the weak things of the world

I love reading GMH (givesmehope.com).  I admit that I'm very cynical when it comes to people- in my head I constantly question people's motives and often find it hard to see the "best" in people.  So when I stumbled upon GMH, I was pleasantly surprised.  The stories of selflessness, healing and love (not the romantic kind) showed me glimpses of God's character, manifest as light in our dark world.

One thing I found shocking, were the various stories of the homeless bringing hope to the homefull!  Here are a couple examples:

"Today, my car broke down in the middle of downtown Atlanta.  Three homeless guys helped me move the car out of the road, find a towing company to call and then proceeded to wait with me for an hour until my mom got there just to make sure I was safe.  Their generosity GMH."

"My family & I got separated in New York City when I was little. Scared, I sat crying on the sidewalk as tons of people passed by.  A homeless man picked me up, comforted me, & carried me to a police officer, who found my parents.  He had a long beard & I asked if he was Jesus.  He laughed so hard he cried.  He GMH."

There is something I just find beautiful in these posts.  The very thing that some people call 'useless' and 'ugly,' is the very same thing that can give hope and joy to others.  And God works in the same way- He took the ugliest thing of this world, the cross, and used it to give hope to a dark world.

I think if the Apostle Paul had known about GMH, he would have written it this way:

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For He chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; He chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. Jesus GMH."  [~1 Corinthians 1:18,27]

more than an echo

I read an article in CNN today about the evangelist Oral Roberts. He was what we call a 'faith healer,' though when given that label he rejected it saying "God heals- I don't." The article estimates that he 'laid hands' on over 2 million people over a period of 300 crusades on 6 continents. One picture from the article shows him preaching at chapel THIS year- this man preached until the ripe age of 91, until He went to be with the Lord.

"After I'm gone, others will have to judge how well I've obeyed God's command not to be an echo but to be a voice like Jesus; as far as my own conviction is concerned, I've tried to be that voice with every fiber of my being, regardless of the cost."

This quote from Oral Roberts really struck me- that we must be more than an echo. Throughout most of my church life, most of my beliefs and ideas were echoes of what I had been told. Even in my study of scripture, I listened to sermons, read books and trusted in commentaries- I often left little room for the Holy Spirit to guide me and create something new. I believe that God speaks to us directly, and that when we forget that and try to follow the commands of this world (whether it be work, school, the media or even church), we distort the image of God in us. Like the "clanging cymbal" in 1 Corinthians 13:1, when we are apart from the true love of God, we just echo the discordant ways of this world.

Reading this quote also helped me understand my life verse, 2 Corinthians 5:17, a little bit more. I love how the ESV translation says 'behold, the new has come'- there is something tremendously shocking and different and even unfamiliar when Christ is in us. Echoes are reflections of something already there, but Christ's work in us is brand new. A friend told me that the only proof of being saved is radical transformation. I tend to agree. We can no longer echo the world around us, instead we must become "a voice like Jesus."

Link to article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/15/oral.roberts/index.html

a new man

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

"But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

The past few months have been like a new life for me. I understand these verses a little more everyday, but also wonder how honest Paul was when he wrote these verses. Did he really boast in NOTHING else except the cross of Christ? Did he live completely in his faith? I know my faith is definitely not there- I hope through His word that one day it will be.

I feel parts of my adhesions to the world peeling away, but other parts are just as sticky as ever. We shared in small group about our priorities, and it just hit me how much I still yearn for people's acceptance. I feel like it has been a thorn in my side forever, a desire that I hope God will just pluck away.

Medical School, thankfully, has not been a thorn in my side. I am thankful that God has allowed my life to be more than just studying. Last year, especially the first few months, life was just studying with breaks for food, sleep and church. But this year life has felt like church with breaks for food, sleep and school. I'm truly thankful for that. I hope that I can continue growing, and see every part of my life change.

The most important things I've learned so far these last few months have been from studying His Word: God loves justice and hates injustice; God yearns for us to worship in Spirit and Truth; the Word as just knowledge is useless, it has to work and fester in our heart with the Holy Spirit; and finally, God has been teaching me that His healing is way more powerful than the healing I'm learning about in Medical School.