slavery .. humanity's scarred back

last night i watched one of the most moving movies i've seen

i sat for the duration in silence
as did the entire theatre
silence beyond the silence
silence that grows out of shock and sorrow at the reality of the hurt, abuse and absolutely inhuman way we treat other humans
as if they are animals

a whole slew of emotions coloured the air
some unrestrained as people cried as the story rolled out

i was one ..

it was difficult
i expected some form of morosity
but i fell in
i fell deep into the awfulness of it
the horror

i'm not much for watching humans tortured and treated like animals
i never watched the passion of the Christ
and, God helping me, i don't ever plan to
the toll would be too large for me
..  . ..    .

this film storied the kidnapping of a black man from new york
well-placed and well-respected
an accomplished musician ..
he was transported south and sold into slavery in georgia
leaving his wife and 2 children to wonder what had happened
for 12 years

his name is solomon northup
and the film is based on an actual lifestory

that story broke my heart

i repent

i'm so sorry for the damnable horror of slavery and the unfathomable and probably often untold suffering of the humans that were treated as property
   ( or ' chattel ' where i'm from )

it was a mark of the solemnity that prevailed in the theatre
that throughout you could have heard the proverbial pin hit the carpet ..
the credits saw about a dozen people leave in silence
the rest just sat there in their own silence
unmoving
they couldn't move themselves ..
i was left with the impression of a funeral
lostness
a vacuum had been created

i walked out of the building in a daze
for several minutes i couldn't think of anything
i was overclouded in .. disbelief
i couldn't speak
overcome by the madness of it
the raw brutality
the base unrestrained lust for flesh, for power, for mastery over other humans
one will putting-down the will of others
   squashing them in the dirt like so many worms ..

and i will not be the same again ..

i was numbed
i suffered
i hurt
i cried
sometimes i couldn't look
it seared my soul
burned

i ached at the absolute evil of slavery
..  ...  . .    .

and the horror of horrors is slavery still exists today
in my world
in the form of sex slavery
in the form of forced labour
   and work for inhuman wages for inhuman hours every day

and in the form of .. what enslaves
me
brings me to the floor in my own ' chattel ' house
my very own horror ..

but ..
if i ever again hear anyone attempt to mollify slavery
assuage the horror of it
rationalize it
ever again
i will probably lose it ..

there is no rationalizing it
none
and to even attempt it is beneath us as humans
humans created in the image and likeness of Creator God
who loved us humans
all humans
every one of us humans
and died for each and every one of us humans

i feel so bad about it ..
at one point last night i said the church should ' repent in sackcloth and ashes '
as the peoples of old did
and as ninevah did when jonah finally told them God's warning
   even the animals were so-clothed

we need to repent
and i mean we christians

i know that movies often overstate for the impact ..
but i am left with the fact that people used religion
and the religion of christianity
to justify slavery

i don't even believe i could just write what i just wrote ..
do you  ?
  ?

the movie is 12 Years a Slave
watch it

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/12_years_a_slave/

or read the book
http://www.amazon.com/12-Years-Slave-Solomon-Northup/dp/1492368288/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388719479&sr=1-1&keywords=12+years+a+slave

or listen to the book
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/twelve-years-a-slave/id704527724?mt=11

shalom

read this ..

"  If you want to know the quality of someone’s love for you, measure the depth of their sacrifice for you. Love is not an inner disposition that has no behavioral implications. Love is expressed in action — costly action. On the cross, God went to the furthest extreme possible for us, making the greatest sacrifice possible for us.
Think about it. On the cross, God not only stooped to identify with our humanity, but the all-holy God went to the extreme of stooping to become our sin (2 Cor 5:21) and the God who is perfectly united in love stooped to become our God-forsaken curse (Gal.3:13).
This means that on the cross, God went to the extreme of experiencing his own antithesis, and in doing so, he could not have gone one centimeter further than he did. And the unsurpassable extremity of God’s sacrifice for us – a race of people who could not deserve it less – reveals the unsurpassable perfection of his loving character. "
                                         ( emphasis is mine )

well said

read more here ..

http://reknew.org/2014/01/the-image-of-cross-like-love-gods-self-portrait-part-6/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-image-of-cross-like-love-gods-self-portrait-part-6

2014 .. day 1 .... ... .

i'm trying not to draw this out too much this year
i get caught up in the drama of my failures over the last year ..

but i do have some pointers
some stepping stones i want to use this year
to move me in the direction of Jesus

the first is a re-worded passage in 2Corinthians 2 ..

                                                    we are the aroma of Messiah – 
        God is always displaying Jesus through us wherever we are
                                      like some fragrance that fills the air 
                          with the knowledge of him .. 
                                                                  to some it’s a deadly aroma 
               to others an invigorating fragrance ..

that means i represent God in my world
Jesus is on display in me
and the smell i give off affects people for Jesus
... . .. .    .

then
there's this thing i have posted on my wall
                      4 words that define my movement
             
                                                         clarify
           simplify
                                                balance
                               centre


i want 2014 to be a movement towards
balanced centre

to get that
i put my glasses on and sharpen the focus
clarity

then
there's simplification
away from the fluff and stuff that entangles and trips me up and slows me down
weighty stuff goes
   as in drama
   as in politics
   as in useless arguments over secondary stuff

balance is ultimately found in Jesus' approach
mine is to find it
.. . ..    .

i resolve to follow Jesus
the costs of that i must see as inconsequential
the benefits are incalculable in this life

i resolve to bring my self more inline with my rabbi in 2014
to move from my heart
out
through my mind
through my actions
and my words

to have Jesus erupt in me
flow
out
a sweet-smelling fragrance

one other thought ..

this pic speaks to that ..

the cross is my footing
i root my self there
for there is displayed the aroma of love in Jesus

the hat is my token
the memory of a man that serves as my example
humble
original
genuine
Jesus-coloured




let 2014 be the year Jesus blooms in us all


shalom to you