Impossible?

Today at work the subject of dating came up yet again. Usually it is in reference to my unique virginity (they asked and I wasn't gonna lie)...they think it's crazy that someone my age would choose to remain a virgin. Mindboggling? I guess it doesn't make sense to the world...but to me, it makes perfect logical, practical, and spiritual sense. I could go on for hours on the values of purity...and downright necessity of it...but I'll spare ya.

Anyway, my foreman was talking about street parties here in Lincoln. Apparently down here they all block off streets and have giant street dances. The next one is on Havlock if your'e interested (I don't own a pair of dancing shoes...figurative or literal). My boss said "Hey Tom, you should go down to that street dance and find yourself a woman...there's a lot of "talent" down there (his way of saying attractive)." I replied truthfully that I meet girls at church...."Church?" he said..."Every girl I've met at Church turns out to be a whore." It turns out that my boss (who now is married to a stripper) once dated a girl from his childhood Church...he was engaged to her in fact. Unfortunately, his ex-fiance broke his heart (and possibly his belief in the Church) by sleeping with his best friend. He commented that his wife, who is a stripper, is more faithful than that girl who was a strong member of his Church. Sad...really sad.

I tried to explain to him that going to Church doesn't make someone a Christian (maybe God is has provided me with a chance to witness). This guy seemed interested in what I thought. We talked about marriage and divorce. He said he could never cheat on his wife and that they have an amazing relationship..."best friends" he said. I said that that is what I desired in a wife as well...a girl who will go through thick and thin as a best friend first. But on divorce we seemed to disagree. He again cited his own experiences with "Church people", explaining that every married couple he knew who had met in Church was now divorced...9 or 10 he said. I said that those people obviously weren't following true Christianity. He believed they were following Christ but that their relationships became hard. I replied that when relationships get hard, commitment truly kicks in. He said..."yeah, but some things aren't just hard, they're impossible."

Wow...and interesting statement. He actually believed that some relationships ought to end in divorce because they become impossible...I explained that I don't believe in "impossible." On the way home from work, I began picking apart the idea of "impossible" in my head. This is what I came up with....

Impossible is an excuse man has created in order to justify sinful ways. Impossible does not exist. No one who claims that something is impossible has ever given his life to test his theory...is it really impossible to remain with someone you committed yourself to twenty years before? How would you know if you didn't die trying?

My brother also told me a story about a friend of his who came out of the closet as a homosexual. He said that if there was any question in his mind...any way that he wasn't gay, he would choose not to be. He basically told my brother that it was impossible for him not to be gay. Not possible, I say. It is possible to remain single and fight temptation for life...difficult, but it won't kill you...There is no impossible. As it stands, Christians seem the same as the rest of our American society...a dangerous notion...(I keep thinking of the rich man that came to Jesus and asked what he had to do in order to follow Him. Jesus explained that he had to give up all his wealth...the man sadly turned and walked away. It wasn't impossible for him...very, very difficult? YES),

Society has created impossible as a justification to market, champion, and protect sin. What does society know about our personal situations?

I find in my search for impossible that the world is in dire need of Christians who defy it. The world needs examples of Christians tempted with homosexuality that do not give in to their sin. The world needs more examples of Christians who refuse to divorce even when it seems hopeless (unless there is a case of infidelity, of course). The world needs more examples of rich Christians who give up all their money to follow Jesus. Then I got to thinking...What if Jesus believed in "impossible?"

He told us that we could move mountains...he believed it too. On the eve of his death, knowing full well of what was awaiting him the following day, Jesus asked God to take the cup from him...the cup of suffering, torment, and death. But, he surrendered himself to God's will...he didn't throw up his hands and blame God for making His way so difficult. He waged death and followed through, proving once and for all that His way is possible and worth dying for. It is possible to overcome the flesh and society's lies. Our first step in this is to quit creating excuses such as "impossible" to justify our choice not to follow through in righteousness.

here, there, and everywhere

Today I visited a new church...and I must say, it was a great service (Rivertree at the Roccoco downtown Lincoln). I feel as if at this point in my "walk" I've heard it all. I've heard all about the basic theories on Christianity and then some..."saved by Grace through Faith". "read your Bible, pray, and get into an accountability group", "For God so Loved the World..."....the truth is, Christianity is a bit more complicated than that. That is why I was excited when I went to Church today and was challenged for the first time in what seems like years...intellectually challenged and plunged deep into thought. Nothing against previous pastors...they have to make sure the basics are covered for new Christians...but sometimes I get bored and unfed. I find myself reading other books and commentaries to get fed (which is good), but Church, until this Sunday, was more of a social thing where I communed with other Christians, not God.

Today we talked about what it means to come to Jesus. How does that look...Christianity is not simple. How is it that we can come to a being who is around us at all times, yet invisible? How does it feel when he's there as opposed to just there. Our preacher said it is often in the quiet that other Biblical characters found God...that in our business and noise we often don't just chill with Jesus. So, at the end of the service we stood in silence for a bit (good idea, but I often don't get much out of structured worship ideas...some do, however, and that's cool). Anyway, I got to thinking about where Jesus is...and for me, I find that Jesus is at the end of every rational thought...he's at the end of every truth. He is truth and he is ration.

Furthermore, Jesus is the quiet spot in our soul. Our pastor believed that finding a quiet spot was the best way to connect with Jesus at times. I thought about that for a bit and then I thought of those Christians who are being persecuted and torchered every hour of the day in other nations...if they can't find a quiet spot physically, then how do they commune with Jesus? It shed some light on the significance of the Holy Spirit. Jesus's spirit is in us...we don't have to go anywhere special to connect with it...

In thinking about this, I thought of how the quiet spot in our soul where we rendezvous with Jesus is kind of like the unique nature of lonliness. I have always thought it was interesting that lonliness is possible (and often occurs) while one is surrounded by people. Lonliness is therefore not an absence of persons to surround you, but a lack of connection with your soul to those around...or those who are not even near. Truly, if you have a soul connection with someone, you can remain comforted and not lonely even when you are alone. I think that this quiet spot with Jesus is the same.

We can go to Church and we can even go to a quiet place...but if we have no quiet spot within ourselves to meet Jesus, we won't find him in those places. The world will pass away...our Church buildings, our parks, our homes...it is all subject to time and mortality. Our souls are eternal and, therefore, that may be why it is where we must meet our eternal God. Our souls are eternal and so is he...therefore, we must meet Jesus in our souls.

I believe a quiet spot in the soul is created through confession of sin and repentence...it kind of makes sense now...

Freedom

When I was driving home from work today, I found myself pondering the good and bad sides of freedom. On one hand, freedom allows individuals to think for themselves...to find truth without any forced slant on it. On the other, people are also allowed to pursue whatever pleasure they wish, regardless of personal harm (increasingly in our society it seems as if this is the path we're headed down right? People calling for the legalization of drugs, gay marriage, and abortion...). That is the side of freedom that worries me. Each day at work I feel as if I have gone through an episode of Jerry Springer...guys with strippers for wives, guys who have girlfriends who have girlfriends, prison, drugs, sex, violence, broken and hopeless lives. That is a downside of freedom.

Socrates seemed to warn against Democracies for this reason. Socrates saw constitutions as being both public and personal...by this, he said that a person could have a democratic personal constitution (such a person would pursue the lusts of the flesh and not the pleasures of the soul) and a nation could have a democratic national/public constitution (people would be free to chase after their pleasures...and the nation would be subject to the whims of the people...these people would hold the power). He believed that democracies, both personal and public, are subject to self-ruin...Rome is a national example...prisons, half-way houses, and bars provide many personal examples.

Socrates did champion one constitution above all others...he championed the constitution of the philosopher king. People with the philosopher king constitution would pursue righteousness, wisdom, and truth above all physical pleasures. Afterall...upon death, the body dies, but the soul lives on...those with a philosopher king constitution therefore would rather invest in the soul and it's preservation. A nation with a philosopher king is well looked after. A philosopher king is able to weigh the good of the people in making his decisions...he protects the people from themselves (lusts of the flesh), from others in the society, and outter threats (enemies, etc.).

I got to thinking about how Jesus is my philosopher king...and I therefore have a philosopher king constitution. As I forgo my pursuit of physical pleasures of the world, I make an eternal investment to follow Jesus each day...surrendering my will for the good of myself and for those around me. This takes humility...placing someone in authority over you...it is dificult as an adult to admit that someone else knows best. Instead of investing in my physical body (which will pass away), I would rather invest in my soul...pursuing righteousness and truth at all costs...and in turn, investing in the souls of others around me. That does not mean that I cannot enjoy physical pleasure (as long as it is moral, of course)...it just means that I should never place it above righteousness...even "moral" physical pleasures can turn sinful if I place them above God's will for my life.

So, becoming a Christian is a bit like re-evaluating your personal constitution...re-writing it so that Jesus is at the head instead of yourself....

Socrates was a smart guy.

Student

There was a time in my life when I would have told you that after my third year of law school, my education would be complete. I would be a student no longer, and only a teacher from time to time to those who would be willing to listen. At that point, I thought, I would know what I need to know and could then go on with my life. That is simply not the case, however.

Now more than ever, I find that I am a student...and an eager student at that. I used to look at events that occured in my life at face value, neglecting any deeper meaning that God would have me see. As I see life as one giant lesson...coming one after the other...I find that it is not so hard. I find looking at life this way the difference between sitting in math class and asking "what will I ever do with this, God" and coming to see the bigger picture...seeing yourself stretched, challenged, and taught perseverence...and perserverence (or whatever general principle he is teaching you) you can always use...

Some relationships have caused me pain...but as a student, I find it a distant pain now...it becomes less personal between me and them...and more personal between me and God. I see some of my past relationships as a way in which God has taught me....textbooks if you will. I have arguably learned more about God through my past relationships than I may have ever learned in Sunday School...and that is not a discredit to the teachers (they aren't God...when God's the teacher, He's hard to match). By looking at life this way, I have found myself asking "why God" less often and "what do you want me to see in this God" increasingly more and more. Life is full of Biblical lessons that we live out every day.

I always noticed that shortly after I prayed for wisdom my life as I knew it came tumbling down (it's happened several times and I see no coincidence). In that I knew that I was gaining new experiences and "feathers in my cap" so to say that I would put to use in even tougher times. Sometimes I now subject myself to tough things...like my job this summer. It's tough, but I did it to prepare me for law school in realizing the value of education...I have also learned perserverence, how to relate to construction workers, a stronger work ethic, a little more about the "real world", and humility....lots and lots of humility.

I think what I am getting at is that God isn't just in the Bible...He's not just in Church...the guy is everywhere! I've always known that, but it is amazing when I think about it...that means that nothing is by chance. Everything...absolutely everything happens for a reason. I find it exhilerating trying to find those reasons for the "everything" in my life. More often than not, I find that God is merely trying to teach me another lesson...a lesson that will come in handy when he asks me to do any given thing for Him later in life. Everyday life is just a training camp for when God calls you to fulfill your purpose.

Apology

I have often times said that Socrates has done more for my faith than any Christian writer. It was Socrates who made me think deeper about my faith when I had previously settled for ready-made Sunday School answers. I read through the Apology the other night and I was again challenged in my faith....oddly enough, by Socrates (whom we would consider a pagan today). I find that Socrates, through using his own reason, comes to many of the same conclusions that Jesus did. Here, Socrates the pagan seems to agree with Jesus on many points because he is earnestly seeking the truth...and as we all know...Jesus is truth. Would Socrates have been a Christian?...Is he saved? I hope so.

Anyway, the Apology is Socrates' defence before a group of about 400 Athenian jurors to charges that he was corrupting the youth with his thoughts and blasphemying the gods (interesting parrallels to Jesus here as well...Socrates fought for truth and was viewed as a threat by religious and political authorities of the day...he is put on trial for blasphemy and sentenced to death...he has a chance to escape death by following a plan one of his friends lays out but he refuses...he would not run from his captors...he stood and fought for truth). When threatened with a death sentence, Socrates replies:

"Some one will say: And are you not ashamed, Socrates, of a course of life which is likely to bring you to an untimely end? To him I may fairly answer: There you are misaken: a man
who is good for anything ought only consider whether in doing anything he is doing right or
wrong--acting the part of a good man or bad."

There, Socrates basically says that a man ought not consider either award or punishment in his actions, but he should whether or not he is acting rightly. I think that is the correct way to live. Too often we live as Christians considering the penalties or rewards for our actions. Can we put another notch in our Bible belt by bringing someone to Church? Will I find favor with God if I do certain things or act a certain way? Will I be persecuted for standing for the truth? Both Socrates and Jesus say to do good things not for reward but for the sake of doing good. We do good things to bring glory to God...not ourselves. Standing for truth brings glory to God...it may also bring punishment and ridicule, but we must stand nonetheless.