Friday, March 31, 2006

Square one.

I am a master. A master of disguise.
Like a jackrabbit, in the winter I am white, in the summer I am brown.
I can fit in anywhere.

In the bars drinking beer and eating popcorn? Sure, pass some my way. At a movie theatre watching R rated humor and explitives, fine. In church singing praise songs and hymns? Without question. Course joking in a staff meeting... Here's a zinger.

I am a chameleon; no matter what the environment, I hide myself... trying to fit in no matter where I am. I am quite good at it. As a matter of fact, I have changed my appearance so many times, I don't even know who I am... who the real me is. Instead, I have become what I continue to be in the moment. Like the wind, my direction and speed varies in each passing moment. A man without conviction. This is not who I desire to be... but rather the result of years of poor choices and a desire to fit in.

But I have chosen to come to the Cross and lay who I have become at it's foot. Square one.

I am a man of conviction.

2 Corinthians 5: 16-21

16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

6 Comments:

Blogger Katie said...

wow . . . . . .

i didn't know where you were going at the beginning, but your narrative fits PERFECTLY with that verse

so true

10:15 AM

 
Blogger Aim Claim said...

I am a new creation.

I love the thought of that.

Great post.

11:36 AM

 
Blogger Deals On Wheels said...

Okay, I know that this isn't the point of your post AT ALL, but I was distracted by this line:

"I am a man of conviction."

Tragically, NBC has named their latest Law & Order-like drama "Conviction". Consequently, I – for whatever reason - kept imagining you as one of the characters on the show (granted, I've never seen the show - nor have I met you - but whatever), and you are this lawyer convicting-those-without-conviction (but in a superhero Clark Kent/Superman kind of way. Kind of like, father of four by day...upholding justice by night...Da, da, da - it's SUPER BEN!).

Yeah, I dunno where THAT came from. Maybe it was the beginning when you were describing the chameleon - who knows. Anyway, I didn't mean to distract from the real message of your post, but I felt compelled to share this with you.

Anyway, the end.

1:45 PM

 
Blogger Stephanie said...

Oh Ben: how I can empathize with this post in many ways. I AM a woman of conviction, but you're right: many times, being in that moment, trying to fit in: it makes it so easy to go against our Christ-like attitudes at the time, only later to realize that, in retrospect, our decision was totally out of character of what we claim in Christ. Conviction comes later.

I guess it's true what they say: hindsight IS 20/20.

Love your post Ben. Really made me think.

3:09 PM

 
Blogger Amstaff Mom said...

Reminds me of another verse... "the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak". That sums me up to a T.

Appreciate your honesty my friend.

9:46 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Conviction will save your butt everytime. I have learned that so many times!

1:51 PM

 

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