overproportioNATE

Inspired by the writings of C.S. Lewis What if we met the embodiment of goodness. And we didn't like each other. Goodness would have problems with me. He would ask me questions that I would have no good answers to. He would demand more of me than I would want, or feel I could, give. And I, I would probably doubt Him. I have grown so accustomed to the vain thoughts of men, of people trying to look good, that I may mistake the very real thing, for something unreal. If God were man, he would be frustrating. He would come across as arrogant, or like  drama queen. We do not know very well what ultimate good looks like. It is so foreign that we don't know what we're looking for, or looking at. There's a reason people were blinded by angels, and unable to look on God.

I handed out my first detention of the year today. I hate doing it. I don't relish it. But there are times when it has to be done. I know that sounds very generic and details would probably be interesting, but I can't really talk about it. Just know that it was deserved. I am not confrontational. If anything, school has been a good thing for me. I know that it is MY JOB to confront bad behavior when I see it. I know that I am being paid to correct mistakes, to keep kids off their cell phones, to stop fights. It isn't always as clear in everyday life. I wish it was my job to stop all of the wrongs, but some wrongs just aren't mine to correct. They can't be.

Here he lies, he killed a thousand men. Here he lies, he loved much. I have a hard time with this kind of thought. If I were to find gravestones with those words inscribed on them, I don't know if one would be rated higher than the other. I began thinking that I would much rather prefer the latter. I would much rather be known for love. But David killed his ten thousands. David was honored for that. That was one of the areas of his life that he actually followed God in. In today's society, that is a hard thing. 140+, mostly children were just killed by the Taliban today. Killing in the name of God is, not just a tough subject, it is a monstrosity. It is hard to justify the killing on one person. If there was someone coming into my house to kill me and my wife, that's self defense, but I've never seen 10,000 pour through the door. I feel it must boil down to what God calls you to do in one place at one time. The people killed by David were not innocents. God

A Realistic American Christian I like different, and I like flavor, and variety, and a lot. I like meat, and potatoes. I like new, and better, and all. I want much, much, more. I want to see things the way they are, not fluffy. I will not stand for believing that things will turn out "just because". I'm not a believer in the idea that "everything happens for a reason", I believe that everything that happens, God will derive reason from them. And I will not be overly negative. There's no reason to give up hope. None. I also doubt in my own existence. I don't know if its even possible to be a Realistic American Christian. Either that, or it is a lonely, desolate kind of existence.

Henri Nouwen was a Catholic priest who went on to teach at several important institutions. He left all of that behind to work at a school for the physically and mentally handicapped. Henri also wrote that towards the end of his life he admitted to being a man with homosexual tendencies. He never acted on them for the sake of Christ. You would think, in today's world, that requiring that of someone would be something like a death sentence. How can you deny someone of  tendency, of something they were born wanting? Born attracted to? You monster. There was more to life than that, for people like Henri. For people like Paul. For people like Ruth. We all have tendencies. We all have weaknesses. The grass is greener for all of us. We believe that stolen water is sweeter. It isn't.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all of your strength, and love your brother as yourself. A lot is said by what isn't said. We are supposed to love PEOPLE. There is no qualification on that. We are to love all people equally. But, it is not a call to love all that they do. God loved us, He didn't love the state we were in. He doesn't love the sins we continue to commit. Loving people and loving everything about them are two different things. How we divide that, is why the word of God is called the "sword", or the "sword of the Spirit". Like Paul said, "Let your forbearing Spirit be evident to all." In other words, let the first thing people see in you be kindness. Let your love for them be evident. Before you tell them they're wrong, or going to hell, or poor, or wretched, or terrible. We, as forgiven and beloved people forget what that has done for us. The knowledge that all can be forgiven