One wrong word, One right turn

Dear one,

There isn't too much more for me to concentrate on these days. And you know my memory is short, so I need it written where I can see it. Tattooed on my arm. Good. Right. Beautiful. True. And few people I won't tell.

The actual verse it's taken from goes like this:

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Funny how we all live out, change, or move around the list. Some translate the word for noble as pure, or honest. Nobility, for me, seems too high of a mark. I've always struggled with purity this side of the grave. I love the idea of honesty-- what I'd quickly call truth wrapped in love. But I present to you the list in the original, so you can make your own choices,

Why did I make mine? Simple man. Short time. Why in Danish? I suppose it's a conversation piece. And it reminds me that others are always translating my words and actions into their own language, and if I want to affect their trajectory, then I indeed need to be carefully specific in what I say and do.

Some day, you're going to think you knew why I chose these words. Here's your chance to know for sure. Without further ado, if you're still wondering, here's an explanation my abbreviated list:

Good-- here I understand good the way Jesus defines the word "good".... Not as a sliding scale of morality, but as a declaration of location. Good is simply a declaration that one belongs to God, and to the family of God. "Why do you call me good? Jesus asks one who is trying to impress Him. "Only God is good." Jesus is asking, "Do you have any idea what you're really saying, or are you merely trying to flatter me?" By extension, those who belong to God are good. The family of God, his adopted sons and adopted daughters are declared good because of their location in the family of God. I am not good because of what I have done, or what I am doing. I am only good because I belong to God.

Right-- What's my best choice. Not the legal choice. Not the minimum requirement. Not what normal people would do. When I think of what is right, I'm thinking in a way that it serves you, or as a way that you deserve to be served. Or helps you in a way that is truly helpful for you. Or testifies to someone watching that I claim to belong to the God of Grace and Glory. Right is not, to me, about being correct. It's about agreeing with the purposes of a God who so loved his world he was willing to look foolish to the heavens.

Beautiful- what's true and what's right are so often battle grounds in these days. But beautiful is a different story. We may not agree on the same idea of beauty, but it same doesn't promote the hate and vitriol as arguments over truth. And in a world that is scarred and broken, there is a desperate desire for lasting beauty. I am far past sexy. I would not claim to be handsome. Naked me has always been a disappointment. But I want to live in a way that brings out the Beauty, both in me, and in those around me.

True-- please know I only know one Truth. That truth is named Jesus. All I know about the Creator I finally find in Jesus. All I know to be true in you and I, our pasts, our presents, and our futures, I find revealed in Jesus. Jesus is the one Absolute Truth that I believe in. I'm not really worried whether you or I understand the same truths. If I was interested in truths, I'd turn on Fox News and CNN and let them yell at one another. I just desperately desire that you know the Truth in coming one step closer to Jesus. And I want to live in a way that communicates the only Truth that I know.

Oh, yes. I've probably never told you. It turns out, according to a man I met from Denmark, that Google Translate was mostly correct. That last word, which I thought was translated "true" actually means "right turn." I know. I think it's hilarious too. No. I've never told the one I love that I had do my Google Translate. But I do tell every one else. Because at the end of the day... when I've failed and fallen and need to be forgiven, the right turn is the most important of all, turning back to the one who was already paid the price for past me, present me, and future me. At the end of the day "right turn" reminds me of the most important word of all. "Forgiven"

thus spake,

me