It All Good!

It's a "Good" Life. That was the title of one of the most bone chilling episodes of The Twilight Zone that I ever watched. If you haven't seen it then stop reading right now and look it up! You can find it on YouTube.

Ok, welcome back! Ok so Anthony is the very substance of a parents nightmares. A being able to create of destroy at desire and unteachable. What do people do in reaction to him? They blur their thoughts and do what they can not to think and they go through every day saying "Isn't it 'good'?" when it is clearly NOT good.

I was sitting with a friend of mine in the middle of Duncan Donuts while she did some business over Skype. While I was waiting I pulled out my Kobo and began reading my way through the Didache (the earliest written book on the teachings of the Apostle's outside the New Testament). One of the primary statements that stood out was the authors statement of "accept all things that happen as good for nothing happens unless God allows it". That is a hard pill to swallow...

How do we say that all things are "good"? Is it not obvious that there is in fact evil in the world and that evil things happen? Of course there is. When I read the command for declaring all things "good", I found myself thinking back to Anthony. How many Christians live as if God is like that demonic little 6-year-old who could read minds? Going around saying that everything is "all good" or that they are "too blessed to be depressed" despite the agonizing weight of struggle and stress that is currently weighing upon their minds? Is the author stating that we should numb ourselves to the darkness of the world or that we should "fake it till we make it"? I don't think that this is the case.

The command to accept all that happens as "good" under the understanding that nothing happens without God is not denying that there is evil or that evil things occur.  I think that there is significance to the command and it is not just going through life lying about one's circumstance. Instead we recognize that God is not a puppet master or just dishing out blessings or wrath for the sake of dishing out blessings or wrath! There is purpose in what happens.

Additionally, I do not believe that God is causing all things that happen to happen. He allowed for sin to come into the World and to reek havoc, but it is not the same as causing bad things to occur. God does, however, use evil and tragedy to to display His glory and to do great things! We do not numb ourselves to the pain and the reality of evil around us, but instead we take joy in the awesome power of God and rest in the knowledge that He is love; that He sees us and knows all that was, is, and will be. We look to the future with faith, hope, and trust in God that He will always act according to His nature, His superior knowledge, and His flawless logic.

For those who have been redeemed and are now a part of the Church, should we not expect good things from the God we love and serve? The One who has us call Him Father and King? Indeed. Additionally, He has proven Himself to be good. He is not just the "most good", be He is the very definition of what "good" is.

God is good, not because He does "good things", but instead what God does is "good" because God did them. Unlike little Anthony, God is love and He is full of compassion, understanding, and is without the flaws of a sinful, human soul. We can rejoice that we do not serve a tyrant that oppresses, but instead we serve a King who serves and leads His creation with grace, mercy, justice, and understanding.

Peace be with you,

Stephen

"Shin'do Sin'dorei!"

I love World of Warcraft! Even though I haven't played in over a year, I still know a fair amount of the lore and can share far more details about the story than you (yes, you) would care to hear, thus the title in Thalasian (Blood Elf) stating "Glory to the Blood Bourne". I would be lying if I said that I wasn't proud of my level 85 Blood Elf Shadow Priest named Kohenshedon. Just saying...FOR THE HORDE!

While I loved WoW, I ceased playing for school. I'm cool like that. I didn't let the most popular MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) control my life to the point that I couldn't live without it, nor did I let it affect the way I lived out in the real world...I already liked swords and pretending that I could throw fireballs from my hands before I even started playing. lol. My point is that I managed to enjoy a fictitious game of epic proportions without loosing my grip on reality, which is the the number one fear/ problem with playing such games. 

Role-Playing games have been often discouraged by the Protestant, American Church with accusations of being "witchcraft in disguise" or for causing people to be irresponsible or to escape reality. In some cases this is true. People have dove too far into the world that they were playing in and refused to come back or have attempted to make reality like the fantasy that they engage with.  MMO's are not the only activities, however, that people cling to in their desperate need to escape.

There are a lot of people out there who want to escape reality. Why? Life is harsh and American culture says it should be easy and dreamy. Postmodernism teaches us that truth is what we make it and reality can be what we want...it's all relevant. People lose themselves in pop culture, magazines, TV, movies, and so on. Some even use the Church as an escapism. 

We were created with imaginations and it's good that we use them to create and recreate. I think that movies, music, games, and the like show the ingenuity of humanity and display the divine gifts of the Image of God in us. Namely creativity and imagination. I believe that, even if the all the creators of these games and movies are atheists, they are are glorifying God by their action of creating and forming. Any negatives are a result of the sin nature found in ALL of humanity. Therefore, I support the creation and playing of games like WoW, but if one is unable to stay rooted in reality or begin to negate their responsibilities in the real world, then it is best that that person cease playing such games...or watching movie, whatever the activity in question is.

Love the life you have been given and accept this gift knowing that, unlike your game character, you will age and waste away as time passes and it can never be bought back. Don't waste the gift you are given. '

Peace be with you,

Stephen

A Seed of Hope

Lately I have been overwhelmed with a sort of dark, lonely reality. Though I'm surrounded by family and many friends, my previous statement remains the fabric of my reality. Through this my opinions and decisions are shaped and distorted.
Recently, in the midst of this I am able to see a great deal about myself, as well as see the strength and loyalties of my friendship. Frankly my life is a bigger mess than the Deathstar post-Luke, but it is not hopeless as I once believed. Instead I have been forced to come face-to-face once again with the reality of my sinfulness; my depravity. In turn I find myself finally seeking God as I should be. In my seeking, the Holy Spirit has begun to awaken me inside and spark something new. I fear that this will only be for a short time and I wish to revel in every last moment I have, but more importantly I want to come to the end of this season and look back and say that I have been changed and that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I have accomplished something of eternal value. It's coming to life...coming to bloom. My restless soul aches for more and my soul has been awakened from its comatose to stand up and be counted.
I pray for wisdom and for strength. I wish to move with the Spirit in this divine dance and to go with Him into the darkness, rushing forth like the dawn; like a river rushes forth after a dam has been broken. Its time to be present in this world again.