The only thing that counts

Wild card weekend in football. Every home team lost. That means every top seeded team lost to the underdog. Although, I'll say that the Seahawks of late are hardly underdogs.

The one that gets me is the Bengals and Steelers. The Defense for the Bengals gets the ball back practically in field goal range and less that two minutes to go and a one point lead. The game is over. Just sit on it. Right?

Well they ran a play and lost the ball. But what happened is they ended up with two penalties on one play that cost them 30 yards putting the Steelers in field goal range for the win.

On the other side, the Seahawks had the Vikings up against the wall and a penalty put the Vikings in field goal range to win the game.

Somebody explain this to me - Kam Chancellor is known throughout the league for blowing guys up with hard tackles. How is it that a wide receiver can run out, put Kam on his can, and Kam gets called for the penalty? If it was legal for wide receivers to hit the defensive backs - why don't they do it on every play? Regardless, the only thing that counts is whether or not they kick the field goal and win the game.

The Pittsburgh kicker hit the 3 point game winner and the Minnesota kicker missed.

Today I was reading through Galations 5 and it reminded me that the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. I have had a strong faith, but my expressions of love have been very close to home of late. My hope for the new year is that I can get out of my safety circle and reengage.

Things I can't shake

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. - C.S. Lewis; The Weight of Glory

I've been on a difficult journey. If you read the Psalms, you might think they are all songs of joy. But fully half are laments. I find myself in this place of laments. But in it all, I haven't been able to shake the way I see the world. I did not make Christianity, but as Rich Mullins wrote, Christianity is making me. Day by day, new morning my new morning, I am being shaped by what the text says.

Wrestling with the Word is a daily struggle for me. I find myself challenging the things that are taught in the church and trying to reconcile it with experiences I've been through. But as I examine the alternatives I cannot come up with a solution that provides so many answers to the questions that come from digging into one's spiritual yearnings.

So as my eyes open to greet a new day, so does my spirit arise and wonder.