Back Side Redemption

I missed the last show of "JesusCamp" at the Esquire. Whenever I passed by, I kept looking and planned to go, but I missed it. I have a mixed feeling about it. I think the best relationship with God is found after we saw the world and decided to choose Jesus anyway (we know He chose us first, of course). I grew up "christian" but my parents wouldn't know that I went along the way to turn around, come back to God and had a better relationship with Him. I thank my parents for all those colorful bible story books, sunday school activities, and all the prayers at the dinner table. But, that was just the beginning.

Growing up was an interesting journey in itself, let alone taking our minds deep down into the conversation from "who God is" into "where God is in your life". It's all came by questioning and searching. I was talking to a new friend about this last night, and it dawn on me that I don't want to change a thing even if I could. Because the experience to stray from God's way, to go around and make a u-turn was priceless although it was unintentional. When I had enough rain I could appreciate the sun shine..I knew how living without God was like, and I knew that all I need in my life is God. There was nothing wrong with being "good" all our lives, but the reality is, not everyone had that privilege. Some of us made mistakes, a lot, and God helped us to learn from them. We knew what the world offered, we questioned, and we chose God anyway.

Sunday school is fine. But JesusCamp kind of teaching? I don't agree with closing up our minds to the world, because, it seems that we limit God if we limit our world, as if God has a limit, as if letting His power goes only as far as our minds can go. God is God, and He would make the best of whatever is wrong with the world. God is God, and he will show us the way with his own way, sometimes it is through the mundane life story (your parents are Christian, and you affirmed your faith when you're an adult), or the unthinkable story (God spoke to my friend through AnnaKarenina after he refused to confirm his faith, it's the questioning that He put into our DNA that led him through that). I could find God in Superman, HarryPotter, U2, ColdPlay, Stesenko, falling leaves, the sky, a night club, American Beauty, Amelie, or Prison Break, the possibility is endless). I could find God in nature. I could find God when my friends dragged me into a busy low lighting club, where all I could do was drinking beer while praying to God that the place needs missionary the most. You could find God everywhere in the world, even in the minds of politicians, whom, I assume, care first and foremost about securing their seats.

And since I missed the JesusCamp movie, all I can say is just the interviews with producers and commentary. But, I saw the trailer, and the movie was quite "scarry" to me. Let kids be kids. Let them found God by freeing their minds into the world. Let them choose. And please, if Jesus were alive today, he would care less about who got elected in November than saving you and me.

Note: The church sign was found by a street photographer who was interested with the sign when he traveled to Maine. He, then, decided to come back and took a picture of this sign that he sold at a street art festival on Market Street in San Francisco. He said the sign so far was the second laugh-generating pictures he has (the first one was "Broken English, Spoken Perfectly").