Translating a World on the Edge

We fight for what we love.

And we love what we fight for.

Sound the same? They’re not.

We’ll fight for the things we love right now–members of our family, our home, our allegiances. We’d fight for these anytime or any day.

But then there are spur of the moment situations we may be forced into, where we must fight, and only afterwards discover that we’ve come to  love the thing we’re fighting for. It may be a principle, it may be a person, it may be something we never imagined.

I did not know I loved the Catholic Church until I became a young teen and had to defend her.

I did not know I loved life, and babies in the womb, until I nearly lost one of my own.

I did not know I could love an enemy, until an enemy became a friend.

I did not know I would come to love simple things, until simple things were all I had.

I did not know I was able to forgive, until the lack of forgiveness nearly got the best of me.

And  on, and on, and on.

We love what we have to fight for because these things make a great impression upon us. In fact, they cut into our hearts and change us inside. They change the perceptions we have of ourselves and of others.

Where does the strength of  this Fighting Love come from?  I believe it comes from God’s grace, sent to us when we need it. In the Catholic Church, we call this sort of grace, Actual Grace, which refers to God’s interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification.  Actual Grace is prolific–it has to be for imperfect Human Beings who are famous for ‘starting over’ again and again.  If we ask, and allow Him to do so, God will intervene in our lives each time we need Him to.

This is Fightin’ Love. The kind of grace we need to get through this life, and into the next one.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” – Albert Einstein

Well, that would have to be the imagination of our Creator. With a magnitude that is inconceivable to us, only God knows all and understands all.

The root word in “imagination” is image. God used his imagination to create us. We are made in the image and likeness of God. We are made with memory, imagination, and will.

Free will.

For Human Beings, it is our memory that leads to imagination. And imagination causes us to freely act.

We use our memory to recall events of our life, and those events can stoke our imagination positively, such as the memory of our best Christmas or Thanksgiving so far, and that leads to next year, and then the action of how we’ll create an even better Christmas or Thanksgiving.

Memory can also stoke a negative imagination. Someone did me wrong last week, and then the action of how will I get back at him?

Our memories are entirely our own. If we choose to re-hash and re-hash past hurts, it is no one’s fault but ours that we are miserable. It’s no wonder that our lives seem dark and confusing.

We have an imagination that can alleviate that.

Our imagination can bring light back to our lives when we look at the bad situation with  a different perspective.  Then with our free will, we can choose to ‘act out’ in a positive way.

All this,  through our imagination.  But too often, we don’t, or won’t, use it.

It’s our imagination that allows us to move on and keep going,  because it allows us to forgive. Our Creator never remembers our sins once we’ve repented them. If we are made in His image and likeness, and by His imagination, then shouldn’t we try to do the same?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock,  no one can disagree that today’s world is obsessed with things sexual. Sex not only drives us as individuals, but also our society as a whole. We’ve come to a saturation point of sex in advertising, movies, music, books, and even changes in our language; all to accommodate this beautiful God-given drive within us that is now, so  misguided.

“Every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God,” said G. K. Chesterton.

All of us are looking for intimacy. All of us are looking for love. And what is the true definition of God? God IS love.  So it is God we are looking for–even when we sin, or maybe  especially when we sin.

This is how Evil uses us. This is how Evil  changes the  image we see of ourselves in  the mirror of our hearts, replacing it with a false image, and false desire.

Addictive sex is one of many counterfeits we accept in place of a fulfilling relationship with God.  There is a very good article about this: http://www.pureintimacy.org/ The page is sponsored by Focus on the Family and surely worth a read.

Personally, I don’t know how much more we, as a people, can take of  this saturation of sex  and still remain ‘higher than the animals.’  Because the sex drive in a human being, meant to be loving and pro-creative,  is being debased to the level of a garbage dump.

In the media, it’s all a matter of giving people what they want. And if this is what we want, we are surely getting it, to the great detriment of  the goodness God put within us.

Nobody talks much about the devil anymore. In fact, nobody talks much about evil at all, as if it doesn’t exist, as if anything we do is A-Okay as long as we think it is.

So NOT true.

The devil attacks us in our complacencies, where we are, through what we love. And sometimes the devil has a very attractive face–one that’s hard to resist.  He lures us by our addictions, the things we think most about, the things we’ve tied ourselves to. He yanks on the chain of those addictions, leading us further and further away from what is good, to what is evil–until we become his devoted ‘pet.’ Then he’s got us just where he wants us.

No, we don’t want to hear this.  We say, “Look, I am who I am, and who I am is okay.”

Well, that depends. Because we weren’t given life on earth in order to fulfill ourselves. Believe it or not, each of us has a greater mission than our own existence. There is a reason for our having been born.    God knows our mission even if we haven’t yet discovered it. And it has nothing to do with evil, and everything to do with good.

To determine what is good for us requires an informed conscience—an objective conscience, based on what we know to be true. We have to be able to stand outside of ourselves and look into the mirror of what we are becoming. And then, we have to (pardon the expression but I can’t think of a better word)… ..we have to have balls enough to admit it.

The Devil is a liar,  who will use any means to get to us–flattery is one of them. That misguided axiom we hold to–“I’m okay, you’re okay no matter what I do, or what you do” is one of his tools. We see it growing day by day in our present society. I think this children’s rhyme sums it up pretty well:

“Will you step into my parlor?” said the spider to the fly;
“’Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy.
The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
And I have many pretty things to show when you are there.”
“O no, no,” said the little fly, “to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne’er come down again.”
“I’m sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
Will you rest upon my little bed?” said the spider to the fly.
“There are pretty curtains drawn around, the sheets are fine and thin,
And if you like to rest awhile, I’ll snugly tuck you in.”
“O no, no,” said the little fly, “for I’ve often heard it said,
They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed.”
Said the cunning spider to the fly, “Dear friend, what shall I do,
To prove the warm affection I’ve always felt for you?
I have within my pantry good store of all that’s nice;
I’m sure you’re very welcome; will you please to take a slice?”
“O no, no,” said the little fly, “kind sir, that cannot be;
I’ve heard what’s in your pantry, and I do not wish to see.”
“Sweet creature!” said the spider, “You’re witty and you’re wise!
How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
I have a little looking-glass upon my parlor shelf,
If you’ll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself.”
“I thank you, gentle sir,” she said, “for what you’re pleased to say,
And bidding you good-morning now, I’ll call another day.”
The spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly fly would soon be back again:
So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready to dine upon the fly.
Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing
“Come hither, hither, pretty fly, with the pearl and silver wing:
Your robes are green and purple; there’s a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead.”
Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little fly,
Hearing his wily flattering words, came slowly flitting by.
With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew
Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue;
Thinking only of her crested head — poor foolish thing! At last,
Up jumped the cunning spider, and fiercely held her fast.
He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
Within his little parlor; but she ne’er came out again!
And now, dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly, flattering words, I pray you ne’er give heed;
Unto an evil counselor close heart, and ear, and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale of the Spider and the Fly.

Will we allow the devil to lead us wherever he wants to?  Are we allowing him to lead us there right now?

As parents, we are the first teachers of our children.  They look  at us and follow what we do. Children have been called the greatest imitators because they constantly try to imitate their parents–in good things, and not so good things.

How many times have you heard your own words come from the mouth of your child, or seen him or her try to do what you do, exactly the way you do it?

Children are blank canvases. As parents, we provide the paint for the picture they will create of themselves and the world around them.  Even when they are adults, we can still see ourselves in them, maybe even more so than when they were young.  For parents, teaching children is an awesome, tiring, task that requires overloads of patience and perseverance.

But  our children are not ‘us,’  and they will never be us. We cannot live our lives through them, or expect them to live the dreams we had for ourselves. We can only love them, do our best to bring out ‘their best,’ and  help them find and begin their own dreams.

In the process of teaching our children, we are learning from them, too. There’s nothing more innocent than a child, more loving, or more forgiving. These are traits for us to imitate.

Children have an innate excitement about the world, and living in it. Everything is new to a child.  Everything is something to touch,  smell,  eat, or even color on.  We often forget our own excitement and curiosity until we have children who show it to us again.

In the classroom of the family, there is learning on both sides. There are the older teachers (US) and the younger teachers (THEM). Parents and Children who love each other–despite their struggles and misunderstandings—are key to a grounded family, and key to our society as a whole—-because the greatest lesson is this: if we could love others as much as we love our children, and  as much as they love us, our world would be close to a utopia.

How do you react when relationships are broken?

First–if it’s a relationship you’ve invested in– you probably try to fix it.

But  if that doesn’t work, do you wallow in its fall-out debris?

Do you hold grudges? Do you go for payback?

We know that one day, all things–including us– must end.  And as we grow older, we see that ‘new and shiny’ doesn’t last. We also know that people aren’t perfect, and some are bad for us. We may have to give up on some relationships.

But I think it’s important that we don’t give up on the miracle of life itself.

To let go of life is counterproductive. Because when one door closes, another will open—if  I  don’t get bogged down in my own needs, and if I allow myself to notice it is opening.

Most broken relationships are thought of as negatives. But maybe some of them aren’t. There are some relationships that honestly can’t be fixed, and really shouldn’t be pursued any longer.  In the long run, the breaking may be a positive thing for us.

Yes, we may need to grieve for awhile, but we ought to be careful that grieving isn’t what we spend the rest of our lives doing.  Taking our own eyes off ourselves and shifting them elsewhere—to the need another may have– is what helps us grow in character.

And we should never let go of what will make us a better person, in the eyes of those who love us,  and especially  in the eyes of God.

In yesterday’s post, we thought about how God talks to us. We considered how he often speaks silently to our hearts. He gives us gentle direction, or confidence, or leads us softly where we need to be. But there are times when God does not speak softly. He SHOUTS!

And during these times, His voice is demanding. What He desires to communicate to us may be what we NEED to hear, but what we don’t WANT to hear, because it may require us to change something we’ve grown accustomed to, something not very good for us. How many times do we close our ears to His voice pounding inside us–should I say warning us?–to do what we ought to do? God is SHOUTING then, in order to shine out some action on our part.

Actions or events we wouldn’t chose on our own–and ultimately caused by our own free behavior–may come. We may even have to suffer a loss, or humiliation before we will change. But God’s allows it. It is a loving action because God doesn’t take away our free will.  He SHOUTS a  little bit LOUDER.

There are also times when we cry out to God. He is our parent, after all; our Father. This is not quiet prayer. This is prayer of need, maybe out of sorrow, or fear, or defeat. We NEED God. We don’t want Him to leave us alone. We let Him know it. We ask. We knock. We SHOUT.

God is listening to both our prayers–the quiet ones, and the loud ones.
But are we listening to Him and His will for us? Or do we cover our ears like an impudent child?

God shows He loves us by speaking to us in  different ways, according to our uniqueness as  Human Beings.   For  some, He uses the voice of  silence. Yes, silence absolutely has a voice.

And today, I’m talking about that kind of voice. Tomorrow, we’ll consider  God’s louder voice.

We’ve  all heard about the  “still, small voice” of God and understood it to mean that His instruction  comes within the silence of our hearts.  For me, that silent time is early morning, when I’ve just awakened and  my mind is fresh and open.  It’s my time for listening. Because if we want to hear God speak to our hearts, we must be quiet and  listen.

Will He speak to us audibly?  Of course He could if He wanted to.  Some of the prophets heard the  audible voice of God. But for most of us, it isn’t that.

I think this is how it works: If you’re in love with someone, and he or she is in love with you–are words always necessary? I think not. We can simply sit, or walk with, or just be in the presence of someone we love and not say a word–yet we know and feel their love, just as they know and feel ours. And without any audible word from them, don’t we often know what they’d like us to do?

Another example: The parents of an infant  know what their child wants and needs without words.  They just know. And then they provide whatever it is for the child they love.

In Kings 19,  the Lord says to Elijah:

“Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

So many times, silence is the language of love. And who loves us more that our God?