It's All About Understanding


   I just got done watching Air Force One.  For those of you who haven't seen
it... it's about a situation involving a hijacking of Air Force One.. the
President's jet... where the president, rather than taking the escape pod to
insure his own safety, jetisons the escape pod and remains on board.. not
just to save the 50 some hostages.. many of them close associates or high
ranking staff of his cabinet, but to save his family.. his wife and 12 year
old daughter.
   The picture begins with an American-led assault on Kaasikstan's palace
headquarters in order to imprison some general who has been at the head of
terrorist activities in many areas.. seeking for the day when Russia becomes
the high power of the world, and U.S. capitalism is squashed like a bug.  The
movie then segues to a banquet/presentation where the president, played by
our good guy Harrison Ford, is congratulated and honored for his actions in
the extradition of the general.
   But things turn even more powerful here.. because rather than give the
speech his superiors had agreed on... the president comes up with his own..
on the fly.. that does much of what president Bush is doing in our world
now -- daring to put our country's might behind the eradication of all
terrorist activities in our world.
   Of course.. this doesn't go over well with his people.. and we're told
that Saddam Hussein mobilizes a number of divisions of tanks.. "as an
exercise".  And eventually, a group of terrorists impersonates a group of
Russian press.. and makes their way onto the plane... where one of the Secret
Servicemen is a mole.. who takes out his own to assist the liberation of the
general who was abducted in the movie.
   The whole movie is interestingly set about the definitions of freedom..
and what is right and good and moral.. and what kind of "killing" is valid.
In one of the more moving scenes, the leader of the terrorists, after being
assaulted verbally by the president's wife for his killing a woman who has no
means of defense, comes back telling her, more or less, "Who are you to
delegate to me the rules of war?"
   This has always been a question in my mind.  I mean.. after all.. if you
are totally in the right.. what *are* the rules of war to you..?  Are there
any?  Or do you make them?
   The storyline of this movie is extremely poignant today.. for it is very
much at the heart of what we are all struggling with in our world.  We *all*
want happiness.. We *all* want to know peace.. We *all* want to know
fulfillment inside.  But how do we get it..?  So many think that they have
the answers.... Everyone has their own recipe for making our world "live
happily ever after".  But.. what truly will do it..?  Is it really possible?
It *MUST* be.. right?  How could we live with ourselves, if we truly believe
we can't be happy?
   Ok.. so.. what about it..?  Do you think it's possible for us to be truly
happy?  Many many many people are so confused today... We're all running
after this food, that man, such and such a car.. this job, that song, you
name it.  We run and run and run after all these things... but do we find
happiness..?  Or are we holding onto what makes us feel good for a moment..
only to feel all that much more pressured to live for our next fix of feeling
good...?
   I find it very interesting how much we here in America praise our country
as being soooooooo good.  But so many countries do that.. don't they..?  I
mean.. it's natural to hold tight to the notion that things that you have
invested in *must* be good -- for your pride is on the line, since you
belong, to a very real degree, to that which you have invested in.  And I'm
not just talking money.  We invest our time.. our attention.. our heart.. in
many many things.... but do they truly provide..?  Nearly all of us would say
they do.. but would fail a polygraph in doing so.  Why..?  Because our pride
is on the line.... I mean.. who wants to admit that you've made wrong
decisions.. and not only once.. but that you have.. for years.. ran in
directions that aren't really helping this planet... or your family.. or your
friends... or those who have not the priveleges of wealth that you have..?
Who wants to dare *humble* themselves, and admit their failures..?
   I'll tell you one thing... history has shown that people who don't humble
themselves.. that *COUNTRIES* that don't humble themselves... all end up
falling into dust.. disrepair.. and confusion, and often, are totally taken
over or swallowed up forever.
   But... what kind of humbling needs to take place..?  I'll tell you what
kind... A kind that dares to admit when it's wrong... even if tons of people
are depending on you.  A kind that bows down to what is right.. rather than
tries to make one's own self-fashioned bad solution work.  But.. what truly
*is* right..?  And how can you tell?
   That is the real story.. the real question of the ages.  How can you tell
what truly matters..?  And if what truly matters costs all that you have, are
you willing to pay that much for it..?
   Our nation right now is attacking this field and that field.. using
man-built weapons of power that would make Caesar and Genghis Khan drool.
And why..?  Because we have that power.. and because our president believes
it is what is most "right" to do.  But.. what truly *IS* right..?????

   Ok... now.. down to our title.  What *is* understanding..?  Understanding
is an interesting word.  Words.. Man!  Have *we* got problems with words.  I
got into a real struggle with a guy online recently.. all because his
understanding of what the words I was typing was totally opposite of what my
meaning I was attempting to put into them actually was.  And we both spoke
English!  So.. what *is* understanding..?  Taking it literally, it makes a
lot of sense.  Understanding.. is.. more or less.. the substructure that
keeps up the foundation of our knowledge.  It is not a mere set of pieces of
information.. but a conglomeration of interlocked and interwoven "truths"
that we use to come to conclusions with... that we base our lives and our
actions upon.  It is.. that which stands under us.. and keeps us up.. in our
hearts and minds and inner selves.
   So what does this have to do with our movie..?  Plenty.  But more than
just our movie.  This has to do with the entirety of humanity.. in a
nutshell.  Without unity, any conglomeration of ideas will eventually eat
itself to pieces.  It is only in a unification of the understanding of truth
that *any* grouping of ideas, or even people, can ever hope to coexist
harmoniously.  And our problem today is based totally in what happens to be
our understanding in our hearts -- not just a mental knowledge, but a total
leaning upon what is true with all of our beings... and a total eschewing of
that which is false and harmful.
   I've heard it said before that.. if there were no hate or pain in the
world, that it would become an extremely dull and boring place to live in.
How can we, who are so used to pain and hate, know this.. since we can only
attempt to envision this on our own terms... by our own.. you got it.. our
own "understanding"?  The thing is.. true life without pain will be part of
the beauty that is to come on this planet... but.. only because of One
person.
   Yes.. One.  Jesus.  You see... All of us.. be*cause* of our own inherent
selfishness in our hearts.. and our own flawed understandings.. can hardly
even begin to construct ourselves, much less humanity, into a total cohesive
whole in which nobody harms anyone else.. and in which the truth is exalted
above all things.. and evil is never practiced again.  This is a dream that
mankind cannot bring into reality.  Why..?  It's relatively simple.. 
   See.. due to our problem with the big 3-letter-buzzword "sin".. we can't
fix ourselves and totally love others.  Sin is a very *real* power.. that
calls us to follow after itself.. to be selfish.. to lift up our pride,
rather than living to love sacrificially.. to build up our own wealth, rather
than live for the good of all.  And the *ONLY* way to truly deal with this
problem is to get sin dealt with.  This is what Jesus did on the Cross -- He
made a way for us all to know freedom from sin.. from that pull to do things
that are self-seeking, evil, and harmful to others, and ourselves.  Of
course.. so many Christians are touting this doctrine.. but.. is it doing any
good..?  I mean..  Even President Bush.. though he claims to be a Christian...
isn't living by true understanding of what it truly *means* to be a Christian.
   In Jesus' first major sermon.. the one that just about every Bible student
learns about... His "Sermon on the Mount".. Jesus tells us an awful lot about
how to live.. how He.. and thus.. how *God* wants us living.  But.. there is
a passage in the very beginning of this small but powerful sermon that so
many so-called "Christians" ignore.. it's our famous "Turn the other cheek"
passage.  Oh I know you have heard it... but.. how many so-called
"Christians" do you know who truly follow it..?  How many people do you know
who hold tight to this.. and truly give to those who take from them..?  Or
who, when compelled to do something for their neighbor, do even more..?  Or
who, when harmed, invite the person doing the harm to do even more harm..?
Who does this..?  Not virtually *any* "Christians" I know.  We are all
fighting for our "rights".. for what is "rightfully ours".. for our "right to
pursue happiness how we see fit".  But take a look at this country that
pursues happiness.  Are we really happy?  Is this really such a good place to
be..?  I mean.. all the technology we have is cool.. but.. is it really
helping us become better people *inside*?  I don't think you'll disagree with
me, if you dare to take a good, honest look at the U.S., that we are *hardly*
a land flowing with milk and honey.  Oh we may have a lot of physical
resources.. but do we love people more because of our blessings from God..?
Or do we hoard our blessings, and refuse to give them away to those who truly
need them..?  Or.. ("God forbid") do we dare to feed our enemies and clothe
the person who smells like last month's garbage..?  How can a country survive
doing this..?  I mean.. how can a country like ours expect to be loving..?
ESPECIALLY if our own president is mocking at God by claiming to be Christian
but refusing to live it out by loving his enemies, and daring to bear his own
cross by living for Jesus, and not for "human rights"!!
   The Gospel is not merely a tale that involves love... Love is the
foundation upon which the whole teachings of Jesus.. and more directly, His
own heart, is built.  Without love.. all of Christianity is just dead
religion.  You wonder why "Christians" end up with an even higher divorce
rate than nonChristians..?  It's simple... they aren't Christians.  They are
playing the religion game.. rather than living totally to love God and others
and sacrifice their own temporal blessings to buy eternal wealth through
truly loving others as Jesus preached for us to do.  Jesus said that a man
who loves mother, father, sister, brother, son, or daughter, or even
himself.. more than Him.. isn't worthy of Him.  Jesus even took it a step
further... He told us that, as a disciple of His, we must totally hate our
own lives.. as well as dissociate from those who would separate us from Him
and His true and perfectly loving desires.. for whomever is not with Him
is against Him.  And to totally love Jesus is to be willing to lose all the
relationships.. all the blessings.. all the so-called "love" that even your
family gives you... all in order to know *real* love.. and to point out that
the pride in our hearts is the *ENEMY* of real love.. and, simultaneously, of
God.  The problem is, we literally *can't* truly love our neighbor, and
*especially* our enemy.. until our hearts are turned right-side-out.. and
totally reconfigured -- This is the new birth that Jesus spoke of to
Nicodemus -- to be "born again".. to be totally redone.. from the inside,
out.
   "Oh..! Of course!" you say.. "Right!  Sure!  Tons of so-called
'Christians' are 'born again'.. but hate my guts!"  That's because, even if
they *are* born again, they are refusing to listen to Jesus' words.. and let
Him, as the perfect example of love, rule over them.  These 'Christians'
prefer their own *slanted* definitions of love.. rather than adhering to the
real definition.  Why..?  Because the true definition of "love" is costly!
It *HURTS* to sacrifice your time.. your own food.. your own money.. your own
pride.. for the benefit of others -- especially for the benefit of those whom
have hated you.. who you might consider your enemies.  But.. didn't Jesus do
this..?  And if He did.. why aren't Christians doing it today..?
   I'll tell you why... it's because we have put our Constitution and
Declaration of Independence and American Flag ahead of our Bibles.  We are
far more interested in personal wealth and human rights than we are in living
totally for loving Jesus by daring to take a bullet for those who hate us.
Even Columbine.  People may think that it was so noble for Cassie to be
willing to say she loved God and get killed for it.  But.. shouldn't she have
attempted to love her would-be-killer?  Maybe if she, or others of her own
Christian group at her school had dared to love the two assailants prior to
their killing them, maybe this wouldn't have happened..?  Maybe the
assailants would've turned their lives around.. or more correctly, let God
show them that He was a God who loved them.. not one who scorned them and
hated them and teased them... and turn their lives around for them?  Maybe
there are kids in your neighborhood.. who are teased and cast down by
so-called "Christians".  What kind of message is this telling them..?  Does
this show them that God dared to love us enough to send His Son to die for
them too..?  Or is this painting a picture that God is only a God of those
who are good enough.. who are liked.. who are accepted..?
   The solutions for our world problems may seem impossible.. But they exist.
The only problem is, nobody wants to pursue them, because they are so
personally costly.  Oh we'll spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars a
year to just root for our sports teams.. but how often do we go out giving
our whole hearts, and time, *and* money to those who need it most..?  You
know why..?  It's because sports.. and wars.. and games.. all have one thing
in common -- They divide between winner and loser.. They exalt those who are
on the winning side.. and cast down those who are not.  And because of this,
we root for our heroes, for our sports teams, for our champions, for our
armed forces.. because we want to win!  But.. Jesus won something far more
beautiful than we could ever win in some sporting engagement.. or war with
weapons we can hold in our hands.  Jesus won the war with our inner natures..
to turn us eventually into totally loving people who do not harm each other
and live for the good of all.
   So why don't we do it now..?  Partially because God wants us to understand
just how important it is for us to choose to be loving, rather than depend on
Him to do all the work and *ZAP* make us loving.  He wants us to totally
depend on Him.. but also, to live out learning to love.. which *INCLUDES*
loving those who do not love us.
   But what about all the diversity in our world..?  Isn't it *GOOD* to have
all these varied sports teams and countries all fighting against one
another..?  That's the key -- Diversity (which so many gay-rights activists
love to use as a buzzword) is only as good as its willingness to remain
within morality.  If 10 people are in a room.. and two of them like hurting
the other eight.. you don't simply say the other two are diversified.  If
those two like feeding each other concoctions of delicious poisons, you don't
say that they are just following another lifestyle.  And if they attract the
other eight into learning how delicious and tantalyzing those concocted
poisons are, you don't call them "born that way".  But this is what we're
doing... all because we are being pressured left and right into bowing down
to those in our culture who want to live their own selfish ways, rather than
truly live rightly.  True diversity.. such as having tons of delicious foods
to eat is great.. as long as the food isn't somehow harmful.  And true
diversity of heart and spirit is only good if it isn't harmful to self or
others.. *OR* insulting to God.  God made us to live in a way that is totally
nonharmful to one another... but we prefer our own definitions.  We think
it's ok to worship whomever we choose.. (whatever god/sports hero/movie
star/etc.), when God had told His people to stone anyone who told them to run
after any god besides Him.  We worship freedom of choice.. when it's really
only a false autonomy to attempt to be our own gods.. and get our own
worship, rather than God's rewards.  And let me tell you.. His rewards are
far more worthwhile than the worship of billions of human beings... or the
pleasures of sex day and night for 100 years.  But our hearts and inner minds
want so much to enjoy the pleasure of worship and such that we run after
them, instead of God's definition of real love... since real love requires
total investment, rather than running with the crowd and just being
unserious.  But life *is* serious.  It is truly serious business.  And if we
don't take life seriously, but view it as one big party, or our venture to
climb above everyone else and be on top, we'll miss out on all that God meant
for us to truly know as real life.
   And ya see.. that's the thing.  Tons of people run around claiming to be
Christian.. but they leave the brick of real love out of their hearts.. and
end up with a house of bricks all ready to topple, because that so-important
brick is missing.  Their houses may look in order, but one push and they go
crumbling down.  Tons of people also go running around saying *they* have the
answers.. but.. when all is said and done.. what's going to matter is truly
what their houses in their hearts and minds are built out of -- whether
sturdy well crafted bricks well engineered and not missing their foundations,
or a hodge-podge of haphazardly placed hearsay that they put there cuz so
many others were doing it too.  In the end.. only those houses of heart-
material, constructed from real truth and love, are going to stand strong.
Those in the crowd who simply chose to do and believe what everyone else was,
will find themselves more than just missing out.. but cast out.. for they
refused to properly consider their lives.
   And that's the whole notion of understanding.  If you have one weak beam
in the wrong place in a house, a small storm could topple it nicely.  And if
you have one weak beam in the understanding of your mind and heart, then a
small storm can topple *you* nicely inside.  *THIS* is the strength Jesus
promises us.  *THIS* is the beauty that Jesus brings us into -- into a heart
that can truly love others, no matter what the cost in this life... all so
that they can find love and peace and joy, themselves... *EVEN* if they hate
you for trying to love them... for this is what Jesus did... daring to love
all of us, though we hate Him for it.
   Happiness is in unity alone.  Unity can only occur in the light of absence
of disagreement.  And absence of disagreement should only occur in the light
of all people accepting the truth and refusing lies.  To do any less would
be... subhuman.