I had somebody ask me if I thought it was dangerous to be so “over compulsive” in the things I do. I discerned they really meant, was I overly passionate. Their religious experience had taught them that passion was dangerous, and so it is – to religion.
Here’s how it is. I stop dead in my tracks when a butterfly crosses my path. I love those little flowers with wings. Call me a pansy but the Brewer also loves flowers. I have a real appreciation for things that look, taste and smell good. Sometimes I’ll get a cup of coffee and just smell it for a long time. Oh, my love for the bean. God did well to name me Brewer.
There’s a sunroof in my wife’s SUV. I love it when she drives and I can just stare up at the clouds. Man I love clouds and I always see faces and shapes in them. I love the layers and the textures. It’s supernatural art in the natural sky and it’s a show that plays almost every day of the week.
Three years ago on a hunting trip, I blasted a 10-point buck near Refugio. I spent an hour mesmerized at those horns. Looking at every little bump on his G2 and G3. I’m like that. I love to savor things. I didn’t used to be; but advancing in my Christian faith and love for the Lord has made me love life in a way I don’t think I ever could have otherwise. It’s sad to me that this seems out of place for so many people.
I know some that call themselves Christians think we should be monks that beat ourselves on the back and commit to living life as close to death as possible. They think Christianity only happens within the walls of a church. They are smoking religious crack.
God forbid we should dance with or wine and dine our spouse. They think we should all take a vow to never laugh and that evangelism means suckering the most powerful people on the planet into a spiritual look-a-like contest. The Brewer rebels against the like. I join forces with Travis and Davey Crocket and I stand on the adobe walls of real freedom. Taunting the Santa Anna of Religion. Taking on hell with a water pistol if I have to.
Last week I was in Northern California. There’s a dam just west of a small town called Winters that is so beautiful. I parked my car and gazed over the edge. The mountain, the canyon, the blue of the lake, the rush of the river behind the dam, all of it was amazing. It was a great place for a Jesus freak to cry out and say thank you. It was as awesome as any church service I’ve ever been in except my friends weren’t there with me.
I have noticed that a big part of modern Christianity is suspicious of those of us that have a real zeal for life. They lean more toward religion then toward what some of us call Kingdom living.
Their version of Jesus is that he is dead and on a cross, and so we ought to be as well. Our version is that He is risen and so should we be. They think he loved death, we think He loves life. According to Luke 22, Jesus didn’t want to die, he wanted to do the Father’s will and that’s what led him to the cross. His love for life was the whole reason of why He was here in the first place. To give us life, and that life more abundantly.
While religion to me is like Kryptonite to Superman, I think a passion for life from a Christian perspective is like nitro to gasoline. Religion restricts us but Christ sets us free. Religion makes us known for our boxes and what we don’t do. Life in the Spirit makes us known for how we live in victory.
George Washington, Abe Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt had spiritual values that restrained their behavior but they are not known for what they did not do. They are known for what they did do. May we be Christians that are known for how we live life, not for how we don’t.
I was reading a book called Developing A Supernatural Lifestyle by Kris Vallotton.
In it Kris writes, “If we as Christians are going to walk as God’s ruling royalty, it is incumbent upon us to pray unceasingly, give sacrificially, dream unreasonably, serve whole heartedly, love unashamedly, walk innocently, believe undoubtedly and live powerfully”.
I lift my highly caffeinated cup to you sir. May we all learn to love and live life the way God does.
You can contact the Brewer at www.FreshFromTheBrewer.com
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