Blindfolded

Blindfolded, temporarily
Have you ever been blindfolded? Not long ago, I participated in a game that required the players to be blindfolded. There is a significant measure of trust required for this exercise. If I agree to you blindfolding me, then it follows that I trust you will watch over me, keep me safe from harm as I attempt to navigate the world using my other than sight senses, relying on you as my guide. 

Not being able to see, temporarily, is quite manageable, but I have to tell you dear reader, that once the blindfold came off, I could see how very blind I had been. The blindfold helped me see that I was willing to lead people in the wrong direction as I held fast to my own misguided perception... the realization humbled me beyond belief, and I recall it now as a reminder to stay, humble.

And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together (Mark 14:55-56) 

In the quoted scripture, the chief priests and Sanhedrin sought for witness against Jesus to put him to death They found none, because Jesus was not only an innocent man, He was completely, sin free.  

And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands (Mark 14:65)  

Note they condemned Jesus, declaring him worthy of death, treating Him like a criminal: no evidence or trusted witness accounts required. Next, they spit on him, covered his face, taunting (buffet) him to prophesy, and did strike him with their palms. The blindfolding of Jesus with the subsequent fist in face beatings accompanied by mockery is a despicable depiction. This "game" for the accusers and abusers, is horrific to imagine, and I am taken aback by the scene as it plays in my mind and hurts my heart. 

Do you suppose
Now dear reader, now is the moment you and I have come to. It is a moment of reckoning. Let us suppose that Jesus Christ is God, with all of His powers, with all of His omnipotence and all knowing abilities completely intact: 

• Do you suppose a blindfold kept Him from seeing who was hitting Him? 
• Do you suppose He did not know each one, each player in the game, prior to and during the event? And one more do you suppose... 
• Do you suppose that if He had wanted to, as God, that He could have wiped the smirks off of those faces, and instantly annihilated His attackers, those cowards who could not look Him in the eye?

Blind rage is murderous 

Blindfolded to truth
The blindfold dear reader, it was for the accusers, the attackers. It protected them from looking into the face of the Perfect Man, our Perfect God, the Lamb that was slain for our sins. They could not look upon His countenance as they mortally wounded Innocence and Purity. We cannot sin when we look God directly in the eye. We cannot murder or wound when His eyes are on us and we feel his presence. It is impossible to face Him with our black souls when He turns His gaze in our direction. 

These men, they blindfolded themselves to Truth incarnate, so that they could satisfy their own evil desires. To kill God is impossible: for Him to give His life for Love is almost beyond impossible to comprehend and yet, this is exactly what He did, even for the ones who pummelled Him and nailed Him to a cross: those that repented, and ask for forgiveness, that is 

Blindly follow 
God pointed out to me that I am not blind, nor am I blindfolded. I see but I don't have to see everything, not like He does. My faith is not blind and yet, I would blindly follow Him wherever He might lead me. Jesus saw, He sees. Covering our eyes does not make Him go away.

Mosquito strength death blows
Perhaps you have blinders on? Perhaps you slipped them down, over your own eyes to keep the Truth out of sight? Maybe it is time you took a peek out from under them... maybe it is time for you to stop spitting in the face of God and trying to kill Him with your mosquito strength death blows? 

Forgive me dear reader, for my attack, we don't even know one another

 

My hope is that you do not turn a blind eye to what you are reading 

My hope is that you are unwilling to deny deity 

My hope is that you see and know the living God through Jesus 

That is my eternal hope...

The Tree

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou easiest thereof thou shalt surely die (Genesis 2:16-17)

Dear reader, I have been eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge and dare I say, so have you?! To my horror, and that may sound rather dramatic but I am okay with this, I have harboured bitterness, resentment, and anger that are quite unbecoming. I have lots of excuses and explanations for these unsavoury sentiments, but I still find it impossible to justify any one of them!

Eating foul fruit makes one unattractive
The knowledge of good and evil does not make me less responsible or accountable, in fact, it makes me more of something. I become more liable, more answerable for my decisions, because the bitter fruit of resentment, and fuming feelings that accompany anger, poison my thinking, my psyche and quite naturally, my soul. Fortunately for me, I do not like these rotten fruit flavours: they are repugnant to me: the me that I become when I indulge them is so unattractive that I want to hide from myself.

Here is your cheat sheet: do you contagiously create for the good or are you a soul leper?

Here dear reader: here is the list of emotional, psychological, spiritual fruits that contagiously create glory or alternatively, cause gut rot and soul leprosy. You need not struggle, wonder or flounder. The answers are provided for you below:

Foul fruit of the spirit                    

Pride results in scorn                       

Anger generates hate                       

Desire causes craving                       

Fear develops anxiety                      

Grief grips with regret                       

Apathy engenders despair        

Guilt points to blame                         

Shame humiliates                             

Cowardice afflicts integrity   

VS             

Glorious affirmation of Life

Enlightenment makes one ineffable

Peace births bliss

Joy manifests serenity 

Love reveals reverence

Reason open to understanding

Acceptance forges to forgiveness

Willingness operates optimism

Neutrality allows for trust

Courage affirms

Selecting 
Plucking the fruit from the tree is the easy part. Selecting the right kind is the challenge for each of us. Temptation attempts to persuade and prevail, but it does not have to. We need not give in and become subject to its allure. The metaphor of the tree of knowledge is invaluable. We are not far behind our forefather and mother, Adam and Eve. We can be keenly aware that we are forever choosing what consumes or fuels us. 

Foul fruit or glorious affirmation of life, dear reader? You are choosing every minute of your awake day. You are on the hook now, if you have read to this point. 

You can never say that you just didn't know any better...

Grin: and neither can I

Slave

No one can serve two masters. for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24)

Massive cosmic puzzle piece put in place
I am reading the book Slave, by John MacArthur, published in 2010. I was shocked to learn that the word slave had been incorrectly and repeatedly translated into the word servant in the New Testament, because of the obvious negative connotations that the word slave conjures. This means that each time the word servant appears, the word slave ought to be reinstated. This astounding truth has changed my view, my sense of belonging to Christ. It feels as though a massive cosmic puzzle piece has been placed into my understanding of myself and the experiences I have had with non believers.

Makes me blush with self reproach

 

Here is the distinction I am making for myself. To serve God or one another is almost a nicety, a gesture of chosen kindness. We serve each other food and drink, maybe watch each others pets or children for the weekend and more often than not, we get paid for serving others by selling them products or services. To serve God seems to me, now that I have had time to absorb the shocking truth, like I am doing him a favour. How embarrassing... me, the creature, doing God, the Creator, favours in service. This morning this realization sent my humiliation gauge through the roof, bringing me low. I have been smug, believing somehow that my service has been a generous and benevolent gift to God and man; this makes me blush with self reproach.

God's very own possession
To be a Christian holds a meaning within, and it is the belief that Christ paid some kind of ransom for me, paid an exorbitant price that I could not afford by shedding his blood, and that I belong to him. This I have long believed, but here is the part that stands out as extraordinary. By accepting his sacrifice, I became his very own possession 

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.. (1 Peter 2:9)

He owns me dear reader and I am His slave. Possession means I serve Him to please Him and the beautiful part of all this, is that there is no coercion, no gun to my head, no bullets being shot at my feet. To be owned by Christ means I am free from the consequences of sin, and this trade off seems almost too good to be true! If only the secular world could comprehend that Christ came to save life, not take it away:

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23)

Slave to sin or slave to Christ
We are either slaves to sin or slaves to Christ. These are our only options, and with this understanding, I now comprehend more completely why so many turn away from Christ. Most of us, including me, do not like the idea of submission: serving for the pleasure and purposes of another, even if the other, happens to be God, the Redeemer and resurrected Christ. Just like the people of old, who had Jesus in their physical midst, people of now look Him in the eye and say no, you will not be my King: I do not pledge my allegiance to You. I will not serve You, and I will be damned before I ever consider myself a slave to anyone.

He fell with his face to the ground and prayed

• Look to the top of this page, at the quoted scripture. You know who you serve, don't you dear reader? 
• You know what enslaves you, isn't that right?

You are living to serve a master and perhaps, this means you live to serve yourself, with periodic gestures of societal niceties, offered to make you appear, generous in spirit? Or perhaps, you are like me, in this moment, recognizing what an ingrate I have been, and how arrogant and elevated in my own estimation? now wanting so much instead, to be a slave to Christ, because I have been bought and paid for and am Gods very own possession. I am finally getting it dear reader, Jesus' refrain, as God incarnate, models the humility of a servant. He leads the Way, we must go, if we are to follow: 

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou will (Matthew 26:39)

Defining moments

We all have defining moments in our lives. This is one of mine. I pray it may be one of yours too dear reader, for the good, for the will, for the glory of our heavenly Father. 

We are owned, who, pray tell, is your Master?

Eyes on Me and You

We watch each other, watch ourselves

My twitter account name is @Eyesonmeandyou. This handle or identifying badge, is an indicator of belief, a foundational posit, meaning I believe we are being watched, constantly. We watch each other, we watch ourselves, created beings watch us, and the Creator forever and always has His eyes, on me, and you. Be alarmed, because what you are doing, or not doing, meets with much disapproval or approval, depending of course, on how you engage your time and energy? 

You have perhaps heard the term, lie of omission? This is an unspoken lie or in the more affirmative sense, a truth that is not uttered. Allow me to share a for instance example with you:

We are engaged in conversation and I can see that you are somehow displeased. I have several options, in this moment of comprehension

My options

Option 1: I can make merry and pretend I have not seen the darkness flit across your countenance and by doing this, ignore what I know may be hard feelings

Option 2: I can cut our conversation short, and say I must go, perhaps we can have coffee some time this week? and then, never make the effort to contact you

Option 3: I can address what may be an issue between us, and ask point blank, Is something the matter; is there something amiss? By doing this I open an opportunity for both of us to clear the air, to come clean, so that the possibility of intimacy can again be considered, and practiced in relating to one another

Now it is your turn. We are engaged in conversation and something is bothering you, something that has been on your mind. While I speak, you cannot take your mind off of the thing, the bother, the pesky item that has taken up residence between us. You have several options while I am directly in front of you.

Your options

Option 1: You smile politely, nodding your head and silently cursing me for what I have said and done, thereby relegating me to the darkened corners of your mind

Option 2: You glaze over with your eyes unfocused, and at the first opportune moment, look at your watch as a gesture of suggestion, that you must be elsewhere very soon, thereby dismissing me

Option 3: You seize this moment, perhaps even interrupting me to tell me the truth, whatever that may be, thereby opening the door to the possibility of rectifying the situation and healing a wound in the relationship

Perhaps you can think of other options but for simplicities sake, let us get to the point I am driving at, which is this: the option you choose is a direct link to your sentiments about the person in front of you. For brutal clarity, lets pretend we both know what is happening when relationship goes sideways. With each selected option, the behind the scenes mind and feeling events. can look something like this:

A score out of 3 depending on the option we choose

Option 1: Ignore and pretend. When this option is selected, it is evident that the person in front of us is not valued, and we would rather not waste our time addressing what presents as perhaps, a problem between us. They score 0/3 on our importance scale. 

Option 2: Run away with an excuse. When this option is chosen, it is a display of our cowardice. and lack of character strength. Oops, sorry dear reader, I tricked you here... this one is about how we handle ourselves when relating to others. We score a 0/3 on a behavioural scale when we decide that reconciling with another is too much effort and we would rather not.

Option 3: Speaking up, asking and listening. This option, when taken, is a statement about valuing the person in front of us. This is about ensuring that nothing comes between us, and the person we profess to care about. When we notice that there is a gap between us and another, it takes a certain amount of bravery to ask reconciling questions, or to make statements that let another know that we are displeased with them in some way. When this option is taken, we score a 3/3 on approach. and willingness to take a risk to make things better or perhaps, get rejected and have Options 1 & 2 come at us instead 

A bold statement

Now I will be bold and make a statement. The eyes that are on you, and me, and there are many millions of them, they watch to see what we will say, what we will do, what we will not say, what we will not do. They are watching for our choices, our lies of omission, and here is the scary part, they watch for our sins of omission, the things we ought to say and do that we choose not to. These sins convict us and there is nowhere to hide from ourselves. It is an impossibility to hide from the truth, because we bump up against it constantly, and it will never leave us alone, no matter how politely we present, no matter what time our watch says it is.

Our only viable relationship option dear reader, is to take a superhero stance, hands on hips, and boldly ask and answer the questions that otherwise become lies of omission and sins of omission, widening the gaps between us until they are impasses and great chasms. 

In other words, honesty is the best possible people policy, and I am pretty confident, dear reader, that you have heard and read that, before?!

As always, it is up to us to love one another, choose kindness and offer grace. and this one thing, an opening to others, an entrance point to our hearts. We must stop lying and start loving. Love is always, honest.

Hand Over Heart

Touch is irreplaceable 

I love a broad chest. I love placing my hand on the chest of a man, directly over his heart. This point of connection is breathtaking. My small hand, centred and waiting to feel the rhythm, the beat. This intimacy, this moment of sensing the seat of the soul in another, is astounding. There are few moments in life that I treasure more than this in the physical realm. There is something about touch that is irreplaceable.

What resides in the heart

What do you feel,
hands over heart?

When I place my hands over my own heart, one on top of the other, it moves my emotions. It is virtually impossible for me to feel anything other than an overwhelm of gratitude touched ever so slightly with sadness.

Hearts can be full, they can be rhythmically challenged, they can be closed, they can be wide open, and they can be broken. I speak of sentiment. What resides in the heart has a way of showing up in the person; this is an of course, statement. This is why we need so desperately to place our hands over our own heart, to sense and feel what lives there: this is why it is so important for us to place our hands over the hearts of others, again, to sense and feel what resides there.

The dance of fire

Now we cannot go around putting our hands on people, without permission dear reader: doing so is a violation of each persons right to invite touch. 

When you can, when it is safe for you and another, please do try this experiment. Refrain from making this a sexual experience, and you will see and feel the extraordinary in them, and in you. If you are comfortable with this, and I hope you are, since your hands are on them and perhaps theirs are on you, look them in the eye. This is a daring move because at this point, vulnerability may be at its peak. 

There, you will see, the spark of life, the dance of fire and the burning desire to be loved, to be known, to be understood. It is undeniable, and nothing else will matter at this point and maybe, just maybe, that is my point, here and now. Nothing else matters in all of life than the purity of love shared and captured, recorded in the mind and etched on the heart as a reminder of why we exist, why we are here, what is most important. 

Without love, why bother dear one: that is the epitome of pointlessness

My hope is that you long to tenderly touch the heart of another, many others

My want, is that you long to love, know and understand your fellow man

My burning desire is that we each decide that love shared is all that really matters, and that the Score Keeper in lifes games, tallies points each time we choose to love, because nothing else counts 

Depth and Height

Human range of emotion and expression
From the depths of despair to the heights of heaven. Our range of human emotion and expression can be extreme. Yesterday marked a year for me. May 9th was an anniversary marking twenty-six years and then oddly, this calendar day represented something else entirely. Next year it will not be twenty-seven years, it will be year two. Can you guess at what I am subtly hinting? The end of one thing becomes the beginning of something new, isn't that right dear reader?

Pit of hell, soaring like eagles
I am a private person, even as I pour my heart out onto typed page. Faint blood stains mingled with tears can be detected if you look closely enough. This is the marvel of being a human. We get to travel into the pit of hell and conversely, soar like eagles flying high and close to the sun. I wouldn't have it any other way, even as I choke back the bitterness of self pitying tears. The hope and the longing is always for unity but to have this is phantasmal, a pipe dream of sorts. I say this now, while I contemplate aloneness but I know what being one means. I know how it feels to be a part of... The best part of you is me and the best part of me is you, isn't this true dear one, when we are in synch with one another? It is a marvel to become one.

Aloneness. Al one ness. How can it be that separating the letters makes for such a different meaning dear one? How is this possible? Being one with another is so tenuous it seems, fragile in so many ways. A bonding agent is required, or perhaps, a third cord?

And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

The image of a braided rope comes to mind. The braid consists of cords, you, me, and God with perhaps an intelligent rearrangement of that order. You and me wrapped tightly and closely to God, fortifying us, strengthening us: unbreakable all-one-ness. I like the hyphens, don't you? Maybe you prefer the original spelling, aloneness: this is a statement about your heart; your life preference.

Threefold is not quickly broken

A Love Knot

I know that I cannot have what I want in relationship without God as the cord, the strength in the rope that I cling to with another. He is the bonding agent, the Great Unifier and without him, two cords are like cooked starch-less spaghetti noodles that crumple in a messy heap wherever they happen to fall. You cannot climb out of the depths of despair without a good solid rope to grab hold of to hoist you up and out of the pit. Two shall withstand; threefold is not quickly broken. Withstanding means against attack. Withstanding suggests taking a solid stand together and fighting as a unified force. Against what, you ask? The attacks from those who would have division... you can fill in your own blanks here.

Are you willing to ask for help?
If you are suffering from relationship weakness and feel that your rope is about to snap, check for fraying. Check to see what the cords are made of and how many there are dear one. Is there a missing cord? Has God been invited in to strengthen the rope? Are you willing to ask for his help? If you are still in relationship, there is time, you can do something now. Open your eyes to the possibilities and take some risks that may very well change the trajectory of your future.

What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder (Mark 10:9)

God as life line. He saves. 

Fruit of the Spirit

Dare to take a close look
You are what you think and this shows up in what you do. Do you believe this dear reader? I have an idea, a way for you to know for sure which category you fall into; which category others have claimed perhaps unwittingly, as their own. This is an in-your-face approach because time is short and today may be your last day on earth... 

I am taking slightly wicked pleasure from stating what may be all too obvious to you or perhaps, something you keenly would rather ignore? In either case, we are here together and while I have your attention, we are going into the light and dark of your existence and of course, mine.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (Matthew 7:16)

So here is the thing. The Bible uses fruit analogously to people, to you and me, and everyone else in the world. We don't like to be compared to each other or anything else but we do this all of the time, to see who we are, who others are, and how we fit into the scheme of things. It is impossible to know yourself without context, without seeing yourself as part of humanity. The idea here is to know who we want to measure up to, what standard we are to set for ourselves, and compared to whom? It is the who, what, where, why, and how ness of our existence that matters here. 

Joy is undeniable and
shines from the eyes

Okay enough prelude to the kiss. I will quote scripture and you can discern for yourself; you can self assess and judge; you can quietly nod your head and say that is me, that is so and so. You can ignore this wisdom, or you can grab a hold of all of it, and become the kind of person, the kind of fruit desirable to others, by showing who you are and of what your character consists.
                                                                                   
Love as fruit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,  goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23)

Do note: Spirit is capitalized in the verses above. Understand that this is God, the Holy Spirit, that operates inside of each human that freely gives their life to the will of God, through Christ. The fruit of this Spirit is who you are dear reader, when you live for Love. You are desirable, delectable, delicious. To come close to you is delightful.

Fruit of the flesh
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings,  murders, drunkenness, reveilings, and such like (Galatians 5:19-21) 

Look at this list dear reader. I had to read it several times, and pray to God that I do not fit this description, in any way, shape, or form. How about you? If you are this type of person, the fruit of your spirit, notice lower case spelling of the word spirit, then you are the type of fruit surrounded by thorn bushes and thistles... You are barbed, burred and bristled. To get too close to you can cause injury. You are dangerous:

• Is this who you want to be? 
• Is this who you are? 
• If you dare to categorize yourself with the brutality of difficult honesty, which category describes you and the fruit of your Spirit or, spirit? 
• Are you devoid of Godly influence? How are you recognized?

Time is short
I warned you above, that this piece of writing would be in-your-face because time, your time perhaps, is short? My time is short too. I am compelled to seek, and speak the truth, and boldly accept that the spirit in me naturally wants to be all too lowly, all too inclined toward my own selfish ambitions. 

This is why I must have Someone to compare myself to, Someone to show me what the fruit of the Spirit can and does look and act like. Jesus Christ is my perfect example, and He can be yours too! 

Look at what is possible for each of us dear one. You are noticed, assessed. People compare all of the time. What do they see in you? More importantly, what do you see in yourself?

Choose your category
Do the hard work of self analysis, self assessment, for the sake of others and for the glory of God. You are not blind. Take a look at you, today. Make a decision: choose your category. 

Crunchy Toast Cannon

Crunchy toast cannon
On Thursday morning, I experienced the delight of witnessing bread shoot like a crunchy cannon from my friends toaster. I laugh even now, recalling the brown bread rocketing itself into the air, to escape consumption, only to meet the floor with a thud, be picked up, buttered and eaten with a lovely poached egg (it could not escape either), nestled on top.

Giving things a personality
I am laughing again because I personify everything. I don't mean in a spiritual ritualistic way, as in all things have spirit, more like the toast, the egg, the butter all get talked to, and they come alive in my imagination. The toast clearly did not want to be eaten, thus it jumped from the hotbed it had been placed in, catapulting itself with a pop, over the counter that served as cliff from which it dove, hoping to swim away from humans... it might have worked too, if there had only been water below. This is how I entertain myself. 

Next my searching for answers side presents, looking for meaning, for how this all relates to me, and my existence or perhaps, those with whom I share intimate life. I am now looking for a modicum of meaning, something to make sense of an all too human approach to life, that many seem committed to being engrossed in. The leaping without looking.

What will you hit, down below?

Leaping without first looking
If I am to be utterly honest, I must go in the direction of death and being rather morose. Recently I told readers that they are apples, that they have not fallen far from their family tree. Maybe today, I must tell you that you are a piece of toast, launching yourself into a free fall, only to hit the ground hard and get eaten up, chewed and swallowed whole, no matter your many ill planned attempts at escaping. 

Escaping what, I hear you ask? Well if you are toast, you are made for consumption. If you are human, you are made for meaning, and if this truth escapes you, if you attempt to avoid and evade this reality, you are just a being leaping and falling toward the grave with no safety net, no water to break your free fall. One life is meaningful, another hasn't a modicum, even a shred of meaning. 

Harsh reality, isn't it?

Is truth a private, exclusive club?
It is my black and whiteness, my good and evil, right and wrong, life and death approach that I cannot resist. I have an insatiable urge to live and tell the truth. Truth is the only thing that has any worth, any value, and this drives me with a desire to shout it from rooftops. I have some good company but there are many others that have me beg the question, is this an exclusive private club or can anyone join?

We are accountable
You and me, we were made with a purpose in mind. I am not an apple, or a piece of toast. I am human and I must, of necessity, look before I leap; check where I will be landing; make sure I don't squish anyway or take someone down with me, when I decide that now is the time to take the plunge. All this said, dear one, to ultimately say this one thing. 

You and me, we are accountable. Making a life filled with meaning requires taking care, and never leaving the toaster just cuz it got a little hot in there.

Are you an apple or a piece of toast? I think not
I will end with a grin:

• Are you an unthinking apple or piece of toast that cannot comprehend consequences? 
• Do you look before you leap? 

If you don't, perhaps you can begin today, to be accountable for every little thing you say, and do dear reader. Perhaps today is the day you go back into the toaster, and finish getting crunchy

Life is so much fun, isn't it?