Thoughts: Unforgiveness

 * Sarcasm is a result of hidden anger; it is a type of striking out at the world for perceived injustices. Unforgiveness can and does have an impact.

* Unforgiveness creates a tie or cable between you and the other individual. With this link, the other person has the power to influence every aspect of your life. This influence is not always noticeable to you, but you have actually placed yourself in a position of vulnerability to the unforgiving person.

* We need to realize that with Jesus' death and resurrection, we are forgiven and loved. Whether we accept the forgiveness in love is up to us. God loves and forgives us no matter what. It's not what we do but what He did that determines the love and forgiveness. Yes, we can disappoint him and walk away from him, but he will never walk away from us. Peter saw and experienced a depth of forgiveness and love that I'm sure was difficult for him to comprehend. He denied Jesus, yet Jesus enfolded him.

* Rejection is one of the most difficult feelings to overcome. Hatred and love are black or white. Rejection is a pushing away by one party, with the other party unclear as to why or what they have done to warrant snobbery. Rejection is cruel and most often is selfish. It presupposes that another does not quite attain the standard we have established, and the resulting failure to measure up results in ostracism

. To know that one is hated or loved sets firm foundations; rejection has movable boundaries. There is no definite rationale given. A person who has experienced rejection more than once in varying intensities fears it and strives to protect themselves from it. Unfortunately, the protective walls serve to keep others at a distance, exacerbating the feelings of rejection. One can choose to build walls or not accept rejection, for rejection must be claimed as one's own before it can affect one's life. Some of us claim rejection when, in actuality, there is none, but because of our perceptions, it becomes, in fact, to us reality. The best way to handle rejection and other hurts we may have is to set the wheels of forgiveness in motion, not to let the other person off the hook, per se, but let ourselves off the hook. Get on with life. There will be other things to counter, and to better handle them, we need to be unencumbered. Backpacking gets hard enough without adding stones to the pack.

* Thought for the day: I refuse to allow you to tell me how to feel, because you are having a bad day. It is my responsibility to become the sunshine through your dark and cloudy sky.

Thoughts: Radical Living

I have determined that I am a radical. If people define being a radical as favoring drastic political, economic, or social reforms, yes, I fit the category. Those who would be most likely to tag me as radical, however, would be from the church. You know, those who preach love for each other, yet can't find it in themselves to support a social gospel. The excuse of being "in the world, but not part of it" doesn't fly with me. I, personally, see Christ as dispensing social gospel with abandon. I do not, however, see the Church following His example. Granted, there are those in the Church that attempt to reach out to others, but many times, unless they "do things way the Church wants them done" they find themselves abandoned and condemned. Too many times, the Church condemns those who try to help others. Where do you think the Church would have stood on social gospel issues, were they to rule on Jesus healing the man at the Pool of Bethsaida? If you read the gospels closely, you can clearly see where the church stood. Remember the reaction of the Scribes and Pharisees on so many occasions, when Christ didn't "follow the rules"?

I've gotten so frustrated with attending a church that preaches love and then kicks those who try to show it to others. Okay, let's get a bit more to the point. How would you handle it if the realtor you were going to hire turned out to be obviously homosexual? On the other hand, what if he was homosexual and you didn't know it? How would you react? The same, or differently? What if you knew the person talking to you after the church service was a prostitute? How would you treat them if you didn't know?

The gospel Christ preached (and actually lived) cared about people---all people, not just the "acceptable" people. He didn't walk by and look at the people with sadness and then promise a prayer. He got down to their pain and worked to relieve it.

Why might it be considered bad to be a radical, or to be passionate about something? I think whenever someone has the passion to change things, others feel condemned, threatened, and the light that shines in their world exposes their lack of love for others. As a result, it behoves them to shut the passionate radical down.

I see a tremendous need for the "social gospel". Note, I did not say I see a need for people to be preached at. They can't hear the words, if the deeds are screaming louder. There is a great need for society to SEE who Christ is. "Inasmuch, do to others.....feed, clothe, shelter, comfort. . . ."

Our challenge? LOVE in ACTION!!!