Stranger Things is a cultural phenomenon. If you haven't watched it, you have at least heard of the show. An awesome nod to the eighties with some creepy sci-fi thrown into the mix. You watch one episode and suddenly you are hooked wanting to know more about Eleven, Will, Barbara, Demagorgons, and the eerie upside down.
Stranger Things consists of the real world and the upside down. The real world is the every day stuff you and I are used to. The upside down is our world, only dark, mysterious, and full of these nasty flower-head creatures. The upside down is unexplainable and hard to believe. If you haven't experienced the upside down, one can deny it even exists. When you finally do experience this other world, however, it leaves a hefty mark on you. You want to get as far away from the upside down as you can trying desperately to get back to normal, but something keeps pulling you back.
Jesus lived in the upside down and he's calling you and I to live there, too. Not the dark scary one. It is not a place to be feared. When Jesus came on the scene, many thought he was crazy. His ways were so upside down from the laws and customs the culture knew. He turned everything upside down and he is calling us to do the same.
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Romans 12:1-2 The Msg
We are to live life so closely with Jesus that we look vastly different. Like the upside down, your life is supposed to integrate within your culture but stand out and look different at the same time; inviting people into this strange new world. People will think you are weird (like Will in Stranger Things). Some may not understand (Winona Ryder's character faced this). You may lose things like the cozy life you once thought normal. You may even face some of your own "demagorgons." But, you have the power (the Holy Spirit) to combat those.
We try too hard to take the every day life Romans 12 talks about and make it fit the culture instead of Scripture. We don't like standing out and being different. That is an uncomfortable space to live. The upside down life Jesus calls us too can seem too daunting. It is much easier to stand with the culture instead of pressing against it.
When you step out in faith and step into the upside down, Jesus meets you there.
The upside down is not a place to be feared. The upside down calls for extravagant love: loving when others walk away.
The upside down calls for immeasurable grace: forgiving when others seek revenge.
The upside down is full of hope: optimism when all seems lost.
Jesus' upside down world is full of life, hope, and redemption. The upside down is inexplicable in the best way. This world gives love freely, grace abounds, and peace is a staple. This is a place where enemies are loved not hated, outsiders are held close not abandoned, grace being the thread.
Take a chance and step into the upside down. I promise you will not regret it.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
Stranger Things consists of the real world and the upside down. The real world is the every day stuff you and I are used to. The upside down is our world, only dark, mysterious, and full of these nasty flower-head creatures. The upside down is unexplainable and hard to believe. If you haven't experienced the upside down, one can deny it even exists. When you finally do experience this other world, however, it leaves a hefty mark on you. You want to get as far away from the upside down as you can trying desperately to get back to normal, but something keeps pulling you back.
Jesus lived in the upside down and he's calling you and I to live there, too. Not the dark scary one. It is not a place to be feared. When Jesus came on the scene, many thought he was crazy. His ways were so upside down from the laws and customs the culture knew. He turned everything upside down and he is calling us to do the same.
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Romans 12:1-2 The Msg
We are to live life so closely with Jesus that we look vastly different. Like the upside down, your life is supposed to integrate within your culture but stand out and look different at the same time; inviting people into this strange new world. People will think you are weird (like Will in Stranger Things). Some may not understand (Winona Ryder's character faced this). You may lose things like the cozy life you once thought normal. You may even face some of your own "demagorgons." But, you have the power (the Holy Spirit) to combat those.
We try too hard to take the every day life Romans 12 talks about and make it fit the culture instead of Scripture. We don't like standing out and being different. That is an uncomfortable space to live. The upside down life Jesus calls us too can seem too daunting. It is much easier to stand with the culture instead of pressing against it.
When you step out in faith and step into the upside down, Jesus meets you there.
The upside down is not a place to be feared. The upside down calls for extravagant love: loving when others walk away.
The upside down calls for immeasurable grace: forgiving when others seek revenge.
The upside down is full of hope: optimism when all seems lost.
Jesus' upside down world is full of life, hope, and redemption. The upside down is inexplicable in the best way. This world gives love freely, grace abounds, and peace is a staple. This is a place where enemies are loved not hated, outsiders are held close not abandoned, grace being the thread.
Take a chance and step into the upside down. I promise you will not regret it.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
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