JR. Forasteros - October 18, 2015
Zombies
Zombies are mindless creatures who follow their most basic desire - to eat and eat and eat. They represent our fear that humans are most basically animals driven by destructive instincts. We distrust our cravings, our loves. But Scripture tells us if we follow God, God will give us the desires of our hearts. How can we learn to trust our desires as the path to life? How can a zombie learn to trust in God and be transformed - braaaaaaains and all?
From Series: "Monsters"
Why do we love stories about monsters? Vampires, werewolves, zombies and ghosts fascinate us - which is strange. Monster stories aren't really about monsters - they're about us. Monster stories externalize our deepest fears about ourselves. If we're willing to face our monsters head-on, we can find freedom and hope. Let the monsters die that the humans can live!
More Messages From JR. Forasteros...
Powered by Series Engine
Rag n Bone Man’s “I’m Only Human” tells a fascinating story of a broken relationship. Or rather, it implies that story, since to listen to the song is to feel as though we’re listening to one side of the end of a long, painful conversation.
Again and again, he insists that, whatever happened, “Don’t put your blame on me… I’m only human.”
I’m sorry I couldn’t solve your problems. I’m only human.
I’m sorry I couldn’t figure it out. I’m only human.
I’m sorry I couldn’t be honest. I’m only human.
I’m no Messiah. I’m only human.
The song expresses a sentiment we’re all well-acquainted with: we’re not God.
We can’t save the world – we can’t even save ourselves. So be careful not to put too much faith in me.
There’s some truth to that. We do often tend to put too much faith in other people, which can lead to a lot of heartache.
But that’s not what this song is about. This song is a person who has let someone else down. A person who doesn’t believe in himself. A person who says, “I’m only human.”
Rag n Bone man believes that to be human is to be a failure. To be human is to let other people down. To be human is to be limited, small, insignificant, unworthy of trust or faith.
When’s the last time you let someone down?
Maybe you didn’t return that phone call, or didn’t make it to their house. Maybe like me, you live far away from family and couldn’t make it back for a holiday. Or you failed to keep a promise.
We’ve all been where Rag n Bone man is – feeling the weight of our human limitations. We’ve all wanted to shrug and say, “Don’t put your blame on me! I’m only human!”
Friends, I want to offer us a word of encouragement today. To be human is to be finite, yes, but when we shrug our shoulders and say we’re “only human”, we’re lying about what it means to be human.
Today, we’re going to explore what it means to be human, and we’ll see that while to be human is to be limited, it is not to fail. We’ll see that to be human is a sacred calling, and that God wants us to live tall and proud to be human.
