On our Christmas card this year we included a beautiful quote I found by Hamilton Wright Mabie (Don't ask me who he is, just liked the quote!!
"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy on love."
Don't you just love that? My favorite part is the use of the word "conspiracy"... It makes me imagine an underground movement bent on secretly transforming the world.
In actuality, the word itself is defined as a secret plot to do something unlawful. At first this is a little off-putting, especially for a first-born, Type A, look like you have it together & "stay in line" kind-of-girl.
But on the other hand, it feels a little exciting & risque to be a part of it in a "I'm coming to get you" sort-of-way.
Our nation is WAY too transfixed this holiday season with reality TV controversy, divisions that tear us apart, & definitions of self that end up limiting the whole of who we are that I think we are majorly missing out on something so fun and so incredibly sneaky about the "unlawfulness" of love.
When God sent His Son, He sent Him to transform & to engage. And while Scripture says He came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17), it wasn't in the way that meet every politically & religiously correct idea that people expected & most ended up requiring to the point of death. No, in fact, He came to break beyond the barrier of law. Do you get how powerful this is??? In other words...
God started a big, unlawful conspiracy the night He sent His Son.
But the word conspiracy also indicates a group of people all "in on it"; meaning it takes more than one person. And while we can certainly say this conspiracy has grown over time, I'm not so sure that it's growing anymore. It's like we somehow lost parts of it along the way. I'm not sure if it's the divisiveness of the conspiracy (after all, Jesus walked into the temple & literally kicked people out who didn't have their hearts aligned with the heart of what God designed & purposed in what can be described as abrasive to say the least!!...Matthew 21:12) or if it's the extent of the conspiracy (For God so loved THE WORLD that He sent His Son!!... John 3:16), but somewhere along the way it's like we thought we have to have one or the other - either show our rebellious, divisive side or go over the top in a lovey, dovey "We Are The World" type of way.
Here's my deal: What's so wrong about both??? I've seen it done. It's just that it's getting kind-of rare.
This past year, I've been praying that I would really learn how to do both really well, & it's still a big part of how I'm approaching this new year. You see, it's not an overnight "Now I've got it!" type of thing. It's a daily thing...And sometimes it's a "I messed up, I'm sorry" type of thing... But it's also a "get back up & try again" thing & a "live in the joy of it" type of thing.
And I for one am super excited to see what God can do with a life ready to join in on the conspiracy in 2014.
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