POWER OF LOVE

Yesterday I wrote a blog post called "Fall from Grace" and a couple weeks ago I wrote one called "The Sound of Silence", the reaction or response I got surprised me. Collectively they sparked some emotions in people that inspired me to write this today.

I very nice lady wrote me a rather lengthy heartfelt email sharing with me her personal fall from grace as well as the ensuing sound of silence that still exist to this day. She rode the wave of financial success for many years yet when it crashed it went straight to the pits of hell. A once energetic, high flying, top of the social ladder life was quickly relegated to hiding out at home for fear of public ridicule. This continued to take it's toll on her and her family for years to come. The person that once loved life to the fullest was now a shell of her former self hoping life would end soon. When she did appear in public she kept the happy face, the smiles, the heartwarming hugs, the encouragement to all those she came in contact, yet the sound of silence that welled up inside was so loud that it was about to make her head explode.

I felt that I understood the private fall from grace we all face sometime in our lives but I now realize that I did not know how far reaching the side effects of such things carry. The fall from grace is like a prison door locking you in a room with nothing but four walls. It is like a boat anchor so heavy that it keeps you from moving. The shame that others can't see but you see it every time you stare at the mirror. Then the devil's final blow is the sound of silence that breaks us down and makes us mere zombies of our once vibrant self. I often say that all the devil wants is to steal our dreams because with that comes our hope and when hopes and dreams are gone so to is life.

Now that I know how far and wide the fall from grace is in our lives, the question I face is how to move past it. The mistakes were made, the pain was felt, the hopes and dreams dashed (but not destroyed), the trust in humanity weakened, and the faith in a loving God harmed. How do you fix all that? How do you mend a broken heart? Where do you even start? I saw rather quickly that the questions out numbered the answers.

It would be easy for me to write some positive quotes, or jot down some really cool inspirational scriptures, or just say pray harder or go to church more often. None of those answers or quick fixes touch the core of the problem. I spent countless hours thinking about this after writing The Sound of Silence a couple weeks ago, and now after writing the Fall from Grace and reading those responses yesterday and last night I felt like I finally have some wisdom to share.

The devil goes after our self worth our individual identity. He seeks to destroy which is counter to what Christianity and most other faiths believe. Staying with Christianity beings that is my familiarity we have to understand what Jesus was sent to do. That was to save us sinners from ourselves. Without hope we destroy each other faster than any war ever will. We may not rob people of their life we rob life from ourselves by the personal destruction of others. The fall from grace will happen. Most likely it will not be played out for the public to see but it will be played out in our homes are worst in our hearts and minds. The devil seeks to hold you down and silence you when Christ seeks to lift you up and renew you. With that being said do you consider yourself a role model for Christ or one for the devil?

You see the contrasting models at play here. When I speak of Christ I do not do so in the terms in which you may here in a sermon at church. I speak of Christ as being the Christian community. As a broken community it is highly unlikely that we can break the chains that force the fall from grace to be silent. As a dysfunctional, ego driven, narcissistic organizations that claim to teach us what Christ stood for it is no wonder we have what we have. To rise up from the fall it will take a community of love reaching down to lift people up. Love is not about exposing the faults of others love is about accepting people for who they are and collectively working to make them better. Love is not about trying to make people understand your point of view, it is about listening, learning, and melding knowledge to make the world a better place. Love is not about blaming others for your plight in life, love is about embracing where you are and finding the courage to seek common ground with others to grow into the best version of yourself possible.

I love the quote "Love will find a way", yes I know I said I would not use quotes to help in this matter but that once just came out. The devil's work is to pounce on people when they are down and use them as stepping stones to elevate himself. The devil is about ego while true Christianity is about humility. To conclude this before I try to make a book out of it let me just say that we have to be part of the solution not the problem. Jesus said to turn the other cheek and that is sage advice if you plan to rise from the fall. We do not need to focus our attention on perceived short comings we need to focus on the potential we have. As I have stated so many times before, if Paul (from the Bible) lived in today's times he would be so harshly judged that the Christian movement would never have gotten off the ground. In Jesus' day the religious tried until they were successful to kill  him, well the religious today in so many ways do the same thing. If we know that love, acceptance, and forgiveness are the models of Christianity it makes one wonder why we choose to do just the opposite.

Let's learn to love ourselves, forgive ourselves, trust ourselves, and then one step at a time start to do the same for others. When someone you know falls from grace lift them up do not push them down. When the flavor of the day is to expose the shame of others turn the other cheek and stand by the condemned. If you know or are experiencing the sound of silence be a trusting friend that allows someone to be heard so as to move on. Life is about living not dying and the only way to live is to have hope. We can be the dream makers or dream breakers. We can be of the devil or of Christ. Let's stop the madness that surrounds the lives of so many and decide today to be a community of hope builders. We can change this world one person at a time and that person just might be you.

peace to you
Dale