passion @ uwa

So i read today's reading, totally excited as usual cause honestly, this book's been quite unlike any other reading material i have read. Unlike my corporate finance textbook, it does not give me a headache, unlike my torts textbook, it does not cause my eyes to spin and unlike the Sports Section in the West Australian informing me of how dismal the West Coast Eagles are, does not cause me to weep like a little woman.

Which brings me to today's reading. Weeping like a little woman. Surely that is a very gender bias statement. Our Lord Jesus wept when his dear friend gave in to a vicious illness. I wept when my dear team self destructed in a vicious way. The point is this, feelings are important. Lets be honest, its getting pretty confusing here cause didnt Racquel just share a few days ago not to be overrun by our emotions. Whats this sudden about face telling us feelings are important.

The thing ive always always found to be important is a good balance in everything. Yes we are not to be overrun by our feelings. Heck we are not suppose to base our decisions on our feelings. Why? cause as mentioned, they are fickle and really, would you want to base your decision on whether to go to your tute today based on the knowledge that you know you should and what is right or based on your emo feelings because Jesters ran out of morning glory.

But man, feelings are important i say. We were all made with emotions. Feelings of anger, sadness, happyness and the occasional emotion of stress(lol). David, when he wrote his pslams, we can read the raw emotion and intensity of his praise, his hurts, his insecurities, his repentance. Jesus too showed emotion. He was REAL when he was here. Hes not like some robot perfectionist, he was real like the rest of us, cept he was perfect. He is.

Going back to the point i was saying about balance, there has to be that balance, that line drawn somewhere. Like Jesus, we have to take our emotions seriously, express them if need be, not deny them, yet at the same time not act or be governed by our feelings. Keeping it real homies, yet not being governed by those same feelings.

It is a paradox some might say. To accept our feelings and yet not be governed by them? It is not realistic to take our feelings and deny them just because we think it be easier compared to facing our feelings and acting not based on our feelings but on truths. Truth be told, as said in the book, and this really hit close to my heart, we are to deny ourselves. Thats hard man. Deny ourselves, not deny that the feelings exist, but deny our own desires of acting in that feeling and instead choosing to do God's will.

The thing that inspires me is how Jesus handled feelings. He never denied them. He accepted them cause he was prone to human emotions like the rest of us, yet he never sinned as a result of them. Pastor Tom says denying feelings gives them a power over us and Ive totally been guilty of trying to deny my feelings at times cause i thought it was the right thing to do. Chances are, i was just scared to face them feelings cause i would possibly have to act in the opposite way of them and that would have been hard.

And so i digress, but friends, this is my resolve,to not let my feelings govern me, or try the impossible of denying my feelings, instead, ima hold on to the power that is Christ in me, that the knowledge of his will that will allow me to act not based on feelings, but based on the will of God, on what is right.

Love,

JT