Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Bent
What does it mean to be bent on something? I have tried a lot of different things in the span of my short 16 year old life and yet, somehow, my life has seemed to revolve around me. What can I get out of this? Who can help ME? What part do I have in this? It's been ME ME ME. I have a friend named Brandon Burch. You can ask anyone who knows me well that he is probably my biggest hero of all time. He was in a band called everyday collision and they wrote a song called Bent. One idea that I pull out of the song is that we want less of us and so much more You (being God). We should want to place God before ourselves and lay ourselves down. But I love the wording in the chorus because it talks about living a life bent on Christ. What does it mean to be bent on something? I know what it is to be bent out of shape but what is like to really be bent into shape? A shape that doesn’t mean I’m in control of what’s going on but in shape with God. Sophocles talks about reason and about trees branches either bend in a storm, or they break. And for me, I think that I try and stand firm when the stormy times come but that just leads to my breakdown. How is it that I have to be in control and in charge of what’s going on with me when its so much easier than that. If a tree bends in a storm then the tree is sustained because it was not stubborn and did not snap. I simply just have to lay my life and be willing to be bent. I want to be done standing tall when all it leads to is just breaking. I'm ready to live a life bent on Christ.
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7 comments:
cool
Wow, nice job juxtaposing the bible's teachings, and ancient philosphoer's ideas. You're right though, it seems like it is in human nature to want to be in control of things, but it is really impossible for everything to work out just the right way, so that basically means that unless you let things "go" so to say, you're going to be left frustrated for the rest of your life.
Bravo, Jake.
In _The Silmarillion_, Tolkien paints a picture of a world that is bent into the shape of a globe in order to keep a fallen race from reaching paradise. Men can no longer take the straight paths to Valinor but are bound to bent paths, circling the earth in endless futility. Yes, we are self-centered beings, bent on ourselves, burning ruts as we draw our circles tighter and tighter about our dead end worlds.
How massive the thought that God is bent on us? The bending, yes, even the breaking that He would endure to win us back. How He bent down from His lofty position to grasp the edges of the universe to wrap them to our salvation. He bent time. Two thousand years later I can be touched by the same act of brokenness that would cover Adam and Eve's first disgrace.
God is bent on me.
Bending can be painful, like when you bend your back too far backwards. But bending can also be beautiful--for, after all, isn't that what dancing is? Bending to music?
God is inviting us to bend to His music...
Incredible insight Jake. I never would have thought about it that way before. I definitely need to hear this song now.
Oh jake you're a smart guy, that makes total sense to me. and also, i wanna hear the song youre talking about
My church has adopted a theme for its missions: "Semper Gumby."
It's easy to see what that means, but just in case some of you aren't Latin scholars, it means "always flexible."
This isnt' the same meaning of "bent" that you're referring to in most of your blog, but it does work the "branches in the wind analogy." Basically, every time our church goes on a mission, terrible things start to happen a few months in advance of the trip that test us. It's Satan's attack on us, but we remain "bent" on going (this is the "bent" that you're talking about most of the time). We follow the conviction that we are supposed to be on the mission, and we let nothing hold us back. When we're there, though, "bent" takes on a whole different meaning of flexibility. God brings up a lot of unexpected things every time we go on a mission, and things NEVER go as plan, so our plan isn't to stick to a plan, it's simply to follow God's calling at any given instant. Semper Gumby. Be flexible to God's plan.
Good stuff, Jake
Oh, and I agree, Brandon is your hero
thats so awesome Jake! God is using you in HUGE ways in our church and in our school. You are a wonderful leader and i really do look up to you. ya know i seem to have the same problem.. well we talked about this esterday but still. i find myself totaly focused on me and what I want. and not what God wants... and then i just break. i find myself on my knees, begging God to help me to put him back in the center of it all. butin short you inspire me to have God center. and to get right with God. Thanks for all that you do!!!
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