Seth’s World View

It is Sunday night, and I am sitting here listening to “Goodbye, Goodnight” by Jars of Clay. Today has been a good day. Peace reigns in my heart, and I am glad to know God holds the future, and all eternity…

Current Happenings:

Just came back from a retreat in lovely Winter Park. Most people go there to ski. We went there for the annual Rock Retreat at Crooked Creek Camp, one of the Young Life camps in Colorado. The speaker, Mark Darling, was incredible. He spoke on a simple, yet profound truth, God’s love. We finished it off with testimonies and baptisms of people dedicating their life to Jesus Christ. It was awesome.
At the beginning of the month, I heard Neil Anderson, author of The Bondage Breaker and Victory over the Darkness. His topic was “Finding Hope Again”. Though I had read the aforementioned books of his, it sunk in deeper when he said it.
In my last letter, I expressed uncertainty about my future (which, if you know me, if nothing new). Well, God has made my next steps clear, and nothing beyond that. God wants me to stay in Fort Collins another year or two, at least. He has been doing a lot in my heart here, and He’s not done with my life here. Due to atrition, I’m moving up in the food chain at work, which means I get to be off the phones more to answer questions and do research. God has also opened up some doors to talk about Christ at work, which makes me happy, since I was discouraged about this before. All in all, I’m supposed to stay where I’m at right now.
On a lighter note, I have two fantasy football teams, and they both have winning records. I started one at the beginning of the season, and the other midway. In the real football world, I’m happy Buffalo beat the NY Jets today, so they have a chance at the playoffs. I also hope to see the Utah Jazz this January, just once. Professional sports are such a problematic thing to follow. Success is only determined by winning. Being part of team, doing their best every game, all count for nothing, in the world’s mind. Sigh…..

Personal Thoughts:

I have now progressed to “Sad Clown” on my Jars of Clay CD. I’m going to skip to “Grace” though, since that fits my thoughts better. “I feel Your grace come running over every road. I love the way You’re calling overflow. I feel Your grace come running over every road. You break the floodgates down and carry all.” The truth of who God is and who I am in Christ has come home to this fragile heart. While I have been a Christian (officially) since age 5, and have been exposed to Christian truth my whole life, it has been hard at times to discern which flavor of Christian truth is true. When all is stripped away, we are left with the Gospel, the Good News. While I believe everyone needs to know Jesus, I have often been without any enthusiasm to share the Gospel. Why? What is the Good News? After being a Christian 21 years, I am convinced I know. The pastor this weekend expressed it as “God’s love affair with the human race.” God loves His creation beyond measure and offers forgiveness to all who come to Him.
While I have always known this, it never has truly penetrated my soul. Because, if I had truly believed in God’s love for me, I wouldn’t have worried about what others thought, I wouldn’t have worried about past failures and future rejections. My mind has undergone a major paradigm change this month, and I am everso thankful. The Good News of Jesus has to do with freedom, love, forgiveness, peace. On a journey where I’m always learning, I thank God that He first loved me. I have failed – so what? God loves me. I still sin – well, God has forgiven all sin, past and future. People may not like me – God does, and always will. God, in a sense, is like a perfect father. If a baby is learning to walk, and falls down, would an earthly father say, “You’re a failure! You’ll never make it. I can’t believe you can’t do this. Forget walking, just crawl!” Though I am not dad, most fathers I know of would find joy in just watching their children grow and learn. We may laugh at that example, but how often do we see God in exactly that way. I know I, for one, have done that too many times to count. I am harder on myself than God will ever be. So, I am reminded again, that God is love, and there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. Amen.