Word: 1 Thessalonians

First off, I want to thank Kurt Willems over at Pangea Blog for inviting me to write a post about my Word project. Kurt is an awesome dude (so awesome that he included my Nahum design) and when he asked me to write a post, I jumped at the chance. It was fun to reflect back on how Word started and where it's gone. Really cool to get feedback from folks seeing the project for the first time too. In addition to the post, I'm also giving away a free print through Pangea, so head on over, read the post and enter to win a print! For any of you who just started following Word, you can follow me on Facebook or Twitter to get the latest Word updates and info about free giveaways.

Paul plays the opposite game

Day and night. Darkness and light. It may sound like Paul is giving an astronomy lesson to the folks in Thessalonica but he's actually using those opposites as a metaphor. I've heard this verse before in songs and sermons and usually it's understood to be a description of who we (Jesus followers) are. We are children of the light. We're awake, ready and see the truth of who God is. We're not asleep, unprepared and in the dark about God's true nature. I think all that is good and true, but I want to take this in a little different direction.

I can't see the light when I'm covered in skubala

Here's the thing about all that great "day and light" stuff. It's real easy to feel like you're a child of light when life is all unicorns and rainbows. But what about when the skubala hits the fan? Like when the struggle with that sin you thought you'd overcome rears it's ugly head again? Or when your relationships explode? Or when a loved one dies? Not sure about you, but those times sure don't feel like light or day. They feel like hell. I may "know" I'm a child of light, but those times sure feel more like darkness. So what does this passage have to say for times like that?

F**k off, Satan

One of the greatest powers I have if the ability to choose. I can tell my mind what is true and what is false and that is an amazing thing. This means that when I'm in situations that seem hopeless and where I feel like a lost and helpless sheep, I still can choose what I believe is true. It's so tempting for me to allow the crap of this fallen world to define me and be led around by an enemy who takes joy in my pain. But I can make the choice to instead allow Jesus to define me and my circumstances and be led by his truth. The situation may not get better, the relationships may never be repaired and the sin struggle may continue, but I'm just as loved, just as redeemed and just as much a child of light now as I was when things were all unicorns and rainbows. That is true no matter what my feelings and circumstances are, so f**k off, Satan.

I may be a sheep, but I get to choose my shepherd.