God Don't Make Ugly

[Image by T.J on Flickr]

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. (Genesis 1:31)

We can argue that in our world today there are huge chunks of ugliness splattered about on lonely pavements. There are endless wars, severe famines, and desolate places. Many are faced with such an alarming height of poverty while others squander riches.  An unbalanced scale. A state of disequilibrium. Wickedness. Corruption. Injustice. Prejudice. Judgment. 

You put on your television set and what you see on headlines makes you cringe. Kony 2012. Syria Under Siege. Shootings in Universities. Suicide Bomb Explosions. Women and Children Shot by Soldier. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Bullying on the Rise. Teacher Abuses Special-Needs Children. And the list goes on. 

Let's take it home to our own bodies. We don't take care of ourselves. Obesity is at an alarming high. And those who aren't obese don't like how they look. We find ways to search for deformities in our bodies. We want to covet what our neighbors own and call it ours. We don't even see the beauty within us. 

Was the world really created for such ugliness? 

As I perused the first chapter of Genesis, I stopped when I got to the verse 31. 

"Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good."

I shake my head now as I realize that what the world was made for is not what it is used for. The original idea was different. The reasons you and I were knit in our mothers' wombs was to perpetrate beauty.  Imagine if every man decides to search for the true meaning of beauty. They would find it. And if every man searches, he would be a steward of perpetrating beauty in the world. Change only comes through people who are willing to search within themselves. And change is not always massive at first, sometimes it happens one person at a time. 

It will take one person changed by God from the inside out to understand what beauty really means, and to take back the definition of beauty. Beauty is synonymous with "good." The phrase "And God saw that it was good," was written 6 times in Genesis 1.

God don't make ugly.

This is Part I of the Chronological Series. 

The Start of Something Grand (Join Me)

[Image by K. Kenny on Flickr]

God has been so faithful, and you know what happens when He blesses us with more gifts? We seem to get busy.

As I type this, my mind is fast drifting toward the parable of the talents. You see, the essence of a profitable man does not just creep upon him in a day. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day. Rather, this embodiment of character is ingrained slowly, built upon rock by rock, day after day, such that after a while it becomes a solid trait that sticks permanently like glue.

However, there's SO MUCH MORE about this man! This faithful servant does not abandon his previous gifts or tasks. He only adds value to them. The reason he is blessed with more is not because of investments he is planning to make in the future, but because of his first investment (which can be called his "baby"). The first time he laid his hand to do work. The first major decision he ever made. The first time he decided to be faithful to God. These are the investments that make up his foundation in life. In the same vein, the Light-A-Lamp Blog is my baby. It's one of my first investments in being faithful to God. It's the tool by which my Father daily teaches me about the principle of "consistency." So no matter what big gifts are coming my way this year, I plan to, like the faithful servant, build upon my first foundation and remain faithful.

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey." (Matthew 25:14, 15 NKJV)

I have read this scripture several times before, and yet only a few weeks ago, the Holy Spirit gave me an important additional insight that I've missed before.

Did you see the phrase "to each according to his own ability?" Every action the owner of the house took was based upon statistics, not partiality. When he realized he was traveling to a far country, he checked the previous statistics of each servant based upon what they've been able to handle in the past and he discovered the following: Mr. A was recorded in the accounting books as the one who'd been the most efficient in his trading, Mr. B was doing okay (he'd made some bad decisions but always managed to bounce back) and Mrs. C had not shown any signs of improvement. So he gave A ten talents, B five, and C one. 

According to each one's ability...

And yet again, the statistics proved to be accurate as a measure for the future potential.

"Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lords money."(Matthew 25:16-18 NKJV)

Statistics don't lie. What have you done with the little you have? What do you have in your hand right now? The essence of a profitable man begins early in life. It begins right now, as you stare at these words. It begins the minute you lay your hands upon a new project. It is not obtained via sudden lottery wins or happenstance. It is a product of our continuous hard work. Our constant dedication to seeing creativity come to fruition and not giving up when it seems results are not showing...yet.

THE LESSON FROM THIS POST: New projects only build upon old investments. Therefore, in a purposeful effort to build upon my past work, I will start a new project.

In the next few months, I'll be studying the Bible in a chronological fashion via a study on Youversion. As I begin this new project, I will stumble upon light bulb moments, and I will be documenting those special discoveries I make here on the Lamp Blog on Mondays and Thursdays. I hope you will join me as I embark upon....the start of something grand....

A Better Kind of Champion

[Image by Ozgur on Flickr]

A champion steps out from the battalion. His appearance is terrifying. Look at him, who will dare to rise up against him? See how much he's prepared. There's a bronze helmet on his head, I don't think I can easily get to his head. Isn't that a heavy coat of mail around his body and a bronze armor about his legs? I try to calculate the likelihood of defeating him. 0%. No, 1%. Boy, I don't know. The metal won't let me get to him. It's too thick. I've never seen such a complicated spearhead. It must be custom-made.

As I stare at him, I slowly realize I have not yet considered what I have. I look at my bare hands, slowly I raise them up toward the sun and my palms become really hot. 

I start sweating as the implications of what stands before me in this valley start to set in. It's obvious the champion has everything for battle, and what do I have? Am I ready for this? My brothers think I'm a joke. 

As I consider these thoughts, the sun becomes brighter and I begin to squint. I've heard stories before of God causing the sun to stand still. I eventually close my eyes for a minute, and my life flashes right before me. All those times I kept my father's sheep, did not a lion come once to eat a lamb, and I ran boldly towards it and struck it dead, delivering the lamb out of its mouth? My God was the one who strengthened my hands for that moment of victory. Was it by my own power? I do not think so. So who is this champion that defies the name of the living God? What is his spear compared to God?

All of a sudden, I bend to the earth and dig into the soil with my bare hands. I find five smooth stones, well-rounded. My sling is already on my shoulders. I instinctively know what to do. I run to the front line where the champion stands cursing my God, and I shout so that everyone can hear me clearly,

"You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands."

I am indeed...another kind of champion. 

A re-telling of 1 Samuel 17.

* * * * * * * * * *

In whose name do we fight by? In our names? In our own talents, abilities, or prowess? Or in the name of the Lord? I think it's obvious whose name I choose to fight by. 

See, instruments and tools are only man-made. They don't compare half-way to the dynamic ways God achieves victory in our lives. Not that we shouldn't use these tools, no we should. But we must never get to a place where we depend on our man-made tools over God's ability. His ways are far more advanced in technology. His ideas are far more mind-blowing than our little ideologies.

There are two different kinds of champions. Those who depend on worldly intuition and those who simply come in the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord is greater. My challenge for you today is to be the better kind of champion who knows the true source of strength. Just as water has its source, strength also has its source. The Bible says, "In our weakness, His strength is perfected."

When you are achieving your wins and accumulating your trophies, to whom will the glory go? God or yourself? I choose God. He has made me a better kind champion who does not rely on man-made abilities, only so that through me He is glorified. Today, I choose to give ALL the glory to Him. My source and my joy. The Author and Finisher of my faith. The Lion and the Lamb. The Lover of my soul. The One who died only to conquer death and resurrect after three days to make victory a permanent emblem in our lives. I will never come to you with worldly intuition, because I haven't seen store houses laden with snow before He chooses to allow snow flakes fall around me in inches upon inches that I cannot control.

Dear Readers of the Lamp, as you accomplish great heights this week and this year, always remember the kind of champion you are. In 2012, I choose to remember. I missed ya, had a busy past few weeks, thanks for your emails and messages. :)