Look At Us...

When I laid my tired aching bones down for slumber last night, a reoccurring thought continued to fill my mind. One that I'm sure everyone has shared at least 100 times in their life.


Who am I, anyway? (BESIDES Blue's boy!)


Pretty deep, eh?


I mean, we ALL have a special purpose, right? (Insert your favorite Steve Martin "Jerk" line now)


Some people teach. Some people become nurses or lawyers (not ALL are dishonest, I promise!). Thank the garbage man next time you see him. What a stinky front yard you would have without his help! In any case, the stark reality hits us all that we should grasp what our “role” in this world is, and try really hard to make the most of it! Trust me; I live this certainty almost daily while I'm slinging Mountain Dew two-liters up on the shelf for you to take right off behind me! EEEGAHD! HMPH!


“Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of ‘the brightest and the best’ among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these ‘nobodies’ to expose the hollow pretensions of the ‘somebodies’? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything we have--right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start--comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That is why we have the saying, ‘If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.’” -Paul



We all have diverse starts in life as Gods kids. And one thing is perfectly clear in all of this – no matter what environment you come from, or what part of the planet you were born into, or what religious affiliation you belong to - we all make the fabric of a worldwide quilt. And what’s more, ponder this...


We ALL can end up with the same eventual conclusion. It's our choice. Free will is awesome!


Now, for even more coolness! With all of our differences of belief, with all of our unlike ways to celebrate God - we ALL live by a common "thread".

Do Unto Others...


So why do we grow apart as a community?


I’ve always been perplexed by the term “Holy Wars”. Maybe I’m showing my simplistic nature, but to me, this statement is such an oxymoron. I mean, by being “holy” do you not want to live as God lives? Saintly, perhaps. Or having a spiritually pure quality about yourself? Then “live and let live”, I always say!


And take this a step further. Why do so many churches feel the need to “recruit” new parishioners? Is this the Army? A Division One basketball program? A job placement service?


Try this one on for size. Do you know folks that regularly “shop” for the right church to belong to? Are they looking for a three bedroom, one and a half bath community?


Sorry, I’m rambling. But I’ll try to come full circle to an opinion of mine that no one has yet to convince me otherwise. Too many churches today have become clubs. Social get togethers for an hour or so, once a week. “I better be on time, because so and so might see that I’m here this week”. Peace be with you.


Over my lifetime, I’ve experienced a number of different religious organizations. From Baptist to Catholic (talk about different ways to celebrate!). And you know, through all of my experiences – through all of the different communities I’ve been a part of, I’ve become more and more aware of essentially the same message. I have faith in the Lord. My Lord, your Lord. One in the same. And I’ve never wavered from my conviction. I believe in OUR God. And I thank Him everyday. I bet if you brought together seven or eight different people from seven or eight different churches, and told them NOT to tell you their religious affiliation…a great many of us would be hard pressed to figure out exactly what church they “belong” to. Where they worship. Whether they meet on Saturday OR Sunday. Or both. Try this sometime. I have. And the results are mind-blowing, I promise!


OK- I’ll digress for today. Blue will be calling soon. Besides, it's time for a cookie and some one-on-one with God anyway. The bottom line in all this hot air that I'm blowing is this...we ALL should be showing, sharing, and experiencing God's love. REAL LOVE. The last time I checked, love is still love. Look it up sometime. The Book hasn't changed. And the message is still as clear as it ever was.


“This time, we know we all can stand together”

"We gotta make ends meet before we get much older"