He was never one to believe easily. He always needed proof. His immediate reality was his proof. There’s no way he could have known it would end like this. It didn’t seem fair really. An eternal hell they had told him. Flames and torture and all kinds of other nonsense. He knew that wasn’t true.
But this…this emptiness, this non existence, this place separated from life itself. This was simply beyond anything his mind could process. Did he even have a mind really? If I can think, I exist, he thought to himself. It was that moment of recognition that hurtled him towards true separation.
He awoke. Never before had he even known there was a choice, let alone a choice so clear. There was only life and not life. Life is better. He would choose it. He would live and serve. He would live to tell others about Life. That would be his existence forevermore.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Happy Anniversary
Wedding Day
Twenty eight years ago today I married the kindest, gentlest, most loving woman I will ever know. And as a bonus she is amazingly beautiful and intelligent. Oh, and did I mention she is pretty much perfect! I didn’t fully understand the blessing I was receiving all those years ago, but I am thankful beyond measure. I first saw her picture in a magazine and had no idea I would ever get to meet her. And then when I did meet her I had to fend off a few others(although she tells me it was never any real competition :-)). I wrote about some of that in an earlier blog. Thank you Jill for making my life so much better. Love you.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Hurray For Change
Life changes. It’s just the way it is. No avoiding it. It happens every day. You would think we would get used to it. But nope. Every time significant change occurs in our lives we act surprised by it. Like we don’t expect it. And yet there it is, the mainstay of human existence.
What is it about change that we find so difficult? We prefer what is known to what is unknown. There is security in where we are at. We know what to expect. We understand the rules and parameters of the now. Change ushers in new rules and regulations and a lot of “what if” and “what now”.
I want to make the case that change is good, that we should embrace change with all our might. Some of the most dramatic life changing experiences we have propel the human race forward on its course. Who doesn’t appreciate the bliss of a mother as she cuddles her newborn son or daughter? Or the joy of a new bride and groom as they contemplate their life ahead? These are life changing experiences we encourage and hold tight.
We expect these changes to help us grow and flourish. I say we should view all change in this way. Change keeps us from getting lazy. It forces us to mature and move forward with life. No stragglers allowed when change is part of our life. Stragglers get left behind.
Whether we view change as a positive or negative experience is of no consequence as to what it has to teach us. Change, expected or not, makes us better. It compels us to grow and understand in more significant and profound ways. I say hurray for change.
What is it about change that we find so difficult? We prefer what is known to what is unknown. There is security in where we are at. We know what to expect. We understand the rules and parameters of the now. Change ushers in new rules and regulations and a lot of “what if” and “what now”.
I want to make the case that change is good, that we should embrace change with all our might. Some of the most dramatic life changing experiences we have propel the human race forward on its course. Who doesn’t appreciate the bliss of a mother as she cuddles her newborn son or daughter? Or the joy of a new bride and groom as they contemplate their life ahead? These are life changing experiences we encourage and hold tight.
We expect these changes to help us grow and flourish. I say we should view all change in this way. Change keeps us from getting lazy. It forces us to mature and move forward with life. No stragglers allowed when change is part of our life. Stragglers get left behind.
Whether we view change as a positive or negative experience is of no consequence as to what it has to teach us. Change, expected or not, makes us better. It compels us to grow and understand in more significant and profound ways. I say hurray for change.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Love Is The Only Thing-Revisited
Almost nine months ago I started this blog with this post. I wrote about the thoughtful, sacrificial nature of love.
In those intervening months I have witnessed many occasions of people giving of themselves at their own expense to help others change their lives in inspirational ways. People giving of their time, their last dime, and even putting themselves at risk to reach out and help others make an effort to walk a better path in life.
Regretfully I have also seen the other side of that. People who have removed themselves so far from love that their selfishness eats away and consumes everybody around them. Some are people who should know better, those who have experienced grace and love firsthand, and yet somehow have let their own desires, and their own self preservation become the course they have chosen.
“Me first” never has any place walking beside true love. “Me first”, not only damages “me”, but it also throws out a whole bunch of collateral damage to those whose lives’ paths that person intersects.
More than ever, I believe what I wrote nine months ago, but I also have a better understanding that love is truly a choice we make. Every day we wake up and say, “I have the opportunity to serve, I have the ability to forego my selfish desires, I have the time, the words, and the resources to make somebody else’s life better and more meaningful.”
So this is a call to let love rule our lives. It is a call to remember that love is, “A bending of our will to the only will that matters-Yahweh himself”. And it is ultimately from an eternal point of view, the only thing that defines who we are as we walk this earth.
In those intervening months I have witnessed many occasions of people giving of themselves at their own expense to help others change their lives in inspirational ways. People giving of their time, their last dime, and even putting themselves at risk to reach out and help others make an effort to walk a better path in life.
Regretfully I have also seen the other side of that. People who have removed themselves so far from love that their selfishness eats away and consumes everybody around them. Some are people who should know better, those who have experienced grace and love firsthand, and yet somehow have let their own desires, and their own self preservation become the course they have chosen.
“Me first” never has any place walking beside true love. “Me first”, not only damages “me”, but it also throws out a whole bunch of collateral damage to those whose lives’ paths that person intersects.
More than ever, I believe what I wrote nine months ago, but I also have a better understanding that love is truly a choice we make. Every day we wake up and say, “I have the opportunity to serve, I have the ability to forego my selfish desires, I have the time, the words, and the resources to make somebody else’s life better and more meaningful.”
So this is a call to let love rule our lives. It is a call to remember that love is, “A bending of our will to the only will that matters-Yahweh himself”. And it is ultimately from an eternal point of view, the only thing that defines who we are as we walk this earth.
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