See it, believe it; ideally, both

1 Corinthians 13:12 "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face."

I see things much easier and understand them much deeper when I have a picture right in front of me. People always tell the single person that "there are plenty of fish in the sea." The phrase becomes downright annoying and trite. However, when that single person gets out into the world and actually sees all the people around, it rings true and the cliche aspect falls away.

For me, it is rather hard for me to know that I'm surrounded by Christians when Seattle doesn't exactly encourage following the mainstream religious beliefs. Great for people who don't want to be locked into "a certain way" of worshiping, but rather poopy for someone who just wants to talk about God with someone. My delight was rather high up on the scale when I sat in a school auditorium on Easter Sunday, realizing that I was in a room full of people who shared the beliefs that I did, and most of them were around my age. Quite encouraging.

My Mom has no interest in watching Saving Pvt. Ryan or The Passion of the Christ. She can imagine the horrors and details well enough in her brain without exposing herself to that level of gore or pain. Myself, I don't think I need to see every heinous crime re-enacted for me on screen to know that the world is in trouble. However, I would offer that the visual now and then can come in handy. I own Passion and have seen it three times since it was released in theaters. That's just about right for me. I can get an idea of the kind of suffering that Christ suffered and appreciate the fact that it clearly wasn't easy for him. He didn't want to go through that sort of pain. Hits it home a bit better for me.

One of my favorite persons in the world isn't really looking for a church. She is considering the idea of going to a Quaker meeting, but she and her fiancee are rather content to see God in nature. To take examples from what is all around them and apply it to their lives. I can relate.

After a reasonable sermon at church, I trotted off to my quasi-regular jogging location, and started circling around. As I passed a rather large grass patch, I noticed that some folks had taken quite the span of time to erect thousands and thousands of plastic white crosses. After my run I went up to their little tent and found out that it was the Northwest Memorial to the Iraq War. They were quite nice people. They weren't saying war is good or bad. Their group is made up of all kinds of folks. They just wanted to remind people that war costs lives. That people from all over the world, (Australia, Germany, Iraq, Africans) were dying. They wanted people to process the million+ people who had died in a war. By the crowds they had and the attitude I saw of people walking though, looking at all the names, I'd say it worked.

No, don't visualize everything. There isn't time and I am pretty sure it would start to lose its effectiveness. You think you are over-inundated now... oy. Still, visuals help. I think that's why Jesus was such a fan of the parable. You can hear something and think about it in church, but seeing it in front of you can make all the difference.

Easter-ized

Howdy,

Y'know what the difference is between a guy who has lived all of his conscious life in a church of 40-60 people versus a guy who is visiting an Easter service so large that they have to borrow a school's auditorium? Or have you guessed already...

Folding chairs, we were reduced to folding chairs! I started off pretending that I was going to be okay in timidville, sitting about four rows from the back. But then I saw the green-cushioned chairs, which looked much more comfortable than the all-metal chairs I was currently sitting on. No one was going to notice, people were still dabbling with adjustments, so I went ahead and sat in the third-from the front row. My tushie thanked me. Two hours later, I was quite fidgety. I can't imagine what it would have been like in those metal chairs. I shudder to think.

I'll give the pastor credit. He tried. He tried darn hard to get me to stay after and enjoy the Easter meal. I see-sawed on the issue. The better part of me likes to think that I have the skills to introduce myself to a room full of strangers and get all kinds of chatty with them. Then there's the normal side of me that cherishes the one day a week I'm guaranteed no work. A nice couch at home, a stack of DVDs, and a sleepy cat all awaited me. I helped pack chairs into the truck, looked around the crowd... and the lazy side won.

On one hand, I missed my old church. Not one single person greeted me with "He is risen!" So naturally I couldn't respond with, "He is risen Indeed!" Sigh. The pastor did toss it into his sermon, but he had to say it again to get a response from us.

Looking at hand #2, I'll admit one thing: It's nice to look at a crowded room and know that you're among Christians. That there are hundreds of people around you that believe in God and want to do the right thing.

I'm not saying one service would have been better than the other. I'm not sure which one I would have liked better. But it's one more change I have to either get used to, or learn to do without.

Oh, how to worship God. It's a back and forth, I tell ya!

Just leave me be

Howdy,

Happily, the chapter I read in Acts today and the chapter that was preached on yesterday were essentially the same topic. Even better, I agree with the message!

I was reading in Acts (9? Methinks?) about Peter being given the dream about the net with all of God's creations and how everyone is created by God. Everyone is "good enough".

In church, they discussed the section in Matthew where Jesus goes to the temple and knocks over the tables because of all the shady deals that are happening. They're charging high interest rates for exchanges/sacrifices, making it hard for people to worship in their way. Jesus is trying to take out the middle man so that they can just go to God. Be "enough", as they are.

Sometimes I'll dress the part. When I first started going to Quest I wore slacks and a button up shirt. Sunday, being Easter, I may very well go back to that because it's a "special occasion". That being said, I'm not really one for bending to other people's expectations.

I'm a scruffy looking kind of guy. The hair ain't fashionable, but it sure is manageable. My goatee isn't perfect. Odds are, if you look hard enough, you'll find a cat hair. I look "fine", but never pristine". I like my bible with duct tape on the edge. I don't care that my front bumper has seen better days. (Stupid snow)

I'm quite glad I can be a leper or a prostitute and still be loved. (Neither of which I aspire to. Still, good to know I have options) Sure I'll help be respectful and respectable when I need to be. All in all though, I'd rather ya just take me at face value.