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.

What was it like for Paul?

Paul wrote most of the books in the New Testament. He didn’t walk the earth with Christ but he had an encounter with him. His teaching was vital to the growth of the church, to getting the message to God’s people.

But he didn’t start out that way.

9 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Not only wasn’t Paul…then called Saul…not a Christian but he was against Christians. He was out to get as many as he could and was willing to travel to do so. He even asked to be sent out so that if he found any Christians along the way he could bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Why?

What was so offensive about Christians that Paul was breathing threats and murder? Paul was clearly evil. He had a hatred for Christians in his heart and was willing to do what it took to get rid of them.

What had caused him to have such a hatred of them? Was it his upbringing? His family beliefs? His education? Society? Where and when did he develop such hatred for Christians? What kind of man was he? When he wasn’t arresting Christians who was he? Was he loud and boastful of his conquests? Was he filled with anger? Did the evil that he had done eat at him even if he wouldn’t acknowledge it? What kind of man was he?

Whatever kind of man he was, whatever his personality, the Lord was about to change him.

³ Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.

Imagine going down the road and all of a sudden being surrounded by a light. What did Paul think as it surrounded him? Was he afraid? Astounded? Amazed? What kind of light was it? Did it bring warmth with it as the sun does or was it just a bright light? The only answer we have lies in Paul’s reaction…

⁴ And falling to the ground…

Why did he fall to the ground? Was the light so bright that he was blinded by it? We know that when he got up he was unable to see…

Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing.

But was he blinded by the light? Was he so shocked at the light that surrounded him that he fell to the ground? Was the light so hot that he sought to escape it? What about the light made him fall to the ground?

And what did he think when…

 he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

There, surrounded by light, Paul heard the voice of the Lord. Did it send fear through him? He knew what he had been doing. Was he afraid that the Lord was retaliating? Did he know the fear of God in that moment? What did he think, feel, as he lay/sat on the ground surrounded by light? How long did it take him for form his answer?

⁵ And he said, “Who are you, Lord?”

Did he realize as he voiced the question that he had answered himself? Who are you, Lord. He knew to whom he was speaking even as he asked. Did he have some belief in Christ already to have called Him Lord?

And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Was he shocked that Jesus said he was persecuting Him and not the Christians he had been targeting? What thoughts and feelings went through him as he was accused of persecuting Christ? Had he adjusted to that accusation before he was told what to do?

⁶ But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

Did he fear what was to come when he got into the city? Was he afraid that he was about to be stoned or killed in some horrid way? Did he fear being imprisoned? Did he hesitate to do as he was told or did he quickly scramble to his feet?

⁸ Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing.

Did he panic when he realized he was blind? Did he cry out ‘I can’t see’? Did he wave his arms around and try to get his bearings. Or did he stand in fear, frozen in place, silent?

So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

How did he feel being led around like a small child, unable to see? He had so recently been a soldier, a warrior, hunting down Christians, arresting them, taking them in, and here he was unable to walk by himself. Had he been prideful before? Was he humbled then? Was he humiliated? Was he angry and bitter? Quiet?

⁹ And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Did he fear in those three days that he would never see again? Was he worried and stressed, his stomach tied in knots so that he couldn’t eat or drink? Did he stop eating and drinking as a way to fast? Was he so filled with shame, remorse, hurt, that he simply couldn’t eat for the disgust of what he had done? Or did he give up? Did he decide that if he couldn’t see, if he couldn’t be the man he was, that he didn’t want to go on?

Years ago I read a book where one of the men in it had been injured and paralyzed in an accident while working far from home. He was engaged to be married. The accident happened before the book started so when I came into the story it had already taken place. His fiancé rushed to him when she found out that he had been hurt. Upon her arrival she found him wounded but very much alive. Her worry turned to gratitude to discover the man she loved, the man she wanted to spend her life with, was still alive. That was her thoughts and feelings as she entered his hospital room.

His reaction to seeing her was completely different. He got angry, ended their engagement and sent her away. Because of his injuries he felt that he wasn’t the man he had been, felt that he couldn’t be a proper husband to her.

Did Paul react that way? Did he get angry and resentful? Did he feel that he wasn’t the man he had been and if he had to go through life without sight that he’d rather not live? Was that why he quit eating and drinking?

What was it like in those dark days? When he didn’t know what his future was, when he was dependent on others, what did he think and feel? Was his spirit broken? Did his heart hurt? Was he afraid? Angry?

What was it like for Paul?

…look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,

In those dark days Paul turned to prayer. Was he crying out to God for forgiveness? For healing? In anguish did he beg God to save him?

What did Paul think when someone’s hands touched him? Was he afraid of what was to come? Did he hope his anguish was almost over? Did he dread what was to come? Or did he think…let’s get it over with?

¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Was Paul happy to hear those words? Was he excited at the thought of seeing again? Was he glad to know the Lord didn’t intend harm for him?

 ¹⁸ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight.

How happy was he to be able to see again? Did he understand the changes that were happening to him? Did he welcome the Holy Spirit?

What was it like for Paul to go through such a huge change in his beliefs? Did he fear what others would do to him? Did he look forward to the task he was given?

What was it like for Paul?

 

Romans 12

I read an article recently that referenced Romans 12. That article left me kind of wondering how the author came to the conclusions they did but it also left me thinking about Romans 12.

In that article the author asked some questions along the lines of…

If the world treasures things…do we?

If the world see’s something as okay…do we?

If the world loves it…do we?

It leaves me thinking…do we? There are so many things, so many places where something is accepted or seen as normal simply because it’s what is accepted. When I first became a parent I did a lot of things without thinking, things that I’d always done in my life so I just continued those things with my children. It wasn’t until I’d been a parent for quite a few years that I started questioning whether or not some of those things were something I really wanted to teach my children.

As a Christian my life is so different from what most people see as normal that my sister has said I make things harder than they have to be because there’s so much I want no part of. What she doesn’t understand is that my life isn’t hard. Not for me. Giving up all those sinful things was the easy way. It was much easier than continuing to allow them in my life because sin hurts my heart, hurts my soul. Staying away from those things brings peace, contentment, and joy. It’s not hard, it’s easy.

But it isn’t that way for so many ‘Christians’ today. Christianity can’t even agree on how to be ‘Christians’ so how can any ‘Christian’ figure out what is acceptable and what isn’t. I’ve read that divorce is higher among ‘Christians’ than it is among those that aren’t ‘Christian’. ‘Christians’ are homosexuals. ‘Christians’ have abortions.

And because those ‘Christians’ accept so much of what the world sees as being good there are some that are left asking ‘if the world is okay with it…are we?’

As I read that article I found it sad and encouraged at the same time. Christians shouldn’t need to ask those kinds of questions. And yet they do. Even true regenerate Christians are presented with so much in our world that sometimes we have to really use discernment to know whether or not it’s acceptable in the Lord’s eyes.

I picked up a book not that long ago because the title caught my attention. It was about the doctrine of election. As I lifted it off the shelf I thought I might have found a book that I would and could enjoy. Only it wound up presenting four different views on the doctrine of election. It wasn’t just scripturally based as I had hoped. I had to use discernment as I looked through it to figure out if it was a book that I should read. I put it back.

Movies come out that claim to be Christian and yet so much discernment is needed to see if it’s truly okay. I don’t ask myself ‘if the world loves it…do we?’ but the need to discern things is there. The need to be careful not to let influences that don’t need to be in our lives is there.

I wasn’t sure I saw the connection that the author of the article I was reading made to Romans 12. In fact the author really didn’t make any connection beyond stating a reference to Romans 12. But when looking at Romans 12 I could see the connection that the author of that article failed to make.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

In the first verse alone there is plenty of option to ask…Does the world? Do we? Paul is speaking to ‘brothers’, to the elect, to the regenerate. The message, the question, is being given to true born again Christians.

 ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The next verse gives us more to go on. As true Christians we should be able to discern most things without asking ourselves if they’re okay but when in doubt here’s yet another verse to help us. Is something we are holding, looking at, or thinking about what would be considered conformed to this world? Does it hold with the world’s standards? Does it renew our minds to the Lord’s standards? If we test it can we discern the will of God? Is it good in his eyes? Acceptable? Perfect?

³ For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Does something in our life…in our culture…promote the idea of thinking of others more highly than it does the thinking of ourselves or does it encourage us to think of our own desires and needs before those of others? What do we see if we truly look at something soberly, through our faith, and not through the eyes of the flesh?

 ⁴ For as in one body we have many members,^[e] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

I will admit to failing to see a connection between this part and looking at things of the world except maybe in the way we look at each other, rather in the way we look at other believers.

⁶ Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷ if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸ the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,^[f] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Do our actions show the depth of our faith? When we do something do we do it in faith? When serving others do we do so with all we have to give them? If we teach do we do it in faith that the Lord is leading what we teach? Do we lean on Him as we instruct others? When we give do we do so generously?

⁹ Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

Is our love true love? Do we love out of the abundance of our hearts or do we love because it’s expected of us? Do those we encounter, those in our daily lives, feel our love? Do we hate what is evil? Does that hate show? When our children encounter sin do they know that it is something we hate? Do we embrace only the good? Do our children see that in our lives? Do others?

¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Does the world see this love? Do we feel it or are we simply going through the motions?

¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,^[g] serve the Lord.

Do we serve the Lord in all that we do? Does it show? Do those around us know of our beliefs? How would they describe us if asked to do so?

¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Do we have hope even when it looks like all hope is lost? Do we become easily angered when things get rough? Do we pray always?

¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

These are things that are seen rarely in our society….are they seen in us?

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

Ohh…that’s a hard one. Do we do it? Do we react differently to persecution in any form than the world does?

¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Are we happy for others simply because they are happy? Do we hurt for those who hurt?

¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^[h] Never be wise in your own sight.

The further I go the harder this gets. Do we think we’re better than others or do we see even the most disreputable person as better than we are? I will admit now to having a hard time with this one. Do we see ourselves as wise? Do we see others and ourselves as the world leads us to think of ourselves and those around us or do we see them as instructed in Scripture?

¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.

Do we live…and act…honorably in the sight of everyone? Do we treat someone as they have treated us or do we respond out of the love Christ has put in us? Do we react as the world tells us we should or do we react out of our faith?

¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

This is another one that gets hard. Peace is often hard found with many people. Do we try to find it even in the hard times?

¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[i] to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Do we leave anger and vengeance to the Lord even when we are wronged? Do we leave it to the Lord when our children are wronged?

²⁰ To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Could we feed someone that had harmed us or our children? Do we? How do we respond to those that do or say things that hurt us or those closest to us?

 ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

When we are surrounded with evil…an everyday occurrence in our society…do we hold onto the good and ward off the evil that tries time and again to get the better of us?

 

 

 

 

 

Called to be seperate

On this rather long and winding path I have taken to get closer to Christ…a path I did not choose,  nor did I ask to be placed on…I have found myself being further and further separated from the things of this world and even, for the most part, the people of this world.

I have a sister that not only thrives on social connections but she seems to truly need them. I guess she’s always been that way. I, on the other hand, have never been that way. When I was a child, going to school, I needed…and I stress the word needed because I was lost without her…a best friend. She was always like a security blanket for me. So much so that when she would miss a day of school I was lost…all but didn’t know how to function…without her.

I had several best friends over the years of school and had the same dependency on all of them but as I got older I developed friendships with more of the girls I went to school with. Those friendships filled the days when my best friend wasn’t there. By the time I was in high school I no longer had that need. In fact, by then we had moved so much that I no longer had any close friends. I simply went through my days at school and went home. And I was okay with that.

As the years passed and I became an adult with a family of my own people…friends…came and went, family ties that were once strong faded away while those I had never been close to before became closer. Life…happened. And while it happened I found myself slowly…ever slowly…being pulled from the world and those in it.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have strong relationships with family. I have friends. But I don’t have the same connections to the world a lot of people seem to have. I don’t need them and quite honestly…I don’t want them.

But looking back over the years I can see a separation from the world in me that started even in childhood. I was always the girl that was happy with one friend. As I grew older I was happy with only family relationships. I never felt the need to be surrounded by friends.

It’s neat to look back over our lives and see how the Lord prepared us for what we are today. The Lord…will separate us from the world. That was the point. It is a point I can’t make though without going all the way back to my childhood. Back to the days when…in kindergarten…I would stand just inside the classroom door and cry until my best friend arrived, back to the days that…when school was just too much…I would cry and the teacher would send me to the nurses office because I didn’t feel good and I would be sent home from school, back to the days when I literally didn’t know what to do on a day when my best friend was absent.

I was separated then. Separated from all the kids around me, separated from the life of school. I had no interest in it and no desire to be even a small part of it. And so I had that one friend that I was close to…and that made the days bearable.

From those days…the separation never ended. I was so often in the world but rarely was I a part of the world. Even in my teen years.

As a Christian that is a good thing. It’s what we’re called to be in Scripture. But it wasn’t until a few years ago that I began to understand that and it was much more recently that I was able to connect that separation that I feel in me to the calling that was placed upon me.

As I go through life…when I’m in town amongst the ‘world’…I feel no connection to it. There are things I enjoy doing but there is nothing I feel I must do…for myself, not the have to do this kind of tasks of caring for a family and a home.

It is a separation that allows me to enjoy the things in the world but to not feel the need to have the connections and interactions…and experiences…that so many do. It is a separation that takes me from the nonsense of this world and places me in the Lord’s will for me.

This separation…I have had family members say that I make being a Christian harder than it has to be because I separate from so much. What those family members don’t understand is that first, I didn’t choose that separation, it’s just there, and second, the separation makes everything easier. It takes the stresses and pressures of much of this world away and leaves me with a peace that only the Lord can give.

 

Surrounded by sin

Sometimes I have a hard time figuring out if the internet is a good thing or a bad thing. I remember back when the media meant television news, newspapers, and magazines. I remember when things like school shootings happened and people would say that if the media wouldn’t sensationalize it there’d be less people trying to harm others for the attention it brings them. Let’s face it…such an act forever immortalizes the offenders name.

But today it’s not just the news media that sensationalize everything. Now it’s them plus social media. The people that used sit in coffee shops, living rooms, and businesses discussing things they’d heard in the news now plaster it all over the internet. By the time something hits the news so many people have commented on it and posted it that it’s nearly impossible to miss.

That’s a good thing when pictures of missing children and the like are being shown. It’s okay when it’s being used to share stories and further truths. It’s bad when it’s being used to support and encourage sin. Even the reports that start out as informative seem to quickly dissolve into a free-for-all where everyone has a comment on what happened.

People today seem to think they have the right to tear people’s lives apart simply because they have an opinion on what happened. When a person has to stand face to face with someone to discuss something the conversation at least stays in the realm of understanding that you are talking to another person. When it goes online it becomes a screen that you’re speaking to. It’s easy to forget that there’s another person on the other side of that screen.

Like everything in life the internet can be used for good and bad. We live in the information age. Information is available to us like it’s never been available at any other time in history. This is great when we need information on health issues, weather forecasts, and accessing Christian articles that might otherwise have been available to only a few. But it’s bad when it’s used to further sin.

Idolatry comes in many forms. The internet is but one of them. Used as a tool it can be very effective and helpful. Used to hurt others it can be a way to break one of the top commandments. Used to further sin…it’s just more sin in a fallen world.

And we are living in a fallen world. If a person pays any attention to any form of media today it’s impossible to avoid all the sin. Sin before us, sin surrounding us. It’s so prevalent that it seems if we wake up in the morning it’s delivered to us.

I’ve seen t-shirts that say something to the effect of …I want to be the kind of person that when my feet hit the floor in the morning the devil says oh no she’s up. Maybe we need a t-shirt that says….Sin wants to be so prevalent that when their eyes open in the morning there’s no way they can avoid it.

Every year from about August until sometime in the first couple of weeks in November Halloween rolls around. Without fail, every year, seemingly earlier and earlier out pop all the evil decorations. Going to the grocery store becomes a challenge. There’s no way to drive through town, to walk through a store, without seeing some sort of climbed-from-the-grave horror guaranteed to offend sensitive souls. It’s sin run rampant.

And it’s celebrated.

It’s honored.

It’s revered.

It’s seen as nothing wrong with this, it’s just innocent fun. Well, there is something wrong with it. It’s not just innocent fun. It’s promoting that which the Lord hates. It’s looking upon sin without seeing it as such.

That’s one holiday. One brief time during the year. Bad as it is…it does have an end. Not so the sin we encounter daily. What of all the sin being promoted through the media, being forced on us whether we want it or not? What of the sin that overflows from Hollywood and into our children? What of the sin that is seen in our own homes if we own a television or computer? What of the sin that arrives on our phones through text messages from people we don’t even know?

It’s paraded before us as something to be encouraged and celebrated. It’s there…wherever there happens to be.

My husband and I were looking at a Christian news site and even there sin was so rampant that I told my husband looking at the news is just depressing. What good is there in news articles? I’m not asking what the good of knowing the news is. I’m asking where the good articles are. Where are the stories that promote the things Christ stands for? Where are the articles that applaud someone for standing up for what is right?

It’s not in the news. At least it isn’t in the main stream news. My grandmother has said many times that she wouldn’t want to have to raise children in today’s world. For someone that can remember what life was like in the depression our modern world has to look pretty bad. My grandmother raised children in a time when children were taken from their homes if their parents lived together without being legally married. She grew up in a time where right was pretty much right and wrong was wrong. Sin existed. It has existed from the fall of Adam. But there were times past when it was reigned in more than it is today, when it wasn’t so exalted.

We are now in the time when Halloween is paraded before us whether we like it or not. We are forced to look at monsters, so-called zombies, ghosts, ghouls, skeletons, and whatever other manner of evil the fallen world can think up. If we dare to open our door to a knock on Halloween night we may well find ourselves face to face with a demon or Satan himself.

And that’s all done in what’s supposed to be fun.

I fail to see the fun in sin whether it’s in the form of lying and stealing, disregarding the things the Lord says are sacred, or celebrating a holiday. Sin is sin no matter how it’s portrayed.

 

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.