I think this is cool...

Which is why I'm writing it, because I said I would write something cool today.

The cool thing is that none of you have to think that this is cool, because that term is very, very subjective. So, I think it's cool, and since it's cool in that sense, it's cool.

The cool thing is the following paragraph:

I was looking at this paragraph, this paragraph that I'm writing, and just saw that it isn't normal... I don't know why, but it looks wrong. Any thoughts as to why it's just plain abnormal? It looks okay, but looking at it again, it's plain to find that most of it is just odd. If it looks wrong, you might say that it's just psychological, as if I got you to think that it's wrong although it actually isn't wrong. But I know for a fact that this paragraph is suspicious.

Hint: the issue with the paragraph has something to do with a certain letter that is used quite frequently in the English language.

Sorry everybody.

Open Letter of Apology to The World

Please bear with me, this is long overdue and there's lots of ground
to cover. I want to make sure that I get it all out. Not just for me,
but because I think you need to hear it. Maybe there are other
Christians out there as well that need to make apologies and will find
courage here. I appreciate your time, I know it's valuable.

Dear Members of the World,
I'm just a guy, nobody really. Son of a preacher. Years
and years of Vacation Bible Schools, summer camps, youth ski trips,
puppet shows - you name it. I'm not a bad
guy, I've been mostly behaving myself and everybody seems to like me.
I do some good stuff here and there.

But lately I've been trying to understand Jesus more and stuff I never
noticed before has really started to bug me. I've been taking a look
around and I'm having a hard time making sense of what it is we've
built here. So, it just seemed like, whether anybody else says it or
not, I need to take responsibility for the part I played and say what
I have to say.

Here we go ...

I know you think that Christians are a big bunch of hypocrites. We say
we're more "religious" and we're going to heaven and you're not, and
then we drive our big shiny cars with little fishies on the trunk and
cut you off in traffic as we race by the homeless guy on the corner.
We average just 2% of our money to church and charity, despite that we
say the Bible is the word of God and it says we're supposed to give
everything. On average, we buy just as many big screen TVs and bass
boats and fur coats and makeup and baseball cards and online porn as
anybody else. Maybe more. You've seen leader after leader end up in
jail or court or a sex scandal of one sort or another.

Well ... you're right. We're guilty of all of it. We've done it all.
And, I'm really sorry.

You see our cheesy TV shows and slick guys begging for money and you
get that there's something seriously sneaky and wrong here. A high-
pressure call for money so they can stay on the air? Were we supposed
to use Jesus as just another form of entertainment? Who do we think
we're kidding? Where's Jesus in all this? Aren't we supposed to rely
on him? Isn't He going to meet our needs if we're inside His will?

What happened to sacrifice and suffering and helping the poor? I'm
just sick about this. I mean, the church leaders, they're not all bad
guys, there are lots and lots of really hard-working well-meaning
folks who love and care and are meeting real needs in the community.
Some of them understand and love Jesus - but I'm just real sure those
pastors don't drive Bentley's, have multi-million dollar homes and
their own lear jets! I mean, what "god" are we worshipping? Money?
Ego? Power?

You see our massive shiny new buildings all over the place. Heck,
maybe we even kicked you out of your house so we could expand our
parking lots. You can't figure out why we need four different
Christian churches on four corners of the same intersection. We've got
playgrounds and bowling alleys and basketball leagues. We've got
Starbucks coffee in the sanctuary. We've got orchestras and giant
chandeliers and fountains out front. We've got bookstores full of
"jesus junk" with every imaginable style and flavor of religious knick-
knack. But where's Jesus? Is this what HE wanted?

Oh, sure, there are good folks all over and not every church is such a
mess, but Christians are the ones that say we're supposed to be "One
Body." So even the good ones are guilty of not putting a stop to it
sooner. We were supposed to keep each other in line and not tolerate
factions and dissensions and greed and idolatry and all this other bad
stuff. Man, we really blew it! We've got 33,000 denominations and most
of them won't talk to the other ones. We lose over $5 million a day to
fraud from "trusted" people inside the church! We spend 95% of all our
money on our own comforts and programs and happy family fun time shows
and we let 250 MILLION Christians in other countries live on the very
edge of starvation. Not to mention the billion or so that have never
even once heard of Jesus - or the homeless guy downtown we almost ran
over when we cut you off.

We're as guilty as we can be. All of us. Nobody is exempt. We should
have put a stop to it a lot sooner. But I can't apologize on behalf of
anyone else. This is about me.

I know that you might have gone to church as a kid and stopped going
as soon as you could. I know that you might even have been abused by
somebody in the church! Maybe we got you all fired up and then just
let you drift off like we didn't really care. Maybe you just don't fit
our "profile." You might have piercings and purple hair or tattoos or
been in jail -- and somewhere inside you just know that even if you
wanted to go to church one Sunday, it would not go well. I'm sorry for
that. Jesus loves you. He always hung out with the most unexpected
people. He had the biggest heart for the folks everybody else tried to
ignore. What have we done? We've told you to put on a sweater and some
loafers or you can't go to heaven. I just want to throw up.

Look, I know you're mad. And you have a right to be. We've done you
wrong for a LONG time now. There's some things about Jesus that people
need to hear, but we've buried a beautiful masterpiece under hundreds
of layers of soft pink latex paint. If you have a Bible handy, look up
Matthew 23. (If you don't, you can look it up here - www.BibleGateway.com
.) Find it? Read it carefully, the Pharisees were the "religious"
people of the day, the leaders of the faith. In this chapter Jesus
SEVEN times says how pitiful and wretched and cursed they are for what
they're doing to the people they're supposed to be leading. He even
calls them "white washed tombs of dead mens bones" and a "brood of
vipers"! I don't have time here, but read it and see if we're not
doing EVERY single one of those things. Jesus can't possibly be happy
about what we've done to you.

Sure, we like to kid ourselves and pretend everything is OK - but it's
not. We're hated. Now, please understand, Jesus was hated, too. But
that was because he said hard things and sometimes people don't like
hearing the Truth. And he promised we would be hated if we were like
him. But that's not why we're hated at the moment. We're hated right
now because we're a giant pack of lying hypocrites that say one thing
and do something else altogether. If we were hated because we were
like Jesus, that would be one thing, but that's not it at all. You see
right through our happy music and fluffy services and you can tell
there's something desperately wrong here. We're no different than
anybody else - except that we say we're better than you.

It was never supposed to be like this. Jesus asked us to care for the
widows and orphans, to feed the hungry, care for the sick, visit those
in prison, reach the lost. He wanted us to love our enemies and pray
for them. He cared about human justice and suffering, the lost and
lonely. But I don't think He would have marched on a picket line - He
had His mind on much bigger problems. He wanted us to focus on the
eternal things, not the everyday. He never once said to go into all
the world and build big buildings and divide up into factions and buy
Bentleys. Just the opposite! I get that you're mad at us and I think
you have a right to be, but please understand, you're mad at what
we've made under our own power, you're mad at "Churchianity." That's
different than Christ and what he wanted. Don't be mad at Jesus! This
mess wasn't His idea!

Look, I'm really sorry. I accept responsibility for my part in having
hurt you. But I'm committing to you all, dear Members of the World,
that I'm not going to do it any more. Not a single penny more. I'm not
going to put my faith in "Churchianity" or any leader or program or TV
show -- but in Christ Jesus and His salvation. That's when I was set
free and began to see that God wants and expects more of us than this.
And I'm not helping anybody that's not fully committed to the same
thing.

It took centuries to build this monster, so it's not like it's going
to just turn around overnight. But the times are changing and we're
way overdue for something new. Big bad things are happening - like the
tsunami in Asia - and I think more are coming. I don't want any more
time to go by without having said this. I'm sorry for all the time and
money I've wasted. But Jesus saves. Really. The church itself isn't
even the point. Jesus is the real deal. He lived and He died for my
sins and He rose again. He is who He said He was and He cares about me
- and you. He's our only hope. We need places you can go that will
only teach Jesus and will not be swayed or tempted or distracted by
anything else. God willing, that's coming.

Please don't think all Christians are just posers. Some of them really
mean it when they say they belong to Christ. The problem is mostly in
the West where we're all comfy and complacent and seem to like it that
way. The Christians in China and other places are deadly serious.
There's no room for anything but Jesus when you're on the run from the
government. They are dying every day for their faith and doing crazy
hard things because they're absolutely committed to Christ. These are
martyrs. People willing to crucify little pieces of themselves every
day to be more like Christ. People willing to set aside everything
they want to do what Christ wants. People willing to rot in prison or
take a beating or die if that's what it's going to take. People that
act in pure love and never back down. I'm not worthy to tie their
shoes. And there are some like that here, too, and I hope we can get a
lot more people to start living that way. It's way overdue.

If you're talking to someone and they tell you they're a Christian,
ask them if they're the kind of Christian that really means it all the
time or the kind that just means it on Sunday. The Bible says we'll
know them by their "fruits" - by the faith and purity and love in
their deeds and words. When you find one that proves Christ is in them
by how much they love you, ask them to tell you all about Jesus. If
you know one of those fearless martyrs that speaks nothing but pure,
clean, hard Truth - ask lots of questions. Truth is a lot more rare
than you would think. But don't settle for soft, fluffy and
comfortable anymore - that's not in the Bible.

As for me and my house, we're really sorry. From now on, we're going
to serve the Lord, not "Churchianity." We're going to try to call
together as many of those martyrs as we can and start doing what
Christ wanted. If I run into you someday, please give me a chance to
shake your hand and apologize in person. I'm going to try harder from
now on, I promise. I think there are lots of others feeling the same
way, so don't be surprised if you start hearing stuff like this more
often.

I got this from Brant. He's pretty much a genius...

If Jesus Had a Blog...

Most people that I know read my blog read Brant's blog too, so this will probably just be a re-read for most of you. But, with any luck, maybe someone who doesn't read Brant's blog reads my blog, and will see this post.

We FINALLY got an internet cafe in Galilee. The ESSENES have DSL, and we're just getting dial-up. That should tell you something!

Anyway, I was hanging out with some religious leaders. They got on my case for not keeping their Favorite Rules (apparently, you HAVE to wash up before dinner, in accordance with scripture.) I told them religious leaders love to have rules to make everyone else feel inadequate. They "tithe", and stuff, but my Father doesn't care, because He's all about people having hearts for mercy, and justice, not the tithing rule.

Didn't fly very well. :0

Posted 12:36 p.m. in Category "Stuff I Was Talking About in Aramaic Today but Now I'm Typing in English"

12 Comments

----------------------------------------------

COMMENTS

Jesus, love ya, but I think you're throwing the baby out with the bathwater again, here. There's nothing wrong with tithing, there's a lot of scriptural precedent for it.

I "get" where you're coming from, a lot of the time, but this is a little too simplistic. I encourage you to continue to learn and study.

-- karifish777

I normally don't comment, but I had to come out of lurking here.

"karifish" is right, Jesus. It's easy to criticize and critique, but how exactly do we measure "mercy" and "justice"?

Maybe pray about this and talk to your pastor about it. Oh -- I forgot -- you don't HAVE a pastor! (I still remember that "brood of vipers" entry...)

-- chapterboy21

J -- I usually love your blog, and I appreciate the need for "love", here, but you're basically saying (am I clear on this) that it doesn't matter if I give money or not?

You go off on these guys, but they're following their convictions. I appreciate your emphasis on having a heart for mercy, but that's not the only issue. We need people to DO things that show their hearts, and tithing is part of that. I'm glad I tithe.

My dad is a pastor, and I showed him your blog. He said (no offense) you've probably got a thing with authority. Anyway, I don't think you do, but you tend to over-simplify things.

-- buckeyesgo02

Dude, what are you smoking?

Honestly I love some of the funny stuff you post here (that cartoon of Herod was over-the-top, though) but this is just wrong, I'm sorry. You are too reactionary against religious authority. God put those authorities in your life. Look it up in the Bible, the Word of God. (I know, I know, I caught your post about how YOU are the word. Didn't care for that, either.)

-- quiettimephil

OMG. I *love* this.

THANK YOU for posting this. I have felt like a loser for so long, like I can't keep up with all the rules and everything my church is asking me to do and I feel like a failure as a single mom. And you're saying you just want to see me love people!

I'm crying. Thank you.

-- karen83

J-Train -- Love the blog. Keep it comin' brother!

You do seem to lump all religious leaders together. I appreciate your point, but the fact is, there are LOTS of great religious leaders out there. You've got a little 'tude going on there, and you speak in big, blanket statements.

Yes, our religious system is messed. But we don't need to trash it. We need to reform it. Blasting our leaders doesn't help. We NEED great religious leaders. I just wish you'd acknowledge that.

Anyway, just a thought from a brother.

-- agape4U

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-- yourmedsnow2323434

I linked to your blog from your woodworking site. I had ordered a new wood pulpit, but now I'm going to cancel, now that I can see where your head is with regard to religious leaders and our system.

To be honest, I'm surprised you have a public platform in Christian ministry, and that you're still allowed to do it. I wonder if your audiences knew what you really thought...would you still have a job?

-- preachtheword9021

Yeah, let's all stop tithing. Let's stop obeying all the rules. There won't be any pastors, and we won't be able to pay the bills for our churches. Nice.

While I'm at it, I'll quit as worship pastor and give all my money to the poor. Why don't you quit ripping on everything and tell us how church government is SUPPOSED to work? You never detail that, you just rip, rip, rip.

-- jesusfreak777

Dude -- This story is CLASSIC.

This is why I try to link everyone to your blog. In fact, my church-planting site is all about trying to get people to believe what you're saying. You RULE, man.

I'm so totally with you on the establishment, too. The weird thing: Almost as soon as I get a new group of Jesus-blog-followers going, and then I try to recognize the mature SERVANTS among them, they all start ranking themselves, and jostling for position and attention. Unbe-freaking-lievable.

I write letters to them, telling them to quit putting rules on people, and then they make rules out of my letters. Hellooooo?

Anyway, I used to be one of those guys putting rules on people, trying to make things complex. Swet gig, that. THANKS -- seriously -- for putting me out of THAT job.

-- saul_call_me_paul23

Love the blog. I think you way over-simplify, and I don't think you're right on all this stuff. But if you are, I just wasted three years in seminary.

-- lutherules99192

i don't understand the tithe thing but i like yourblog and i read the thing about how kids rule and i liked that a lot

i like the little yellow flowers U made UR AWSOME

-- horsegirl1999

The great commision, and the battle that's already been won.

I was reading a book called A Scandalous Freedom by Steven Brown when I read an excerpt from him that said, (and I'm paraphrasing) the battle has already been won by Jesus. What the author left out is our role after that. If the battle is already won, why are we still here? Then, as I was reading on, God reminded me of something not even in Steve Brown's text, but in His text, the Bible. He reminded me of the Great Commission. When Jesus commanded the apostles to make disciples of all men, I believe he was telling them to love. How else do you make disciples? There is no other way. So then I thought, if the battle is already won, then why are we making disciples? Has Jesus not won them over already? Well, the obvious answer is that not everyone has been won over by Jesus. So is the battle really won?
Yes.
The reason we're still here is we, as Christians, have been assigned a task out on the battlefield. Now that the enemy is defeated, it is our job to tend to the wounded. Those who were damaged by the original sin, and still need help getting to a doctor. There's only one doctor that can tend to their wounds, and that's Jesus. So our assignment is a recon mission. Out to find the wounded and bring them to Jesus. We aren't fighting anymore, we're healing. We're leading our wounded brothers back to the medic. All men are our brothers. We must tend to their wounds, and be sensitive to them. Those of you who understand this metaphor, thanks for reading.

I just thought I'd like to ask...

What does the word "free" mean to most people. Do you think that the "free" our forefathers died for is the same "free" that Jesus says we are? How many definitions of "free" are there? I'm pretty sure that there's only one in the dictionary, but I've had a few Christians tell me that I wasn't really that free. So, I don't get it. Is it possible to be half free? Does that make any sense? Here, this is what it looks like to me...

married woman: "Mom, good news, I'm pregnant!"

mother: "really? you're having a baby?"

married woman: "well, no, mom... Geeze, I'm not that pregnant."

Well, I've had conversations like that about freedom. "Oh, we're not that free." Well, I'd like to know how that's even possible. It seems nonsensical, illogical, and pretty unbiblical.
It's wrong. I believe that I am completely free in Christ, and if you think I'm going somewhere I shouldn't with this, well, too bad, I'm going there. You know, I am totally free to mess up even if I am saved. God will love me no less. I am completely free to sin, sin, sin, and God will love me no less. Do I want to? No, not particularly, but if God is truly as strong as we say He is, then He can hold on to us even if we sin. And Jesus' blood really makes that possible when He says we are free, He really means it. We can still choose, but seeing as if we're saved, we know that we are new creatures, and most likely, we have experienced God's UNCONDITIONAL love for us, which means, with God having given His new creatures the ability to understand and reflect that love, then we should want to reflect it because we enjoy it so much that we want other people to see it, and you know what's capital in God's love for us? He made us free. Completely and totally free of any bondage of anything of any control by anything or anyone. Free free free free free free free!!!! F-R- double E FREEEEE!!!!!
So, you know what that means? We're free to be His, and free to make mistakes and still be loved. We're free to love, free to dance, sing, laugh, and even sin. We're free in all things. And, even though we're free to sin, we are no longer bound to sin, but rather we are bound to a victory in Christ. This is the freedom He has given us. That's all freedom has ever meant. Our rights to choose as human beings do is what we have fought for, and what Jesus has already won.

God IS Love.

I've been considering, and I have yet to bring scripture to my eyes that supports my ideas, but here they are, scripture-less.

I believe that when we're told that God is love that we're supposed to take it literally. That's what God is. When we feel love for our fellow man in the name of Jesus, we feel God Himself in that time. It's not that he just zaps us with love, but rather His Spirit, which is love, stirs ecstatically in our own spirit when we love one another. It is His overwhelming presence, of that love that is Jesus, that moves us to love in the first place. When we do what that call to love asks us, it's the ultimate gift that we could give to our Savior. God is love. Period. It's not just a metaphor. It's a complete truth. I believe that there is much more to God than love, but love is all we've seen of Him on earth. It's all He chooses to show us. It's all the glory that we can handle from Him in our state right now is love. It is Him, though. The presence of God is the presence of love, and vice versa. So "love"... Love. Capitol L. God, Love. All we've seen on earth is a result of His Love. It's a result of Him... duh! There is no form of good here on earth that is not a result of Love. Name one good thing that isn't a result of Love. If it's all resulted of love and it's all a result of God, it means that it is one in the same. It's making more and more sense as I live Love. I live God. I live as Jesus said. I try at least. It's love through Jesus that saves us. Love in Jesus' name, Love because of Jesus, Love is Jesus. I'm learning that that's what it means to be a man after God's own heart. We live as Him, as He is Love.
Peace Out! Love ya!

home schooling! :)

Yeah, so I'm doing that. My mom is teaching me and my friend Josh. I've looked at all the pro's and con's and it's definitely worth it!
The cool part is, I have 7 school days left until I just don't show up at school. After, we don't start classes until after December! It's gonna be great!
My opinion (if anyone cares), public education has so many cons that if someone has the opportunity to home school you, take advantage of that, and learn at home. You can research things for yourself, you can learn at your own pace, mull over things again and again until you finally understand a concept, you can really learn. I can't seem to do that in public schools. If people can learn in public school, if their mind works that way, awesome. Stay in public school. However, if your mind doesn't work in that way, and you have the opportunity for home schooling, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it!
It's good for you... :)
I'll get more sleep too.

Mr. Publix vs. the "Shark"

Mr. Publix was tired. He had just woken up, and was working at 7:00 on a Saturday morning. He tried his best to keep a good attitude, and at the moment, it was working. That changed soon. A short, old, round man stepped into the room, with a plastic, but maniacal smile. He went into the break room to punch in. He came back out of the break room with a Miami Dolphin's shirt on, and still wearing that smile.
He went to a superior, and she gave him an assignment. He began to take plastic bags from boxes, and store them in plastic bins underneath the bagger platform at the end of the check-out aisle. He looked over at Mr. Publix, and read his name tag aloud.
"Mr. Publix, would you take these and put them in the bins?"
Mr. Publix looked over at the man, and politely did the job the best he could, not denying the man a favor. Suddenly the man sounded angry.
"No, no." He walked over to Mr. Publix, and told him how to do it.
Mr. Publix did his best, and this time with some more knowledge on the task at hand. However, no matter how Mr. Publix did the job, he couldn't do it right for this man. Mr. Publix stopped doing the job, and waited for the man to walk somewhere else. He looked over at an agent only one rank above him. A rank labeled "cashier." Her name was Veronica.
Mr. Publix leaned over the counter, and asked. "What is that guy's name, and what is his rank?"
Veronica looked at Mr. Publix, and said "We call him the 'Shark.' He's just a bagger like you. He picks on the new people, trying to get them to do jobs his superior asks him to do. Don't take orders from him. He's as much of a rat as he is a shark as well. If he sees you do something wrong, he'll run right to Andy, and tell him. Don't do what he tells you. He is not your superior. The only reason we keep him is because he can wear that smile all day to make our customers feel welcome."
Drat! Just when Mr. Publix thought all employees were good. That fantasy just had to be ruined, didn't it? Now Mr. Publix was perplexed. He had had trouble with this "Shark" guy before. This was not the first time. How to handle it though? At first, Mr. Publix thought he should heroically punch the old man in the jaw. After all, the "Shark" could end up a worse nemesis than that runaway shopping cart. He suddenly realized that an action so cruel as that would not be so heroic. He also realized that the "Shark" was not his enemy. The pain and laziness the "Shark" harbored was his worst enemy. That's right, even worse than cart. He knew from his readings of the Bible that the only thing that can cure him of that is God's grace. The only way for humans to make a man open to seeing God's grace is to be "...wise as a serpent, and gentle as a dove..." Act just as Jesus would. That would require a lot of heroic effort. With God's help, Mr. Publix can do it. He can cure the "Shark."

Yes! That is NOT what I wanted.

I think I'm happy that I can't always get what I want. It just makes sense. If I'd gotten everything I've wanted to date, I don't think I would be so happy. Think about it. Imagine if you always got what you wanted. Eventually, blessings become worthless to you, and all that you had wanted becomes something you already have, so what's there to want anymore? Well, nothing you don't already have. So, basically, not getting everything I've wanted is something I consider a blessing. It's one of those things that I want, and actually get. Yeah, that's it.

So Friday at lunch...

I went to what is called "Warriors for Christ" and/or "First Priority." This is where Christians, or those that claim faith in Jesus, choose to spend their lunch hour learning and talking about Jesus. I got to talking to a friend of a friend of mine that claims to have been saved this summer. I thought that was pretty cool, so we were talking. He finally made it to the question. For those that meet with me and my family on Sundays, you know what the question is... that's right, "What church do you go to?"
Knowing that my answers might confuse him, I went on anyway. I explained how I don't go to church, but live as the church wherever I go, because I am the church. A good amount of study is what it takes to learn what living "as the church" means. He seemed to understand, or at least acted like he did. I went on to explain that I do meet together with other people living as the church. These people, my family, (extended or not) I like to refer to as the body. The church body. The body of Christ. Yep. I told him about the friendship we've all acquired through Christ, and how we will hold eachother accountable, and helped eachother through struggles.
Then, he said... "So it's like accountability and churh at the same time?"
I felt like hitting my head with my flat palm stupidly. I didn't. I told him "Isn't that what you should expect from every church?"
He made it clear, though, that he thought we were missing some religious ritual that we're supposed to do. I'll spare you the rest of my conversation for the point of my story.

People put so much emphasis on doing certain things religiously in order to gain favor in God's eyes. Well, no matter what we do, we won't be favorable in God's eyes. It's Jesus (if he is in your heart) that makes us so worthy of heavan's gates. So, all we can do is live, and love. And love is the important part, the only way to actually live. Love is about you and God, the friends you've made in Christ and because of Christ, and all that you treat them with in God's name. That's all we can do, and it means nothing else... and nothing else could mean more.

The Best Flavor of Irony: Reverse

I like the ultimate irony in the Greek myth of King Midas and the Golden touch. A man so greedy that he wanted everything he touched to be made to gold. He later turned his own precious daughter into gold, which later became worthless. Sad huh? But then, more ironic than all that was worth to him was made worthless because of his own actions to obtain something that was worth so much, was that when he cried out to the gods for a second chance at his old life... they forgave King Midas, and gave him back everything the way it was before.

So, you're asking "Oh, how is that irony?" Well, it's reverse irony, if you super-language-term guys can come up with something better than reverse-irony to describe what I'm saying here, please let me know.

Anyway, imagine that you're somebody who has given up everything that was worth anything to you just to obtain something that you thought was everything to you, but in the end, was worth less than what you had before. Irony, right?
Now, let's say that you're somebody who has forsaken God, and stepped on others to climb that ladder of success all by yourself, only to find that that ladder leads to no place you want to be. You're crushed. Now, when God takes you up, and forgives you for betraying Him, he has made all that you thought was worth something back then, worth nothing in His light. Now, when all that work is worth nothing, and the hero you had pictured yourself to be was actually the villain, and the victim to yourself... is that not irony? But a good kind, because you're now a new person, and God's the hero, and His yoke is light. All you thought you had done wrong for something you thought was worth everything is now worth nothing. Can you follow that? I hope so. I do my best. Anyway, if you made it to the end of this post without being totally lost, congratulations! Maybe I'll use some of my parent's money to treat you to lunch someday.

Phrases for life.

I'm sure that the ears accompanying the eyes of my dear readers have probably heard the phrase "wow, that smarts" and never known why the user of that phrase decided to utilize the word "smart" instead of "hurt." Well, after some deliberate thinking, and some personal experiences, I found out why.
Imagine some cheery farmer slicing his own skin while sharpenning a blade. He then withdraws his hand in pain, and considers the mistake(s) he has made. He then learns the best way to do it next time, and says "that smarts." You see, this man, instead of cursing and screaming in pain, takes a step back, and decides to use his pain as an opportunity to learn. This, readers, is what will work every time you experience pain. In order to get the fullest experience, you need to learn from it. I think that's how God intended for us to use pain. That's how I'm learning to handle pain.
So, there's a history in a well-known phrase, and something I hope you've learned from this remarkably small post. Pain is good... it just doesn't feel that way at first.