Love or hate?

A number of months ago I wrote an article that I titled 'What is love', you can find that post here: http://journeyingtochrist.blogspot.com/2016/09/what-is-love.html#comment-form. I don't recall all the reasons why I wrote that post but I do remember that it had a lot to do with what America defines as love today.

Because I could remember writing the post but not what was in it I reread that post today. It was just as applicable today as it was the day I wrote it. But today I read something that has me wanting to write on love again.

Love truly is a funny thing. It's a very complicated thing and if we were to really ask ourselves what love is...could we come up with an adequate answer? By human definition, love is this feel good emotion, said to come from the heart, that makes us inclined to favor one person over another. We marry for love. We love our children. We love our friends.

We may even tell people we love them when we don't mean it. As a kid I had a relative that would tell me they loved me, if I didn't answer with 'I love you' then I would get into trouble. So...I responded by saying 'I love you' but I never once felt love for that person, in fact I strongly disliked that person but to save myself...I said 'I love you'.

I once knew someone that would say 'anyone can say I love you, you have to show someone that you love them'.

Love is...what?

Is it actions? Is it words? Is it a gushy feeling deep inside you when you're around someone?

The other day my husband was doing something that was just...my husband, but in his doing what he naturally does it made me laugh and brought a bit of fun and joy to my day and so I told him, ''I love you''. He responded by telling me he loved me and then asking, 'what was that for', not because I don't tell him that I love him, I do, but because of the way I said it and maybe the tone of voice I used when I said it. But the truth is I told him I loved him because of the way he made me feel at that moment, it was a happy gushy kind of feeling and he caused it with his actions, which had nothing to do with me. He was just being him, doing something that had nothing to do with me, but I saw him and it made me happy and so I told him I loved him.

But that was a feeling.

And yet...that is love. But it's not the only kind of love.

My husband shows he loves by taking care of those he loves. He provides for us, does for us. This morning I got up to a blazing fire in the fireplace. What a wonderful thing to wake up to on a cold morning. That was my husband taking care of us, warming our home. He cuts wood to use in that fire place for one reason only...because his family enjoys it. My husband never uses that fireplace when he's home alone.

And so, through his actions, my husband shows us that he loves us.

Still, I find myself asking...what is love? Can we truly ever answer that question and if we do, are we answering in the true meaning of love or are we answering in our human emotions understanding of what love is?

I know someone online, only through social media, that often writes of how they cannot get anyone to take them to the places they want to go. This person writes of how happy they are when their friends take them places, of how loved they are because those people transport them to places, and then complain about how no one seems to care about them when they can't get a ride to somewhere they want to go. Let me just say straight out that I've had to mentally stifle my fingers from writing out a reply many, many times to this person. It gets irritating seeing this person write of how loved they are when someone is doing for them but then complain about how no one cares about them when no one is doing for them.

Their definition of love appears to be based on what others can do for them. And quite honestly I find it hard not to point out to this person, someone that lives across the country from me, someone I've never met and probably never will meet, that those people that love them so much when they are doing for them and don't care anything about them when they aren't doing for them all have lives of their own, that they are already going out of their way for this person.

But for that person, love appears to be what someone else can do for them.

And I find myself wondering...what is love?

Not in the sense of truly not understanding what love is, I do understand that, but in the sense of there has to be a greater definition of what love is than just how we, as fallen people, define it.

I've heard it said that love rules the world, that love is what makes the world go round. And it's true. Love does rule the world, love is what caused the world to go round but it isn't our human understanding of love that rules the world or makes it go round.

All of Scripture tells us the story of God and His love for His people, the people that he chose to be His before He ever made the earth. The earth, and everything on it, is here because of God's love for His people. And so...love rules the world, love is why the earth was made, it goes round because of God's love for His people.

But God's love is nowhere close to how humans define love.

About a week ago I found myself in a conversation with my uncle. He had seen a picture of a five year old Muslim boy being detained in handcuffs at an airport. My uncle was upset over that picture because this was 'God's child' and 'what would Jesus do'. Oh, the conversation that ensued over that. I pointed out that people in a religion that do not believe in the true God are people that live in defiance of God and that this child likely was not 'God's child'. My uncle didn't seem to get it. I would up explaining that God is a holy God and that He loves with a righteous love.

God's love is not the same as our human idea of what love is.

He killed His own son to appease His wrath so that He could love fallen people. Does that sound like a human kind of love? How many people do you know that get so angry with those they love that they must pour their wrath onto one person, wrath that ends in death, so that they can love others? God's love defies our human understanding of what love is.

That is pretty much what I read this morning that got me to thinking about love...again. Except that what I read wasn't close to being worded the way I just worded it. What I read said that we have a man-centered view of love that has people believing from babyhood that if we don't make much of them than we don't love them.

And it's true.

I have a relative that read a parenting book that taught that we must affirm our children's feelings that all their bad behavior is simply a need for more attention. According to that book a parent must pour great emotion and time into their child and when their child is bad they should not discipline and should instead pour even more time and emotion into that child because it simply isn't getting enough attention.

I never read that book but what has brought people to the point of believing that a child simply needs more attention when they are bad and that they shouldn't be disciplined? I grew up being told that a child needs attention from their parents and that if they don't get that attention when they are good then they will be bad because bad attention is better than no attention. I have seen that played out but I can't say a misbehaving kid needs only more attention.

And yet...that seems to be our cultures belief on what love is nowadays. Kids need more attention. Young adults and adults that throw tantrums in public because something doesn't go their way need to be accepted and affirmed in their beliefs.

We are told to love them regardless of their actions or behaviors. We are told we hate them if we tell them they are behaving in a bad way. We are told that we are intolerant if we don't want to put up with their actions or lifestyle.

And we are told all these things in the name of 'love'.

But that isn't how God defines love. Scripture shows us God's love from the first word to the last word. And we are shown the highest level of love. Christ died for those that God gave to Him. He died for His people so that He might save them for Himself.

He is like the treasure at the end of the rainbow or tucked inside a treasure chest. We must seek after Him, living for Him, as He defines life, so that we might experience the greatest love their is. God is love but His love is not the gushy love everyone kind of love that people would have us to believe He is. God loves with a holy love because He also hates with a holy hate and we cannot separate His love from His hate.

God is love.

God is hate.

That is love. That is God's love. He has high standards for people, he expects His people to live a certain way, and there is no compromise on His definition of what love is.

We as people can only comprehend love from our human hearts and minds. Scripture says that our hearts are deceitful above all things. Our hearts must have a higher definition of what love is or we can't define love but by our emotions.

People today have all kinds of mixed views of what love is but mostly they believe that love means accepting everyone along with their actions. That's not love. That's actually hate. Scripture says that a parent that does not discipline their child hates their child. We may not need to discipline the people in the world but if we accept their sins without telling them what those sins will cost them...we hate them.

Love is not defined by our ability to not offend someone. Love is defined by God and what He says love is. People have an amazing way of muddling things up. Adam and Eve did it in the garden of Eden and people have been doing it ever since. We mess everything up.

And now people are trying to base love not on a biblical or even moral standard of what love is but on a sinful standard. To love someone, says our culture, we must love them and their sins, if we do not then we hate them.

The enslavement of marriage

I recently wrote a post over a feminist poster that I saw, something that I tried very hard to just skim past when I saw it but then what I saw stayed with me so much that I needed to write just to clear up my own thoughts.

Well, today I saw something that effected me very much the same way. It was once again something having to do with feminists although I was kind of amazed that this came straight from a man's mouth. I know there are all types out there and I know that there are men that support women't causes but...feminism is so much of an anti-man cause that I would think that no man would want to support it. I know I wouldn't want anything to do with it if I was a man and yet...a man said something that was so disturbing to me that I am once again writing about feminism, not because I really want to but because my mind simply has a hard time understanding how anyone out there can think this way, much less how men can think this way.

Doesn't feminism directly disregard men?

Aren't feminists of a mindset that women are somehow victimized because they are women and that all men are the reason for all their woes simply because they are men?

And yet...there was this man saying what I wish I could quote word for word but what amounted to:

Women are so brainwashed by a fake sense of needing to conform and to have security that they willing enter into the 'marriage tradition', possibly the most horrid example of enslaving one person to another in all of history. People take their kids to church were they are taught that women can never reach the heights that men can. There are feminists that still want their dad to walk them down the aisle and 'give' them away. Homosexuals didn't fight for equality in all things they fought to be allowed to marry. Social pressure toward marriage is so strong that they actually fought to be included in this 'disgusting ritual' that is the base of enslaving women. Women will never be equal until we get rid of such enslaving traditions.

Oh...my. I don't even know how to respond to that. My first thought...that was written by a MAN. Um, what man is so for women usurping them that they would think such a thing much less give voice to it?

I know someone that claims that women aren't treated fairly because they make less money than men do. Maybe I'm super sheltered, I've only held a handful of jobs in my life. I've never tried to climb a career ladder, never desired to gain ground in a job. But...isn't minimum wage the same for women as it is for men? Do men make more money as a whole? I have no idea. I know when I was in high school I had a teacher encourage all the girls to go into construction work because federal laws require equality in the workplace and that means construction companies must hire women to meet a quota of female to male workers. Trouble is there are very few, at least at that time, women that want to do construction work. And so...said our teacher...women in construction can pretty much set their own pay rate because the construction companies have to hire a certain number of women to keep out of trouble with the government.

My high school years were a long time ago and so much has changed since then that we may as well be living in a different world but I'm sure there are jobs where women are paid exactly the same as men and that there are jobs that women actually make more money than men do. It's just the nature of any game. Lawyers make more money than store managers, doctors make more than taxidermists. And I have no doubt that there are some jobs out there where women make more money than men do. I know from experience that child care is a profession that is proliferated with female workers and male workers are rarely encouraged to work in that field. Having worked in several child care facilities many years ago, and knowing many parents now, that is mostly the result of the parents feelings about having men caring for their children. There is simply a safety issue involved with men looking after children that most parents don't consider to be a concern when the caretaker is female. And so...men aren't very prevalent in the childcare workers. Or at least they didn't used to be.

But whether or not women are paid equally to men...why would a man encourage this...dare I say, craziness of feminism? It seems to me that feminism is in direct opposition to men.

My faith gives me guidelines for what men and women are to be. Men are to be the providers, the protectors. Women are to be the home keepers, the nurturers. But even if a person didn't believe in the Lord...is it really all that hard to see that men and women are different? That that difference is a good thing? And even if they can't see that, can they not see that feminists are about as against men as they can get?

I've had little experience with feminists but here lately I've had a few more encounters with the feminist movement than I'd like. I've said it before, and will no doubt say it again, I believe feminists ruined life for women that truly want to be...women. They took a country that saw women as weaker vessels, a country where men held doors for women, lifted heavy items, and generally, as a whole, looked out for women and turned it into a country where women are seen as the same as men. More or less.

I've had people tell me I should put my children in daycare and go to work. Why? Not because they had anything at stake in the way I was living but because that is the mindset of our country now. Men work. Women work. This is desired.

I recently ran into a cousin that I haven't seen in years. She works full time and both her children are in public school. Over the Christmas holiday she had the same time off work that her children had off from school. This cousin actually told me, while standing in front of her daughter, that she would much rather work than be at home with her kids.

What is wrong with this thought process?

Years ago I was babysitting for a woman that was working when I started keeping her child but then wound up unemployed. This woman paid me to watch her child, day after day, while she sat home collecting unemployment.Why? Because she couldn't handle her own toddler.

This is what feminism has brought us to. This is the mindset of America today. Children are institutionalized almost from the moment they're born so that women can work.

And now I hear something so degrading to marriage that I can't even think of a proper way to describe it. I'll admit that the modern American marriage isn't what it should be. I've seen married couples stand in their yard and scream at each other. I've seen husband's abuse their wives. Seen wives chase their husband with a baseball bat. I've heard a wife speak all kinds of horrific things about her husband while said husband was home caring for their children.

Marriage today isn't what it should be. But it isn't enslavement, not by a long shot. Not in America. And it isn't just some ritual or tradition that we keep to the detriment of women.

How can anyone feel that marriage is an enslavement to women? I know there are countries where arranged marriages are the norm. I know there are cultures where women truly are treated as less than human. And I know that the very cultures and religions that practice those things also exist in America, and that they practice those things inside America despite laws that do not allow such things, but as a whole American women freely choose to marry and they choose who they will marry.

Some women chose to be stay at home wives, some chose to raise their own children rather than pass them off to others to do the job the Lord gave them to do. But with very few exceptions these are women that willingly chose to do this. They want to be a stay at home wife. They want to be a stay at home mom. They want to be there when their husband comes home from work. They want to care for their children.

These women aren't enslaved. They aren't oppressed. They aren't mistreated. I know because I am one of these women. My sister is one of these women. My friend is one of these women. We don't feel enslaved. We feel blessed. Our husbands love us. They care for us. They look after us.

My husband works long hours, often dealing with physical exhaustion and pain, working in the cold and rain, giving up his time, effort, and energy to make a living for our family. And he does it all for us. I'm not enslaved. I'm not mistreated. I'm not oppressed in any way. And no, I'm not brainwashed into thinking these things. I am loved. I am cared for. I am taken care of. I am protected from the harsher side of life. I am protected from the physical and mental demands of holding down a job. And...I am blessed.

I am not, and never have been, a slave because I am married.

I have to wonder if the man that made that statement has ever been married. Does he even truly know what marriage is like? Has he experienced it? And if he did...was he an enslaving kind of husband? If so...than maybe he should look at himself and not at marriage in general. Did he mistreat his wife? Was his dad an abusive husband? Did he feel like his mother was a slave to his dad?

What would prompt a man to speak against marriage? What would prompt him to hold such contempt of marriage, under the guise of giving women equality, that he would go so far as to say homosexuals should not have wanted the right to marry (I happen to agree with him but not for the reasons he feels that way). Do the homosexuals know something that this man doesn't? Maybe they see that marriage is a good thing. Maybe they see the give and take, the support, the security in simply knowing someone is there for you, someone to share your life with, and they wanted to be a part of that.

Now...I am NOT for a single second advocating homosexual marriage. Such a thing goes against Scripture. And it goes against the very nature of what marriage is. A union created by the Lord between one man and one woman to represent the relationship between Christ and His people. It is a holy union that cannot be attained by people committing what Scripture refers to as sodomy and is an abomination to the Lord. What I am saying is that maybe, just maybe, homosexuals somehow sense the importance of marriage and that despite the sin that holds them hostage in their thoughts and deeds, that maybe they see that there is something special in marriage. And maybe they understand something that the man that spoke against marriage, on behalf of freedom for women, does not understand.

Marriage is not enslavement. Marriage is an honor.

Preparing for the future

Turn on your TV or any device with internet and you’re pretty much guaranteed to see some sort of horror. I’m not talking about movies or books. I’m not talking about words you’d rather not see or pictures that offend you with just a glance. I’m talking about some kind of disaster. Train wrecks, riots, racism, beheadings…you name it, it hits the news.

Recently I was reading an online news article about something that, to me, has the possibility of affected our entire nation in a bad way. It has the potential to draw people to something that stands against Christianity by any definition. And so I read the article. But it wasn’t that article that wound up having such an effect on me. It was the link at the bottom of the article, one that warned of something to come. Out of curiosity, and thinking it was weather related, I clicked on it. I wound up watching a video that was actually very good and, from what little I know of the topic being discussed, factual.

I actually found myself interested in what I was watching and even considered sharing it with my husband, who wasn’t there when I was watching it, but what started out being pretty good and informative wound up being a rather long sales pitch trying to get me to buy a set of books. I exited the video before it ended. But I was left with the thoughts that watching it created.

You see this video spoke about terrorist attacks on America, it spoke of things that sounded completely plausible to me. And I knew just enough on the subject to know that most of what they were saying did indeed seem to be true.

But now, after having watched all of it I intend to, I’m thinking on things they said. You see the person that made the video is what they call a ‘prepper’ or a ‘survivalist’. Scripture tells us not to worry about tomorrow. It tells us that the Lord will take care of us. But I must admit to seeing some merit in being at least a little prepared for certain circumstances. I’m not talking about survival type end of the world scenarios. Nor am I advocating storing up five, or even one, year of food and supplies…have you ever thought of how much space you’d need to do that?

I’m talking about basic preparations. Most people put gas in their cars long before the gauge reaches the E. In doing so they are preparing for their future in the sense that they will have the gas needed to drive the next time they get behind the wheel. People on medications prepare by making sure to get their medication before they run out of their current supply. Most of us prepare for daily life by buying a week or more’s worth of groceries at a time.

I remember once, years ago, when I lived within two blocks of two major grocery stores. I had a refrigerator that was trying to go out on me and would keep food cold but not quite cold enough and the freezer wouldn’t freeze. I had no back up refrigerator, no deep freeze. So I shopped for groceries daily. I kept shelf stable foods like cereal and bread on hand but bought only what I would need for that day if it needed any kind of refrigeration.

That system worked well for us for months. There were days I didn’t want to go to the store and on those days we did have just enough in the refrigerator to make it until the next day. We also had enough shelf stable foods to make it a few days if need be. And so we did fine basically eating only what I bought that day.

But then trouble came. One day an unexpected ice storm hit. A storm that was supposed to bring rain brought ice and left us iced in for over a week. A tree broke in half and blocked my driveway, power lines snapped. And we were stuck at home without enough groceries to see us through. Somehow we stretched what little was in the refrigerator and the contents of the pantry out until I could get out to go to the store. We didn’t go hungry but we didn’t eat all that well either. And I had plenty of time to worry as I watched our already meager supply of food dwindle.

From that I learned to never let my food supply get that low again. What worked fine when everything was normal didn’t work so well when something out of the ordinary happened.

I have seen time and again since that storm that when the weather forecast predicts snow or ice people run to the store to buy groceries, batteries, flashlights… Some of them go to buy extra supplies just in case, some go because they don’t have enough to make it for a week or more if they can’t get to the store.

And as a result they prepare for what is to come. Not because they fear the disaster that could happen but because they want to be able to make it for a few days if something does happen.

I live in tornado alley. We are encouraged to keep a disaster kit just in case a tornado should strike our area. I’ve seen what happens after a tornado goes through our area. I’ve seen the devastation that can be cause by even small tornados. I understand the wisdom in having something in place should we get hit by a tornado…do I admit now that I didn’t follow the advice?

But that wasn’t the sort of preparation the man in the video I watched was talking about. He was suggesting that we be prepared before an ice storm, before a tornado, or even before the family reunion converges on your home. What he was suggesting we prepare for was a large scale terrorist attack or other disaster that could essentially end life as we know it. And the method this man suggested it could happen wasn’t some farfetched thing but something that very easily could happen.

But now that I’m no longer watching the video waiting for him to divulge the answer to this possible scenario I sit here thinking of it and how he essentially told people to prepare for the end.

And I’m reminded of a verse my husband likes to use often…

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

There are lots of people that are what they call ‘preppers’ or ‘survivalists’ out there. There are people that stockpile weapons, food, machines, books, skills, and who knows what all else. I used to find that sort of thing fascinating. I never had the money or the space to do any of the things they suggested beyond putting together a bad to have on hand in a disaster. That did come in handy during the many tornado warnings we spent sitting in the hall for safety. We never needed them because we were impacted by the storm to the point of needing a survival bag but I did put the snacks, coloring books and crayons, flashlights and other items to use. It was nice having everything together when we were placed under a tornado warning. As the children ran for the hall I grabbed the bag that I knew would keep them entertained while we sat there.

But as useful as I found the items I had packed in the backpack, and I doubt a serious survivalist would have had any interest in the bag I had prepared. There’s a good chance it would have been little more than something to make them laugh. Really…who needs coloring books when your house is in splinters? But it worked for us as we needed it at the time. All that aside though…what good are any earthly preparations when our souls are in danger?

How many people that fill their basements, put in hidden floors in their homes, build indestructible shelters, and whatever else they do, prepare their souls with as much diligence as they prepare for the end of the world?

If we looked at statistics alone…what are the odds that any one person will experience a disaster of any kind that is so debilitating they can’t get some kind of help within a few days? National response teams say you need to prepare to survive on your own for three days, the average length of time it takes help to reach you in a major disaster. Three days. That’s the average time anyone would need to survive without help after a disaster. And how many people are effected to that extent in their lifetime? Thousands? Millions? We’re talking three days where you can’t get to any kind of outside help, store, business, phone…anything. How many?

What percentage of people in America must survive on their own in disaster type, life threatening situations? With no help or contact with anyone?

I don’t know the answer to those questions. I know there are many that are affected in disaster type situations in any given year but how many of them are completely cut off from the rest of the world so that they must rely only on themselves for survival for even the three days recommended? Whatever the number I’m absolutely positive that 100% of the population of America, of the world, will be effected by death. Not just by death but by their own death.

You might experience a disaster situation that puts your life in danger. You might find yourself in a situation where you are completely cut off from all outside help. You may wind up needing to use only what you have on your person, in your vehicle, or in your home to stay alive for hours, days, weeks, or less likely months or years as the survivalists fear. But I guarantee that you will be affected by your own death.

Survivalists prepare for what they call ‘the end of the world as we know it’. They prepare themselves to depend on no one but themselves for years (in some cases). They look ahead to what might happen, to what could happen, and they prepare for what they imagine might affect them in their lifetime.

Preparing for a disaster that could happen might come in handy someday if that disaster ever does happen. It might give you useful skills that can be utilized in your everyday life now. It probably will give you supplies that you can rotate through and use on a daily basis…unless you have a 5 or 10 year supply of what they call meals ready to eat or MRE’s, then you may not want to eat them if your life depends on it.

But what has all that preparing done to get them ready for the absolute, guaranteed experience that they will have with their own death and the judgment they will face as a result?

I know that the Lord has His chosen people. I know that He has determined who will spend eternity in heaven and who will spend it in hell. I know that. But I also know that Scripture speaks of faith comes from hearing the Word of God. I know that Scripture speaks of the Lord giving up the unbelievers because of their unbelief.

If any of the people that spend even a small part of their lives prepping for a disaster that may never come put the same amount of time into Christ…what would happen with their life? What kind of fruit might their preparation bear?

What kind of future should we prepare for?

Eternity?

Or a disaster that could happen?

What are you preparing for?

 

A shift in beliefs

 

 

As things in our country have escalated I have begun to wonder more and more how much of a difference parenting of old verses parenting of today has affected the condition of our world, of our country. As I think of the children of different families that I know, of the children I see in town, I wonder just how different our country would be if those children…mine included…had been raised in the same way children were raised in Bible days, in the 1700’s, 1800’s, even the early to mid-1900’s.

I saw something recently where someone said they are afraid of living in a world run by adults that weren’t spanked as children.

I have yet to figure out how much of the change in thought process and even behavior has to do with the shift in discipline styles and how much of it has to do with the shift in beliefs on how children should be treated and disciplined.

There is no doubt the Bible speaks of spanking. Even still it isn’t my intention to get into how to discipline a child in this post. That is a subject I feel is best not tackled. I do however wonder when and where the shift in discipline happened and how much of that shift is responsible for much of what is going on in our country today.

Now…let me first say that I believe the Lord is sovereign and that what is happening today is happening because He has allowed it to. Not only that but He has a purpose for it and will use it all to His glory. That said…I also believe that we can look at the happenings and see where changes and differences affected other changes. It doesn’t mean I don’t think the Lord willed it, it simply means I’m looking at it and seeing it from both sides.

Long ago I saw a program on TV where a boy of about ten did something wrong. I don’t remember what the boy did but I do recall that he and his dad were standing in the sheriff’s office. This was a show set in pre-1960’s and it showed. It showed in the attitude of the sheriff. It showed in the way the boy acted. It even showed in what the boy had done. I don’t remember the details of what the boy did but I do remember how the incident was handled. The sheriff told the dad that he had a woodshed out back and the boy was immediately taken out of the sheriff’s office presumably to be spanked.

I’m not about to start voicing my opinions on disciplining children. I’m not suggesting anyone discipline any child in a certain way. I’m simply comparing the ideas of discipline in times past to how it’s done today.

Not all that long ago there was a public disturbance in a town where the people protested an action taken by a police officer. Many believed that the actions of that officer were wrong and they protested it online, in the news, and between each other. In the midst of all the outrage I remember seeing someone write online about how we are dealing with generations of grown and near grown children that have been raised to believe entitlement is their right.

That person…in my opinion…perfectly addressed the real problem. Whether or not the police officer acted wrongly he was forced to make a decision based off what was happening around him and most likely acted more off training and instinct…instilled by many experiences in just such circumstance…than on thought out actions The problem regardless of whether or not the officer acted in ways he shouldn’t wasn’t so much what happened at the time of the incident but was clearly seen in what happened afterward.

A large number of people didn’t like what the officer did and as a result they basically threw a huge fit because they didn’t get their way, because they decided that someone was treated unjustly.

Were they?

Who knows.

But the fallout from the incident to me is a much greater issue than the incident itself. Why is it that people believe that when they don’t like something they can basically throw a fit in public and get that something changed to their liking.

I’m sure there are law enforcement officials that react in too harsh a way every day. I’m equally sure that there are law enforcement officers that go above and beyond to help others, that put their lives on the line for people they’ve never met every day.

It isn’t the actions of the officer in that incident that concern me. It’s the actions of the country in the days and weeks that followed it.

            It’s the idea that when something doesn’t go our way if we voice our opinion loud enough and long enough others will join in and we will be given what we want. It’s the idea that we can get attention simply by creating a big enough mess.

            It’s the idea that we’re entitled to something simply because we want it.

            And as I think back over history…I think of all the true injustices people suffered. I think of the hangings and shootings that happened in the name of justice. I think of Christ being killed because a group of people didn’t like what he was doing and they demanded to be given what they wanted. I think of how those in charge gave them what they wanted even as they said they saw no reason to kill Him.

            We know that the reason He was killed…the reason He gave His life…was to fulfill the Lord’s plan but there’s still the human side to it.

            And that human side showed the same kind of public outcry that we see today when people are given what they want even when their desires are wrong.

            Today…as in the days of Christ…the Lord is using all of that for His purpose. But my human mind still questions how much of what we’ve seen happening in our world lately is happening because of the shift in ideas…beliefs…attitudes?

           

 

 

The mysterious treasure

I well remember the day the Scriptures came alive for me like they never had before. I remember how fascinated I was to just turn the pages of the Bible and read it at random…just to see if I could see in all of the Scriptures what I had seen in some. And how amazed I was that I could.

I felt that I had been allowed to know a secret that had been there all along but I hadn’t been told until that moment. And I was mesmerized.

My husband says I fell in love with the Scriptures.

Maybe I did. There was just something so…amazing in them that captivated me. There is still something amazing in them. There are verses in the Bible that tell of the mystery being revealed. That was how I felt, like the mystery had been revealed.

Assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Ephesians 3:2-6 esv

That verse alone says so much about the mystery. How it was given to Paul through revelation. How it was kept for those that would be allowed to know it. I have found it fascinating to read ‘which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations.’ It was a secret that was kept for those the Lord wanted to reveal it to.

When I think of the world, of all the people in the world, for all time…and how the secret is revealed to those that receive the ability to understand the mystery. How amazing is that?! It’s like being handed a box that holds a secret so great that we can’t fathom it all. And we can’t share it because the secret doesn’t exist except for those that are given the same secret.

And in some ways that is exactly what happens. We are the ‘box’ in which the secret has been placed. We are the ‘box’ that has been entrusted with the mystery. Those of us that are in Christ are not only handed the key to unlock the mystery but the very secret that is kept for those that have been entrusted with it are the key to the ‘box’. They are the ‘box’. We hold within us a secret so great that it has been kept and handed down through all of eternity, from the very creation of the world, so that it will be preserved and passed on to those that are yet to come that will also be the keepers of the secret.

What would you do if someone handed you a box and told you it held the mystery of the world in it? Provided you understood that the box truly held those mysteries and you believed it with everything in you…what would you do with that box? How gently would you handle it? How long would you study the box? How would you transport it? How would you store it? To what lengths would you go to protect it?

I wrote a post a while ago titled ‘how far would you go’. In it I asked how far you would go to see to it that those you love knew the truth. Now I ask how far would you go to protect the secret…the mystery…if it was handed into your care?

How special would you feel to know that out of all the world you had been chosen to protect the mystery and carry on the secret?

Imagine holding that box in your hands and knowing it contained the most powerful thing in the world…and that it explained everything there is about the world…imagine knowing you were responsible for that box.

Several months ago my sister told me about a television program she watched where they speculated on whether the Ark of the Covenant could have been radioactive…nuclear even…because of what happened to anyone that touched it. She said that in the program they said most if not all of the consequences for touching it could be explained by nuclear power. At the time I found it interesting and even thought of Moses. How he glowed after encountering God.

the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him. Exodus 34:35 esv

That, too, I would think could easily be explained through some sort of nuclear power. As could the verses about the burning bush…

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. ³ And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” ⁴ When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵ Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Exodus 3:2-6

As I was listening to my sister talk of the possibility that the Ark of the Covenant may have been nuclear I found the topic interesting but also had no need to know or even speculate on whether or not it was. I know what or rather Who caused the consequences for touching the Ark of the Covenant. What method He may have used to bring about those consequences isn’t something I feel the need to know. Not that we can ever know.

But as I write this I am reminded of that conversation. What would you do if you were handed a box and told that it is the mystery of all of life but that its nuclear and you must handle it exactly this way.

I am reminded, too, of a program my children like to watch. It’s set in the 1800’s and in one episode the men take a job transporting liquid nitrogen. Oh, the care they take with those glass bottles after being told that jostling can make them explode.

How careful would you be if you held in your hands a box containing a nuclear mystery that would explode if you handle it the wrong way? How afraid of that mystery would you be? How careful would you be to handle it just the right way?

The mystery spoken of in Scripture isn’t nuclear, it won’t explode if you drop it, but it’s no less powerful.

And it’s been entrusted to a select set of people.

And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. Matthew 13:11 esv

            Not everyone can see or understand the mystery. It’s a secret. It’s big…huge even. It’s profound. It’s unlike anything else you will ever encounter. And if you’re truly in Christ…you hold the key to the mystery. You have been told the secret.

            It is a treasure that has been entrusted to a select set of people. Scripture even tells us who they are…

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, Ephesians 1:4-5 esv

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, Ephesians 1:11

            Now do you see the treasure you hold? Not only have those that were entrusted with the secret been told the mystery but they were chosen…hand picked by the Lord…to know that mystery. And He didn’t just look down on all the people in the world today and select those He would give the secret to…He chose who would know the secret before the earth was made.

            Before He created anything…He thought of His people…the one’s that would be entrusted with the secret. He knew their names before He formed the earth.

            Imagine that box again. Here it is…in your hands. You hold it. Just after being handed the box…before you knew it was nuclear…you held it in your hands amazed at the mystery you were entrusted with. Then you learn its nuclear and if you mishandle it, it will explode. Now you’re afraid of it.

What are you supposed to do with it?

When it was simply…if you can call it simple at all…the mystery of the world it was amazing but now you know. You know it comes with great power. And you now hold that power in your hands.

What…

Are you...

 Supposed…

 to do with…

IT?

I ask again…how would you handle it? How would you treat it? This powerful mystery you have now been entrusted with, that you were chosen before time to be entrusted with…is now in your hands.

And it’s a treasure beyond comprehension. It’s worth more than gold, more than all the money in the world. There is nothing on earth worth as much.

And you have it.

It was hidden ‘through the ages’ and has now been revealed to you.

… the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Colossians 1:26-27 esv

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages Romans 16:25 esv

            And only those that have been chosen to know the secret can understand the mystery.

And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,  Mark 4:11 esv

            This mystery…is understandable only by those that were chosen to know it…only those that it was given to.

And not only were you chosen to know the mystery…you were prepared to know it.

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” 1 Corinthians 2:9 esv

            Why were you prepared for this mystery? Why were you chosen before all of creation to be handed this mystery? What did you do to earn such a treasure?

            For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship… Ephesians 2:8-10 esv

            You did nothing to earn the treasure. You weren’t even given a map to find it. You were simply handed the treasure as a gift.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15 NIV

            Everyone knows that finding a true treasure requires a map…a treasure map. It’s the stuff stories and legends are made of. They are the object of many childhood fantasies. But the treasure you hold came with no map and…if there was no map to get you here…how do you now hold the treasure?

…these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit... So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 1 Corinthians 2:9-16 esv

            You weren’t given a map…you were simply handed the treasure. Nothing you did, will do, or could do would have ever lead you to such a treasure as this. And if you had somehow managed to find the treasure on your own…which Scripture tells us is impossible…you would never have understood it.

            And still the question remains…how? How did I get here? How did I acquire such a wonderful treasure?

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 esv

            You were drawn here…dragged here, as the Greek translation says. It was not you that got yourself here but the Lord who prepared you for the secret He chose to impart to you. his preparation was so complete that he began to prepare you for it long before you were born. He chose your parents, your grandparents. He put those people in place and prepared the way for your birth. He chose where you would live, who your friends would be. He set you in the life He wanted you in at every stage. He went ahead of you and cleared the path He wanted you on, placed the people He wanted you to meet on that path, and set your feet in the direction He wanted you to go.

            Whether we wanted to go that way or not…we were made to go the way He wanted us to.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 2 Corinthians 2:14 niv

            You were a captive of Christ that was set on a path before the creation of the world. Your course was set long before there was a path to follow. The treasure was yours when you…weren’t. It was yours…held in trust…long before you were born, before you were conceived.

            Why were you given the treasure?

            …I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Exodus 33:19 esv

for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13 esv

            You were given the treasure…they mystery…given the secret…because it was the Lord’s good pleasure to give it to you. He chose you to be the recipient of his mercy.

All who are in Christ were given the secret of this great mystery. They were chosen to be the recipients of the mysterious treasure.

Oh, what a gift we have been given.

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not a Christian

Years ago I came to the conclusion that if 'they' were Christians than I wasn't. Who were the 'they' that came to mind as I said and thought that? All the professing Christians that seem to wear Christ like most people were dress shoes. The one's that put Him on when it suits their purpose and takes Him off when it doesn't. 

When I came to the conclusion that we couldn't both be Christians I had no idea what the true difference was but I could clearly see a difference. And those differences were obvious. These were people that I had always been taught were 'Christians', whether I knew them or they were strangers I crossed paths with made no difference. The reality was that either they were 'Christians' or I was. We were simply too different. Saying we were both Christians would be like saying the sky is blue and brown. It can't be both ways. Either they were. Or I was. 

And so I began to think 'if they're Christians, then I'm not' and I no longer thought of myself as a 'Christian'. Today I know the truth of that situation. I know they are professing Christians. I know that I am a Christian by Biblical definition.

But what if I had never discovered the difference? What if I still believed that I can't be a Christian because the 'Christian' label that 'they' wear is what being a 'Christian' looks like? 

Aparently that is exactly what is happening to some people. They still believe they aren't Christians because so many people wear the title who don't fit the description.

Last night I was on the phone with my sister our discussion was of a Biblical/Christian nature about prayer and why God does or does not answer it. I told her that people that expect the Lord to answer their prayers in the exact way they want them answered and who expect Him to answer them right this minute forget...or just don't know...a couple of things. First thing they forget that they are the creation and have no right to demand anything of the Lord, that they are told by Christ himself to pray 'Your will be done', and that just because they want something doesn't mean that it fits in with the Lord's will for their life or the life of the person they're praying for. And then I told her that those same people think 'God' is just sitting by idly waiting for them to decide to ask him for something. They think that they can live life on their terms, wrapped up in their own selfish desires, and then go running to 'God' when they want something. They think that He listens to them when they pray despite the fact that they live their lives chasing sin instead of Christ.

But those same people also claim that they are 'Christians' and it makes those of us that are Christians not want to claim the label despite the fact that we are the one's that can claim it.

The trouble with true Christians giving up the claim of being a Christian is that Scripture defines who are to be considered Christians...

26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they [a]met with the church and taught considerable [b]numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Acts 11:26 nasb

And it isn't the people that want to chase sin and live for the world then claim to be a 'Christian' because it soothes the place inside them that doesn't want to admit that heaven is reserved for true Christians. And so they go on believing...pretending...to be 'Christians' when in fact they are fakes.

A true Christian is someone that has been converted, given a new heart, that repents of their sins and would give their very lives for their beliefs.

How many professing 'Christians' do any of that?  

Around the world there are Christians that die not because they claim to be a 'Christian' but because they can't be anything but a Christian.

I just read where many so-called preachers are now using the term Christ follower. They ask people if they are 'christ followers' making some kind of distinction between following Christ and being a Christian. Trouble is...the so-called preachers listed in that article are men I would say are heretics. They preach a false gospel. And then they want to label what they are doing as being a Christ follower.

How long until the true Christians begin to wonder if they can claim to follow Christ...for fear of being lumped in with the heretics that say that's what they are? How long before the word believer can no longer be used by a true Christian because 'they' have taken it over so completely that it is no longer recognizable?

How long?

On the surface it would seem like this isn't all that big of a deal but it is. It's a huge deal. It's big because those people...like I used to be...that know their faith is different but don't know why or how find themselves in a position where they don't want to claim the title given to them in the Bible. But it's a much bigger deal than even that.

You see there are those that claim that you can be a 'Christian' by believing in any way and then you get to wear the label, put on the name brand of Jesus, and call yourself a 'Christian'. Not only that, but you get a lifetime shopping spree to the store of 'Jesus' where you can get as much of the label as you want, or as little, and wear it when the desire suits you. And it comes with the bonus of spending eternity in heaven.

I'm sad to say that a good number of those 'Christians' will be looking at a 'heaven' filled with fire and torment. There will be no paradise in their 'heaven'.

Touching their earthly lives

Children are such a wonderful blessing from the Lord that they bring us much joy and enjoyment on earth. They enrich our lives so much and are often our first teachers on learning to deny ourselves and put others first.

Through our children we often learn to enjoy the Lord’s creation. Through them we learn to see the wonder in a caterpillar or in the rippling of water.

And through our children we are given our best chance to live out our faith before others. Our children learn from watching us and our faith…as true, born again Christians…will impact them.

It is a great privilege to be entrusted with such blessings.

What we often forget in our enjoyment and day to day encounters with our children is that we aren’t just raising these little people that bring so much to our earthly lives….we are raising souls that belong to the Lord.

While we pray for our children’s salvation, while we live the examples we want them to follow, we may forget to stop and remember that this child that belongs to us is actually a soul that doesn’t belong to us at all.

Their souls belong only to the Lord and it’s His place to do with them what he wants. We can only guide those souls in whatever small way the Lord will allow us.

I am a homeschooling mother. Have…in fact…homeschooled my children since before they were old enough to need any form of ‘school’. In the homeschool world there is great stock placed in curriculum. There are conventions where all manner of it are displayed. You can order magazines about it, get catalogs delivered to your door that can eat up hours and hours of your days. There are hundreds if not thousands of websites offering everything from single subjects to all-inclusive curriculums. There are ‘Christian’ curriculums, secular curriculums, and more. You name it if you want to teach it to your child you can probably find it.

There are whole models of education formed around certain ideas of how you should teach your children. And there are complete models formed around the idea that you can’t teach your child, that children learn when they are ready and not before no matter what…or how much…you pump into them.

Some families are ‘homeschoolers’. That is their identity. It’s who they are and it describes everything about how they live their lives, much the way other people describe being ‘doctors’ or ‘world travelers’. It is…quite simply…who they are. And they take pride in who they are.

There are many families among the homeschool world that homeschool for the sole purpose of being able to pump ‘Christian’ content into their children. They believe that it is their place to be the religious instruction for their children and that that should include their children’s education.

Let me say…I agree with that…to a point. I do believe that as parents we have a responsibility to teach our children of our beliefs, to live out those beliefs to them, and to give them the gospel.

I don’t however believe that we can instruct our children into salvation…which is basically what some among the homeschool world are attempting to do.

Being entrusted with children…with souls…by the Lord is a privilege that comes with the added privilege of being able to live out our faith in front of our children and the ability to give them the gospel as we will probably never be able to give it to anyone else. Part of that privilege is the joy of watching our children grow and learn.

I have met many a homeschooling parent and curriculum provider that believed that getting ‘Christian’ beliefs into the ‘Christian’ child was the single most important purpose of home educating them.

The trouble with this philosophy is that it completely misses the Biblical teaching that salvation is of the Lord and that we can’t work our way into it.

If we could…if we had to…if our children’s salvation rested in our hands and in how much of the Scriptures we could get into their hearts…we would fail. Miserably.

Because salvation rests in the Lords hands alone. He is the only one that can save our children and He will do so at His will regardless of what we do or do not do.

The vessels of God’s mercy (Romans 9:22-23) are prepared for eternal glory by the Lord and they are prepared according to the plan He has in place for them. When the time is right the Lord will draw (John 6:44) or more accurately according to the Greek text…draw…their hearts and souls to Him.

What has gone into their hearts and minds prior to that moment is only what was placed in their lives so that the Lord could get them to the place where He would save them.

If it was required of us…as parents…to put everything into our children that would save them…we would fail. We simply cannot put the love of Christ into their hearts so that they will love Him above all else. Sin lives in their hearts from birth and it will take root and grow despite our best efforts to weed it out.

This sin kills our children’s hearts so much so that they are dead in sins. Only the Lord can give them life from those sins and it’s His will to do so or not and there’s nothing that we…or they…can do to affect that. While our children are dead in their sins they are in complete darkness, lost to their sins, so much so that the darkness they live in will keep them from Christ…aside from a basic head knowledge that will allow them to profess a belief that does not reach their hearts.

That is the best condition that we can hope to ‘impart’ to them through anything that we…or they…do. Everything else…salvation…is in the Lord’s hands. It’s a gift that he pours out into those that He chooses to receive it. A gift is something that is freely given, not something we work to earn.

The educating of our children in the ways of the Lord may give them a head knowledge, it may restrain them in their sins, but it will not give them salvation.

Oh, but if we could. How great it would be to focus all of our earthly time and attention on our children’s souls and know that we were giving them their very salvation.

I would gladly spend every hour of every day working the Truth of Christ into my children’s hearts if only it would save them.

But Scripture tells us that isn’t the way salvation works and that nothing I do will save my children. The good news in that is that nothing I do…no failure on my part… will cast them into hell either.

They came into this world souls that belong to the Lord, to be used for His purpose…whatever that may be…and they will go out of this world the same way.

I can only touch their earthly lives to the extent the Lord allows me to do so.