stand firm

It's been a pretty stressful couple of weeks for me. I'm tired and everything seems to be hitting me at the same time. That's life, honestly. There's so much to do, so many things to consider and they all encroach upon my mind at the same time, apparently. Tonight on my way home, I was listening to a CD from Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. The entire CD is a potpourri of different styles and songs, but all of them are good in their own unique way. One of them that stands out is the fourth track, "Stand Firm".

Bent down broken up
Busted wide open
Chained down locked up tight
With no backdoor exit
That is what some of us were

Bankrupt, burned and tired
Like a bombed out city
Thin lipped, stony eyed
With no joy or pity
That is what some of us were
Before the bridegroom turned
And called our name out

It is for freedom that Christ set us free
So stand firm
Don’t be burdened,
Burdened again by slavery;
It’s misery

Gentle, full of peace,
Love and patient kindness
Guarded by self-control
And faith and goodness
That is the hope of what we’ll be
Rejoice in the Lord always
And again I say rejoice
Rejoice in the Lord always
and again I say rejoice
That is the hope of what we’ll be
When we turn and take
The hand of the bridegoom

The imagery in this song is stinkin' incredible. Think of our lives before Christ. Bankrupt, burned and tired like a bombed out city. In my mind, I see a vision of one of the European cities at the end of World War Two with all of it's buildings lying in a smoldering ruin. That is what we were like before Christ! Bankrupt in every way, burned to the ground, tired from trying our own way...like a city that's been devastated by war.

Gentle, full of peace, /Love and patient kindness/Guarded by self-control/And faith and goodness . That is the hope we have in Christ. We are being [re]created in His image. Our bombed out cities in our heart, mind and soul are being rebuilt in beauty, grandeur and splendor. If you visit those burned out cities in Europe today, many of them are incredibly beautiful with very few traces of the poc marks of war aside from memorials and the like. Berlin, which was utterly destroyed in the war and subsequent "Cold War" is a bustling metropolis that is gorgeous. Our lives may be marred by sin even now, but as we grow closer to our Lover, He tears down the ruined towers and buildings and replaces them with beautiful pieces of archetecture.

One day, my friends, our Bridegroom will return and we'll take His hand...that'll be the greatest day of our lives. On that day, when we see our Savior face to face, may we declare that we have stood firm against the world and the enemy. Let the hope of our Savior's return and the power of the Holy Spirit empower us to stand firm against all things. On that day, all the sin will be gone. All the evil will be vanquished forever. All the tears will be locked up in joy. All sadness will be conquered by Love. That day, that hope gives us the ability to stand firm in Christ.

until Christ is formed in us...

--mike