"[E]very time you make a choice you are turning into the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different than it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state of the other."
— C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)
I've noticed that God seems to work in seasons for me. He sticks with a certain theme and hits on it again, and again. And again. Maybe this is an attestment to my stubbornness, it's quite possible.
Lately it's been the concept of constant motion. Last year we visited Sonlight Church in Chesapeake. It was an awesome church, very alive and vibrant- a little too far of a drive though ;) The pastor's message was about recognizing that you are in constant motion. Either toward God, or away. This struck me as a really interesting little tidbit of information. It had always seemed to me that if I wasn't ready to do the 'right' thing (which was typically the harder thing, wadda know?!) I would just hold still until I was ready to move forward.
Uh-uh.
Apparently it didn't work.
Today that was reiterated again in church at Forest Park. The pastor, Scott Neal, quoted the lines from C.S. Lewis' 'Mere Christianity'. I loved how a) it reaffirmed what kept popping up in the back of my head and b) it really illustrated things for me- the imagery of the hellish creature vs. the heavenly creature.
I am very capable of being a very hellish creature.
In fact, I'm pretty dang good at it.
How ironic that "the other side" would make someone that wants so desperately to be good at something excel at the characteristics of their team. Yeah, go figure.
This leads me back to John, as a lot of spiritual things do. I believe whole-heartedly God picked him out for me because he can meet and match my spiritual needs. It sure doesn't hurt that he's pretty good looking too ;) Presentation people! Presentation! :D
He makes me want to be good. <-- collective gasp here.....
He makes me appreciate the little things, even when he's bugging me. He's that slight pull to the good side. Now don't get me wrong- he's not the only thing pulling me. He used to be, but he's not now. He shouldn't have to be. That's too much weight for one man to carry. But he led for awhile there.
I'm interested to see how it turns out. If Satan, the perpetual loser in the situation, can do such a works on me I wonder what God can do. I have no idea, quite frankly, but I bet it's gonna be awesome ;)
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