Love is patient. It is not impatient. It is shown in the attitude of waiting. A patient person harbors no resentment or bitterness towards anybody, but joyfully waits on God’s timing. This means valuing people above situations. This means I care for why someone is late instead of getting angry because MY schedule is thrown off. This means bearing up with others’ weaknesses with a desire to see God change them, not me. This means looking for the best in people, rather than caring about how others respect me.

Love is kind. It is not unkind. It seeks to bring out the best in people. It speaks gently to people; it never uses harsh words or tones or actions. It treats others as he would want to be treated. This means building others up with encouraging words rather than critically pointing out their faults. This means responding to a harsh word with grace and humility, rather than retaliating in anger. This means helping others when they are in need. This means being observant of others’ needs and taking initiative to meet those needs as best as I can. This means caring for others, giving my life away and trusting God to care for my needs.

Love does not envy. It is content. It rejoices with others’ successes without bitterness or resentment. It mourns with others’ losses without gloating about their misfortune. This means finding my needs met in the person of Jesus Christ. This means that I am satisfied with where I am and with what God has given me. This means I don’t compare myself with others in any aspect – not grades, not abilities, not prayer lives, not Scripture memory, not wisdom, not character, NOTHING.

Love does not boast. It promotes others above self. It does not exalt himself. It speaks in humility. This means accepting the grace of God in every aspect of my life. This means speaking in ways that make others look good, without putting myself down or shortchanging myself. This means having a tender attitude towards others, seeking to benefit all who listen.

Love is not proud. It is humble. A loving man is aware of who he is, how God has blessed him, but does not desire to lord those blessings over anyone. He recognizes that he is not God. He is teachable, able to learn from any situation and anyone. He does not hesitate to do the right thing, even if it hurts himself. He does not consider himself better than others, but offers his strengths to help others’ weaknesses. This means I look past myself and my hurts to the struggles and hurts that others may have. This means giving everything I have to others, even my life. This means asking questions to understand, rather than asking questions to challenge disrespectfully or to instruct. This means listening more and lecturing less. This means graciously accepting correction and rebuke, while being slow to presume authority over others. This means being open and honest with people, sincerely sharing my heart instead of hiding from others. This means having compassion for others, seeing them as God sees them.

I’m pressing on the upward way
New heights I’m gaining every day
Still praying as I’m onward bound
Lord plant my feet on higher ground

Lord, lift me up and let me stand
By faith on heaven’s tableland
A higher plain than I have found
Lord plant my feet on higher ground

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay
Though some may dwell where these abound
My prayer, my aim is higher ground

I want to live above the world
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled
For faith has caught the joyful sound
The song of saints on higher ground

I want to scale the utmost height
And catch a gleam of glory bright
But still I’ll pray ‘til heaven I’ve found
Lord lead me on to higher ground

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This hymn has been an old favorite of mine since I was a small child. The words tell of a faith that is pointed heavenward, of a heart that is passionately set on “things above.” But really, what does all of that mean?

I’ve recently been struggling to understand what my faith means to me. Christianity, as a subculture, has many catchphrases and clever cliches that tend to blind us from the truth that was once encapsulated in those words. Whether we’re Christians or not, we can all fall captive to creative lines of prose – it’s why people are paid handsome amounts of money to come up with catchy slogans that people will remember. It’s why I try to find simple mnemonics to remember random information I’m learning in medical school. Remembering stuff is important – repetition is one of the best ways to file information away. But I’ve found that my ability to recall information is disconnected to my ability to understand what I regurgitate.

So the internal conflict I see within me seems to be connected to truly understanding my faith. The reason for dismissal of any sort of “faith” as an irrational belief lies in this blind acceptance of abstract concepts without understanding. However, the faith that Jesus tells us to have in Him is completely devoid of mindless drivel. In fact, it’s a faith that affects us to the core of our being. It’s a call to action, a vibrant life that doesn’t settle for mediocrity.

But this faith comes at a price, which is both simple and costly. It comes down to a daily surrendering of our will to God – who has proven Himself to be unconditionally loving, just, caring, merciful, and faithful. It means that I must trust that God works things out for my best interests. It means that my lifestyle is dramatically different from what it would be if my faith was placed in myself or someone else. It means that I should have hope in the most hopeless of situations.

I definitely haven’t “arrived.” In fact, I see this whole situation as part of the journey that God and I are taking together as He leads me to heaven – the “higher ground” alluded to in the song above. The ongoing discovery and rediscovery of the intricacies in this relationship I have with Him are a part of the faith process.

I don’t know what I’m saying. In fact, I don’t even understand most of what I just wrote. But I hope that as I continue to probe these issues, God will gradually reveal more to me.

Higher Ground
Charles Hutchison Gabriel and Rev. Johnson, Jr. Oatman
© Public Domain

“So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed.”

- Romans 2:3-5 (NIV)

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One of my favorite worship songs of all time is a song written by Chris Tomlin, Kindness. I remember when I first heard this song. My sister had just gotten Tomlin’s album The Noise We Make and we were listening to it on our way to Six Flags. I remember listening to the song and thinking it was pretty great – but what impacted me was his reflections on this verse, published in the cover jacket.

I wonder why most people who repent come to change their ways. Is it out of guilt? Is it motivated by a desire to do good and right? Fundamentally, I think it boils down to realizing God’s mercy. It’s the essence of the Gospel – realizing our innate destitution according to the Law and accepting the grace of God through Jesus Christ, who paid the full price for our sins. You can’t have one without the other and still call it the Good News. You can’t preach about the condemnation of sin and refrain from rejoicing about the free gift of God by grace through faith. It would be a hopeless message. You can’t offer to others a message of hope and redemption if they don’t know why they would want such a “salvation.” It would be a worthless message.

Every day I’m confronted with the weaknesses and failures I have in the flesh. But it’s because of God’s unfailing kindness that gives me freedom to turn from my daily sins to walk in holiness. What joy that is! That kindness toward me is so undeserved, but it’s part of God’s very nature.

Consequently, I believe that the way others are led to repentance is by the undeserved kindness God shows them through Christians. The passage even alludes to this idea – because while exposing sin is necessary (darkness flees in truth’s light), the reason why we are found innocent in God’s judgment is because the kindness He showed us in Jesus Christ.

I’m out of thoughts. Back into the fray!

If God is love (1 John 4:16)...then…

God is patient, God is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

God never fails.

- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (NIV)

Man alive, it’s hard to believe that I’m worthy of such an awesome God sometimes. Every single description strikes at the core of my being, because I am everything God is not. In my flesh, I refuse to think and act in love.

Instead, I am impatient, I am unkind; I envy, I boast, I’m proud. I’m rude, I’m self-seeking, I’m easily angered, I keep a long (and highly extensive) record of wrongs. I love to do evil and hate to speak the truth. I am cowardly, I am suspicious, I am easily discouraged, I am passive. I fail on a daily basis.

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” —1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)

So while there was nothing good in me, God has recreated me – in the process of being transformed into His very Image, because those characteristics of agape are inseparable from Him. Every day, I must die, in order that I may eventually reflect God’s qualities.

This title’s a bit deceiving, I’ll admit. I apologize for the delay in updating – there have been many thing I have wanted to discuss and ruminate, but alas, not enough time to put it all into writing.

So what’s the meaning of this title? Well, I just finished watching M. Night Shyamalan’s movie, The Village. It tells the story of a quiet village whose inhabitants hold an uneasy truce with dangerous mythical creatures living in the forest around them. Imprisoned by fear, they are unwilling to go beyond the borders of their village, not even to save the lives of their loved ones. Unfortunately, I can’t say much more for fear of giving the whole story away, but what was really interesting was not so much the plot but as much M. Night Shyamalan’s ability to weave the spiritual into his theatrical masterpieces. The Village is no exception. What is even more uncanny is the knowledge that M. Night Shyamalan professes not to be a Christian. For someone who doesn’t identify with Christ, the themes of his movies certainly carry quite a bit of spiritual significance.

Without revealing anything from the movie, I’ll just say that I found at least two major truths from Scripture that were illuminated by the film. First, the film illustrated in a very real way that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The village, though having every appearance of being completely innocent, still has its share of fear and evil. I think it’s really neat to see the honesty that Shyamalan injects into the movie, that the evil we face most is not always outside, but inside. Jesus Himself said that “the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:18-19).

Secondly, the movie “briefly” touches on love. One of the characters says, “The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.” Counter that with the words of John: “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16, emphasis mine). When the world considers pure, true, agape love, it is astonished, because everything about agape runs contrary to the way the world views things. One of the characters in the movie bravely volunteers to travel beyond the borders of the village in order that they might save the life of someone they love. Love gives us the courage to face the fears that trouble us. John actually continues on in verse 18: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” I think this movie demonstrates the power of love, that it is strong enough to illuminate the darkness that fear brings.

And for the last point I want to make, here is one of my favorite lines, delivered by one of the men of the village: “Why can you not stop saying what is in yours? Why must you lead, when I want to lead? If I want to dance I will ask you to dance. If I want to speak I will open my mouth and speak. Everyone is forever plaguing me to speak further. Why? What good is it to tell you you are in my every thought from the time I wake? What good can come from my saying that I sometimes cannot think clearly or do my work properly? What gain can rise of my telling you the only time I feel fear as others do is when I think of you in harm?”

Throughout the movie, the young women seem to desire the attention of the young men of the village. Yet, instead of waiting for the men to lead and initiate the relationships, the women place themselves forward – often leading to heartbreaking consequences. Such is the course of life even now. Society tells women that it’s okay for them to initiate, to “take the lead when others follow.” Yet, as this man blurts out, this often comes to aggrieve men who desire to be strong and to lead as God intended. Time after time, whenever women become so impatient with men’s laziness that they choose to take matters into their own hands, the men let them. And the frustration is compounded, because instead of fulfilling the roles ingrained into our purest essence, both men and women end up losing the identities they desired to have the most. That quote made me want to cheer with that character, because I’ve seen women who mean well initiate because they thought the men were working too slowly, and become frustrated because the men won’t do anything. I’d better get off this soap box before I slip and break something.

Anyways, there are my thoughts on the movie. An excellent film, though the twist at the end was not nearly as dramatic as I thought (but that’s because I had already guessed what was going on before it was said). Yeah, I know, I’m a nerd. Well, until next time!