Gentle Readers,
It is Resurrection Day, and I cannot yet begin to describe what I awoke to this day. Wondrous, incredible, God is soooooo…. Grace-Filled and Filling…. only words I can find. Still sorting things out a bit, but here’s a joyful laughing lesson I can share with you for sure! You probably realize by now… (cough)… I am a bit “old”. Not like, decrepit-hopeless-hobbling-around kind of “old”… but “old” like, “How do those kids not just fall flat on their faces with their britches down around their knees like that?” (said with a tone of true confusion and wonder) – kind of “old”.
Anyway, here’s the thing… I went to church today pondering this wondrous new life and new day… and they played this Track, this Contemporary Christian (*cough* REGGAE… song)… and the lyrics PERFECTLY EXPRESSED this incredibly profound truth that God broke on me today about Him, and about His Name! But… but… this isn’t a “hymn”. It isn’t even PASSINGLY CLOSE to a “hymn”. It’s… it’s… well, you’ll just have to listen and judge for yourselves!
And the ARTIST! I learned this incredible Theology Lesson today in church, through this song… I learned, once and for all, EXACTLY why I was created! I KNOW now, absolutely and positively, God’s entire AGENDA for Creation itself! And how the Resurrection fits, and how all of scripture fits… the awareness, the Truth of all this just kept rolling and rolling in on me, filling me with total joy and amazement!
So I came home, and found this cut, this recording, on YouTube… and I SAW THIS GUY!
You’re KIDDING ME!
Soul patch! Long hair! Baseball cap on cockeyed!
Really? REALLY???
Just HAD to share this song with you… Had to praise a God so incredibly patient with me… Had to thank this unbelievably talented and obedient Theology Teacher who has now blessed my life with this revelation of God through the gift of his song!.
And you know what? I just HAVE to wonder, if he sometimes wears his jeans so loose he struggles not to trip! But quite clearly, God doesn’t care a bit… and from now on, neither do I.
NOTICE: This will open the song in a separate window. All that follows this link to the song, are the lyrics. But JUST LISTEN and marvel with me!
https://www.youtube.com/tv?vq=medium#/watch?v=LrT7sqV14_E
Made To Love Lyrics
Artist:TobyMac
Verse 1
The dream is fading, now I’m staring at the door
I know its over cause my feet have hit the cold floor
Check my reflection, I ain’t feelin’ what I see
It’s no mystery
Whatever happened to a passion I could live for?
What became of the flame that made me feel more?
And when did i forget that…
Chorus
I was made to love You
I was made to find You
I was made just for You
Made to adore You
I was made to love
And be loved by You
You were here before me
You were waiting on me
And you said you’d keep me
Never would you leave me
I was made to love
and be loved by You
Verse 2
The dream’s alive with my eyes opened wide
Back in the ring You’ve got me swinging for the grand prize
I feel the haters is spittin vapors on my dreams
But I still believe
I’m reachin out, reachin up, reachin over
I feel a breeze cover me called Jehovah
And Daddy I’m on my way
Cause I was made to love…
Chorus
I was made to love You
I was made just for you Made to adore you
I was made to love and be loved by you
You were here before You were waiting on me
And you said you’d keep
Me never would you leave
I was made to love and be loved by you
Bridge
Anything I would give up for You
Everything, I’d give it all away
(Repeat 3x)
I was made to love You, I was made to love You
I was made to love You, I was made to find you
I was made to love You, Made just for You
I was made to love You, Made just for You
I was made to love You, Made just for You
I was made to love You, I will love by you
The Postmodern Mystic 
Carroll Boswell
April 30, 2013 at 11:29 AM
Hey, thank you for this. Try also “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” by Bruce Cockburn, also on Youtube.
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paulfg
January 31, 2014 at 12:09 PM
This god stuff is tricky in its simplicity. Once again your god-timing is perfect. Thank you. If not this day, this time, this moment – these words and song simply “nice”. A nice story of someone else. Yet this day, this moment, this time – a glimpse of the depth, the bottomless depth and width in the words, this tune, this lightning bolt.
And today not my moment for sifting. Today my moment to luxuriate in the bathing. To sense the safety of a pool so deep there is no bottom. To sense love so deep there is no limit. To sense complete union.
Today this not a “nice story.” Today this is a key to a hidden door. Another gift. You share so effortlessly. Thank you.
Luxuriating. Man it feels good!
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Little Monk
January 31, 2014 at 12:47 PM
“Today my moment to luxuriate in the bathing. To sense the safety of a pool so deep there is no bottom. To sense love so deep there is no limit. To sense complete union.”
To quote “The Pastor” for just a moment… “This… is a GOOD day!”
The only thing I know that’s better than “to luxuriate”, “to sense the safety”, “no bottom”, “so deep there is no limit”… is the realization that once you FIND this pool… as you stepped into it… He waved His hand over you, breathed on you, and rendered you able to breathe underwater. You now may “be immersed and covered up” in that pool… totally safe in Him. Dive as deep as He leads you… this pool is entirely safe.
Grace — LM
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paulfg
February 1, 2014 at 9:20 AM
My brother, married twice, divorced twice, one of the loveliest people I know. He said to me about my/our marriage “it’s like falling in love over and over again – just with the same person”. I would add that it’s like falling in and out and in and out … of love over and over again – until you finally figure it out. Then you love.
Your song and epiphany at 10.45am reminded me of that comment. The seeming cycles of falling in and out with God, the extremes highs, the flashes of ever deeper insights, the calm periods – and cause me to ponder on the complexity of this simplicity. My own journey – what is mind blowing to me, familiar to others. Nothing much “original”. Yet everything original and authentic to each person.
The simplicity has greater simpleness yet to be discovered. Love has greater love yet to be experienced. Gotta be in it to win it kinda stuff.
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Little Monk
February 1, 2014 at 11:32 AM
What was so very frustrating about that Easter Epiphany for me, was that it was so simple and obvious that it sounded ridiculous to tell it to anyone. In fact, THAT morning, I actually went forward and spoke to my pastor about this EARTH SHATTERING, teeth jarring realization… and… bless her heart (I have a lady pastor)… she understood my experience, let herself rest in the discovery, and affirmed it with me… “like looked at her own Rose here on this in wonder with me”… rather than just patting me on the head in sympathy.
But here’s what was so ridiculous… In my spiritual childhood, I was taught “Man was created to praise reverence and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.” My mentor, was taught that “man was created to praise and worship God, and enter into the the work and will of God.” Do you see it? My WHOLE LIFE I saw us… ME… as “created for the sake of God’s secondary agenda”. I was not created for me simply to BE… I was created for the sake of something I could DO.
Easter, God ever so gently shook me, took the scales from my eyes, and said, “No, my silly Little Monk. None of that. I don’t NEED you to DO anything. After all, I really am God, you know. I can handle EVERYTHING without your help. Really, trust Me on this…
“I created you, to LOVE you. Period. Full Stop. End of Discussion.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Now how stupid… how simple… is THAT? I mean, we all KNOW that, right? Wrong! Everybody I know, puts a comma where God puts a period. “God loves me, IF I accept Him and His Son…” ; “God loves me, BUT He’s holy.” ; “God loves me, BUT He’s also just… righteous… fearsome… etc.”; “God loves me, IF I follow His will.”
It goes on and on.
And God just swept all that away with a wave of His hand. “Not So! And I have told them this, time and again….. ‘For God so loved the world, He gave…” (was that before, or after we were “saved and obedient”?) “God is love… God is light, and in Him there is no darkness… ” in Him there is no unlove. ” “We love, because He FIRST LOVED us!” (in other words, we COULD NOT love Him, until He loved first… so, it CANNOT BE that He loves us if and as we love Him!) “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.” God just PREACHED TO me! Scripture after scripture after scripture…
And every time my mind, my theology, tried to put a comma, or a “but” in there… in that simple statement “You are created for Me to love.”… God would stop me, and repeat HIS statement.
I kid you not, it took me several weeks to adjust my thinking to this. And some of that writing is here in these posts… “Proud of you” is one of them.
Later, once I got “Lesson One” here down… He went on and explained why He “instructs” and “trains” us, and has orders, expectations and commandments for us. (And He DOES… yes… definitely. But not at all for the reasons we are generally taught and believe.)
Your question, “What does He need?” has intrigued me.
This is the first time, He’s allowed me a “qualifier” statement… something of Him beyond “He loves.” It was the realization that He “needs” only one thing. In that His “Name” is “Love/Father/God”… what makes that Name true… its “logical necessity” is “children”. An Infinite Love/Father/God ‘needs’ “children”. The truth of a child, is what validates the Truth of The Father. Infinite Love/Father necessitates Family. He’s down with that. But the “purpose” of those children is nothing more nor less than to be “loved” and “familied” by that Infinite Father. (and the “gender” innate in that statement is not appropriate to God, but a convention of our language.)
You have enriched these realizations for me tremendously.
Grace — LM
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paulfg
February 1, 2014 at 3:04 PM
Much of what you say went through this last week. This need. The “wow” moment so powerful. Since that moment, there is my own swirling. And on the back of your words … A confidence. That every single time any one us falls in love we always think we are the first. And others look on and smile. Yet … Yet … No way the same. Never the same. Similar. So much to share, so much to compare. Yet still mine and his.
Your need makes logical sense. Your words make absolute sense. I understand. A gift of sharing – beautiful. Yet … I have no fear. No fear in saying not yet. Not yet for me. Until and unless he locks that in to me and him – not yet. And no fear you wish me to agree. There is “no need”
I sensed today something. That this simplicity without commas, without but, without conditions is rare. The “love affair” something others nod knowingly. The simplicity something others nod knowingly. Yet .. The living not common. The commas creeping in. The buts waiting silently. And he prompted a collaboration.
“Jesus Without Pictures” – strip back, shed, cut away all the parables.
All the picture lessons. All the “interpretables” we weave with him individually. All the “disciple Jesus loved” embroidery. All the “human stuff”. Because the pastor stuff, the sermon on the mount stuff – the living it stuff. It “is” this simplicity in living I think. Yet … The commas get put back in. The parables and interpretables get put back in, and the pastor stuff and sermon on the mount stuff get taken back out.
And we all revert to “it’s nice” and argue about the stuff we always argue about. And wonder why it’s so complicated.
I do not commonly see, hear, or know of “Jesus Without Pictures”. And I would love to see what you and The Lord do with this. 🙂
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Little Monk
February 1, 2014 at 4:12 PM
I almost hesitated to respond, lol. Because when I read your last line, a very clear response popped in my head, and it is funny. I feared you might think I was making fun of you, but you know me too well, I think. No such thing. It was a one-frame comic I love…
http://wp.me/a1FKhW-y4
I love this. But not just because it’s funny… but because it’s so painfully TRUE! Lol. We experience a moment, a brief fleeting moment of “Oneness”. Of the Intimate and Immediate Presence of Christ… and quickly… quickly… we must “capture it”, “shoot it”, “frame it”, freeze it, plaster it, capture it, box it…. because we fear it will never come again, and we must “keep it”! And so… we totally miss the point.
“The Pastor” teaches a terrific thing on “Electricity can only be electricity while it flows and moves. When it ceases to flow, it simply ceases to exist. Grace, love, compassion, forgiveness… all the same. We want them. But when we get them, we try to squirrel them away in a box, cling to them, clasp them to our chests for fear of them ever being diminished… and we fail to realize, the moment we “stop them from flowing”, the moment we “refuse to pass them along to another”… we destroy them, making them dwindle away.”
I love this comic. Jesus will stand there letting us “take our pictures” as long as we think we need to. BUT, when we’re ready, when we finally “get it”… we’ll be ready to let HIM lead, as we just walk on and LIVE in Him.
The ultimate point is not, “He loves me. I love Him” “He needs me. I need Him” Not even “Him/Me. Me/Him”… but rather…. ONE. NO ME, NO HIM. ONE…
“You in Me, and I in you, and together we in the Father.” Grace — LM
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paulfg
February 1, 2014 at 3:07 PM
Words are important – typos important. “no knowingly” = nod knowingly. Sorry
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paulfg
February 1, 2014 at 4:46 PM
So glad you almost hesitated!! That is a brilliant. Rest assured a “selfie” was not on my mind in my words. Nor a fleeting moment.
Will go to sleep chuckling. And let him chuckle as well. 🙂
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vwoods1212
February 2, 2014 at 10:40 AM
Your culture shock imagery is very delicious. I have to literally pull myself out of my laughing mode now:))
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Little Monk
February 2, 2014 at 11:42 AM
Noooo… Don’t! I find “laughing mode” is often when the Holy Spirit can speak to me most clearly! Lol… let it wear off naturally! Grace — LM
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vwoods1212
February 2, 2014 at 1:41 PM
:))
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