Ok, that's gross. It takes on a different kind of visual image after reading the Twilight series about vampires and their insatiable thirst for human blood.
Remember, the people to whom he was speaking didn't have centuries of understanding to realize that Jesus was being metaphoric here. He just straight up said...you gotta eat my flesh and drink my blood. Make a meal out of me the Message Translation says. This freaked them out a bit. In fact, the disciples responded with "This is tough teaching...too tough to swallow (I'm sure no pun intended)"
Well....there was never a promise that following Jesus would be easy. In fact...just the opposite was promised...got that? PROMISED!!
See...I've had difficulties in life but never any real HARD times.
Until lately that is. My sister-in-law, in her recent Fight Club blog wonders "Would God destroy our homes to show us what really matters? One of my friends says God is not that manipulative, but I wonder if manipulative and sovereign could be synonymous when it comes to God."
I kind of think God knows the desire of our hearts and he grants them when they line up with his will. So, even though what was visible to others about my life looked more like a typical person that wanted to gain a foot up in life and have more stuff, the reality was that my heart craved a sold out life for God. I think he saw that and began to allow the stuff... the props in my life to begin to crumble. He began destroying my "home" to show me what really mattered. When we decided to really give God control of our life and see what would happen....It got HARD. Frankly...when we decided to allow God to teach us his principles and begin living within our means, our pretty little life we had created began to turn to ashes. We have lost a car and a motorcycle to reposession. We are driving a 12 year old vehicle that was given to us and our home will either be lost to short sale or foreclosure, whichever comes first. And we will be spending up to 4 years repaying a massive amount of accrued debt while we fight the overwhelming urge to give in to the easy option of falling back into debt. We decided to stop sacrificing our future...and our current effectiveness for Christ to gain present stuff.
We are actually excited about what God is going to do with us and through us as we allow ourselves to line up with "to live is Christ and to die is gain". We are dying with the excitement of the resurrection that will follow.
We foresee current effectiveness for Christ as we live below our means...and a future of being conduits of large blessing to others as we mantain the focus of earning to give.
We sing a song at church that has a great line in the chorus..."May the vision of you be the death of me" The more we see Christ...the more we die.
I had someone recently say that they were impressed with how we are handling our present circumstances. Well, to be honest...it's not that much different than the disciples response to Jesus' call for them to become bloodsucking vampires. He asked them "will you leave too?" Their response was not laced with awe inspiring devotion. They simply said "where else do we have to go?" Have you offered your life to God for inspection and the burning away of EVERYTHING that hinders you from a sold out life for God? Are you empty enough to respond to Leonard Sweets question - "Can the church stop its puny, hack dreams of trying to "make a difference in the world" and start dreaming God-sized dreams of making the world different? Can the church invent and prevent, redeem and redream this future?"
Has your life been stripped to the point of truly having no other option but to throw yourself headlong and wholeheartedly into HIS vision for your life? To say...what other option do I have but you and all of you?
It hurts....but in the words of John Mellencamp...."It hurts so good"
Do you have the faith to obey? Rom 1:5
8 comments:
Though we may loose everyThing, I have learned through all of this the importance of US. As long as we have each other the rest is as dust on the ground. I love you and would rather go through these times Together than to live a life of bliss without you.
Good stuff. Great reminder to me of things God has taught me this year too. Man, I've spent a lot of time this year meditating on and trying to understand John 6. And that last bit about--where else can we go?--it just reminds me that feeding on Christ is the only real option. Because all the other stuff didn't work out. It's a good place to be--out of control and in need of Christ's blood. Thank God he manipulates so we can feed on what is real. It sucks [heh heh]learning this the hard way (is there another way?), but I wouldn't go back! There is life in the blood. Nice vampire analogy. Well said.
copy and pasted from facebook....
this is incredible heath! it's one thing to be told these things, another thing completely to live it out! thank you for a sobering reminder!
Surrender is probably the hardest thing a person could ever get used to doing while transformation is probably the hardest thing a person could ever have happen to them, but both are miraculous in my book. If you really think about it, both involve all of who we are.
It's funny when our cores are fused to things like, drugs, sex, power, possessions, enjoyment, beauty, comfort, relational idolatry (admiration/worship of others), self-love (narcissism), even hatred or jealousy of others, they really do begin to make up our identity and to really let go of these things is like a death sentence to all we've ever known. I know first hand what it feels like to be put through the wringer (for my own good) by God.
But, I like what you said about "We are dying with the excitement of the resurrection that will follow." It reminds me of what Jesus says about the only way to find life in the Kingdom of God is to let go of our own lives (Mark 8:35).
Be encouraged, it definitely sounds like you're hearing the voice of God in your life.
Remember what Paul says in 2 Cor 12:9-10. You and your family are in my prayers.
It is amazing sometimes what God uses and what he removes. We have to realize that sometimes we do suffer reprocussions for our decisions that we make, and sometimes it is not our fault. But either way it doesn't change who God is and what he has called us to do. Every area of our life seen and unseen must fall under complete submission to our Lord and we must learn to give what he takes with a smile.
"The more you have, the more you are occupied, the less you give. But the less you have the more free you are. Poverty for us is a freedom. It is not mortification, a penance.
It is joyful freedom. There is no television here, no this, no that. But we are perfectly happy." --Mother Theresa
The faithfulness of you to reminds me of Jacob holding on through the trial and you will get your blessings. Love you guys!
-Seth
In the pagan culture of Biblical times, it was not unusual to hear of human sacrifice and even cannibalism believing that if you could eat the heart of your opponent, you could add his strength to your own. I believe perhaps the disciples and followers of Jesus may actually have understood his words to mean that they must become totally sold out to Him. I think it may be that many turned back after that day, not because they were repulsed by such a command to eat His flesh and drink His blood, but because they understood the deeper meaning of his invitation and were unwilling to pay the price.
It kinda would be easier to just chomp on some body parts and feel like you've done your duty than to have to go thru all the crap that comes with sacrifice.
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