Differences...

I have dreamt of sitting and writing from a sylvan location, over looking the beach. Kind of like the view you get from John Muir Cliffs in San Francisco. Cool invigorating, sea breeze, shaded glades, just peaceful and serene! Well I had the Blue Ridge and the Watershed instead, but I'll take it! So what's worth writing about today...? How about differences, and diversity? Yeah that will work.

What would you say about a mother who shipped her child out of the country just to see him have a chance to survive? What would you say about parents that had to flee their homeland and go to another province just to survive? What would you say to a group, or to an individual about the Holocaust, or American slavery?

My cousin told me stories that started in World War II and continued on into the 50's and the Korean War, about when he was stationed in Germany. He said that some of the German woman slept with "Black" American troops just to see if they had tails like monkey's. Why? Because propaganda, and ignorance through fascist Nazi coercion, led these poor naive young women to explore for curiosities sake. They (not all but the naive women of Germany) found out (some to their dismay) that they had been lied to. What other lies seep through the cracks of society? What lies have we helped transude through the cracks of today's society?

Exodus 2&3 tell the story of how Moses was shipped out away from his family in his own personal ark. He as an adult after being raised by an Egyptian Princess fled for his life to a Midian camp (Modern Day Saudi Arabia), took a wife Zipporah (the song bird), and had a child. Then he received his calling from God and went back to the place where it was that he fled from! Wow! How many of us are willing to do that?

Then for my imperfect New Testament buffs... Matthew 2. Joseph took Mary and baby Jesus out of Bethlehem and into Egypt. How was it that Herod killed every male child, and had an army searching, and couldn't find a snow white child among all those dark faces? It's rhetorical for me but if you have to ask, HIS skin probably wasn't lily white. Then Joseph went back to his home land by way of Nazareth, and the prophesy was fulfilled! Diverse culture huh? All this sneaking in and out of the country. How would Joseph get past Homeland security in the good ol' US of A!? "Sir, could you remove your sandals please. Ma'am, what's in the bag?"

Now there is the comparison of ethnicity to preference as well. Michael Jackson chose to straighten his hair, mutilate himself, and totally freak the world out with some rather freakish moves. A man of African descendants with a light skin tone chose to pass as Caucasian, rather than claim his African descendants. But how is it that a man can choose to desire intimacy with another man, or a woman desire the intimacy of another woman? A healthy man or woman has the opportunity to make a healthy choice. However, let me quiz my imperfect Christian brothers ans sisters that are science buffs. If a person is born with both genitalia what do you do? What if as a parent you guess wrong at their birth. What do you do if you are a parent in a country where you do not have the medical facility, insurance, or monetary resources that would allow you the liberty of making that choice? Difference, diversity, where do you draw the line, and when do we learn to stop playing God and just love one another. When do we pray for the betterment of mankind, and stop trying to condemn every man around us, to place us a step closers to superiority? Remember the movie "Juice"? I remember it too well. It brings back memories of being a teenager, that witnessed more death than most morticians! It's not easy trying to understand as a teenager how it is that a dark figure rises up out of the bushes with a bandanna around his/her face, and slits your best friends throat and runs back into the city drains, and cultasac's leaving you to tend to a friend that is bleeding out, and you can't help. All you can do is comfort them for as much as possible, scream for help and cry. You have no clue as to who it was, and the only explanation, is that he/she was hanging with the wrong set! The police treat it as one less for them to deal with because it was a banger that was killed. Well perhaps it was a 13 year old girl that was into trends, but not a banger by any means! To see your friend shot in his car after dropping off his little brother, and crashing his car through the hedges of a well known business and into their wall, while his soul and car simultaneously come to a complete rest. You see the story on the news, and all you can do is shake your head and cry. What's it all for? For "Juice!" Who has the most power, who gets in the last word, who has the final say! Well imperfect brothers and sisters let me just tell you that if you don't know already, God has the final say. Gangster, Gay, or either way, God has the final say. Not me, not Reverend Juice, that needs to leave the reverence to Christ, not anyone but the Righteous One. No I do not condone sin, but I have learned the hard way that life is to short for me to sweat the small stuff, and to short for me to try and fix the world. Life is too precious for me to try to play God and put the weight of the world on my shoulders. I am much more content with praying for the lost, and more so praying for myself, and repenting daily, and letting God decide on which of His own are truly redeemed. The roll of an inspector is hard enough, I leave the righteous judgment to the Righteous Judge!

Peace, Blessings, and Joy...that real PB&J only found in Christ!