23 Years of Learning Where I Stand

 

Yet again, I have been a horrible blogger when it comes to keeping up with posting stuff. But there is a saying somewhere that talks about quality over quanitity. Yeah, let's go with that...

So, today I turn twenty-three years old. My life up to this point has had many ups and just as many downs, but nonetheless I am blessed. I shudder to think what my life would be like if I did not know my Creator or how orphaned I would be if I was not assured in knowing who my Father is. As I look at the life I have lived over the past twenty-three years, a very peculiar thing begins to stick out: the realization that I have been learning where I stand in this cosmic masterpiece. This is to say, the cataracts of my own selfishness and pride have long blinded me because I always found myself at the center of my own universe. I was my own god. But since I have begun the journey of exchanging my heart for His, the spirit-filled hymn "Amazing Grace" surely holds true: "I once was blind, but now I see."

This point becomes ever clearer as God continues to reveal the mystery of His Word to my feeble human mind. Here, let me show you... As Peter is concluding his second letter to a group of Christians, he writes, "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." (2 Peter 3:18) That statement is rather innocuous at first as it seems to just reiterate some of the main principles found within the Bible: be gracious, learn more about God, give Him the glory, prepare yourself for eternity. Got it! But there is sooo much more. In this post I want to take a moment to look at one little word found within this Scripture that puts everything into perspective: grace.

In our current culture, we think about grace as the catch-all of our actions. We are seduced by the notion of abounding grace which washes away all our sins and keeps us on the good side of God. Don't get me wrong, this is absolutely true. However, we use this word in such a way that it has become flippant and watered-down. Let me explain: the word "grace" is referenced as being given from our Lord Jesus Christ within the passage. This is astounding because grace is closely transliterated with a few other words, perhaps one of the foremost being pity. So God is telling us to grow in His pity for us. What does that mean? Well, pity is indicative of our current condition. It tells us that if left to captain our own ship, we would sink...quickly. Thus, the first and one of the most profound steps we will ever take on our journey to eternity is the realization that we are indeed in need of His pity. That we are pitiful.

Hence, it must be said that offered pity does little good if one does not accept it in the first place. Pulling yourself up by your own boot straps will never work. And neither will telling yourself that you're good enough on your own. You're not. I know that stings because it hits us right in the ego like when Luke Skywalker learns that Darth Vader is his father (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwvnRneMHiY). We desire so desperately not be desperate. We blind ourselves with our good deeds and comparisons to others that we never truly see ourselves for who we are. The anchor of pride is shackeled tightly around us even amongst the flood of Truth. We are not who we portray ourselves to be and have fallen short in even the smallest tests. However, this is precisely what God would have us recognize because it is a momento of His love for us.

I know this because every day I realize more and more just how disgusting I am in my flesh. Even on my best days I am still pure filth. But how awesome it is to know this!  It is in this light that we can truly understand God's purpose for our lives. Somehow He has still managed to pity me enough that He would redeem my soul amidst my failings. He tore the veil of my sin from the top down, forever establishing His perfect covenant with me. ME! The guy who is far from spotless. It reminds me of a song where the lyrics cry out "Oh my soul, Oh my Jesus. Judas sold You for thirty, I'd have done it for less" ("What Have We Done?" by Kings Kaleidoscope -- I highly recommend their music). Those words are piercing because every day I still sell myself to the lesser pleasures of life, forsaking the good things God would have for me if I would just listen. But I deny Him because my pride tells me that I know better. So it is that the fallacy of my flesh becomes ever more obvious.

What this offered measure of grace and pity does is it allows us see our own lives as deeply in need of redemption, where our flesh would immediately fail apart from God's providence. Without God's immeasurable love, I would cease to be. As I look at life through this lense, the Scriptural precept of blessing my enemies no longer stands in stark contrast to what my heart would have me do. They are in just as desperate need of pity as I am, but they have yet to shed the chains that bond them in servitude to their sins. Their biggest impedement is their own selfishness and pride because they, like my former self, have made themselves their own god. What a small universe it is that these people inhabit. C.S. Lewis wrote in his book The Screwtape Letters, "When He talks of their losing their selves, He only means abandoning the clamour of self-will; once they have done that, He really gives them back all their personality, and boasts...that when they are wholly His they will be more themselves than ever." This truth cannot be overstated. Apart from God, we are just a shadow of our truest selves. The worldly pleasures that we know are few and fleeting, needing to be replenished ritually. Whether it be material things, alcohol, drugs, sex, or the like, they never fully satisfy our desires, but leave us wanting more. Its truly insatiable.

The point I'm wanting to really hit home is that God has called us to grow in His grace for a reason: to know that we all are in need of saving and that He has provided the means. With this in mind, we must extend the same love and pity offered to us to the very people that surround us. Not because they deserve it, but because the example has been set in our own lives as Christians by our Savior. Likewise, the person who receives presents on their birthday gets them freely, but they undoubtedly cost the giver. So it is with grace. Love the unlovable. Pity the prideful. Defend the Gospel with your lives.

With love.

Living an Anabolic Faith

I like to lift things up, then put them down. That is to say, one of my absolute favorite things to do is going to the gym. It's a time where I can continually and consistently challenge myself to the brink of my capabilities, feeling the strain of each and every rep along the way. It's intoxicating. When I train, I have a specific goal in mind for each day as to what body part I want to focus on and how I want to accomplish the best results. For instance, one of the staples of my regimen is always training the largest body part first if I am hitting more than one muscle group in a single day. This is important because it allows your body to produce a higher amount of naturally occurring growth hormones than it would otherwise. In a nutshell, you'll gain more muscle that way.

But wait, there's more! Interestingly, when working out you are putting your body into a catabolic state. That's a fancy way of saying that there is actually a break down of muscle. You might be thinking to yourself, "How in the world do muscles get bigger then?!" Well, here's your answer: muscles are broken down in the gym, but are built up over the coming hours and days by introducing your body to the necessary amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, as well as allowing your body to rest. This influx of macronutrients helps to gain muscle mass by putting your body into an anabolic state. Anabolism simply means to build up or synthesize - a handy and much needed biological process. If this were not to occur, then we would pretty much waste away and die. That wouldn't be very fun. However, if we are consistent in turning our catabolism into anabolism via a proper diet, then health, strength, and aesthetics are in your future.

It's crazy how God has placed all these biological processes together in a way that allows us not just to survive, but to thrive. However, there's an even bigger picture as to how all of this relates to God. Going to the gym, putting ourselves through intense pain and suffering, and feeling the effects for days afterwards is much like how God uses tragedies and misfortunes in our lives that break us down. The initial pain hurts, the thoughts of failure or mourning linger, but God was not haphazard in planning our discourse. Since the beginning of creation He knew the parts of our lives that needed to be worked on, so He allowed pain in those areas to render the best possibility of growth. What's even better, He gave us nourishment to produce an anabolic faith. The Bible is actually food for our spirit, giving sustenance and replenishing us. This is to say, when we are fraught with pain and fear, that is the precise moment that we are to turn to God and His Word. There is no better nourishment than that. What it produces is a healthy revelation of God's sovereignty and power, strength through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and positive attitude of love no matter the circumstances that ultimately glorifies your Creator.

Perhaps the last thing most people want to do when faced with pain is to look for the appropriate nourishment. Many would be content with dwelling in the negativity of the situation. However, this is exactly the opposite of what God wants. He wants us to turn to Him when it's the hardest and He seems so far away. He wants us to seek out an anabolic faith amidst the pain. Hence, when we focus and have a well thought-out directive, results will occur. It is when we consistently turn to Him over and over and over again that we become so much more than what we once were. Continually we are renewed, being shaped into strong vessels of Christ that can do more than just withstand the pain - now we've been given the strength to lift others up as well.

Friends, let me leave you with the words of Paul: "for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil" (Hebrews 5:13-14).

With love.

Annnnd I'm Back

Oh my blog, how I have neglected thee! Well, I'm ready to start writing and sharing my faith again, but maybe this time I won't take a random year-and-a-half hiatus...

To begin, I just want to share some words or phrases that come to my mind quite alot these days and could perhaps be the topics of future posts.

1. Grace and Mercy
2. Love
3. Being a Godly Man
4. Accountability
5. Hypocrisy
6. Judgement
7. Wisdom vs. Knowledge
8. Worship
9. Hope
10. Proverbs 31
11. Patience
12. Seasons
13. Covenant
14. Flesh
15. Prodigal
16. Power of Prayer

 Finally, I would like to end this post with a written prayer.

Abba, Father, you are so beyond anything I could ever imagine or deserve. Your love for me is undeniable and your forgiveness even more so. I so often am a slave to my sins, shackled by my flesh and desires. But Lord, you and you alone can relinquish me and forgive me for what I have done. Your mercies bring a joy to my heart that I cannot explain. It is so much more than just a fleeting emotion. It is permanent. Even when I have wronged you, you forget my transgressions and see me as clean. Lord, thank you for the blood of Christ who cleanses all of my sins, who takes away all my iniquities. I pray that you would indwell me with the fullness of the Holy Spirit as I try to live my life as living sacrifice, continually putting on the new self every morning. Every breath you give to me I want to give back to you in glory. Every heart beat I want to beat for you. Lord, speak through me and the words I say and write. Bless them and let them be fruitful. Let them fall not on rocks, but on receptive soil so that you might let them grow in the hearts of those who see and hear. Let their hearts not be calloused, but be receptive to the living and ever present good news of Jesus Christ. Lord, humble me so that I might serve you with a willing heart, not out of pride or boasting, but out of a sincere love for you. Abba, I love you with every ounce of my spirit and I pray that my life reflects that. I pray all of these things in Jesus name. Amen.

With love.