Hand in the ground

"Republished from June 30th, 2013"

"When you find a spark of grace in the heart, kneel down and blow it into a flame. Leave the young believer to discover the roughness of the road by degrees, but tell him of the strength which dwells in God, of the sureness of the promise, and of the charms of communion with Christ. Aim to comfort the sorrowful, and to animate the desponding. Speak a word in season to him that is weary, and encourage those who are fearful to go on their way with gladness."

Someone was asking me the other day what my pet peeves were.  I quickly answered "hypocrisy,  bravado, dishonestly and narcissism."

Mankind has just as soon devised a curious measure of strength. Though the last 50 years we have witnessed this emergence of a clichéd hyper-masculinity, one that has expunged the presence of literary, social and philosophical presence from the heart of a masculine ideal.  

I was commenting to a friend last night that I don't feel much as changed over the last 30 years. sure, some of the mechanics, roles & responsibilities and outlooks have changed, but it terms of the state of being I currently hold, things are largely the same. I'ma third generation hand on the ground guy. to clarify, being a hand on the ground guy is a man who's not afraid to stick his hand in the dirt, get closer to the ground to get the job done. What types of thing are left to do to become a man more after God's design?

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:28-31

"Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit" - Zechariah 4:6

Good Intentions

"But, young friend, there is a difference, and more than a slight one, between
intentions and accomplishments. We do not always perform what we think we shall,
nor do we always reach where we hope to arrive. Failures are as numerous as
successes, and even the most successful have failures to mourn over. Good intentions
are not so rare that you may begin to crow about them; there is a road which is paved
with them, but I would not have you travel it." -Charles Haddon

"I'm not afraid things won't get better
But it feels like this has gone on forever
You have to cry with your own blue tears
Have to laugh with your own good cheer" -
 
I had a good conversation with a friend several years in regards to the topic of intentionality. Some of the discussion was bent on the fact that the word itself is vague towards it's understanding, the other regarding  the fact it's application in a church context can be even more perplexing. So what does it mean to be intentional? Merriam-Webster would explain it as "Being done with intention or on purpose; intended; of or pertaining to intention or purpose; pertaining to the capacity of the mind to refer to an existent or nonexistent object; pointing beyond itself, as consciousness or a sign."

Intentionality in a christian context can be a wonderfully powerful and transformation experience. In Romans Paul challenges new believers to re-consider their righteous indignation and transform that into a context of love.

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Paul never tried to fundamentally change how those believers felt, what his attempt was was to condition their response. He understood their intentions were based in justice not malice, yet the exercise of those intentions would be difficult to reconcile as an act of good faith. Rather, without the context of justice that the Romans operated under, an outsiders perspective would render and actions taken with violence and retribution with cowardice and disdain.

And so it so often is with intentions.