Like A Chocolate Milkshake, Only Crunchy.

"I want nothing to do with any religion concerned with keeping the masses satisfied to live in hunger, filth, and ignorance. I want nothing to do with any order, religious or otherwise, which does not teach people that they are capable of becoming happier and more civilized on this earth, capable of becoming master of his fate and captain of his soul."
-Jawaharlal Nehru

There's something interesting happening to us, and by us, I mean the most of you reading it and those like you. The college generation and slightly beyond. It not anything short of a revival in the true sense of the word. This goes both ways though. We have people who are seeking to be true followers of Jesus and not just slapping a sticker on when applicable. We have people who are just completely throwing off anything having to do with this Jesus fellow because of what they see in the so-called "Church." Heh, I suppose in all this is better than just futzing around and claiming to be "Christians". I suppose it is unfair to strip the title of Christianity from them.

That's exactly what they have.

They have a religion. A God with a set of rules for his followers that whosoever violates shall be struck down with the full force of heaven. Lighting bolts to the max!

It seems like Jesus already dealt with these people. They were called Pharisees and were completely blind when the Author of the universe was sitting right in front of them. "You aren't following the rules!" To them the Bible was a rulebook, not a diary of a relationship. And.. I seem to have gone off topic again.. whatever that "topic" may be.

So we have this generation seeking clarity and truth in a world that deems truth to be something that is established like the formation of an institution or something (By the way, truth is still truth even if the majority deem it otherwise; it does not change). This is good. It's something I hunger for daily. Not religion. Not a rulebook. It seems we are all beginning to see this Jesus figure for what he is: not a comfortable blanket to wrap yourself in and watch as the world goes to hell, but the dirty, broken sandals of action. Jesus stirred things up. He has killed for the things he was saying as was his successors.

I think something is wrong with how we're doing this. It should be something that engulfs us; is a fire that rips through the peoples and touches anyone near it. It should be something that makes people uncomfortable. It should make people fall down on their face with revelation.

But once again, not the point. I'm writing this for encouragement and calling for a paradigm shift. God of the Universe, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit: all one person. All together yet fulfilling different roles. See, the Bible is a diary written by each of Him. God knew we'd screw this up. So he gave us all the help he could. He started off by giving us a bunch of rules that are nearly impossible to keep with the point of proving that we can't do this ourself. That we need some help.

So God sent Himself to be here too, to help us out a bit and take on the cost of our existence. Then the mediator left and in came the Spirit and left us with a choice. A relationship with this Jesus character (thereby all the rest), or do what we've been doing.

I think too often we overlook the relationship part. We keep seeing it as a bunch of rules and guidelines seeing the consequences instead of what's been given to us out of love. God yearns for us to be in a relationship with Him, to walk beside Him and trust in the One who orchestrates everything.

What baffles me is why we, myself included, have such a problem with this. Why do we value ourselves and what we created over a relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of the universe? We think we know better than what's being offered to us so we do that instead. We, the clay, say to the potter: "You're doing this wrong." or "What is this?". Since when do tools know better than the Master? (Isiah wrote about that, if you're wondering)

It's at this point where you think to yourself "Uh, you mentioned encouragement and such.. I don't see it". Well, I'm sure someone will find encouragement in these questions. They may just come away from reading this with a different perspective on things. I hope if nothing else you do this much:

Realize who you are; that we are nothing without the One who gives us purpose.. out of love. We need to heed the voice of our Ultimate Friend and do it trusting in his infinite self that both knows all and sustains all. Live in the present.

We were created in time by a God who is outside of time. We were created in the present to live in the present partially due to the fact that that's all we have. Living in the past (although it's stoic and can be known) ignores whats going on at any given moment allowing life to pass us by while we're left feeling the warm tracks rather than being on the vehicle. The future is completely unknown to us. We can project into it all we want and guess what's going to happen, but it usually ends up different than all our fretting gets us. The future in our minds is comprised simply from our fears or hopes.. hardly accurate. Both possess pain. Neither are we are created to live in. We're supposed to trust God for a reason. He currently sees everything that has happened, is happening, and is going to happen now (gasket blowing stuff, I know, but I guess that's what makes him God). We live outside what God wants us to when we hold on to the past or when we worry about the future. Why do you think the Bible says not to stay angry past the sunset or not to worry where we're going to get our next meal? Because we aren't supposed to.

This is key. This is why God calls us to trust in him. He sustains all. Anything outside of his grace is rendered inert. On top of that he knows all. He knows what's going to happen to us if we switch majors or if we apply to certain internships or move to some random place. Why do you think he asks us to do these things?

That's all. Let the Mudslinging begin. I encourage you to as well. Last thing I want is to base my life on heresy and false doctrine. I'm human, this is just what I gather. Cheers!

What Can Brown Do For You?

Why do we look for companionship in the opposite sex? Why do we like and fall in love? Better yet, why do we yearn for such camaraderie in others? That is the question I seek to answer. I believe the answer lies in God's love for us.

First off, what exactly is God's love for us? It's boundless, so much so that He gave a piece of himself, so that we might understand and allowed it to be killed so that we may live. The ultimate form of love is laying down your life for a friend. He also gave us a book full of His attempts to show us exactly what His love means. Many think that the Bible is a manual for how to live purely. On the surface, this is exactly what it is. But did deeper, what do you find? You find a God who never gives up chasing us. You see a God who goes to great lengths to try and show us love; for us to understand exactly what He's about. You find a God who's crazy about us who mourns when we do stupid stuff contrary to the best way to live: in love. That is God, the essence of good, abounding in love.

Now look at us. A miserable bag of meat who can't even figure out what they're going to do in the next year. We quarrel amongst ourselves for selfish gain and pretend that we created everything and have everything figured out. We reduce everything into a little box so it's more manageable, so that we may rule over it standing proudly declaring "Look what my own hands have accomplished!" We use others to get ahead and have to work to try and do anything to the contrary. Is that all there is? Or is there more? What about that deep desire in us to see joy in other people. How about those desires to belong, that this screwed up world is not all there is? This CAN'T be all there is. Otherwise, what's the point? It's all one big colossal waste of time. What about a woman's desire to (among others that I cannot list for I am not a girl, contrary to popular opinion) nurture and a man's desire to protect, provide, and create? What about our desire to love, be loved, and belong? These things don't seem quite so evil. For many it's what they long for, what they search for EVERYWHERE. Maybe we're just a lump of confused clay. We have so much potential, but it gets mixed up in everything else, things we think are important.

God created man. He created us in his image. What does that mean, besides the fact that we owe him our lives? Does it mean that we are scaled down versions of him? Or does it mean we are like him in spirit and yearning? We are both physical and spiritual beings. It could be both. God could have hands like us, a face like us, a nose like us, legs like us. Or could it be we are like Him spiritually, that at our core, our deepest pure desires, what we crave for is what He craves? Perhaps those moments that make us stop and begin to truly take perspective in what we are and how things are, "for the beauty of the earth" are where we touch on those moments. If we were created in God's image then in some fashion we are like him. What if our desire to love and be loved is of God? That would explain much.

So this is what we have so far. We have a God who loves and craves love. We have us, humans, who desire to love and to be loved in the very core of our being, who were created in the image of this God in some fashion if not every fashion. We also have this God who wants OUR love and who loves us, the miserable bags of meat we are.

So then, it seems rather simple, does it not? We desire the same camaraderie of others as God desires of us. That brings up our only commandment as Gentiles: love your neighbor as yourself. Makes sense doesn't it? If we are all tiny representations of God running around, if we love each other, we are ultimately loving God. Maybe that's why we yearn so much for relationships. Maybe it's but a taste of what God feels for us. He longs for our relationship. Maybe that's why shallow friendships or lack of friendships causes depression and despair. Maybe that's why it feels so... complete to be loved. When we love others, everything else falls into place.

What if our own struggles and desires for relationships are reflections on God? What if when we truly love someone to the point that no matter what they will do we'll be there, we are experiencing what God feels for the entirety of the human race? What if, when someone you love breaks your heart, we are seeing a window into what we put God through day in, day out. What if, when there is mutual, unadulterated love among people we are experiencing the joy and ecstasy felt by God when his beloved returns to Him, proclaiming their love for him?

These are just a few things that have been revealed to me, capitalized by reading a book: Redeeming Love. However, I feel it's not enough just to pose these questions or or ponder the truth. You have to put what you learn into practice, otherwise it's meaningless. So now, I pray these thoughts will be on the forefront of my own mind and that others who read these thoughts garner some truth from them for their own lives.

*This note may seem that I'm saying "go earthly relationships!" but it's more saying that our relationships are patterns, either something God instilled in us or something we are striving to be like. Either way, all that I was saying is that I believe we feel like this to know what God feels like. There are a thousand other things I could branch off into about how this is only the tip of the iceberg and how we can't be satisfied in simple human to human interaction, but, I suppose that is for another note or perhaps, a good conversation ;)

Your World, Delivered.

"Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it’s the moments that take your breath away."
- Hitch the Movie

I've come to realize something lately and that is the difference in people. I'm not simply talking about how people are unique, but in how they interact with the world. This is the difference in those who walk through the puddle to those who avoid the puddle and scowl at those who frolic through it. The difference in those who observe the brilliant changing leaves on a tree and those who walk by, head down, unfettered. The difference in those who hold time captive in the eyes of those they love and those who simply give a glance of acknowledgment. I suppose then, the difference in those who participate in this world and in nature and those who take the time to observe and understand the actual scale of things.

I fear in this day and age we are too content in covering up that which makes things beautiful in favor of efficiency. We build highways over lakes instead of taking scenic back roads. We move to a world of human construction for the sake of convenience and "ease of living". Even now, before you started reading this you observed the length and decided in that moment if you wanted to spend the time reading, regardless of content. Such do we in our daily lives. We observe things simply in a passing moment, only if we happen to stumble across it, regardless of the true beauty it may hold.

There seems to be a correlation between those who observe and the relative happiness of that person. An observer of nature, as I've come to understand, realizes that what they are seeing is apart of something greater. They are the one who walks through the puddle, realizing that water dries and this substance falling from the sky is much more than a simple inconvenience; that this substance provides life to that which is around them, no small miracle. It's almost as if that by taking time out of their schedule or diverting their mind however briefly from the petty worries of their physical world, they tap into something greater and perhaps even briefly understand that this beauty can only be crafted, that this world and universe is full of moments like these. They understand the value of time. Not necessarily in how to best organize their schedule, but the value of a minute spent observing the nature around them.

What if that were true? That the worries of this world pale in comparison to the beauty that surrounds us. Life would be much different. But look at your life now, has not everything you at one time worried about been ultimately resolved? And what thing remained? Beauty, nature. And what does this beauty and nature do? Nothing. It just is, it's present. It doesn't worry if rain will fall tomorrow or it will bear fruit the next season. It exists in the moment, displaying its beauty to all who care to observe. Know anyone like this? Who seems undisturbed by present worries and takes time to enjoy the everyday magnificence? They usually are quite forgiving when you arrive a few minutes late or realize that most inconveniences matter not in whole scheme of things.

So I suppose our call to arms is this: to not just participate in nature, but to touch it, feel it, and be with it. To sit down and take a lesson from it. It's been here longer than us. Maybe once we start taking notes from nature and enjoying it we can take life into perspective, that it's not all about seeing what's ahead and worrying about this or that, but instead about being here and now, appreciating what's right in front of you. Besides, when was the last time you took a walk to be surrounded by nature and despaired?


"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it’d be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."
- Unknown