Dearest TMS... may you have peace!
My I say that my "quaint, but acceptable, first century style salutations" are the result of the fact that although WE may change, my Father and my Lord does not... and that is how THEY speak to me? I just try to relate it as close as I can. And so, I 'give'... what I 'recieve'. If you were to talk to me personally, however, you could get anything from straightest, straight-up white boy speech, to the ghetto-est ebonics YOU have ever heard. Depends... on who I'm with, what I am saying, who I am saying it to/for... and what kind of mood I'm in. I am very diverse, lingually, actually.
While I might remind you of a sister you knew previously, please don't think that my 'language' changes closer to the 'Memorial', for I eat and drink the flesh and blood of Christ DAILY... and 'keep remembering' it daily... and not just once a year. I do so, as one of the means of remaining 'in union' with my Lord on a daily basis (once a year is insufficient for me, personally). Indeed, as the Israelites had to eat the manna daily in order to stay 'alive' physical, so I do... in order to remain 'alive'... spiritually.
John 15:1-7
John 6:56
If you consider my speech 'sanctimonious', I sincerely apologize and beg your pardon. In fact, I recently had the privilege of interpreting 1 John 4:7-21 into street-speak for some folks who I knew wanted to 'get it'. Wanna hear it? Cool! This is the jist of it:
"Listen up, homes... let us go on having MUCH love for
one another 'cause love... is from the Man Upstairs and
all you dawgs what have love for your peeps has been
birthed from the Man and gains much knowledge of the Man.
"The busta' what don't know love ain't knowin' the Man
because the Man IS love. And we peeped His love because
He gave HIS Main Man, His 'boy', His Son, Joshua, to all
of us homies so that we could cop life through dude. Dude,
He gave love us long before we ever even knew Him, homes,
so much that He sent His boy to 'cover' for us... get our
back... when we done wrong. 'Cause we have done wrong.
Yeah, all of us, homes.
"So, okay, homes, if this is how the Man loved US...
then we gotta be down with loving ALL homies... whether
they run with us or not. Don't matter. Ya'll ain't never
seen God, but if we have much love for ALL folks, the Man's
love and spirit stays up in us and hits the heights all up
in US.
"And this is how we gain much knowledge, dawg, that we
and Him are 'here' (pointing two fingers at eyes), and
got an understandin' between us, because He put HIS
blood up in us. It's in HERE (thump chest).
"The homes what says for REAL that Joshua the Chosen One
is the Son of God remains in bond to God... and God is in
bond wit him. The Man's love is TRUE, word up.
"The Man IS love, dawg, and the homes what keeps his bond
with God, well, then, God keeps his bond wit 'chu. This
is how love is made TIGHT wit us, that we can face Dude
straight on when Judgment day busts out on us. 'Cause we
is like HIM, cuz... ALL heart.
"Ain't no fear in lovin' folks, dude, 'cause TRUE love...
the TIGHTEST love... ain't sacred 'o nuthin'. True
love throws that scary !@^! away, 'cause that !@^! puts
you in a headlock, keeps you from doin' what you gotta do,
which is LOVE folks. The one that is scared to love... is
a busta' for real... and his heart pumps KOOL-AID. Ain't
no real blood flowin' through there. He's a 'trick'...
and his love is a joke. But us, dude? We have real love,
tighter than tight, cause the Man loved us first.
"So, if any of you dudes start yappin' that yang 'bout
"I love God", and yet be hatin' on your homies and other
folks, you's a liar, straight up. 'Cause if you ain't
having much love for your peeps, who you see all the time,
you can't belovin' God... who you ain't never set your
eyeballs on.
"And word is bond, homes. The Man has spoken, and said
that the dude what love HIM... GOTS to be loving his
peeps also. True that, and NO doubt."
Sound 'sanctimonious' to you, TMS? I can translate if you need. Or you can just read it in whatever 'version' of the Bible you use.
As for my children, who are also grown, I would never worry about their decisions regarding me. My children KNOW me, and they also have faith. They, too, hear the voice, dear one (and yes, they eat and drink as well - there is no AGE LIMIT on coming to Christ). They're just kinda like the oldest daughter in Dr. Dolittle 2: don't want to be considered 'weird' by folks. Fear of man. They will outgrow that fear, though, unless they purposefully deny that voice. I hope they don't.
Anyway, don't worry about it. As the saying goes, "all creation is awaiting the revealing of the sons of God." So you will know, sooner or later. In the meantime...
Peace to you!
A slave of Christ,
SJ
