impossible soul

An Open Letter To My Beautiful Friends

It’s 2:30 AM on this Thursday morning as I write to you. The suburban is packed full of all of mine (and my family’s) earthly belongings. Tomorrow we set off on our two week road-trip that will eventually land us on the Eastern Coast of the Sunshine State in, from what I hear is the most hipster of all Floridian cities, Jacksonville.

I can’t wait.

One of the reasons I cannot wait to be somewhere new is that I have a clean slate in this new town. No one knows me, I can reinvent myself, even make up a new name if I’d like. As I was thinking about this, the thought of having a new slate, I realized why it is that this thought delighted me so much and I found that the answer to be the same behind much of my delight in life.. The Gospel.

As I thought of being completely free to be whoever I might, I was reminded of this verse.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
(2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

The reason I’m excited is because the idea of having a brand new slate is an important element of the Gospel. That you are given a brand new slate that is completely spotless, blameless and righteous. You aren’t a better version of who you were, you are a brand new creation through the work of Christ Jesus.. which is really, really awesome. We’ll talk about this element more later on in the blog.

So moving will be wonderful! Adventure, new friends and continuing to go to work with Jesus. However, here I find myself on to something much better for me and I cannot help but look back at these past two years of living in this beautiful little state and not begin to shed a few tears of joy.

I have been blessed to no end in my time here. You, my friends, have been generous with your love towards me. I know that I am quite far from being the easiest person to love at times. I know that it was not always in your best interest to be my friend. But I truly do thank God for each and every one of you. You’ve helped me see Jesus much clearer and shown me so many of His attributes.

So, to all that have loved me when I deserved to be shunned, were patient when it was easier to be annoyed, were graceful when I was clumsy, showed me that this is about Jesus when I wanted it to be about me and when you were faithful when I was faithless.. I cannot find words to thank you enough.

Thank you for being my friend,
liam. 

“Trying” Is a Suicide Mission

This week I saw a Facebook update from a well known Christian author (that I do enjoy) that said this:

How long can you go without thinking an unkind thought about yourself? Try. And then keep beating your old record.

A little self-helpy but hey he’s a hip and cool Christian author, you have to be a little self-helpy in today’s market. Overall I think it’s a good idea. What I don’t think is a good idea is telling people to do the impossible without telling them how.

Not thinking unkind things about yourself is a great idea but how do you do this? How can we not be self-loathing or have a low self-esteem?
Firstly I’m not all that convinced that self-esteem is the greatest thing in the world. Now I know most of you would almost immediately disagree with me because you’re a Westerner who has been told that having high self-esteem is very important. I would argue from a Biblical stance that perhaps we should rather be firstly enamored with the Glory of God in all things.

The fact that we are born with the Imago Dei (image of God)? Glorious.
That God has gifted us with simply amazing talents and abilities? Glorious.
The gift of life and the opportunity to know the Creator, though we are born sinners? Glorious.

In all of these things God has been gloriously gracious to us, fallen mankind. Theologians would refer to these things as common Grace. Whether you are saved or not you benefit from these gifts. They are common to all peoples. That is glorious. We don’t deserve any of that! Now all of those things, if they are in fact gifts from God, then why should we boast in them? They are ours, but we are not the source of the gifts! Therefore, we should rather esteem the Giver, rather than the gifts. In fact there is a whole chapter (chapter 1, in fact) about this in the Bible in a very important book called Romans. I would encourage you to read it until memorized.

So if we take self-esteem and rather turn it into esteeming God as most important and that we should be good stewards of these wonderful and gracious gifts that He has given us and be thankful for them, then yes, let us not think unkind things about ourselves. Because we are made in the image of God, not because we ourselves are particularly great but that God as been particular in His greatness towards us.

(knuckle crack)

Secondly, something that I really, really hate (and I do not use this word lightly) is when Christians tell me to try to do things that are quite impossible. Because before I’ve even tried to do it, I’ve failed. I simply cannot see it through to a perfect end. I cannot not think unkind things about myself. I cannot be a good person. I cannot save myself. I am totally unable. The only Hope I have is in Jesus and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit on the inside of me. If not by Him then by who? Me?! Surely not! Outside of Christ what am I?

So if instead of trying, let’s try Jesus. Let us come to God and ask Him to change our hearts and renew our minds through the Word and set our eyes on the Lamb that was slain before the foundations of the earth were even formed. Not beholding what we can’t do but what He has done.

Trying through self brings death, but by the Savior? Absolute, total freedom

#it’sallaboutJesus

PS - I don’t believe in being vague: the hip Christian author who I do quite enjoy is named Donald Miller. Great guy, wish he was a little more.. explicit.