Fast and Slow Down
Day One of Forty Day Nativity Fast
Why is it called “fasting” when it calls for us to SLOW down.
Heh.
Okay, it’s out of my system folks. Let’s buckle down.
WHERE IS YOUR ATTENTION?
The holiday season brings a strange mix of emotions for me. On the one hand, I watch as my fellow Americans lose their minds to (presumably) save a bit of money while stampeding one another, a mere couple of hours after giving thanks for what they already have. Classy, I know. On the other hand, we tend to slow down a bit, remember that we have family, and fill them in with what is going on in our lives. I’m a fan of the family bit. Now, I’m very close with my family, so I’m speaking in a broader sense for my fellow Americans, but at the same time, I can’t deny the fact that I’ve grown up in the same individualistic culture as everyone else. Just because my personal interests may differ from others, I feel the same strong urge to stand out and be admired, maybe just in more of an intellectual way rather than materialistic way. Is this any better though? Where is my attention? Where is yours? We work so hard and grind all day, but where are we going? Is it okay if I give us permission to take a deep breath real quick?
*SNIFFFFFFFF*
*AHHHHHHH*
Oh no, I forgot to check my…
*SNIFFFFFFFF*
*AHHHHHHH*
You get the point, I’ll let you take it from here. And please, I must strongly encourage you to only be sniffing in oxygen for this stage of the exercise. Thank you, kindly.
WHEN IS ENOUGH, ENOUGH?
The law is written in our minds and in our hearts. Eternity. There is something true that rests in all of us, calling for us to submit into that peace and share that love with one another. It is advertising, greed, envy, selfish competition and vainglory that entices us to reign superior to our fellow man. I think even most Christians now and days would be shocked to discover just how simple our lives could be. Simple not in a lack of suffering, but in a lack of obfuscation. The enemy can’t offer a better paradise for our hearts, so he tries to obfuscate our vision and lead us down a false road, so long that we forget the true road home, Jesus. Fasting is first and foremost an acknowledgement of our will, that we are in need of Jesus’ mercy, and in need of emptying ourselves, that the false fulfillments of this world may be cast away, and God’s love may dwell in us. Let us slow down, take a look around, and see where God is in our life. Today is day one of a forty-day call to show appreciation for the birth of Christ, and empty ourselves to truly receive that gift.
