Good Grief

Sucky, sucky, sucky – suck suck!

What deserves five sucks in a row? Death does my friend, death. While albeit I am channeling most assuredly my inner five year old to relay the feeling, it does still ring true to be at the ripe age 29.

I successfully navigated (or rather had God navigate me) through 29 years on the face of this earth honestly believing that my parents were invincible and immortal. After all, both of my parents have overtaken the medical realm by storm. One was part iron man with a spinal system only put in 5 people in the world, the other tramples upon cancer and tumors. Medical miracles are they both, each were undoubtedly were shown providence by the Creator in regards to health amidst their sufferings, alas now one remains and the other has taken a place in the realm of which we have all yet to go.

It happened on May 8^th, a day that will forever bring upon a metallic taste in my mouth. The day in which I learned what I felt like to die over and over, as if in some cruel cartoon, in which a part of your heart gets ripped out bare-handed in a rhythmic pattern with nothing to numb the pain.

So yeah, I’ll say it... losing a parent (my diddy) SUCK(S/ED)!

I’ll spare the majority of details and inner mind rambles, partially because things are still being worked out – partially because there will be a devotional on grief in book # 2, so I don’t want to be on repeat, but I will say this..

KNOWING WHERE MY DIDDY IS NOW = COMFORT AMIDST THE PAIN

So to the people who wonder WHY we, as believers of Christ spread the message … go to the outcasts and far corners of the Earth is simple …

We believe, we know, that salvation is found through JESUS CHRIST ALONE and if you do not embrace the free gift of Grace, then your forever-after doesn’t look so bright .. and we, as believers, I think, should want EVERYONE to come to the saving knowing of Yeshua, we should want NO ONE to go to Hell .. we should wish separation from God onto no one .. how do we wish upon something that which we do not know (only Jesus has ever faced?) … Yet likewise, how do we stand silent when we know we are to be a LIGHT and to SHARE THE GOOD NEWS with everyone?

So I will put it to this, about 4 years ago I asked a man a question. I asked this man if he was saved, I asked with a shaky voice if he knew the Savior, if he believed that Jesus Christ was the risen Son of the true Creator and he said yes. I asked this question, to this man, because I had never asked it before. Roughly 4 years after that question got answered, I got the privilege of standing beside my Diddy’s bed, reading him scripture of what future places will look like, saying continuous prayer, joking with him about future book dedications, and letting him know – face to face – with full understanding, how proud I was that I could stand in front of him with such peace (in the midst of chaos) because I knew where he was going once it was decided he would breath his final breathe.

I thank God (Father, Son and Spirit) for that, as it’s good grief.

Unconditional Love by Joseph Donofro

Thanks to Joseph Donofro for letting me post this wonderful piece. You can check him out on Tumblr or Facebook for more insights, inspirations and good stuffs.

Unconditional-

Dictionary definition- not subject to any conditions.

Thesaurus synonyms- wholehearted, unqualified, unreserved,unlimited, unrestricted, unmitigated,unquestioning; complete, total, entire, full,absolute, out-and-out, unequivocal.

Love- 

Dictionary definition- an intense feeling of deep affection.

Thesaurus Synonyms- deep affection, fondness, tenderness,warmth, intimacy, attachment,endearment; devotion, adoration, doting,idolization, worship; passion, ardor,desire, lust, yearning, infatuation. liking of/for, enjoyment of,appreciation of/for, taste for, delight for/in, relish of, passion for, zeal for,appetite for, zest for, enthusiasm for,keenness for, fondness for, soft spot for,weakness for, bent for, proclivity for,inclination for, disposition for, partiality for, predilection for, penchant for. compassion, care, caring, regard,solicitude, concern, friendliness,friendship, kindness, charity, goodwill,sympathy, kindliness, altruism,unselfishness, philanthropy, benevolence,fellow feeling, humanity. beloved, loved one, love of one’s life,dear, dearest, dear one, darling,sweetheart, sweet, angel, honey; lover,inamorato, inamorata, amour;paramour. relationship, love affair, romance,liaison, affair of the heart, amour. best wishes, regards, good wishes,greetings, kind/kindest regards. care very much for, feel deep affection for, hold very dear, adore, think the world of, be devoted to, dote on,idolize, worship; be in love with, be infatuated with, be smitten with, be besotted with; be mad/crazy/nuts/wild about, have a crush on, carry a torch for. like very much, delight in, enjoy greatly, have a passion for, take great pleasure in, derive great pleasure from,relish, savor; have a weakness for, be partial to, have a soft spot for, have a taste for, be taken with; get a kick out of, have a thing about, be mad/crazy/nuts/wild about.

The I believe the BIBLE defines them this way: God=Love and Selflessness=Unconditional.

I do not have much to say other than what is clearly stated in definitions and synonyms other than that I feel like I fall short of loving like I should. When I tell my wife I love her, I mean it, but does she believe me when I expect something back later on that day because I cleaned the dishes for her. That is not unconditional, that is, I gave to you and I expect to gather something in return.When we love, what if we loved in this way; to say, I long to do this for you and that is all. It is difficult. We are a selfish people that feel as though we deserve respect. I do not deserve anything from anyone, even if I gave them $1000, I have no right to say 5 years later, “remember when I gave you that money, well pay up!”. 

My mind travels at the speed of light and, no, I cannot keep up. I think all the time about how I have been called by one who is worthy of everything, yet I cannot give enough. Jesus loves me like I long to love others. He says, I gave you my life so that you can have life. Who does that? I still sin day in and out, but yet He calls me His righteousness. What is the reward that He longs for in me, that He would go out of His way to make sure that He could be with me forever? It is the relationship. And even thought I am not the best friend in the relationship, He calls me His best friend. 

I will end with one more story. There is a homeless man on the street, in your mind, you owe him nothing. You pass him by and in passing call him a bum. That night in your dream Jesus comes up to you and says, “I love you”. Once you wake you realize that man you passed and called a bum, was Jesus. Even though we spit in His face everyday by sinning and messing up, He still extends grace and never holds anything against us.

There you have it; unconditional love is the kingdom of heaven in action. So, if God=love and and unconditional=selflessness, then I would say that selflessness in loving The Father would result in a life that longs to love unconditionally. Because the relationship that is forged in that place of loving Him can only overflow in the life of the friend of The Father.

Don’t live expecting to be served. Serve and expect nothing then you will be rewarded.

All About The Fish

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:9-11

So we have all seen this little symbol as it can now be found plastered on car bumpers, store windows and cd cases. It is what is referred to as an Ichthus or Ichthys, slang name being Jesus Fish. What was once a secret symbol for believers to communicate is now anything but!

Trust me, I point no finger, just a conversation of curiousness as pondered upon in the below, as one of my own car stickers is a cross with a heart around it. Some people don’t like car decals; I find it amusing to show a little bit about myself to all those who may see me drive by (so to each their own, I say).  

So as such, a part of me cannot help but wonder if we were forced to go back into hiding (believers that is), what would be our new symbol? I mean obviously if people were out to persecute the Christians of today’s world, they wouldn’t have to look very far to find them (which is a good thing, as long as the symbols we use do not supersede the love of Christ we are to live out). However, it is quite the thought though right? 

You can read more about the Ichthus on Christianity Today  or Plymouth Church.