I was talking to a new friend at an all-nighter event that the high school ministry held, and we were all at the beach watching the sunrise. He said something that struck me, that I thought was such a good point, and something wise amongst all of the randomness bouncing around in my head in this 12-hour period...
As the sun cleared the low clouds at the bottom of the horizon, scattering its light across the waves as the lake rolled back and forth, one of my sisters in Christ makes a remark along these lines: "How can anyone not believe there's a God, after seeing something so amazing like this?"
To which my new friend replies, "They have their eyes closed."
Reader, whoever you may be, how many times have you walked around with your eyes closed? Not just literally speaking; I mean, how many times have you been moving through life too fast to take in the world around you? How many times, even, have you simply just chosen not to open your eyes to the life all around you? I will freely admit that yes, I am guilty of doing this every now and then. I like to say that I love stopping and admiring the beauty of nature everywhere I go, and my friends will even attest to this by saying things like they always have to wait up for me when we're hiking through the woods or something of the sort. But there are definitely times when I'm just "too busy" to marvel in all of God's creation (i.e. having a poor frame of mind when I'm running errands, spending hours upon hours doing nothing on Facebook, making excuses for not setting aside that precious time to be completely alone and quiet with God in nature).
Opening my eyes to that gorgeous sunrise and meditating on how God brings new mercies each day really opened myself to God's presence this morning. The intimacy of sharing with God in those 20-ish minutes of that golden ball of fire rising above the vast waters of Lake Michigan was really something remarkable that I had never done before. How long have I been walking with my eyes shut to such a marvel? Eighteen years of my life?
Perhaps if the world slowed down a bit more and took more time to stop and really take in everything around us, our eyes would all be opened...opened to uncontainable joy, to true beauty, to pure love, to satisfying peace, to the King of Kings.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
I obviously think too much
Okay, so I have this essay to write for school that is due on September 10, before I even arrive on campus. It's an essay on plagiarism and why a university should be concerned about their students following strict guidelines regarding avoiding plagiarism. Currently, at this exact point in time, I have a few scattered ideas typed out in a word document and no real structure at all. Thirteen days to go....I might think about starting on it soon.
Anyways, that's not the big point. As I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom last night after typing another random thought into that word document on plagiarism, I got a random thought: What does God think about plagiarism? Is it possible to plagiarize Him? More than that, if it's possible, how does He feel when we plagiarize Him?
Well, technically plagiarism is a sin against someone else. It's stealing, stealing someone else's work to be exact, whether artistic, musical, linguistic, mathematic, or scientific. It's also saying "Hey, I'm the one who created this!" when someone else deserves the credit instead. So I suppose to answer the question "how does He feel," I think that He feels sad, because we are hurting others by stealing from them.
So, is it possible to plagiarize God? Honestly, this is pure speculation from my point of view, as a lot of this blog has been, so feel free to disagree, but I feel that yes, it is possible to plagiarize God. In addition to the obvious (taking words from His Word and saying that you came up with them all by yourself), isn't it plagiarism when we plant something and then say, after it has grown, "I grew this?" We didn't grow it. We planted it. We watered it. We made sure it was positioned in the sun. But we didn't grow it. What about when we complete a very hard task, and then take a step back and say "I did this all by myself?" Did we really do that all by ourselves? In truth, we can't do anything without God.
On the other hand, God created us in His image with the ability to create. We can be original creatures and create things. God didn't create the car on the sixth day, nor did He paint the Mona Lisa. Some could argue that he may have inspired Pythagorean's Theorem and the Theory of Relativity, but I am not certain that that is the case.
So where do we draw the line? And does any of this even matter? I honestly don't think we need to go crazy about this whole thing. I found it intriguing enough to write about, but I think God would rather have us worry about more pressing matter, or in fact not worry at all.
The Bible says that what we do to the least of these, we also do to Jesus Christ. Creators are in a vulnerable position when they come up with something original and then send it out into the world to be criticized, acclaimed, or stolen. I almost feel as though by giving proper credit where proper credit is due when we ourselves are creating, we are indirectly being kind to those creators who are in a vulnerable position, thus doing so to Christ. I also believe that by recognizing and fully believing in our hearts that we humans would not even be capable of living without God, and by not being afraid to name Jesus as our Savior and the center of our lives, we are giving proper credit where proper credit is due to Him as well.
Anyways, that's not the big point. As I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom last night after typing another random thought into that word document on plagiarism, I got a random thought: What does God think about plagiarism? Is it possible to plagiarize Him? More than that, if it's possible, how does He feel when we plagiarize Him?
Well, technically plagiarism is a sin against someone else. It's stealing, stealing someone else's work to be exact, whether artistic, musical, linguistic, mathematic, or scientific. It's also saying "Hey, I'm the one who created this!" when someone else deserves the credit instead. So I suppose to answer the question "how does He feel," I think that He feels sad, because we are hurting others by stealing from them.
So, is it possible to plagiarize God? Honestly, this is pure speculation from my point of view, as a lot of this blog has been, so feel free to disagree, but I feel that yes, it is possible to plagiarize God. In addition to the obvious (taking words from His Word and saying that you came up with them all by yourself), isn't it plagiarism when we plant something and then say, after it has grown, "I grew this?" We didn't grow it. We planted it. We watered it. We made sure it was positioned in the sun. But we didn't grow it. What about when we complete a very hard task, and then take a step back and say "I did this all by myself?" Did we really do that all by ourselves? In truth, we can't do anything without God.
On the other hand, God created us in His image with the ability to create. We can be original creatures and create things. God didn't create the car on the sixth day, nor did He paint the Mona Lisa. Some could argue that he may have inspired Pythagorean's Theorem and the Theory of Relativity, but I am not certain that that is the case.
So where do we draw the line? And does any of this even matter? I honestly don't think we need to go crazy about this whole thing. I found it intriguing enough to write about, but I think God would rather have us worry about more pressing matter, or in fact not worry at all.
The Bible says that what we do to the least of these, we also do to Jesus Christ. Creators are in a vulnerable position when they come up with something original and then send it out into the world to be criticized, acclaimed, or stolen. I almost feel as though by giving proper credit where proper credit is due when we ourselves are creating, we are indirectly being kind to those creators who are in a vulnerable position, thus doing so to Christ. I also believe that by recognizing and fully believing in our hearts that we humans would not even be capable of living without God, and by not being afraid to name Jesus as our Savior and the center of our lives, we are giving proper credit where proper credit is due to Him as well.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
A vision for Generation Y
I finished reading it a while ago, but in any case I suggest that you read My Generation by Josh Riebock. Seriously, it's a good book. Anyways....because that previous comment doesn't fully relate to what I want to write about. Although it does have a small bit of pertinence.
I see great potential in the generation I am living in, which is to say the current middle school kids on through people in their late twenties. Seriously, I have met people who have been changed by God and I have seen people be changed by Him. I have seen fires lit from within. I feel my own burning within me.
All that needs to happen now is for each small fire to catch onto all of the other small fires and turn into one consuming blaze.
I have a dream that stems from Hillsong's song "Hosanna." It goes like this:
"I see a generation/Rising up to take their place/With selfless faith, selfless faith/I see a near revival/Stirring as we pray and seek/We're on our knees, we're on our knees."
My dream is for each and every child of God to recognize that the revival starts with us. We can't just keep waiting for a better time or for the right time, because that will never come. Christ has already sent us out into the world with the command to go and make disciples of all nations, helping them open their hearts to the love that God has for them and helping them walk into a life with Him!
Know what else? War is not inevitable. They say that of course war will always happen, because people have different ideas. But you know what? Having different ideas doesn't lead to war! Even if Person A and Person B despise each other and the ideas the other has, this doesn't lead to war! If neither Person A nor Person B actually want to go to war, then no war will happen. They will live in disagreement with each other, knowing that even though they dislike each other, they also dislike war, and wouldn't dare risk their values over a disagreement between people.
And you know what else? Hunger, homelessness, and widespread disease are not inevitable, either. But until you visit a country with significantly less than what you are living in, you might not realize this. I have seen people living with half of what I have, maybe less, who get along perfectly content, and who give to the people living in tents in the slums. Don't you think that, if we humbled ourselves and gave away more of what we have than we might feel comfortable with, we could provide homes for those out on the streets, or food for those who don't eat every day, or medication for those who suffer from easily-treatable diseases?
Another book recommendation: Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder.
Okay, end of rant for today.
I see great potential in the generation I am living in, which is to say the current middle school kids on through people in their late twenties. Seriously, I have met people who have been changed by God and I have seen people be changed by Him. I have seen fires lit from within. I feel my own burning within me.
All that needs to happen now is for each small fire to catch onto all of the other small fires and turn into one consuming blaze.
I have a dream that stems from Hillsong's song "Hosanna." It goes like this:
"I see a generation/Rising up to take their place/With selfless faith, selfless faith/I see a near revival/Stirring as we pray and seek/We're on our knees, we're on our knees."
My dream is for each and every child of God to recognize that the revival starts with us. We can't just keep waiting for a better time or for the right time, because that will never come. Christ has already sent us out into the world with the command to go and make disciples of all nations, helping them open their hearts to the love that God has for them and helping them walk into a life with Him!
Know what else? War is not inevitable. They say that of course war will always happen, because people have different ideas. But you know what? Having different ideas doesn't lead to war! Even if Person A and Person B despise each other and the ideas the other has, this doesn't lead to war! If neither Person A nor Person B actually want to go to war, then no war will happen. They will live in disagreement with each other, knowing that even though they dislike each other, they also dislike war, and wouldn't dare risk their values over a disagreement between people.
And you know what else? Hunger, homelessness, and widespread disease are not inevitable, either. But until you visit a country with significantly less than what you are living in, you might not realize this. I have seen people living with half of what I have, maybe less, who get along perfectly content, and who give to the people living in tents in the slums. Don't you think that, if we humbled ourselves and gave away more of what we have than we might feel comfortable with, we could provide homes for those out on the streets, or food for those who don't eat every day, or medication for those who suffer from easily-treatable diseases?
Another book recommendation: Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder.
Okay, end of rant for today.
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