What it REALLY means to be!

So, I am infatuated with one Clive Staples Lewis. What a great author! The 9 books of his that I have read (All 7 Narnia books, Mere Christianity, and The Problem of Pain) have been phenomenal. Lewis has a way to make you critically think then blows your mind out of the water!

I just recently finished The Problem of Pain. It was an eye-opening book, and I'll admit, I had my problems with it. Lewis brings into play his old-earth creation theories and talks some about his evolutionary creationist thoughts. However, it doesn't take away from the book at all. As I text messaged a friend last night, "I love how Lewis writes final chapters that make up for any craziness or confusion from the rest of the book." The last chapters of The Chronicles of Narnia series, Mere Christianity, and The Problem of Pain all deal with a single truth: What it REALLY means to be. Simply put, what are we really supposed to be? And he does a remarkable job at sharing his theories on it.

In The Chronicles of Narnia, the children are exposed to a new Narnia that looks the same old one. However, the world is more vibrant, more alive than the old world was. They find that they can do things there that they could never have done before. They find themselves to be truer selves.

In Mere Christianity, Lewis talks about The New Man. This idea is based on what Jesus said about losing your life to find it. When we submit ourselves to Christ, we find who we truly are. We find our very essence, our very being. Though we cannot experience that totally on this side of life, we can get a taste of it. But when we make it to Heaven, we will taste it for real and forever.

In The Problem of Pain, he says that each are created differently the same way keys are created differently. We have uniqueness to ourselves because who we are fits Heaven in a particular way. "Heaven was not made for us, we were made for it." God loves each of us differently because of our differences. He loves us with the same intensity, but in tremendously different ways. And when we find ourselves face-to-face with the Creator, we will experience Paradise once again. We will forever be in this cycle (or dance, as Lewis says) of us submitting ourselves to God and God showing us who we are more clearly. We will be humanity in Heaven. It sounds confusing, but it is a beautiful picture he paints. It's much better than his description of Hell, in which a person becomes what was left of a soul: a self-centered will and uncontrollable passions eternally excluded from humanity.

How encouraging it is to think that when I get to Heaven I will know who I really am. I may find clues as to who I really am on earth as I submit myself to Christ more and more, and pain may even exist because of this, but someday I will know me and you will know you in a way we could never know ourselves before. We will be given tablets of stone with our new secret names, which only the individual and the Father will know. We are each keys, as Lewis puts it, that unlock a different door in the mansion with many rooms. When those rooms are unlocked, we will know humanity and we will know God!

Hallelujah!

Lack of Profundity

Well, I really don't have anything profound to write about today. Last week was probably one of the busiest weeks of the whole summer. I had a lot on my plate. The week started out with Mess Fest, which is our big outreach for middle school. We have stations for the students to get crazy messy. After that, we give the gospel presentation relating the mess they have on them to sin. Later that week, we decided to overhaul the senior high room. We gave it the feel of the Merge conference we had attended earlier this summer. The chairs are all in a round with the band back in one corner. Finally, the week ended with the lock-in and canoe trip. It was really fun canoeing down a river after getting very little sleep.

I did learn about putting on events like these. They take so much work! There are so many things that go into pulling off trips like this, and these guys are perfect to learn from. Even though Mark and I almost got kicked out of Home Depot AND Aldi's, we were still able to pull off a great event. And, Mark Eades did a fabulous job with Mess Fest. So many people went into pulling it off, and he did a great job organizing it.

I did commit an act of piracy. While on the canoe trip, I decided it would be a good idea to jump from my canoe of three people into a canoe of two. I had the other two guys in my canoe paddle hard to the first two-person canoe we came upon. They came alongside it, grabbed the side, and I jumped into the canoe. Later, I decided that I would tip the canoe I had jumped into. Oh, it was fun!

I also had the privilege of having dinner with the Hann's. Now, when I say Hann's, I mean Matt and Emily. Emily's mom works in the office here, and they had a reception for the people in Iowa who couldn't make it to Huntington for the wedding. Anyway, we went to Panera and talked about life. It helped ease my depression a little.

Well, only 6 days until I get to see that beautiful girl named Jessica. It's about time. That's all I've got to say. I'm just ready for it...

Remix

So, it would seem that sometimes I don't even take my own advice. Looking back at the post labeled "Across Mexican Deserts," I see that I wrote a lot about relying on God. Wow, have I been lazy! I haven't been relying on God like I should. Wouldn't you know it, my life did become moot. I was unguarded by the Holy Spirit and allowed myself to make some bad choices and break some promises. For that, I am truly sorry.

It's interesting how some of us go through cycles of trusting God, relying on ourselves, getting into trouble, then coming back to God. I feel like the nation of Israel during the period of the Judges. They would trust God, rely on themselves, get into trouble, then find themselves back at God. It's not a good way to live, but it happens sometimes. Hopefully, with my focus on God, I won't have to live in the cycle.

Connected

I had the chance to go to the MERGE conference this past week. What an experience. It was inspiring, to say the least. I could see the gears start turning in the heads of the students. Suddenly, they were confronted with things that didn't quite make sense and were forced to ask questions. We all found ways that we connected to the stories of the Bible and ways that we identified with the characters.

It was a refreshing week of re-connecting with God and connecting with the students. We all realized how much we have in common with one another and with the people of the Bible. We all grew in a deeper understanding of what it means to follow God in our screwed up human state.

I encourage you to check out some of the stories from the week at www.echothestory.com.

Across Mexican Deserts

After spending a week in Mexico while building houses, I have learned quite a bit about God, myself, and other people.

First, God is enough. There is nothing except God. God is all I need. As long as I rely on God, He will provide my earthly needs. He is my source of life, not myself. When I rely on myself, I lose focus of God, and my life becomes moot.

Second, other people... They are quite useful. I cannot function alone. This is something I know, but I don't always practice. Sure, I know other people are useful, but I always depend on myself until I cannot anymore. I need to start relying on other people from the get-go to help me. People teach you how to be a better person. It's totally okay to see a good quality in someone and attempt to emulate it.

Third, is myself. I have learned the place of suffering in life. Suffering is designed to make one rely on God and others. When you suffer, you realize just how insignificant you are by yourself. It is only when you allow yourself to be used within the greater picture that you become important. One man cannot build a house alone. It would be foolish to try. In the same way, on man cannot live life alone. People are made for community, and that means not being some bigshot, go-it-alone kind of person. Through the trials I experienced in Mexico, I have realized how the Body works together in a more intricate way. Though we cannot understand God, we can understand the Body. We can understand how the Body should work and take appropriate measures to reach that function.

These are just some of the many things that my half-cooked brain discovered while in the deserts of Mexico. Take it for what it is. Perhaps we can all learn something from one another...

Forgive Us Our Sins

Forgiveness hurts. It hurts when you find out someone you trust and love dearly does something wrong against you. Whether it's a close friend, a family member, a boyfriend/girlfriend, or a spouse, forgiving someone so precious to you hurts. Our human nature doesn't want to forgive. It would much rather take revenge, make them pay for what they've done. After all, how could they have done that to you/me?

Then I remember the forgiveness I've received from the Father. When I didn't deserve it, it was there for me. When I should be eternally dead and separated from God, Christ brought us to righteousness. "Forgive as the LORD forgave you" (Colossians 3:13). But it hurts when we keep asking for forgiveness. It breaks the heart of God when we've made our commitment but renege on that commitment. He loves us that much. Having just a little glimpse on His sorrow and disappointment makes me appreciate my forgiveness even more.

"The beauty about grace is that it makes life unfair." -Relient K

Prayer

i find that being a college student seems to make it harder to pray. maybe it's just all the stuff that i have going on in my life. Whatever it is, i always have something else to do besides pray. i make excuses as to why the internet or tv are more important that God. honestly, it's become something i've noticed among people as a whole. why is it that we make it such a burden to pray to our Father in Heaven?

i once heard a guy say that if we want to understand God better, we need to pray. if you spend 30 minutes with someone everyday, they eventually become your best friend. why? you know them intimately because you invest in getting to know them. that's the way prayer is. if you invest your time into prayer, you'll understand more about God.

i will admit, i have been praying more recently. it's still not as much as i'd like to pray, but we're taking baby steps to get there. as i pray more, i will become a better friend, christian, boyfriend, and person because i will understand God and His plan for my life.