For All Things Pass Away

Perhaps I think too much. A luxury would be the ability to think less especially when my thoughts dissect everything around me.

Today I noticed how wanting we are as humans, much more so as Americans than anywhere else on the planet, and how we want for much more than we are worthy. God never promises us a thing when we are born except the gift of eternal salvation and only if we are willing to accept it. We are either reared with these expectations instilled in us by our parents or we, one day just out of nowhere, decide we want 'more'. Whatever that 'more' is depends also on the individual wanting. Some want more stuff while others want to do more. Perhaps more time and I guess we all want more of this the less of it we have.

What do I want? I don't know. This changes all the time in relation to the world and what there is to be had but I think when all around me unravels I will be satisfied with what I have. Paul writes that he has learned to be content in any and every situation (Philippians 4:11-12) and while I am certainly not there yet I have prayed that God would take me there (as though it were a place). Asking Him for this is a precarious request. God has a funny way of answering prayers. A friend of mine even poked fun at me recently, making reference to the chaos we have endured in the last year, saying, "So, have you been praying for patience or what?" Now asking for God to allow me Paul's otherworldly satiated temperament could bring even more interesting times.

I have not prayed for patience in quite some time but perhaps God's knowing better than I do what I need He has been obliged to help me experience a few things and perhaps I am experiencing this in the smallest moments of life.

What do I want?

To be truly loved for not what I can provide but just for who God create me to be.
To love truly.
To be dealt with honestly by all I cross paths with.
To understand why we attach conditions to our acceptance of others.
To not attach conditions to my acceptance of others.
To know Him as well as He knows me.
To be free of misunderstanding.
To be truly free.
To not want anymore.

One thing I do know is that this too will pass. All things pass away.

The Pursuit of Love

A couple of weeks ago I spoke to high schoolers about love, better yet, the pursuit of love and how they are to do so and remain pure. Tricky? I think so. I was standing before a group of hormone ravaged boy/girl crazy, horny, barely able to keep their hands to themselves youngsters. And the goal was to convince them that God wants the best for them and that means keeping their clothes on.

It is probably easier to convince the French to actually win a battle instead of retreating but I let the Lord speak through me and I believe something stuck. I believe that these lust filled youngsters may have actually taken a few of my points to heart.

Speaking to young people is definitely a challenge and a calling. There are time when I ask God if this passion he has given me, to work with young people, is not some sort of joke he continues to play on me that I haven't quite figured out. Of course I will continue to get up in front of young people and pour out my heart in hopes that the Lord will use my words and His Word to leave some small impression on their hearts and in their minds.

Funny too, because while I teach young people about all sorts of things from how to find God to pursuing love in a way that pleases God, I myself am sort of pursuing love in that I seek to please God by sharing in his will for others and myself.

The Hearts of Children

I have a paradoxical faith in that I know what God promises is good enough to take to the bank but then I struggle with anxiety from time to time, and more so lately than ever. Never in my life have the stakes been so formidable. Now with a wife and three small children in tow life takes on a different rhythm, a militant cadence demanding my attention, and I cannot afford to blink too often or I lose measure. The beat is frantic most times and it is all I can do to just keep up with the tempo.

God is in control of this and I know He promises to not overwhelm us or give us anything we cannot handle (1 Corinthians 10:13) and yet there have been times when I have fallen to my knees in desperate need of answers. Answers never come in an Old Testament Revelation (that is probably a paradox all on its own) but sometimes God sends answers in the least expected medium.

We were watching Discovery HD yesterday (awesome station- I could watch paint dry on this channel). It was one of those deals where the lions were eating other helpless creatures. My kids actually watch these parts in awe. I hope allowing my children to watch this isn't considered child abuse since I am definitely guilty. Anyway, the scene was of a plains fire. A bazillion African Elk are running from the flames as it hungrily laps at their hooves.

Cole asks, "What's hap'ning?"

"The fire is coming and all the elk are running away."

Cole says, "I can take my kite and they cans get the string and I can flys them out of the the fire."

This is the heart of God. He wants to fly us out of the flames and all it takes is us allowing Him too. He is God after all.

And He has put His heart in Children.