I was the brightest student in all the classes
What a humility...
Humility and pride are both abstracts of which a CHILD this age is just beginning to have some sort of vague understanding of. Even adults with years and years of life under their belts have limited understanding. He's an infant - and here we are telling him he has to change the next infant's diapers.
James - take it from someone who was the 'brightest' with an incredibly high IQ. I have nothing. Absolutely nothing that wasn't given to me. My parent's passed down the genetics that enabled me to have brain cells that happen to work a little differently than most. And the creation of those braincells? No matter how it comes out they are still MADE. Until you can make a brain cell yourself and pop it into your head and use it exactly the way it COULD be used for the betterment of this world you have such angst about - you have nothing.
Your heart doesn't beat with your will.
Your breath isn't taken with your will.
Your skin doesn't sweat with your will.
So unless you DO something WITH what you've been GIVEN - then you haven't done anything. Unless you take what you have in all your glory and find the kind of love that would turn what you've been given into something loving and kind and patient and long suffering, and applauding LIFE - true LIVING LIFE - you have absolutely nothing.
The one you call Lucifer isn't called Lucifer any longer - his name was stripped from him . . .he's called "satan", now. . .and adjective. Not a name. He's called 'the accuser', he is the ultimate liar, the ultimate thief, the ultimate destroyer, murderer and corrupter.
And you would chose this THING that DESTROYS and MURDERS tears down over that which builds up, heals, loves, shed His blood . . .
?
Really?
You are for Him or you are against Him. There is no "still love Jesus" as He presents Himself on the cross - after His only thought was making
SURE YOU had the
OPPORTUNITY to live. But it's your choice. It's always your choice. You get to choose life or death. Healing or corruption. It's always your choice. It's the ONE thing you have COMPLETE control over. It's the one thing ALL of us have complete control over.
Instead you decided to become a spiritual anorexic.
But His death was not in vain. It will never be in vain. His grace to you is not in vain. It will
never be in vain. His Word (Christ Jesus) IN YOU will not come back to HIM (the Father) void.
Like I told my daughter when she screamed at me that she hated me - "I love you, I always will - there is NOTHING you can do to change that fact."
He says the same to you.
He is the safest person to get mad at. He loves you unconditionally. I was the safest person for my daughter to get mad at. I love her unconditionally. Her daddy left her. Rejecting her to her face when she was seven. She couldn't be mad at him. . .he wasn't there. But I was, and she was mad. I was safe, I wouldn't hurt her like her daddy hurt her.
Why? Is the world such a sucky place?
Because we fight a war, James. We are in a war and will be in a war until we leave this place. We aren't in heaven. We aren't in hell. We're on earth - and it is 'cursed because of you.' (Adam) . . .and me. . .and everyone else on the face of this planet. We fight ourselves, we fight the evil ones that HATE US. We fight the world. We're in a war - and it's always a question of which side you're on. Life or death.
Why doesn't He stop it? Because God so loved the universe, the world, the dust, the breath, the stars, the elephants, the bees, the rocks, the trees. . . because He so loves us. . . and He has compassion on us. . .so He offers us healing and gave HIS ONLY Son to die for us. . .so that we might CHOOSE to heal. And in our healing, the earth heals. What a beautiful thing He did. He not only gave us a way to heal, but enabled us to be a HUGE PART of this redemption the earth. . . to be able to share in HIS GLORY. But if we share in His Glory, we also SHARE in HIS suffering. He suffered. . .and the only way we can really KNOW Him is to SHARE with Him WHO He is.
You see, James, it's not about the here and now. . . the material . . .it's about eternity. It's about HIM. It's about HIS desire to see you ALIVE for The accuser never sat down and MADE a beautiful thing in his life. He WAS MADE. He HAD true light. . .but it wasn't HIS. . . it was NEVER his. It was God's and when he turned his back on God, God took it back.
He's a liar. And a coward.
I used to be so angry at God. I told Him that I couldn't be hot for Him, but I believed in Him. . .and knew it was me that was messed up. I came from a messed up family and perpetuated the messed up myself.
He loved me anyway. . .and opened doors for me and surrounded me with people to help me understand.
What do I understand now? There was no one NO ONE to pray for my abusive grandfather. There was NO ONE to pray for my other abusive grandfather, there was NO ONE to pray for my Grandmothers. . .my mother. . . my brother's and sisters. . . .so that we ALL might find His peace, His redemption. But He placed me in a place to 'suffer' . . .and grief I suffered. And grief HE suffered. WITH me. He was there every single moment. Suffering WITH me. And I learned. . . and He filled me with His love. . . and I healed DESPITE. I was born into this messed up family for a reason . . .a GOOD REASON. . .a loving reason. A reason that gave hope. . . and now. . .after years of prayer, I'm seeing my mother heal. I'm seeing my brothers and sisters heal. . .and my dad. . . heal. I'm seeing all the GOOD come together. . . that good work He started in me. . .the day I was conceived.
So. You are in my prayers. . and will remain.
And I pray that I will see with my own eyes your healing. Because you may not deserve it, but you ARE worth it.