Burdened With Glorious Purpose

"I am Loki of Asgard and I am burdened with glorious purpose"--The Avengers

In all of villainy Loki is one of my favorites. Then probably Magneto. Frankly, I think they should pull their resources and get therapy together. But I digress. I like Loki because he's complicated, there are reasons for his villainy. Unlike the Joker, for example, who creates chaos just to create chaos. Loki is driven. He's compelled. He's burdened with glorious purpose. Where that burden comes from is a post for another person on another day. What I want to talk about is the reason Loki actually inspires me to be a better Christian.

Say whaaaat?"

Yup, you heard me. Loki, god of mischief, inspires me to be a better Christian.

Before he's on our planet five minutes Loki has started moving towards his end goal. And he says who he is and what he's about right away. Everything he does, every move he makes propels him closer to his goal. I want to be that driven in my pursuit of Christ and the glorious purpose he has for my life.

Let's break down Loki's catchphrase here. First, he is burdened. He feels it necessary. It weighs heavy on him. It's something he must do. There are no options here. Loki is compelled.

I am compelled by God to [preach]. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!... So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.

--1 Corinthians 9:16, 26

I want to be burdened like Loki, I want to be compelled like Paul for the cause of Christ. I want to be driven forward, ever forward, always forward in my pursuit of Him. I want to feel that it is something I must do, not should do, will get to someday, or sounds like a good idea. Something that if I don't do it I simply won't know what to do with myself. 

Now turning back to our Asgardian self-serving god of mischief...Loki is burdened with glorious purpose. So many people seem to drift through life unsure of their purpose. Loki does not have this problem. He knows exactly what he was created to do. He has an end goal and he pursues it with dogged tenacity. Loki stands in stark contrast to so many of us riding the current, apathetic to where it may lead. But here's the catch. We were all created with a purpose. Everyone of us. And it is a glorious purpose.

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations...You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you....I have put my words in your mouth."

--Jeremiah 1:5-8

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.--Ephesians 2:10

Our purpose is determined before birth, still hidden in the safety of the womb. We are created anew when we're born again through faith, and then our glorious purpose unfolds. 

 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.--1 Peter 2:9

Is it just me or is the language of that verse thrilling? A chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. Loki's glorious purpose is to be king, to be served, to subjugate others. Our purpose is to be part of something so much larger and grander than ourselves. Loki's glorious purpose is only for Loki's glory; it begins and ends with Loki. Our glorious purpose is for God's glory; it is eternal. 

When I live my life in accordance with the glorious purpose God appointed for me in my design, then I am part of the reconciliation of God and mankind. I write, I teach, I share the words God puts in my mouth, I proclaim the wondrous works he has done in my life and throughout history. My purpose is to glorify God, to spread the good news far and wide. To speak in 21st century terms, my goal is to have the awesomeness of God go viral, from hashtag to hasthag. I want God's glory to blow up every newsfeed on Facebook and dominate the Twittersphere. Every Christian carries that burden although it will manifest differently in each life. To borrow from The Avengers analogy a little more, we're all Avengers, each with a different skill and a different story to tell, but we work with a singular glorious purpose. 

Truth be told, I don't feel Loki's burden. I don't live my life compelled by grace and God's glory. I'm guilty of being taken by the riptide of apathy into the mainstream current of our culture. I'm just riding the waves sometimes. It's safer here. But I want more. I want to be absolutely burdened with glorious purpose. Here's the good news, when what I want lines up with God's design on my life then I get the desires of my heart. 

Take delight in the Lord,  and he will give you your heart’s desires.--Psalm 37:4

So...are you burdened with glorious purpose? Are you living by design or drifting in the riptides of apathy? Let's be a little more like Loki this week and live with our glorious purpose in mind. Our efforts and sacrifices will not be in vain.

That's The Point

Regina: Focus. Concentrate.
Emma: It's kind of hard when you're talking in my ear.
Regina: And when the wind blows, or it's raining, or someone's shooting arrows at you. Yes, concentration's hard. That's the point.
--Once Upon a Time, 'Ariel' 

Alright, I'm going to attempt to combine some of my favorite things here...a tv show and the Bible...the secular and the sacred...Brace yourselves! 

But in all seriousness, my favorite tv show these days (perhaps of all time) is ABC's Once Upon a Time. I love the reinvention of familiar stories and characters. I appreciate the depth and complications because it feels like real life...you know, minus all the magic and dragons and sword fights. The emotions are real. 

And when I use my 'theory' skills that I learned as a lit major (the art of using a lens, so to speak, when watching a film or reading a book that highlights a particular theme/value/concept...i.e. marxist theory, feminist theory, etc) I can't help but find gems of Truth embedded in the show. Now, I'm in no way saying that Eddie Horowitz and Adam Kitsis, the creators of the show, have set out to make this a religous or Christian show. But that doesn't mean that God doesn't still have His fingerprints in it. I think if we're looking we can find the Sacred all over the place in the secular world. Not everywhere...because God is holy and He won't be associated with true darkness/evil...but He has overcome the world...and we'll find him when we're looking. So my personal faith becomes a filter for finding God's Truth in the show. Call me crazy, it's okay. I feel a little nutty and kinda weird blogging about a tv show as if it is important.

But maybe a tv show can be important if we're able to glean something valuable from it. And judging by the rather extensive list of topics/themes in the notepad app on my phone...maybe there's something more to learn from Once Upon a Time than what life would be like if fairy tales were real...

And so let's get back to that quote I shared...it's from an episode a couple weeks back. And I didn't really notice it when it happened. Instead, this quote came back to me as I was praying a few days ago. 

I've been reading a book by Mark Batterson called The Circle Maker (highly recommend it, good stuff). And the idea is circling your dreams and your fears in prayer. Or maybe it's circling your prayers in faith. It's kinda both. And so I've been thinking very intentionally about what my biggest dreams and strongest fears are, and trying to put circles around them. To declare to God that I won't move from these prayers until He's answered them as He's promised to do. 

Frankly, that's easy to do in the middle of the night when I have my quiet time. Because...it's quiet. In the middle of the night, I can concentrate and be sincere and profound and righteous and it's awesome. It feels great. But in the middle of the day...in the chaos and the noise of having a strong-willed eighteen month old who can't tell me what he wants/needs/feels...it is hard. And all those wonderful feelings of 'I got this prayer thing down!' just flies out the window, taking my sanity and stability with it. In the middle of the noise, all the promises I circled, all the prayers I prayed, everything I asked for, everything I committed to do...just disappears. 

And so I said to God, this is hard in all the noise. 
And he said, that's the point. 

If it was easy, I wouldn't need prayer. I wouldn't need my Bible, His Word which brings clarity, truth, perspective into my life. If it was easy, I wouldn't need Him. 

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.--John 16:33

Living the life isn't easy, it is hard. It takes faith, it takes trust, it takes commitment. It takes perseverance. I have many quailities, some of them even good or godly...but perseverance is not in my wheelhouse. I tend to give up when the going gets hard. But Mark Batterson says in his book that too many times we give up when times are hard and we forfeit the miracle. And he uses 'counterfactual' history to make his point...what if Daniel hadn't prayed through? What if Elijah had given up? Major miracles would've been forfeited. 

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.--James 1:12

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.--Galatians 6:9

So in my quiet time now I ask God to give me a promise to circle, something to stand on from His Holy Word. His word never comes back void, it always produces fruit, it always makes a difference. And the only way to achieve my biggest dreams (incidentally, my biggest dream is to be a blessing to my husband and a godly mother to my son) is being infused with His strength, power, and hope in my biggest moments of trial and weakness. So the first night I asked for a promise...this is what I was given:

He is the one who gives you power to be successful in order to fulfill his covenant...--Deuteronomy 8:18

And the next night...

Your pattern of worship will change.--Deuteronomy 12:8

God's covenant is that I am an overcomer because Jesus has overcome the world! I am made new in His image by the daily renewal of my mind, my heart, my soul, even my body with His redeeming power. I have strength that isn't mine to propel me through the noisiest, most chaotic moments. And when I realize that true worship is living a life that is pleasing to God, not just singing on Sundays, then my pattern of worship will change. I worship with my whole life, my whole heart, mind, body, and soul. And it all somehow works together to glorify God. 

In the interest of full disclosure...I make it sound great, but I'm not there yet. The leap from rhetoric to reality is much larger than the spaces between the words. Every day has the possibility of failure as well as success. But as one of my favorite bands puts it I am 'free to struggle but I'm not struggling to be free.' You see, I may still be struggling to become that blessing to my husband and a godly mama to my son (among other achievements I pray for) but because the Spirit lives in me, I have been set free from the consequences of sin. I don't have to struggle to be free from sin's claim on my soul, just its grip on my habits and mindset. 

So yes, it's hard to concentrate on the promises in all the noise. That's why intentional quiet time is so important. It lays the ground work. And the daily input of promises will build a wall, layer by layer, day by day, to help shield me from the arrows, wind, and rain that breaks my concentration. Perseverance in prayer and in deed is a must. Regina is right, concentration is hard, practice is essential. That's the point.