Consider Yourself Warned

I admittedly bore so easily with reading (not proud of this) that it takes a bit of eccentricity in writing to keep my attention.  I guess I feel a need to somehow prep the reader for the following blog entry.  The following has been burning a hole in my hard drive for sometime and needs an outlet good or bad.  So for all six of you who might read this consider yourself warned.

There are those who hear of wars and never experience them.  There are those who have experienced war through family and friends.  And then there are some who hear of wars and voluntarily experience the horrors it has to offer because they believe in something bigger than themselves.  We owe a great debt to these men and women who have been so selfless to preserve our freedom by their sacrifice.  Though it feels incredibly insufficient:    THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE!!!  GOD BLESS!!!

I invite you to come and experience a war that is raging even now.  To get there it is quite the journey.  The first leg takes us across the treacherous Sea of Motivation.  Honestly, most of our casualties happen within sight of our port of departure.  Most often those who venture this journey begin to feel sick almost immediately.  From the shore it’s a beautiful sea, but when you begin to really experience her for what she is, it changes the situation all too quickly.

Just beyond the sea there is an unseen war raging for a small parcel of land known only as Perception.    It is a war torn tract with all the reminders of its violent past, remnants of a once beautiful town now shrouded in a veil of grey.  Life here goes on, but only in the hues between black and white.  As far back as anyone can remember, war has been a part of life for the inhabitants of Perception.  When asked why they don’t move, the most common response alludes to a belief that all lands are a battleground of sorts.  As one could imagine most of the people of this land are well versed in the art of war, and there has been some interesting discussion as to the difference in the present war and the previous ones.  Though hope is scarce in this land there has always been a tale of the teliki machi (Final Battle).

It’s truly a curious thing: the ferocity of this battle for such an inhospitable land.  It offers little militaristic advantage, it yields no profitable crop, and it would be an almost impossible restoration project. Strangely enough it is for these very reasons that both sides pursue this land with such passion.  But the intensions for this land differ greatly depending on which side of the battle line you stand.  One contends that the land must remain in its current state, while the invading force intends on restoration and change. The oppressing force has been present for sometime in Perception.  Until recently there was seemingly no military that could stand against the power and tactics of the occupying force.  But the unorthodox strategy and unwavering dedication to the cause has helped the invading army to gain enormous amounts of ground in the fight.  For the first time the tides of war may be turning.  

A Year Already?

Well eleven months of silence is quite enough.  I, unfortunately can't say I had some incredibly earth shattering epiphany within the last year.  I guess that really is how life goes.  You make the mistake of not paying attention and what do you know another year comes and goes. 

I'm reminded of my childhood when, with uncontainable anticipation, I would be subjected to a seemingly endless journey to the big town of Huntsville.  A trip that would last an hour at best, might as well have been to a galaxy far far away.  I sometimes wondered to myself why we didn't fly.  I think I may have even wondered why someone still hadn't invented that cool teleportation machine that I saw on tv.  I mean how could anybody make this trip on a regular basis.  This might be a good time to admit that my thought process as a child (and arguably still today) was a bit on the quirky side.  Ok, so what could possibly create that much anxiety in a child?  Showbiz Pizza of course (for the younger crowd Chuck E Cheese).  Oh but not just Showbiz Pizza oh no!  After we had our fill of the token utopia we then moved on to the toy heaven that is Toys R Us.  The combination of games, toys, pizza, and dancing bears created an environment of stimulation overload.

What about the trip back?  Did it ever seem as long?  Yeah sure you might have been asleep for part of it, but the excitement and anticipation no longer created in us a sense of urgency.  So maybe without something to anticipate (hope for) we begin to feel the years slipping through our fingers.  It will never be within our power or position to turn back time, but I believe it is very possible to slow our perception of its passing.  With hope comes a sense of urgency, and with a sense of urgency comes action.  We are meant for action, meaningful fruitful action.  I think the greatest  tragedy would be for our hope to rest in something less than what it were intended.

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.    I Peter 1:13

Real Life. What do you mean?

I suppose it is glorious when the moment comes in which you realize the world really has nothing to offer. That no matter how much money you had in your pocket at the time, and it really sinks in that you could buy whatever you want but how quickly it would leave you wanting again. We ask for these moments in our prayers don’t we, “Lord, help me to see the emptiness of the world, or Lay waste to my desires for the things of this world, but help me to set my eyes on things above.” I say I suppose it is glorious because in many instances there seems to exist a difficult transition period. I believe for some it plays out as follows: God lays waste to our worldly view of things, but our gaze has yet to be set upon heavenly things. Maybe it all comes at once in some instances, but maybe sometimes there is a very real and terrible period of time in which our eyes are slow to focus. Could it be that we’ve been roaming in the dark for so long that when the light appears we can’t see it well because our eyes are at best squinting in an attempt to adjust to the light’s intensity?

What so many of us call “real” life is really nothing but a vapor. C.S. Lewis makes a great point in his book The Screwtape Letters in regards to “real” life. If we never question what we mean by real life the enemy has won. If we somehow believe that only what we can see and understand is real life, and that anything contrary or incompatible is irrelevant, then the victory belongs to the deceiver. God is not against thinking or even questioning, because if truth is what is being sought, there is but one place to find it.

Rest assured even in the ominous and lonely transition of worldly to heavenly it is God’s grace that ushers us into this place, and our final destination is a glorious one. If you are in this difficult transition and have a hard time believing grace exists at a time like the present read Romans 1:18-28. I felt the same way and then read it and realized the overwhelming grace of God. Our joy is found in God alone, and He exhibits His matchless mercy and grace by wrecking our idea of real life.

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3

Rest Easy

You know those moments your soul just won't rest in anything. The world may not necessarily be falling apart around you, your circumstances may not be horrendous, but there's just a faint restlessness inside. We usually feel it as we lie down to go to sleep, because we are really good at keeping busy and ignoring it during the day. So it was, with me last night. I truly believe I probably could've ignored it until I fell asleep, but God, in His grace saw fit to ease the restlessness rather than watch me suffer through a less than perfect night of sleep. How? Well, nothing particular flashy, He simply reminded me of His Gospel. I just wanted to share this with anyone who feels as if there soul is doing wind sprints when it needs to be resting.

If all is broken
And all is lost
What can restore
And at what cost

The casm is deep
And unfathomably wide
We cannot scale it
Let alone fly

A familiar land
We've longsince known
Still seemingly unnavigable
With our bearings gone

Could it be that simple
An empty tomb and cross
Is it possible that the wanderer
Might be the one who is sought

Yes, it is here where broken is mended
And the lost are found
At the foot of a cross
On blood soaked ground

All is not broken
All is not lost
For He has restored
By paying our cost

Ownership

How zealously do we cling to that which has never really been ours? The most incriminating indictment is that we, at some point, journeyed to a place where we believed our ownership or involvement was imperative. It is a scary thing to say we love and adore God above all, but to still have things in our lives that are absolutely nonnegotiable. It sounds much like this: “God, send me wherever you will, I’ll do whatever you ask, as long as…” God never promised us middle-upper class comfort and all the amenities that go with it. God never promised we wouldn’t lose loved ones or suffer heartache and pain. The atrocity comes when our car, house, job title, reputation, comfort, money, or even our spouse or child becomes the one thing God is not allowed to use in the way He sees fit. It’s an atrocity because we no longer worship God, but we now find ourselves kneeling at the altar of our nonnegotiable.

I have a terrible memory. I'm not afraid to admit that, and I would like to somehow attribute it to ADD, but I'm not sure that's credible. On a rare occasion by the grace of God something will actually stick. About 9 or 10 years ago I was attending a youth camp up in Pigeon Forge, TN. A camp pastor (who would later become a great mentor and friend) was speaking in detail of his battle with cancer. He and his wife had recently had their second child when he was diagnosed. He was very honest of the struggle it was to think that God would allow this situation. His greatest concern was that his children would grow up without a father and his wife without her husband. He then began to tell us of how God made very clear that He is a father to the fatherless and the Provider and Comforter of the widow. It was in this that I realized that even the honorable positions we hold are not necessary, but more so gracious opportunities given by God, for His purpose, and in His time.

A few years later this guy, now cancer free, says some things that I'm sure a lot of people would be in opposition to, but I believe he sees the world with a biblical perspective that more of us need. He now prays that God would use his children to take the gospel to those who've never heard. He is praying for God to foster a passion in them for the unreached in the world. He knows the cost of such weighty prayers, but he also knows ultimately they are God's children and not his own.

When we claim ownership or entitlement we tread a very dangerous path.