A Horrifyingly Beautiful Reality...

Something that has been quite a "slap in the face" for me recently is the fact that I am human...just a another man on God's green Earth. Why? Well...allow me to explain.

In the midst of a world gone mad, I find myself faced with a diverse collection of troubles and stress-filled situations and tasks. I'm sure that there are many out there who can relate to my previous sentence, and many might shout out a hearty "Amen!" in response, but it is not the troubles and task that I wish address here. My focus is on the condition of my soul in light of such things, and my reaction to them in light of the fact that I am but a human. My tendency is to think that I should have everything together, and that any confusion, doubt, anger, frustration, etc. are all a sign of weakness and/or inferiority. These feelings only magnify the issues already at hand and make them harder and harder to deal with, as well as provoking me from thinking clearly and accurately. 

Here's the saving grace...I'm reminded that I'm human and that I can't be perfect, and I can't handle every situation with flawless wisdom and poise. Doesn't sound all that reassuring? Well think about it this way...since I am human and incapable of perfect, then I can not expect myself to be so. God demands that we try to live holy, not that we make the best decision every time. God doesn't expect us to be able to handle everything flawlessly or with a smile on our faces...why do we? The best part is that since I'm the human, I can rely on God to help me with my problems...though I don't always see Him working, and I certainly don't always hear His voice, I can rest assured the Most Gracious and Most Merciful God who sent Christ to die for me isn't going to just leave me to face my troubles alone. Though He may let me appear to be alone for a time or He might challenge me or push me to try and face  situations head on, He will always be there in the end to see me through. Why? Because the horrifyingly beautiful reality is that I'm human, the most cherished and beloved of all of God's fallen creation...and to me, that's a very comforting thought. 

"Be Present"

Recently, I attended a leadership conference called "Catalyst". The primary theme of this year's conference was "Be Present". While the speakers themselves had very little to say that was mind blowing or theologically shattering...the theme itself, however, was quite thought provoking. Be present...be here..."are you paying attention?"

We are surrounded by people in our day to day activities...unless you are someone who lives in backwoods Georgia and chooses to deprive yourself of all human interaction, in which case I highly doubt that you're reading this blog in the first place. Our lives are constantly overlapping and even colliding into one another, therefore creating a vast web of action and reaction and re-reaction that cannot possibly be fathomed by the human mind due to lack of knowledge and mental prowess. I find that often in my life, people come and go without so much as an acknowledgment that they were there to begin with. Now, I realize that we cannot possibly have full interaction with each and every person that we come across or that has momentarily entered the storybook of our lives, but what about those who are here in a more semi-permanent basis like our friends and family? I say "semi-permanent" only to say that even they are only temporary...all too easily severed from us by disaster or natural causes...but we can make the most of the time that we are given to be with them. Are you paying attention? Are you here? Are you "present"? Your presence matters...

In the lives of our friends and family...are we active? Are we engaged? Do we partake in the joys, the sufferings, the sorrows, the burning moment of passion and/or anger alongside those we love and adore? How about those who have no one to show them love...will you? Those in need of support...will you comfort them? Is your brother suffering and you unaware of it? Is your friend crying out for help in the loneliness of her bedroom with no one there to snatch her from despair? Are you paying attention? Are you present? Your presence matters...

Each and every day we are given the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others, whether it be for good or for ill. I personally desire to bring life to those in darkness...to live life to the fullest and to pour myself out so that other may have life all in thanks to the Father of Lights who has given us life. There are many out there who seek to do good for others out of selfishness, to gain a good reputation or to "earn favor" from God (assuming that is even possible). Let us not be this way, let us do good for the sake of bringing life to others; let us live and live well, engaging with the world around us that we might honor God who gave us our lives to begin with and gave the gift of community and fellowship.