"We are the all singing, all dancing crap of the world"

I am not a huge fan of the movie Fight Club. I've seen it, it is a trip. I talked to a friend about it the other day and we both agreed that it is popular(especially with guys) because it is actually really relevant. We all identify with living and working an unsatisfactory life. Clock in clock out, and no end in sight.

Just in the amount of time it took to write the last paragraph, I felt my vision glaze a bit and my mind start to wander. No, it is not ADHD this time. I am wondering more and more how I can serve God well while so much of the pieces that make up my life are unsettled and temporary. The place I live, the job I have, the debt I owe, the lack of a car, the lull in my normally positive outlook on life. I know...what a poopy way to feel and live. And it plagues so many people.

One part of life I feel successful...crossfit, but even a lull there too. Just another drop pouring out of the optimism cup into the realistic cup while others headed to fatalism. Such a drag, and so many people never find a way out; at least not until death, and that is realistic to me. Some would say "no that sounds suicidal or fatalistic at best." But it is really about perception. What about after death? Ah, yes. "we are the all singing, all dancing crap of the world." but that thought is incomplete. We certainly do have a natural talent to mess our lives up, but the alternative is the certainty of life and hope and peace and unimaginable satisfaction beyond our short and often miserable lives on earth.

I believe I have lost perspective when my eyes are glazed and my mind wanders. I am not encouraging us all to just accept our sub-par circumstances and make peace with mess we have made. Certainly we press on to live life well. But with the understanding that we live in "the in-between". Between the filth I produce today, while living in the grace God has given to sustain me through tomorrow and the next and the next until he will one day redeem it and that is the hope I have for today.

Unfortunately for too many people, that hope does not come soon enough; when their cup overflows with doubt after such a long time of failure. And then wonder... will it ever end? Surely it never will, it has been too long. And our vision can begin to blur and we forget what where our hope came from in the first place. Jesus has not come back yet, but he will and certainly as he said "in this world you will have trouble but give you my peace..." peace in our faith in his promise. He will return, he has the final say and he will perfect everything once again. PERFECT.

For those who, by his grace, hold on to this hope; there is a glorious future. A may hope that will sustain us for today and tomorrow and the next day...until he returns or calls us home.

Fighting with a dull pocket knife

It baffles me to talk to a person who will profess their faith in the Bible, yet would claim it to not be infallible; that it is not completely inerrant because of translation, or merely a good book with good things to live by, neither do they respect its authority.

It makes me think about the armor of God...


"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

Ephesians 6:13-18

...especially the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Continuing with the war time thought process, if you think it is possible to believe in a Bible that is not completely trust worthy, that is merely suggestive, that is without error? If you are going into battle, a heated deadly battle...what would you choose to attack your enemy and to block his attacks; a strong sword that is long and perfectly balanced, a sword that has been faithful in previous battles, a sharp sword that fits your hand perfectly? Or would you choose a small pocket knife, dull and brittle, with a blade that is nearly useless; a pocket knife with a short blade and a handle that merely fits in your fingers.

NO DUH!

But this is what you have done when you undermine the authority of God; when you take His word and say it has errors or that is not completely trust worthy. What a foolish little pocket knife with which to defend yourself. Your faith is at risk when your measly knife is too weak to block the blows of a stronger and more skilled enemy. You might as well turn the blade on yourself for being such a fool.