I’ve seen an interesting trend in many churches.

We care too much about what people think.

Don’t get me wrong, we need to be listening to legitimate concerns/compliments. However, there are times when we just can’t.

People will complain about everything. I’ve heard complaints about the music being too loud and not loud enough in the same service.

The truth is, you can’t please everyone. And in the end, it doesn’t matter.

Because the One we’re trying to please is proud of our efforts.

I think that’s the funny thing about God.

God is happier then we often think. If you are a follower of Christ, God doesn’t see you as a sinner, even if you still sin (which you will, by the way.)

That’s the funny thing about grace. If we accept it, we’re free.

Our sin, our mess-ups, our failures – they’ve all been taken care of.

God is proud of us.

We all have characteristics from our parents. Some of them physical, others are mental. Emotional. Attitudes we “inherit.”

I realized today the same goes for our Heavenly Father. Whether we’ve thought about it before or not, we have characteristics that we could only have gotten from Him.

Love. Compassion. Generosity. Hope. Faith.

We’ve inherited them all from Him. I know this because without Him, none of them would even exist.

The more you think about it, the more exhilarating it seems.

You are a child of the King of the universe, who has inherited things from Him.

How awesome is that?

That’s where I’ve found myself lately. The edge.

I think there’s a breaking point in everyone’s lives where we decide we need to rely solely on God.

I struggle with wanting things that I can’t have.

I want that new smartphone.

I want that awesome computer.

I want all that cool Ikea furniture. (Yes.)

The funny thing is, it just “started” with items. Then it become more personal. And more relational.

Being the creative person I am, I naturally strive to be better and best.

I want them to be more like me.

I want The Church to cater to me.

I want this service to run exactly as  I planned.

I want everything to work the way I want it to.

I remember sitting at my desk working on a motion background (which involved a picture of Jesus, go figure) and I was getting somewhat angry. Why? First of all, my video card sucks. (Not complaining, stating a fact.) When you’re a graphic/motion designer like I am, that tends to be an issue. When I render loops, my computer has shut down many times just because it can’t handle it anymore. So naturally I was in a bad mood.

Then I got angry.

“UGH! I just wish people would actually buy my content so I could maybe afford a new video card, and more RAM, and a better processor! Heck, why can’t I just go out and buy a MacBook Pro? That would solve a lot, but no, I’m broke.”

Yikes.

Then I heard God.

It’s always amazing when you have one of those moments where you’re paying no attention to God, and yet He speaks to you in such a clear way that you actually understand.

“Jordan …”

FYI – you always know God is speaking to you when He calls you by name…

” …since when has this been about you?“

I have to admit, I wasn’t exactly overjoyed with God in that moment.

But sometimes He has to break us.

Sometimes he has to take us to the edge, where we are completely relying on His power and strength, and He says, “It’s just you and me now.”

Those words keep resonating throughout my mind. “It’s just you and me now.”

The edge is scary. The edge is not something the world praises. But the edge is the safest place we’ll ever be.

I realized something profound today, if you could call it that.

As Christians, many times our faith is ironic. Life is a beautiful field of flowers skipping merrily with our vending machine God. It’s like we pull a trigger and see what we get. We’re happy with our low, materialistic lifestyle.

God is constantly in pursuit. Of me. Of you. All of us. And yet the only times we pursue God is when we want God to be our cosmic vending machine.

The truth?

There is nothing about you and I that would logically make sense for God to pursue us. Nothing. And yet, He does.

That’s that irony.

A beautiful irony.

I heard the song More Like Falling In Love by Jason Gray on the radio the other day, and I just had to buy it on iTunes.

This line is incredible:

‘Cause all religion ever made of me was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet. It never set me free. It’s gotta be more like falling in love than something to believe in. More like losing my heart than giving my allegiance. Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now. It’s like I’m falling in love…

Wow.

Are we in love with Jesus, or are we in love with the idea of Jesus?