Why?

Why do we do things? What is our motivation? What makes our society a (usually) low-abiding society? Why do we feel good about being nice to people and helping others?

Simply, because it is Right.

Inherent in each of us is the knowledge of right and wrong. Children understand this concept, especially if they are well-parented. But often we begin to philosophize answers as we 'mature.' I've noticed in myself that this philosophizing usually is justification for doing what we know is wrong. 'It's not that bad,' or 'once won't hurt,' or you would if you really loved me' plague our society and warp the minds of our youth. These youth grow up thinking these things and then pass the same twisted morals on (but more on this another time). The point is we make excuses for our poor actions (things we know to be wrong) and believe our justifications are truth.

But truth couldn't come form man. We are too fallible, we vacillate too much in our beliefs. Not to mention what is 'acceptable' to society changes over time (take the media for example). Truth only comes from one source: GOD. He teaches us through scripture and prophets more about what is right and what is wrong. These former abstract concepts become absolute when we realise our Eternal Father gave them to us. They will never change. They are, by definition, perfect.

It is up to us to be humble enough to follow them, to accept them as God's truth. But it is our choice as individuals. What will you choose? Purpose to life, to be like God by living His truths, or a purposeless life, motivated by the desires and words of those around you?

The Strong Role of Women

It's strange we often neglect the importance of women and downplay the performance of their roles. This becomes more apparent as we look at history. (Maybe this is a broad claim and I don't have any support but what I see/study--at least not off the top of my head.)

But I am continually impressed at the strong roles women play in scriptures. We could look (and for a long while) at the impressive Old Testament examples of both Ruth and Esther. Each was a great example to those around her. A light to her world (and ours), in the same tradition Christ taught of in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5: 14-16).

As Jesus taught, He focused on the discrepancies which had crept into Jewish culture between what they had been taught and the traditions which had been adopted at nearly the same level as the Law (Talmud). Christ came to bring all to a higher understanding, to raise them closer to God.

In this He broke from tradition of pedantic following of Sabbath customs and taught, by example, that the Sabbath was given to do good.

The first chapter of Mark (and truly the rest of the text) shows this drastic separation from Jewish culture quite obviously. But what I think is important to focus on (aside from the casting out of evil spirits) is the healing of Peter's mother.

She had been sick with fever and Jesus comes to her and heals her (apparently in broad Sabbath daylight). Now this would be semi-acceptable, but then she (with understanding of the true meaning of the Sabbath) ministers unto Jesus and His disciples. 

In first century literature/writings/etc a woman was NEVER depicted doing the right thing. She was generally shown as a temptress or not mentioned at all. How startling it is to have an example of a woman doing the right thing, in blatant contrast to customs of the time, both in what she should be doing and the fact she is even mentioned.

Which brings up my point: how often do we rely on the 'literature of the time' to tell us what women should and shouldn't do, what effect they should and shouldn't have on us. I'm afraid my grand- and great-grandchildren will look back on our time and say, 'They had no respect for women. All the women were ever depicted as was sex objects or individuals who abandoned their God-given calling as nurturers to try to imitate men'--something they were never intended to do--just as we are not intended to imitate women in their roles.

I'm afraid we have the wrong view of women. And I'm afraid we don't give the ones who fulfill their God-given role enough respect or appreciation.

Where would we be without our mothers or the other women who had such an important impact on our lives? We ought to praise women for taking such a strong position to be mothers(or desire to be mothers if they are not able).

Praise them for their strengths, and don't tear them down just because they may not conform to society's (ever-changing) view of what they should do.

Take the strong stance and praise the women who fulfill their strong role.

Unclog the Flow

A good friend of mine just blogged about small and simple things making great changes in our (and others') lives. It triggered a thought that came tome about 7 months ago.

Each of has what I've termed a 'spiritual artery.' It is through this artery that the Spirit and His promptings flow from our Father. However, like an artery in our body, this spiritual artery becomes clogged (and much more easily than a bodily artery). What we must do, is work every day to clean our artery out. In cleaning it, not only are we more open to the flow of the Spirit, we learn what more we can do to make more room in the artery for the Spirit to flow.

The more we follow the Spirit's promptings, the more promptings we will have. There are many things the Lord has told us we can do to open our spiritual arteries. This guidance comes through scriptures and prophets. Little things we can do are read the scriptures daily, pray often, attend church weekly, serve our fellow men, share our faith, comfort a friend in need, correct some our our wayward behaviour, etc. Each of these things will open our arteries wider and wider. Also we are developing a relationship with our Father. This is one of the steps (with a few sub-steps) to becoming children of our Father in Heaven. This is a perfecting process, allowing us to follow Christ's commandment in Matthew 5:48: 'be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.'

However slowly, I am working toward that perfection. I slip daily, but Christ is there as my friend and my brother. Through Him all can be made right. Unclogging our spiritual arteries is a process through which we must all go.

Will you start (or continue) yours now?

Becoming Children

I learned an interesting thing today (surprise! Its from the New Testament.) When His disciples ask who is to be the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven, Christ invites a child over and says to his disciples, in so many words, you must be like this child or you will never see the kingdom of God. 

I had always thought along the lines of 'I need to be like a child, but they really aren't very disciplined.' This, I thought, couldn't be what Christ meant. And it turns out he doesn't. Children are, because of their youth and inexperience, willing to (and sometimes insistently) rely on their parents for help, assistance, advice, and more. This reliance, and subsequently humility are the qualities we need to garner within ourselves. This will make us 'like children.'

But this concept was taken one step further. We are not just to become like any children. We are to become the children of God, sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Now, wait, you say: the scriptures already tell us we are children of God (see Romans 8:16-17). True. They do. But this isn't the easy 'Oh yeah, I'm a child of God' relationship. That isn't the doctrine Christ teaches.

Christ teaches we must do and not just hear. We are to become disciples, followers who will do all He asks them to. And the blessing that come is we will receive the inheritance Christ did. But to receive the same inheritance, we must follow his example and do all in our power, relying as we do on His infinite grace which will help us rise above ourselves.

The idea of inheritance is obvious: the gifts are God's to give and it is God who sets the terms we must meet in order to receive them. Like with earthly inheritors, there are some gifts we receive solely because of who we are. But also like earthly givers, God is (1) much more likely (infinitely so) to give to those who keep His commandments (not just the Ten) and (2) not going to give His children what they don't deserve or never worked to obtain.

So our goal is to work to be able to be blessed as Christ was, therefore becoming the children of the Father, the same children who will submit their will to His and do all he asks of them.

So my eyes were opened and I realised I lacked quite a bit as I strive to be like Christ. but I know as I do, I will truly become the child of Father, so my relationship with Him will be as Christ's and I can say to my Heavenly Father, as young Jewish sons say to their earthly fathers with respect and affection, Abba, Father.

Knowing Christ

I have a great opportunity to have a class about the New Testament, focusing specifically on the four gospels, as a part of my course schedule. This class allows me to learn about the life of the Saviour in a way much different from the unguided study we usually take.

I am learning WHO Christ really was and who He is now. I am learning the context of the world at that time, which opens up a huge amount of knowledge I'd never even considered.

I'm learning, most of all, which questions to ask myself and others in order to strengthen my understanding and testimony of the man we call Jesus* as the literal Son of the Living God.

The more I learn the more I am curious (and the less I realise I know). Referring back to Sunday's scriptures, to know God and Jesus is life eternal. And this is one step closer in coming to know him. Corey mentioned that we will know Him because we are like Him. And I add, if we don't know what he was like, how will we become like Him in order to know Him. (Again, perhaps words muddle my meaning.)

Coming to know Him is a lifelong goal, but if we don't start now, to what purpose will our lives have gone when they end? And do we want that startling realisation?

I suppose this is why, in my weak and imperfect way, I strive to be a little better, coming to know Christ in knowledge and in action each day. A smile here, a kind word there is all it takes to get started.

Will you?

*The reason I say this is because Jesus is an English translation of the Greek translation of the Hebrew name he would have been called: Yeshua (English: Joshua)

Choose Life

Ok, before I am crucified for having an opinion on a controversial topic, read to the end to understand the relevance.

Two years ago I gave blood and the worker completely botched the whole needle thing. Consequently, I haven't given blood since. Until today.

About an hour and a half ago I discovered the 'vampires' were on campus asking for donations. A few of my good friends had donated and the horrible thought crossed my mind: maybe you should, too. I shuddered at the thought given my last experience.

Then another thought went through my head: you talk so much about wanting to help people, why don't you do something? I shuddered again. No, there's no reason to do that. I smile, that's enough for a day. Why would I subject myself to such as potentially painful experience again? (I had bruises on both arms for two weeks from my last experience.) But that thought kept coming back: just do it, think of the potential for good.

So I did it. I went and lined up, signed my life away and found myself tipped back in the chair. And then he stuck me. The flash of fire in my forearm was. . . not as bad as I remembered. Hmm. That's funny. Maybe this isn't so bad.

And five minutes later (my vampire's fastest victim of the day) I was all done. My bag was full. I had done my good deed for that moment and I had succeeded in putting my homework off for an hour and a half.

Reflecting back on it, it is much like those times we get impressions to do something and then fight them. It's the choice we always make: either we follow (and see the blessings that can come) or we fight or ignore the prompting and end up regretting it.

I followed this one and I see the brief fire as an acceptable price to pay to give life to three people. It worked for me. Choose life.

Worship

I love Sundays. I just do. They are probably my favourite days of the week. Each is slightly different and each has so many similarities.

Following the direction of the scriptures, Sunday is my day of rest. Regardless of how much homework I have, I choose not to do it on Sundays so my entire day can be spent in some form of worship.

Sound a little weird? Perhaps. But by worship I don't mean saying recited prayers endlessly from sun-up to sun-down. I think that's weird. I don't think that would entirely encapsulate 'worship.'

Worship to me is more. But because it is so abstract we will each have our own definition of what worship entails. Sunday (sabbath) worship to me involves service and friendship. It includes praying, study of the scriptures, and attending church. But it is more a way of living than a set pattern of activities every week.

This weekly pattern of worship (in whatever form I can find it each week) brings a renewal of strength (see Isaiah 40:31) that I've never found anywhere else. It recharges my batteries for the upcoming week. It makes me use my time more wisely throughout the week. It helps me build friendships. It helps me understand the mind of God because Christ said to know God is to have eternal life (see John 17:3), the greatest of all gifts. And that's a gift I want. And a gift I want everyone else to share with me.

Why would you not want to share the greatest gift that one could receive?

On Love

There is something special about love. It doesn't diminish when you share it; it expands and swells. I talk not of the silly child-like lusts that most confuse for love, but the deep affection, the pure caring for someone's eternal being. For who they are now in the light of who they could be. Maybe that's a little muddled.

But when you share love; it grows. And it doesn't just have to be shown to the first person to whom you showed love for the pure love of which I speak is manifest in many different ways. To one (and only one) person it could be manifest in a romantic way, but to others it could be that smile that stays on your face (perhaps influenced by your special person) or a hundred other actions designed to bring about happiness in another.

That is the main motive of love: to make someone else happy. It is not given for selfish reasons as the artists (and psychologists) of the centuries have depicted in their works. It is given because there is motivation to be better (purpose to life?) and in bettering the lives of those around you, your life becomes better.

So share it. It is the best feeling you can give someone. Just be kind; that's love. A look in your eyes can reveal the same. All it takes is pure motives.

Life and Sport

I have often thought there is a close relationship between life and sports. Each has it's difficult moments and each, eventually (if you're good enough), has it's moments of ecstasy, over which you and your friends reminisce in the years following. A brief example:

When I was in grade twelve, I played volleyball. My team was good for our area and we had worked hard to be good (years of practice and many disappointments in previous seasons). We had experienced defeat, trials of our friendships (on and off the court), and teammates stupid decisions.

But each of those experiences pointed us to where we were right then: the team heavily favoured to win the league championships and advance (for the first time in 8 or 9 years) past the first round of the regional playoffs.

Often the reaction of the teams 'at the top' is to assume they already won the title and frequently they are upset by another, admittedly less-talented, team who has a greater desire (drive, motivation) to win. We knew this (and were frequently reminded of it by our coach) and actively guarded against it. We ensured that after each of our plays (whether we won the point or not) we celebrated. Thus giving the impression to the other team we had already won and breaking down their mental game.

In short it worked. Unfortunately as we entered the playoffs, we were so excited about hosting the game in our own gym that we didn't prepare as well as we should have for our opponent, which came from a very competitive league, where 50% of that league's schools made it into the playoffs (as opposed to our league which was lucky to have one automatic berth). Our lack of preparation and, perhaps, inability to envision anything beyond that game, led to us being routed in straight sets.

We just hadn't come to play. We lost our vision of staying on top as soon as the competition became more difficult.

So also sometimes in life we lose our vision, we don't understand our purpose, or we have no focus. All this leads to a lack of motivation which, by not propelling us forward, propels us backwards, into the ground. Often we underestimate our opponents (whoever or whatever they may be) and we are demolished, left in the playground with a bloody nose, scabbed knees, and a black eye. (Or in the gym, deflated, depressed, and crying--in front of the home crowd.)

The lesson is simple: know what your purpose in life is. Follow it doggedly. Don't relent. When it tries to juke you, keep your eyes on its waist and tackle the sucker. Wrestle it to the ground and if it tries to get out send it a cross face. If you get knocked down and it's running for your goalline, don't just let it, cause like Forrest Gump it won't stop. It'll only get farther and farther away. Sprint after it, and make sure you get it.

Don't give up.

Welcome

In my first real experience putting myself out on the 'net for everyone to 'see', I hope it isn't so weird. But I hope that in some way it can be used for the benefit of mankind. One of the things I enjoy is making lasting impressions.

Whether it's telling someone my name (Lee J--which solicits more unique comments than I can count: 'That's unique!", 'I've never heard that before', 'How do you spell that?' or  'What?'), acting up a little (which is more like smiling and joshing people), or just being sincere, I love it.

People are so enjoyable. Each of us is so different and it is so interesting to find out what each person's story is. We are a conglomerate of all our past experiences and mine certainly determine who I am.

Though I'm young (21) and a student I still like to think I have some quality or something that is mine alone that can change the world. And maybe that seems a little bold or out there, but if can smile at one person a day whose day is brightened by it, I can personally affect 365 people a year. And if that one smile can be passed on to one person, double the number are affected.

And if you want to get really nasty into numbers (and I used to) just keep having that smile affect someone. I never know what reaction I might get, but not too many people get upset at me smiling at them.

And that's just a smile (and it's not even that impressive--I couldn't get a job from it), so if I had something else to share, an idea, or an experience, how much more impacting are those on people?

So with that intent I've created this blog: to put myself out 'there' to help more people than I already hope I am helping.