Watch this video before you read any more.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/07/29/ricks.burn.koran.cnn?iref=allsearch
I could go on and on about the things that bother me in this video, but I will choose to abstain. Most of my rant would do more damage than good, so I will touch on one thing, as it seems to be a hill for me to die on.
We as Christians are not here to "rid the world of evil." We are not here to hate people who we think are wrong and we are not here to fight people who appear to not like us. (When we do things like this on or off TV , I don't think anyone likes us.)
We are here to love the world, not to condemn it.
The world sees this preacher and thinks that we are all just like him as this preacher sees a few activists and thinks a whole religion is like them. If there's a place in Christ's message that says to burn the other guys' book because it's wrong and ours isn't, please point it out. If there's a place that says to love those who don't think like us, or "enemies," please point it out. I know that the latter shows up often enough that it makes me uncomfortable.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
What are we supposed to be doing?
Sometimes when everyone is running in the same direction, a few should stop and look around to see where they are. People move in packs and it's good for the leaders to be looking at the terrain.
I've been watching church people and the rest of the world quite closely. The two groups look very similar and it concerns me. The church has begun to persecute the world, when Christ said the other would be true.
We have let church become about moral code. It is very focussed on following rules and this is not an inviting way to be. We have gotten very good at building walls between ourselves and the world that do nothing but exclude them from our lives. We have decided that they are bad, and therefore must be kept away from us. It only makes sence that we act the way we do, for the culture in which we live has taught us to be this way. We are more influenced by the world we are trying to push away than we are by the love we should be pursuing.
As a culture, we run away from things instead of to them. What I mean is that when we realize that fast food makes us fat, instead of stopping with the fast food, we paint the signs green and change the names of the crap we like to eat. Instead of solving a problem, we mask it. We should instead learn to eat well. The pursuit of a solution not only defeats the enemy of the situation, but brings us into the shelter of the solution.
Instead of running away from the darkness, we should run to the light. If we run to light, darkness will be lost. But if we run from darkness, we will have our eyes behind us and therefore will never find the light. We usually just run in circles if we have no light to look at. When we are caught in rain, we spend very little time running from the rain. We spend all of our time running to a place of cover(Hmm... There's an idea). Luckily, the cover has run to us.
For us to make it about the rules we do or do not follow is for us to take the control into our own hands. Yes, rules are good, but good Lord, so are parents if they do their job right! But look at the damage of bad parenting! We have made Christianity all about being right instead of about knowing Christ. We have made it about converting the world to our system and when they don't conform, we work to prove that they should be killed or at least persecuted and ridiculed. This is not what Christ was like! He spent very little time with the people who had all the rules down.(Pharisees)
When we make our lives about what rules we do or don't follow, we teach ourselves to seek life in our own efforts. This mocks the life that Christ offers us. It is not about what we can do, but about what HE has done and is doing. What if God was actually viewed as infinite? What if we actually acted like we were never going to be able to comprehend Him? I think it'd be easier to let go of ourselves and grab onto Him.
When we come before the throne and are humble because of how great HE is, instead of because it's what we are supposed to do, we will grow. When we can realize that we are not great and that it is literally impossible to achieve true, life by way of our own efforts, we will grow. When we see that life is a gift and not a paycheck, we will grow.
Life is given to those who follow Jesus Christ. It only makes since that this would be true because HE is headed to a place that only HE knows how to get to. If you're with Him, you'll end up there, if not, I hope you find light in your dark circles.
When you realize that your life is not about what you do, but about who you belong to, you will find yourself in such a state of pure joy that can only be found in eternal liberation, that human walls will be forgotten. You will find that what you do is no longer what you are. While it is true that I am a white, American, college kid who plays guitar, these are mere pebbles to the planet of my identity as God's child. We must find ourselves and each other in Him before anything else. For us to define ourselves or others by any other thing is for us to make a pebble into a planet.
He has offered it to all of us, separating Himself from no one, even when I work to separate myself from Him. I am called to do the same.
I am a child of God by His grace and mercy, not by my own efforts or understanding. I believe that it is the same for you. If you disagree, prove it.
Let's love everyone as if we believed that HE does.
I've been watching church people and the rest of the world quite closely. The two groups look very similar and it concerns me. The church has begun to persecute the world, when Christ said the other would be true.
We have let church become about moral code. It is very focussed on following rules and this is not an inviting way to be. We have gotten very good at building walls between ourselves and the world that do nothing but exclude them from our lives. We have decided that they are bad, and therefore must be kept away from us. It only makes sence that we act the way we do, for the culture in which we live has taught us to be this way. We are more influenced by the world we are trying to push away than we are by the love we should be pursuing.
As a culture, we run away from things instead of to them. What I mean is that when we realize that fast food makes us fat, instead of stopping with the fast food, we paint the signs green and change the names of the crap we like to eat. Instead of solving a problem, we mask it. We should instead learn to eat well. The pursuit of a solution not only defeats the enemy of the situation, but brings us into the shelter of the solution.
Instead of running away from the darkness, we should run to the light. If we run to light, darkness will be lost. But if we run from darkness, we will have our eyes behind us and therefore will never find the light. We usually just run in circles if we have no light to look at. When we are caught in rain, we spend very little time running from the rain. We spend all of our time running to a place of cover(Hmm... There's an idea). Luckily, the cover has run to us.
For us to make it about the rules we do or do not follow is for us to take the control into our own hands. Yes, rules are good, but good Lord, so are parents if they do their job right! But look at the damage of bad parenting! We have made Christianity all about being right instead of about knowing Christ. We have made it about converting the world to our system and when they don't conform, we work to prove that they should be killed or at least persecuted and ridiculed. This is not what Christ was like! He spent very little time with the people who had all the rules down.(Pharisees)
When we make our lives about what rules we do or don't follow, we teach ourselves to seek life in our own efforts. This mocks the life that Christ offers us. It is not about what we can do, but about what HE has done and is doing. What if God was actually viewed as infinite? What if we actually acted like we were never going to be able to comprehend Him? I think it'd be easier to let go of ourselves and grab onto Him.
When we come before the throne and are humble because of how great HE is, instead of because it's what we are supposed to do, we will grow. When we can realize that we are not great and that it is literally impossible to achieve true, life by way of our own efforts, we will grow. When we see that life is a gift and not a paycheck, we will grow.
Life is given to those who follow Jesus Christ. It only makes since that this would be true because HE is headed to a place that only HE knows how to get to. If you're with Him, you'll end up there, if not, I hope you find light in your dark circles.
When you realize that your life is not about what you do, but about who you belong to, you will find yourself in such a state of pure joy that can only be found in eternal liberation, that human walls will be forgotten. You will find that what you do is no longer what you are. While it is true that I am a white, American, college kid who plays guitar, these are mere pebbles to the planet of my identity as God's child. We must find ourselves and each other in Him before anything else. For us to define ourselves or others by any other thing is for us to make a pebble into a planet.
He has offered it to all of us, separating Himself from no one, even when I work to separate myself from Him. I am called to do the same.
I am a child of God by His grace and mercy, not by my own efforts or understanding. I believe that it is the same for you. If you disagree, prove it.
Let's love everyone as if we believed that HE does.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Erosion.
I've been to dry places that have lines that show that water has been there before.
I've sat in a seat that had dents in it that perfectly fit the butt of the person who used it for many years before me.
My brother's slip ons that are just like my slip ons, don't fit my feet; they are shaped to his.
There are people who smile so often and so genuinely that when they're not smiling, they have cracks by their eyes that tell you, "smiles happen here often."
One of my mentors worships so often that his body has tuned into a temple where lots of worship clearly happens. His eyes look like they spend a lot of time seeking. His voice sounds like it spends a lot of time thanking. His back looks like it spends a lot of time bowing. His mind thinks like it spends a lot of time receiving. His heart beats like it is an instrument. His arms look like they spend a lot of time in the air.
We will become worshipping beings when we worship so much that it becomes who we are, even when it's who we're not.
We are Christ's.
Do we look like it yet?
If the river in the grand canyon went away, we'd still clearly see that it single handedly created the canyon itself. The coolest part is that the river who is carving me will never, ever, dry up. That's the nature of living water. It erodes the flesh of the earth to create an absence of earthly matter that is, in itself, the object of beauty and the living proof of the true and responsible, living organism.
I've sat in a seat that had dents in it that perfectly fit the butt of the person who used it for many years before me.
My brother's slip ons that are just like my slip ons, don't fit my feet; they are shaped to his.
There are people who smile so often and so genuinely that when they're not smiling, they have cracks by their eyes that tell you, "smiles happen here often."
One of my mentors worships so often that his body has tuned into a temple where lots of worship clearly happens. His eyes look like they spend a lot of time seeking. His voice sounds like it spends a lot of time thanking. His back looks like it spends a lot of time bowing. His mind thinks like it spends a lot of time receiving. His heart beats like it is an instrument. His arms look like they spend a lot of time in the air.
We will become worshipping beings when we worship so much that it becomes who we are, even when it's who we're not.
We are Christ's.
Do we look like it yet?
If the river in the grand canyon went away, we'd still clearly see that it single handedly created the canyon itself. The coolest part is that the river who is carving me will never, ever, dry up. That's the nature of living water. It erodes the flesh of the earth to create an absence of earthly matter that is, in itself, the object of beauty and the living proof of the true and responsible, living organism.
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