Love Before First Sight

Now that I'm back, I thought I'd share a blog post I started writing in mid-January.  Somewhere along the line, I had the idea that it would be good for the week around Valentine's Day.  It was a nice thought, but it didn't work on account of my procrastination and the fact that I was on vacation.  So, after revisiting and finally finishing it, I have decided to share it anyway.  :)




     I pre-ordered my first c.d. in January:  Fading West by Switchfoot.  In my usual overly-excited manner, I listened to the three songs that were available, and made myself happy by pushing the "Show Complete Album" button on Itunes.
     I know, it sounds like a sad life.  For some people, it probably would be, but I am not one of those people.  I loved looking at the song list, imagining what the songs would sound like, guessing which ones would be my favorites.
     "'Let It Out' sounds like it has promise," I thought, hearing a melody with those lyrics that sounded more like a Josh Groban line than a Switchfoot chorus.  That was okay.  Part of the excitement was in the not knowing, and I trusted Jon Foreman not to let me down.
     He didn't.  "Let It Out" is one of my favorite songs on the album, and that's saying quite a bit because it's a great album.  "It was love at first sight for me with this song.  Or should that be love before first listen?" I thought the other day.  In case you're wondering why I was thinking this, well, I can't be 100% sure why I think anything. However, in this case, I'm almost certain that I was trying to come up with something, anything, to keep me from breaking out into some embarrassing dance moves to the music only I could hear.
     My motives for thinking aside, I quickly realized that thought wasn't accurate.  In actuality, I loved that song before first time I heard it.  Admittedly, the first love was entirely different from the second, but it was there nonetheless.
     That thought led to another:  "You know," I said to myself, even though I obviously did already know what I was thinking, "That's what I want for my future marriage."  Any two people can create a story where they fall for one another's looks, personality, smile, smarts, smell, or whatever else causes people to fall in love at a certain time.  I want to love before first sight, to say, "I don't know who he is, or what he's like, but I'm so excited about the fact that we're going to be together someday that I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that I can love him in the best way possible when he finally comes along."
     It's a good thing that's the kind of sentiment that is best expressed by actions, because I'm not sure that I have the breath capacity for a run-on sentence of that length.  What are these actions I'm talking about?  Well, one is being pure and guarding my heart, because I don't want there to by anything superficial and jaded about our relationship.  Others would include improving my relationships with my family that I live with now, learning skills that I need in order to be prepared to live away from my parents (read: cooking.), praying for him, and trusting his (and my) Creator not to let us down, because He never has.
     This is where the analogy stretches itself out even further.  It occurred to me that "love before first sight" should really be the story of my entire life.  Because, from an eternal perspective, this is really just another waiting period.
     The purchase of my salvation has already been made; my future has been created by the God I've come to trust while I'm here.  Earthly reality, for me, should be a time of preparation for and anticipation of the time when I will finally see my Savior- an experience that will far surpass anything I'll ever experience in this life.
   

"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.  But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."

~1 John 3:2-3

The promised story. :)

     "The Sanhedrin was assembled, but there was no one to judge."  The man laughed.  "As you can imagine, that didn't make the men's tempers any better.  Finally, someone reported that they were in the temple courts again, teaching."
     Luke nodded, and the narrator proceeded.
     "When the guards brought them before us, Annas was the first to speak:
     "'We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood.'
     "His voice was high and haughty, but that was understandable.  After all, we thought that he was the only man who could intercede between us and God.
     "The men were not disturbed at the high priest's accusation.  They replied, 'We must obey God rather than men!  The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead- whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.  God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance an forgiveness of sins to Israel.  We are witnesses of these things, and is is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.'
     "With that, cries of 'Blasphemy!' rang out across the room and in my own heart."
     The storyteller paused here.  Even if Luke hadn't been one of his closest companions, the agony on the man's face would have been evident.  Several minutes passed before he began to speak again.
     "Of course we were angry.  Everyone's tempers had been on edge before the men got there, and the speech did nothing to calm us.  How dare these men tell us that what they had seen- if indeed they saw it, a fact which I highly doubted- was greater than our law.  A carpenter from Nazareth could not forgive sins.  No, we, God's chosen people, Abraham's descendants, we were the ones who obeyed God.  We brought sacrifices to the temple each year and took great care to follow the law.
     "As these thoughts raced through my head, waves of fury broke over me, and indeed, the entire room seemed to be vibrating with hatred, fear, and self-righteous anger.  There were whispers that the men deserbed to die immediately- a solution I found immensely to my liking.  Then, among the confusion, my teacher stood.
     "'Put the men outside.' he thundered.
     "His name was Gamaliel.  The people loved him and esteemed him highly.  I was fortunate to have such a rabbi, and I knew it.  Still, I wriggled uncomfortably in my seat as he stood there.
     "'Men of Israel,' he addressed us, 'Consider carefully what you intend to do with these men.'
     "Just as I had expected, Gamaliel had remained calm.  His voice was under control, and his wisdom, which had won him favor among the people, had not forsaken him.
     "He began his lecture.  'Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him.  He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.'
     "Some of the older heads were nodding.  He continued,
     "'After him Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt.  He, too, was killed, and all his followers were scattered.  Therefore, in the present case I advise you:  Leave these men alone!' his voice rose louder, 'Let them go!  For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.'
     "No one could disagree with him.  By this time, it seemed that most of the men had been persuaded.  I was too, but, unlike them, I continued to listen.
     "'But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men.'
     "The message was simple:  Let's let Rome deal with the radicals.
     "Something inside me rebelled.  I refused to sit there and let out traditions and faith be blasphemed everywhere.  'Gamaliel might be content to sit back and wait for Rome to come to the rescue,' I thought, 'But I will fight for God.'"
     The old head sagged.  "I was so young, and so foolish."
     Luke looked into the kindly eyes of the man who had been his traveling companion and father in faith- the very faith that he had once persecuted.
     "Yes, but God has used that ugly story in powerful ways."
     Paul smiled.  "His grace to me was not without effect."

Epilogue
Gentiles everywhere praise God that Jesus is the only man who can intercede between us and God...  And for the testimony and encouragement of this godly man.

That's all I've got, folks.  If you want more of Paul's story, Read Acts 9, or any of his letters in the New Testament.  They're pretty awesome.  :)  
 

A long prologue for a short story

Prologue

     Imagine with me, for a moment, a sixth-grade girl.  Give her straight brown hair, a serious face, and height somewhat taller than you'd normally associate with someone her age.  I'll tell you from experience that her face is not always pensive, but it should be right now.  Why?  Because she's a Bible quizzer, and she's studying the book of Acts.  Contrary to the beliefs of some of her teammates, she does actually put effort into this.
     Okay, do you see her?  Good.  Now, let's peek over her shoulder at the little book she's reading.  It looks like she's working on Acts 5.
     There's a certain passage she's puzzling over.  She furrows her eyebrows.
     Let's look at it with her.

"When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.  But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while.  Then he addressed them:  'Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.  Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him.  He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.  After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt.  He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.  Therefore, in the present case I advise you:  Leave these me alone!  Let them go!  For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."

~Acts 5:33-39

     She likes the speech.  It is logical, organized, and her side of the argument wins.  Unconsciously, she wishes her life was like that.

     The problem isn't the speech.

     No, despite what her actions often imply, she does think about this stuff once in a while.  She's puzzling over verse 34:

   

"But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while."

~Acts 5:34

     "That's funny." she thinks.  "Luke definitely wasn't a part of the Sanhedrin, and they just sent the Christians out of the room.  So how does he know what Gamaliel said?"

     All right, now fast forward in time.  The sixth-grade girl looks like the one on the sidebar.  She's sitting in church, and the pastor is reading from Acts.  Her facial expression is serious, but she's smiling inside.  As someone who loves re-reading books, she's finding this to her liking.  In fact, since she spent so much time with it in sixth grade, it feels much like meeting up with an old friend.

     The pastor comes to the passage discussed above, and somehow she reaches back and answers a question she'd forgotten she'd even asked.

     Her head starts buzzing with ideas for a story. 

     On Thursday, she's gonna share it with you.

1 Timothy 4:8

A great reminder of what life is really about.  :)

How has God been convicting you recently?