- Not The Only One!
- Post# 134
- 23 May 24
- ” Falling On The Sword”
- Howdy,
- Thanks for checking in once more. Buckle up! This may be a tough one. It’s not for everyone, but it is for some, and I will apologize up front to those of you who find it hard to follow along. Falling on one’s sword was thought to be an honorable and valiant thing and it took a little bit of the sting out of being captured, tortured or even worse. I know that some may think what could be the worse part, but if you were made to watch bad things happen to other people that you love, it could most definitely make you wish for the sweet release of death . It was in all honesty done to take the bragging rights away from the Victor. If you were fortunate or perhaps unfortunate enough to be the armor barrier , your fate was usually sealed with your master’s and most times followed suit. It was a mindset that few relate to now days, especially in the west, where we will do almost anything to escape or avoid pain suffering, responsibility, and yes to postpone death as long as possible ☺️☺️.
- As we head into Memorial Day , take some time to reflect on those who have gone before us and sacrificed much. The deployments have gotten longer over the years and time away from family is just more added stress to one of the most demanding things that someone can ever offer, and that’s service to its Nation. The saying goes, all have given some, but some have given all!. So, as you heat up the grill, lather up with skin protection at the beach, or attending a parade, don’t forget those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect freedom.
- Ok, back to the whole sword thing. It’s like a lot of things in life and it has another whole side to it. It could be seen as an honorable thing to do, but I would reserve that for people who sacrifice themselves for others. The other side of the coin is that its a cowardly act. It could be seen as a way of ducking responsibility, or just not wanting to face the music 😐. Honestly, that has been me , not wanting to face the music or to come clean, so it’s my turn to fall on the sword. This is my shameful and shameless confession. As Christians we are called to love people. All kinds and sorts of people, because Christ died for all people and all people are important and a priority to and for Him. I think personally for myself it’s easy to love or say that we love someone , as long as we don’t have any skin in the game. What I mean by that is, it’s easy to serve a stranger on the street or at a soup kitchen somewhere. It gets a little bit more tangible when it’s taking care of an elderly parent, I mean they put their time in with you, and it’s just the right thing to do. ☺️The last one is a huge challenge, and at times it’s like someone is holding you under the water and you not being sure if you’re going to be able to come up for a breath of air😵💫. These are the situation that often leaves us dazed and confused. If we aren’t that then often much worse and left bruised and scared in places and ways that it doesn’t show on the outside.
- These are the times and places where we cross the line and engage with individuals who don’t share our world view, values or love for God. I’m a very extremely strange bird here, and some of it goes to my wiring. See!, I will put a lot of similar things in the harper and try to make them work together. Often what I will end up with is a couple of broken eggs, some un-sifted flour, some melted butter and sugar all over floor….but no cake, which was the desired goal☺️☺️. I know that made very little sense, so let’s see if I can focus these binoculars just a bit☺️☺️. First up, the primary gift that God graced me with is evangelism, so my hearts desire is to always wanting to connect people to a relationship with God. Then I read in the new testament about the apostle Paul, being all things to all people. He wasn’t changing who he was or his message, just meeting people where they were, so to have more of a connection with them and presenting things in a way that they would have a higher probability of understanding what he was trying to convey. Two things to note here is that I’m not the apostle Paul and this isn’t first century Christianity.😝☺️ Paul could step into a town and see that they had a shrine to an unknown God, and explain who that is, but some two thousand years later, most people have heard and picked a team, even if it doesn’t lead to life or the fulfillment of life.🥲🥲. The last piece for me, well maybe almost the last piece ☺️☺️. I’m supposed to be able to love people exactly where they are, and simultaneously not sacrifice truth, or the message that Paul was heralding some two thousand years ago. Again!, without skin in the game, this is seemingly a no Brainer. It’s probably easy to become a little indignant when the average person rejects what you are presenting to them. I can admit that I have shrugged my shoulders, walked away and thought their loss, not mine.! Sure it’s easy to have the mindset of” turn or burn,” or to soften it with maybe I was just planting seeds or watering along the way. I know the truth of them not rejecting myself, but the Lord and God , who I say that I serve . I believe all such encounters just break the heart of God. He cares when His kids don’t care enough and when people don’t believe and accept that He has already done all the heavy lifting. ✝️
- Yes!, they are rejecting God, but it doesn’t feel that way, it’s a lot more personal and it does come with hurt feelings. This is where I forget how to tread water, or even how to just float and see where the current takes me. I become that overly optimistic person, usually a woman ☺️☺️, but not always, that sees this as a project or something that I can run out to the home improvement store, come back and fix this☺️☺️. Once you love someone, really love them, with your heart and not just head knowledge, it’s a completely different ball game. The stakes just became extremely high. It doesn’t matter if it is unbelieving parents, a prodigal child or a partner in a romantic relationship, the stakes are high and you don’t ever want to think about them in an eternity void of God and his love and mercy. I will admit that I don’t do well with the tight rope thing, my fail safe is always going to be God, because of His Spirit indwelling within me. It’s like a homing beacon and it always points true North, regardless of how hard , I may wage against it or not want it to ☺️☺️. It’s like putting a chip in your dog or cat, and there is no place that I can go and God not know exactly where I am or what I’m doing. That’s probably not the best analogy, but it does paint a picture ☺️☺️.
- How do you tell someone that they don’t have what they think that they have? I know that we aren’t suppose to judge and you never know what personal decision someone has made in their life , but sometimes they make it real obvious for us to determine that based on words, actions, and the things that they stand for. This again isn’t just about volatile or abrasive topics. I can tell you that I believe and have met born again believers who believe that it’s perfectly fine to terminate a pregnancy, even right up until late in the term. Perfectly healthy, but unwanted for one reason or the other, they believe it, it’s there right to and its my right to believe it is extremely sad.🥲🥲 With the amount of diversity in the world and with Satan working overtime, as his time is growing short, we shouldn’t be surprised that the same diversity is within the body of Christ.
- If anyone ever tells you that Falling on a Sword, or any sharp object , for that matter , is pain free, don’t believe them , honorable or not ☺️☺️. Well !, unless you are really slow, I mean the turtles are passing you and leaving you in the dust☺️☺️, then you know that I’ve been talking about a romantic relationship that can leave one feeling less than adequate. It’s not in any of the ways that you usually may feel less than, say stamina, finances, intelligences or just being emotionally unavailable,☺️☺️ but some how We failed to represent God well. It’s like I said it’s a personal thing. So something about ourselves did not leave the sweet aroma of Christ in the air. It’s not my first rodeo and I know that I absolutely can’t save a single solitary person, including myself. I know that it’s a deeply personal decision to follow Christ but,…..when you see and witness the trauma, the bad history, both in and outside of the church first hand, it’s more than just a tall mountain to climb, at times its insurmountable. When people have knowledge about so much tradition and falsehoods, it’s difficult for them to see anything but what they have always known, even if it’s not the truth and beneficial for them. They think that they are all the same and interchangeable, and if they are, what difference does it matter. ? I’ve never understood holding on to some religion or rituals that have only for the most part been associated with pain and hurt.
- Back to the guy that gave us most of the new testament. He once stated that he would sacrifice himself, if it meant that they understood what was being offer to them. He would receive and take there punishment, if they would just open their eyes and believe and receive God’s free gift of salvation. Most of us get close to this if we have a sick child and you would take their place in a heart beat, just so that they wouldn’t be suffering anymore, you know what I’m talking about. And why would you take such drastic actions? , because You love them and sometimes more than life itself .I know that there is no way for me to take the place of another, even though I wish that I could. If I could do that, then maybe I could get the proverbial horse to drink when I lead it to water ☺️☺️.
- I believe that we all have holes in our lives to some degree. There are things that we wish that we could improve upon for various reasons. Some based out of need for health, self improvement or just the general betterment of a situation. Some and maybe a great deal of our holes are selfish in nature. The question then becomes, what size are your holes? Are they something that a small tweak here or there would remedy it as whole.? Is it an ozone size hole and something that you could push a Mac truck through? ☺️I think for some as in this particular case, it’s a God size hole and it’s something that swallow up galaxies and the entire universe. The irony here is that this humongous hole can only be filled with God, and then it miraculously fits inside a human heart ❤️. We chase after all sorts of adventures, sky diving, scuba diving, bungee jumping, and we wonder why they just never leave us feeling filled and content. Maybe it’s power, money, travel, possessions, and even relationships and the results are always the same, some different level of misery☺️☺️ It’s one kind of pain to sit idly by and observe this in a coworker, or perhaps a relative or a personal friend, but it a whole different world of hurt when you have skin In the game. You would do or give anything to get them to see, just another perspective. Noticed that I didn’t say a slightly different perspective, because following Christ is radical and it changes everything. He is the light of the world and you don’t have to go around trying to make your own light, that will dissipate over time. I have to have the next cool Facebook post so people think that I’m cool, or living my best life, or just so they don’t forget me and think that I’m pathetic and lame, yeah but, you have that momentary light.☺️☺️
- When I was with you, I prayed with you and when we weren’t together I prayed for you as I still do till this day, all this time later. When you were here, I took you to church and when I was there, we found a church and we went together hoping to arouse or spark some interest. When we were together, I treated you with dignity and respect and always took care of you. I tried to be a gentleman and contrast myself to the usual round of suspects.☺️☺️ I made you laugh and you did the same for me. Did I do all of these things perfectly? , of course not, but I made a legitimate try at making you feel special and different, because of the love I still have for you in my heart ♥️
- I’m going to close this out with this. There is a story in the old testament of God speaking through a donkey, I laugh every time I think about God and His sense of humor. Well I was listening to a radio station the other day and the DJ on there was telling a story. I’m not really a fan of hers, because she has way to many words, and I know that it’s not about me and someone else needs the encouragement and all of that sunshine ☺️☺️. She comes across as to churchy, which some of you have said about me….so I get it☺️☺️. She was telling a story about a friend of her ‘s and her husband. A guy friend who was asking them their thoughts on the woman that he was dating and contemplating marrying. They told him their thoughts and that they thought she wasn’t the right fit for him , but to pray about it. Well if God can use a donkey, then He surely can use a DJ that I’m not to crazy about ☺️☺️. The final piece for me in the harper is God. He is the wild card and He changes hearts and minds every single day. I knew that the difficulty that we were experiencing was our spirits being at war with one another. It’s the darkness trying to extinguish a light that can never be put out. Let’s just make sure that the sword goes all the way through. I lied to you. I told you that you didn’t have to change, I just didn’t know that you were going to take it as a personal challenge ☺️☺️. It wasn’t to change for me or what I was hoping you would be, but I was hopeful for your sake. It’s no fun going through life with all those fears and anxiety. The worries of am I good enough, am I loved and accepted? And all of the other insecurities that come with just being on the planet. Life is full of uncertainty, but not when you walk with God. We always have hope in the things that matter most in life. Sure there are times when it’s in short supply, but it’s never completely out and gone, and I mean never!! God wasn’t using the DJ to tell me something that I didn’t already know, but it was a reminder, and at the end of the day, I still had hope , because God is awesome!! I know that He can do for you , what He has already done for me. So I lied to you. Sorry…..not Sorry!!
- Till Next Time ✌️ Peace!
- Sandy The Southerner
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