Faith, the brightest torch I know

There MUST be more than this right? You look around in life and you had dreams...but now your stuck in a dead end job, just because you needed a little bit of money once. What happened to those dreams? Where has the passion gone? It's not that you need a boost, because every time you arrive at the bottom, you somehow manage to pull yourself back up. BUT WHY DOES IT NEVER GO ANY FURTHER?

You just try to survive, to find a way to ignore the bad times. The times when all of life closed in on you and your friends turned their backs. Each time you survived. What was the cost? Does your heart ache less now each night? Do you ignore the desperate plea of another human in a situation you where once in? Where is the joy you once lived for each day? How could it all end like this?

When we were young, and all of life's issues were kept from our eyes we had happy lives. But as age gains on us, we see the truth. That family, friends put their own worries aside to let us have great childhoods. No one ever said life would be easy. Then again; did we ever have a choice? There will never be answers to every question. There will never be a human life of pure joy and no sorrow. We can kid ourselves and look past the pain, filling our lives with useless things to keep us from thinking...what if?

You are individual. You are strong. You have survived. When did you give up on yourself? How did doubt get past your guard? You CAN make it you know. That dream, sitting in sight, but out of reach. It can be yours. It will take more though. More than you want to risk, but as much as you have. Give it your life; give it all you have and see where you end up.

"But where do I get that confidence from?" Look past life. And ask.
He will provide, if you want it enough. Ask God each day for what it takes, what it needs. Then step out. Point your whole self in that direction and walk. Walk without fear, walk with God in your sight toward you dream. Then see where life can take you. And know why there IS so much more than this.

For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Life in General and My Agenda

It has always seemed strange to me that people could be so trust less. That any action taken could be perceived in so many threatening ways. Perhaps it once again comes from my past [as does everything that has shaped me] being surrounded by people who (i thought) had secret agendas [but probably didn't, they were just thinking about number 1], I decided to create my own agenda. Must admit as I write this it still sounds a little strange, but for me it is less selfish and more for peoples benefits than most agendas. But i am still fractured.

Here is a question and more altogether the topic of my blog for today. Is it odd that i take the future for granted? Or in fact does everyone?

I'm sure there are people who don't. People who are living in fear of loosing their jobs, or having to move away or any number of life altering events, but I do take the future for granted. And at times it scares me. Some people are given the impression that i don't care about my life or what happens. That was once true but now is not. I was just never fully aware of my responsibilities, and now i hope i am more sensitive to the people and understanding what is needed.

I hope in the far future some people come back and read this and understand where I have come from. But what is the future but hopes and dreams dreamt while we are still sleeping? It is more than that. It is our lives. It is what will happen regardless of time, of money, of feelings. Life goes on and we cannot dream when there is a future to build. So where do we go? What do we do?

I like the film 'A Christmas Carol' But the message never really struck me until last year. Humanity is our business. And we must try as hard as we can to show the people out on the streets, to show the people who don't understand, to show anyone who needs love; that there is Love, and someone cares for them. I once said we can only truly develop by embracing our past. Now I realise that although that is good, we must also embrace our neighbours and our families to grow into this world.

Many people would say the future is what we make it, or what we make for ourselves...I'm not yet convinced on this, but if it is then let's try our best to make it a good future; for the world.

Broken world

Every generation is different from the last. Personally i wouldn't have it any other way, people need to express themselves and learn their own ways. But, I do believe some teenagers who are coming to understand the bigger picture may believe they have inherited a broken world.

Now this can sometimes be because the parents don't care. Other times its because the parents want to wait until a certain point before they tell you or show you some things. But teenagers are curious, they - or we rather - are going out into the big wide world and unearthing, so to speak the remnants of the world you [adults] left behind. Almost as if you didn't want us to find out.

Of course this may sound like I'm blaming or even using you as a scapegoat. But the number of times I've heard "You've never seen it!" "I'm sure we showed you that one" or anything else that translates as absolute shock from the parents, it seems to me like something else is going on.

To many parents their child is all that matters.To others they couldn't be less bothered. Harsh but true, cynical; but I'm talking straight. Too many parents have let emotions rule their lives. Forever stuck looking at the problems, rather than looking at The Answer. For those who can or want to understand, the Truth is in a couple of my blogs, somewhere. Just look and open your eyes.

Observe or Live? And Where God Comes In

A follow-up question then - Do you think it better to observe life, or to live it? In essence, is it better to be an observer on the periphery, or a participant with a purely subjective viewpoint of life? And which of these criteria does God fill (or does He come into a third category? (which I'd hope He does))?
I am sure the only way I can answer that, is to be completely sure of my answer, and here i want you to be completely sure of my response.

If I was brought before the Lord and given that question I would always choose to live life. I would never want to as you put it "be an observer on the periphery". Anyone who does I must say you are sadly deluded. yes it may seem interesting at first, but it gets lonely real quickly being on your own, watching others in friendship and love. And if I don't have friendships then I don't have love, because it requires two participants for love to exist.

I must clear up an issue here though "a purely subjective viewpoint" sounds to me as if you are only looking at one part of life. But the very meaning of living cannot be grouped into one class, one area, as it is all-encompassing. Imagine a diamond. In it's rough form it has a certain attractive quality, but once the jeweller has worked his skill on it, it is beautiful. Each facet, each side are all part of the diamond, but when they are alone they do not emphasise the diamond as much as when they are united. In the same way life cannot have one subjective viewpoint. It can however be the development of one soul in three areas: life, love and eternity.
Only when these three develop together can we begin to really understand and enjoy life.

Some people say "there is a wasted mind", when they see someone going against the law or not achieving their potential. True, but to me a wasted mind is also someone who spends their entire life seeking knowledge, or fitness or spiritual enlightenment, but never seeks friendship or love. That is a wasted life, sure intelligence is great, but physical experiences and memories of great times are surely just as good.
Forgive me if I seemed to drift off topic, but here is the clinch and the answer to your question.

God created man, just as men can create statues. Jesus was begotten by God not created, just as children are begotten of men. Follow this through and we can see that while a statue is a very good representation of a man, it can never be a man. Thus as humanity is created in God's image (like the statue) it can never be God because it was made without something and with an expiry date (i may elaborate on this point later, but it is off topic here). God isn't. God exists in eternity, we don't; so God is able to look beyond time and situations because that's where he is. he is also not restricted by emotions or paths of thought, since he knows all things and thus is able to create them.

If you imagine a line on a paper to represent your life, God is the paper. He is all around but he is also what your life in written on, so not only does he observe from the periphery, but he is also deeply involved in the moments of life. This is because God is within all of us. He inhabits our bodies, like our souls do, but completely surrounding. So although God is able to view from the periphery, he is also intrinsically involved in our day to day lives, because a part of him is part of us. i can only help thinking that this sounds degrading to the infinity of God, but it is the best explanation i can convey.

And so the third category is created. Where God sees all of time, and where he understands every decision he makes and the effects, and the only reason he chooses to do them is because of his Love for us. He has seen every moment of your life and he ha heard every prayer. He has blessed us where he sees fit and has advised us where he knows best. Every deal he has entered he knows the outcome, and the only thing he seeks to gain is our love our praise, and that we can know him more.

The rest he leaves to us. That is why we have freewill, choice. So we can see God's Love and come to understand that what he gave is beyond our repayment. But he only wants our love in return, because he Loves us. This seems logical to me on the basis, if you spend time making something, you put effort into it, you put love into it, you come to cherish it. It becomes special. Like that table you made, or that picture you painted. It will always be special to you no matter what people think, because to you it is more than a table or a picture, it represents a success in your life, or it captures a feeling that you feel every time you look at it. We are the same to God. And that is why he is able to give everything for us to live in eternity with him. Because he loves us, and is delighted every time we choose to stand up and fight "the good fight". Because he believes in us, just as we believe in him.

I hope this answers your question at least in part. And i hope you can see where i am coming from in each part. I would delight in further questions, whenever you feel you need ask.

A Question

"Would you ever want to just observe life?"

Great question, thank you anonymous e-mailer! A long, long time ago I would have said yes. But perhaps not anymore. And perhaps not in the sense you mean. I would love to be an invisible observer of life. Let me set this straight, i would not be invisible as in not being able to be seen. But as to spend many decades walking the Earth observing people. I would grow old very slowly and my life would be the study, observation and thus learning of humans. Of course this would involve me not having many friendships or relations, i would in fact become a 'lone-wolf' type of person and now i could not do that. I enjoy may friendships and life without would loose, at least in part, some meaning.
To step outside of time like the Big Man(God) can and indeed does is amazing. So perhaps for one day i would love to see life unfolding across the globe, and that people are in fact more compassionate than we realise.