I'm here...alive and well, folks, and I have a ton of undone things. My brother and I just had to do the round of "living together" elsewhere in the city and get ourselves sorted, currently stretched between two places: the parental home, and the home away from home. In case you also wondered I am laptop-less at the moment...this is an iPad. It's a miracle we finally got wifi installed...spotty broadband connection but fast when it's not spotty. It'll do. But that's not this...I'm in the south again and I currently have a sponsored post draft that's overdue (cued excessive honesty, I do take a sponsored post every once in awhile when I like what is presented to help the blog pay for its hosting) but I'm not done with it yet. I prayed to get in the right headspace and to ask for help on it but the Lord impressed "It's been awhile, blog from the heart first, the rest shall follow." There's stuff that's been braising in my heart but I wasn't sure whether I should serve it up for fear of stepping on a couple of toes, appearing self-righteous but I figured part of love is upholding your held-dear real nuggets while not being bland. Sorry, not sorry, I'd rather try and be salty.
Mom brought me home something from New York City that as a tasty reminder helped resurface the desire to reflect about certain things openly and while the desire to remain politically correct about my faith and not talk about it won for a long while it finally lost to the revelation in my heart...love is not always politically correct. Politically correct lover, anyone? Yawn? I realized quite simply that the politically correct gives up sometimes so nothing scandalous is stirred, but the Cross is a scandal of grace. However, as Heneral Luna so bloodily proved...sometimes politics sucks but love never gives up, so love wins...even in death one can be an unconquerable soul. Here was what Mom brought me from abroad, Silly Salt. It made me think ever so sharply about Christianity, the word people ever so reluctantly use now...it's like to some the politicized word has leprosy, they wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole thanks to a number of its countless ambassadors. Sadly, they don't see it contains the Name that heals. So rather than be the salt of the earth we discard ourselves in thought "Silly salt." None of us are perfect but a lot of us would rather play life hooky than aim for on high and look...silly.
To serve my braised heart up plain won't do...it needs to be Salty for you to take it. I'd like to address my Christian beloveds who feel (or don't feel) they may have lost their saltiness or are running from who they ought to be according to the Bible, which contains that we believe are the words of Jesus. I have Muslim friends who I love dearly and I respect them, they do not eat pork, pray 5 times a day, and have a completely different belief system. Here's the thing, why does the World bully a Christian to apologize for what he believes? That irritates me no end, do we not love Christ or aim to with all our mind, heart, and soul? Would any of us directly question a Muslim friend who doesn't eat pork or worse...dare them to? No, of course not, why? Because the world knows that their people are prepared to be politically incorrect to defend their faith. How about those who uphold the banner of Christ? We hear the "dares" to bend for what we would otherwise not do, say those words, we'd rather just do it or laugh, move on, and change the topic and look congenial than express silent offense or speak up and cause noses to bleed. Fools for Christ are dwindling.
I told someone recently that just because in several occasions you might have been wrongly bashed with the Bible it doesn't make it any less powerful. It shouldn't deter you from picking it up daily to fight or to listen to what our beloved Jesus has for us today.
"11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
A lightbulb went on in my heart on this matter. A huge problem is we keep looking at other people's test papers when what really matters is right in front of us...our own. We keep talking about why someone does this or that when we ought to think of what we are saying. Live your life the way He wants you to live...not counting how mere mortals expect you to just bring it. None of us are perfect, but we have a Perfect Example to follow. I thought a great deal about parents, too. The parents who manage to succeed in raising well-adjusted adults have always made sure to put forth an EXAMPLE before an EXPECTATION, it doesn't work the other way around.
To those who bully Christians (other Christians included) for trying to be holy on our Spiritual fitness journey just remember, in the gym you see the fumbling newbie before a Spartan. Cut someone trying some slack.
