We're all under the same starry sky

I have faith in God, and faith that humanity can find Him. I have faith that God has the power to change people. He has the power to change the hearts of men and that once we are found in God, we are found in love. And I believe the task of the church is to show this love all over the world to every person they meet.

But I have to say that I'm disappointed in humanity. I'm saddened because somehow, people don't realize how precious they are. I'm sad that somehow, young kids are being denied love from their own parents, that people feel the need to cut themselves, that right now, people are committing suicide because their lives are no longer worth living.

What's happened?! When did people get so selfish and introverted that we no longer even have a purpose for continuing on with our lives. A gentle touch, a kind word, a smile, a laugh, a comforting conversation, a willingness to forgive and forget. Those are only little things we can do to help one another. Anything to let others know that they are noticed, that they're soooo important! I hate (and yes, I'm using that word) the lack of love in our society. And I wish that people would not have self-ambition, but a drive to help others.

Why is it that there's this clear division within society of the rich and the poor? Even geographically speaking, the East end is always poor, the West always rich. Why? Society has created so many divisions that we rarely know how to break them enough to learn that we're all under the same starry sky. And no, I'm not a communist, but I do believe that a person growing up in the west end with a two parents and even enough money to just meet ends meet will have a much better chance of getting a good job in life than a person growing up in the East end with a single parent, often switching between foster homes and parents. And I don't think any political system will technically fix that. I believe the only thing that ever could is God's love, manifested in his church.

So ya, here's the thing. The church, which includes me, needs to get their butts moving. I can't stand to see the Face of Love being dimmed in this world. We need to shine on a hill. Let everyone know that they are precious. That God values them more than they could imagine. Then we'll see a revolution of Love. What a breath of fresh air that'd be!

I hate Coke ads. (And more philosophical thoughts.)

So I've been thinking lately... Yes. It's true.

Ever feel like God is watered down? Sometimes I feel like people like to sell him, like a bottle of Coca-Cola. "He loves you", "he'll never abandon you", "he'll hold you close and never let go", "he puts the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart".

And I have to laugh here because I find myself doing this all too. And it's not as if God isn't all these things. But he's got WRATH. And I think that's kind of scary for people. Wait, not for people, for me. He's a jealous, angry kind of guy. (We sing these qualities very nicely into our worship music however-"He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am tree"- OH NO.) Well, you know what? I think I need to hear about God's wrath. I need to know that God isn't a pansy. lol. I'm half-joking here, half serious.

Cause here's the thing. People need to understand that God isn't a brick. He gets angry when we do things that are wrong. And the entire message of Jesus dying for our sins is nothing without the understanding that Jesus died on the cross to take away God's wrath on the world.

If we think that God is perfect and humanity is sinful, then we know that God cannot possibly be reconciled to humanity because God hates sin. He loves us, he just hates sin. (And yes, there's a HUGE difference) Hence, the Old Testament is filled with bloody sacrifice and fighting and slaughter and war. All this in an attempt to somehow find God in the midst of our own sin. And this is probably the saddest thing to read about. And so, here's where the love story starts to become clear. Jesus comes down to Earth and never sins. God's wrath is not upon him because he is perfect in every way. And then, committing the most selfless act humanity has ever seen, Jesus lets humanity nail his wrists and his ankles into a piece of wood, hang from the wood in front of a mocking crowd, suffocate to death, and have enough love to act as the perfect sacrifice for the people who have done this to him.-Wow. And as the curtain of the temple is torn into two, God is finally able to reconcile himself with humanity. Because by confessing our sins to Jesus, we realize that He acts as our sacrifice, as my sacrifice, to cover the sins that would normally evoke God's wrath, and instead, clean me up, so that I am now under grace and can discover God's love. AMAZING.

There's nothing better than realizing from HOW MUCH we have been redeemed. So yes, please don't water down God. Cause he's pretty cool just the way he is.

Patience is a Virtue. But a Hard one to get.

Michelangelo said that "Genius is eternal patience." I guess I have a lot to work on.

Learning to wait for something is probably one of the hardest things for me. Ever. If I could, I would make everything happen right now, achieve everything I want right now, make things happen, right now. Seriously, I always do things as soon as I think about them. I like results. Fast. But I guess that's really a problem. Cause sometimes patience can teach me so much more than I could ever learn by getting something I want immediately. It's pretty funny actually, and I hate to admit it, but Miley Cyrus got it right-It's the Climb. It's really hard sometimes to just wait for whatever that thing is that you really want. Maybe it's a job, maybe it's a special friend, maybe it's a promotion, maybe a house, maybe even that card you lost a while ago. But there's a journey we need to take when we're searching, and sometimes that journey is what makes us into the person we need to be once we reach the destination. Who would we be without the conversations we had with people, without the connections we've made within a community, without the self-discovery we endure as a single, without the experience of being rejected, without the growth of ourselves within this community of people called humanity.

If only patience was easy though! It's hard for me to see what God really want from me, to see His plan when all I want is a final destination. But I guess the other half of patience is trust. Especially trust in God, realizing that I don't understand everything, but that He'll lovingly guide me along this path called life in the direction which He knows will lead to the best me.

I'll be praying for that in my own life. Peace!