Picture this, you are sitting in a crowded room filled with all kinds of people standing together, holding their breath in suspense, every mind focused on what is happening at the front of the multitude. Suddenly the magician calls out for a volunteer, many hands go up, even some beside you, but only one is chosen; only one will become the subject of this latest deception of the mind. Quickly at first, the chosen one walks up to the head of the masses full of confidence and pride over being the one chosen out of many; but then, as he approaches the fringe he begins to slow, suddenly unsure of what it is that he has just signed up for. As the magician urges him to come ever more forward he becomes more and more aware of every eye in the room watching him. The magician places him in a box, tells him to lie very still, and closes the box over him. For him there is darkness, for those watching there is a show which boggles the mind. The magician calls on his assistants and proceeds to place knives of every variety into the box at all sorts of contorted angles, there is a gasp from those gathered, all goes silent and with one word the magician calls out to the unfortunate volunteer to get up out of the box, seconds that seem like lifetimes go by, and suddenly the chosen one emerges unscathed and full of excitement, the crowd cheers wildly at the display of impossibility. This is magic. Or at least, this is the deception that many would consider “magic”.
But what is “magic”?
The world would describe it as a conjuring of tricks, illusions that make things which would seem utterly impossible come to be reality. For many, it is mere entertainment, something with which to exercise the mind in hopes of deciphering the lie that makes your mind see something that simply cannot be. Others would claim it as a supernatural power, something which gives the one who wields it control over a given subject. It is that which makes impossible things seem possible.
As much as catching a speeding bullet between one’s teeth may be entertaining the first few times until you discover the trickery behind it, I believe there are things in this world which are magical no matter how many times they are encountered. Things which take your breath away, things that make you stop dead in your tracks to pay full attention, things which really have no way to be described.
I believe there is magic in every sunset and every sunrise, as that first ray of light reaches out from behind any obstacle which would dare stand in its way, as it chases away the darkness and leaves a warm embrace around all that it touches. I believe there is magic in every rainy sky, as thunder shakes the very ground you stand on, and electricity in its freest form shoots through the open expanses above, as the rain is unleashed to clean away the dust and make the world fresh. I believe there is magic in a gentle breeze that makes you breathe so deep and so long you don’t want it to end. There is magic in the songs that the birds sing all day long, sung to the creator of all. There is magic in every life you see on any day. Magic happens on mountain tops where the view stretches farther than any eye can see. I hear magic as the wind rustles the leaves high in the treetops when the sun is setting and there is a faint sliver of gold along the highest branches. For me, magic is in the little things. In smiles and laughter, in tears, in friendships, and in forgiveness. But the most important thing about truly magical moments is that they have but one source, and He is the Lord of all, the King of kings the heavenly Father. He made it all. He brought into existence those things which science can only explain as mere chance, coincidence, or luck. He did the impossible.
Above all else, I know there is magic of the greatest kind when a person gives their life completely over to Christ. When surrender, complete in every way, becomes the way of life for one devoted to living for the author and creator of everything. When we choose to follow what it is that God has planned for us, he opens doors we would never have known existed, and he shows us love that is unfathomable. When we choose to live that life, our life, we choose to live it in the fullest sense. That is when magic happens, and that is the show of the true master and the bravest of volunteers, and as every eye in the crowd watches, more and more will become volunteers of life. Choosing to live that same full life.
Yet, as those eyes are ever on the children of God, it is of the utmost importance that we continue to live according to the truths we have become assured of. To be examples as the “light” in the world. Brother’s and sisters, I encourage you to see the magic in all that is around you, and to live in a way that shows the workmanship of the one true magician. The Lord, Jesus Christ. For as it is written: “since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20). That, the ability to seek God in what He has made, is what makes the best of moments in this life “magical” not that they are tricks of the mind, or clever deception, but that they are unfathomable, unexplainable, unimaginable, seemingly impossible, yet very, very real.
“The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.” (Romans 8:19) – Let us go and show the world with our actions and by the love of Christ in us that we are sons and daughters of God.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
What will it take to begin to live like you were dying? To really live?
When you watch a sporting event on a television set or from the side of the field or rink, you get a certain amount of a thrill from the hard fought competition that is going on, you might get a little adrenaline as the team or athlete you are cheering for makes a good play or scores a few points. You start to imagine what you would do if it was you in that position, if you were the one playing the game. Only to come the realization that you are not in the game, you are not even sitting on the sidelines waiting for your turn, rather you are either sitting in the stands, or on a chair at home watching through a fence, a piece of glass, or a network of cables that bring an image into your own home. You are a spectator.
It seems to me that there are many of us who have taken on that same kind of outlook on life, we sit back and wait for things to happen, we stand around wishing that our dreams would come true rather than getting out there and making them into a reality with the power that God has given us to bring about any or all of the dreams that He has placed in our hearts and minds.
I do not know if you have heard the country song “live like you were dying” but maybe (even if you really, really do not like country) you should at the very least read the lyrics, imagine if you only had one more day to live, would you continue to be a spectator or would you go out and make the most of all the time you had left? Why is it that we have to be facing death in order to live that way? The truth is, we don’t. We can live that way every day and we should, if for no other reason than the fact that we really don’t know how much time we have left. Any one of us could be gone at any time. That thought alone should compel us all to truly make the most of every breath we are given, to truly life as though we were dying.
We sit in the chairs or stand along the walls while we watch so many others dancing to the music of life that plays every day. If only we would open our ears and let ourselves move to the flow and rhythm of the melody that strings through everything we see and do every single day.
But what is it that keeps us from getting up and moving to the sounds of life’s orchestra? Or that keeps us in the stands rather than in the heat of a hard fought competition? For some it may be fear of failure or rejection, for others it might be feelings of inadequacy or disappointment that we can’t move and dance the way that others can. For others still, it might simply be the lie that there is someone else out there who can do it better than you and you just need to step aside, give up and let them take over. It might be feelings of timidity or even the somewhat true but altogether false idea that we have more fun watching as others dance around and have fun. Whatever it is for any one of us, it is important to realize that they are all false and are all things that Satan has used in our lives to keep us from doing what it is that God wants us to do with the time we have been given, sitting on the sidelines is not what God had in mind for us when He brought us into the world. He planned for us to be instrumental in the way that the world works. He meant for us to dance among the stars.
I don’t know what it is that you have been shying away from doing, I don’t know what the exact struggle is that you are facing now, but I do know that no matter what it is, if you take the first step in getting over it and into what you are dying to be a part of, God will carry you there, He will give you the strength you need to do what it is He has placed in your heart.
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline”…for…“(He) has raised you up for this very purpose, that (He) might show you (His) power and that (His) name might be proclaimed in all the earth”…for…“(You) can do all things through Christ who strengthens (you)…so…“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”
If you have been sitting on the sidelines of the “game” called life, which really is no game at all, now is the time that you make up your mind to play, to participate, to get off your butt strap on the armour of God, listen to the music that is playing, and begin to move and dance to the rhythm God places in your heart. So, next time you are walking down the street and think to say hello to someone but would rather hurry along your way, stop and think what even a short conversation could mean to someone; next time your little brother or sister asks you to play a game but you would rather do your own thing, remember how short life is and choose to make the most of it; next time your grandparent who is hard-of-hearing calls and you would rather have a short conversation to avoid the annoying process of repeating yourself countless times, imagine how much you can learn from a lifetime of experience if you just take the time to listen. Next time the DJ calls, get your back off the wall so-to-speak and start dancing. And remember, the real DJ has never stopped calling you.
Do not concern yourselves with the judgements of man, of this world, rather set your mind on the Lord of all and think only of how you might live for Him the life that has been given to you as a gift, not to let it waste away but to make the most of it every day. Living as though you knew you were dying.
It seems to me that there are many of us who have taken on that same kind of outlook on life, we sit back and wait for things to happen, we stand around wishing that our dreams would come true rather than getting out there and making them into a reality with the power that God has given us to bring about any or all of the dreams that He has placed in our hearts and minds.
I do not know if you have heard the country song “live like you were dying” but maybe (even if you really, really do not like country) you should at the very least read the lyrics, imagine if you only had one more day to live, would you continue to be a spectator or would you go out and make the most of all the time you had left? Why is it that we have to be facing death in order to live that way? The truth is, we don’t. We can live that way every day and we should, if for no other reason than the fact that we really don’t know how much time we have left. Any one of us could be gone at any time. That thought alone should compel us all to truly make the most of every breath we are given, to truly life as though we were dying.
We sit in the chairs or stand along the walls while we watch so many others dancing to the music of life that plays every day. If only we would open our ears and let ourselves move to the flow and rhythm of the melody that strings through everything we see and do every single day.
But what is it that keeps us from getting up and moving to the sounds of life’s orchestra? Or that keeps us in the stands rather than in the heat of a hard fought competition? For some it may be fear of failure or rejection, for others it might be feelings of inadequacy or disappointment that we can’t move and dance the way that others can. For others still, it might simply be the lie that there is someone else out there who can do it better than you and you just need to step aside, give up and let them take over. It might be feelings of timidity or even the somewhat true but altogether false idea that we have more fun watching as others dance around and have fun. Whatever it is for any one of us, it is important to realize that they are all false and are all things that Satan has used in our lives to keep us from doing what it is that God wants us to do with the time we have been given, sitting on the sidelines is not what God had in mind for us when He brought us into the world. He planned for us to be instrumental in the way that the world works. He meant for us to dance among the stars.
I don’t know what it is that you have been shying away from doing, I don’t know what the exact struggle is that you are facing now, but I do know that no matter what it is, if you take the first step in getting over it and into what you are dying to be a part of, God will carry you there, He will give you the strength you need to do what it is He has placed in your heart.
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline”…for…“(He) has raised you up for this very purpose, that (He) might show you (His) power and that (His) name might be proclaimed in all the earth”…for…“(You) can do all things through Christ who strengthens (you)…so…“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”
If you have been sitting on the sidelines of the “game” called life, which really is no game at all, now is the time that you make up your mind to play, to participate, to get off your butt strap on the armour of God, listen to the music that is playing, and begin to move and dance to the rhythm God places in your heart. So, next time you are walking down the street and think to say hello to someone but would rather hurry along your way, stop and think what even a short conversation could mean to someone; next time your little brother or sister asks you to play a game but you would rather do your own thing, remember how short life is and choose to make the most of it; next time your grandparent who is hard-of-hearing calls and you would rather have a short conversation to avoid the annoying process of repeating yourself countless times, imagine how much you can learn from a lifetime of experience if you just take the time to listen. Next time the DJ calls, get your back off the wall so-to-speak and start dancing. And remember, the real DJ has never stopped calling you.
Do not concern yourselves with the judgements of man, of this world, rather set your mind on the Lord of all and think only of how you might live for Him the life that has been given to you as a gift, not to let it waste away but to make the most of it every day. Living as though you knew you were dying.
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