurt, its not the failure itself you need to be worried about...its you.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The Essence of True Love
No, its not a bacon-mutton lettuce sandwich. Seeing how as I touched briefly on it in the last post, I thought I'd post my thoughts about about it.
Love, its a loaded word. There are 3 main forms of the word love in Greek, one is philo, another is eros, and the other is agape. Philo means roughly to love with a general, or friendly type of affection. Its the standard type of love, not entirely deep or strong. Eros is the passionate love, a love between lovers, or a love beyond the regular love of philo roughly. Agape stands as the unique type of love; it is unconditional love. Zero limits, zero boundries, it loves unconditionally and anywhere, anytime, it is all encompassing. It is with Agape love that Jesus loves us. Agape love is really deep and rich. Agape love is the heart of God; its the love that reaches out to the lonely, the hurt, and the fearful. Its what can move us beyond ourselves to help others who are in need. Agape love gives.
True love gives. Unconditionally. The thing about true love that I like the most, is that it lights up the soul of a person you love in a agape way. Suddenly, all those maybe annoyances you have with that person, or how you perceive them negatively, are washed away when you realize, man, this person just needs a little agape love. That annoying co-worker, maybe he's hurting.
I have a co-worker who's pretty annoying. Most everyone hates him at work, and he's really annoying. And I feel kind of bad now, because it occured to me a couple days ago, that maybe I should try and talk and love on him instead of joining in all the rest of my co-workers negativity. I feel kind of bad for the guy; sometimes the annoying co-worker is going through something in life alone, and no one can understand him, so they do what people generally do when they are faced with the unknown; they become hostile. The world needs agape love, I'm realizing this more and more as I grow; we have so much hate, and fear, and hostility going around; people are tough, and defensive. We all wanna be loved. (Yea, that's right...Dc Talk ref)
Agape love is also used in relationships. I wonder if our exceedingly high divorce rate in America might have anything to do with a lack of agape love in relationships? Just a thought, because I know, when you agape love someone that you also eros love; you are able to reach past the mask, and see with opened eyes and touch their soul in a way that no one else can. Its like touching beauty. Beauty, not pretty. I get annoyed with the English language sometimes, because some words loose their meaning; beauty and pretty ARE NOT the same or interchangeable. Pretty is outward. There's a pretty flower, or a pretty girl...but can you look at them and say they are beautiful? To say something is beautiful, it requires you look at it inwardly; past what normal eyes see. A rose may look pretty because of the rich color, the lovely scent, the softness of the petals; but I find that it is beautiful because of that AND that it has an amazingly complex structure or organized cells that keep it alive and flourishing, that it like many plants, takes in harmful carbon-dioxide and breathes out oxygen.
Its similar with people too. I can see that a girl is pretty, but when I know who she is, and what she believes and see deeper into her character, only then can I say that I see something beautiful. It is the same for anyone.
Most fortunately, God is not limited in agape love to having to get to know us first, since He already knows us! This is exciting, because it means God sees you as beautiful. Not just pretty, beautiful. And not just sometimes, but all the time, unconditionally, even if you hurt Him...He can see you as beautiful with unclosed eyes.
I'm rather tired, so that concludes my shambling thoughts
Love, its a loaded word. There are 3 main forms of the word love in Greek, one is philo, another is eros, and the other is agape. Philo means roughly to love with a general, or friendly type of affection. Its the standard type of love, not entirely deep or strong. Eros is the passionate love, a love between lovers, or a love beyond the regular love of philo roughly. Agape stands as the unique type of love; it is unconditional love. Zero limits, zero boundries, it loves unconditionally and anywhere, anytime, it is all encompassing. It is with Agape love that Jesus loves us. Agape love is really deep and rich. Agape love is the heart of God; its the love that reaches out to the lonely, the hurt, and the fearful. Its what can move us beyond ourselves to help others who are in need. Agape love gives.
True love gives. Unconditionally. The thing about true love that I like the most, is that it lights up the soul of a person you love in a agape way. Suddenly, all those maybe annoyances you have with that person, or how you perceive them negatively, are washed away when you realize, man, this person just needs a little agape love. That annoying co-worker, maybe he's hurting.
I have a co-worker who's pretty annoying. Most everyone hates him at work, and he's really annoying. And I feel kind of bad now, because it occured to me a couple days ago, that maybe I should try and talk and love on him instead of joining in all the rest of my co-workers negativity. I feel kind of bad for the guy; sometimes the annoying co-worker is going through something in life alone, and no one can understand him, so they do what people generally do when they are faced with the unknown; they become hostile. The world needs agape love, I'm realizing this more and more as I grow; we have so much hate, and fear, and hostility going around; people are tough, and defensive. We all wanna be loved. (Yea, that's right...Dc Talk ref)
Agape love is also used in relationships. I wonder if our exceedingly high divorce rate in America might have anything to do with a lack of agape love in relationships? Just a thought, because I know, when you agape love someone that you also eros love; you are able to reach past the mask, and see with opened eyes and touch their soul in a way that no one else can. Its like touching beauty. Beauty, not pretty. I get annoyed with the English language sometimes, because some words loose their meaning; beauty and pretty ARE NOT the same or interchangeable. Pretty is outward. There's a pretty flower, or a pretty girl...but can you look at them and say they are beautiful? To say something is beautiful, it requires you look at it inwardly; past what normal eyes see. A rose may look pretty because of the rich color, the lovely scent, the softness of the petals; but I find that it is beautiful because of that AND that it has an amazingly complex structure or organized cells that keep it alive and flourishing, that it like many plants, takes in harmful carbon-dioxide and breathes out oxygen.
Its similar with people too. I can see that a girl is pretty, but when I know who she is, and what she believes and see deeper into her character, only then can I say that I see something beautiful. It is the same for anyone.
Most fortunately, God is not limited in agape love to having to get to know us first, since He already knows us! This is exciting, because it means God sees you as beautiful. Not just pretty, beautiful. And not just sometimes, but all the time, unconditionally, even if you hurt Him...He can see you as beautiful with unclosed eyes.
I'm rather tired, so that concludes my shambling thoughts
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
What motivates You?
"Hey you, What you got here that's worth living for?" -Princess Bride.
I think about that a lot, more than ever lately. What motivates me to keep breathing each day? I know that sounds a little crazy, but for real, what keeps you going in life?
I continually struggle with this because I want something more out of life. Like a purpose. And not just any purpose, but one that's long-lasting, and fulfilling. But its hard at times to see what exactly my purpose is. And without a purpose you just derail. You start spiraling into a routine, walling up, or living the same boring thing over and over again till you feel like your stuck. Stuck in life, wondering when your day is going to come; wondering when things will get better. And wondering why the good moments never last.
I'm sort of in that place right now, trying hard to not fall into something normal. I can sort of see my calling, but its so fuzzy right now; and there are so many distractions. I work full-time, I go to school full-time. Most of my friends are too far away to hang out with. I work, sleep, eat, play video games, do school. And that's like all I do. I went to the bar the other night, and it was fun; but I've just been feeling stuck. Like there's nothing to do except work hard, do school, have some fun, and go to sleep.
I want more than that. Man I want to build communities. Video games are fun, school work is alright, work is fine. But where is my purpose? Is my purpose to play video games the rest of my life? To work the rest of my life? To achieve my degree and then what? I'm not dissing anything, but don't you ever feel like the normal way of things is sort of meaningless. Your slowly getting older and what are you doing with your life?
Bear with me, I know I'm complaining a little, but I'm also trying to get you thinking. There's more to life than this. 'We were meant to live for so much more...have we lost ourselves?' is a great question that Switchfoot asks. I've certainly lost myself before; fortunately I've found myself, but keeping myself in sight is hard! It would be so easy to just live the mediocre life. But I'd probably die from boredom.
I was talking with a co-worker the other day about retirement. I'm 23 and I'm already paying into a retirement fund, it feels really weird. I asked him if I should really pay into it, and he gave me a funny look and said of course I should. Told me what else would I do if I reached 62 and had no retirement fund? I kinda joked with him and told him that maybe I should aim to die at age 62. I have nothing against retirement funds, and I am continuing to pay into mine...but I mean seriously, if that's all I'm doing in life is trying to live long for myself, building up a retirement fund...I really should just aim to die at 62. There's no point in living with an attitude like that. Living for nothing is pointless.
So what are you living for? Its taken me a while, but I personally feel called to building communities with a Jesus focus, as I've mentioned. Ever since I discovered what community was like, I desire it for everyone. I wish I could make a giant family out of a town, you know. Having people care about each other and treating each other with respect, coming together. And drawing people to Jesus. Whats it I got that's worth living for? Its love, true love; love for people, desire to see them happy and fulfilled. Sometimes I just wish I could take all the crap and hurt and toss it out for a moment, and give the world a giant hug. I love people, I want to have God's heart for people too. There's a lot of hurt, abuse, misunderstanding, and loneliness in the world. And community can help people come together and be a catalyst for change, healing, bonding, and unity.
Can you imagine what our nation would look like if all the people were all giant close communities? We'd be a nation on steroids, an example to the world, and probably dealing with less of the bitterness and disunity that we see currently in the political parties.
I know I sort of rambled on; just my thoughts and all. If there's anything I really want you to take from all this its: 1. Don't live a normal life...there's so much more to life than entertainment and living alone. And 2. What are you living for? What keeps you going?
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
I think about that a lot, more than ever lately. What motivates me to keep breathing each day? I know that sounds a little crazy, but for real, what keeps you going in life?
I continually struggle with this because I want something more out of life. Like a purpose. And not just any purpose, but one that's long-lasting, and fulfilling. But its hard at times to see what exactly my purpose is. And without a purpose you just derail. You start spiraling into a routine, walling up, or living the same boring thing over and over again till you feel like your stuck. Stuck in life, wondering when your day is going to come; wondering when things will get better. And wondering why the good moments never last.
I'm sort of in that place right now, trying hard to not fall into something normal. I can sort of see my calling, but its so fuzzy right now; and there are so many distractions. I work full-time, I go to school full-time. Most of my friends are too far away to hang out with. I work, sleep, eat, play video games, do school. And that's like all I do. I went to the bar the other night, and it was fun; but I've just been feeling stuck. Like there's nothing to do except work hard, do school, have some fun, and go to sleep.
I want more than that. Man I want to build communities. Video games are fun, school work is alright, work is fine. But where is my purpose? Is my purpose to play video games the rest of my life? To work the rest of my life? To achieve my degree and then what? I'm not dissing anything, but don't you ever feel like the normal way of things is sort of meaningless. Your slowly getting older and what are you doing with your life?
Bear with me, I know I'm complaining a little, but I'm also trying to get you thinking. There's more to life than this. 'We were meant to live for so much more...have we lost ourselves?' is a great question that Switchfoot asks. I've certainly lost myself before; fortunately I've found myself, but keeping myself in sight is hard! It would be so easy to just live the mediocre life. But I'd probably die from boredom.
I was talking with a co-worker the other day about retirement. I'm 23 and I'm already paying into a retirement fund, it feels really weird. I asked him if I should really pay into it, and he gave me a funny look and said of course I should. Told me what else would I do if I reached 62 and had no retirement fund? I kinda joked with him and told him that maybe I should aim to die at age 62. I have nothing against retirement funds, and I am continuing to pay into mine...but I mean seriously, if that's all I'm doing in life is trying to live long for myself, building up a retirement fund...I really should just aim to die at 62. There's no point in living with an attitude like that. Living for nothing is pointless.
So what are you living for? Its taken me a while, but I personally feel called to building communities with a Jesus focus, as I've mentioned. Ever since I discovered what community was like, I desire it for everyone. I wish I could make a giant family out of a town, you know. Having people care about each other and treating each other with respect, coming together. And drawing people to Jesus. Whats it I got that's worth living for? Its love, true love; love for people, desire to see them happy and fulfilled. Sometimes I just wish I could take all the crap and hurt and toss it out for a moment, and give the world a giant hug. I love people, I want to have God's heart for people too. There's a lot of hurt, abuse, misunderstanding, and loneliness in the world. And community can help people come together and be a catalyst for change, healing, bonding, and unity.
Can you imagine what our nation would look like if all the people were all giant close communities? We'd be a nation on steroids, an example to the world, and probably dealing with less of the bitterness and disunity that we see currently in the political parties.
I know I sort of rambled on; just my thoughts and all. If there's anything I really want you to take from all this its: 1. Don't live a normal life...there's so much more to life than entertainment and living alone. And 2. What are you living for? What keeps you going?
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Sunday, October 16, 2011
I
I looked
I saw
I entered
Into a doorway resplendent in bloom
I laughed
I sang
I danced
Till fire came, my heart consumed
In sorrow
And ashes
I wept
Then another I saw, and to it I came
I ran
I stopped
I'm scared
Of encountering again, the searing flames
Unsure
I long
I'm numb
to the castle of fear I daily live in
I breathe
I break
I sigh
Wandering the hallway of hopeless oblivion
I must
Go on
I tear
Down the walls that rebuild themselves
I work
I wonder
I hope
That my door is worth all the effort and suffering
I saw
I entered
Into a doorway resplendent in bloom
I laughed
I sang
I danced
Till fire came, my heart consumed
In sorrow
And ashes
I wept
Then another I saw, and to it I came
I ran
I stopped
I'm scared
Of encountering again, the searing flames
Unsure
I long
I'm numb
to the castle of fear I daily live in
I breathe
I break
I sigh
Wandering the hallway of hopeless oblivion
I must
Go on
I tear
Down the walls that rebuild themselves
I work
I wonder
I hope
That my door is worth all the effort and suffering
Friday, October 14, 2011
Beautiful Reflections
So I was driving home from work tonight, rather tired, and alone in the car with my thoughts. And I noticed outside, it was rather bright for 8pm. And then as I got further into the country, I saw the nearly full moon, low in the eastern sky, brightly illuminating the dark cornfields with the beautiful waves of moonlight. Actually I started to think and the words 'reversed sunbeams' came to my mind. Because that's what the moonbeams are, just reflected sunbeams.
The moon on its own power has no true light. It is not a light source, if the sun isn't shining on it, it is blacker than black and not visible. However if the sun shines on it, it reflects the light of the sun into the dark world. Which reminded of the beautiful imagery of Christ.
As Christ followers, we have no power source of our own, but gain our light from the SON, in turn reflecting his brilliant sunbeams off ourselves and into the world in beautiful glorious moonbeams that illuminate and pierce the darkness, and make way for the return of the SON.
That's my thought, we're all a bunch of moons :-)
The moon on its own power has no true light. It is not a light source, if the sun isn't shining on it, it is blacker than black and not visible. However if the sun shines on it, it reflects the light of the sun into the dark world. Which reminded of the beautiful imagery of Christ.
As Christ followers, we have no power source of our own, but gain our light from the SON, in turn reflecting his brilliant sunbeams off ourselves and into the world in beautiful glorious moonbeams that illuminate and pierce the darkness, and make way for the return of the SON.
That's my thought, we're all a bunch of moons :-)
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Community vs. Isolation
Community is something dear to my heart. Ever since I discovered it a little more than a year ago, its opened up my eyes to how much I need it, and how much the world needs it too!
I've been mostly isolated a large part of my early life; I was the anti-social weirdo, and I could count all my friends on my hand.Community I didn't ever really understand, I had a few friends that could kind of connect with me, and I didn't really want to mess with anyone else. I was also scared; being around a lot of people is scary, and opening up yourself to people is scary.
But community is a catalyst for change! People need community, and not our highly selective communities that we form today, but real gritty community. Being part of a group where you can't "click offline". Being influenced by people and growing, bonding together as a group. And my favorite type of community? Yea, Jesus community!
Jesus community is very much needed; you get plugged into a sincere community hungry for Jesus and you'll not only grow socially, but spiritually. I got plugged into a community a year ago at a university. And it changed me, totally changed my outlook; ruined me for community. That's what Jesus community will do for you; it wrecked me to the point where I want to build communities where ever I go. I want people, especially the people who are not cool, who are isolated, I want them to get plugged in. Jesus community is INSPIRING! I can't tell you enough how passionate I am for community, and I don't know where its going to take me in this world; the roads still bumpy, but its going to be beautiful.
And my last thought is, you know not all Jesus community is perfect, that's life. But ALL sincere Jesus community is inspiring. And it can be a beautiful thing to pour yourself into it; to greet people and talk to them, to get to know them, to encourage them, to build and uplift them mentally and spiritually. To push them towards Jesus...that's what communities about! And in all that, we learn, we change, we grow, we bond, we love...we live LIFE.
I've been mostly isolated a large part of my early life; I was the anti-social weirdo, and I could count all my friends on my hand.Community I didn't ever really understand, I had a few friends that could kind of connect with me, and I didn't really want to mess with anyone else. I was also scared; being around a lot of people is scary, and opening up yourself to people is scary.
But community is a catalyst for change! People need community, and not our highly selective communities that we form today, but real gritty community. Being part of a group where you can't "click offline". Being influenced by people and growing, bonding together as a group. And my favorite type of community? Yea, Jesus community!
Jesus community is very much needed; you get plugged into a sincere community hungry for Jesus and you'll not only grow socially, but spiritually. I got plugged into a community a year ago at a university. And it changed me, totally changed my outlook; ruined me for community. That's what Jesus community will do for you; it wrecked me to the point where I want to build communities where ever I go. I want people, especially the people who are not cool, who are isolated, I want them to get plugged in. Jesus community is INSPIRING! I can't tell you enough how passionate I am for community, and I don't know where its going to take me in this world; the roads still bumpy, but its going to be beautiful.
And my last thought is, you know not all Jesus community is perfect, that's life. But ALL sincere Jesus community is inspiring. And it can be a beautiful thing to pour yourself into it; to greet people and talk to them, to get to know them, to encourage them, to build and uplift them mentally and spiritually. To push them towards Jesus...that's what communities about! And in all that, we learn, we change, we grow, we bond, we love...we live LIFE.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Heaven's Boredom or Hell's splendor?
It's that age old debate and wondering, I'm not talking about wondering if heaven or hell are real...that is an entirely different debate (although I believe they are real). And you might wonder at the title, but honestly that's what a lot of people think in a sense. Heaven's boring. You get a cute little halo above your head, you play a harp. You sing about God. And sing more about God. And more. And it gets old really fast with all that 'wonderful' stuff. It sounds so boring that people even joke about hell. See you in hell, we're gonna party down there, no stiffness or sucking up to God and singing to Him all the time.
Mark Twain wrote a short story (his last published short story ironically) called "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven." In this story Twain goes on to describe heaven in exactly how a disinterested part of society views it. Its vastly huge, with multiple races and billions of people in it. Easy to get lost, impersonal. Patriarch figures like Moses were said to 'be sighted only ever few thousand years by the commoners if you were lucky'. Talking or getting close to Jesus was unheard of. In short it was a very boring existence of living in perfection. You could do whatever you wanted to, but it was just...pointless.
People think that; what point is there living eternally with God? Will we have no purpose? Won't it get old? I mean after the millionth year of staring Jesus in the face won't that get old?
Well I have a theory, as well as a few verses that seem to indicate otherwise. First, the time concept of Eternity is hard to grasp for us. We live such short lives relatively, and the idea of living forever is almost beyond our comprehension. In 2 Corinthians 5: 1-5 it states we will receive new bodies. Weariness, all the negatives associated with the bodies we have now will be gone.
Secondly and importantly, I have this theory that God is so in love with us that He will blow us away for eternity while we are with Him. I mean this is God we're talking about, surely He can solve a minor problem of keeping our attention for eternity if He loves us so much to come die for us! Just check this verse out:
"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows." Matthew 10:28-31"
You know I think we can sort of understand this in our limited sense. I think heaven is like that moment of eternity when you kiss someone you love for the first time. That moment drags on forever, and your never bored, its just the two of you, your scared, fulfilled, elated beyond words, trembling, and so full of joy and happiness and seriously that is what I think heaven will be like. That eternal moment when you first fall in love. That eternal moment as you play the masterpiece music of your soul's expression. We will be so utterly lost in love with God and each other, and He with us that we'll never notice or even have a definition of what time is anymore. We will be as we were always meant to be...fulfilled completely and continually, no empty void, no boredom. Complete with purpose.
I don't know about you, but I'm excited and I long for that day when 'heaven meets earth, in an unforeseen kiss...'
Mark Twain wrote a short story (his last published short story ironically) called "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven." In this story Twain goes on to describe heaven in exactly how a disinterested part of society views it. Its vastly huge, with multiple races and billions of people in it. Easy to get lost, impersonal. Patriarch figures like Moses were said to 'be sighted only ever few thousand years by the commoners if you were lucky'. Talking or getting close to Jesus was unheard of. In short it was a very boring existence of living in perfection. You could do whatever you wanted to, but it was just...pointless.
People think that; what point is there living eternally with God? Will we have no purpose? Won't it get old? I mean after the millionth year of staring Jesus in the face won't that get old?
Well I have a theory, as well as a few verses that seem to indicate otherwise. First, the time concept of Eternity is hard to grasp for us. We live such short lives relatively, and the idea of living forever is almost beyond our comprehension. In 2 Corinthians 5: 1-5 it states we will receive new bodies. Weariness, all the negatives associated with the bodies we have now will be gone.
Secondly and importantly, I have this theory that God is so in love with us that He will blow us away for eternity while we are with Him. I mean this is God we're talking about, surely He can solve a minor problem of keeping our attention for eternity if He loves us so much to come die for us! Just check this verse out:
"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows." Matthew 10:28-31"
You know I think we can sort of understand this in our limited sense. I think heaven is like that moment of eternity when you kiss someone you love for the first time. That moment drags on forever, and your never bored, its just the two of you, your scared, fulfilled, elated beyond words, trembling, and so full of joy and happiness and seriously that is what I think heaven will be like. That eternal moment when you first fall in love. That eternal moment as you play the masterpiece music of your soul's expression. We will be so utterly lost in love with God and each other, and He with us that we'll never notice or even have a definition of what time is anymore. We will be as we were always meant to be...fulfilled completely and continually, no empty void, no boredom. Complete with purpose.
I don't know about you, but I'm excited and I long for that day when 'heaven meets earth, in an unforeseen kiss...'
New Blog
Never thought I'd get one, but I decided to finally. Might be nice to have a place to write and post a few thoughts
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