An Inexpressible and Glorious Joy

It's been a while since I've written a blog post. I've had a rough past few weeks. There's no one particular reason why I've been having a rough time of it, but I really haven't been emotionally stable enough to be writing. But now I'm back, hopefully a little more steady on my feet.

Earlier this week, a close friend of mine came to town. She moved to another state a few months ago, so it was good to see her, if only for a handful of hours. We got to talking, and for whatever reason I remembered a conversation we'd had at the end of the summer, in which (among other things) she had told me that courage was doing hard things. I brought up that conversation and told her that I had realized that moving was probably one of the most courageous things she'd ever done. She said, “Sometimes it doesn't feel very courageous. But it's not always about feelings, is it?”

I wonder how often we get discouraged by what we feel and how often the Enemy sneaks in to twist our emotions into fear – especially when God is taking us back to places that we might not want to go, or through passages that are dark and scary. How ironic is it that when I was in high school, I always thought of myself of being afraid of nothing, yet almost all of my actions were dominated by fear. I had failed to recognize that sometimes the most terrifying things are not spiders or bats or things we can measure, but things that are more immeasurable and hard to define.

Anyway, I was recently reminded of a passage in 1 Peter, and I opened up to that book in my Bible to see that I had written “It's worth it” in large print underlined in the top margin. The following passage (which I had recalled) was underlined and starred: “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).

It's interesting to note that Peter was writing to a persecuted church about joy – James also says to “consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2-3). The Gospel (and God Himself) is constant and never-changing – and it brings joy. Joy, not happiness – because happiness is an emotion that fades. When we push forward, however weak, however faint (whether we feel courageous or not – or perhaps in spite of the lack of it), the Gospel remains true, and Jesus is pushing us forward to become more like Him through sacrifice and pain.

I'll leave with a song by Switchfoot that came on today while I was doing homework. The last few lyrics really caught my attention:

“If it doesn't break your heart

It isn't love
If it doesn't break your heart
It's not enough
It's when you're breaking down
With your insides coming out
That's when you find out what your heart is made of.”

Until next time!

Better is One Day: On the Mountain

Yesterday I went on a group hike to Mount Utsayantha in Stamford. It's been something that Campus Ambassadors, the Christian fellowship group on both SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick's campuses, has done every year since I was a freshman. So I was doing some reflecting about the first time I'd been to that summit three years ago.

Yesterday I was standing on that mountain with people that three years ago, I had no idea even existed. It's funny how friendships come about – so unexpectedly and without warning. But once a deep connection is established, you wonder sometimes how you did life without them for so long. And when the time comes to be separated (I don't mean by death, but by a general moving-on to new places and adventures), that's when you can fully appreciate and notice their influence in your life. And you begin to see them and remember them in quiet moments.

Anyway, Mount Utsayantha is the first place that I ever had a direct encounter with God. I saw Him for the first time there. And I wanted to run very far away at first.

I remember deciding to go after being encouraged by one of the campus ministers, who contacted me by phone and email after I absentmindedly wrote down my info at a table Campus Ambassadors had set up in the quad. When I informed him that I wasn't into this Christian thing, he said that I was welcomed wholeheartedly anyway, which was an encouragement in and of itself.

I met a lot of people on the hike, made some connections and started to feel slightly comfortable. Then someone brought out a guitar and we started worshipping up on the summit. The very first song was “Better is One Day.” Recently I found the Scripture that this song is based on:

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!

My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God...

Better is one day in your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the

house of my God

than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.”

~Psalm 84:1-2, 10-11

That day three years ago, I remember being stunned and my mind filled with so many questions. Why would it be so much better to be with God? He was just this dude hanging out in the sky, who didn't care about me...right? As I was to find out in the coming months, my first impressions were way off.

But yesterday was wonderful – being able to spend time with some beautiful and awesome people and being able to see the beauty of God in the vast nature of this earth. And I can attest to the song and the psalm it is based on: it IS better to spend one day in God's courts than a thousand days elsewhere. Because in Him is the grace we so desperately need and a joy that comes from nowhere else.

Campus Ambassdors Hike 2013! (Photo Credit to Susan Young)

Oz and the Kingdom of God

Okay, so this is the start of my new blog. I'm not planning to do much of an introduction right now, as I have an idea and I want to just hit the ground running with it. The title of this blog comes from 2 Corinthians 3:1-3, in which Paul is talking about the “proof” of his authority and God's working in people's lives: “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” I love this passage because it emphasizes the importance of testimonies – affirming the fact that our entire lives are stories crafted to showcase God and His Gospel, the greatest Story of all.

Anyway, I'm going to start off with a story (big surprise) from the Bible, specifically the book of Acts. So in the book of Acts, the apostles are running around and preaching the Gospel. They run into this dude called Simon the Sorcerer, and this is what happens when he starts following the apostles:

   “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

“When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, 'Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.'

“Peter answered: 'May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!” ~Acts 8:14-20

I think this is really an interesting story, because Simon is confusing the kingdom of this world with the kingdom of God – he thinks he can buy God's power with earthly power. Here is another story (I'm going to connect them, I promise). In the book of Matthew, Jesus is being tempted by the devil with many different temptations. The devil's last temptation is as follows:

“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 'All this I will give you,' he said, 'if you will bow down and worship me.'” ~Matthew 4:8-9

So what is this saying? The devil is trying to tempt Jesus to accept the kingdoms of this world. But Jesus knows that this kingdom of earth will fade, while his Father's kingdom is eternal. (see John 18:36, Hebrews 12:28 for more info on what the kingdom of God is defined as.)

But how tempting is it, to create our own worlds here – worlds that center around us and that are temporarily gratifying and self-serving? Enter the Wizard of Oz. For those of you who know me, you know that I love the Wizard of Oz, almost obsessively. But I think the Wizard is a great example of how we can fall to temptation of creating our own kingdoms instead of serving God and seeking His kingdom.

Background story of the Wizard of Oz: His balloon landed in Oz, and the people thought he was a wizard. So what did he do? He let them think that and actually created a city after himself:

“...But I found myself in the midst of a strange people, who, seeing me come from the clouds, thought I was a great Wizard. Of course I let them believe so, because they were afraid of me, and promised to do anything I wished them to.

“Just to amuse myself, and keep the good people busy, I ordered them to build this City, and my Palace; and they did it all willingly and well. Then I thought, as the country was so green and beautiful, I would call it the Emerald City, and to make the name fit better I put green spectacles on all of the people, so that everything they saw was green.” ~The Wizard of Oz, pg 137 (Puffin Classics Edition)

Okay, this actually doesn't sound that bad – on the surface. When you put some more thought into it, it becomes a bit more diabolical. Yes, the people of Oz were willing to serve him. But Oz let them believe that he was more than he actually was – not a wizard at all, but a fake. He allowed them (and ordered them) to build a city centered around him – a kingdom all his, and one that he ultimately did not earn or deserve.

It gets even worse when Dorothy and her friends come looking for help, because he realizes that possibly his kingdom is at risk. So he uses fear to try and get rid of them, and also for his own gain (to get rid of the Wicked Witch, for example). In the film version, the Cowardly Lion is so afraid he actually jumps out the window at the sight of the Wizard's illusion!

This is simply terrifying. Almost as bad as the Wicked Witch.

Now this is something that God never does – our God never employs fear for his gain. And that's not to say we are not to fear God – he commands and deserves our fear and respect. But I can't even tell you how many times angels appear in the Bible (and even Jesus himself) and tell us to not be afraid of Him. Dictators use fear often to keep their control – this is something that God never does.

In the end, what happens to the Wizard's kingdom? He loses it! Once he is revealed to Dorothy and her friends, his cover is blown anyway and the facade of his kingdom is gone. He gains a change of heart and attempts to help Dorothy get home again. He leaves the kingdom of Oz in the hands of the Scarecrow, the Tin-Man and the Lion. The point is, the Wizard's kingdom faded and was ultimately built on lies and false things.

I watch so many celebrities, world leaders, and other people try to build a kingdom (a self-centered, false, fading one) for themselves here on the earth. And I know I'm guilty of this myself – perhaps we all are to an extent. Maybe we aren't all building a literal city for ourselves like Oz did, but we want to be known for more than we are.

Remember the story I referenced at the beginning, with Jesus being tempted by the devil with all the kingdoms of the earth? This is Jesus' response:

“Jesus said to him, 'Away from me Satan! For it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'” ~Matthew 4:10

This is what we're called to do. Not to create kingdoms of our own and be served, but TO serve – to serve our Father and seek the only kingdom that matters – the kingdom of heaven, which was bought at the costly price of Christ's blood.

For anyone interested in further reading on the whole “kingdom of earth vs kingdom of heaven thing,” I would recommend the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible, which further warns against getting attached to the things of this world (it's paradoxically one of the most depressing and hopeful books in the Bible; it's fantastic), as well as the book of Matthew, specifically because Jesus spends a lot of time talking about parables relating to the kingdom of heaven.

I think that's everything I have. Hope that this post made sense and was maybe helpful in some way. Tara out!