"There are no ordinary people... it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit."
- C. S. Lewis
Just goes to show how often we forget the perspective we should view the world from - an eternal time frame.
Look to honor one another as brothers and sisters, because we are all immortals. There are no ordinary people - everyone matters, no matter how much you may hate them.
"Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin’ so small
Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they’ll soon discover
That I don’t belong
So I tuck it all away, like everything’s okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I’ll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them
Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade
Is there anyone who’s been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who’s traded
In the altar for a stage
The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart
But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be
Would your arms be open
Or would you walk away
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay"
- "Stained Glass Masquerade," Casting Crowns
Story of my life today.
When I'm in the darkness - usually for me that means I don't care about anything but myself, and when I'm deeply confused.. especially when I'm sitting in church.
"Pay attention when God puts you into darkness, and keep your mouth closed while you are there... Darkness is the time to listen." - "My Utmost for His Highest," Oswald Chambers
It's easy for me to complain and feel dejected, lost, and alone when I'm feeling my bipolar-apathy kinda thing, but really, I take too much for granted. I need to stand with my mouth shut. Darkness is truly a time for me to listen for God - not to talk about others, or try to reason out my own answers. After the darkness, there will be humility and delight at the same time. God brings me humility as a gift of life - without it I would be a proud lump of dead coal.
I remember as I was taking the Baptism class last semester and finally got baptized on Dec. 16th, Pastor Andrew constantly told me about the struggles and spiritual battle I would face after publicly professing my faith.
Some things I've been going through and struggling with since then:
1) Worries about my own health
2) Apathy
3) Judging my walk with God with how much time I spend in church
4) Spending less time in introspection, less time praying
I kept on going back to these "struggles," maybe with an expectant heart, but nevertheless I am disappointed. Reading the Word today, I was brought back to when I was learning about the meaning of baptism:
"That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country." - Romans 6:3-5 (The Message)
I really need to know where I'm going, and realize that I'm no longer blind. As I am identified with his resurrection, I need to be more responsible with time, especially knowing that this short lifetime should be dedicated to God while it lasts. And the more I try to serve myself, the more I put myself in bondage. Remembering Call + Response - when I call out in bondage, the Lord responds.
Time and time again I have to catch myself as I'm inadvertently judging someone (usually because they're slandering/judging someone else). That happened today, as one of my friends was just pretty much showing his hate for someone and their actions - and just really grasping at thin air when he wanted me to sympathize with him. All I could do was nod and frown at the same time, not taking sides on the issue.
As I was listening, I began to feel some of that same hate towards my friend who was telling me these things about another person. Who was he to have the right to say such things? But, who was I to judge my friend like that? What had I to boast about that I had more of than he?
I stopped myself and prayed a short prayer under my breath. Constant prayer seems to be more important than any other spiritual discipline. I realize that I wasn't loving my friend, I was judging him with contempt... Not for his good or for the glory of God, but for my own thoughts and my own gain.
There's nothing wrong with judging, in certain contexts.
"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked man from among you.'"
- 1 Cor. 5:12-13
But this judging heart needs to be done with discernment in itself - to glorify God and out of love, that we can "hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed, and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord." (1 Cor. 5:5).
I should care less about how I might condemn him and more about how I can help him - to empathize, that I am not above falling to such deeds, and to show God's unconditional love and grace.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23
I was talking with Joe and Jay at NYPD - about evangelism and what it's about.
I just want to take a moment to write about the mindset that we just walk around this world in.
Are we to proclaim God's name out of our own charisma and so "bring people to Christ" with our smooth talk?
Definitely not.
We should be "ambassadors of Christ." We don't have the power to change people, just to represent Christ. We are to speak the truth in love. Do we have any hidden agendas when we talk to people about God?
When we testify, we don't want to draw the reaction, "your life is awesome." We want them to know what God is like, not what we have done.
"Not because of who I am, but because of what you've done. Not because of what I've done, but because of who you are." - Who Am I, Casting Crowns
All of this is good, and the coolest thing I learned from Joe today was about one little symbol that they put on ambulances. Do you see the thing inside the Blue Shield in this logo?
Well, it's Biblical, as hard as that may be to believe.
"The LORD said to Moses, 'Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.' So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived." - Numbers 4:8-9
"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." - John 3:14
When we evangelize, we are to lift up Christ as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. Not to fervently try to change peoples' minds or trick them into looking at the snake, but for them to put their trust in God and in the Son of Man - so that they may believe and have eternal life.
I was thinking (as I always do), just lounging around and asking myself so many questions.
What does leading a God-centered life mean? It means to focus and put our eyes upon Him, first of all. Our relationship with God, in so many ways is like a shattered telescope.
Have you seen these telescopes? The humongous ones in observatories? This "reflection telescope" works by reflecting light through mirrors and magnifying the images in the distance. When we look to God, I feel like we're looking through one of these telescopes to the stars. And as someone told me recently, our greatest ambition is like the Sun - during the day it shields all the other stars, representing our goals and ambitions, so that we can't see them. Is God my Sun?
I think more often than not, our telescopes are cracked or broken somehow. The mirrors inside are tilted at the wrong angle, and instead of seeing the sky, we see ourselves reflected in the mirror. Our lives our self-centered, our visions are seen through shattered telescopes.
It's Jesus who came and brought us the tools to fix the telescope. It's the Spirit that uses these tools to fix the telescope.
