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a September 1st, 2009

  1. Fear in love. . .

    September 1, 2009 by Nate

    I was reading through Revelation 1 yesterday when I stumbled on a passage that had a very intriguing setup.

    John describes a powerful, majestic, and terrifying incarnation of Christ. But immediately following this description, Christ says, “Do not be afraid.”

    It’s almost as if he’s saying, “Look at what I did for you. I am the Eternal One, and yet I stooped down to experience death for you. But I didn’t stop there. I destroyed death so that you wouldn’t have to taste it. I control Hell so you won’t have to go there. So yeah, there’s no reason to be afraid.”

    But if we’re honest, we’ll admit that fear is what drives our lives.

    If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you’ve seen that I’m obsessed with the concept of love. It’s fascinating to me because it’s probably one of the greatest mysteries of our humanity, yet it’s the most common aspect of our lives. It’s also (supposed to be) the defining point of Christians. (I’ll refrain from my rant about Christians’ failure to exhibit this feature.)

    So here’s an interesting thought about love and fear. . .

    Love, in its purest form, is completely fearless.

    Odd, isn’t it? I mean, fear and love seem to go hand-in-hand. We’re afraid to love because we might get burned.

    Or the love won’t be reciprocated.

    Or we might be taken advantage of.

    All legitimate fears. But none have any place near love.

    Check this out.

    God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
    ~1 John 4.18

    Um. Ouch.

    I strive to love perfectly, flawlessly, purely. Yet I’m held back by fear. And I think it’s this fear that is crippling me and keeping me from becoming the man that God is calling me to be.

    Fear destroys love. The most common command in the Bible is “Do not be afraid” or some variation of it. I think it’s time I start obeying this command.

    Category Personal, Scripture Musings, Spirituality | Tags: | 2 Comments

  2. Today. . .

    September 1, 2009 by Nate

    So today was an interesting day. It was unseasonably cool with a slight chill in the air. It was dry today (which is extremely uncharacteristic considering the massive amounts of humidity we’ve been getting these last few months).

    I went to work for the last time at the job I loved more than any other job I’ve had. Definitely a bittersweet time. Yesterday was tougher though. Today wasn’t really as difficult because there weren’t a whole lot of goodbyes involved. Just a lot of “I’ll miss seeing you more than once a week” types of things.

    Yesterday was loaded with some extremely difficult goodbyes. Too many. But I’ll probably talk about that in another entry. For now, I’m just talking about today.

    I got home from work and had some amazing breaded chicken dish that my mom made. Simply astounding. I’d forgotten just how awesome she can be at this stuff.

    After dinner digested, I went for a run in Parsippany with some good friends. Somewhere near three miles I think. Our normal course was interrupted by the darkness that overshadowed it, so we ended up using a shortcut through some better lit areas. That probably shaved several hundred feet from our projected three-mile run. I hadn’t gone since last Saturday, so it was good to get back out there. My left shin wasn’t doing so hot at the end of it, and I noticed some serious pain there during the post-run stretch.

    Earlier today I had bought a case of Sam Adams’ Octoberfest for a BBQ I’m having after the 5K on Sunday. It’s probably my favorite Märzen (if not my favorite pilsner or even lager), and I couldn’t resist pouring myself a glass tonight. It was such a welcoming flavor. I’m so glad it’s back on the tap. It’s possibly the perfect taste to complement the coming autumn months.

    The Octoberfest pours into a rather dark reddish amber with a creamy off-white one- to two-finger head. It has a fairly insignificant fragrance; a bit of bread mixed with a sweet nuttiness and a smooth caramel. The smell is typical of most lagers. The carbonation hits pretty quickly, carrying a biscuity flavor with it. Initially I tasted a hint of freshly baked bread, but it finished with a rather syrupy sweetness and hints of apples and grapes. It’s a full-bodied Märzen that’s a bit heavy, but quite enjoyable.

    I started reading through Revelation again today. Wow. More on that in another entry.

    So that was my day. All in all, an excellent Monday. I can’t wait to see what Tuesday has in store for me.

    Category Personal | Tags: | 1 Comment