Before The Fall - February 26, 2006 -
It is human nature to desire to be perfect. In essence, we want to be God, and since God is perfect in every aspect, we desire to be perfect in every aspect. But regardless of how hard we try, we’ll never make it. We are sinful people. Living in a sinful world. Our lives are filled with temporary pain and struggle, where the ultimate joy and perfection comes after we die to ourselves and live with Christ.
But it got me to think…there was a time when we were able to experience “perfection”. A pure mindset and pure motives led to living in a perfect world. And this all happened before the fall of man, before sin entered the world through Adam and Eve. God created Adam and Eve to worship Him and have fellowship with Him, and placed them in the perfect land. But after being tempted by Satan, they desired to be God instead of truly worshipping Him, and chose to eat the apple from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. And with one bite, sin entered the world and the face humanity was never going to be the same. (Praise God we’ve been redeemed through the blood of Christ and are able to get back into the perfection of heaven and union with God when all is said and done).
But what about the time before the apple eating fiasco? In the eyes of everyone, everything was perfect. After the fall, God cursed the world, basically, as a consequence and punishment for their actions (our God is a loving God flowing of grace and mercy [Jesus Christ, case and point], but He is also a just God). But its not like God created new acts and scenarios, and then cursed those things (stick with me here). The things God cursed were already occurring in the world, just in a pure sense. Sin caused a curse of pain and toil and suffering to enter into areas of life where things were…well, perfect.
It’s mindboggling to think of life before the fall, because that’d be life before the curses. God cursed the women with ‘greatly increase[d] pain in childbearing’ and the ‘desire [to] be for your husband, and he will rule over you.’ And to Adam, he went all out, telling him that he now has to toil the earth painfully in order to find food to eat for the rest of his life, and the plants and things that do spring up will now be covered with thorns and thistles as well (look at previous post of “The Rose”). These curses weren’t about new things, but just a new consequence for them. Meaning, before the fall, childbearing would have been alot less painful, maybe even painless. Can you imagine that? I mean, I still don’t think it’s as bad as people say, but painless? That’d be crazy. (Females, my apologies…I truly have no idea what childbirth feels like…I’m sure it’s like the worst pain ever). Also, before the fall, even if you were to be married, your desire would still purely be for God. you could be married to someone and still have a sole desire for God and God alone. That’d be amazing.
But with every consequence God has given us thus far (up until the final judgment) we have grace to carry us through. Although there is pain in childbirth, there is still joy in the family life. Even though we must work hard to survive here on earth, we receive temporary satisfaction in meeting those accomplishments. And even though sin has forced the greatest separation between man and God, God gave us Jesus Christ to be the bridge. We live in a world of pain and struggle, but for rest of eternity we have the option of choosing paradise. God is so good. It’s the golden lining to everything.
The Rose - February 26, 2006 -
I remember the first time I gave a girl a flower…it was actually the only time I gave a girl a flower (other than giving people my boutonniere at weddings because I don’t want it). It was a pretty tough decision. It was simply for a birthday, but the question kept flying through my mind…if I get a rose, will she think that I like her? What if its a yellow rose, will that make a difference? Such a tough thing to do, because the rose carries so much implication. All in all, it worked out well…she accepted the rose, and we remained friends with no awkwardness.
But when you really think about it, the rose shouldn’t really seem like the most beautiful portrayals of love. I mean, the thing is covered in thorns. It’s like you’re handing a girl a weapon or something…and if they aren’t careful they can very easily experience tons of pain and start bleeding. But you know what…it wasn’t always like that. There was once a time where the rose was simply a beautiful rose with no thorns (post of “Before The Fall” explains the idea that everything was perfect before sin entered the world, but after Adam and Eve fell, God cursed the world, including thorns and thistles growing on plants and such). There was such a plant that was just the beautiful rose, growing with long stems, and Adam and Eve could grab them as they please with no harm or worry or danger. But once they sinned, God had to give a consequence, and the thorns was one of them. And only after seeing that do I truly understand the beauty in the rose.
Jesus is that rose for us. Before everything, Jesus was there…in all His beauty, in all His greatness. But once sin entered the world, a punishment was given, and thorns were placed. Jesus came to humanity, and because of our sins, he suffered the consequence and had a crown of thorns thrust upon His head. The rose is a reminder of our salvation. The thorns are the price paid for us. The thorns actually make the rose seem so much more beautiful…such a great thing is able to grow and survive among such evil and dangerous objects. Jesus Christ took on the thorns and the nails and carried the cross so that we wouldn’t have to. He submitted himself to pain and suffering so that we could experience joy. Now that’s love.
I’ve never given anyone a rose since that one time, nor have I ever received a rose (ever). If the time ever comes up, though, I will truly see the picture of love. Give someone you love a rose, and remind them of the grace of God.
natemathai |
filed under: insight, personal
No Comments
|
add a comment
On Being A Signpost - February 19, 2006 -
(been about 3 weeks since I last posted…life is getting hectic, but God is in control)
I was reading a book (what?…nate reading a book?…tell me more…), and one of the chapters was entitled “On Being A Signpost.” I’ve never completely finished the book, but I’ve read this chapter multiple times. The book is called The Fight by John White, and it’s basically about Christian living.
Now, the chapter talks about how we are supposed to be signposts that point to Christ. Basically, everything that we do should be drawing people’s attention to Jesus. The things we say, the way we live, the activities we take part in…when people look at us, they should see “Jesus.” And the analogy goes on to describe the different ways that signposts look. Signs are made to be big and clear as to what its pointing to. It’s goal is not to get people to simple look at the sign, but to go to where the sign is directing them. Think of signs on the expressway. Coming from Chicago to U of I, you’ll see big green signs that direct you to 294S, 80E, 57S, 74W (in case anyone feels like visiting: take the Neil St. exit, go right, take it to University and take a left, take that down to Fifth and take a right, and my apartment is on White St and Fifth). Now, especially if its your first time coming to U of I, it’d be very terrible if the sign was like some small 2 ft. by 2ft. carboard sign with light lettering. I mean, travelling 70+ mph down the highway, you need something massive that you can see from far away so that you don’t miss it as you’re flying past. At the same time, could you imagine if the signs had flashing lights and bells and pictures and arrows pointing at the sign itself? And off in the corner in small text are the words “294S - next exit”. You’d be so distracted by all the things on the sign that you would have no idea that it was trying to direct you to something better.
Although we try to be the signpost, many times we become the two extremes. Sometimes, we make the sign really small, that only people who are seriously searching for the sign and are carefully looking out for it can find it. How purposeless is that? We were commanded to be light of the world, yet we hide our faith and our beliefs from the general public. It’s like we’re ashamed to let people know that we know the right exit to take, so we don’t try to tell people about it.
And at the other extreme, we sometimes draw too much attention to ourselves that people don’t recognize that we’re pointing to Christ. I’ve had this problem many times, in that many people saw the external things I would do and the different talents that God gave me, and they would praise me for it. And many times, I’d simply accept the praise. Then in the end, I never really served my purpose by directing people to Christ…instead, I just got them to remember me. When I’m driving somewhere, I don’t give praise to the signs that caught my attention, but rather the ones that actually sent me in the right direction.
As in everything else, the solution is to have the delicate balance between the two. Big enough that everyone can see, but simple enough that the attention is on the final destination. I have nothing great to offer anyone, so it’s stupid of me to get their attention on me. Jesus Christ offered me a gift that nobody else had or even could, and that’s forgiveness for my sins and everlasting life with Him. He told me to get that message out to others, so I want to be the sign that points to Him. Five years down the line, if anyone has a memory of me, I would want them to think “That man was different, because he loved Jesus. I want what he had.”
Lately, I’ve been going through a phase of thinking about what if the many metaphorical analogies we use in describing our spiritual lives were actually taken literally (i.e., we are ’spiritual lepers’). We cry out many times that we want to live for Christ and we want to draw people to Him and to His cross. We say that we want people to see Christ when they look at us. Well, what if this was all true? What if wherever we went we carried a huge sign above our heads that said “Think of Christ”. And then, wherever we went, whatever we did, people thought of Christ. If everyone looked at us a direct representation of who Christ is, what kind of image would you be portraying? The jokes we tell, the way we drive, the things we do for fun…we justify ourselves in secret, but what if someone saw us as a “Christian” in everything that we did…would they be drawn to Christ or turned away from Him?
I’ve heard from many people about how they don’t put the Jesus Fish on their cars because they know they are a bad witness when they drive. What kind of mentality is that? What kind of Christian is that? We see areas of our lives where the way we are living do not match up with the image of Christ, and instead of changing ourselves, we just remove Christ from the picture. It’s a sad picture. We take out the only thing of importance to tell someone else because we are too lazy and selfish to change ourselves.
I know that 100% of my living is not a pure representation of who Christ is. But I know my job is still to be a signpost for Christ. I might not be perfect, but I’m going to keep trying to direct others to where they need to go. Make the final destination bigger, and the sign itself less flashy. Who am I drawing attention to? I know I’ve got nothing great to offer you…so I want to send you to the one that’s greater.
natemathai |
filed under: insight, personal
No Comments
|
add a comment
Grace Period - February 1, 2006 -
The first thing that always used to come to my mind when I heard the phrase “grace period” was “library books.” For some reason, I never knew how to return books on time. And it was so crazy how the library would fine you so much for being late on a book that, quite possibly, nobody else was interested in reading at the time. But I was always so thankful for the grace period.
It’s such an interesting concept. A deadline is set for us to accomplish something. And if we don’t accomplish what we are supposed to, then we are going to have to face the consequences/punishment. BUT, if a grace period is intact, then there is added time for us, even after the deadline has past for us to still come through on what we are supposed to.
I’ve taken advantage of grace periods my whole life. Even now, the big thing is rent. Rent is due on the first of every month, but they have like a 5 day grace period. All I have to do is write a check, and drop it off, and everything is fine. No envelopes to lick, no 39 cent stamps to find (I can’t believe they raised the price of stamps 2 more cents), no real strenuous situation, really. Yet, I don’t look at the first of the month as my deadline any more. To me, rent is officially due on the 5th. (Or whenever my roommates write their checks).
When I really think about it, this life is just one big grace period. From the very beginning, Adam and Eve were living in paradise with God. Then they sinned, and they should have faced death. And the death they faced should have been immediate. And that’s basically how it is for each and every person. Because of our sin, we should face immediate death and go to hell.
But God has given us a grace period…which is the life we are living now. God is basically seeing, “You have sinned, which is against the rules. You were supposed to be perfect, but now you can’t be. But I am giving you an option to accept Christ, who died on the cross for your sins, as your Lord and Savior, and believe that He is the one true God. If you do that, you’ll be able to have everlasting life with me. But if you don’t, then eternal death is emminent.” And then we ask, “OK God, when is the deadline?” And He looks at us and says, “The deadline? Oh, that deadline has already past. You are WAY past due. But don’t worry, I’ve given you a grace period. I’m not going to tell you how long you have though…it’s different for everyone. Look around you, some people live until their 96 years old, other people have freak accidents at age 19. I’m not going to tell you when your grace period ends, but just remember that you do have it.”
What if that’s how it was for my rent? If I didn’t know that it was about a 5 day grace period, I’d be freaking out. Like, what if one friend of mine gets evicted after 24 hours for not paying, while another person has gone 3 weeks without paying, and hasn’t faced anything yet. And everyone I know is scattered between a few moments after midnight to years down the line. If that’s the case, would I take the chance and wait another day? Please, I might be slow but I’m not fool. My living situation is too important for me to take for granted. I’m going to make sure I get it in ASAP so I don’t have to worry about possibly missing the deadline.
Yet, I feel like it’s so different when it comes to our faith. We feel like we have all the time in the world to decide. We have this mentality of “I’m really busy now, but when I get older I’m going to put more of an effort into spirituality and finding God.” I feel like I’ve known more people to pass away over my college career than in the 18 years prior to it. My grandfather passed away my freshman year when he was 92 years old. There were numerous college kids between the ages of 18-22 that lost their lives recently. My godmother came close, but survived after having open heart surgery. Even I got ‘mugged’ my junior year with a decent possibility that I might not have seen another day (in my mind, at least), but by the grace of God I’m still moving around here. But even though we see all this, and experience all of it, we still feel like we’ve got plenty of time…like we’ve got one more day.
More and more I’m realizing that my days are numbered. I was never promised tomorrow, I don’t even deserve today. So I’m going to do everything I can with every moment that I have to live for God and serve Him only. I’m so thankful that I’ve been given this grace period. And I’m even more thankful that I’ve accepted Christ so that regardless of when my grace period ends, I have assurance that I will be celebrating eternal life only because of the grace of God and the blood of Christ. Simply amazing…agape love. I’m so thankful for grace. PERIOD.
natemathai |
filed under: insight, personal
No Comments
|
add a comment
