A WORK IN PROGRESS

I am not impressed by the powers of this world,
For in my heart I know the penetrating truth,
Accident. Chance. Random: I am not.
As birth and death govern all that is seen
Except to him who intended all things in love
I am unbound to the consequence of an empty heart
And the good tree bears good fruit.

LOVE WINS

We walk in step but not in light

Our dreams are entirely ours

We preach in words but not action

Our lips never surrender

We sing songs but hardly worship

Our lives are for show

We damn in his name but love in others

Our love is fickle and honorable rarely

We esteem the strong, mighty and bold

Our blessings save none for the meek.

We are right but seldom true

Our heads are strong but our hearts weak

We are righteous, you probably are

Our devotion simmers in this world

We go through motions but move not

We walk narrow paths but live narrow lives

We hate sin and therefore sinners

We are God's people but you'd never guess

Our lives betray our testimony.

I am in a moment right now where I can't help but wonder why people have such a bad view of us Christians.  Can people be as crazy as I see, or could it just be that we are failing as a body of believers to be the movers and shakers of God's plan.  Are our actions, beliefs, churches, and lives model the proper way to take the Good News out into the world and make disciples of all nations?  We want to few the church pews but we are too afraid to outreach in our communities... our bubble is a safe turtle shell.  Shouldn't the children of God's love show Love?  If we were doing our job, shouldn't the world look different?  I refuse to buy the excuse that we are "in the end days" or that Satan's work in this world is too strong... have you forgotten who our God is?  My friends; Love wins.  I have seen it win, and I see a lot of people who are great and loving examples of what it really means to be Christ-like and Christ-minded.  These people are numbered--a percentage barely registered.

How do we change the hearts and minds of a world that sees us not as Salt but as acid.  I've always been taught that you catch bees with honey, but when I go downtown I read signs that tell me to repent or burn.  When I see a sign that says Jesus loves me, I wonder why someone has to hold a sign for me to know that.  We speak in thousands of words that never mean a thing--I can't help but wonder in the simplicity of the Good News.  Our rhetoric needs to change as much as our lives.  If we surrender our lives, we better mean it... because the world sees and judges us for claiming to be saved.  When our lives betray our Savior, all words surely fall on deaf ears.

Is there anything greater than wisdom?  Is there anything nobler than justice?  Is there any words as sweet to the lips as freedom?  Is there anything that conquers more than love?  My dear, dear friends: the Good News is simple.  Love wins... because God wins.

THE WILD MAN'S HEART

As I think about what it means to have the heart of a wild man, I am immediately impressed with the vision that has guided my life for the past two years.  That vision, that ultimate theme that my life lays its foundation to rest upon, is of course the sweetest words to my lips: freedom.  I can find no word so satisfactory to whisper nor as wonderful to the heart as freedom.  The beauty of the freedom I have found in Christ takes a transforming role in my understanding about what it means to be a man.  Experiencing the power and gravitas of that freedom which was paid for by Christ's blood has the single greatest consequence on my maturing consciousness -- that I am not a citizen bound to the spiritual powers of this world, but rather I am free... I am a wild man, with a wild-man's-sized heart to fall in love with the adventures in store.

In the process of growing and maturing, I find myself at a definitive crossroad where I see two possible outcomes, the destinations on which these forks in the road arrive.  On one side I see the man that the world expects me to become... proud, self-seeking, rich, and arrogant.  The men of this world reap their harvest of money, fame, and grandeur.  They are rewarded with the attention of women, esteem by their peers, and history's grace.  Yet on the other side I see the man that God has laid out for me to be.  His rewards are not so immediate nor shine so bright to the eyes in this world, but the gifts of wisdom, character, community, freedom, and love... are rewards far greater to the soul than the meaningless trophies of this world that will be wiped away in the coming storm.  From the all the powers of this world that seek decay, rust and destroy, I find freedom.  I find freedom from the man the world expect me to be, and I find the strength to have the courage to be the man that God destined for me to become.  I have a wild man's heart, and that heart cannot be swayed by the dark and meaningless, nor the second best.

At the same time, I look ahead and find that there is a great distance between that man God wants me to be and who I am today.  The deeper into my heart I look, the more inconsistencies I am finding.  If a godly man is one blessed with the virtues of wisdom, mercy, grace, humility, courage, unbridled love, and a passionate heart for justice, I can only see the many ways I fall short.  Yet what I do have is freedom.  I have freedom from the guilt that would have me ignore that God is well pleased with who I am, loves me as I am, and is excited for my journey.  Wisdom is a gift, but it is one planted in small seeds that take root in our experiences, and flourish through moments enchanted by divine whispers -- in this way I do see the path to becoming a godly man as an epic journey... a wonderful adventure in freedom sans the weight of shame.

"You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world.  So why do you keep  on following the rules of this world, such as "Don't handle! Don't taste! Don't touch!"?  Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them.  These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self denial, and severe bodily discipline.  But they provide no help in conquering a person's evil desires (emphasis added).  Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand.  Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God."  Colossians 2:20 - 3:3

I have the heart of a wild man, and I am not impressed by the powers of this world.  The world would like nothing more than for me to live in shackles, but I am wild and I am free.  Let the adventure begin.