Shadows & Dust

My spirit is feeling a bit more poetic today. It tends to get that way after a good spiritual kick to the head.  Which if you read the last post you'll know what I'm talking about.  If you did not read it click the pretty blue letters, here.

One of my all time favorite movies is Gladiator.  In this sweeping epic tale, Maximus, a general of the Roman army is betrayed.  He is captured and made into a slave/gladiator.  In one scene Maximus is talking with his owner/trainer, Proximo, right before a fight meant to kill Maximus.  They were talking about the intentions the now dead emperor had for Rome and how the emperor's son was ruining that vision.

Proximo: He knows too well how to manipulate the mob.
Maximus: Marcus Aurelius had a dream that was Rome, Proximo. That is not it. That is not it!
Proximo: Marcus Aurelius is dead, Maximus. We mortals are but shadows and dust. Shadows and dust, Maximus!

Much later in the movie Proximo repeats his words.  This time he had helped Maximus escape and soldiers were closing in to kill the old trainer.  Now the "shadows and dust," is not original to the writer of the screenplay.  It comes from an ancient Roman poet named Horace.  He's also the guy who gave us, "Carpe diem."


There is something here that is teasing me at the corners of my mind.

First the dust.  God created Adam from the dust of the earth.

"the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."
                                                                                                     -Genesis 2:7

Our physical bodies are dust.  Here today, gone tomorrow.  I mean literally.  Part of the dust you just cleaned off your bookshelf (or maybe you need to) is some of your dead skin and hair particles.  God also tells Adam and Eve in Genesis that from dust they were created and to dust they will return.  So will we.  These bodies we have, are temporary.  We can use them wisely, or waste them.  The funny thing is that we are also told that our bodies are the temple of God.  So these bodies of dust are the temple of God.

That is awesome!


God made us.  He chose to dwell amongst us, within us.  There is no greater thought than that!  God's presence makes the dust into something more.  We are something more than ourselves when the Spirit of God is at work in our lives.

Which brings us to the shadow part.

What is the point of a shadow?  A shadow is an area that light cannot reach due to an obstruction.  So, if we as humans are shadows, we are an area that light cannot reach due to an obstruction.

Maybe not our physical being, but what about our souls?

Jesus is the light of the world.  When he shines on us there are shadows.  The obstruction?  Sin.  Self.  Anything we put before him.  Jesus says this in Matthew 6:23

"But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"

Darkness exists because something is blocking the light.  Whatever that is for you, for me, we need to drop it at the feet of Jesus.  I know it is easy to say.  The dust side of us, the flesh, is strong.  And by strong I  mean weak.  Weak to the influence of sin.  It's easy to let those unclean words fly from our tonges.  It's easy to let our eyes wander and linger.  It's easy to (____fill in the blank___).

Horace and Proximo had it wrong.  We are more than shadows and dust.  We may do things wrong from time to time, look at pretty much every "hero" in the Bible.  They all made mistakes.  Abraham constantly lied.  Jacob was a manipulator.  Moses starts his story off killing a guy.  David...I don't have room to list all the things David did wrong (yet he is still mentioned as a man after God's own heart!)  Samson.  Jonah.  Paul.  Peter.  You.  Me.

Fill the dust of your being with the Spirit of God and let his light shine forth in you and eradicate the shadows from your life.

grace, peace + hope
-Jesse

Rebels

This revolution thing is serious.  At least for me.  I'll be making a considerable statement on what I'm talking about soon.

Tomorrow.

For today a brief example and then a question.

I had a revelation recently.  I love rebels.

A majority of my favorite stories, be it books, movies or even comic books, have always been about rebels.  From my early childhood I latched onto Star Wars.  The Rebels vs the Empire.  There was just something in that concept that attracted me to the cause.



Perhaps the most famous rebel of all, Robin Hood?  So many different takes on his story.  And I've loved nearly all that I've come across.

How about the American Revolution?  I remember seeing old movies that I can't remember the names of that stirred not just a sense of patriotism but the call to a cause.

Braveheart.  I know there are a lot of historical inaccuracies in it, but seeing that movie was a life defining moment for me.

There have been so many others over the years that have become close to my heart.  Harry Potter, Gladiator, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Equilibrium, The Matrix, The Three Musketeers, Defiance.  Even a movie like Moulin Rouge, has a theme of revolution woven into the love story.

Most recently, The Hunger Games.  (This is a fantastic series and I can't believe it's taken me so long to dive into it.)  It's a futuristic version of North America ruled over by a totalitarian government known as the Capitol.  There are 12 districts that support the Capitol with everything.  And once a year each district is forced to send two teenagers to an arena to fight to the death against the others.  Only one person survives.  This is to remind the population that rebellion is bad and the Capitol has control.

It's a similar story throughout history.  Those who have control constantly reminding it's population that they are in control.  By acts of fear, intimidation, propaganda and on and on.  And I'm not talking about the books now.  But they never really do have the control do they?

It's a lie.

That's why they lord that concept over their citizens.  If you tell a lie as truth enough times people will believe it.  Maybe even embrace it.

So.  My question to you is, (without giving away spoilers) what is your favorite story of revolution, or rebels, and why?

grace, peace + hope
-Bear