Bipolar in the Body Of Christ

There are some common themes that flow through my writings in Bipolar World.

It’s pretty obvious that I’m a Christian. Christian themes pretty much run the joint.

This is a CHRISTIAN blog. If you don’t believe what I believe… that’s your choice. This blog may NOT be for you. I will not debate you, not because I can’t (I can)… but because I won’t.  I’m not Jesus’ PR person. Believe what you want to believe… but  if you want to know why I believe what I believe, pull up a chair and sit for a spell.

It’s also obvious that I make no claims to having my act together. I don’t. My struggles with mental illness, sexual addiction, dysfunctional family, physical disability, work conflicts, anger/rage/ bitterness, weight issues and body image, horrible relationships, etc… have all been shared here. Yet, I never want people think that this is anything other than a Christian blog telling anybody who will read it about Jesus Christ and the transformation He’s brought about in my life.

 

The themes that advance my cause (His cause really) are:  God’s Plan vs. My Plan, forgiveness, reconciliation, dealing with root issues, spiritual healing, conflict management, finding your identity, owning your voice, knowing and seeking the Truth, and unity within the body of Christ.

 

I’ve also blogged a lot about the masks that people wear and our need to be transparent. I frequently pull out my soap box encouraging people to  figure out how God has wired them  up, so that they can use their talents/gifts and abilities to work with other people who believe in The Way. Because together, we are able to do His will which is to love the world on His behalf.

Unfortunately, people are people... and, like me, they bring a lot of garbage packed in baggage to the table. The very same people we’re supposed to be loving  “in Jesus name” are often the people who get voted off the island. They somehow made their way into a church only to find that people in church wear masks too. That’s probably why so many non-Christians have so many issues with “The Church” or “Organized Religion.” They haven’t been able to see past the masks people wear to see the hurting people behind them.

Yet, that’s what churches are: Groups of hurting people who have been drawn in by the promises of love and eternal life that is Jesus. People come to church with these great expectations and often leave disappointed rather than wait around to see how Jesus deals with masks.

I wore my mask like it’d been Super Glued on for so long, I thought that I’d “born that way.” It took Jesus years to get me to remove my mask, so that people could see who I really was. But the mask didn’t come off in isolation, it came off as people within the “body” of Christ took off their masks, so that I could see who they really were.

Then as people began to act like His hands and His feet in my life, my life began to change. As His heart for me began to beat through the people He’d placed around me, my heart learned to respond. And it wasn’t just one person or one church… The body of Christ is made up of many different people and congregations and denominations spread out over different cities, states, countries, and continents. That’s why there needs to be less backbiting and finger pointing in the body of Christ. No ONE church has it all together. We are all the combined revelation of the body of Christ and we need each other. And the body of Christ only works if we take our masks off.  If we help people who are more broken than we are… to take off their masks.

I found a video that, seemed kinda lame to me at first… but it resonates with a few of my motivating themes. I watched it a few times and… eventually, it made me cry. The song is sure to be in my head for a few days. Now, I hope it stays in yours: