A Few Sobering Thoughts

     

It is important to take on life with an open mind and willingness to learn.  It can be easy to place ourselves in a different box than others because we understand our own lives and perspectives more than we do those around us.  The following are just a few sobering thoughts to remind us all of how related we all truly are and highlight the beauty of not always needing to have every answer.  Enjoy:

1)      God will move through your life despite all of your wrong theologies:

Take it as a relief or a disappointment, but God is not fixated and nit-picky about making sure that your ideas of who He is are in perfect order.  (41,000 Christian denominations will prove this point pretty fast.)  It can be a humbling realization when we discover that some ‘fact’ or concept we believed is not (entirely) true.  But do not become so worked up about the little things, as if the reason for our existence was to always be ‘right’.  Live with the open mind of a child, God is far too big for us to ever run short on new discoveries, and so why should we allow our stubbornness to blind our eyes and tie our feet?

God is far bigger and better than we have ever imagined.

2)      Every face came at the same inconceivable price:

In these blogs I focus a lot of my writings on the perspectives that we have regarding other people.  It is not about how ‘right’ you do against how ‘wrong’ someone else does.  We are not here to raise or lower the price tag on something that has already been purchased.  When Christ died for your freedom, Heaven proved your and all of humanity’s equal worth through the price that it paid to attain us.

3)      Jesus did not come to give the world a “right religion”:

Let’s give God the credit of having a little more creativity here.  Since the beginning of time, mankind has come up with countless systems, prices and steps that they instruct themselves and others to follow in an attempt to appease or discover God.  Jesus did not come to add his own arguments to the table; he came to finish the dispute altogether by paying the single price needed for reconciliation.  All humanity has left to do is realize (a.k.a believe) the friendship that has already been established.  And trust me, that realization changes everything for those that discover it.

4)      Your experiences do not determine or alter truth:

Truth should be expected to bear fruit in our experiences, but when they do not align as we expected, it is not a reason to say "all is wrong" and make an about-face and beeline the other way.  One of the most common reasons that I hear regarding God’s “unwillingness” to physically heal someone, is their own experience in not seeing a loved one, or even their own selves healed.  But thankfully, our experiences do not have to determine what we believe, and when we read, "lay hands on the sick and they will recover," we can feel comfortable leaving it at just that; without trying to explain our potentials away by something that we did or did not see.   It is the same with forgiveness.  Your mental ability to not feel forgiven in every moment does not justify the reasoning that your sins have not been completely wiped clean.  It is the same reasoning that exists in a child when he covers his eyes: his failure to see you is not equated to him being alone.  

Honorable Perspective

True honor, like love, is a choice of perspective.  You can say all of the right words in front of someone and then completely negate that same person behind their back and still have shown ‘fruits of honor’ without ever having presented any genuineness to that person at all.  But when our focus and intent is to highlight and appreciate someone for the belief that we have for their life, true honor and all of its fruits are naturally displayed.  It is the most selfless act we can engage ourselves in, because honor places other’s agendas, dreams, ideals and words as higher than our own and seeks to give of oneself to see the fruition of another’s dreams.  It is an utter submission. 

Common images that come to mind for honor may be acknowledgements and highlights from a stage, but it begins long before any such public accolades are considered.  Honor is simply believing in someone, whether they currently see themselves worthwhile or not.  It is looking past the personas, walls and hurts that so many eyes have stumbled over and realizing the immeasurable potential that that person carries, and then treating them as such. 

It does not take anyone special to read off life accomplishments from a person that has fulfilled their dreams, but true humility and selflessness is displayed when you believe in someone long before the world sees any reason to give them the time of day.  But when you highlight the goodness within someone, I inspire you to watch as everything about that person matures, is cultivated and eventually blossoms.  They live out their full potential because you saw and believed in it, even before they did.     

Take on every day with an appreciation for the lives that surround you.  Smile, laugh, and listen just to listen.  Show that you believe in someone; you will be surprised by how strongly honor will repay itself to those that are willing to give it.