The Heart of the Matter

[food for thought]

This semester is challenging me in deeper ways than I ever imagined. I am learning and growing, but those things come at a price. One such way is the stretching of my beliefs and ideas of right and wrong. Who knew such a simple thought could be dissected in a thousand different ways. My bioethics class has especially taken it's toll on my spirit as our topics of discussion include abortion, biotechnology, doctor-patient relationship, physician-assisted suicide, and much more. Frankly, I find myself wrestling with questions I never thought to ask or have any kind of opinion on. It has left me searching for the heart of the matter - God's heart behind it all.

I never wanted to talk about things like this. I always kept my opinions to myself (if I even had them). but we have to talk about the underlying issue here. We have to talk about it no matter how bad it feels because it matters.

What I want to talk about is this control we think we have over people and nature. I'm watching the world unfold and I see a deep need for security. This power we think we have isn't real. We think we can assign all these labels to a person based off race, gender, religion, nationality, economic status. While these things are helpful, they do not define us. We may have been put into authority by other people, but that doesn't mean we now control them and everything they do. Because people don't follow a leader who controls. We follow a leader who loves. Controlling other people has to stop but taking advantage of people who don't control you has to stop too.

Y'all it is all a lie. We want to select for all these things: eye color, gender, smart, tall, funny, good, bad, whatever. but it's so futile. We are giving into the desire to have more, to be more. We are believing the lie that is rooted deep within. The lie that says: you are not enough. So we wage war on one another and we fight about whether we can select against disabilities because "we want to be more awesome" (actual statement by a guy in my class today). but friends, it's a lie and we have to wake up to the reality of who God says we are - not who the world says we are.

Are we that afraid to face up to who we really are? because we're all just broken human beings wanting to be fully known and fully loved. Are we afraid to face our heart because it's hard to understand and it's unpredictable? So we take it out of science, but the reality is it's the reason for science. It's almost as if we don't want to accept our imperfection when that is what makes us most relatable. 

I think it comes down to our desire for control. We want to clone ourselves & extend life with cryonics & choose this or that because we're scared. Jesus never promised us a perfect life - just a full life. We cage up our heart so that we don't hurt and we search out love on our own. what we fail to see is that to risk & push through fear is where love is found. We cannot disregard this need for control any longer. 

It's time to surrender this fear. together.

God is sitting by just crying out: I want them to see how enough they are for me! come on. open your heart to him. give up the fight for control. give up the need for perfection. you'll never get there on your own. trust me on that one. We can have abundant life - who needs to the perfect one

Emily