Loving God @ MindSay

Bored to the depths of his being, God, the Father, the Creator looked down from his golden throne in the heavens down to what looks like a microscopic single speck of blue dust. Magnified several million times, this tiny speck of blue dust, turns out to be the planet Earth. Out of the infinite worlds in the infinite universe, God chooses to direct his attention to this piece of floating cosmic debris. An angel approaches  and asks what's the matter. God sighs. The angel, which looks like a flourescent light bulb in human form, repeats the question. God looks at the angel. The angel looks at him straight in the eye, a million eyes to be exact, covering every inch of his body. Unlike the image popularized by Christian evangelists of an old grandfatherly figure with long white hair and beard, draped in immaculate flowing robes, God is actually this mass of eyes clumped together. Besides this tiny mistake, the followers of Jesus Christ as they claim themselves to be, has a pretty accurate picture of what God truly is like. For this God here my friend, is not a kind, forgiving, loving God; this God is the god of anger and jealousy and vengeance and retribution so you better not mess with him. And now this God is bored and is being interrogated by a nosy angel arrogant enough to assume that somehow it can alleviate the boredom that only beings as powerful as the God of Moses and Abraham can possibly experience. He glared at the angel and told it to please fuck off. He slumps on his throne and with his right hand, picks up the remote and turns on the television.

    I have volunteered to proof the online texts of messages presented by the Village Church.  The latest one I’ve been working on is entitled “Death by Suburbia.”  The person speaking isn’t the pastor--Matt Chandler--but he said some things in this message that we American Christians should listen to.    


    “I think the question we have to keep bringing ourselves to in our culture is the key difference between the American Dream and our suburban hopes and the gospel can be wrapped up in a psalm.  Psalm 63:3 says this: 'Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.'  That’s the gospel.  That’s the point of our sanctification.  That’s what the gospel produces in you and in me.  'You, God, are better than life, so I will praise You.'  

    The American Dream--what we’re taught by our culture and our education, sometimes our parents, is the idea that you should be good and moral and safe and have friends and all of these things--go to church--but you do all of them because of how much better they can make life, and they will support you.  The gospel says God is better than life; the American Dream says God can give you a better life.  And therein lies the difference in a real paradise or a plastic one.  Do we believe Jesus is going to give us a better life?  Because let’s face it, He is.  But that’s not why we go to Him.  

    When I was a kid, I didn’t grow up in church.  As I engaged church, the idea was, 'If I love Jesus, then I get to go to heaven.'  We see our faith as a means to a better life at the end.  But the gospel says heaven’s only heaven because Jesus is there.  I want Him.  He’s the means for sure, but He’s the end.  So we have to be very careful when we’re tempted with the good life that at the end of that decision--'Does it make much of God or does it make much of me?  If I buy this or do this or cut this activity and add this one, does it make much of me or does it make much of God?  Does it support the statement that I want a better life or does it support the psalm that says, 'Because Your love is better than life, You are better than all of these things?’”

    Excerpt from a message by Barry Keldie

There's an old chorus with a verse that says:

 

There's nothing more that I can do,

My Jesus did it all;

There's nothing more that I can do,

Jesus did it all,

There's nothing more that I can do,

My Jesus did it all,

So, I am complete in Him.  (Anonymous)

 

This is why we are called to have the  ... faith of a child.  Yet we struggle, wrestle, and strive to please God, I suppose because it seems logical.  Our striving, in fact, dis-pleases Him.  We cannot try to please God.  He cannot love us more than He already does and all He asks in return is for us to trust Him enough to simply obey.

 

I want to climb up on Your lap, Oh God,

And look into Your face,

I want to look into those loving eyes

And giggle in Your grace.

 

Help me to be a faithful child,

Trusting implicitely,

Forgetting my grown up worries and cares.

Delighted simply to be.

To God I am beautiful, and He looks at my heart where it really counts.
To God I am valuable, enough that He would give everything for me.
To God I am important, and He will never stop loving me or push me aside.

I am beautiful becuase I have God in me. I know am valuable because He tells me I am and He would never lie to me. My value is based on God and not the opinions of anyone else. I know am important because no matter how small or worthless I feel, God still takes the time to listen to my problems and concerns. No matter how any other person treats me, there is a much more awesome God who says I'm loved. That is what really counts. I'm glad He knows my value, because sometimes I forget.