To Believe in Impossible Things by Chase Butler
http://65583.stablerack.com/Articles-and-Prophetic-Words?blogid=2093&view=post&articleid=197715&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
By Chase Butler
Love God and love your neighbor—Jesus made it pretty simple. He didn't make it easy, though. Loving God includes having faith, which is confidence in things hoped for and the assurance of things unseen. And guess who our "neighbor" includes? Our enemies, too. Simple, not easy. At times they almost seem like impossible things—faith and enemy loving, that is. Believing in the midst of tragedy that God is working for your good can almost feel like a bad joke. Forgiving someone who hasn't asked nor feels any remorse for their wrongdoing can feel downright counterintuitive, even unjust.
Print Friendly
Created for the Impossible
Break Every Hindering Thought,
Believe What God Says About You
Ebook PDF Download
By Krissy Nelson
Price: $16.99
Sale! $9.99
Click HERE to order.
Love God and love your neighbor—Jesus made it pretty simple. He didn't make it easy, though. Loving God includes having faith, which is confidence in things hoped for and the assurance of things unseen. And guess who our "neighbor" includes? Our enemies, too.
Simple, not easy. At times they almost seem like impossible things—faith and enemy loving, that is. Believing in the midst of tragedy that God is working for your good can almost feel like a bad joke. Forgiving someone who hasn't asked nor feels any remorse for their wrongdoing can feel downright counterintuitive, even unjust.
But much of the beautiful, mysterious aspects of life are just that—counterintuitive, irrational, illogical, nonsensical, absurd, unfair, illusive, confusing, backwards...
The phrase "few will find it" we hear Jesus say when referring to the small gate and narrow road makes a lot of sense when you think about the counter-cultural, upside-down path of grace. Receiving what you do not deserve in a post-enlightenment, post-scientific revolution, modern society can sound kind of whack.
But it's what we need. It's what I need. It's the timeless paradox of what's high is low and what's low is high, to be first is to be last, death brings life. It creates a serious tension, a tension we are forced to reckon with as we clash with a world that pushes back.
I'm at a phase in life where supernatural ideas are met with much more skepticism, fiction is even harder to read, and loving my "enemy" seems like an impossible endeavor. But I persist, I continue to try to dream, to hope, to believe in impossible things.
The impossible moves us forward, out of our own hangups and failures, out of the darkness, into a light that's always been beckoning, since the beginning of time.
Chase Butler
www.chasebutlerblog.com
chasebutlerblog@gmail.com
Go here to read more articles by Chase Butler.
http://65583.stablerack.com/Articles-and-Prophetic-Words?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=234074&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
There seems to be a recurring topic that continues to come up in my life—the balance between contentment and goals. Do I appreciate what I have, and am I working towards something meaningful that forces me to grow? An either/or approach never works. On one hand, you lend yourself to apathy and stagnation. On the other, you live under the tyranny of nothing ever being enough, endless striving that costs you something you never intended. I don't pretend to have this figured out. Every once in a while, I sense the alignment between the two within myself, but it's normally a fleeting moment followed by the pendulum tipping back towards one side.
http://65583.stablerack.com/Articles-and-Prophetic-Words?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=233123&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
There are moments when I long for an answer, clarity, inspiration, relief, or hope and receive nothing. Even in earnest seeking, eager anticipation, a proper posture, an open heart, a willing spirit—nothing. Then there are moments when I receive an answer, clarity, inspiration, relief, and hope when I least expect it. Not seeking, not anticipating, yet a glimpse is given. So what to conclude?
http://65583.stablerack.com/Articles-and-Prophetic-Words?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=231499&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
If the idea of selling everything and living out of a backpack on the road sounds like a nightmare instead of a grand adventure, this post might not be for you. If challenging the status quo and questioning societal norms in the pursuit of a full and satisfying life sounds intriguing, then let's continue. The beauty of friendship is that conversations tend to draw out aspects of yourself that otherwise would have been left untouched and dormant, or at the very least overlooked or ignored.