• Home
  • My Story
  • Bookish
  • Christian Teaching
  • Thoughts
  • Food For Thought
  • Kim Chronicles
Lilies from Heaven

Of Chinese Lanterns and Joy

10/7/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Ann Voscamp wrote on sarcasm in her blog over the weekend.  She included a marvelous picture of a chinese lantern in its autumn glory.  You can easily see the brightly coloured seed inside what is a darkening shell that is ready to crack and flake off.

What a beautiful metaphor for the Christian life.  When everyone is critical, cynical, condemning, sarcastic, doubting, or dissenting a Christian turns to what is he or she believes to be hope. Christ.  Everyone else speaks of the fallen world, but Christians speak of hope.

Christ brings hope.  Christ brings joy.  By focusing on what is positive in the midst of the critics, cynics, condemners, sarcastic doubters, and dissenters, believers stand tall in their hope, their joy in Christ.

Do we know that cynicism is simplistic?  It's obvious.  In a fallen world, it isn't that hard to see the cracks. 

As the sages and the prophets, the disciples and the revolutionaries before them, Christians point to the dawn of a new Kingdom.  We point to the light that breaks through all things that are shattered, all people that are broken, a light that reaches for redemption, to a Blazing God who never sleeps. 

We are the brilliant.  We don't deny the darkness as we seek the light. 

"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light."

The eyes are always first.  The way we see is the way we are saved. 

We see Him.  We see the great Doctor.  He knows our name.  He holds the stars in his Hands and His girds underneath.  He never lets go.  He is Joy.  He is Light.  He is the Warrior who defeated the dark. 

The point is we are free from our own tendency to complain when we know the Father's Heart for us. 

Light is a radical in a dark,fallen world.
 
Joy comes in being thankful to Him.  Joy is exhilirating dangerous.  It's igniting, contagious, otherworldly.  It wins demon wars.  It isn't Pollyannish to be thankful.  It is revolutionary.

Be a light.  Speak of Him.  Show some of the that glorious autumn color in your life. 

Be thankful and speak of HIM.




0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Storyteller, 
    Glory Seeker,
    Grace Dweller,
    ​English Teacher.

    Archives

    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    September 2011

    Categories

    All
    Abundance
    Adoration
    Advent
    Aging Gracefully
    Alabaster Flask
    A Midsummer Night’s Dream
    Angel
    Art
    Artists
    Ash Wednesday
    Attention
    Autumn
    Awe
    Bearing Burdens
    Beauty
    Bells
    Birthday
    Blessing
    Blessings
    Bonhoeffer
    Bread
    Broken Bread
    Brokenness
    Care
    Celebration
    Centeredness
    Christ
    Christian Discipleship
    Christian Perfection
    Christmas
    Christmas Star
    Christmas Story
    Cleaning
    Color
    Communion
    Community
    Courage
    CoVid 19
    Creation
    Creativity
    Cross
    Crucifixion
    Cup
    Dr. Seuss
    Easter
    Easter Tree
    Enjoying Grace
    Evangelism
    Failure
    Faith
    Faithfulness
    Fall
    Family
    Fast
    Fasting
    Fear Of The Lord
    Feast
    Feet
    Forgiveness
    Fragrance
    Freedom
    Frustration
    Fugitives
    Fullness
    Fun
    Gardening
    Gifts
    Giving Love
    Glorious Ruins
    Glorious Ruins
    God's Creativity
    God's Glasses
    God’s Heart
    God's Love
    Grace
    Gratitude
    Guidance
    Happiness
    Healing
    Heaven
    High School English
    Holiness
    Holy Spirit
    Hope
    Hospitality
    Humor
    Inspiration
    Interruption
    Jesus As Healer
    Jesus Christ
    Jesus Way
    Joy
    Kindness
    Lamb
    Laughter
    Lent
    Life
    Light
    Listening
    Living Well
    Loneliness
    Lord's Supper
    Love
    Making Changes
    Mary
    Maturity In Faith
    Meditation
    Mending Broken Hearts
    Mitzi Kaufman
    Music
    New Year
    October
    Outlaws
    Patience
    Peace
    Perfection
    Perspective
    Planning
    Playfulness
    Prayer
    Presence
    Pruning
    Rachel Held Evans
    Raspberries
    Reading
    Reality
    Redemption
    Reflection
    Relationship
    Relative Perfection
    Repentance
    Resolutions
    Response
    Resurrection
    Rhythm
    Ringing
    Room
    Sacrifice
    Safety
    Salvation
    Seasons
    Self Control
    Service
    Serving
    Shalom
    Sharing
    Sheep
    Shepherds
    Shrove Tuesday
    Silence
    Slow
    Slowness
    Smell
    Snow
    Star
    Stillness
    Story
    Stress Reduction
    Thankfulness
    Theology
    Time
    To Kill A Mocking Bird
    Trees
    Trials
    Tribulations
    Upside Down Kingdom
    Waiting
    Wholeness
    Wine
    Wisdom
    Wit
    Wonder
    Works Of The Heart
    Worship
    Writing

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly