Because we are created as human beings with free will who live a world of infinite possibilities, people often disagree when addressing important moral and ethical issues. For some questions, there just doesn’t seem to be a right or wrong answer. And in some situations, there seems to be several right answers.
Life isn’t black and white. It’s a million gray areas, don’t you find?–Ridley Scott
So whatabout the grey areas in our lives?
Well, I’m a writer, so the grey areas are a favorite theme of mine, but those themes are always set against an absolute truth. Years ago, when I was an Art major at Spring Hill College,I considered the shadowing color Grey–not only as it appears in Art, but in life. Now, as a writer, I see it thisway: In my characters–and in life itself– there are always two extreme actions: Absolute Good, which comes from God…
My soul magnifies the Lord And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid; For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed; Because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name; And His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him. He has shown might with His arm, He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of His mercy Even as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever.
The Magnificat, taken from Luke’s Gospel (1:46-55), is the Blessed Virgin Mary’s hymn of praise to the Lord. The words are a proclamation of the Lord’s greatness with characteristic humility and grace. It is also known as the Canticle of Mary in the Liturgy of the Hours, a special collection of scripture readings, psalms, and hymns that constitute what is known as the prayer of the church. (Priests and other religious are required to pray sections from the Liturgy of the Hours each day.)
Although the Magnificat has had numerous musical settings from such composers as Palestrina, Bach and Mozart, it can be recited as well as sung. Its name comes from the first line of its text in Latin (“Magnificat anima mea Dominum”) translated in the first line of the prayer.
For a moment, put yourself in her position. When Mary was asked to be that vessel by a messenger from God, what would she have thought–“Am I going crazy? Do I really see an angel? Am I dreaming?” She was engaged to be married. How would Joseph react if she turned up pregnant? He had the right to have her stoned. But there was something in her, a grace given by God that allowed her to trust that the angel was His messenger. She didn’t ask for proof that she would become the mother of the Redeemer. Her only question was, “How?” Because she believed in God, and most importantly, she believed that He loved her, and she allowed Him to do so. She made the decision to surrender her life to Him.
DO WE ALLOW GOD TO LOVE US?
Surrender is the opening move for each one of us, but for most of us, it’s hard. No matter what our personality is, we each have an instilled desire to control our own life. Why is that? Why do we feel we have to be in complete charge of every aspect of our lives? Why are we so afraid to give up control and surrender ourselves and our problems totally to the will of God?
It may be that we don’t believe, as Mary did, that He loves us—-really and personally loves each one of us. And if we don’t first believe that He’s madly in love with us, then there’s no way we’ll surrender or trust Him.Stop a minute and think about it. The person I trust most in the world is the person who loves me, who wants only the best for me, and would lay down his life for me if he had to. If I believe that Almighty God loves me—-and he does–then why shouldn’t I trust Him enough to surrender my fears and worries, all my heart breaks, my illnesses, my lack of self confidence–in fact, everything that bothers or upsets me?
When we give up control of our life in favor of God’s plan–done His way, not ours–then we enter onto that road called Trust. And what does Trust in God prove? It proves His faithfulness. I can certainly say that I’ve seen His faithfulness in my own life. And if you look upon your circumstances, whatever they are, with spiritual eyes, I’m sure you can see it, too. Mary saw it and it caused her to make a decision. It caused her to say: “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to thy will.”
Today, to be honest, I sometimes wonder which country I’m living in. On every day that passes, the United States of America is looking less and less like the beautiful country I love. Less and less like the “land of the free,’ and the “home of the brave.” Less and less like a country built on families and proud of itself, and more like a country controlled and oppressed by people who have no common sense. Where did these people come from? Why have we given them authority over us?
Real American Freedom and Courage are fading from view like the sun fades before a violent storm. And we, patriotic Americans, are in danger of losing our nation altogether, to the power, greed, and licentious depravity of those who have taken over, those who will destroy all that is good and true.
Before this election—and despite Covid–our America was on an upward move, climbing toward the mountain crest, both economically and spiritually. Today, everything that was done to raise us as a country is being crushed. Why? Can you think of one good reason? I cannot. It all boils down to bad reasoning and personal selfishness, not care for America and all that has made her great.
I shake my head at the Cancel Culture censoring and banning of historical and literary figures. What in the world is wrong with Dr. Seuss? Or Shakespeare? Or Mr. Potato Head? Why ban any of them? Good grief! These people are twisting everything out of joint.
I am sickened by what is becoming of our schools, of our borders (we have none); of the attempt to re-create ourselves from woman to man, or man to woman, as if a human being has more sense than God. And worse: that a God-created human baby can be destroyed because of an individual’s so-called right to kill it even as the child is being born! How evil we are becoming! When I hear or read so many soupy reminders of ‘being kind to each other’ set out by those who rally for abortion, it nauseates me.
No good, and no reward, will come from our lack of courage in opposing this new administration and its un-American policies, of which I’ve mentioned only a few. Allowing the rise of China, the attempt to annihilate our recent leadership as a country in the production of oil, and the loss of guaranteed civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion–are a few more, but there are many other horrific things going on. The sad thing is that not everyone even knows about them. Few news media will cover the TRUTH, so how do we get it?
We are battled-tired from Covid, and afraid of losing our livelihoods if we speak out, or say something they consider politically incorrect or does not coincide with their Newspeak. (1984, by George Orwell.) Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thought crime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. – George Orwell
BEWARE!
Yet there is TRUTH. And there are LIES. Now seems to be the time for LIES. Expect no reward, only loss, if you swallow those Lies.
So, is this where we are now?
Aesop’s Fable of The Wolf and the Crane
A Wolf who had a bone stuck in his throat hired a Crane, for a large sum, to put her head into his mouth and draw out the bone. When the Crane had extracted the bone and demanded the promised payment, the Wolf, grinning and grinding his teeth, exclaimed: “Why, you have surely already had a sufficient recompense, in having been permitted to draw out your head in safety from the mouth and jaws of a wolf.”
Today in America, some of us feel uneasy about our life. We see the so-called ‘cancel culture’ movement biting away at our mores and manners, our literature and history, our principles and even our God.
We see our leaders encouraging open borders, allowing our country to be overrun with illegal aliens–and worse, the innocent children of those illegal aliens being treated as political tools, not as children of God.
We see the attempt to demolish even our gender –a man is not a man, a woman is not a woman– even though God Almighty created them as such.
We see businesses closed, gas prices running higher and higher, entire job segments being lost. We see a hypocritical governing body acting as the worst bully we’ve ever come across.
We see an adolescent-acting president, speaker and their cronies (though all are well past the age of adolescence) attempting to ruin the very soul of America and to re-frame our country’s Constitution, as well as to re-frame conservative American people in the worst possible light.
We see our ANCHORS being removed.
And we are afraid. We may feel that life in America has become an unending storm for us, and that we have no control over where the water and wind will take us.
Uncertainty is downright scary when we do not notice the anchors in our life. Of course, anchors in the form of other people are available. If we haven’t made use of them, why not?
We must begin with strengthening ourselves, because in the long-run we are responsible for our personal actions in any situation.
Maybe self-pride has taken us over, and we consider only “our way,” until “our way” doesn’t work.
Maybe we have alienated family or friends through petty disagreements neither will forgive.
Maybe there are habits we have that we know are wrong, but we keep them up anyway, feeling guilty.
All these situations cause uncertainty, and are common to everyone at one time or another. But without an anchor, they can become unbearable, until we feel the words, You Are Loved, do not apply to us.
But hear this:
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.–Isaiah 43:2
These words are about the life-saving anchor we can all have in life–if we choose to grab onto it. The words do not mean that there are not horrible attempts to change our country for the worst, or that we will have no storms in our life, but that when we do, God’s anchor is available–many times through other human beings, especially those we are close to.
The anchor, because of the great importance in navigation, was regarded in ancient times as a symbol of safety. The Christians, therefore, in adopting the anchor as a symbol of hope in future existence, gave a new and higher signification to a familiar emblem. Just as an anchor secures a boat in rough waters, so does faith in Christ secure us, and indeed, becomes our safety net.
Faith in God is our life-saving ANCHOR.
To achieve faith in God, and in another person, requires a certain amount of surrender:
Forgiving when we don’t want to forgive. Realizing that we don’t know all the right answers. Looking at our real self and what we are doing without making excuses for our wrong actions. And then asking God to lead us, and TRUST that He will.
When we give up control of our life in favor of God’s plan–done His way, not ours–then we enter onto the road called: TRUST. And what does Trust in God prove? It proves His faithfulness. I can certainly say that I’ve seen His faithfulness in the distresses of my own life. And if you look upon your circumstances, whatever they are, with spiritual eyes, I’m sure you will see it, too, and know that you are not alone.
Translating a World on the Edge 