So here's a scene that I wrote for a play a long time ago...
Doctor: I know it hurts.
GRIEVING GIRL: But it hurts a lot…I don't like it.
Doctor: I don't think anybody does.
GRIEVING GIRL: I want it to go away.
Doctor: I wish it'd go away too, but you know what?
GRIEVING GIRL: What?
Doctor: Come here, (he puts her hand on his chest.) What do you feel?
GRIEVING GIRL: I feel your heart beat.
Doctor: You know what I feel?
GRIEVING GIRL: What?
Doctor: I feel pain, I feel hurt, and I feel anger, but you know why I feel all that?
GRIEVING GIRL: Why?
Doctor: Because at one time, there was love, and there was joy there. It may be hard right now, but if you continue to love, eventually the pain will fade away. Right now, all you can feel is pain, but the pain itself is proof of the love that proceeded it. So remember this, when you stop feeling pain, and hurt, when bad things happen, you've stopped feeling love too, and love is the most valuable thing we posses.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
In love and for His glory
Love is big in the Bible. God is love, the greatest commandment is to love God. Love is contested by only one other theme in the bible...
The Glory of God.
How do these fit together? Which is God more passionate about, His glory or His love? There are many verses that could be given about the love and glory of God, but the following were chosen namely because they speak directly to some of the greatest acts of God's love in the bible. (predestination, creation, incarnation, salvation, sanctification, propagation, and consummation.)
We were predestined for His glory: Ephesians 1:5, “God predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ for himself according to his good pleasure unto the praise of the glory of his grace.”
We were created for His glory: Isaiah 43:6, “Bring my sons from afar, my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory.”
Jesus came for His glory: Luke 2:10, “...in the city of David is born a savior, who is Christ the Lord... ...suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying Glory to God.”
Jesus died for His glory: 2 Corinthians 5:14, "he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sakes died.”
and so on: Philippians 1:11 “...you may be filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
and so forth: Romans 1:5 “We received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name.”
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera: Thessalonians 1:9, "...when he comes to be glorified in his saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed"
Of course this is not to say that we shouldn't rejoice or find solace in the fact that God makes much of us. Everything God does is to be rejoiced in, and He DOES make much of us.
Luke 12:37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.
Zephaniah 3:17, “He rejoices over us with great shouts of gladness.”
God's delight in us SHOULD be delightful TO us, but should we stop there? Is that enough? The question becomes this: Am I making much of God, only because he reveals himself as the one who makes much of me? I’m happy to be God-centered, if God is James Legg centered. I’m happy to treasure God as long as I know that at the heart of God he is treasuring me. Here’s the issue: Is the foundation of my joy myself or God? It seems not enough for God in the process of magnifying the ultimate worth of his infinitely valuable glory, to make me a part of His family. I have to hear Him say “You’re the end of everything” as well.
I believe God knows that we all are bent towards loving Him as long as He loves us. I believe that is why He couples His greatest acts of love with "For His glory". He is vigilant to not let us deceive ourselves into thinking we love Him when we are really loving ourselves. It is the God-centered way that God loves us.
An analogy from John Piper:
Why do people go to the Grand Canyon? It’s big, it’s deep, it’s breathtaking, it’s huge. It makes you feel little, and yet people go. There must be something inside of us that loves to be near bigness when we feel little. yes. yes! YES! We’re made for God! However, if you walk up to the edge of the Grand Canyon, and you’re within about a foot of the edge, and it’s straight down for a mile, and you feel like the power of the Grand Canyon might just flick you over the edge, you’re not gonna enjoy it. You’re gonna be terrified the whole time. You’re going be thinking “I could die here.”
What you need to have added to the awe of the moment is security. The God who is the Grand Canyon needs to have his arms around you. He needs to be whispering in your ear, “It’s all right. I won’t drop you. I’m your dad. I’m your friend. I gave my life for you. I won’t drop you. I just want you to enjoy this, so relax, and look.” And what I’m arguing against is that the people say, “I just want his arms around me. I just want his arms around me. I want to feel that I’m central to his life.” I’m saying, please, please, don’t feel like you have to sacrifice that longing to be God-centered, to really see the canyon, to really know that the one whose arm’s around you is doing it so that you might not miss the grandeur, the majesty, the awe, the wonder, the all-satisfying more of the canyon.
Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
-James
The Glory of God.
How do these fit together? Which is God more passionate about, His glory or His love? There are many verses that could be given about the love and glory of God, but the following were chosen namely because they speak directly to some of the greatest acts of God's love in the bible. (predestination, creation, incarnation, salvation, sanctification, propagation, and consummation.)
We were predestined for His glory: Ephesians 1:5, “God predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ for himself according to his good pleasure unto the praise of the glory of his grace.”
We were created for His glory: Isaiah 43:6, “Bring my sons from afar, my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory.”
Jesus came for His glory: Luke 2:10, “...in the city of David is born a savior, who is Christ the Lord... ...suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying Glory to God.”
Jesus died for His glory: 2 Corinthians 5:14, "he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sakes died.”
and so on: Philippians 1:11 “...you may be filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
and so forth: Romans 1:5 “We received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name.”
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera: Thessalonians 1:9, "...when he comes to be glorified in his saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed"
Of course this is not to say that we shouldn't rejoice or find solace in the fact that God makes much of us. Everything God does is to be rejoiced in, and He DOES make much of us.
Luke 12:37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.
Zephaniah 3:17, “He rejoices over us with great shouts of gladness.”
God's delight in us SHOULD be delightful TO us, but should we stop there? Is that enough? The question becomes this: Am I making much of God, only because he reveals himself as the one who makes much of me? I’m happy to be God-centered, if God is James Legg centered. I’m happy to treasure God as long as I know that at the heart of God he is treasuring me. Here’s the issue: Is the foundation of my joy myself or God? It seems not enough for God in the process of magnifying the ultimate worth of his infinitely valuable glory, to make me a part of His family. I have to hear Him say “You’re the end of everything” as well.
I believe God knows that we all are bent towards loving Him as long as He loves us. I believe that is why He couples His greatest acts of love with "For His glory". He is vigilant to not let us deceive ourselves into thinking we love Him when we are really loving ourselves. It is the God-centered way that God loves us.
An analogy from John Piper:
Why do people go to the Grand Canyon? It’s big, it’s deep, it’s breathtaking, it’s huge. It makes you feel little, and yet people go. There must be something inside of us that loves to be near bigness when we feel little. yes. yes! YES! We’re made for God! However, if you walk up to the edge of the Grand Canyon, and you’re within about a foot of the edge, and it’s straight down for a mile, and you feel like the power of the Grand Canyon might just flick you over the edge, you’re not gonna enjoy it. You’re gonna be terrified the whole time. You’re going be thinking “I could die here.”
What you need to have added to the awe of the moment is security. The God who is the Grand Canyon needs to have his arms around you. He needs to be whispering in your ear, “It’s all right. I won’t drop you. I’m your dad. I’m your friend. I gave my life for you. I won’t drop you. I just want you to enjoy this, so relax, and look.” And what I’m arguing against is that the people say, “I just want his arms around me. I just want his arms around me. I want to feel that I’m central to his life.” I’m saying, please, please, don’t feel like you have to sacrifice that longing to be God-centered, to really see the canyon, to really know that the one whose arm’s around you is doing it so that you might not miss the grandeur, the majesty, the awe, the wonder, the all-satisfying more of the canyon.
Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
-James
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Omnivorous Attentiveness.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
-Psalm 19
"I was standing today in the dark toolshed. The
sun was shining outside and through the crack at
the top of the door there came a sunbeam. From
where I stood that beam of light, with the specks
of dust floating in it, was the most striking thing in
the place. Everything else was almost pitch-black.
I was seeing the beam, not seeing things by it.
Then I moved, so that the beam fell on my
eyes. Instantly the whole previous picture
vanished. I saw no toolshed, and (above all) no
beam. Instead I saw, framed in the irregular cranny
at the top of the door, green leaves moving on the
branches of a tree outside and beyond that, 90 odd
million miles away, the sun."
the skies proclaim the work of his hands
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
-Psalm 19
“Every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God.”
-G.K. Chesterton
I've heard it in the silence
Seen it on a face
I've felt it in a long hour
Like a sweet embrace
I know this is true
It's calling out to me
It's the child on her wedding day
It's the daddy that gives her away
Something beautiful
-Newsboys, Something Beautiful
sun was shining outside and through the crack at
the top of the door there came a sunbeam. From
where I stood that beam of light, with the specks
of dust floating in it, was the most striking thing in
the place. Everything else was almost pitch-black.
I was seeing the beam, not seeing things by it.
Then I moved, so that the beam fell on my
eyes. Instantly the whole previous picture
vanished. I saw no toolshed, and (above all) no
beam. Instead I saw, framed in the irregular cranny
at the top of the door, green leaves moving on the
branches of a tree outside and beyond that, 90 odd
million miles away, the sun."
-C.S. Lewis, Mediation in a Toolshed
The moon is a sliver of silver
Like a shaving that fell on the floor of a Carpenter's shop...
Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands!
-Rich Mullins
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
-Psalm 139
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
-Psalm 139
The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them;
it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing.
These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire;
but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshipers.
For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found,
the echo of the tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.
-C.S. Lewis
I’m smellin’ coffee, birds are singin’ just outside
Here comes Your mercy streamin’ in with the morning light
Here comes Your mercy streamin’ in with the morning light
-Chris Rice
"WAKE UP, O SLEEPER!
RISE FROM THE DEAD,
AND CHRIST WILL SHINE ON YOU!"
-Ephesians 5:13
So today I see that God's signs and wonders have not ceased. It is as clear as, nay, it IS the noonday sun. It is the bird's song, the spider's craft, and the expanse of the ocean. Yet, for all their beauty and majesty they do not fulfill. They do not give satisfaction, rather they produce inconsolable longing. As Lewis said they are "echos of a tune we have not heard". They are signs hurrying us on our way to their Creator.
"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."
-Romans 8:22.
Now I KNOW why the wolf howls! I KNOW why the trees bend and the earth cracks! Why the oppressed cry, and the lonely search for an embrace! It is because we see and long for you EVERYWHERE, and don't even know that we do! You alone can satisfy...oh God...show us your glory.
-James
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Palm Beach, Flordia today:
Palm Beach, Ecuador January 8th 1956
"He is no fool who parts with what he cannot keep, when he is sure to be recompensed with what he cannot lose."
-Jim Elliot
The average age in palm beach is 74. It is were men got to die well. To die in comfort.
Palm Beach, Ecuador January 8th 1956
Where a group of men went to die well.
"He is no fool who parts with what he cannot keep, when he is sure to be recompensed with what he cannot lose."
-Jim Elliot
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Allow or cause?
Does God allow or cause suffering and injustice? And more importantly how does he feel about it?
For the Lord will not
cast off forever,
but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
for he does not willingly afflict
or grieve the children of men.
To crush underfoot
all the prisoners of the earth,
to deny a man justice
in the presence of the Most High,
to subvert a man in his lawsuit,
the Lord does not approve.
Who has spoken and it came to pass,
unless the Lord has commanded it?
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that good and bad come?
Why should a living man complain,
a man, about the punishment of his sins?
-Lamentations 3:32
For the Lord will not
cast off forever,
but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
for he does not willingly afflict
or grieve the children of men.
To crush underfoot
all the prisoners of the earth,
to deny a man justice
in the presence of the Most High,
to subvert a man in his lawsuit,
the Lord does not approve.
Who has spoken and it came to pass,
unless the Lord has commanded it?
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that good and bad come?
Why should a living man complain,
a man, about the punishment of his sins?
-Lamentations 3:32
Thursday, March 11, 2010
a little improv.
For many people (not all) music is the thing known in the present life which most strongly suggests ecstasy and infinity.
-C.S. Lewis
-C.S. Lewis
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