No Need to be Lonely

See?? -This is what happens when I don't get any e-mails or replies to my blog... Just kidding!

I'm currently reading Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them by John Ortberg. Since I'm fascinated by people, I'm really enjoying this book that teaches how life is all about relationships and community. Ortberg points out that 90 percent of people have no close friendships yet most people would not admit that they are lonely.

The day I fell in love with the church was the day that my life changed. I realized that Christians are ordinary people who sometimes make mistakes and that it wasn't right for me to judge them. So many wonderful things began to happen to me that it was almost as if God were saying, "Good boy! Now you're learning!"

Last night, I was watching a documentary on Discovery Health about Terry Wallis who came out of a coma after 19 years. What really moved me was how his daughter, who was only a baby when he was in the car accident, loved him so much despite his brain damage and the vulgar things that came out of his mouth.

The program also featured a man who had suffered microscopic damage to the frontal lobe of his brain during a minor car accident and was now unable to love his family. His wife's love for him was amazing and unconditional.

If we could all love one another this same way.

"As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34

Drawing a Portrait (A Christian Perspective)

Remember, you have a lot in common with the face you are looking at. Before you take a soft lead and capture their essence with a loose gesture sketch, think back to when you were a child drawing with crayons. Have you ever thought what you would tell a very young version of yourself? Maybe something like, "oh, you don't want to know..." Or maybe, "I'm so sorry about the things that are going to happen, it'll be alright".

The subject you are about to draw, has probably had his or her heart broken by some tragedy or struggle . It could be going on this very moment. Instead of wanting to hurt you the way they've been hurt, they are kind of enough to offer their face for study. Even if it's just a reference photograph, it is the same little child posing and saying, "this is me, hope you like". It's easy to love people once you are aware of this.

Drawing a portrait gives you a chance to remove yourself from your 'little world' and focus your attention on another person. It's been said that if you wish to be miserable, you must think about yourself, about what you want, what you like, and what respect people ought to pay you.

Being a Christian, I believe that there is an 'old self' that we need to deny, and that we need to 'put on the new self'. The biggest problem is forgetting who I really am -a new person.

Christianity is not a religion, therefore there is nothing required of me in order to gain God's love. I meet with other Christians on Sunday, because we are one and want to share what we've found. There are two main rules (actually three) -I'm allowed to break them sometimes, but the new person in me desperately wants to obey them. Here they are:

Love God, love your neighbor, love your self (new self).

One day, when we were scribbling away with our Crayolas, having the time of our lives, someone came along and told us that we were worthless -that we would never be creative artists or architects of something wonderful that would benefit others. That was when we put away our crayons. If you are still drawing or painting, you are either fortunate, courageous or crazy. :-)

Jesus never told anyone that they were worthless. However, He did condemn religious hypocrisy and warned about the false teachers to come. What is a false teacher? Anyone who would have you focus on your performance instead of your relationship with God, and [pardon my statement of belief] deny that Jesus is God.

These false teachers, that have never learned to love themselves, obsess about their neighbor's sinfulness. They are so angry and guilty that they make everyone around them angry and guilty.

Get to know real Christians, don't accept substitutes. Observe them and you will see what true love is. Our human love is fickle, depending on how others treat us. When Christ lives in our hearts, we now have a divine love that is ever present despite circumstances.

Now that you've made a rough sketch, [to be continued... ]