If Ever I Loved Thee...

Focus


On the Cross
On the Suffering
On the Sacrifice
On the Shed Blood
On the Grace
On the Offering
On the Weight
On the Glory
On the Forsaken
On the Wrath
On the Love
ON THE CROSS

"Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." 1 Corinthians 1:20-24

"But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14

May I never perceive anything to be greater, more glorious, more wonderful, more terrible, more amazing, more captivating, and more worthy of all my thoughts, actions, attitudes, and attributions. May I never lose the wonder of the Cross, may I never cheapen the enormity of the weight of my sin, the pain of the separation, and the misery that Christ willingly took upon Himself.. "for the joy set before Him"... for the joy set before me. May I never forget to preach the gospel to myself and to others each and every day.


"Redemption" Johnny Cash

From the hands it came down
From the side it came down
From the feet it came down
And ran to the ground
Between heaven and hell
A teardrop fell In the deep crimson dew
The tree of life grew

And the blood gave life
To the branches of the tree
And the blood was the price
That set the captives free
And the numbers that came
Through the fire and the flood
Clung to the tree
And were redeemed by the blood

From the tree streamed a light
That started the fight
'Round the tree grew a vine
On whose fruit I could dine
My old friend Lucifer came
Fought to keep me in chains
But I saw through the tricks
Of six-sixty-six

And the blood gave life
To the branches of the tree
And the blood was the price
That set the captives free
And the numbers that came
Through the fire and the flood
Clung to the tree
And were redeemed by the blood

Revisiting Riverdale...

Growing up I was a HUGE comic book fan. The X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Superman, you name it, and my brother and I read it. However, the comic books that held the closest place in my heart, those that made long vacation car rides bearable, saved my parents sanity, and aided me in becoming sleep-deprived at a very early age by reading under my covers with a flashlight, the comics that best helped me understand the teenage world I had yet to enter into, were Archie comics. All things Archie comics- Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Josie and the Pussycats... I loved them all. I wished I could transport myself into their world, into Riverdale, and become their friends. Forget super powers and amazing strength, I just wanted the 'normal' life they led and the relational bonds they had with one another.

I was sorting through some piles of miscellaneous stuff that had managed to find its way into a box for the move to Michigan and I ran across a couple of those old comic books. For sheer nostalgia's sake (and not because I'm still secretly addicted), I sat down and flipped through it. I always loved the characters... their personalities.. the love triangles... desperately wishing Archie would finally just date Betty (she was always so much nicer than Veronica). And that got me to thinking... try and follow me here because the parallels sounded great at the time, but I never know if my rabbit trails will ever make any sense to anyone else... Archie was always stuck in this love triangle complicated thing with Betty and Veronica. Sometimes you'd think he'd go for Betty.. nice, sweet, good, kind, wonderful Betty. She embodied all things good and decent. Most of the time he'd end up chasing after Veronica. Beautiful, enticing, vain, deceptive, selfish Veronica. Shiny glass, nothing of substance. And Jughead didn't care about girls... he just ate hamburgers all the time... and never got fat. Stupid guy's metabolism.. so unfair! =)

Anywho... so on to the parallels...

Archie is you.. or me... or anyone who runs this race called life.

Betty is goodness, righteousness, following Christ and what's right.

Veronica is idolatry, sinful choices and decisions.

And we, as Archie, have a choice. We can choose Betty... we can choose what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, good... what is right by God... what is God... and live a life of joy and peace and hope and love. OR... we can choose Veronica. And, man, if you're familiar with the comics, Veronica did a LOT to cause Archie to want to choose her, to chase her, to dream about and agonize over her. She'd go out of her way to make Betty look inferior and less than desirable.. she'd put on expensive perfumes, makeup, nice clothes.. and she could flirt with the best of them. We can choose her. We can choose what looks good on the outside, what seems fun, enticing, exciting, fulfilling... in the end, though, it always left Archie with a broken heart. You see, Veronica had no substance. When it came down to it, she was only in it for herself. She didn't care about the consequences, the pain, the brokeness, or the emptiness that Archie was left with. We have a choice. Proverbs 5: 3-5 says, "For the lips of an adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold of Sheol." We can choose between Betty or Veronica, substance or superficiality, true worship or idolatry, good or evil.

So, what kind of people are you spending your time with? Betties or Veronicas? Are you around people who will lift you up, care for you deeply, sacrifice for you, hold you accountable, and point you to Christ? Or are you surrounded by those whose "feet go down to death"- those who care more about themselves or the next fix or the next high or the next thrill than where those things might lead you to?

Who are you following? Are you running headlong after God- immersing yourself in His word, letting "your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person" (Colossians 4:6), where "no unwholesome word proceed(s) from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear" (Ephesians 4:29)? Are you "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19)? Do you live a life that is honoring and pleasing, right, and holy before God? Or are you following in "a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12); are you causing more harm to relationships than help?

What are you thinking about? "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." (Philippians 4:8) Or are your thoughts and your choices selfish, thoughtless, careless, fulfilling momentary pleasures, numbing pain, empty?

Finally, who do you worship? Is it true worship of the One, Holy, and Living God? Is it day in, day out, like oxygen breathing the fragrant aroma of Christ and bringing that back to Him? Is it unceasing, unadulterated, praise and thanksgiving for the One who took your place, who sacrificed on your behalf, who loved you more deeply and unquestionably than you will ever comprehend even a fraction of? Or is it idolatry? Do you worship a person, a job, money, cars, sports, a relationship, the idea of a relationship, dreams, goals, the church, friends, fun and good times? Do you worship yourself? Are you your own Veronica?

Psalm 24:3-10 "Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face--{even} Jacob.

Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift {them} up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory."

Who knew you could get so much out of a comic book? ;)