D Webb's Newest Is Definitely His Bravest...

Anyone familiar with Derek Webb's previous two lyrical works would know he isn't shy about what he believes. The politics are off the table though, in his latest work "CTRL" and instead a more biographical work emerges. The main question surrounding the albums seems to be "Am I really living or am I just pretending?" I'm digging in to it currently and really like it- but if you want a sample size before indulging the bottle. Here it is:

Eyes Opening

Do you remember the first time you saw something? Whether it was the first time you saw a sunset, a particular flower, a contortionist, a wild animal, or what have you, you began to develop an experience. We begin storing our experiences in our brain and we began to know.

Do you remember the first time you caught a glimpse of the Eternal Kingdom? It didn't make sense, but it felt right. It wasn't the whole, but it felt like home. It stirred something inside that could barely be described in words, yet there were those that knew what you felt. We began searching for this Kingdom, never arriving, always seeing traces of where it has been. We began storing these experiences in our brain and we began to know.

Do you remember the first time you knew the answer? It could have been in Sunday School, at Camp, in biology class, or in Exploring The Christian Faith with Dr. Bob, you drew on your experiences and made the transition from learning to knowing. There was something about the the Eternal Kingdom that you knew as a definitive fact and you could share that with someone or a group of people. You used the experiences stored in your brain and there was fruit from your searching.

Do you remember the first time you felt complacent? The moment when you realized you had stopped searching for the Kingdom and became content with knowing about the few snapshots you had of it? How dirty and dark was the alley of your awaking sobriety when you realized you had slowly drank yourself into a delusion of thinking you had arrived home?

We have begun to draw from our experiences of how God speaks, how God moves, how God blesses, how God disciplines, how God loves, how God touches and then we think we know. Do I close my eyes a little bit more with each time I feel I have the answer? Is this how separations in the Church start? Is this the motivation of the beginning of denominations? Do we like surrounding ourselves with people who have seen the same small glimpse of an Eternal Kingdom that has walked this earth in its fullness one time before? Would I still see the glimpses of home as I walk through the doorway to my house? 

Do I see the Eternal Kingdom through the lenses of what "I know" or through the created eyes of the One that Is? Are my eyes opening, are my eyes closing, or am I squinting enough to see what I want to see?

"It's not a religion, yada, yada, yada..."

I want God.

At least, I want to want God.

Maybe I want to want to want God.

At the very least, I hope I want God.

That's the lesson of the week in this neck of the woods.

Desire.

Want.

Hope.

What is it we want?

It was awakened in me by the simple words, "Saved from Hell and torment." And it just struck me weird. Something doesn't seem right. God has been tweaking my perspective on a lot of things over the past several years, and it seems that salvation has finally become the target. Oh, how easily we allow the Devil to become the focus of SO MANY beliefs and doctrines. How is it that our faith (read- religious paradigm) has become more focused on what you will be saved FROM and where it is you DON'T want to go rather than TO Whom we are saved and how much do we indeed WANT to be there?

Here is the point- Do we want to be with God as much as we don't want to go to hell? Are we (read- all perceived Christians) translating that to the people around us? Is it a fear based faith (if that can even be called a faith at all) or is it a trust based faith that we are progressing? (which is entirely redundant and for good reason considering how forgetful we are) It has been a standing tactic of my own personally to see the spiritual realm as a battle between truth and deceit. That the vast majority of us all believe and embrace willingly or ignorantly lies from Hell and that if we can "expose the lies no matter how they're disguised" (The Orange County Supertones 'Grounded.') then we are advancing the Kingdom of Light and beating back the darkness. I now wonder if it could be even simpler than this- that if we could focus on the lies spoken of God specifically, declare the truth of who we know Him to be, could that awaken the DESIRE hidden deep in the human heart for Him enough that the WANT for Him becomes greater than the fear/resistance/dread/hate/misunderstanding/etc. of Him? I'm reminded of Lewis's thoughts in "The Screwtape Letters" (I believe letter VIII) suggesting that God is too good to use indubitably and irresistability in His gathering of His people unto Himself. I found a link... BOOM there it is.

Anyway, the point is this- I believe we must do our part to change the Christian culture from one escaping from hell to one returning to God. We are not escapists. I doubt any of us would proclaim for half a second that we do not deserve hell and not going there would not have been our own plans. We are guilty as charged and the condemnation would have been befitting of our filthy hearts for as long as the good Judge declared. We are not merely escapists- we must be transformed into Lovers. Not refugees. Exiles perhaps, but more so, Pilgrims making their way to Someone they've dedicated their whole resources, lives, and thoughts to. If we are to grasp the abundant life proclaimed and availed to us by Jesus. We must want Him- not Him objectively- but Him personally and relationally and presently more than anything else. We must, having seen His holiness and goodness and experienced His love in our own lives, be willing to traverse Hell itself it it were to mean being with Him on the other side, not just want Him because He may have found the shortcut around Hell.

That's the imagery I'm looking for. Do we want Him for His own sake- or for the sake of our own hide? Would we want Him if the road went through Hell? Or do we want Him because He blazed a trail around Hell.

I know the answer in my own life. But the question is, are we declaring the truth regarding the how desirable God is or simply how awful Hell is? The country around us feels one way- perhaps the few around us could be shown a different way altogether.

Why should I be saved or even want to be saved? Because Hell is bad... or because God is good?

Truth from a Frenchman

I'm sure it's a little distasteful to make my first post a simple quote from a far greater author's masterpiece...


But then again, aren't we all just mockingbirds? (Thank you Derek Webb.)


Here's a message I received from my sister.  Please enjoy:

Starting to re-read Les Miserables (because a new musical's coming out in December -- PUMPED!!!) and remembering how much I love the priest. He says:  "do not ask the name of the person who seeks a bed for the night.  He who is reluctant to give his name is the one who most needs shelter."

"It happened one day that an estimable curé asked him whether it was not perhaps a little injudicious on his part to leave the door unlocked at all hours...did he not fear lest some calamity might befall a house so unprotected?  The bishop touched him gently on the shoulder and said, quoting the psalms, 'except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen waketh but in vain,' then he changed the subject. It pleased him to say, 'there is priest's courage just as there is the courage of a colonel of dragoons...but,' he added, 'ours must be quiet.'"

"As we can see, he had his own way of looking at things.  I think he derived it from the Gospel."


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TESTING this Blog Post

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOG.
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.