Imago Dei

In the image of God...This is an interesting concept that gives us both freedom and responsibility in regard to our faith. Not only are we made in God's image, but also we have His Spirit living within us as a beliver in Jesus Christ. But what does all of this really mean?

There are two questions with which I have struggled over the past week to both comprehend and answer, each giving way to my response to God. The first, 'But who do you say that I am?' is a question posed by Jesus nearing the time of His betrayal. After asking His disciples what people thought of Him, He posed this intimate question to find out what His disciples thought as well. To answer it, one would have to consider the mind of the disciples at this time. These were people that spent a considerable amount of time with Jesus. In fact, Peter, James, and John, were with Him constantly as His closest and most trusted friends. They were being asked the hard question - 'Who do YOU say that I am?' It was no longer a matter of 'Do you call Me your friend?' but rather one of 'Do you call Me the Christ, the Messiah?'

As a child who grew up in church, Jesus was an amazing character who made stories come to life. He was the reason why we celebrated. He was the reason why we worshipped. He was the reason for our savlation. And none of that has changed. What has changed is my view of the Christ. I've grown out of my childhood thinking that Jesus was a character that came down and helped me when I bruised my knee. But when I stop to consider the depth of my sin, the awfulness of my depravity, it seems that I need a bigger bandaid that covers more than just my knee. Jesus is the One to save me from my sins, but He's asking the question...'Who do you say that I am?' Do I truly believe that He is the Christ?

Hmm...do I truly believe that He is the Christ? It's a serious question for each of us to consider. But do I? The obvious answer is 'yes,' the more sublte answer is 'yes, but not with my whole heart.' See, if I truly believed with my whole heart, I wouldn't hang on to the things of the world. I wouldn't have to stop in mid-sentence and ponder the question. I would know.

The second question is, 'What do I know of holy?' It comes from a song (unfortunately I do not know the artist) and provokes a deep answer. But I consider these questions to be linked. When I stand in the presence of the Most High and He asks me what I know about holiness, what will be my answer? That I went to church every week? That I read my Bible? NO. My answer has to answer the question of holiness. Do you sin? Do you continually sin? Are you so pure, that no blemish is found within your heart? If you were being offered up as a sacrifice for the rest of the world, would you actually be able to save them as a lamb without spot?

I believe holiness to be linked to a blameless and spotless conscience. One that is not beguiled by the world or anything that goes against the will of God. Holiness (again, just my opinion) is derived from following the perfect will of God without question or doubt. If sin is us turning away from God's will and going against Him, then holiness is the complete devotion to His calling.

So what do I know about holiness? Have I experienced a holy life? Have I lived without spot or blemish? This question is one that has brought me to a dead stop. The fact that I had to think about it tells me that I'm not entirely convinced of my innocence. It makes sense that I am a human and a sinner, but have I thought more of myself than I ought? You can't equate ignorance with blamelessness.

And this brings me back to the image of God. We have been created in His image, for His pleasure. So what have we been doing with that responsibility? First, and foremost, do we consider God to be 'God' or just another character in our lives? Secondly, what are we doing to uphold the image of God? He hates sin and will not associate with it, so do we have sin that is keeping us from God? Lastly, is our entire life devoted to a myth, a legend, or a real and amazingly awesome Creator of the Universe that is ready and willing to cleanse us and give us a completely new life in Him?

The question is not whether or not you are a Christian, but rather do you serve the God of this universe with your entire life, so as to be named blameless on the day of judgement?

The Eel Man

Once upon a time, when I was much younger and much leaner, I went to Disneyland. Now, for those of you that know me, you will recognize the significance of this story as it relates to the joy in my life. I am an avid Disneyland fan for many reasons, one of which is Space Mountain (information on this ride will be forthcoming with a new post). The most amazing ride - EVER. But, I digress..

It happened on a warm evening in May, around the time of my younger sister's graduation. The entire family (including extended family) were gathered at Disneyland in celebration of my younger sister's accomplishment. I won't go into details about her flaunting the fact that she graduated in 3.5 years, while I only did it in 4, because this story needs to contain the joy of my life through this time. We had gathered on Main Street to watch the Princess Parade - no, it was not my idea, nor my choice. While waiting we entertained ourselves with the priceless tricks from the magic shop. Tricks like...the dollar snatcher.

After waiting for about 20 minutes, the music finally came through the speakers on the street and the announcement that the parade was starting brought joy to our hearts (yes, this is a moment for Leonard to hold up Sheldon's sarcasm sign). The parade began and carried on with it's usual girlishness (despite the number of male dancers observed making a mockery of everything we consider to be masculine). About halfway through the parade came Ariel float (from the Little Mermaid for those of you less versed in Disney mythology).

At this point in the parade I didn't think anything of the Ariel float, because I didn't like the movie. Well, I take that back - I probably looked upon it with distaste. But while carrying on in my semi-conscious state, I was surprised with a sudden fear that usually accompanies those closest to death. There...staring straight at me were two beady, yellow eyes. Never had I seen anything so gross as these bulging eyes. I was immediately conscious of other pairs of eyes upon me as my family watched with horror and anticipation. Slowly the fear in their eyes turned to laughter as they watched the following scene play out.

I followed the yellow eyes to their owner - an eel. I followed the eel, suspended as it was from a pole, to its owner - a man. I remember, very vividly, the look of the man as he peered down into my eyes for what seemed an eternity. He was of dark complexion and slim - not fit, but rather gaunt. His lack of girth also contributed to his slender head and the way that his own eyes bulged out looking back at me. In retrospect, I am unsure as to whether or not his eyes were bulging out of passion or merely physical appearance. In any case, it seems as if he was intent on staring me down.

He wore a body stocking that hugged his body very nicely (speaking in terms that women would understand, for I was not attracted to him). The blue and purple body stocking included a cap, which sealed off his head and made him look as if he were wearing plastic wrap, rather than a costume. I include these minute details, because they help to transfer the reader to another place and time - one that I was extremely anxious to leave.

So that is his description. Now I shall relate to you his actions...

His lips were pursed as if showing off his best fish face. I remember that part, because I thought he wanted to kiss me. His body waved to and fro as if he were a member of the ocean community, just going with the flow of the tide. And there was something about his hips...they rocked with the attitude of lust, rather than the grace of a dancer. His body and limbs all formed one cohesive unit with the eel, so as to transfer his rocking motion from the hips to the lips of the animal. Since the lips of the eel were the closes unit to me (a mere 2 inches away), I found it hard to pull myself away. I was drawn in as the bugs are drawn to the light.

During this entire escapade, I wondered what my family was doing. Surely they hadn't left me all alone with the wolf! As I peered out of the corner of my eyes, I could see them, chuckling violently and holding their sides so that their stomachs wouldn't burst. Did anyone support me? NO! Did anyone find a way to distract the eel man? Absolutely NOT! There I was, a mockery of all things foolish, set up on display for the world to get a laugh. Even now, I can't live up to the shame of those two dreadfully long minutes of terror. Anytime the eel man is brought up in casual conversation, I find my face going flush and my mind starts to spin. Trust me - it's not out of desire for the man, but rather the humiliation of having him come on to me so strongly.

If there is any consolation, it is this - that you might get a chuckle from the pain of my past. I hope you enjoyed this session as there will be more to come. Until then, God bless!

God's Timeline

Have you ever wondered about how God views time? I know that we cannot actually speak on His behalf, except to use answers from the Bible. However, I've often wondered about how to interpret the Bible's use of time.

God is the Alpha and Omega. So He was here when the world was created (duh - He created it), but He will also be here through the end of the world. Or - is He already in the end of the world? If God knows everything that was, is, and will be, then doesn't it seem likely that He is able to live in the past, present, and future all at the same time?

I've often thought of God as an Editor of a film. He has the individual incidents that happen to people cataloged (and quite possibly playing) so that at any given moment, He will bring to view the actions of a person. Each action is one part of the film that is spliced together as a person lives his or her life. But, God also sees the film in its entirety. It's more like 3-D, or even 6-billion-D, because everything plays at the same time and He has the capacity to process everything at once. We thought that Pixar had an amazing set of supercomputers...

So while God can see all of time as it exists on a continuum, it seems that He is also living/reliving every bit of it with us. He knows what's going to happen, but He watches it unfold as if He had never seen it before. It's similar to me watching the Bourne Identity yet again. I know that movie so well that I can quote it, and yet I still sit down and watch it with the attention of child that was just given a piece of candy to chew.

Then comes the nature of God's forgiveness. If He knows all and sees all (past, present, and future), then what does it mean to cast our sins away from Him as far as the East is from the West? Does it mean that He throws the DVD into the other room of His house so that He won't see it? I don't know...I've pictured something like that happening. But I think that a more realistic idea is that He takes the sin out of His general recall memory. It will be recalled on the day of judgement, but for now, it has been tossed aside. He may remember it...but I'm just thinking out loud...

The Rally's Incident

At some point, each and every one of us turns back to a point in our lives that plays on in infamy. For me, one of those times (there will be more to come) is the Rally's incident. As those in my office will attest to, the Rally's incident is much more than a story of passion and love, but also one of pure hilarity that decreases my life with each telling. Therefore, I am laying it all out in word, to prevent the need for future retellings.

As many of you know, Rally's (AKA Checkers in other parts of the world) is one of my favorite fast food places. At one point in my life, I frequented Rally's with the tenacity of a teen-aged boy that is filling his appetite by emptying each and every cupboard in the house. That changed one September day when I stopped by Rally's to pick up dinner before class.

It was a Monday evening - not quite dark, but getting there. As I pulled up to the window, there was a woman there to welcome me with her wonderful smile. OK - to be honest, she hadn't yet turned to me, because she was hanging halfway out of the window yelling to her friend across the parking lot, 'Aight boo, I'll talk to you later. Love ya babe.' Then she quickly added in a tone that only I could hear, 'Even if you didn't get me anything for my birthday.' I said to myself, 'Self, that's interesting...I wonder if she actually likes that person.' Then Shaniqua (a name given by the wonderful staff with whom I work due to the fact that her real identity should remain anonymous) turned to me and grunted, 'Mmmm, you are lookin' SEXY today.'

Luckily for me, I was still wearing my sunglasses. I didn't have the temerity to respond, so I just looked up and smiled. She said, 'Now I may just be gettin' tired, but mmhmm, you are lookin' good.' Normally one would take this as a compliment. I, however, was rather embarrassed and did everything that I could to avoid eye contact - oh wait, I was still wearing sunglasses. She took my money and then disappeared into the window.

By this time another worker had brought my meal, but I was still waiting for Shaniqua to bring me my change. When she finally reappeared at the window she said, 'Why you bring him his food so fast, I wanted to look at him longer,' to her coworker. At this point, the only thing I could think about was getting my money and leaving, which I did rather promptly.

Now, many people have offered advice as to how to handle a situation like this. Some have suggested that I should have played along with the game. Others suggested that I report her for coming to work in a drunken stupor. All the same, at that moment in time I was frozen to the point of immobility and scared to open my mouth and say something stupid. Not that it would have been any worse than her comments, but really...I was at a loss for words.

As you read this, just remember my friends at Rally's and stop by every once in a while to see if you can spot Shaniqua. This is a true story, but now it's out and I can rest in peace.