My thoughts on purpose and place in the universe.
A friend received a bunch of messages or posts from me which had not been delivered. Until today. So she sent them back to me, telling me facebook had bunched them up and delivered them all together. Really? I didn’t remember them. Then slowly it came back to me, yes, I had written them. I told her I would write a raindrop because they are all on the same topic, and who can trust facebook? Better to blog.
I may have them copied in the wrong order here. I told her I must surely have been feeling introspective when I wrote them.
Two of these were marked 2 years old. I have put them at the top.
Two years ago it seems I wrote this to my friend:
At some point in time you realize you appreciate that God hangs in there and keeps annoying you by re-arranging you life. You start to look forward to it. It creates a smile. HEY HEY HEY, just get your hands off that vase! That MY vase!
Every born again Christian experiences this. Sometimes Jesus just dusts a shelf in a corner. Because you throw things at him! I figure most people do that. They are not comfortable with him. Because they are the captain of their ship and want to control control control.
Later, you might decide he is more welcome and he moves a piece of furniture.
This is a process.
I meet scholars and bible students and church goers who haven’t got a clue what I am talking about. They got religion. They don’t got Jesus as the Christ of their life though. They talk big. Its like tinkling chimes blowing against a window pane.
There’s two kinds of people in the universe. Those who have eternal life (being adopted children of God) and those who will spend the next several trillion years in oblivion (at best).
The first kind do not have it easy. It can be agonizing as the spirit of the new redeemed man wars with the old unyielding carnal nature.
The second kind have no internal struggle, just the old self centered egotistical sin nature that rules them.
A bit later:
Today someone told me “I am very different from you”.
She refused to recognize the internal struggle that Paul writes about. SHE IS THE CAPTAIN OF HER SHIP. Not Jesus.
All the religious talk was just talk.
I have heard that “I am very different from you” before. It means “I am obstinate and you are full of crap”. And that was to my question “Who do you serve? Is Christ in your life anywhere?” It was a denial of Christ. Just like Peter. Lets hope it doesn’t hold. But there is no meeting of minds past that point. There is no fellowship possible.
March 8 2026:
I daily ponder with growing enjoyment that Jesus moves into your life (your inner house) and re-arranges the furniture. I used to resist and resent this.
A couple of days ago: This is when all the above were delivered as a bunch. She had never seen the previous messages.
I am meeting some people that whatever they do, whatever it is, is liturgy. Service to God. I see it. Even the miscreant Christians have some of that. The unadopted not so much.
What about the undiscovered adopted?
Not meaning to sound Calvinist here. 
There are some “shall be redeemed in the future” people out there.
Maybe our purpose is to weed, water, fertilize, and serve God by serving them?
Thats not trivial. There is a cross to bear in that process.
Jesus is a power boat, twin 427 hemi engines, and I am here on skiis, white knuckled grip on the tow rope. Afraid to let go. Tempted. But I cant swim. The apostle Peter was a skiier. Same thing. .
I have been homing in on what to say to some of my friends. I have thought of dumping some friends. On te one hand it is good to have connection. But it is not good to have shallow meaningless connection.
The problem is these folks are hedonists, thus rudderless and purposeless, not spiritual. Normally I don’t care. But their drama can kind of tear me down and make me feel blue.
I have been trying to say: “change the things you can control, the things you cannot just let it go. Dont torture us with angst about such things. Hint hint.” The person who had caused the drama is an alleged Christian. But she does “othering”. Her message: “I am upset at others that did ‘X’, join me in my outrage.” This caused a fight with another person in our party. People got up and walked away from the table. She didnt even noticed that they left. i should have left also.
My response: NOPE. I don’t care about the stuff I can’t change.
leave me alone. Here is a hint: The serenity prayer. I quoted it to the texting group. No response.
I’m thinking, “Maybe you get a second chance. But I walk away if it happens again.”
I am also thinking: Avoid these people at all costs. Find new friends.
What is my responsibility to give fair warning?
That got me to thinking about the quality of friends, and my responsibility to be true to myself and to God. I should be open here. They can choose to take me or leave me. But patience wears thin.
I can change some things. Namely, who I hang out with.
Today I hung out with people at Mindekirken, a Lutheran church in Minneapolis.