Archive for the ‘Weight of Glory’ Tag
The Perks of Being a Child of God
Filed under: By Nan Kuhlman, Relationships, The Plan of Adoption, Uncategorized | Tags: C.S. Lewis, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, we accept the love we think we deserve, Weight of Glory
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My teenage daughter was very excited to see the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower after having read the book, so when we found it showing at a nearby theater, we went to see it last weekend. I expected a teenage comedy, maybe something along the lines of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but what I saw instead was a film about teenagers struggling with a variety of issues and hurts, but holding fast to the importance of belonging.
The movie revolves around the story of Charlie, a quiet, shy writer-type boy who is just starting high school. He struggles with finding friends until two senior students, Patrick and his stepsister Sam, take him in. Their exuberant unwillingness to conform allows Charlie the freedom to be who he is, and it shows him that everyone suffers hurts in this life, sometimes through one’s personal choices and sometimes as a result of others’ choices.
Eventually, Charlie falls in love with Sam but he remains quiet about his feelings, allowing her to date others who cheat on her and mistreat her. When she finally recognizes her tendency to choose those who treat her badly, Charlie offers this wisdom, given to him by his favorite English teacher:
Because Sam saw herself as being unworthy of true and faithful devotion, she deliberately chose to accept less than what she really wanted. To me, this parallels our tendency to see ourselves as unworthy of the true and faithful love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Just like Sam, we choose to accept less than what we truly want.
This can mean we busy ourselves with work or excessive pleasures. We don’t acknowledge the gift of God’s love and acceptance because we know how flawed and messed up we are. If we have a hard time loving ourselves because of our vulnerabilities and mistakes, how could a perfect God love us?
The trouble is that we are basing our view of God’s ability to love imperfect creatures on how we respond to weakness in ourselves. We project our shame about our weaknesses and our faults on to the face of God, assuming that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit hold the same view as we do. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Instead, we distract ourselves, as Sam did, by choosing those lesser joys. Author C.S. Lewis says in The Weight of Glory that
We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased. (26)
Although I won’t spoil the movie for you, I will share that as Sam accepted Charlie’s love, expressed in various ways, she became more of herself, the person she was meant to be. As we accept the love that we deserve, we will become all that we are meant to be. We will finally BELONG, flaws and all. It’s one of the perks of being a child of God.
~ by Nan Kuhlman
Our Pursuit of Beauty
Filed under: By Nan Kuhlman, The Dance and Dream of the Trinity, The Plan of Adoption, Trinity | Tags: Beauty, C.S. Lewis, Sharon Randall, the pursuit of beauty, Weight of Glory
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The pursuit of beauty is a common theme in our world. From the beauty that is advertised on the pages of almost every magazine to our very own homes and gardens, human beings desire to create or view beauty, whether it is in the mirror or in our surroundings.
I recently read a syndicated column in our local newspaper by Sharon Randall called “Where Will Beauty Find You?” (http://www.sharonrandall.com/). In the article, Randall recounts spending her spring breaks with her grandmother, who taught her how to see beauty in everything. In their hikes through the woods, collecting the best of the wild spring flowers, they would end up with briar pokes, chiggers, or the worst, ticks. Her grandmother wisely advised her, “Beauty often comes with a price. But you have to keep looking for it.” As a result, Randall shares in the article how she has learned to look for beauty and to find it (or be found by it) in every season and situation of life.
Randall isn’t the first writer to think about the search for beauty. C.S. Lewis also considers beauty in The Weight of Glory:
We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words – to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it (42).
Lewis goes on to explain that our desire for beauty is because the Triune God is the source of that beauty, and so our yearning for beauty in our lives is really a yearning for God. Conversely, the Father, Son, and Spirit bestow lavish beauty upon the world and the human beings around us, so that we may recognize their handiwork and loving presence, even in situations that might not seem beautiful at first.
According to columnist Sharon Randall, “Every place we look for it, beauty is blooming.” As we look for the Father, Son, and Spirit in our lives, we will find evidences of beauty. There may be briar pokes or chiggers or ticks as you embrace the beauty in your particular situation, but “you have to keep looking for it.” The beauty we’re looking for is ready and waiting to be found.
~by Nan Kuhlman
Lady Gaga and the Good News
Filed under: By Nan Kuhlman, Gospel, Uncategorized | Tags: being famous with God, C.S. Lewis, Ellen Degeneres, good news, Lady Gaga, loving yourself, pop culture, Religion, self-worship, Weight of Glory
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Lady Gaga was a recent guest on Ellen Degeneres’s talk show, and interestingly enough, she touched on the topic of religion:
“Pop culture is our religion, and through self-worship (in terms of your identity, through honoring your identity and really fighting for who you are every single day down to your core) you can have more faith and more hope in life and in the future.” Lady Gaga to Ellen Degeneres, 7/21/11.
She went on to describe how she spends five minutes a day in meditation, thinking compassionate thoughts about herself. “Love who you are. You’re all you’ve got,” Gaga encouraged the audience.
I actually think that, without realizing it, Lady Gaga aptly addressed the issue that has plagued humankind since the Fall. We want someone to give us value, even as broken and messed up as we are. We want someone to love us.
Lady Gaga was right that pop culture is a religion for many people. By this, I mean that we tend to think if we conform to what the media tells us is acceptable, we will be loved and valued. Usually this involves buying the right jeans or shampoo or car. Religion implies that we have to do something to receive something, and the concept of relationship is completely missing from the picture.
Unfortunately, her advice to direct compassionate thoughts toward oneself as a means of boosting self-love falls short. Why? We all have this built-in need to be approved of and accepted by someone we perceive as greater than ourselves. Gaga’s advice, while well-intentioned, will never fill that hole. As C.S. Lewis puts it, what we truly want is “fame” with God:
“To please God…to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness…to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son –it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is” (Weight of Glory).
When we fully comprehend that we are pleasing to the Father, Son, and Spirit with all of our faults, we finally understand that any self-admiration we might feel for any good we have done will never fill the hole in hearts. Lewis calls it “the most creaturely of pleasures…the specific pleasure of the inferior: the pleasure of a beast before men, a child before its father, a pupil before his teacher, a creature before its Creator.” The beautiful thing is that we already have this “fame” with the Triune God. We are loved and accepted without reserve, without requirement.
Lady Gaga is to be commended for her kind encouragement to “fight for who you are” and “love who you are,” although I don’t think that self-worship will bring about the hope and healing she speaks of. Even though she is famous worldwide and fast becoming a pop-culture icon, the good news for Lady Gaga is that she (and we) are already “famous” with God. And we didn’t have to do a thing.
~by Nan Kuhlman
~photo courtesy of www.robotceleb.com