Friday, July 25, 2008
Sinner
I'm going to tell you a story. It's a story about a man named Sinner (so, it's autobiographical). I don't know how long this story will take, and I don't really have a direction other than some thoughts I've been meaning to get out of my fingers. But I've been traveling so much, I haven't been home for two garbage days in a row. That sounds strange, but I've got a lot of weeds to pull and gardening debris to... anyway.
The more I read what I'm typing, the more I realize that I'm simply parroting the writing styles of C.S Lewis or John Bunyan. But here's my little story.
Life In Sin
Once, there lived a man named Sinner. Sinner lived in a large city called Sin where he got his namesake. Sin was a city in the area of slavery far from other well known cities like Grace and Peace. I would have liked to say that Sin was a small town with few people, but Sin was very well known, and many men of influence lived there and made a name for themselves there. Sin was also influential as far as cities go because everyone wanted what Sin had to offer. With little outside influences, Sinner saw the successes and rewards of his fellow citizens, and he wanted all the rewards his present world had to offer.
Vainglory
Basically, the story follows the character, Sinner, as he is invited to a far away city called Salvation. He visits the city and prospers there, but while he becomes a citizen of Salvation, he also moves to a more "liveable" town nearby called False Fire. He moves into the neighborhood of Vainglory and sees life pretty much as it was in Salvation, but without all the rules and accountability. Eventually, the truth of life in Vainglory is discovered and he realizes that False Fire is just another city like Sin and not like true Salvation at all.
Leaving His Egypt
Sinner realizes that he really does have a destination, a purpose, a goal. He listens to the Shepherd that has been put in charge of him who, he realizes at last, has been attempting to be his guide all along. He learns that he must go on a long journey to a place across a vast desert called The Promised Land. He's told that it's not exactly a town and not exactly a city. It's more like a land; an area. He'd know it when he got there.
Sinner leaves the cities of Sin and False Fire and goes through townships such as Temptation, Despair, but also Encouragement and Fellowship. He has assorted travelmates along the way, but none stick with him like The Comforter. The Comforter is waiting for him as he leaves the last outpost before the desert.
Oasis In The Desert
After a long while, he realizes that the desert is as unforgiving, hot, dusty and dry as he had thought it would be but nothing like he had prepared for. The distance between the slavery of Sin and this Promised Land he had heard about from the Shepherd seemed too great a gulf to be bridged by such a weak Sinner.
After more time and sand pass under his feet, he discovers something. Something small and insignificant in any place he had ever lived before, but in the desert, this was very significant. A small tributary. Sinner not only knew what path to take to the Oasis, but could also see that he was on the right path. The Shepherd told him that he would find Oasis and landmarks that would tell him he was on the right path. But the tributary wasn't always easy to follow and shortcuts seemed to be the best way around some rocky terrain. Especially when he takes the advise of travelmates like Impatient and Selfish. These shortcuts would prove to be no shortcuts at all though because it meant taking his eye off the tributary - the only thing that showed him that he was on the right path.
Fire In The Desert
This brings me to last week. I went to a conference outside Mojave for Christian Leadership. Not that I'm a leader by any stretch, but I had a desire to go, and I'm glad I did. Having no idea what to expect, I drove through most of California in the pre-dawn hours and arrived in time for 8:30 service on Sunday. Then, Sunday school at 10:00. Then, a short nap until the evening service. That's when the conference really started for me. The preaching was phenomenal, the people were wonderful and the campus was beautiful. But as soon as you left the immediate area, you were in the desert again. I stayed a few days in Lancaster, just outside Mojave.
It was a strange actualization of what I had been feeling for the past few months. I've been feeling a bit like Israel after they left Egypt, but before the Promised Land. Lately, I've been feeling like I've just been wandering in the desert - a vast expanse of nothingness. Not that there isn't good work to be done and people to be helped, but since deciding to leave everything behind and press on toward the goal, I've been feeling like - well, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do.
I know God's will for my life in a day-to-day way, but what does He want me to be? Where should I be going? Am I supposed to be doing something but I'm just not listening? That's been on my mind - Then, someone, a dear sweet lady, at church came up to me without warning and laid it out, "God's trying to tell you something, but you're not listening." Unprovoked and just like that. Plain as day. Out of a clear blue sky. How did she know? It gave me something to think about. I'm trying to be all ears, and I acknowledge what she said, but ...
But nothing. I need to listen. I'll listen as best I can, but God knows what has to happen before I can act on what I've heard and how I feel. I don't mean to put God in such a position because after all, what am I to tell Him how to run his Universe?
The more I read what I'm typing, the more I realize that I'm simply parroting the writing styles of C.S Lewis or John Bunyan. But here's my little story.
Life In Sin
Once, there lived a man named Sinner. Sinner lived in a large city called Sin where he got his namesake. Sin was a city in the area of slavery far from other well known cities like Grace and Peace. I would have liked to say that Sin was a small town with few people, but Sin was very well known, and many men of influence lived there and made a name for themselves there. Sin was also influential as far as cities go because everyone wanted what Sin had to offer. With little outside influences, Sinner saw the successes and rewards of his fellow citizens, and he wanted all the rewards his present world had to offer.
Vainglory
Basically, the story follows the character, Sinner, as he is invited to a far away city called Salvation. He visits the city and prospers there, but while he becomes a citizen of Salvation, he also moves to a more "liveable" town nearby called False Fire. He moves into the neighborhood of Vainglory and sees life pretty much as it was in Salvation, but without all the rules and accountability. Eventually, the truth of life in Vainglory is discovered and he realizes that False Fire is just another city like Sin and not like true Salvation at all.
Leaving His Egypt
Sinner realizes that he really does have a destination, a purpose, a goal. He listens to the Shepherd that has been put in charge of him who, he realizes at last, has been attempting to be his guide all along. He learns that he must go on a long journey to a place across a vast desert called The Promised Land. He's told that it's not exactly a town and not exactly a city. It's more like a land; an area. He'd know it when he got there.
Sinner leaves the cities of Sin and False Fire and goes through townships such as Temptation, Despair, but also Encouragement and Fellowship. He has assorted travelmates along the way, but none stick with him like The Comforter. The Comforter is waiting for him as he leaves the last outpost before the desert.
Oasis In The Desert
After a long while, he realizes that the desert is as unforgiving, hot, dusty and dry as he had thought it would be but nothing like he had prepared for. The distance between the slavery of Sin and this Promised Land he had heard about from the Shepherd seemed too great a gulf to be bridged by such a weak Sinner.
After more time and sand pass under his feet, he discovers something. Something small and insignificant in any place he had ever lived before, but in the desert, this was very significant. A small tributary. Sinner not only knew what path to take to the Oasis, but could also see that he was on the right path. The Shepherd told him that he would find Oasis and landmarks that would tell him he was on the right path. But the tributary wasn't always easy to follow and shortcuts seemed to be the best way around some rocky terrain. Especially when he takes the advise of travelmates like Impatient and Selfish. These shortcuts would prove to be no shortcuts at all though because it meant taking his eye off the tributary - the only thing that showed him that he was on the right path.
Fire In The Desert
This brings me to last week. I went to a conference outside Mojave for Christian Leadership. Not that I'm a leader by any stretch, but I had a desire to go, and I'm glad I did. Having no idea what to expect, I drove through most of California in the pre-dawn hours and arrived in time for 8:30 service on Sunday. Then, Sunday school at 10:00. Then, a short nap until the evening service. That's when the conference really started for me. The preaching was phenomenal, the people were wonderful and the campus was beautiful. But as soon as you left the immediate area, you were in the desert again. I stayed a few days in Lancaster, just outside Mojave.
It was a strange actualization of what I had been feeling for the past few months. I've been feeling a bit like Israel after they left Egypt, but before the Promised Land. Lately, I've been feeling like I've just been wandering in the desert - a vast expanse of nothingness. Not that there isn't good work to be done and people to be helped, but since deciding to leave everything behind and press on toward the goal, I've been feeling like - well, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do.
I know God's will for my life in a day-to-day way, but what does He want me to be? Where should I be going? Am I supposed to be doing something but I'm just not listening? That's been on my mind - Then, someone, a dear sweet lady, at church came up to me without warning and laid it out, "God's trying to tell you something, but you're not listening." Unprovoked and just like that. Plain as day. Out of a clear blue sky. How did she know? It gave me something to think about. I'm trying to be all ears, and I acknowledge what she said, but ...
But nothing. I need to listen. I'll listen as best I can, but God knows what has to happen before I can act on what I've heard and how I feel. I don't mean to put God in such a position because after all, what am I to tell Him how to run his Universe?
Labels: faith
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Deliberating November
November is coming. It will once again be time for the uneducated to vote for the unqualified for the most powerful position in the world. It amazes me every 4 years that this country somehow continues - although a quick look around gives evidence that The American Experiment is not long for this world.
Prompted by a news story, I went to www.barackobama.com and found some interesting quips:
"Barack Obama is a committed Christian" [per the website]
but...
"First, if you get a federal grant, you can’t use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help", which is a fancy way of saying that no true Christian faith based nonprofit will see a penny, since a true Christian outreach is concerned with the welfare of people's life as well as their soul. What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but loose his soul?
furthermore...
"I am proud to join with our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters", says self-proclaimed Christian Obama. Remember, "Barack Obama is a committed Christian".
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big McCain fan either. In fact, I've said before that the democrats could put up a dead tree stump and it would win against McCain. I guess they were all out of dead tree stumps.
In a nutshell, I'm not looking forward to November. I don't know who's going to win the election, but I know who's going to loose. One of these losers is reading this blog right now.
Prompted by a news story, I went to www.barackobama.com and found some interesting quips:
"Barack Obama is a committed Christian" [per the website]
but...
"First, if you get a federal grant, you can’t use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help", which is a fancy way of saying that no true Christian faith based nonprofit will see a penny, since a true Christian outreach is concerned with the welfare of people's life as well as their soul. What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but loose his soul?
furthermore...
"I am proud to join with our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters", says self-proclaimed Christian Obama. Remember, "Barack Obama is a committed Christian".
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big McCain fan either. In fact, I've said before that the democrats could put up a dead tree stump and it would win against McCain. I guess they were all out of dead tree stumps.
In a nutshell, I'm not looking forward to November. I don't know who's going to win the election, but I know who's going to loose. One of these losers is reading this blog right now.
Labels: politics
