Dark Strokes on Light Pages

The early morning light comes through

the window at my back and I am

happy that the sun has not come up yet.

The early morning shadow at

the far side of the room reminds me

I am the exception, not the rule.

I see that the beauty of

the world is not monopolized

by daylight, blue skies, summer sun, or spring.

Darkness can be beautiful--

sometimes more than light--because

both were made by hist'ry's greatest Artist.

At night we see the stars above us:

massive pinpoints, always showing

sunlight still exists, although it might be far away.

It's easy to walk around alone

during the day, when you don't need help

but what about at night, when every step you take, you stumble?

Happy are they (and fortunate!)

who know how weak and frail they are

before the shadows come and show it further.

I am not a "pessimist,"

a "nihilist," a "realist,"

or any other name you want to use.

I am a connoisseur of art--

the kind of art that lives are made of--

written, drawn, composed in black and white.

Pain is just another stroke,

a Master's brush upon the page,

a little detail none can imitate.

This Artist uses light and contrast,

blending good and ill in moments

that define the lives of those he crafts.

The greatest moment I have found

(his magnum opus, if you will)

was when he painted blinding black upon the page,

not because the paint he used

was special. (On the other hand

it's dirty, cloying, sickeningly sweet.)

It's beautiful because the black

was painted over spotless White

as Artist (become artwork) was destroyed

So when the black is painted on

my own canvas, how can I

complain about the way that I've been painted?

(To use another metaphor:

the denouement is only lovely

for the conflict that preceded it.)

When I'm faced with discord in

the measures of my life, I'll play

them all the louder. I know they'll resolve.

So back to what I said before,

how beauty isn't just reserved

for pleasant scenes, but painful moments, too:

maybe beauty is in waiting

for the twist that makes us question

how life can be so good time and time again.

So I'll sit here and relish waiting

in the shadows of this room,

knowing that the Light will soon shine in. 

The Pain That Our Neighbors Are Feeling

I live in a world that is so black and white

And I'm not talking about true or false, wrong or right

I mean racism: failing to love the way He loved

Is just as much my fault as anyone else's

But I look around and I'm frustratingly helpless

White privilege disarms me, it makes me defenseless

Against all the evil I see in the world

I'm part of the problem, not part of the cure

And that's not 'cause I'm white; white men are not evil

But my voice is hushed by the hand of the Devil

"This isn't your fight, it's not anyone's fight!

Shut up and sit down! It'll turn out alright."

But he's lying; injustice is real, all around me

A frightening, sobering, crushing reality

I'm deafened by hate, but they say, "It's okay!

It's based on statistics; you'll see that someday."

Well, I don't want to see it! I don't want to be blind

To the way that my selfishness hurts other lives

We're the children of God, and God's not black and white

He's the King of the nations, and I know I should fight

To tell you that He doesn't care about color

He showed that when He chose to let Himself suffer

For you and for me, for "God so loved the nations"

That isn't just white, it's the whole of creation

So I don't know what Bible you think you've been reading

'Cause race and religion are so damn misleading

Forgive me, I'm 'bout to go off on a tangent

But this is a problem that I see is rampant

The Muslims who wanna get into our country?

They're people too! Let me say it quite bluntly

It's stupid to think that we aren't called to love them

For God loves the world, whether Christian or Muslim

So excuse me for this, but I'm not out for blood

I don't say "Kill 'em!" or "Gimme my gun!"

My God is Yahweh Sabaoth: Lord of Hosts

I think, if He wanted, Islam would be toast

So He doesn't need me to take up the sword

He needs me to love, to live by the Word

Look, I'm not pretending I've got it together

I'm guilty of tons, and I'm sinful as ever

But don't drag the name of my God in the dirt

By pretending He's out to get Muslims deported

Look at me ranting, I feel kinda stupid

Back to the subject (my tangent's concluded)

If God wanted racism, wouldn't He say it?

"Thou shalt choose one race to hate and go hate it"?

But do we see that anywhere in the Scripture?

Uh... No. That hasn't been written!

God doesn't want us divided and hating!

The racism raging has got His heart breaking

With white Christians faking the love that they're taking

From God, who is waiting to see us awaken

To what we've forsaken, the way we've mistaken

How sin has us broken for some sort of token

That black is the problem or white is the problem 

When sin has us killin' and teachin' our children

To raise up their children to keep up the killin'

And God damn the Devil for pickin' that apple

That opened our eyes to the nature of evil

And showed us that evil was tasty (if deadly)

And tasty was better than just being holy

The lies that we've bought have corrupted our hearts

Now we're so good at hate that it's almost an art

And I hate that I hate them who hate them who's different

But I see what they've done and I feel insufficient

To patch up the wound that the white folk have caused

By pretending that racism came from the laws

That allowed them to show us all what was inside

But now they just hide all their hate with the lie

That the poison they spit causes nobody pain

When people are DYING, and the poison's to blame!

Look, cops are just people, but people are broken

And the boys in the blue demonstrate what I've spoken:

That hate is as real now as it has been ever

And until now I've just let myself say whatever

But now I am sick of the sickness that threatens

Us all--rich or poor, black, Latino, or cracker

The air in this nation, the U. S. of A.

Is heavy with hatred, and I hate to say it

But we, as believers, are part of the issue

We say that we love, but then we continue

To hate, while pretending that God will still hear us

When we pray for healing! It's like we're delirious

Caught up in fakery, high off our sin

"Rebuking" the Devil, then letting him in

To feed off the darkness we carry inside

A darkness that, frankly, we're failing to hide

And everyone sees it! Do YOU think we're different?

They say, "Christians hate!" and I'm not indignant

Because I know the truth--what they're saying is true

And I'm desperate to know that it's not me and you

Who are feeding the pain that our neighbors are feeling

Ripping the scabs off the scars that were healing

Following Jesus is not about freedom

Freedom from sin, yes, but not from the Kingdom

We are not ours! We're slaves to the Father

Ambassadors, not simply sons, not just daughters

The life of the Christian is one of denial

We give up ourselves to become His disciples!

"I do not live, it is Jesus in me"

To be slaves of Christ is to truly be free

So put up your privilege, your right to be comfortable

Give of yourselves in your love, though it's vulnerable

Yeah, you might lose friends or status or power

But store up a treasure that lasts for forever

And know that the God who we know as our Father,

If we run the race well, will stand in our honor

"I do not live, it is Jesus in me"

To be slaves of Christ is to truly be free

So put off yourself and put on the Spirit

Let Him take over and silence the bigot

That shouts from inside and fills us with lies

Of how we are better than those who don't hide

Their sin behind masks or in pretty white tombs

If we hide our sin, it just grows in our wombs

And when it is full-grown, it gives birth to death

Not just for ourselves, but also for others

We are not perfect, though we are redeemed

We can return to our sin, though we're free

But brothers and sisters, we bear Jesus' name,

So sin versus righteousness isn't a game!

The hate you hold on to, with which you still flirt

Is one way to drag Jesus' death in the dirt

So let go of hate, and step out in love

Live like you live for the One who's above

'Cause we do! We've been bought with the blood of the Lamb

So let's not behave like the whole thing's a sham

Remember, everyone sees how you live

The love you withhold and the hate that you give

So it's not just a joke, it's a really big deal

The tongue is set fire by the fires of hell

Every decision and every word

Is made for the Dragon or made for the Word

You will serve a master, and now you must choose:

The King who will win, or the Serpent who'll lose?

"I do not live, it is Jesus in me"

To be slaves of Christ is to truly be free

M&M's and the Love of God

Dear friends, please consider the implications of this tweet and of the worldview it represents.

The Syrian refugee crisis isn't about people who live in the United States. It's about people who used to live in Syria, but have fled to escape the violence they daily faced there. They are displaced, scared, weak, and vulnerable. And they are humans, just like we are.

We live in a very consumeristic society. Many people are concerned with what they can acquire to make their lives better and happier and safer. This wouldn't necessarily be a problem if we had not begun to also apply this consumeristic mindset to the people around us. I would argue that one of the primary reasons many marriages end in divorce today is that husbands and wives are concerned with their own happiness more than they are concerned with their spouse's. (I understand that there are cases in which abuse is present and forces many wives to escape terrible situations; that is another issue.) We hear words like, "You complete me," and "You make me so happy," and "You make me feel alive." The common thread through all these is that the relationship is about ME: MY completion, MY happiness, MY feeling alive.

We take this attitude so easily into every other area of our lives, and I fear that it has come to poison our perspective on the value of human life. The author of this tweet calls me a "bleeding heart liberal" for holding this perspective, and I approve of his description. My heart aches for the people of Syria. My heart aches for the non-extremist Muslims in the Western world who are being viewed increasingly as threats and as enemies based on the actions of others around them.

During World War II, Japanese-Americans were rounded up and put in prison camps because people were afraid they might be disloyal spies for the United States' enemy at the time. Many people would say we are at war with ISIS and other extremist Muslim groups. It does seem pretty apparent to me that they, at least, have declared war on us. But what price are we willing to pay in the name of "national security"?

Dear friends, there are two logical discrepancies that I can see in many people's approaches to this situation. First, people say that we must go to extreme lengths to make sure our country is safe; we must keep out ALL the refugees on the chance that some of them MIGHT be terrorists. Many of the same people, however, would argue passionately that the government has no right to spy on its citizens to try to keep them safe. Second, many of the same people who say that our own personal safety is more important than others' lives claim to be pro-life.

In light of all the above, I would like to answer this tweet's question and then pose one of my own.

Syrian Refugees estimates that around 9 million refugees have fled Syria since 2011. Let's just say, for the sake of this tweet's analogy, that 0.1% of those refugees are terrorists. That means that around 9,000 of these refugees are actually terrorists seeking to infiltrate other countries, but it also means that 8,991,000 of them are NOT terrorists. This tweet asked if I would eat the M&M's. The answer is twofold: first, since we all know what we're talking about, yes. In a heartbeat I would, because of the second part: people are not M&M's. They are not products to be consumed for our satisfaction. Not everything is about how happy or how safe we are. We are talking about LIVES: lives that have been uprooted and cast out onto the wild seas of uncertainty and fear. So yes, I would eat the M&M's, because if I get nine poisoned ones and one ordinary one in my handful, that is still one life that I have saved.

For those of you who may be reading this and are not believers in Christ, you have no reason to listen to me. There is no higher authority to which I can appeal than your sense of pity or justice or generosity. I hope that my words will perhaps trigger some thoughts on your part on the value of human life and the way we ought to approach the difficult situations in which the world finds itself.

To those of you who are my brothers and my sisters in Christ, I want to speak specifically to you. Mark 10:45 says that "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Ephesians 5:1-2 says, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

I don't want to preach. I don't want to act like I'm up on a high horse with the perfect position on everything. I don't want to come across as arrogant and judgmental. But I do want to challenge you. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that Scripture is "useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." So ignore everything I said in this post, if you like. But consider Mark. Consider Ephesians. Consider Romans 5:8: "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

The Scriptures are clear that we are meant to imitate Christ, to love as He loved, and to lay down our lives, if necessary, for the sake of others. Jesus Christ, God the Son, says in Matthew 5:44-45, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." And in John 13:34-35, He says, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Finally, in Matthew 5:46, He says, "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?"

Christ's love was scandalous, illogical, unsafe, and undeserved; it cost Him everything to love us. Will we now, as those who bear His name and are sealed by His blood, refuse to show that some love to those who most need it?

Yes, it's ridiculously scary. I don't particularly want to have to suffer and die for my faith. We can let the future paralyze us if we think about it. So many things could go wrong. So many people could betray us and hurt us. But Christ gives us this assurance in Matthew 6:25-34:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not show or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solimon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Dear brothers and sisters, I beg you to not let fear keep you from showing others the love of God. Consider the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25, where Jesus condemns the goats, saying: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." Do we look at the Syrian refugees and see Christ? They are poor, afraid, homeless, and potentially dangerous. Are they not the least? Can we not show them the love of Christ, that our Heavenly Father might be glorified?

Dear World

 I'm thankful for the offer

To join your little game
I merely think the prizes here
Are just a little lame

I don't appreciate it
The way I guess I should
But after seeing all this shit
I doubt I ever could

So go and play with matches
And watch your whole world burn
I'll look for what I won't regret
And count my lesson learned

I can't say that I've found it:
An easy, happy lot
I know I have much more than that
I've all, but you have naught

So tell me that I've lost it
Or have I? You don't know
The price He paid: so I could live,
To His life He said no

So yes, you call me different,
But really, we're the same
And now I write to you, dear World,
To save you from your pain

It's pain that I am free from,
But not by my own choice
He rescued me before I knew,
Or even heard, His voice

"Freedom isn't free!" you say
Of course not! Don't you see?
The Son of God has paid an e-
verlasting debt for me

Dear World, you've tripped and fallen,
But don't give in to shame
Just put your trust in Jesus Christ,
Who died and rose again

It's not some mystic nonsense
To go from slave to free
Your life, your all is what He wants
When He says, "Follow Me"

Believe me when I tell you
He's worth the best you have
So give it all away and find
The very peace you crave