I am in Love..
In Love with Purity and Innocence..
With the ability to say that I don't have everything figured out..
In Love with the people in my life..
I am in Love with my Savior..
In Love with all that He is..
All that He has been..
All that I cannot Imagine..
I am Love with GOD..
In all his splendor and awe..
In all his Glory and Might..
For he Loved me First..
So a controversial movie is setting sail today in theaters near you. I’m sure we all know the title of this movie, so for all intensive purposes I will refrain from mentioning it. I understand the controversy and “immoral” perspective of this story, but have we blown this out of proportion? “This movie is an abomination to our religion” and “this movie is talking about killing God”. Have we forgotten?
“First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don't see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.” Genesis 1:1
“All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything.” Ephesians 1:20
No one story can truly stand up to the word and power of the Lord our God. Who do you think makes up the stories these people write? He has ultimate authority over ALL. He knows what is happening on other planets as well as what is happening to us in our own life. We tend to underestimate God’s influence on our world, and in our lives. We forget that God gave us the ability to reason. God gave us the ability of free will. That is the beauty of life. We can go and choose to see this movie or not, but the kicker is; Do we judge those to who do go and watch it?
The last time I checked, we don’t have the right to judge anyone. We are no better than our own neighbor. We are not holier than thou. We shouldn’t act like Pharisee’s with our “fence laws” and regulations. We should bask in the splendor of innocence and deduct our own conclusions. I am not advocating the support of the ideas or references to “killing God”, all I am saying is how do we know what this is all about without even exploring it first. If a group of people tell us numerous times that ice is hot, do we submit and believe them or do we question it and find out ourselves? All I am asking is if you are going to watch this movie, go to it with an open mind and soft heart. Then talk about it afterwards. Do we believe that we can fly on broomsticks, or that there is a man by the name of Davy Jones that lives in the sea? Do we?
So what if this guy is an atheist? Do we look at him as “unsaved” or “non-believer” or do we see him as a Creation from God? Remember many of us have had questions about our belief at one point of our lives. Even if this guy does denounce Christianity, why do we not love the one that does us wrong?
“If you find your enemy's ox or donkey loose, take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, don't walk off and leave it. Help it up” Exodus 23:4
My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. John 3:18
How many Christians do you think will watch this movie? Now in contrast, how many “non-believers” or agnostics do you think will attend? Maybe this is the perfect venue to help be the light to others. Love by example not by hate. Lets not be the Christians that are so closed minded and blinded by what others tell us. Let’s not get color blinded by the black and whites of “religion” but let’s see all the colors that are so beautiful.
“We must allow individuals the right to contextualize truth for themselves and believe that God is working in them in ways we may not be able to understand. Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying- the truth never changes, but how it is applied within the context in each person’s life does. I think we need to trust God and people more.”
Well, it’s me again. I just got back from service. It was definitely a humbling experience. The topic was fear and love. Keeping in the pursuit of being more “transparent”, I will share what has never been exposed.
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ's. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. 1 John 4:18
So, what are my fears? Inadequacy, insignificance, and rejection.
Do I have self esteem issues? Probably. Do people really think I am insignificant and inadequate? Probably not. So why do I feel this way and how do I deal with conflicts? I guess I never felt like what I had was ever enough. I’m not talking about personal possessions or personal friends, but I never felt that who I was could never make a difference. When I was young, I was not a social butterfly, nor was I very outgoing. Yes I had friends, but I really kept to myself. It wasn’t until later in high school did I grow that proverbial “backbone”. Even though I “moved up” in the ranks of popularity, I was unhappy. I always tried to adapt myself to others and always became what others wanted me to be. I always felt that if I expressed who I was, I would be rejected, inadequate and lack significance. I always dealt with these fears with an “Iron Mask”. I put on this mask of having everything together, the mask of charm, the mask to cover anything and everything that was flawed. If for some reason, the mask became transparent, and my true feelings shined through, I would always fall into the vicious circle of using withdrawal, sarcasm and eventually numbing out to the matter at hand.
Now what? It’s not up to others to keep telling me that, “You are an amazing person” or “You are a blessing to me”. It’s up to me to get over this fear.
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18
I know that I was made in perfect love. I am loved with an everlasting love. I must cast out these fears. I must fix my eyes on my one and only passion. Through HIM I can do anything. I am perfect just as I am in HIS eyes.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23
I will defend my heart from lies and corruption.
I will guard my heart from deception and show it truth.
For I AM loved.
I AM being pursued.
I AM HIS dream come true.
