Birth Marks

Today I was playing with one of my best friends. His name is Drew and he is four years old. He thinks that I am way cooler than I actually am and frankly, I enjoy the self esteem boost. When I hang out with him I get to pretend(Publicly) that I am in space and exploring jungles and being eaten by chairs and pillows. I love hanging out with Drew.

We were playing just like we would any other day and drew picked up a toy and held it to his leg. No matter what I did he would make sure to keep his leg covered by the toy. I finally asked him what the deal was and he shrugged and said that he was hiding something from me.(Kids are honest, and when they're not, it's very obvious.) After much debate, I convinced him to uncover the secret. As he moved the toy from his leg, a small brown circle appeared. He had a birthmark and he was embarrassed about it. I tried to convince him that it was not a problem, but he was sure that he was defected. It was at this point that I remembered that he thought I was awesome and I figured it would be a great chance to show him my own "defect."

So I rolled up the pant leg on my left side to reveal my birth mark. I have a mark that I was embarrassed about for years. I used to put band aids on it and tell people that snakes bit me just to try and make them not pay attention to it. In hind sight, I guess snake bites were not the most effective repellent for curiosity. Anyway, he saw mine and ran his fingers across it. It blew his mind that someone of my stature would have such a mark. He found comfort in himself. (I now know why Thomas stuck his fingers in the wounds.)

It's funny the way that we are uncomfortable about the way we are made. I think it is one thing to try and cover sin with our toys and talents, but to try and cover our characteristics that are God given is just wrong. I want to address the issues together even though they really aren't the same. I am constantly trying to cover up the things I do that people would look down upon and I am also constantly trying to keep people from finding out that I am actually not that good at this or actually not that good at that. What a waste of time and energy!(I'm really ripping off Derek Webb with this last paragraph.)

What if we actually loved each other to the point that we could trust each other enough to be real with each other?

If we were able to be real, we'd be able to pray about real issues. If we were able to be real, we wouldn't be fake. If we were able to be real, we wouldn't try and find ourselves in other people or in other created things.

I want you to find at least one person who you can be real with. I don't mean for you to call them up and confess all your sins and be done. I want you to meet with them regularly and let them in always. Make your life theirs and theirs yours. Your hearts should be so in sync with each other that when one is struggling, the other is very aware.

I have a friend who I am attempting to be this way with. It was really hard at first, and kind of awkward, but it has proven to be worth it. He knows that I struggle with self worth issues and that I try to be smarter than I am. He knows that I am insecure about my "talents" and that I look for easy ways out of social situations because I am scared of what people might think of me. He knows about things I have done that almost no other human is aware of. He knows that I have been a slave to sin and that I am daily being liberated from this weak but pleasure filled hold. He knows my deepest struggles and he loves me deeper than any friend has. I know about his deep sins and about his insecurities as well and I pray for him regularly. We have let the Spirit break down the walls that we put up to block out judgement and love has stormed the city! We love each other in a way that I didn't know strait guys could. I will die for him if the opportunity arises.

I am learning that it is not until we can share in pain that we can share in joy. We can always share in happiness, but unconditional love that delivers an enslaved being evokes a power far greater than that of happiness. I am calling us to chase after joy and love because this is what the Lord has given us. Let's stop settling for happiness.

One can not be resurrected until he is dead! One can not be freed from something that has not enslaved him. If you are saved, you have been saved from something. By denying the sin, we are denying the redemption. By creating a lie, we are eliminating truth.

Life is in raw relationships. We must learn to forgive each other. What is is for you to love your brothers? Even the evil men of this world do that! Love is working when we can forgive the unforgivable. If He can forgive me and love me, so can you. For my sin is against God, and God alone; not you. Love will make this kind of living possible.

The truth is that at the end of the day, we all have our birth marks. Why hide them? Sometimes it is the only way we can relate to those who seem to be greater than us and in essence it is in these moments that we realize that no one is greater except for He who had no sin.

I believe that Jesus is holy and that in his death and resurrection he gave us his Spirit. I believe that if his Spirit is in me and in you, we will become one.

Read 1 John 1:5-10
Better yet, read 1 John. It's short.