Yikes! My last post was November! Obviously, Lady Faye is not one to journal regularly. So what has she been doing? Well, up front I will warn you that this is entry is a testimony to what has been going on in my life - no gory details, I promise - but a lot of the blinding light of truth.
I have done several posts about my 'young men'. Well, meet the chief of them! He is at the head of this post as He is at the head of my life, and His name is Jesus Christ. The art above has been done by a man named Ron Dicianni. Even if you don't share my faith - even if you think it is all, as Han Solo put it in Star Wars, 'simple tricks and nonsense', you can appreciate the light, beauty and majesty of this man's work.
From the end of November until now, I have been on a journey with this particular 'young man'. (Hey, He was 33 when His life on earth ended, and I am going to be 52! He's young!) I have come to know Him - no, to 're-know' Him in the way I did as a child. (Which, by the way is an answer to prayer.) By His hand, I have been set free of so many of the petty little things that we allow our lives to be controlled by. You know, when I first read the Thoreau quote, 'The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,' I thought - nah, they don't. Well, they do. Most people spend their entire lives seeking after a happiness and a 'fulfillment' that eludes them. There is something always out of reach. Something that needs to be obtained to finally have that 'life' we are meant to have.
Let me advance a scenario to you.
A war is raging. One side - the powerful side that will do anything to win - is close to triumph. On the eve of this victory over their weaker enemy, a young woman from the opposing camp is kidnapped by the winning side's most ruthless general and raped. She lives long enough to give birth to a child who is adopted by this general - the man who is responsible for the deaths of the innocent babe's people and culture. This child is raised by the general to believe that might is right, that having 'things' is what matters, and that killing to get it is good. The child is indoctrinated into the belief system of what, unbeknownst to it, is that of the killers of its mother, father, and siblings. Then one day, through secret means, the child finds out who they are. Suddenly they understand the confusion they have always felt, the feeling that what they are doing and thinking is wrong; the longing for something else, something better.... With a shock, they find that they have been born, raised and lived in the enemy's camp. They are not the enemy, but they think like them - how could they do anything else?
Now, if this child manages to escape, will they not still think like their captors? And even if they learn to do otherwise, will this old nature not rear its ugly and powerful head each and every day of their lives, insisting - quite logically - that they have chosen the wrong path?
The good news is, the king of that other land - the one that was 'conquered', actually gave in. He sacrificed himself so His people could live, and live forever. And He left behind a Helper, who will walk with and talk to that child - and every other child so misplaced - guiding them and strengthening them.
But here's the catch - only if they ask.
We have lost the concept of Kingship in our society. For those of you who do not know history, think movies; think King Arthur or maybe King Elessar - Aragorn, from the Lord of the Rings. Still, when you think of Arthur or Aragorn, the image that comes to mind is not that of someone whose throne you can walk boldly up to without being announced, or of a king who calls you - his peasant and slave - 'brother', and then proceeds to wash your feet. It is not the image of a king who is a servant, or of his lowly subject who - by the king's sacrifice - will be lifted to a place above the angels and made partner in His glory.
Imagine that.
I encourage you, if you have not given Jesus Christ a good long look in regards to your life and where you are right now, that you do so. I recommend Lee Strobel's book, 'The Case for Christ" if you really want to challenge your mind and beliefs. Mr. Strobel was an atheist and Chicago newspaper reporter. That about says it all, right? He set out to prove that Jesus Christ was not the Son of God, and now Lee is one of Christ's chief modern day apostles. This book (he has many others) is full of hard facts proving all of the above.
I challenge you to read it and come away unchanged.
Paintings by Ron DiCianni used courtesy of Tapestry Productions.com
Heaven's Loss
He Holds the Keys
In the Wilderness
The Second Coming
