tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9235171.post7302132320274901837..comments2023-08-27T00:21:33.491+09:00Comments on Reflections of Refinement: Overcoming the curse of human natureBlue Kohakuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228944400362275140noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9235171.post-40111736051856631442011-05-31T16:41:19.481+09:002011-05-31T16:41:19.481+09:00God certainly has plans for us to become what He h...God certainly has plans for us to become what He has intended. The quiet, lonely or selfish times we have are used by God to help us reflect on His glory, His timing, and His plan, not ours. <br />Wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, eating manna and never being able to see the promised land, was Moses' reality. But he was part of the bigger God picture. Was Moses frustrated? I'm confident he was. Was he emotional? Did he want to give up?<br />But faith is holding onto God, trusting Him, and not worrying about the details and whether they apease us or not. Because it's not about us - it's about God.Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05651024326248927492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9235171.post-49732157926674946852011-05-27T10:48:08.665+09:002011-05-27T10:48:08.665+09:00Hi!
Sorry to have to contact you this way, but I ...Hi!<br /><br />Sorry to have to contact you this way, but I don't think I have your email address. Anyway, you're going to want to check this out:<br />http://blogwatch.missionary-blogs.com/winners-of-the-constant-comment-contest<br /><br />"life with a flawed god" - I like that phrase, because so many people live that way (and even Christians try to by making up their own!)...Jimhttp://blogwatch.missionary-blogs.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9235171.post-26571819373623878662011-05-26T10:18:11.501+09:002011-05-26T10:18:11.501+09:00I can’t tell you how great this is to read.
Me an...I can’t tell you how great this is to read. <br />Me and my big sister have been watching anime for a long time (it’s what sparked my love for Japan), but we were beginning to think that, even the people who love anime and don’t just write it off as cartoons our weird foreign media, don’t see the amazing characters and sometimes endless depth the way <i>we</i> try to. <br />Fruits Basket is my favorite show, which is saying a lot. ;) Ever since I first watched it, I’ve wanted to be more like Toru, but you put it in a way I hadn’t thought of. She truly is an example of how Christians are supposed to be. Accepting fully, loving instantly, and only passing judgment on people based on the things God could never change about them (so, nothing. Ever. :P). <br />Every one of these characters have some deep, seemingly untouchable pain that Toru helps them through, just by loving them no matter what. <br />So every day, I go out and judge people, in my church, among my friends, everyone from my own family to a man on the sidewalk I see from the car.<br /> It makes me wonder, if that is how I treat the people around me, what happens when I meet Kyo; someone who’s rude on the surface, but just needs to be accepted unconditionally? What about Ayame? He’s shallow and silly and, at a glance, a whacko. But if I judge someone like him “at a glance” how am I supposed to find out that he’s angry at himself for wronging his brother and wants forgiveness? And Hiro? That little brat who mouths off to everyone and looks down on people who are older than him? No thanks. But what makes him that way? He hates how weak and young he is, because he wants to protect someone. <br />The big ones to me are Yuki and Akito. <br />Akito is a sadistic, controlling, obsessive creep. But the fact is, he’s controlling because his control was taken away, obsessive because no one wants him, so he tries to make them want him. He’s a sinner like any other, and when Toru tells him that she cares about him anyway, that she’s not going to give up on the any of the Soumas ever, it snaps something inside him. He doesn’t know what to do and lashes out. Isn’t that the reaction of criminal, someone who’s running from God, when they are suddenly confronted with His determined, never wavering love?<br />Like you said, I really haven’t the words to do these characters justice. But when I think of the character of Yuki, I think of a whole nation who’ve been trapped inside themselves. Here’s a kid who honestly just needed to be loved, to be needed, to be told he was important to someone. How easy is that? Just because Yuki is handsome, polite, and seemingly confident, doesn’t mean his isn’t broken inside. If I have the chance to be the one to tell someone like that that they <i>are</i> loved, I so desperately don’t want to miss it. <br />I have to ask for God’s mercy and intervention every day, so that I don’t breeze by on the obvious and miss the human beings. Every character in Fruits Basket and hundreds of others from every show I’ve loved are like real people. They show me more and more how strong, flexible, brave, and adamant my love for people needs to be in order to reach them. It’s the kind of love only God can provide. <br /><br />Eek! Sorry for the extra-lengthy comment, but I’m very attached to this topic and deeply enjoyed your post! <br />Still praying for you and all that you do, Amber. J<br /><br />-KatyKatyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12093691963835711142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9235171.post-23162831005729675572011-05-24T11:50:35.181+09:002011-05-24T11:50:35.181+09:00I love Fruits Basket! And I love how you parallel ...I love Fruits Basket! And I love how you parallel it to Christianity... I've thought with many anime's and hero based cartoons/movies that there are such pictures of the human condition and the need for Christ or as they put it the self-denying hero who is willing to give themselves as a sacrificial lamb for the good of others... how is it so many anime's/marvel cartoons have this story and so few seem to see the parallel?!<br /><br />Thanks for sharing! Hope you're continuing to get encouraged- God convicts but never condemns! Remember that as you're going through your growing...E. Chikeleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18322364727229244409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9235171.post-57842154902514388362011-05-24T07:44:01.804+09:002011-05-24T07:44:01.804+09:00This is very well said! Very nice timing for me to...This is very well said! Very nice timing for me too...I'm reading this right after a long conversation with a good friend about how the point isn't necessarily to change ourselves but to bring ourselves before God sincerely and receive his love. I wish I could figure out how to apply this better.asterahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09739887867130470851noreply@blogger.com