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jesussetmefree
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Name: Andrew
Birthday: 1/9/1988
Gender: Male
Expertise: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," but, "without Him I can do nothing."
Occupation: Designer
Industry: Graphic/Web/Multimedia Design
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
3/2/2006
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| Jesus or Gaston?This post may prove a little out of my style, since I typically do not draw parallels between spiritual principles and Disney characters, but in this case it was so à propos that I could not resist!
(Note: I encourage reading Ephesians 5:22-33 before reading on, for it is the springboard passage of this post. Oh, and watching the first half-an-hour of Beauty and the Beast wouldn't either. )
We all know the parallel that Paul draws between Christ and the church, and the husband and the wife/family.
"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the saviour of the body." (Ephesians 5:23)
We know that the husband is the head of the wife, but in whose pattern of headship must he follow? The one of Jesus Christ. And what was this pattern that Jesus set for husbands to follow?
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:5-7)
Jesus was the ruler over all, and yet He was the servant of all. Therefore, the man who is truly functioning in the role of headship is the one who is truly functioning in the role of a servant.
What we men must realize is that Jesus did not relax in His reclining chair while His disciples massaged His feet. In reality, He did exactly the opposite: He washed their feet. And what did He tell to His twelve disciples afterwards?
“For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:15)
I can’t help thinking of Gaston in that great animated classic, Beauty and the Beast drawing an imaginary picture for Belle of married life with His Muscleness. I have a feeling he would have been shocked to find out that his role as a husband would have been to first massage his wife’s feet!
It is obvious that Gaston “loved” Belle because he was in love with himself. And why? Because as his wife, she would be another trophy on his wall along with all his other prizes taken in the hunt. He thought that she would be at his beck-and-call like his hound dog or his plump-nosed stooge.
Of course Belle was not too favorable towards the idea and who wouldn’t be? What woman would want to be that to a man? A thing?
My friend Leah made a good point to me a while back. She said: “A man wants to be esteemed by his wife, but a wife primarily wants to be loved by her husband.” This does not contradict Scripture:
"Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." (Ephesians 5:33)
"So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church." (Ephesians 5:28)
Jesus, King of the Universe, was clothed in a humility that is unparalleled in history. But He did not do what He did; He is not as He is, so that we can just stand back and “ooh” and “ahh” at Him. Christ did what He did and is as He is so that we can do and be the same.
And isn’t that what Paul prefaces the above passage in Ephesians with?
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it. (Ephesians 5:25)
The role of a husband should be one of a sacrificial leader. He has the respect and obedience of his wife and children, not because he demands it, but because they give it willingly and gladly, being first-hand witnesses of his love and care for them. They have seen his sacrifice, how he puts them and their welfare before his own at all times. Though he is the strongest in the family, he makes himself the servant of the weakest, so that they too may be strong.
My college dean and dear friend, Thèrèse once told me that growing up, her father at every meal would first make sure that all his family had enough to eat before he partook of the same food.
My own father has demonstrated to me time and time again that even his ministry to the church of God is second to his primary ministry, and that is to his family.
You see, the role of a husband and father is not one of simply being the chief authority in the home, but of being the chief servant.
This is what Christ’s disciples could say of Him and His conduct. John testified of it in his account of the Gospel:
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
So, brothers in the Lord, take a lesson from Gaston: a selfish marriage is no marriage at all. What's more, don't think that any young lady with any discernment will marry you simply because you are a fine specimen of a male.
As for you young ladies, if you ever do encounter a Gaston, don't let his outward appearance woo your heart into his arms. Take a lesson from Belle: kick him out the door. | | |
| That I May Know Him
I did not write what I am about to post here. This is part of an email newsletter that a young lady wrote to her fellow sisters in the Lord to encourage and exhort them in their spiritual walks. What she didn't know was that it would bless ME, an "innocent bystander", tremendously! I hope it speaks to you as well. . .
"I've been thinking a lot about focus recently. Focus and purpose. They kind of go together. This year has brought a shift in focus for me, in many ways. I love the changes that the Lord brings into our lives. Some are painful, some are joyful, but when they are of Him, they are good. In fact, I believe being open to change is part of staying alive spiritually, its part of knowing God. There's an Old Testament verse that has always intrigued me, and it speaks along these lines: Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. Psalm 55:19 A surrendered, open mind to the will of God is key to a healthy fear of God.
But back to focus and purpose. They actually aren't the same, though they complement each other. Focus is like the thing that we stare at. The way we think, the way we live, everything about us---what are we staring at with the eyes of our heart? What is the focus? And then purpose is the thing that drives the focus. It stands behind the focus and keeps it going.
So when we think about all that, naturally we start asking questions like: 'So where is my focus? What is my passion?' Hopefully you don't have to ask too long. If you're honest with yourself, you should know right away.
The apostle Paul did. Unabashedly, unquestionably, unhesitatingly, he said:
'But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. . .' (Philippians 3:7-10)
In short, That I may know Him. I like that. One clear, bold, unmistakable focus. Backed by a purpose that will carry through time and eternity.
We all have some sort of purpose or other. How does yours compare to that?"
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| Spiritual ForgeryI am convinced that one of the most broken commandments is “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”
Our knee-jerk thought to that verse is: “Ok, so don’t say, ‘Oh my, G-d.’ Simple enough.” But this commandment goes way beyond saying a three letter word as an exclamation, or even swearing by it to affirm a statement.
Do any of these statements sound familiar?
“GOD told me to do this.”
“GOD is leading me to go here.”
“GOD revealed this to me.”
When we state that our actions, thoughts, or morals are being dictated to us by Almighty God, we take upon ourselves a grave responsibility. If we apply God’s seal of approval to anything, we had better make sure that it truly is HIS seal that is being applied and not a counterfeit of our own making. Check out this portion of Scripture from Ezekiel 13:
“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts.
Hear ye the word of the LORD; thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!” (vs. 2-3)
During the Holocaust, the Nazi guards, when they were torturing innocent Jews in certain death camps, told them: “Jesus told us to do this to you.”
We of course would all say: “Oh, how awful! Jesus was clearly not telling them to torture people! They were doing that out of their own cruelty!”
Yes, that is pretty clear. But what about us? What do we slap a “Jesus” on and call it “God’s will?”
There was once a leader of a cult who lusted after the wife of one of his followers. So, in order to have her, he came up with a whole doctrine that said that God destined some people to be married to each other in heaven, but they could marry the wrong person on the earth. To make a short story even shorter, he told the follower who’s wife he wanted that she was really supposed to marry HIM, and that right now the man was living in adultery. So of course, the follower divorced his wife, thus giving her over to Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism and the doctrine of “celestial marriage.”
“Ugh! How disgusting! Jesus clearly did not tell him to do that! That doctrine is nowhere in the Bible! He obviously made it up to get what he wanted and have a justification for it!”
Yes, that is pretty obvious. But what theological justifications for sin do we give ourselves? What extra-curricular doctrines do we latch onto so that we can go where we want to go, do what we want to do, and be who want to be?
“Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?” (vs. 7)
If there is one thing that God hates, it is lying. And saying: “God said. . .” when He has NOT said is LYING. Misrepresentation of God is deadly serious. He does not take it lightly and neither should we.
“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.” (vs. 8)
How would it feel to have the God of the universe against you, the dust of the earth? How would it feel to have God as your adversary? The very thought of it makes me shudder!
Get a load of the list of the seven things the Lord hates in Proverbs 6:
“These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” (Proverbs 6:16-19)
Three of the seven score direct hits on forging God’s signature.
Is all this enough to make us extremely careful before speaking, writing, or doing anything in the name of God? | | |
| GraduationWell, my formal education is complete. (For now at least.) I can honestly say that I have enjoyed myself immensely. What’s more, I was honored to be the salutatorian of my graduating class. Sooooo. . . for your reading pleasure, I will now post the speech I delivered at St. Bartholomew’s Church here in New York:
It is said that college changes a person. I would have to agree.
I came to school wet-behind-the-ears in almost every way.
I had absolutely no idea about graphic design, or websites, or anything having to do with what I was about to learn.
I hardly knew anything about the City that I would be in nearly every day for the next year and a half. You see, I’m from Staten Island, and Staten Island might only be a stone’s throw from Manhattan, but for this kid, it might as well have been Mars!
On top of all that, I have been homeschooled for most of my life. The whole “real school” experience was fairly new to me. Sitting down in Room 510 of 50 West that first day of class was the first time I had been in a classroom since the first grade!
In short. . . I felt lost.
But in time, things started to change. I started to change.
I guess my classmates really helped me relax a little! We were all sorts of personalities from all sorts of backgrounds, but still, we bonded into a family; a “dysfunctional” one, as one professor put it, but a family nonetheless!
I found another family, too. “Home” became the little 5th floor office of Therese LeMelle, our Dean. When I was hired as her work study in my second quarter, I had no idea what she, or the people in that office would come to mean to me; what impact they would have upon me.
I don’t think I had any idea what all the people at school would come to mean to me.
I could not name all the people at Gibbs who have affected me for good. It seemed as though whoever I met: the receptionist, the security guard, or the IT guy, I learned something from. I feel as though I came away from school with a little bit of everyone embedded into who I am. From the way I dress, to the way I speak, to the way I see everything around me. I guess my outlook has changed.
I can see now that my school goes beyond my own personal experience there. What it represents, what its place in society is, is much larger than any one person, for it is about the many people who made that individual experience possible. And not just possible, but wonderful.
Nothing lasts forever though. Just as seasons come and go, so do people in our lives.
Years ago, I realized that my parents could not always be with me in every difficulty I faced in my personal life. Now, I was learning that there would not always be a teacher to walk me through the challenges I would have to face in my professional one.
There would not always be an Alexei Taylor to push my creativity because he knows I can do better, or a Cal Vornberger to show me an even better way to do whatever it is.
There would not always be a Genevieve Hitchings to make me appreciate how far I have come, or a Richard Loke to make me realize how far I still have to go.
I also came to the realization that the personal and professional life very often intertwine, and that there would not always be a Janet Esquirol to make that important phone call for me, or a Branislav Bala to understand me, or a Frances Pollitt to speak for me when I am misunderstood.
There would not always be a Thèrèse LeMelle to look out for me, to read the expressions on my face, whether it be joy or pain, and to inspire me to stay the course in spite of how I might feel.
All those wonderful teachers, mentors, and friends that were so instrumental in shaping me into who I am, could not always be as they had always been to me.
I would have to learn to hold my own work to a higher standard, teach myself a better way to do it, make my own important phone calls, and speak for myself in those inevitable misunderstandings.
However, I am glad those people saw this day coming. They foresaw, as they foresaw with hundreds of others before me, and all those sitting here with me, that the short time they had to make an impact upon us would soon be over.
But this only made their resolve to teach us stronger, their commitment to our education deeper. They took full advantage of the time they had and poured into us their energy, their knowledge, and their skill. The things that they had learned through years of experience in and dedication to their fields, were now being passed down to us: their students.
But I believe that they have left us with something even greater than their knowledge or skill. They have left us with something more profound, something more memorable. And that is: their example.
That was what made the difference for me, and I believe for every graduate sitting in this great hall.
It is the difference between saying, “do-what-I-say, not-what-I-do”, or saying “do what I do.” This is called leading by example.
It is what I will most remember my parents by, and it is what I will most remember Alexei Taylor, Cal Vornberger, Genevieve Hitchings, Richard Loke, Dawn Conley, Barbara Raymond, Hedley Duncan, Barbara Stehle-Aktar, Janet Esquirol, Branislav Bala, Frances Pollitt, and Therese LeMelle by. Thank you all and many more for being shining examples to me of what it means to be a professional, a citizen, and a human being.
In closing, I would like to leave you all with a little word about our beloved school. . .
A school is not known simply by its name or what-teenth century it was founded in. It is nothing as superficial as ivy growing on its walls. Rather, its reputation is found in its legacy. The legacy shaped by those people who are dedicated to it; the teachers and mentors that give their lives to seeing the ivy grow.
But it is us, the graduates. We are the ivy on the walls. We are the legacy of Katherine Gibbs. As we now leave, our time here complete, let us resolve to continue to grow into people that will never discredit our school, or the people that have given so much of themselves to seeing us succeed. If we become the examples to others that our teachers have been to us, then Katherine Gibbs will, and always will be: an Ivy League school. | | |
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