Faith

Living with Legacy in Mind

Blog_BridgeI’ve been thinking a lot about legacy lately. What is it I will leave behind for future generations? Not in terms of material things, but in terms of life-impacting actions.

Maybe it’s the ever-increasing news of widespread hatred and violence that prompts this reflection. Or news of those now hailed as heroes all for devoting their lives and resources in pursuit of self-gratification. Or the featured news story praising a forty-year-old pop star for singing about the size of her behind.

I can’t understand what drives our generation to hateful acts that scar generations to come. Or to believe courage is anything less than laying down our lives for the good of others. Or to think our middle-aged years derive their worth from the size of our rear-ends—enough to deem it a song-worthy legacy.

In light of all this, I ask—what do I want my legacy to be?

Not hatred or violence, that’s for sure. Not a life lived in vain pursuit of self-gratification. And I’ve been to enough funerals to know the size of my behind won’t matter any more at the end of my life than it does now.

What if my legacy has nothing to do…with me? What if it has everything to do with the lives I influence for the good of the world here and in eternity? Knowing this would change how I use my time and my words. It would change how I invest my talents and resources. It would transform my goals, my actions.

At the end of my life, I don’t care if anyone remembers my face, or even my name. I only hope I’ll have planted enough seeds of love to grow life-outlasting fruit. And I hope to have rightly represented our God of grace, mercy, truth, and love to have drawn people to know how amazing he truly is.

“He has shown you, oh mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

Source: Living with Legacy in Mind

Photo Credit: Old Bridge Free Stock Photo – Public Domain Pictures

The God Who Sees

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“She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13)

 

Source: Stars Without Make Up

Photo Credit: Mission Peak Sunset View from Horse Heaven Tree | Flickr – Photo …

The Masks We Wear

We all wear masks sometimes. But the trained eye of true love can see beyond.

 

Source: Stars Without Makeup

Photo Credit: Carnival – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org

Stars Without Makeup

Blog_MakeupPaletteThere’s something more captivating about one picture of a star without makeup than all the paparazzi’s red carpet photos combined. What is it that makes the headline “Stars Without Makeup” such a common theme in modern media? It’s the opportunity to see beyond the air-brushed mask of idyllic glamour into the reality of what these stars really are…human.

Sometimes while standing in the checkout line, I catch a glimpse of a de-glammed star photo and something tugs at my heart. Compassion, maybe. I feel for that person behind the mask who lives in a prison of luxury, shackled to the trappings of fame—a slave of the ever-watching world..

If you look closely enough, beyond the smiles on even a glammed-up photo, you’ll see the sadness. The emptiness. The loneliness and disappointment. The toll that stardom has taken on a mere mortal. It’s something reminiscent of the story of King Midas, who in his lust for gold lost all that really mattered to him.

This looking beyond masks applies to us regular folk, too. We all wear masks sometimes. But the trained eye of true love can see beyond.

There was a woman on the run, in the desert, fighting for her life and that of her son. God met her in the desert with a display of tender compassion that nourished her soul and brought her back to life. There, in her deepest place of desperation, she bestowed this name upon her rescuer: “The God who sees.”

He sees into our hearts—our deepest places of darkness, and loves us still—bidding us to discard our masks and come as we are. Empty. Broken. Yet free. True love SEES.

“She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13)

Source: Stars Without Makeup

Photo Credit: Cosmetic Palette | erfan a. setiawan | Flickr

Water Reflections

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God’s Word—the Bible, is a mirror. In it, we see how far we’ve fallen away from the standard of perfect love. But the mirror is not what cleanses us. Instead, it leads us to the water.

 

Source: the Mirror Speaks

Photo Credit: Free stock photo of clouds, cloudy, river www.pexels.com

The Mirror Speaks

Blog_MirrorsSometimes I wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and say, “What happened?” It’s like disaster struck as I slept, wreaking havoc on my face and turning my hair into a tangled mess. My reflection doesn’t hesitate to talk back. “You got some work to do, sweetheart.”

It reminds me of a story my husband told me. Back when he was a teen, he and his cohorts decided to decorate a friend’s face with marker as he slept. Once they completed their masterpiece, they woke their friend and drove off to the local fast food joint. Met with unusual stares and amused glances, the friend made his way to the restroom. The whole place fell silent as a terrified scream filled the air. He had seen his reflection. And it wasn’t funny. At least, not to him.

Mirrors have a way of revealing our blind spots. In them, we see what’s out of place and what might need some fixing up. As for my husband’s friend, the mirror showed him a face that needed a good washing.

In my blog post The Get Up Call, I talked about how current events expose just how messed up our world is, and just how much we as individuals need change. News headlines have become like a mirror, revealing how desperately our hearts need transformation. In a world rife with violence, racism, terrorism, and more, we’re awakened to the reality of our need for change.

Now, when the guy with the markered-up face saw his reflection, do you think he tried to use the mirror to clean his face? Um, no. He went straight for the water. Only water has the power to make us clean.

God’s Word—the Bible, is a mirror. In it, we see how far we’ve fallen away from the standard of perfect love. But the mirror is not what cleanses us. Instead, it leads us to the water.

The mirror speaks. In this crazy world, we need a rescuer. Jesus came to be that rescuer, and he is the water that makes us clean.

Awakening

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“…for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, ‘Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’” (Eph 5:14)

Source: the Get Up Call

Photo Credit: the bed | by porsche-linn | Flickr