Ever Moving Forward

I'm 23 now, which is new, since my last update.
That also means I'm a few days past the one-year-til-the-wedding day.  That's it's own sort of excitement.

Two major things happened in my piece of pop-culture interest:  the first part of the last Harry Potter episodes of movies came out and captured the emotion of the first half of the book perfectly (and that's the most you can really ask of the movies).  Additionally, Kanye West released his first rap album since 2007's graduation.  It's basically the best piece of hip-hop art ever crafted, and that's extraordinary as a "non-debut" album and a testament to Kanye's vision as an artist and supreme talent.  Most rappers have a breakout album and never quite re-achieve that greatness because their "flow" isn't as unique anymore.  Kanye somehow manages to create increasingly better music each and every time.  That's actually true of the Harry Potter movies too, but on a different level and in very different ways.

I don't really know what it means or what it looks like to adjust to being a new age.  I'm 23 now and this time last week, I was 22.  22 was one of the best years of my life.  Today was the Curry Night that marks one year since I started going.  It's been the fastest, most brilliant year of my life.  I couldn't have guessed I'd be where I am now, then, and I definitely couldn't have guessed it when I first took the relative risk of coming to Curry Night and my life began to transform.

It's a testament to the sovereignty of God.  I don't think random chance, on its own, would have brought everything together as it all came together.  It all came together.  Thinking back, that means Christmas will be here sooner than expected, and pulling that out, it means the wedding will be too.  Fast fast fast.  Life moves so fast.   But I don't mind at all.  Everything is always moving so fast.  But I don't mind.  The last year of my life showed me that that's alright.  That's a good thing.

Then, this weekend, is the Ohio State-Michigan game...and it's suddenly meaningless.  Of course I'll watch, of course it will feel epic as the blue and yellow helmets collide with the grey....but it's not what it was when even I was growing up....I can only imagine what it's like for my dad and people his age, that grew up with Woody and Bo.  It's all cyclical and it moves so fast.  Somehow those of us on the southern side of the state haven't fallen off like Michigan has, but that's probably some kind of luck.  Jim Tressel could have been the implosion Rich Rodriguez has been.  But he wasn't.  It's always so close to the edge...and that's just sports.

At some point in my life, I might just quit everything and turn to full time writing...I don't know how that would be possible, but there's got to be a better way to make time.

-Zack

"hatred and attitude tear us entirely"
-Kanye West

A Compelling Lesson

I've grappled with the issue of other religions for awhile now.  Not really that I believe their existence does any precluding of the Gospel or anything like that, or like there are so many paths to God that we ought to hold them all as equal and thereby not trust any of them, but from the perspective of perspectives.

I can't really tell someone that what they feel in their own religious, outside of Christianity, experience, is invalid.  I haven't felt it.  From their perspective, I've always thought, it is a real experience, and I can't really plausibly argue against that just as no one can really plausibly argue against my own experiences with Christ.

But I've come to realize it's really a pointless argument.  Jesus offers true life, true healing, and true transformation by a life lived with Him as Lord.  People can reject it or not on any logical or philosophical grounds they may choose.  But they are saying no to their own healing and that is on their own hands. That, or they are saying they are not broken, and chances are, at that point, they're lying to themselves.  Other religions exist, and honestly, I'm not informed enough to say that they do or don't offer anything specific.  But I do know Christ and what He can do, and it is definitely enough, for life and for eternity.  Is Jesus "for everyone?"  He's for everyone who will admit that they're broken, and he's for those who don't, but they won't admit it.

Christianity has definitely become something of a "religion" since its inception, full of culture and tradition.  It's not all bad, by any means, but what Christ truly offers isn't an alternative, easier to do religion in place of Islam, taoism, Hinduism, or whatever else.  He offers a form of healing and identity based on love, and that's something everyone needs, no matter where on Earth they were born or what their parents taught them.

-Zack

"come and see"