Just as I was about to go out for a bike ride out to the local park, to go and read and catch some evening sun, in through the door comes some of my family. I've had a lot of ideas through my head lately, big ideas, theological religious emerging evangelical type of thoughts. But instead, as life does, it goes the route that we don't expect. That really is the way God works. Paul was just an unsuspecting ruthless tax collector, minding his own dirty business, when God blinds him with a big beam of light, during the day, down a road which he is traveling with friends. Paul's life was forever changed, because God wanted Paul to do His dirty work, the most difficult job ever in the history of the world: start the Christian following. Jesus knew what he had to do, carry the burdens of the worlds sin's as the ultimate sacrifice, He knew that ahead of time. That job though was the toughest. Paul's was lucrative.
So taking me out of step are my father, his brother and sister, and my grandmother. Three out of the four mind you are tipsy, due to their afternoon at the Detroit Tiger's game (mind you a 10 inning walk off homerun win for the Tigers). They were visibly drunk. And they demonstrated that through their actions, as my uncle gave me the longest kiss in my life, then challenged me and my brother to a push up competition, and farting a billion times. But with that aside, I was able to remember something that has bothered me for a while. My uncle was the loose drunk, party have an awesome time drunk, but my dad was still his regular old self. This indicated to me that he wasn't that drunk. My dad and uncle were themselves; themselves when they are sober, but magnified. My uncle is the kidder of t he family, always being the comic relief, while my dad is the book worm God fearing guy. My dad has read Lord of the Rings a couple times through. That pretty much explains him.
The point that I come across is this: my dad is the more visible Christ follower, while my uncle believes as far as I know, but is not the visible follower. And I'm left to believe that it is because who they are, who they have always been. My dad's imaginative and open minded thinking, I believe, allows him to understand and comprehend God and the whole spirituality thing better then his brother (or both his brothers for that matter). His other brother is the eldest, the jock. The three of them could not be any more stereotypical, not even Seth McFarlane could dream up a cast like this one. But they love each other, despite their apparent differences. So Seth couldn't write anything good for his Family Guy show. My dad is the one though who has raised the kids who fear God the most, because he did.
So is all of this religion thing stereotypical? Are the weak, geek, nerd, humble, meek, all the ones who only get it? Is religion the invention to make mankind co-exist and defy the logical "only the strongest survive?" No, and no again. Jesus does come to earth to heal the sick, which are those who are not righteous, not the strong, not the powerful, not the best. But as Paul wrote "but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1:27 NIV). This is the reminder that man's system of cliques and groupings and stereotypes mean nothing to God, so much so that he has sarcastically decided to choose the weak to prove the strong shameful! But that is the outcome, that the strong could become meek and humble. It's not like God discriminates against them, as to make a strong person, a popular person think that he is not what God wants to speak on behalf of Him, no, God wants all to bow to him and worship Him. Some people are just more strong willed and outgoing, that's a fact. But my uncle has a chance to understand God, all that we have to do is present it to him in a way that he could fully understand. And even then he himself can be the only one to choose God. And also have the Spirit enter into him. But it takes the attempt to relate to the strong, the popular, as to present God's plan in a way that they can say "hey, I had that all wrong."
God is love, and he will reveal that love, gentleness, humbleness and meekness to anyone.
The question is how much are we willing to suck it up, stop being unconfident in our faith, and state to them that His love is like no other, His grace can never be measured, and His retirement plan is the best ever!
All we have to do is love them while speaking the truth, otherwise it wont come out has truth, but instead just some horrible, "your wrong, you have to change the way you live, I'M JUDGING YOU!"
So taking me out of step are my father, his brother and sister, and my grandmother. Three out of the four mind you are tipsy, due to their afternoon at the Detroit Tiger's game (mind you a 10 inning walk off homerun win for the Tigers). They were visibly drunk. And they demonstrated that through their actions, as my uncle gave me the longest kiss in my life, then challenged me and my brother to a push up competition, and farting a billion times. But with that aside, I was able to remember something that has bothered me for a while. My uncle was the loose drunk, party have an awesome time drunk, but my dad was still his regular old self. This indicated to me that he wasn't that drunk. My dad and uncle were themselves; themselves when they are sober, but magnified. My uncle is the kidder of t he family, always being the comic relief, while my dad is the book worm God fearing guy. My dad has read Lord of the Rings a couple times through. That pretty much explains him.
The point that I come across is this: my dad is the more visible Christ follower, while my uncle believes as far as I know, but is not the visible follower. And I'm left to believe that it is because who they are, who they have always been. My dad's imaginative and open minded thinking, I believe, allows him to understand and comprehend God and the whole spirituality thing better then his brother (or both his brothers for that matter). His other brother is the eldest, the jock. The three of them could not be any more stereotypical, not even Seth McFarlane could dream up a cast like this one. But they love each other, despite their apparent differences. So Seth couldn't write anything good for his Family Guy show. My dad is the one though who has raised the kids who fear God the most, because he did.
So is all of this religion thing stereotypical? Are the weak, geek, nerd, humble, meek, all the ones who only get it? Is religion the invention to make mankind co-exist and defy the logical "only the strongest survive?" No, and no again. Jesus does come to earth to heal the sick, which are those who are not righteous, not the strong, not the powerful, not the best. But as Paul wrote "but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1:27 NIV). This is the reminder that man's system of cliques and groupings and stereotypes mean nothing to God, so much so that he has sarcastically decided to choose the weak to prove the strong shameful! But that is the outcome, that the strong could become meek and humble. It's not like God discriminates against them, as to make a strong person, a popular person think that he is not what God wants to speak on behalf of Him, no, God wants all to bow to him and worship Him. Some people are just more strong willed and outgoing, that's a fact. But my uncle has a chance to understand God, all that we have to do is present it to him in a way that he could fully understand. And even then he himself can be the only one to choose God. And also have the Spirit enter into him. But it takes the attempt to relate to the strong, the popular, as to present God's plan in a way that they can say "hey, I had that all wrong."
God is love, and he will reveal that love, gentleness, humbleness and meekness to anyone.
The question is how much are we willing to suck it up, stop being unconfident in our faith, and state to them that His love is like no other, His grace can never be measured, and His retirement plan is the best ever!
All we have to do is love them while speaking the truth, otherwise it wont come out has truth, but instead just some horrible, "your wrong, you have to change the way you live, I'M JUDGING YOU!"
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