Skylar's Blog & Podcast

1 Corinthians 13:13

If I had to create a category of ultimate things it would be as follows: double bacon cheeseburgers (the ultimate food), Shelby Cobras (the ultimate car), Penguins (the ultimate animal), Chuck Norris (the ultimate person), and Baby Blue (the ultimate color). I am not going to explain all of these (mostly because they don't need explanation for being ultimate), I will just talk about baby blue. Now, it should be obvious why baby blue is the ultimate color, but I know that there will be some haters out there so let me explain why it is the ultimate color. First, have you ever checked out the sky on a sunny day? What color is it? Baby blue, that's right. Let's remember that God created the heavens, this includes the sky, and it is obvious he decided the best color for the sky should be the ultimate color, baby blue. On top of that, this is the color of the nations ultimate college basketball team. That's right, the University of North Carolina. I think that is reason enough don't you?

We all have our selected favorites. Maybe some of you think orange is the ultimate color, maybe you think tofu is the ultimate food (gross, but hey, to each his own). Paul, one of God's disciples, had some ultimates he held to. Paul wrote one letter to a church that was blessed, but young and immature. Because of that Paul was trying to help them see the "ultimate" characteristics that the Corinthians could hold onto and live by. Now, a lot of us have a real struggle with trying to figure out what should be important to us as Jesus lovers. Is evangelism supposed to be number one? Is it making sure we live a clean and moral life? Is the best thing we can do spend lots of time reading our Bible and praying? Should we try and do all these things? Is there no one thing we can latch on to? Paul knew they were working through this, and in response he wrote 1 Corinthians 13. Read it real quickly, don't worry I'll be here................what is Paul's response to these questions? What is the "ultimate" characteristic that should reign in a Christians' life? It's love. And at the end of this beautiful soliloquy on love Paul throws out this claim: So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. The ultimate trait, the ultimate fruit that can exist in a Christian's life is love. But, this idea of love is so vague...what does love mean? Look at 1 John 3:16: "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." Need something more specific? Look at John 13:1-17. This is one of the most beautiful pictures of love; this is God washing the dung and dirt and nastiness off of the men who would eventually run out, abandon, and betray him. Now, God wants us to spend time with Him, He wants us to live moral lives, He deeply desires for us to tell everyone we can about Him, but the only way any of that will happen is if we love Him. Sure, you can try and do those things, but there will be very little to no motivation. You will be doing them as if they are a chore, as if someone else told you that if you didn't do this you wouldn't get what you wanted. No, when we love God, what we want is all of these things. The same applies to our relationship with our friends and family. If you are looking for what to passionately pursue in this life, look to what Paul said: a passionate love for Jesus Christ. So, in summary: the ultimate color = baby blue, the ultimate gift to pursue in our relationship with Jesus = love.

James 2:17

I don't know how many of you have seen the movie Billy Madison. I would not recommend it, but in it is an interesting debate. Billy (Adam Sandler) is taking a bath, and while taking the bath he begins a fight between shampoo and conditioner. He goes back and forth explaining in a way only Adam Sandler can pull off the pros of each product. I have a question, this one is for guys mostly (because I know most girls use both): do you use shampoo and conditioner or just shampoo? I was a shampoo only guy for quite a while. That was until I made two discoveries: first, how conditioner acts with shampoo and actually makes the hair softer and more awesome, and second, the invention of the two-in-one shampoo plus conditioner. With these two combined I converted to using conditioner as well as shampoo. I have found that it is actually better to use both. If I were to ever go back to using just one I would find my hair in a worse state than when I used both. These two were meant for one another! You need both.

Look at the verse I gave you at the beginning of this blog; can you see any way that shampoo and conditioner can tie in with this verse...I only ask because I think they go together quite nicely. In chapter two of the book of James, James (the writer...just pointing out the obvious) begins talking about faith and works. If someone were to examine these two things on the surface they would not look like they go together at all. Faith is all about trusting something you cannot see. It is very abstract. While works is very concrete, and it, in a sense, puts the trust in what you do. However, James says they cannot have a healthy existence without the other. According to James, they need each other. How so? Read 2:15-16. What is James point? His point is this: it is silly to believe it is good to help the needy, and when you encounter a person in need you wish them a good day and move on. It's like believing food will help you to continue surviving yet you refuse to eat. If you are in a relationship with God, great! However, if you are in a relationship with God, and you do not attempt to take on the lifestyle He has called you to then James says your faith, your relationship with God, is dead. This is what James is getting at. It is not ok to say you're a Christian, and to not act accordingly. If you have faith in Jesus Christ, my challenge for you is this: does it show? In Billy Madison, Adam Sandler argues which is better: shampoo or conditioner? I would say: neither. They need each other. The longer I have used shampoo and conditioner the healthier my hair has become. If you will begin today acting on your faith and doing what God has challenged you to do, then your relationship with Him will act in the same way.