Me and 2pac

I LOVE 2PAC!! His music is so good!!

I listen to him almost every day on my runs... along with Spanish music, Elevation worship and Drake!

I totally identify with some of his lyrics and then there are other lyrics I don't come close to identifying with. He talks about dying a lot, gangs, shootings, gangster parties, jail.. etc. I don't really identify with that haha! But I've noticed that a lot of it is about death. (Side note: I just thought of this, Hope is doing a series on "Living Well" and they will be talking about facing death in a few weeks... they could totally use some 2pac songs. ha)

But here are some lyrics that I relate to spiritually and in ministry:

"Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice, I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots." (song: Keep Ya Head Up)

This totally reminded me of Jeremiah 17:7-8. There is this imagery of a person who trusts in God and how they are like a tree planted by the water. And how it sends it's roots out by the stream. It doesn't fear when heat comes, it has no worries in a year of drought and it never fails to bear fruit.

And I just felt like one morning when I was praying God spoke to me through a play on words from those lyrics and those verses and said, "The deeper the faith, the sweeter the fruit." The more we have to trust God, rely on him and have no other provisions, he comes through, and the fruit that he produces through our faith is so much more satisfying, richer, and sweeter for having had to trust and watching him bring it about.

"Driven by my ambitions, desire higher positions, so I proceed to make G's, eternally in my mission is to be more than just a rap musician, the elevation of today's generation if I could make 'em listen, prison aint what we need, no longer stuck in greed, time to plan and strategize, my family's gotta eat." (song: Unconditional Love)

I listen to this verse all the time over and over. I identify with the phrase, "Driven by my ambitions." I have such high hopes and big dreams to see God do a great work in our city and our generation... I love the phrase, "The elevation of today's generation, if I could make them listen." If we would really listen to God's word and what he wants for us and live by it, we would be a generation who rises up and reaches people with the Gospel and makes disciples. "Time to plan and strategize" makes me think about how all the planning and strategizing that we are doing in ministry truly is about an eternal mission. So far greater than what 2pac was rapping about.

And then for obvious reasons, I just really like this chorus: "Though things change, the future's still inside of me, we must remember that tomorrow comes after the dark, so you will always be in my heart, with unconditional love." (song: Unconditional Love)

"Even in darkness light dawns for the upright.." Psalm 112:4

"God lives in us and his love is made complete in us" 1 John 4:12