Truth and Love

Ephesians 4:15

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

I could probably write for days about this topic, however, I will refrain myself.

To start, truth and love are both awesome things. Without truth, we wouldn't know what to think, how to live, who to love, etc. Without love, every human interaction would be meaningless because we would all be selfish jerks who couldn't trust each other. I feel as though we need both of these to survive.

I also feel that these two entities are the cause of a ridiculous number of debates, especially within religious circles. For some reason, it seems as though it's impossible to incorporate both truth and love into our message and ministry. Virtually all churches or religious organizations tend to fall into one of these camps. I feel that as humans, we can't be passionate about anything without drifting toward extreme ideas-in this case, truth or love.

Examples:

(I don't know everything about both of these, but this is what I understand to be a general overview. Correct me if I'm wrong)

-Westboro Baptist Church.

YAY let's take every verse in the Bible completely out of context to continually remind people of the "fact" that God hates gay people, soldiers, etc. (note the sarcasm). This group of individuals makes signs and pickets huge events and has probably alienated countless people from Christianity. Their emphasis is on truth (even though it is taken out of context) and they show no signs of love whatsoever.

-Solomon's Porch.

So what do you think it means, man? Well I'm not exactly sure, but, you know like, love and stuff. This "church" essentially consists of people sitting around in a circle in which they read the Bible and discuss it. While the idea seems completely harmless, it allows for anybody to assert their opinion as truth, and makes the Bible lose all of its authority. Their emphasis is on love and making people feel welcome (which is a GOOD thing!!), but they run the risk of letting people manipulate truth.

Disclaimer: I am not against truth or love. While it may seem that way, I am merely pointing out some extreme examples. I admire both groups for being bold and different, I just wish they could focus on both truth AND love.

More common examples would be conservative Christianity and emergent churches. Conservatives focus on Bible study and knowing exactly what God means in scripture passages. They desire so much to know about what God is saying that they become blind to the world around them and ultimately are ineffective at loving those outside their walls. Liberals focus on loving others and social justice and the like in order to be the hands and feet of God. They desire so much to reach others that they become blind to the pursuit of truth and ultimately fail to realize the importance of scriptures.

I'm not saying that all churches are bad or even that all churches fall into one of these camps. No church will ever be perfect on this side of Heaven and that is a reality that we need to accept and be aware of. There are definitely churches with prideful and selfish motives but there are also churches with pure and selfless ones. I don't claim to know everything, or really anything for that matter, after all, I am only 19 and have so much more to learn. When I look at Ephesians 4:15, though, I just wonder why it is so hard to live out. How do we speak in both truth and love?

I do not hate the church. I love it, in fact.

If anyone reads this, please feel free to disagree with me. I love conversations about this and I want to learn more!

Numero Uno

So, I've always had the desire to start a blog but I just never got around to it...until now! Bekah inspired me when she started hers yesterday (go follow it at twokindsofwisdom.blogspot.com). I could honestly care less whether or not anyone reads this but I just feel like writing sometimes. It is good for the mind and for the soul.

My first blog post of all time is being written in a place that I never would have seen myself at the beginning of the summer: Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is a city that's smaller than Aurora but it is the biggest city in South Dakota. Next to living in Colorado, I would rate this place as the best place to live. It's just big enough to have everything (stores, fast food, golf courses, etc.) but there is still a small town atmosphere. If I don't end up in Colorado, I think that I want to live here.

This all came about because of a unique series of events that took place to start off my summer. Because of the quality managers at Jimmy John's, I was hired, said no to another job offer, and fired all within a few days (I lasted 45 minutes on my first day). I was left without a job until God opened a door. My friend Ariel from Bethel texted me a few days later saying that their church was looking for worship interns for summer, and seeing as I had nothing better to do, I called and eventually got the job. I'm not getting paid much and I'm putting in a lot of hours but I feel that this is much better than a "real job". I'm staying with a host-family that is the epitome of generosity and I can tell you that God will bless them tremendously for the lifestyle they live. They have two really cool little kids too! I've only played music a little so far, but I've gotten to help with youth group, help with main services, and all kinds of other odd-jobs. Working at a church has been fun because it hasn't felt like going to work. I just come here and hang out with other people on the church staff or play guitar; super awesome!

I'm still deciding how long I'll be here though. Upon coming out to Sioux Falls, I told the pastor that I would stay for a week and a half and then reassess and decide whether or not I wanted to stay. If I do decide to stay, I'll be here about four more weeks (until August 16th or so). I'm not sure yet what I'll do but we'll see!
I definitely miss Colorado and all my friends and family. Even though I go to college in another state I was still counting on hanging around there all summer so this sucks a little bit. I have a lot of down-time that makes me wish I was back home to hang out with everyone, but I feel that God has a reason for my being here. I will be back for two or so weeks, however.

So that's my Sioux Falls journey in a nut-shell. I'll write more about it but in the mean time, prayers would be very appreciated! Regarding my blog, I decided to name it 'Sweetest Rain' because it is the title of a song I recently wrote. As I look back over this last year, I see how God has provided, and I can't help but be astounded. In a sense, God's love and provision has been like rain, the sweetest rain, for many reasons.

-The ground cannot survive without it

-The ground must be renewed and watered consistently, unable to store up for longer periods of time, and is completely dependent on the rain

-As the rain falls, its impact is cool and refreshing, reminding the ground of how sweet the rain is in the first place

It is in that moment, when the ground is overwhelmed by the soothing, calming rain that it realizes everything will be okay. Though during the dry day when the wind blows it may be skeptical, but in that moment, it remembers all the love and provision it has been given and it can't help but rejoice.

Now I know that the ground can't actually think but in this scenario, who cares. So here are the lyrics to this song I wrote about a neat way to see God.

Sweetest Rain

Thank you for your faithfulness oh God

Through trying times and lightning storms you’ve brought

Me safely on, me safely on

Thank you for your providence oh God

Your mercies every day to keep me strong

You keep me strong, you keep me strong

Your love is like the sweetest rain

Ever healing, You sustain

Though the ground is dry and wind it blows

A cloud sweeps over the plain

And pours out the sweetest rain

Thank you for your calling voice oh God

You’ve made straight my path and guided me along

Thank you for your love abounding God

You’re always faithful