Friday Final Word: Love It / Hate It

I love it but I hate it, is the famous line from physical trainer Tony Horton, founder of P90X.  During the video, Ab-Ripper X, Tony can be heard saying that all infamous phrase as he coaches up the crowd, also working out along side them.  Basically he understands the love and passion that comes from working hard to be healthy.  But he also knows how hard it is to achieve and even harder to appreciate as the body enters muscle failure and burns within.  But he loves it because next time he'll be that much more ready for the pain of the workout. 

In a nutshell it describes my week, especially the last 24 hours of ministry.

I LOVE IT / I HATE IT!

 I LOVE IT:  That the talk Sunday motivated many, namely myself to get busy in the city learning and living the truth.  That it got us thinking and talking theology, culture and strategy.   I HATE IT:  That it's really being put to the test the end of this week.  It burns spiritually like that work out.  

I LOVE IT:  That to the best of my knowledge, our pastor team is as tight as I've ever seen.  We are helping each other through sickness, transition, family issues, and most of all, caring for each others souls!  I HATE IT: That there is so many needs that my team has to tire like the end of a P90X session.

I LOVE IT:  That so many are discovering the blessing of serving others and being very successful in doing so.  I HATE IT:  That there are still others who fall away because the assumptions they hold on too are greater than Gods power in their life.  

 I LOVE IT: That I can truly call each of you my best friends.   I HATE IT:  That it sometimes takes sicknesses like Theos (bone marrow transplant 20+ days ago.).  That it takes these things to slow down long enough to whisper, "I love you, you are valued, God is with you,". 

 I LOVE IT: That I get to travel the globe preaching the love of Jesus.   I HATE IT: That I have to leave my friends Todd and Amber as well as Richard and Judy during the most difficult time in their lives.  And that my friend John is at his hearing and I can't be there! 

 I LOVE IT: That the hospital hall way was filled with dozens of loved ones, most of which have dedicated their lives to following the teachings of Christ.  I loved seeing them love on one another.   I HATE IT: That they need answers I can't give.  A touch I can't employ and a power I cannot possess.  

 I LOVE IT:  We have a new baby to celebrate Nomad, little Jackson Hill.   I HATE IT: That I can't hold him or even know his prognosis 14,000 feet above sea level on this flight to Chicago.  Holding my prayer cross, uttering to God my pain as if it was my own son.  Praise you God.  I trust you for this workout. 

 I LOVE IT: That inspite of the pain the voice of God seems the loudest.  His spirit feels like it is on me like a warm blanket, Jesus holding my head up like a trusted friend, the wholly father pushing me back into the center of the ring, to finish the job, while whispering to my heart, "I am with you!  I already finished this!".   I HATE IT:  That I know my humanity will cause me to miss something, a lesson I am sure to receive from another hardship in the future!

In the fear of exhausting you with sorrows, let me encourage us with great fear and trembling.  Like my workouts, I realize the valuable truth of all.  What Satan means to use for harm, God uses for victory.  What the world considers failure, god considers blessed. 

You see, it hits you;  we can't truly have what we love without experiencing what we hate.  We can't conquer what we hate without showing what we love, we really love it.  We can't hate, what we truly hate, until we are willing to give up what we love. When we love we reach a capacity to see how others are loving too and we don't have to be a hero and go it alone.    

 

Is this what the teacher meant?  We lose our lives trying to find it, but find our lives when we first lose it..  Is this what it means to journey without a place to lay our heads?  Are we as a church family experiencing an "Emptying as Christ".  I know!  I'm there too:  I LOVE IT BUT I HATE IT!  

SO, whatever happens today or tomorrow or the next day:  ONE THING I KNOW! Stated plainly in our Credo, "YOU, NEVER WALK ALONE!"

Theo and family, never alone.  Todd, amber and family, never alone!  Jan and Barbara, never alone!  Templetons, Martinezes, Shockeys, never alone!   Vicki Huffman, never alone!  Denise Viscuso, never alone!  Lois, Margaret, Doris , never alone!  Alex, Allison and other college students who are away from us are still never alone!  Seattle Huffmans, Gazdaghs, Holmes, and soon to be Schmitts who've moved far away,  are never ever alone!  Heather, Gene, Dylan,  and Mark and other young adults In that familiar desert place, are never alone. Teens and kids are never alone!  It may feel like it occasionally but if we lean into the hurt and unknown, we realize it's true.  I AM NEVER ALONE!   

 There are so many more I could have named, but time for landing in Chicago permits me to close.   I LOVE IT: That as long as their is breathe in the lungs of just one faithful follower of Christ, you'll never walk alone!    I HATE IT: Because I wish it could last forever.  Wait a minute, it does last for eternity.  I guess I hate it we have to wait so damn long!  In the mean time church,  let's keep loving it, however long it takes, so others will someday love it too!

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.  Then you will overflow with confident honor through the power of the Holy Spirit.".  - Romans 15:13

"The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." - Romans 16:20

Nomadis Dante,

Pastor B

DISCUSSION POINTS:

1.   How did this post speak to you personally? 

2.  Describe one of your own Love/Hate scenarios.