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We told him to stop, because he was not one of us.

August 31, 2010

I’m probably going to regret posting this. I have wrestled with it, but in the end, it was in my heart struggling to get out, and that is what this blog is for. In case you’re wondering, I think I could argue with myself about a few of the things I am about to write, so I welcome your disagreement without taking any offense. You should also know that I am the chief sinner in this post. Many of the things I am calling out I have been most guilty of.

We live in a country sharply divided along cultural, political, racial, socioeconomic, and religious lines. I’ve only been around 35 years, but it seems like we are more polarized than ever. That’s not the worst thing that can happen – a homogeneous, single-minded people can sometimes be more dangerous than warring factions (see the Tower of Babel, Nazi Germany…the list is endless). But this kind of climate can be exhausting sometimes. You never know what small thing – a movie you watched, a word you say, an opinion you have – might permanently alienate you from someone else.

Posted inRaw Thoughts viralJesus (main)

Your Mind is the Scene of the Crime.

July 21, 2010

I’m not given to reviewing movies here on ViralJesus.org, but I’ve been thinking a lot about a film I saw over the weekend – Inception. I was putting together a post on this very subject, and the movie had an oddly crystallizing effect. I was gripped by the tag line used in promotional materials:

Your mind is the scene of the crime.

Woven into the writings of the Scriptures we find the concept that the mind is a battlefield. The epic wars between good and evil, better and best, the flesh and the spirit – all rage in our inner thoughts. The fight begins in our center of consciousness, but its outcome has the power to determine our destiny and expresses itself in our words and actions. Jesus addressed the legalism of His generation this way:

20He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ 21For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ “  -Mark 7

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Father to Daughter

May 31, 2010

Okay – one more post about Dad angst before I go back to broader topics…

One week from tomorrow, God willing, we will welcome a fourth girl – Ella Rae – into our family. I was thinking tonight about the years we ached for just one child and the task we have now undertaken – raising 4 girls. It’s more than I ever hoped for, but now I’m praying (as I think all parents must) that it’s not more than I can handle…

As I think tonight about the mysteries of fathers and daughters, I randomly remembered this music video from our old pal Lindsay Lohan, back when she was a young starlet with a bright future. I don’t know how much of this is embellished and how much is autobiography, but I do remember how I felt when I saw it for the first time: physically ill. And maybe a little angry. And I am thinking now about the tragic turns her life has taken, and thinking that maybe we should have seen it coming back then.

I dream of another you, one who would never.
Never, leave me alone to pick up the pieces.
A Daddy to hold me, that’s what I needed.

Haunting. Especially for us father-types. When I see LiLo in a news story, I don’t see a hedonistic Hollywood celeb or a cautionary tale or a target of ridicule. I see the scared, angry, hurting little girl in this video. And I think two things:

One: Lindsay, you do have a Father dying to hold you, whole will never leave you alone, who will pick up the pieces. And He’s close. And it’s never too late.

Two: Dear God – make me like You so I don’t mess up my girls.