In about one month, my daughter will have her 4th birthday. I fear for her. My son is rapidly approaching the age of 6, and I certainly fear for him as well. I fear for their purity in a world that sees young ladies as eye candy instead of image-bearers of the living God.

Whether from apathy or shame, the issue of modesty and appropriate attire does not appear to be a popular topic within the church, even those who hold to reformed doctrines. It's not hard to see why - few things are as messy to discuss as issues related to sexuality, especially when the discussion involves revealing one's own temptations. Sure, it's easy to discuss being tempted by money, nice stuff, even fear of witnessing - somehow those sins are expected and the understanding is that everyone can identify with the struggle. They almost seem harmless because of their commonality.

According to Variety, one of my favourite actresses is set to star in a film about a condition I know a little something about:

Milla Jovovich will star in writer-director Julien Magnat's psychological thriller "Faces in the Crowd" for Forecast Pictures, Radar Films and Minds Eye Entertainment.

Story centers on a woman who barely survives an attack by a serial killer and wakes up in hospital with a head injury that leaves her "face-blind." No longer able to recognize faces, she must navigate a world in which facial features change each time she loses sight of them. All the while the killer is closing in, determined to eliminate the potential witness.

[The screenplay] deals with the real-life neurological disorder called prosopagnosia.

 

I wasn't planning on posting more content to this blog until after switching software (bye, bye Movable Type) ... but I'm having a lot of fun with Google Wave. I'm going to attempt embedding a Wave in this blog post.

Last night Wesley and I got to go to the Maple Leafs home opener. If you're a hockey fan or live anywhere near Toronto, you understand that these tickets are impossible to get. Often, it's not even a question of money but availability when it comes to high profile games like the home opener, especially against the hated Montréal Canadiens. In this case, we received the tickets as a gift from my Dad's boss.

We had an awesome time, and Wesley consumed far more junk food than I ever would've thought physically possible for a boy of his size. For most of the night he was bold and outgoing, cheering loudly talking to people and making his way through crowds without fear.

As we consider the special nature of this gift, I took the time to remind Wesley of the most important and most precious gift that we've ever received. The grace of God made available through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of an awesome gift. Worth far more than we could ever hope to earn or pay, it was a gift given in love with the goal of instilling delight in the goodness of the giver and the goodness of the gift.

I was surprised and delighted (and humbled!) when Wesley became quiet for a while on the subway on the way to the game and then with concerned look on his face turned to me and said, "Daddy, these people on the train don't know Jesus!" How incredible that where I saw strangers, stereotypes and potential dangers, Wesley saw a large group of people who are in need of a Saviour.

This morning, I sat down with the intention of reading Psalm 127. As with any compelling text it was hard to put the book down and before long I was at Psalm 130. While I've read this often often enough before, verse 4 stood out for me in light of recent conversations with non-Christians.

When asked about their sin, many people from various religious backgrounds will tell you that they expect God to just forgive their sins. This forgiveness might come from good works, ritualistic religion, or the belief that God is love and we're all headed for some cosmic group hug.

 3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
 4 But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

Psalm 130

The problem with this attitude of assumed forgiveness is there is no fear. There is none of the healthy and God-honouring respectful fear that should be present when confronted with the almighty and perfectly holy God.

With the God of the bible, there is forgiveness in spades - bountiful forgiveness available to any who would repent and believe. But this forgiveness does not come cheaply, but cost the blood of Jesus, God's own Son. To lazily presume upon that forgiveness is to reject the fear that is the beginning of wisdom, and dishonour the holiness of God - and ultimately, to miss out on that forgiveness.