Alive
Alive - All Sons & Daughters
We are soaked in all the grace that we’ve been given
Unchained from all that we have done
Your mercy’s rising like the sun on the horizon
We’re coming home
We’re alive, alive, alive we’re singing
Unchained from all that we have done
Your mercy’s rising like the sun on the horizon
We’re coming home
We’re alive, alive, alive we’re singing
"We get one story, you and
I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the
climax and resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn't it?"
Don Miller, Through Painted Deserts
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If you know me at all you know how much I love Don
Miller. I can tell you now that I would not consider myself a beloved child of
God if it wasn’t for his works, and his life experience that he has documented in his
books. His life story and journey echo mine in many ways, and behind God, the son,
and the spirit, I count Don as the greatest influence in my life. Don and his team of friends just created a
film called Blue Like Jazz, loosely based
on the book Don wrote with the same name. Today was the films last day in theatres in many cities in the US, so if you missed it, I am truly sorry. It
was a beautiful film, filled with many truths and ideas that I, as a college
aged Christian who herself has had my fair share of doubts, could relate to on
many levels. I will tell you the truth: I cried through the entire film-- hard,
weeping tears. This film moved me in ways that I can only attribute to the
spirit of God moving in my soul as I watched this narrative unfold before my
eyes.
You may think that I am stupid, naïve, or just plain
weird, but I don’t care. Watching this film was a sort of healing, renewal, and
worshipful experience for me, I can only count a few other films that have
moved me as such, V for Vendetta and Son of Rambow
being two noteworthy examples.
So what’s a girl to do after experiencing this joy and
awe during a film? What do I do to stay attuned to the message God placed in my
heart? Well, I started living with a purpose in mind. Don’s film addresses living a
life with a story, we are given one life, and one story (and one love according to Bono.) In the quote above Don speaks
to the idea that we are given one life. I think it’s amazing we were given one
life at all, life is precious and we were placed here with a purpose. Christine
Caine would say that “God has
called us to live in the time and the place that we live into to give solution
to the world we live in. We live in a world that is broken, that is full of
injustice, and that is full of pain. The purpose of life is not to arrive at
the coffin safely. God has called us to a radical life.”
So this post today is to
remind you all to live your life alive, live your life with purpose, with a reason, with a heart for
the broken, with a passion for the gospel. So often I will pass up an
oppoutunity to chat about the gospel with a friend in school, or aquanitince in
a coffeeshop or bar, only to regret it later. What if we all intentionally
lived a life that made sharing the gospel to those that were hurting a priority?
What would our story look like?
I have been reading through
2 Chronicles, that’s old testament for those unsure, and I am continually surprised
by the ways God grants wisdom and success to the kings who “did what was right
in the sight of the LORD.” Although 2 Chronicles has lots of this dude was this
dudes dad and he had this many kids with this chick and this many with this
chick, it also comes through with some surprisingly inspirational and uplifting
passages, such as this one:
“He prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! 7 O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? 8 Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name. 9 They said, ‘Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.’” 2 Chronicles 20:6-9
I
especially love the end, “we can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear
us and rescue us.” That’s a promise that God has given us from the very beginning,
he has always had our back, has our back, and will continue to have our back!
God is in
the business of blessing you, if you’re
willing to work for him, to serve him, and to worship him. Don’t think that
by simply believing in him will he bless you. No matter what some people say,
God is not all about giving you “health and wealth.” God is about giving you a life filled to the brim with his Goodness.
Never in the book of Chronicles do we see a King being blessed by God without
that king making it a point to have his kingdom be a kingdom reflecting a
kingdom of God.
I want to
close with this, today as you go to bed thank God seriously for all the
goodness he has blessed you with. I know it can be hard, and I won’t pretend to
have a life that is filled with hurt and sadness, I know many of you have lives filled with
stress and hurt much more than mine, but let God know you appreciate the small
things, the smiles of your friends, the warmth of the sun, the food on your
table, God gives you these things whether you’re mindful of that fact, or not.
_________________________________________
In Blue Like Jazz the lead character Don
goes through a whirlwind of changes, he rejects the gospel and denies God’s
goodness in his life, only to ultimately come back to the cross with a renewed
passion for the hurting, for the lost, for those who have been hurt by the
church. I want to make it my life’s
purpose to passionately serve those who misunderstand the church, who are
unwilling to accept a religion they believe is bent on eradicating the gays,
and those who have questions about the existence of a God. Humans are flawed and the church is a creation of humans, God is not our creation, he is perfect, we so many times misrepresent him by simply being human. I want you all to
join me on this journey. I want the remainder of 2012 to be a year of living a
full life and a year with a story that has meaning, that has a real purpose,
and a year that we enjoy, knowing that we have been so entirely blessed by a
father who loves us so much he would send his son to be killed, by us, the ones
he so passionately loves. We murdered his son, and we are the ones who he send
his son for.
Thanks for
reading, your support means the world to me!
“After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:“Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!” 2 Chronicles 20:21
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