How Great Thou Art (Amazing Version)

Wide is the Way (Matthew 7:13)

What a challenging message. It left me speechless, perplexed and quite evaluative of my own heart and my own motives: What am I truly living for? What does it mean to follow Christ? Am I really wanting to follow Him or is this a spiritual quick fix that I have chosen to embrace? I mean, according to the early psychotherapist Carl Jung, we are all spiritual beings who, according to the collective unconscious need to believe in something. By accepting to "follow" Christ (whatever that means), is my only purpose to make myself feel better, find an answer for what I don't understand, be a good person, try to have a better life and/or guarantee my ticket to Heaven?  Did I just pick Christ because He is the One I grew up knowing or is Christ crucified (the Son of God), who rose from the dead (and is now ALIVE and dwelling in Heaven), the Lord that I choose to serve?

One cannot serve two masters. I will either love myself or love my God. But the reality is that I am at war with myself in order to be able to love my God. I want what I want when I want it how I want it. And God, the engineer and maker of the universe wants me to be His, period... He wants to be the One I want, at all times, in everything. How badly do I want to be His? How badly am I desiring to live for and serve Him?

In retrospect, a person in love wants to share with the world the love that they have for this special someone. Why is it that we are surprised that when a person encountered the love of Christ and truly experienced and embraced it, desires to at their turn, share it with the world? God loved us first did He not? He shared this message of Love to the world, and at our turn, the Lover of our souls desires to see us do the same for Him... so why? Why do I find it so hard? Why is receiving His love and intentionally sharing it with the world so challenging?

If you've been reading some of my blog and think I'm a little off sometimes about this God stuff, here's a little soul searching for you that may help you understand where I'm coming from:
1. True or False. At the end of the day, when I am alone with myself, away from distractions, there is this whole in my heart that feels infinite and seems to never be filled or truly satisfied... permanently.
2. True or False. Two main things I long for: love and hope and I will go at any depths to get them (or avoid them if I have been taught that I was not worthy of them).
3. True or False. I like to be the god of my own life and do things my way when I want and how I want or I like to pick who will be the person, people or group that I want to identify with.

If you've answered yes to all of them (or most of them), ask yourself why is it that a finite being can have a hunger that can never be fulfilled? Why is it that a finite being who evolves to survive as the fittest feels such a deep need for what he cannot touch or truly explain? It doesn't make sense. If we are beings whose focus is to survive on this earth as the strongest and eliminate the weak, why do we battle existential question that go beyond the life that we do have and that is truly is tangible? Shouldn't death only be seen as a fact and not an element of anguish? After all these years of being on earth, you'd think that humanity would have made peace with the fact that the only thing that matters is on this earth is the time that we breathe? So why does the soul experience angst at the idea of finding an explanation for what happens after we are no longer breathing?

Here's the thing, let's assume that the Bible had it right when it said that we were made in God's image. It would make sense that as reflections of God, we would have a touch of Him in us. We were made finite but we were created with a desire for the Infinite; a desire for Him. Only an infinite Being can cause a finite being to desire what is Infinite. Where does that desire come from?

God, who is a God of community (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, 3 in 1) created us to be in relationship with Him. This is why the craving for the infinite exists. But in Love, He gives us the option to Love Him back; because true love does not control. Just like a child has an innate desire for their parents, so do we have an innate desire for an Infinite Creator. Just like the child needs love from their parents in order to be functional and lead a positive and healthy life later on, so do we as we are weaned from our primary caregivers, realize our need to find love for our souls that will give us a hope and a confidence for the future. Do you see that in so many natural relationships are a reflection of the character of God?

Interestingly, we go to relationships, friendships, careers, substances, create titles for ourselves, and pursue all these things that still leave us empty. We resolve ourselves to the idea that life is not fair or that misery is a state of being that needs to be drowned or quieted through a variety of methods. All these methods work for a time, but they never last. You need more; always more; always more intense than the last time.

If trying to do things to serve and soothe yourself does not work, maybe something needs to change? There is a saying that goes as follows: "Insanity is doing the same thing over again expecting different results." Could it be that all this energy you are putting towards yourself actually be meant for someone else? Maybe someone who is associated with your soul craving of peace, love, and a guaranteed place with your Loving Father up in Heaven?

Lord, You placed this desire in my heart. Please ignite it that I may truly be the devoted lover and worshiper that You had intended me to be. Let me truly be Yours.

In the precious name of Jesus Christ,

Amen.

P.S. I love to listen and I love to talk. If you want to discuss or hear more just shoot me an email :) Hope you're having a nice day, wherever you are.

Start Again

Start again
To where you began.

If you lose strack,
Go back
To where you strayed,
And make sure
This time,
To avoid
The road
Most travelled.

     Stay Focused.
             Stay on track.

And if,
While you walk
Through this road 
Called Truth,
You still
Feel
Lost,

GO BACK
To what you know
Is worth living for.
My friend,
Continue to push 
Continue foreward,
Keeping in mind
What
Really
Matters.


*Reference: Philippians 3:12-14
                 Romans 7:14-25

Peter's Walk

Here I am, standing against two abstract realities of Nature: water and air... as I am looking to the One who made them both.

Like Peter who chose to step out of the boat and walk towards You,
I suddenly became aware of the roaring waves crashing around me.
It only took a blink of an eye for me to realize that I was standing on top of the sea;
It only took the notice of a flash in the sky to realize that I was presently standing in the middle of a seemingly infinite body of water!!
Maybe it was the fish brushing against the soles of my feet that made me aware of this new point of view;
Or did I get this sinking feeling in my stomach from the awareness that against all odds, I am standing on something over which I have no control??

At the present, all I can think of is 
The boat that I was just on.
I never recognized the comfort of standing on solid wood 
Until I stepped on water.
Oh! How I envy this man-made stability 
That I was so familiar with!

Blowing, 
The winds are still blowing. 
Sometimes with gentler strokes of air, 
Sometimes with stronger ones.
I am constantly on guard as I advance 
On this mystery 
Called the ocean.

These cold winds, 
They are blowing on my arms 
They are whirling my hair in all directions;
This wind!
Giving me goosebumps and threatning my balance...

Although the winds are strong, somehow, my feet are firmly planted on this body of water.
I see my Savior at a distance, waiting for me to come join Him.
Aware of Peter's mistake before me, I choose not to doubt that I can walk on water.
With every step, to keep me from sinking, I silence the voice of my doubts,
With every step, I struggle against the laments of my fear so I can keep my eyes on Him. 
I choose to praise Him instead and remind myself the He is the mighty God, Maker and Commander of the sea itself.
And so, in faith, I walk towards Him trusting that the God I serve will not let me drown...

Lord, teach me to love the wind, the waves and the fishes that keep me company as I battle to keep my focus on You and strive to keep my feet moving in Your direction.

In Jesus' Precious name,

Amen.