The Truth and His Bride

Art History 1603, that's what should be getting my attention right now, but my heart's to heavy. It's to weighed down by something bigger, by something filled with more wonder, mystery, beauty, and determination; something whose own art is best exemplified through us, man and woman. In fact, He goes as far to call us His masterpiece even though we look more like a Picasso painting 99% of the time; messy, unorganized, lost, and with little direction. The heart is heavy with something that Art History 1603 could never teach me about; something with more brushstrokes of beauty than any piece of art that we'll look at in that class or any other class. Frankly, I could careless who I offend with this blog. Sometimes the truth sucks. (For those of you who are used to my senseless banter, please try to bear with me through this one. Child Ryan will be back soon. He promises.) I use the word "truth" because that's what is filling my soul right now. Not the truth of this world, not of people, not the truth of textbooks, and definitely not of Hollywood. My soul, my spirit, my bones, my heart; they are filled with a truth found in the chill of a winter night, the glow of a midnight moon, the newness of spring, the aggression of a lion's roar, or the gentleness of a newborn baby. Ezekial said that when he ate of this truth it tasted sweeter than honey. When Ezekial put this Word to his lips, when he digested it and let it settle, things changed for him. He went from child to to man, from man to follower, from follower to prophet, and from prophet to nation shaker. This truth that fueled Ezekial, this truth that fuels the billions of stars that hang by threads each night, this truth that fueled Paul, that fueled Job, that fueled Peter, this truth... this truth is fueling me now. I write this not to tell you that i'm being fueled, but instead what i'm being fueled with. And yeah, I could write this in a personal journal. I could write this in the little brown leather binding sitting on my bookshelf, but this truth is for us all, not just me.

Truth has taught me something about itself in the past week. It's taught me something about His home, the church. I see and I hear about truth spreading all throughout this world, what i don't see or hear about is truth spreading all throughout the church. And my heart is broken. The bride, the beautiful bride laced in all its purity and perfection, is being treated like a whore. Let me be the first to admit my neglegance of the church. I'm guilty of believing that the doors of the church are open for me, and my filling, not for the Spirit, and His spreading. I have forgotten to love the church. I have forgotten how crucial the body is to the individual. I'm so tired of cabel Christianity. Christianitys become commericialized. You can find it on bumper stickers, t-shirts, TV, Radio, the internet, Washington, and even in Hollywood. Since when has this faith become something you can sell? Since when has it become something you can play politics with? Since when has it become something we can judge by how high its raitings are or how high its income is? We can probably find it in our ipods if we looked hard enough. And where is the church in all this? The answer- right in the middle of it. And im sick of it. We've got secondhand carsalesmen on every other channel and in our own pulpits telling us that if you send a dollar here, if you send a dollar there, eternity is yours! Eternity is free people, free. It doesn't cost a dollar, you don't get it cause you bought a t-shirt that says "jesus is my homeboy" printed on it. That crap doesn't make you a christian. That crap doesn't make you a member of the body. How is it that the greatest story EVER told, how is that this truth has been hijacked by these fools? Seriously? How is it that the church has been hijacked by these fools? The church is full of religion, and its getting in the way of God. There are churches for baptists, southern baptists, methodists, penacostals, charasmatics, catholics, roman catholics, lutherans, and prysbeterians. Christianitys been labeled like a piece of clothing. Christianity isn't american eagle, it isn't abercrombie and fitch, and it's not polo. Christianity is a faith, not a religion. Bono, lead singer of the greatest rock band ever U2, said last month that "religion often gets in the way of God." A rock star said this. A rock star, who happens to be a believer. God doesn't care about what church we attend. He doesn're care if it has United Methodist, Saint Marys, or First Baptist somewhere in its name. He doesn't care about the bumper sticker on our car, or the version Bible we read. He doesn't care about the tradition of His home. He doesn't care about how liberal or how conservative it can be either. He doesn't care. What He cares about is the condition of our hearts. What he cares about is how hard we are chasing after Him and not a religion. What He cares about is us. What he cares about is his body. What He cares about is His church and its elegance. What he cares about is His beautiful wife. I'm praying for my heart to feel the same. I'm praying for yours to feel the same too... Open your hearts. Let the Spirit do some damage. Let Him work on His masterpiece. Let go of religion, and grab hold of faith.