Dumbfounded

It is truly amazing how deceptive people can be.

[Of course, some would argue that people are not deceptive, it is simply the enemy using people to spread his own deception and lies and treachery. But regardless of whether it is spurred by man himself or the enemy, deception is deception.]

People can be terribly two-faced.
They wear masks, you see.
Hiding.

But the mask is not ugly or terrifying.
Rather, it is radiant and beautiful. Masterfully crafted.
For it is comprised of things that look... are... good.

Truth.
Light.
Purity.
Holiness.
Godliness.
Righteousness.

Things of Christ, truly.
It looks real.

The thing is... we are supposed to find our identity in Christ.
We are not supposed to steal His identity to make ourselves seem... clean.

I am so very disappointed.
Saddened.
Disheartened.

... Praying.

Aaaand BREAK!

I can't wait for Saturday. I'm going to be leaving eeeearly in the morning to drive down to Gulf Shores, Alabama. "Outreach Week" = family and sunshine and warmth and no school for Natalie. I approve. I will be making the 14-hour drive with God, books on tape [old school, baby!], burned CDs, and tea... and I am stoked. What a great time it shall be! This trip is important to me. I'm not about to get into why, right now. It just is. :) But seriously... the rest of this week, I feel, will not go by fast enough!

Seeing love.

Within the past few weeks weeks I've heard something a couple times that has made me... think. And I mean, really think.

"Love is helping someone grow spiritually."

I like that.
I like that a lot.

I think it makes the concept of love more tangible in the sense of seeing a progression that results from showing someone love... I mean, to put others first is a great thing. And to love others is a great thing. It's commanded of us by our Lord God, after all. Thus, loving people and putting them before ourselves should be among our highest priorities, in my opinion.

So really... loving people could, basically, mean putting their spiritual lives before ourselves... wow. What a thought. If we really love people, why wouldn't we care about where they are in their relationship with God? Is said relationship non-existent? Is it weak, or is it strong? Which spiritual disciplines are emphasized? Is discipleship being focused on? What does a healthy, balanced spiritual life look like? Has the cost of following Christ been accounted for? How can they continue to grow?

However, I think it should be noted that we need to be keeping up with our own spiritual lives, our own walks with God. We cannot continue to pour ourselves out unto others in helping them, without being filled back up now and again. And we have to be strong from within before we can reach out in attempting to strengthen others.