Yes, this was the opening line of my Best Man speech at my little brother's wedding on Saturday. I can't explain in words how full my heart is and how happy I am for him and his new bride (my new sister in law). The ceremony and reception were beautiful (and yes, I will stick by that even if you threaten to take my man card for it). I am so blessed to have been able to share in their joy! Marriage is the ultimate denouement for two people, restraining their passion through purity, to solidify their commitment to one another before God and all of their closest friends and family members. Everyone there is happy to share in the joy of the couple and love abounds as smiling faces greet total strangers as they know each have played an intricate and meaningful part in the life of the bride or groom or both. Such was the feeling on Saturday night. Not all weddings are like this, of course, but the ones united in Christ are. These joyous occasions create such a rush of emotion that one feels like it is a glimpse of heaven, and that is exactly what I believe it is.
Heaven will be a literal and figurative wedding feast of the Church and its Savior: Jesus Christ. Since the Church is the bride, then all in attendance will be actually in the wedding. There will be no one heartsick because they are not desired because all will be the purified, justified, unblemished, chosen bride of Christ. At last, our joy will be complete. What a glorious day that will be!
Monday, November 19, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Hunger Games... how's your appetite now?
After hearing about the whole Hunger Games obsession, I first wrote it off as a bunch of crazy Twilight fans that needed their new "fix." However, after my cousin suggested them to me, I read them. They are very well done. I don't like to call things "art" too often, but when it is, it must be given proper credit. The storyline, the writing style, and the execution of the story is so good, it is breath-taking! The content of the story, however, is not good (in the moral sense of the word). These should not be children's books. I was at first quite upset for how dark it is, but when the author shared her reason for writing the books, it made much more sense. The reason for writing the books was to show how immoral and dark the media can be.
Yet once we know this, it begs another question: "Why are the Hunger Games books so popular?" I would like to say that it is because of the recognition of the great storyline and writing style, but I don't think that is all there is to it. It seems that the violence and the dark parts contributed to its success. If this is true, then that indicates that the whole point the author was trying to make (about the media being an atrociously and unnecessarily dark medium) was all but overlooked for the entertainment value that we get out of such darkness. In other words, we have become so desensitized as a culture that the shock-and-awe repulsion factor had no effect! That the whole point of trying to make people stop and realize the junk they are feeding their minds was never realized because they saw the even more twisted junk in the book as just more entertainment. This kind of thing makes me lose hope for American culture. But who is to blame?
And I would turn on the TV, but it's so embarrassing,
To see all the other people, I don't know what they mean.
And it was magic at first when they spoke without sound,
But now this world is gonna hurt.
You'd better turn that thing down.
Turn it around.
"Well, it wasn't me," says the boy with the gun,
"Sure I pulled the trigger, but it needed to be done,
Because life's been killing me ever since it begun.
You can't blame me, 'cuz I’m too young."
"You can't blame me; sure the killer was my son,
But I didn't teach him to pull the trigger of the gun.
It's the killing on this TV screen.
You can't blame me; it's those images he's seen."
"Well, you can't blame me," says the media man,
"Well I wasn't the one who came up with the plan.
And I just point my camera what the people want to see.
Man, it's a two-way mirror and you can't blame me."
"You can't blame me," says the singer of the song
Or the maker of the movie which he bases life on.
"It's only entertainment and as anyone can see,
Its smoke machines and make up man, you can't fool me."
It was you, it was me, it was every man.
We've all got the blood on our hands.
We only receive what we demand,
And if we want hell, then hell's what we'll have.
And I would turn on the TV, but it's so embarrassing.
To see all the other people, don't even know what they mean
And it was magic at first, but let everyone down,
And now this world's gonna hurt.
You'd better turn it around.
Turn it around.
- Song "Cookie Jar" by Jack Johnson
Yet once we know this, it begs another question: "Why are the Hunger Games books so popular?" I would like to say that it is because of the recognition of the great storyline and writing style, but I don't think that is all there is to it. It seems that the violence and the dark parts contributed to its success. If this is true, then that indicates that the whole point the author was trying to make (about the media being an atrociously and unnecessarily dark medium) was all but overlooked for the entertainment value that we get out of such darkness. In other words, we have become so desensitized as a culture that the shock-and-awe repulsion factor had no effect! That the whole point of trying to make people stop and realize the junk they are feeding their minds was never realized because they saw the even more twisted junk in the book as just more entertainment. This kind of thing makes me lose hope for American culture. But who is to blame?
And I would turn on the TV, but it's so embarrassing,
To see all the other people, I don't know what they mean.
And it was magic at first when they spoke without sound,
But now this world is gonna hurt.
You'd better turn that thing down.
Turn it around.
"Well, it wasn't me," says the boy with the gun,
"Sure I pulled the trigger, but it needed to be done,
Because life's been killing me ever since it begun.
You can't blame me, 'cuz I’m too young."
"You can't blame me; sure the killer was my son,
But I didn't teach him to pull the trigger of the gun.
It's the killing on this TV screen.
You can't blame me; it's those images he's seen."
"Well, you can't blame me," says the media man,
"Well I wasn't the one who came up with the plan.
And I just point my camera what the people want to see.
Man, it's a two-way mirror and you can't blame me."
"You can't blame me," says the singer of the song
Or the maker of the movie which he bases life on.
"It's only entertainment and as anyone can see,
Its smoke machines and make up man, you can't fool me."
It was you, it was me, it was every man.
We've all got the blood on our hands.
We only receive what we demand,
And if we want hell, then hell's what we'll have.
And I would turn on the TV, but it's so embarrassing.
To see all the other people, don't even know what they mean
And it was magic at first, but let everyone down,
And now this world's gonna hurt.
You'd better turn it around.
Turn it around.
- Song "Cookie Jar" by Jack Johnson
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Institution
I was talking with a coworker and his wife at a company happy hour after work. The conversation started off with my coworker sharing about how he saw a picture of me holding some of the orphans that I sponsor from my Ugandan mission trip in 2007. He asked me to share more about that, so I did. Both he and his wife were happy to hear about the work being done over there. I started explaining some interesting stories of our trips in past years, but around the time when I began about changing planes in Amsterdam, the wife told me I have to check out the "coffee houses" there. We laughed a bit considering that "coffee houses" sell a bit more than Joe (they also sell Mary Jane).
Although I hoped she wouldn't, she began telling me that I really needed to go by the Red Light district. She was quite upset because apparently they had been talking about tearing it down and building a business building instead.
"You walk down the road and they had women standing in the windows, but they aren't selling clothes, they are selling prostitutes!" she laughed. "They can't tear that down, it is an institution!"
"I doubt they will tear it down... they surely make too much money from it for that," I resigned.
She saw my face turn more somber and changed the subject again. I don't know what hurt me the most though. Was it the idea of these girls who were the window shopping models for their own sexual exploitation? No doubt transported there under kidnappings or drug inducement or slaves of parent's debt. Was it the laughing of this woman about how it seems like just another business? I think this appalled me most at first. But actually I think the worst part could have been what hit me later: her last statement.
When she said "institution" she meant that it was "an endearing icon of the cultural experience"... a landmark, if you will. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this view in a secular society. But what do I usually associate with an "institution"? Two things come to mind, but they are usually negative connotations. One is marriage and the other is the Church. When people speak of the loving committed union celebration between a man and a woman (marriage), "institution" is often "that outdated, oppressive, boring ceremony my grandma is making me do so I'm not gossiped about by her friends." Likewise, the Christian Church is seen as an institution of "those holier than thou, judgmental hypocrites that meet to convince themselves they are earning their way out of hell." It breaks my heart that our culture sees a Red Light district as the endearing kind of institution and the Church and marriage as the institutions that won't go away. We, as the Church, need to become the institution that people won't let go of, and that will only happen through genuine compassion for the lost and broken. Pray for our own hearts and the hearts of our nation!
Although I hoped she wouldn't, she began telling me that I really needed to go by the Red Light district. She was quite upset because apparently they had been talking about tearing it down and building a business building instead.
"You walk down the road and they had women standing in the windows, but they aren't selling clothes, they are selling prostitutes!" she laughed. "They can't tear that down, it is an institution!"
"I doubt they will tear it down... they surely make too much money from it for that," I resigned.
She saw my face turn more somber and changed the subject again. I don't know what hurt me the most though. Was it the idea of these girls who were the window shopping models for their own sexual exploitation? No doubt transported there under kidnappings or drug inducement or slaves of parent's debt. Was it the laughing of this woman about how it seems like just another business? I think this appalled me most at first. But actually I think the worst part could have been what hit me later: her last statement.
When she said "institution" she meant that it was "an endearing icon of the cultural experience"... a landmark, if you will. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this view in a secular society. But what do I usually associate with an "institution"? Two things come to mind, but they are usually negative connotations. One is marriage and the other is the Church. When people speak of the loving committed union celebration between a man and a woman (marriage), "institution" is often "that outdated, oppressive, boring ceremony my grandma is making me do so I'm not gossiped about by her friends." Likewise, the Christian Church is seen as an institution of "those holier than thou, judgmental hypocrites that meet to convince themselves they are earning their way out of hell." It breaks my heart that our culture sees a Red Light district as the endearing kind of institution and the Church and marriage as the institutions that won't go away. We, as the Church, need to become the institution that people won't let go of, and that will only happen through genuine compassion for the lost and broken. Pray for our own hearts and the hearts of our nation!
Vulnerability
I know... I don't really have much of a blog but here is my first attempt to start blogging more.
It is now one of those few passing days of "winter" in Houston... yes, that means a cold front has blown through. I actually love the cold more than I like the heat and my roommate and I are also cheap thrifty... so we have decided to not heat the house. The first night I even opened my window. So now it is about 65 degrees F inside my room. What is great about this is that you can curl up with a bunch of blankets to keep warm. What is bad about this is that you HAVE TO get a bunch of blankets to keep warm!
This isn't a huge issue until the next morning when I go from under big blankets to a cold tile floor in the bathroom barefoot and get into the cold tile shower. I'm not excited about this but after a snooze button or two, I do it. Why do I do it? Because it is necessary for my health, my sanity, my job, and my well being. So it is with the Gospel.
The world is a cold place, and sometimes it feels good to get under the cover of our middle-class, good-looking, English-speaking, mentally-there, conservative, Christian friends and family who all think pretty much the way you do. There is comfort in that it indeed can be refreshing. But if we live under those covers, the world stays cold, broken, and hopeless without Christ. If I never got out from under the covers, I would lose my job, go insane, get sore, start to stink, and starve to death. Someone once said that Christians are a lot like cow manure: "If you spread them around, they can do a lot of good, but if they sit there, they just stink."
In our willingness to get out and get vulnerable, God cleans us up, and sends us out to change the world with His hope. In our nakedness, we are vulnerable to danger and the cold, but in this danger we are required to trust in God's provision more, and His grace is that much more fulfilling and renewing (just like a hot shower in a cold bathroom).
Vulnerability is the opportunity for both danger and intimacy. You must choose one or the other. If you fear the danger, then you may doubt whether the intimacy is worth it. If you fear the intimacy... well, that's a bigger issue (but good to realize now). Whether it is now or later that Christ heals your heart, I pray that you too understand as I have come to realize that vulnerability is worth it.
Though people may fail you, God has always got your back.
This isn't a huge issue until the next morning when I go from under big blankets to a cold tile floor in the bathroom barefoot and get into the cold tile shower. I'm not excited about this but after a snooze button or two, I do it. Why do I do it? Because it is necessary for my health, my sanity, my job, and my well being. So it is with the Gospel.
The world is a cold place, and sometimes it feels good to get under the cover of our middle-class, good-looking, English-speaking, mentally-there, conservative, Christian friends and family who all think pretty much the way you do. There is comfort in that it indeed can be refreshing. But if we live under those covers, the world stays cold, broken, and hopeless without Christ. If I never got out from under the covers, I would lose my job, go insane, get sore, start to stink, and starve to death. Someone once said that Christians are a lot like cow manure: "If you spread them around, they can do a lot of good, but if they sit there, they just stink."
In our willingness to get out and get vulnerable, God cleans us up, and sends us out to change the world with His hope. In our nakedness, we are vulnerable to danger and the cold, but in this danger we are required to trust in God's provision more, and His grace is that much more fulfilling and renewing (just like a hot shower in a cold bathroom).
Vulnerability is the opportunity for both danger and intimacy. You must choose one or the other. If you fear the danger, then you may doubt whether the intimacy is worth it. If you fear the intimacy... well, that's a bigger issue (but good to realize now). Whether it is now or later that Christ heals your heart, I pray that you too understand as I have come to realize that vulnerability is worth it.
Though people may fail you, God has always got your back.
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