You’ve probably heard of the commandment that says “you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain”.

I did early on.

Cussing was a no no.

Nevertheless, euphemisms abounded.

Which are the same thing under a different term, I feel.

So let me get this straight — you can say dang but not damn, even though it is a word used in the same context?

Strange.

All of this is said to illustrate one thing.

That being that, even at a surface level someone can see that the action is the same even though different language or terms are used.

The words do not matter as much as the actions do.

Which leads to the point of what I wish to say.

Jesus spoke about people that say his name, yet though they do… they are beyond far from his HEART.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’’

Matthew 7:21-23, WEB

So many live in a fantasy world where they value the attributes of God, and yet don’t give a gasp about how he feels.

The attitude?

“It’s no good, it’s no good,” says the buyer; but when he is gone his way, then he boasts.”

Proverbs 20:14, WEB

How many want the fruits (sweets) of the Spirit, and yet grieve her soul?

Well… mark my words.

You will only get the fashions for so long from the children of the divine seamstress before she cuts you out from having those good looks. So to speak.

What causes such a thing?

Not bearing the character of the Father, Son, and Spirit Herself in respectful and faithful representation.

It is no good for a goodness to go one way, and one way alone.

Such as with thieves… where they take without regard for the good of another.

There is no Love, nor Justice in this.

To only partake in the passions of life without respecting the constitution of the Heart that gave birth to all is an approach worthy of receiving the contempt and scorn that it often brings.

It doesn’t matter if such feelings are felt for actions of such a character, thing, or otherwise.

The nature remains the same.

For angels, humans, and even beasts (if it could be so). A being that only consumes for its own lusts without regard for the soul of another is a self-fulfilling curse indeed.

Vexing it is… that the name of Jesus is used by such people sometimes, and not lived out in Love, Justice, and Truth.

Sordid and heart-wrenching it is… that the Son of Faith, Hope, and Love is reviled by the actions of they who love the perks of standing in his name, but secretly, even openly, do not live for what he lives for, or act how he acts.

It is so. We can make spiritual islands where we are the only ones living on them, and they can be made comfortable, but…

We forsake all that we once loved reciprocally in doing so.

We also stand to cut ourselves off from the source of the very sand that once warmed our feet.

For what cost? Is it truly worth it to maintain the false strength and pleasure that comes from being self-righteous… where we constantly have to maintain our own fleeting illusions of righteousness in order to keep it going?

Well… why avoid hell then if we are in it already?

That’s what living like that is.

Dwelling and abiding in the fading colors of the shattered stained glass that once adorned our “glorious” selves.

When we approach God like this, without sincerity or vulnerability — we are soaking in a triple distilled hell that Christ himself would desire for no man.

And yet, many a mortal stays drunk with the rum of selfishness on this island.

Where friendship with a name is claimed, and yet the “friend” is nowhere to be seen.

A heart beats yet still, and another merely remembers what it feels like to have one.

Oh… wait. It’s too painful to remember. So people that choose this way of life continue to cut their hands, as they gather the shatters of glass stained like a rainbow… that once were a beautiful piece of art.

A once grand mosaic of potential and actuality.

The grey starts to consume them.

For to them… death is better to their soul of fear than to out-pour a heart of regret unto the Lamb of God, who is love, and love alone.

Even though some know that even in their sins and mistakes… God still loves them.

Over time, the colors that once gleamed like gems in the light fade in oblivion.

They have to dream that the tones and hues are yet there… in the shatters of glass that they hold in their hands.

Some turn back unto life; many stay true to the course of a living death.

Yet… a voice beyond the void beckons the attention of the brokenhearted.

“For we must die, and are as water split on the ground, which can’t be gathered up again; neither does God take away life, but devises means, that he who is banished not be an outcast from him.”

2 Samuel 14:14, WEB

The master craftsman takes the shatters of glass from their hands upon them finally being willing to dance with him again.

He restores them, and brings them and the pieces of their hearts back to a luster that is even more brilliant than before.

And who would have thought…

Over the time that they were held tightly… the pieces cracked yet further.

Not an issue for the Framer of the Heavens.

A more intricate mosaic is made from those pieces.

Upon the artistry of the master now being complete — he puts a mirror before the one once broken, and the stars in the sky are seen to be a mere shadow in comparison to the masterpiece now beheld by a child once lost.

A gleaming spectacle of light and color — all telling a story of loss and gain, betrayal and renewal, hell and heaven now integrated in a beautiful person.

A person with a contrite heart.

“The sacrifices (taken as authentic by) of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

Psalms 51:17, WEB

It is he, the Lamb of God, who holds the universe together. It is he who brings our many dreams into reality (provided they are good for us). It is he who sings the song of the heart upon the wings of the morning.

What does he sing? A song of love. A song of forgiveness. A song of the same nature as he is… out to us to be willingly received.

Yahweh, your God, is in the midst of you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17, WEB

Are we willing to allow our shattered hearts to be found as pieces of healed art in his hands, or continue to stay true to the course of fading away — as we continue to hold things in our own?

Heavy as it may be, it is a choice we all must make.

We act or we let.

Sometimes letting is just as bad as is doing in the commission of sins, mistakes, or otherwise.

Yet…

My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.

1 John 2:1, WEB

The door is open unto all.

The question is this…

Shall you approach the throne of mercies — with your Shatters of Glass — and trust the Craftsman of the Heart? The Master of all Mosaics?

I’ll let you decide.

Peace.