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My Declaration
14 years ago
General
I can't stand it any longer. This pussy-footing about. A reluctance, a cowardice on my part. I must live up to my name. I must be who I am.
And I believe that entails ministry. To furries.
I will be hated. I will be trolled, threatened, spat upon, perhaps even abused, verbally or physically. I don't care.
I've seen what he's done. I've seen the lies and half-truths he's used to bait so many, and wrap them in chains of spirit and thought. It shakes me to my core to think of what the devil has done to so many poor souls. Literally, in fact. The old shakes come on as I write this. So be it.
I love you guys. The entire furry fandom seems almost like coming home. And I dare say that, despite whatever stranglehold the devil may have on it, the fandom still has glimpses of heaven in it. I can't help but love the creativity and compassion that goes on, even as it's twisted, warped and taken advantage of. I love the wicked sense of humor so many have. I love them for their stories and their artwork, their fursuits and sculptures, and the webcomics. I love them for being able to keeping something of the child-like spirit alive. I love them as if they were my own family.
That's why I want them to know Jesus. No, not the one they know or have heard of. Not the "Buddy Jesus" who hangs out with you and never rocks the boat. Not the "pale ghost" in all those misguided stain-glass windows, aloof and distant. And certainly not the Jesus of the coloring books.
No. I want them to know Jesus as he is. I wish I could say, "As I know him", yet I know I don't know him as well as I could. Better now than I ever have, yes, yet I want to know him more! This is not the 2D Jesus of church culture. This is the Living Christ, the source of all life and joy and love. Yes, yes, he is loving and merciful and compassionate. All you've heard in the church is true. But it's not the full picture. Not by a long shot. Jesus is so much more than that.
Playful.
Fierce.
Human.
Generous.
Honest.
Free.
Cunning.
Humble.
True.
All in all... beautiful.
I want people to know this Jesus. This man who gave sight to the blind, strong legs to the lame, and a much-needed touch to at least one leper, if not more. He challenged the religious men, not the pagans, for chaining down the souls of men with their foul laws. He drove out spirits of corruption and madness, powerful beings that no drug could ever thwart. He fought to restore his people. All people. And in the end, he gave his life to ransom our very nature, to renew us and return us to the glory that was ours when Eden was yet young. A man who was man yet God, a strange yet perfect mix of the divine and the mortal. A template of what is meant to be the final stage of human nature. One so humble as to simply walk everywhere, even when that meant days upon the dusty roads! Yet powerful enough to walk out of the grave three days after his death with the keys to hell swinging on his belt. A Dread Champion and a Lover of Men. A Beautiful Outlaw, if you will.
This. This is the Jesus the world must know. A Jesus alive and full of personality, who shakes everything to its foundations, who will leave no stronghold of the Enemy untouched. And yet, a Jesus who invites us all to join him. Not just in warfare, in this mighty campaign of sabotage, but in all life and love and goodness. Not one soul who walks by his side will find their desires unmet, save those things we crave that only heaven can fulfill. I dare say it is only by his hand that I am still here. My path was one in darkness, and now the sun begins to shine, despite the murky clouds that try to hide it. I could have turned this way or that into disaster, and indeed I strayed into more than a few thorny patches. Yet here I am. Still imperfect, yet with love and hope in my heart. Still struggling at times and still wandering. Yet always I return. After all, I made a promise to him years ago. One particular night when I was deep in sin, he pressed upon me, and I resisted. But I remember my promise. And I have kept it, and keep it still, as often as I can.
I know not where the path leads. Out of college into the wilderness, perhaps. Or maybe someplace far more familiar. Or toward someone dear to my heart.
I only know I must follow. Whatever comes my way, whatever taunts and jeers and misunderstandings are tossed at me, I may stumble... but I will never quit the race toward home.
Hate me if you want to, love me if you can. But I intend to be a man after God's own heart no matter what.
This is my declaration. This is my battle cry. To preach Christ wherever I can, however I can, whenever I can. To make him known, truly known, to other people and to see them set free of their bondage and their strife.
I will set the strongholds of the devil ablaze with God's glory or die trying. I only pray he gives me the wisdom and the courage to follow through.
And I believe that entails ministry. To furries.
I will be hated. I will be trolled, threatened, spat upon, perhaps even abused, verbally or physically. I don't care.
I've seen what he's done. I've seen the lies and half-truths he's used to bait so many, and wrap them in chains of spirit and thought. It shakes me to my core to think of what the devil has done to so many poor souls. Literally, in fact. The old shakes come on as I write this. So be it.
I love you guys. The entire furry fandom seems almost like coming home. And I dare say that, despite whatever stranglehold the devil may have on it, the fandom still has glimpses of heaven in it. I can't help but love the creativity and compassion that goes on, even as it's twisted, warped and taken advantage of. I love the wicked sense of humor so many have. I love them for their stories and their artwork, their fursuits and sculptures, and the webcomics. I love them for being able to keeping something of the child-like spirit alive. I love them as if they were my own family.
That's why I want them to know Jesus. No, not the one they know or have heard of. Not the "Buddy Jesus" who hangs out with you and never rocks the boat. Not the "pale ghost" in all those misguided stain-glass windows, aloof and distant. And certainly not the Jesus of the coloring books.
No. I want them to know Jesus as he is. I wish I could say, "As I know him", yet I know I don't know him as well as I could. Better now than I ever have, yes, yet I want to know him more! This is not the 2D Jesus of church culture. This is the Living Christ, the source of all life and joy and love. Yes, yes, he is loving and merciful and compassionate. All you've heard in the church is true. But it's not the full picture. Not by a long shot. Jesus is so much more than that.
Playful.
Fierce.
Human.
Generous.
Honest.
Free.
Cunning.
Humble.
True.
All in all... beautiful.
I want people to know this Jesus. This man who gave sight to the blind, strong legs to the lame, and a much-needed touch to at least one leper, if not more. He challenged the religious men, not the pagans, for chaining down the souls of men with their foul laws. He drove out spirits of corruption and madness, powerful beings that no drug could ever thwart. He fought to restore his people. All people. And in the end, he gave his life to ransom our very nature, to renew us and return us to the glory that was ours when Eden was yet young. A man who was man yet God, a strange yet perfect mix of the divine and the mortal. A template of what is meant to be the final stage of human nature. One so humble as to simply walk everywhere, even when that meant days upon the dusty roads! Yet powerful enough to walk out of the grave three days after his death with the keys to hell swinging on his belt. A Dread Champion and a Lover of Men. A Beautiful Outlaw, if you will.
This. This is the Jesus the world must know. A Jesus alive and full of personality, who shakes everything to its foundations, who will leave no stronghold of the Enemy untouched. And yet, a Jesus who invites us all to join him. Not just in warfare, in this mighty campaign of sabotage, but in all life and love and goodness. Not one soul who walks by his side will find their desires unmet, save those things we crave that only heaven can fulfill. I dare say it is only by his hand that I am still here. My path was one in darkness, and now the sun begins to shine, despite the murky clouds that try to hide it. I could have turned this way or that into disaster, and indeed I strayed into more than a few thorny patches. Yet here I am. Still imperfect, yet with love and hope in my heart. Still struggling at times and still wandering. Yet always I return. After all, I made a promise to him years ago. One particular night when I was deep in sin, he pressed upon me, and I resisted. But I remember my promise. And I have kept it, and keep it still, as often as I can.
I know not where the path leads. Out of college into the wilderness, perhaps. Or maybe someplace far more familiar. Or toward someone dear to my heart.
I only know I must follow. Whatever comes my way, whatever taunts and jeers and misunderstandings are tossed at me, I may stumble... but I will never quit the race toward home.
Hate me if you want to, love me if you can. But I intend to be a man after God's own heart no matter what.
This is my declaration. This is my battle cry. To preach Christ wherever I can, however I can, whenever I can. To make him known, truly known, to other people and to see them set free of their bondage and their strife.
I will set the strongholds of the devil ablaze with God's glory or die trying. I only pray he gives me the wisdom and the courage to follow through.
P.S. Join FFC! :p
what's right and wrong is based solely on obedience or disobedience to this Yahweh/Jesus/holy ghost character rather than empathy or being obedient to a different interpretation of god someone either grew up with or liked for their own personal reasons.
sure one may say well My Jesus is the only god to sacrifice himself(and before that needing animals bled and burned) for me , was that really necessary though I cant understand a god who views bodily fluids as some currency for forgiving someone for not being at their standard of perfection.
Or for you. You seem so hung up on these things, it makes it hard for me to believe you will ever be open to the Gospel. As such, I have to wonder what purpose your comments serve. Not what you intend, but rather what the actual result of them is. For me, it gives the impression that you have a rather nasty view of God, and I've yet to see evidence you're willing to let go of that even an inch. And to meet the real Jesus you're going to have give up whatever it is you've learned. As Yoda would say, "You must unlearn what you have learned." You cannot experience a god of love if you're already pretty convinced he's a bastard. Once a pattern of thought is ingrained in your head, it disallows certain other paths. You'd either have to be insane or practice a philosophy and/or religion that promotes contradiction in order to believe in conflicting ideas. Though insanity is not itself incompatible with certain religions. Christianity can be kinda crazy in its own way.
You do see what I'm getting at though? It seems crazy, but you'll have to, in a sense, forgive God and Jesus for everything you hold against them. And the Holy Spirit too, though I don't hear a lot of people talk about hating him. Anyway, I don't believe they've actually done anything wrong, yet sometimes we have to let go of things we hold against them. Things we blame God for. Because the fact is forgiveness heals the giver far more than those who receive it. If you want to know Jesus, you'll have to forgive him for the things you blame him for. Otherwise, you won't get very far. Once you're convinced someone's evil or just a prick, you won't want to get to know them any better.
If you don't give it up though, don't expect me to keep talking at you forever. There comes a point when a person truly is a lost cause, and God can't make people choose him. Then it wouldn't be real love.
I understand people won't always be receptive. But how is that any reason not to preach the Gospel? The fisherman doesn't think on the fish he missed, but instead tends to his catch so that he might not lose it, either to the sea or to rot.
Although the analogy does fall apart when we get to the part where he guts and cleans the fish to sell at market. Ah well. Are there ever any perfect analogies?
Speaking as a pagan (Shintoist), I'm glad to hear that. The main reason for me no longer being with a church (my being raised Lutheran) was essentially the concept that someone who claims to be Christian can sit on the computer at work and play poker all day, then berate the people who work under him for not getting their work done. ^^; There and again, the sheer adoration that a church full of people can produce (many of whom do so blindly) also upsets my sensibilities and tickles my gag reflex, which is why even before deciding on Shinto as a religion, I haven't been to church since I was 9.
Understanding that one can worship without needing to belong to a church is a good thing. :)
But yeah. I think Jesus hated what the religious authorities were doing because they kept God distant, and worse yet decided obedience was the most important thing. And it's not. Far as I know, the Christian God isn't after our obedience or our allegiance, neither is he primarily concerned with our happiness. It's a relationship he's after, and you have to get pretty close and personal for that. The commandments Jesus gave were all about love. And that indeed is the key. If you love God, you won't want to do anything that displeases him or that you know isn't right. When you love someone, you want to do right by them, no matter the cost to yourself. And loving others does require loving yourself. You're the human you know best. If you can't love yourself, how do you love others? So the love goes both ways, spurring you on to become a better person worthy of love, yet not caring so much about the slip-ups and the mistakes. You find it easy to forgive yourself and others when your heart is full of love.
Love is really what it's all about. Ever wonder why some people compare being in love to drunkenness? Because it does make you act kinda silly. And it also is intoxicating. Best feeling in the world, being full of love.
Erf, I do prattle on, don't I? Ah well. Think it's time for bed. Maybe I can continue this another night.
I'd recommend his books to anyone. He's got some pretty odd yet interesting ideas about Christianity and certain topics related to it, like desire and how to "wake up" Christians who are just coasting along inside church culture. Dunno if his stuff is real intellectual, though he does quote C.S. Lewis and other theologians, but... it just feels like he's got it. Like he's found what the Bible actually says and is presenting it to the world again. I think he may be starting some kind of cultural revolution, and the funny thing is he really didn't plan any of it. Life gets weird when you start following God instead of a list of principles.
I ought to write more articles based on some of his teachings. Or maybe stuff God leads me to write. Whatever happens, I know it'll be quite the ride.