Where Courage Leads

I'm living my life every day and I've noticed something.

It's not the big things that scare me, but rather, the small ones.

Perhaps that's just due to my ignorance. I've never really faced any massive faith-shaking challenges so far. Maybe, I'm unafraid of them merely because I don't know them for what they are.  But what if there's more to that? What if courage means more than just facing the biggest things that challenge us?

What if it's the small things that have the most influence on our lives?

After all, most people don't lose their salvation overnight . Most people don't reject God consciously out of malice or ingratitude. They simply don't care. Often, we're just washed in a sea of distractions and the blustering winds of temptations.

We're too busy working on the "important" stuff. I'd be praying, but wait, let me finish reading this blog post. Or I need to practice my piano, right now. Gosh, man this garden sure needs to be weeded. I'm sorry Mr. God, but I just have absolutely no time for you right now. (or ever, for that matter.)

Sometimes the hard things might just be the easiest ones to accomplish. How many of us would be jumping for the chance to go on a missions trip? How often will we donate money to great causes? How often will we volunteer for some sort of parish project?

How many of us will give up our music, our books, our blogs, our hobbies to offer our assistance around the home? To pray more than five minutes today? To read the Bible intentionally, not just reading some great quote off the internet?

See, courage isn't just facing the giants where they stand; it also means wading in the water to pick up five smooth stones.


It means saying no to those things that pull us away from good deeds, from better relationships, from a stronger faith.

It's fine and dandy to change someone else's life, it's harder still to change our own. It's easier to change where we live than to change how we live. It's easier to forgive than it is to say sorry. And that takes faith, it takes trust.

We have to acknowledge that the time we spend with God, the time we spend with others, is more important than any other thing we will accomplish today.

There's a line that's been pounded into my mind a thousand times. Yet, every time, it really is a rule a life to live by. Not just to think about, not just to apply selectively. It's something to have the courage to live out every day.

"Never let what you're doing, be more important than who you're doing it with."

Don't just pray because you have to, because that's what "good" Christians are supposed to do. Don't give money just because you need to be charitable. Don't give a second of your time to other people, if you can't even live peacefully with your own family.

Don't change the world, but leave yourself out of the equation. If you want to show real commitment, real love, real charity, then change your life in a way that directly affects your immediate lifestyle and surroundings. If I can fly halfway around the world to minister to the poor, but can't crack my Bible open in the mornings, then something is wrong. If all I can do is change the external aspect of my life, then I'm in bad shape.

I don't care how kind you are to your friends or strangers and yet treat your family like dirt. I don't care how much money you give if you can't find the time to be helpful in your daily life. It doesn't matter if you can quote the entire Bible for me but won't put it into practice.

It was not remarkable that Jesus died on a cross, but rather that He chose to. We are all called to do something. We can do great things with no love, or we can do small things with great love.

If you want to truly change someone's life for the better, then change your own first.

That takes real courage.

That shows real love.

Unreachable

Help me out here.

What am I supposed to do, in a life that's centered not around what you know, but rather, who you know?

 It's hard for me. The fact of the matter is that I love learning about God. Theological concepts, proofs of morality and ethics, insights into the realities of Heaven, those fascinate me greatly. After all, from a scholarly point of view, there's a lot to learn about God, regardless of whether you believe in Him or not.

Reason is an incredible, amazing gift that we've been blessed with. Reading more and more about God is like piecing together an incredibly intricate, perfectly placed puzzle. Everything just makes sense. It's also remarkably practical, believing in God. Just look at Pascal's wager. I’m reminded of a quote from G.K Chesterton that always makes me smile.

 'I'm afraid I'm a practical man,’ said the doctor with gruff humour, ‘and I don't bother much about religion and philosophy.'
‘You'll never be a practical man till you do,’ said Father Brown.”

And it’s true. If God is real, then believing in Him is a very practical, realistic course of action to take.

Just the same, mere faith is not enough. I know a great deal about God and I believe what I know. So does the devil. The difference is that he rejected God. He couldn’t return the love he saw in Him.

There are three critical virtues, faith is only one of them. Faith, hope, and love. Love is the greatest because love remains. In Heaven, there’s no need for faith or hope. The struggle is over, the journey complete. You don’t need faith to see something right before you. You don’t hope to attain what has already been gained. But you always love. There is always love.

The problem facing me, I feel, is rather serious. I’ve already established my faith, my hope. I’ve barely touched love.

I look at Jesus and all I see is facts. I know He is 100% both God and Man, united in the love and circumincession of the Trinity, a unity of three divine Persons, all uniquely distinct, yet still one God. And I know He loves me, but I don’t feel it.

If God is my lover, creator, savior, redeemer, then why does it feel like I’ll need an introduction in Heaven?  I don’t need facts, I need Him!

I’m supposed to desire the Lord above all things, but I feel my heart tossing and turning in a sea of materialism.

How am I to desire someone that it seems like I’ve never met? I’m not asking for a blare of trumpets, I'm asking for a friend!

I want more, I want to love. I want Him to be my closest companion, my guiding star in the night. I don’t want to know about Him, I want to know Him! I want His whisper in my heart. I want to know why He loves me. I want to be familiar with His joy, His mercy, His compassion, His wisdom, even His humor. I want to know whether I should call Him, God or Lord. Savior or Redeemer. Father or just Daddy.

But I’m tired. I’m tired of asking questions that I can’t answer. I’m tired of knocking at doors that, despite divine assurance, never seem to open.

I can only run so far before I fall.

...

But I’ve forgotten. It will never be my strength, my sheer willpower that allows me to succeed. It’s never been that way. It was Christ who bridged the gap, not me. It is Christ who is with me, even now. And it is through Christ, that I will be lead home.  

Grace has always been the answer. That’s why we call it amazing.

Sometimes, God feels so far away. Yet, I know in the end,

He's never quite unreachable.

 I still have hope.

It's not over yet

Love is Enough

It seems like we're always longing for people to see us.

Notice me and my efforts are made worthwhile.

This thought has bothered me for a while. Humility is something that I struggle with. I need people to see me. To see that I'm a good piano player, to see that I'm a quote/unquote "amazing" writer, to see that I'm a good Christian. I need you to see me, otherwise, I'm not important. I'm nobody. Just another face in the crowd. 

I need to be needed, to be essential, to be important. Big crowds don't bother me, being part of one does. 

...

What do I do about it? How do I change this desire, this need for attention, respect, or acknowledgment? I feel like I'm starved for something. It's not hard to find. 

Even if I have the approval and praise of everyone, that's not good enough. I think I know why.

I'm always looking to be seen, but never realizing how much I am known. Every minute of my life, there is Someone who says: "I love you." It's because of this love, that I breathe. It's this love that's given me so much. A family to love, talents to use, friends to trust, a Savior to believe in.

So often, I need to prove that I'm "something" to people around me. Strangers, friends, family, it doesn't matter. If they don't see me excelling, then I'm not special.

Does a diamond become less valuable if you hide it away in a box?

It's nonsensical. We don't need to prove anything! We might as well say the Cross isn't worthwhile because we didn't see it.

After all, the cross was just an ugly piece of wood. It's just a brutal, inefficient, macabre torture device. There's nothing "special" about something just because it's good at what it does. The cross was designed to kill people and cause pain. It performs its job hideously well.

That's what we look like without love, covered in sin. That's what our talents become if we lose our love. We become mechanical, boring, stale, inhuman, dull, painful.

The cross became beautiful because it was touched by beauty. It became holy because it bore holiness. It became lovely because love poured out upon it.

Love doesn't need an audience. It needs only one other, Love Itself.

Talents and good works mean nothing without it. God doesn't need talented people, He needs willing hearts. Love does all things well. We can struggle along on sheer willpower and talent, but a plant without the Sun will die, no matter how beautiful it is.

Give me sincerity over superiority any day.

We don't need spectators, fans, or fame. We need God. He's promised to be with us forever, have we ever considered what that means? God's at your dance recital, the finish line of your race, the encore of your concert, the last sentence of your novel. Why don't we do it for Him? Why don't we do everything for the love of Him? God is easy to please. Every little thing we do for love of Him is incomparably lovely to the finest sonata ever composed.

If you want to find the fulfillment of your talents, then turn to the One who gave them to you. Spend time with the source of beauty, excellence, goodness, and love and you'll reflect that in all you do. The moon is beautiful because it reflects the sun. Alone, it's just a cold, dark, lifeless chunk of rock floating in the sky.

“At the end of life, we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”

-Mother Teresa

It doesn't matter what you are. A painter, novelist, blogger, musician, plumber, that's irrelevant. God is going to look at your life and judge it on one criteria: Love.

Nothing else in your life matters as much as love. It's the key. The key to free your heart and unlock the beauty within.

Yes, I'm important, I'm special, I'm amazing. Not because of what I do, but because of who I am. 

I am loved by God.

And that's good enough for me.

Who needs applause anyways?