Slapstick Figures in a Moral Circus.

Bullies brandish their swords,
pull back on their bows with a flourish.
They're out to beat up on the harmless,
or mug that nice man out walking his dog.
A banana peel lands them flat on their faces—
slapstick figures in a moral circus. - Psalm 37:14-15



How cool is that? Only in the Message can you find a reference to a banana peel in the Bible... :J

One thing I know about this world, it's got a lot of nastiness in it. There's a lot of hurtful things people say, or do, to others. And there's a lot of overall just.. hate. A lot. Like, alot a lot. Some people may even go so far as to say this world is filled with hate. I've certainly heard it said before, many times. And, while I wouldn't go so far as to agree with that statement, I won't disagree either. There is a lot of hate that fills up this world. There's a lot of sin that fills it up too, a lot of corruption, a lot of evil, and a whole lot of nastiness. Buuut. Like I said. I wouldn't agree with that statement either. And, for sake of argument, I'd also disagree partially. Confused? ;)

Let me explain.

I'm not sure why I left that sentence as a paragraph. It felt more... monumental. Anyway, back on track.

You see, while hate and sin are in this world, they don't fill it up. Really, a day in the life of anybody isn't filled with hate. I know my days aren't filled with hate. And I would bet everything that not a single day of yours has been filled with hate. How do I know this? Well. The simple answer is this: in a basic day, you experience God's love at least 86,400,000 times, . What is that number? It's the number of milliseconds in a day. Dang... That's a lot of love for one day, no? That's 3.1556926 x 10^10 of love a year. And that's the amount you experience in the very LEAST each day. Sheesh. Still think there's not a lot of love in this world?

So now, maybe you're saying to yourself, "Yeah, well I can't feel God's love all the time! I don't see Him showing His love!" Well, I will admit sometimes it's hard to hear from God. Personally, I've never heard His voice speak to me. So how do I know He's loving on me all the time? Well. I guess I can't always know. Sometimes I don't feel loved. But think of this. How often does someone hold the door open for you? Send a smile your way? A pat on the back? Just says hi? Maybe something even indirect, like accidentally tips you a $20 instead of a $10, or gives you an extra, say, toothpick. I don't know. I know that stuff doesn't happen every day, but even those small little insignificant things are love. God shows His love to you every millisecond, heck, every NANOsecond of every day (8.64 x 10^13 :O). That's just incredible.

Now, one more thing to touch on. That's all Godly love. But who's to say this world is full of love? Well, as in some of those examples, humans are being used. But, as I was struck, specifically in the movie Love Actually, Love Actually Is ALL Around. Standing in an airplane terminal at the end of the movie, Hugh Grant looks around; he sees a little child running up into his grandparents arms; a girl running up and kissing her boyfriend; a husband and wife, who give each other an endearing smile, while holding their kids. There's love all around! Sure, it's not always something you can see. And sure, there's a lot of hate to try and cloud that. But love is all around.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. LovexRemains(:J)

Anyway. Next time you're feeling unloved. Look around. And if that doesn't help; look in the Book. Or just pray. He'll answer you when you need it :). Nobody is unloved!

-Mikey

(P.S. I realise this has less to do with the verse at the start than I originally intended... I may touch on it in a later post though :J)