this is when i run

This is when I run. This is when I drop everything and get out. 

Historically, when it feels like this I give up. I lose commitment. I run away.

When work hours are increasing, when school is at it’s peak, when outside activities are vying for my attention, when I have a long list of “get this done or fail,” then I run. I change majors. I drop the class. I quit my job. I transfer schools. I stop trying.

In the past, I have always ran. That’s why I am 26 and still in college. That is why I work in a low level position making little money, and that is why I am, in most people’s eyes, a child.

I’m at that point again. At the point of difficult busyness where I would normally turn and run away. At this point, many people would say, “Zac, this is the time that will define you as a person,” or “Zac, how you handle this type of a situation will reveal what kind of man you are,” or they might also say “Zac, this is a test to see what you are made of.”


I say no, no that isn’t true.


When I follow through with my commitments to the end for the first time ever, I will not think that I have finally arrived. I will not think that I have made it, and I will not believe that I have finally shown the world what kind of man I am. Everybody knows what kind of man I am. They have seen me reach difficult times, and they know what I will do. They know that I will run. They know that I will not follow through. They know that I will make an exhaustive list of excuses as to why I should no longer continue on this path. These excuses will be enough to convince me that I am right, and that I should quit.

No, when I follow through for the first time ever, and stick with my commitments people will know that it wasn’t because of me.

I hope that they will see how great God is, and what He can do in someone’s life. Everyone knows what I would do because they have seen it time and again, but hopefully this time they will see what God can do. Hopefully, they will see what God’s unmerited intervention in someone’s life looks like. When I finish what I have started, it will not point to the greatness of Zac, it will point to the greatness of the God because God is the one who enabled it.

I’m not saying that if you trust in God he will just give you whatever you want, and make all your dreams come true. But I am saying that God changes hearts, and God changes deepest desires, and that is what he has done in me. The difference is that God has shown me my selfishness, laziness, and lack of commitment. He has shown me my childishness and entitlement, and these are the aspects of myself that had me running from difficulty and commitment.

And now God has changed my heart and given me strength to begin to overcome these nasty parts of myself. I don’t think that I am just growing up. I don’t think that I am just coming around. I think that God has shown me grace, and that it has nothing to do with myself.

How do I know this? I know this because I have always ALWAYS made the same decision. I have always run away from my commitments. But this time I have the strength to commit. I have the strength to follow through, and I have the strength to finish what I have started because God has given it to me. I have always tried to do it on my own, and I have always been able to fail on my own, but since God has involved himself I will be able to finish.

This is the grace of God in my life. When you look at how lazy and uncommitted I have been, you can easily see how much he has done.

i don't believe in God: video

I, Zac, do believe in God. It's just the title of the post. 

I need you to remember these two verses before you watch this video.

And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:35-39

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:5-7

God has called us to love our neighbors. God has called us to love like He lays it out in 1 Corinthians 13. God empowers this love.

Let me ask you a few questions.

How could you love someone if you never listened to them? How could you love them if you never got to know them?  How could you love someone if you never tried to understand their point of view? How could you love someone if you never tried to understand what they believe?

It's far too easy for me to cruise through life believing what I believe. But I know a lot of awesome people (people that I am called to love) that simply do not believe the same things that I believe. Sometimes the Christian's response to someone like this is shunning, hatred, and rumor mongering -- not Godly love. I think this is wrong. Jesus called me to love others and share the gospel, not to change people's hearts (that is His gig). Therefore, out of compassion, friendship, and plain curiosity it is important to get to know other people's points of view. It's unloving to ignore, hate, and make statements that are not grounded in reality about anybody -- no matter what they believe.  

I have some friends who do not believe in God, and they have passionate, deeply held beliefs as to why they feel that way. I respect them for believing something and standing up for it. It is far more than I have done in the past. Of course, I would like them to see it my way, but salvation belongs to the Lord. It's simply not our job to force anyone to believe.

This being said, I think it is a good practice to learn what other people believe and why they believe those things. I think that it's wise to educate yourself, but I also think that it's the loving and Christlike thing to do. So check out this video made by Hemant Mehta, and begin to understand why people believe differently than you do.

When it comes down to it I have to ask myself, why would anyone listen to what I believe and why, if I am not also willing to listen to what they believe and why?

Family

                                           

 Emily Fridenmaker is a regular contributor at 'for we have rebelled.'
 You can find her at A Relentless Embracing of Good.


                               

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I'm from Greenbrier county.

It's located in southern West Virginia. If you aren't also from southern WV, you probably have a few unsavory and [mostly] false things that come to your mind when you hear about my dear, sweet home, such as:

• toothless hillbillies
• ignorant rednecks
• racism
• terrible education
• meth labs (I'm only on Breaking Bad season 4...don't you dare spoil it for me)

Now we have our problems, just like any other place. While we may indeed have our fair share of meth labs, let me tell you about one thing that southern West Virginia does exceptionally well: community.

It's difficult to describe home to you if you aren't from a similar place, but I'm going to try, using my own life as an example. 

Both sets of my grandparents, and their parents, and their parents, and so on have lived in roughly the same place forever. I lived less than 10 minutes away from both sets of grandparents all of my life (until moving for college). My nearest neighbor was my great grandma, and the next nearest after that was my great aunt. My church had around 50 people in it, and almost all of them were related to at least 1 of about 3 families. So many families have known each other for generations. My elementary school teachers remembered teaching my parents when they were in elementary school. People I don't know have seen me out and asked, 'Are you a Treadway?' or said, 'Boy, you sure look like your mom.' I'm not unique in this either...most of the people I know from home have similar stories.

The unique thing about home is that there is a history among us...there are so many things that we all share that are ingrained in us from the time we're born, and other people just don't understand. 

I tell you all this to make one point: we are all for one another.

When Homer had surgery, Mommy went around the road every day to change his bandages.

When my grandparents passed away, there was the biggest collection of rolls, casseroles, brownies, beans, chicken, sandwiches, and salads you'd ever seen.

When a new baby is coming, that mom-to-be likely won't have to buy much because church ladies love to buy blankies and onesies. 

When someone's house burns down, everybody knows which bank has the donation account set up, and they give. Or they know about what size those little girls wear, and they know just where they can pick something up for them.

When Daddy was sick, and when he passed away, there was the greatest outpouring of love and prayers I had experienced in my entire life. People weren't only messaging and texting us, they were bringing food, detergent, paper plates, offering to mow the grass, telling funny stories about him at the wake, stopping by to see how we were, and just generally loving on us.

The people in my community consistently and lovingly rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

Ultimately though, this type of community doesn't have to be preceded by generations of knowing one another.

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As Christians (wherever in the world we may be), we have something in common that is much greater than family history, geographical location, or our accents.

We have all been saved, snatched from the brink of death and the depths of sin by the very same Savior. Though we may not realize it, we all share the same story: a history of sin, trumped by an Epic Intervention.

But wait! Not only do we have history in common, we also share a present and a future.

We labor alongside one another in the present, brothers and sisters longing to see the works of our Father widely proclaimed, and hoping to see the lost reconciled.

We look ahead to our future, trusting in His promises and anticipating the city that He builds.

Believers, we have all been adopted into the family of Christ, and are therefore related by blood. God has given us one another to lean on, to help up, to call out, and to work alongside.

There is no greater community than the community that God has called together. May we absolutely wring ourselves out for the good of it.

Romans 12: 9-18

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.

Never be wise in your own sight.

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.