The internet is a scary place. Now, you have accessed this blog through the internet, and hopefully you don't view that as a bad thing... But let's use this blog as an example. These are my words, but I have put them on the internet. Now you and everyone else in the world can read them. I can delete them, but they won't really go away. You will have read them, and they will be permanently stored somewhere in cyberspace.
Words are a scary concept. Various arrangements of the same twenty-six letters build us up and tear us down so quickly and easily. Word vomit happens, and you can't take it back, and you may have just destroyed a life with those words. You can crush self esteem, end friendships, break hearts, and totally lay waste to lives.
The internet is just a big cloud of these words, sitting here saying things to us and about us. The words on the internet can criticize our race, our gender, our politics, our actions, our faith. That's what everything comes down to: our faith. We all believe in something, and none of us wants anything said to hit close to home. But one of the scary things about the internet is that it always does.
Right now, people everywhere are hurting because of today's tweets, posts, and headlines. Right now, people everywhere are confused, angry, sad, and even apathetic. Right now, that might be you. If that is you, dear reader, I pray that you will hear what I am about to say.
From the national television to the lunch table at school, Christianity takes a lot of heat these days. Someone makes a mistake and naturally, a lot of unanswerable questions arise. Is there a God? If so, why did he let this happen? How could a Christian do that?
We could have a walk-through on apologetics, but I will be honest with you and say you might not find the answer to your questions there. You might not find them anywhere. But I can guarantee that if you are looking for answers in a person here on Earth, you aren't going to find them. Because here on Earth, we are not free from the presence of sin. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned. That exempts a sum total of one: God himself. That, dear reader, is the gospel. That we couldn't be perfect. We couldn't attain righteousness. And Romans 6:23 says that the consequence of that is death- permanent death. Separation from God. But Ephesians 2:4-9 says that God sent Jesus and only through him are we saved. Only by faith are we made righteous.
That said, it is obvious that we still sin. We still mess up. There are two responses when that happens: we can run from God, or we can run to him. We can say that God must be angry or that he is too confusing or lofty or that we just flat out don't love him, and we can run. Hear me when I say to you that this will never satisfy. The farther we run, the emptier we will feel because we were made to love something greater than ourselves. Our only other option then, is to run to Jesus. Oh, I pray that you would today.
The simple fact of the matter is that there are some things we just cannot understand. I promise you that there is nothing more comforting than to throw your hands up and acknowledge it. It's okay to be honest with God, because he knows your heart right now. It's okay to tell him you are angry or confused or hurt, because he knows. He isn't surprised or angry. He loves you. He came down to Earth to die on the cross for you. He didn't come with the promise that things would be easy or fun; in fact he promised that they wouldn't be. And that's obvious in our lives today. But oh how he loves you in the midst of that. Romans 8:28 says that he is working all things together for your good, and you need to understand that he means that in the eternal sense because he is eternal and he loves you eternally.
Words can still hurt. Tweets, posts, and headlines can still shock and destroy. To say that it shouldn't affect you would be cliche and false. But when you are shocked, confused, hurt... When you don't know where else to go or what else to do, run to Jesus. You may not find answers, but you will find peace.
"And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you." --Psalm 9:10
Friday, October 24, 2014
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Come Together
Imagine for a moment, if you will, your favorite song. It is probably your favorite for a reason. It probably speaks to you in some way. If you were asked to describe the significance of that song to someone, you could probably talk for a fairly long time about it. You could probably talk about it until the rest of the world tuned you out. That's probably how my friend feels when she talks about the Beatles, which is pretty much always.
If I were to introduce this friend to you, I wouldn't even tell you her name before I told you she is passionate about music. That's really all you need to know about her, because it's all she ever wants to talk about. You would probably think that gets old really fast, but with her, it doesn't. Everything she says is either a Beatles reference or a potential song idea for her own future career. Though I can't complain about the Beatles, I'm hardly a fan, and though I love music passionately, I certainly have no future career in it. Yet, I never tire of hearing about it from her. Why? Because it is her passion. She eats, sleeps, breathes it, and finds it in everything she does. But why is that special?
The unique thing about my friend is that she isn't satisfied simply to love music. One day, she could go deaf; the music she listens to would be silenced. One day, she could grow too weak to play guitar or sing; the music she creates would be gone. So she doesn't obsess over what she hears or creates. Rather, she relishes it and is in turn thankful, because the music came from somewhere- moreover, from someone. She uses her music to give back to and pursue the heart of it and reason for it: God.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 talks of spiritual gifts, and it says that there is a vast variety of gifts, but that they are all from the same spirit. I can carry a tune, but I can't draw people in with my music the way my aforementioned friend can. Some people can create beauty in the form of art; others words. Some have been gifted with minds for science and math; others sports. Some are given wisdom, some knowledge, some faith.. But all these gifts are from the same Spirit- the same God.
So I ask you, dear reader: What is your heart pursuing? When you reach that double bar line, when the end credits roll, when the last line of your last page is full, your pen is out of ink, and your mind is out of fuel, where do you turn? God has given us each such an incredibly unique gift, and each of them is worth celebrating. But in the end, the common center of all our gifts is the God who gives them. So, regardless of our gifts, let us use them for the common cause of pursing Him.
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit." --1 Corinthians 12:4
If I were to introduce this friend to you, I wouldn't even tell you her name before I told you she is passionate about music. That's really all you need to know about her, because it's all she ever wants to talk about. You would probably think that gets old really fast, but with her, it doesn't. Everything she says is either a Beatles reference or a potential song idea for her own future career. Though I can't complain about the Beatles, I'm hardly a fan, and though I love music passionately, I certainly have no future career in it. Yet, I never tire of hearing about it from her. Why? Because it is her passion. She eats, sleeps, breathes it, and finds it in everything she does. But why is that special?
The unique thing about my friend is that she isn't satisfied simply to love music. One day, she could go deaf; the music she listens to would be silenced. One day, she could grow too weak to play guitar or sing; the music she creates would be gone. So she doesn't obsess over what she hears or creates. Rather, she relishes it and is in turn thankful, because the music came from somewhere- moreover, from someone. She uses her music to give back to and pursue the heart of it and reason for it: God.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 talks of spiritual gifts, and it says that there is a vast variety of gifts, but that they are all from the same spirit. I can carry a tune, but I can't draw people in with my music the way my aforementioned friend can. Some people can create beauty in the form of art; others words. Some have been gifted with minds for science and math; others sports. Some are given wisdom, some knowledge, some faith.. But all these gifts are from the same Spirit- the same God.
So I ask you, dear reader: What is your heart pursuing? When you reach that double bar line, when the end credits roll, when the last line of your last page is full, your pen is out of ink, and your mind is out of fuel, where do you turn? God has given us each such an incredibly unique gift, and each of them is worth celebrating. But in the end, the common center of all our gifts is the God who gives them. So, regardless of our gifts, let us use them for the common cause of pursing Him.
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit." --1 Corinthians 12:4
Saturday, October 11, 2014
What Makes You Beautiful
Beautiful is a very powerful word. It is used to refer to such a wide variety of things; there are beautiful songs, beautiful art, beautiful culture, beautiful clothing... Beautiful people. Naturally, such a strong word has an opposite. Music can be called unappealing. Art can be called unpleasing. Culture can be called grotesque. Clothing can be called unattractive. And people can be called ugly. Words can profoundly affect people, but none are more potent in today's society than these two antonyms: beautiful and ugly.
As a girl in a public high school, I have some personal experiences with these words. Beautiful. It builds people up. It lifts shoulders and corners of the mouth. It inspires people. Ugly. It tears people down. It crushes confidence and lessens laughter. It motivates people to be more or less of certain qualities they have. This doesn't seem so terrible, but consider this: What constitutes true beauty, and who decides?
Girls years younger than I am are dealing with self-esteem problems because they don't think they are beautiful in society's eyes. By the time they reach my age, some girls have given up. Boys and girls alike try to change their identities to fit in with this mold society has for them. If that's you, I say to you: Break the mold. Society's definition of beauty is so drastically twisted and wrong, and you will never be satisfied while you pursue it. There is a better beauty to pursue.
The beauty of the gospel is that society has one thing right: we aren't good enough. We aren't flawless. But the gospel refers to flaws in God's eyes. God is not looking at how well we can apply makeup or what clothes we wear; God sees the flaws on the inside: the insecurity and the idolatry of this concept of beauty that we pursue. The Bible says that we were created in the image of God, but the history of mankind up to the life of Christ is us pursuing God in all the wrong ways, and running completely the wrong direction. But then Jesus came. He lived a righteous life, and he died on the cross, trading the sin of those who are in him for his righteousness. So now God looks at us and doesn't see flaws. Instead he sees the righteousness of Christ, which is true beauty by definition because it is flawless.
God himself came down to earth for each of you. Still feel like you aren't worth it? If yes, you're still looking in the wrong place. Proverbs 31 says that charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting. So rather than looking to be some molded plastic thing created by people's standards, look to Jesus. True beauty is found in Christ alone. So if you are in Christ, know this: You are covered with Jesus' righteousness, and therefore you are beautiful.
As a girl in a public high school, I have some personal experiences with these words. Beautiful. It builds people up. It lifts shoulders and corners of the mouth. It inspires people. Ugly. It tears people down. It crushes confidence and lessens laughter. It motivates people to be more or less of certain qualities they have. This doesn't seem so terrible, but consider this: What constitutes true beauty, and who decides?
Girls years younger than I am are dealing with self-esteem problems because they don't think they are beautiful in society's eyes. By the time they reach my age, some girls have given up. Boys and girls alike try to change their identities to fit in with this mold society has for them. If that's you, I say to you: Break the mold. Society's definition of beauty is so drastically twisted and wrong, and you will never be satisfied while you pursue it. There is a better beauty to pursue.
The beauty of the gospel is that society has one thing right: we aren't good enough. We aren't flawless. But the gospel refers to flaws in God's eyes. God is not looking at how well we can apply makeup or what clothes we wear; God sees the flaws on the inside: the insecurity and the idolatry of this concept of beauty that we pursue. The Bible says that we were created in the image of God, but the history of mankind up to the life of Christ is us pursuing God in all the wrong ways, and running completely the wrong direction. But then Jesus came. He lived a righteous life, and he died on the cross, trading the sin of those who are in him for his righteousness. So now God looks at us and doesn't see flaws. Instead he sees the righteousness of Christ, which is true beauty by definition because it is flawless.
God himself came down to earth for each of you. Still feel like you aren't worth it? If yes, you're still looking in the wrong place. Proverbs 31 says that charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting. So rather than looking to be some molded plastic thing created by people's standards, look to Jesus. True beauty is found in Christ alone. So if you are in Christ, know this: You are covered with Jesus' righteousness, and therefore you are beautiful.
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