Random Thought

Structure is like clothing in that if you go for a one-size-fits-all, it does end up covering you, but you don't look great. 

Oh my God

Sometimes I can not forgive and these days mercy cuts so deep,

If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep.

While I lay, I'd dream we're better, scales were gone and faces lighter,

When we wake we hate our brother, we still move to hurt each other,

Sometimes I can close my eyes and all the fear the keeps me silent,

Falls below my heavy breathing, what makes me so badly bent?

We all have a chance to murder, we all have the need for wonder.

We still want to be reminded that the pain is worth the plunder.

Sometimes when I lose my grip, I wonder what to make of heaven,

All the times I thought to reach up, all the times I had to give up.

Babies underneath their beds, in hospitals that cannot treat them.

All the wounds that money causes, all the comforts of cathedrals,

All the cries of thirsty children, this is our inheritance,

All the rage of watching mothers, this is our greatest offense

Oh my God, 

Oh my God, 

Oh my God.

- Jars of clay

Advice to Christians: Love - Francis Schaeffer

"As we turn to consider in more detail how we may speak to people of the twentieth century, we must realise first of all that we cannot apply mechanical rules. We, of all people, should realise this, for as Christians we believe that personality really does exist and is important. We can lay down some general principles, but there can be no automatic application. If we are truly personal, as created by God, then each individual will differ from everyone else. Therefore each person must be dealt with as anindividual, not as a case or statistic or machine. If we could work withthese people, we cannot apply things we have learnt..." "...mechanically. We must look to the Lord in prayer, and to the work of the Holy Spirit, for theeffective use of these things."

"Furthermore, we must remember that the person to whom we are talking, however far from the Christian faith he may be, is an image-bearer of God. He has great value, and our communication to him must be in genuine love. Love is not an easy thing; it is not just an emotional urge, but an attempt to move over and sit in the other person's place and see how his problems look to him. Love is a genuine concern for the individual. As Jesus Christ reminds us, we are to love that individual 'as ourselves'. This is the place to begin. Therefore, to be engaged in personal 'witness' as a duty or because our Christian circle exerts a social pressure on us, is to miss the whole point. The reason we do it is that the person before us is an image-bearer of God, and he is an individual who is unique in this world. This kind of communication is not cheap. To understand and speak to sincere but utterly confused twentieth-century people is costly. It is tiring; it will open you to temptations and pressures. Genuine love, in the last analysis, means a willingness to be entirely exposed to the person to whom we are talking."

- Francis Schaeffer, thanks to Stephen Williams 

Remember The Titans

Someday, when you get the time and if you haven't already, watch the movie.

Spoiler!

Jim and his ice-cream

So there was a kid. Let's call him Jim. Jim was unique, in that, he loved ice-cream…. like genuinely.  

One day he and his father were out on one of their evening walks, and they stumbled upon an ice cream vendor. Jim looked at his father expectantly. His father was wise. It wasn't too often that he would give Jim what he wanted, but today was Jim's day. 

Soon Jim had his big, round, black, sparkly eyes fixed on the ice-cream he was holding… but even before he took his first bite at it, he saw a kid - about his age, with tattered clothes, shrunken body and sunken eyes that made it obvious that he craved the ice-cream. He was not begging. 

Jim felt pain. A lot of it. He was a kid, remember? He knew too little to be able to rationalize his feelings away. And the pain not was just a result of an inherent ability to empathize with the kid. It was mixed with the pain of feeling compelled to have to part with his ice-cream - things he did not understand then and that one day, would be taught to him as 'right' in one of his value-education classes. 

While he was still staring at the kid, he heard a whisper right beside his ear. He could tell that it was his father's, not only because his father was the only person around him and he could see the profile of his face in his peripheral vision, but much more - because he knew his fathers voice. He had learnt to recognize it. His father often said things to him that seemed grave, profound and serious. He hadn't heard many fathers talk with kids his age that way. Many times he did not completely understand the things he said. This time he heard: 

"And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do."

Somehow, all that reminded Jim of how big his father really is. Jim made his decision. He gave his ice cream, then still missing it, he turned around, looked up to his father and gave him a weak smile. They weren't too far from the ice-cream vendor and Jim's father was very rich.  But he did not buy him another ice-cream. However, later that evening, Jim had so much fun with dad, that when he lay on the bed that night, tired with joy, he had forgotten everything about his ice cream.