Epic Unsettlement

I find myself puzzled, there seems to exist this great world out there, one that can be explored and enjoyed; a world full of puzzlement. But for the moment I feel as if I am on the outside looking inward, as if some epic story is taking place, and I am reading this literary work wishing and hoping that I one day could be included. Is it not a funny thing to desire, that of a hero, of an epic player in a epic meta-narrative story...this is where I find myself today, wondering if there must be something else out there? Difficulty resounds on all sides of my life as it seems, I ponder what I am to be, I read these great Theologians and Biblical Scholars and so hope to find myself suited in their place some day. Albeit, there are numerous others, speakers, and leaders of great churches and movements, and I once again wonder will that be me? The words of Parker Palmer resound clear in my heart, "Let your life speak," but is my life to be so vague and poised with bewilderment? I also hear the words of "The Dream Giver" by Bruce Wilkinson calling out to me, take the feather and lead the life you've been called to. "Hinds feet in High Places," also shouts aloud saying the journey is not an easy one, as if I am a character in John Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress; however I know the other side is a glorious one. Whom am I to be? I imagine we all ask this question over and over again through life, but I don't want to reach the end still asking this question. "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us," Gandalf speaking to Frodo in the "Fellowship of the Rings;" the journey is ahead but what road to choose? "But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it" (Matthew 7.14). Here I am questioning everything, or the age old question, Who Will I Be When I Grow Up? "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well (Psalm 139.14) So I come to a conclusion, not far from the journey I began, for in life we are given two road-maps: one leading to our success and glory, and the other to God's success and glory, the second truly fitting our purpose for being made; as caretakers and image bearers displaying his glory, so he will be glorified. The meta-narrative does include me, and the epic story is taking place, but the name of the hero desires to be unknown, so the victory and adornment is given to the one True God YHWH!

Jesus the Gardener

How interesting that Mary meets Jesus the gardener when going to visit his tomb.  What implications does this bring?  Jesus, the perfect human (Adam), is resurrected and the first thing that we find is that he is gardening.  He is restoring the cultivating that was commanded to Adam in Genesis one.  But Jesus is bringing in the New Creation versus Adam that brought in the first.  Adam was in a sense unable to fill this command, for when sin entered cultivating was not as easily accomplished as it had been in the beginning.  But with Jesus, this process once again can be accomplished with the covering of our sins with his blood.  How amazing!  Jesus, bringing in the new creation is making all things new once again.  What once was destroyed with sin, is now being restored with the resurrection and the beginnings of new creation.

When Adam died he brought sin into the world, but when Jesus died he brought sin out of the world.  How interesting, how interconnected.  The scriptures are full of this, connection throughout.  Now originally Adam was without sin and had the anecdote for eternal life, being the tree of life. But since he chose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, sin entered and this beautiful creation began to die.  The original purposes of mankind were tainted.  But with Jesus, his taking on sin, though for a short time brought his death, but overall brought forth life.  Complete reverse of Adam's situation.  How unbelievable is this.  And now once again the anecdote for eternal life is giving again in a new way as with the bringing in of new creation.  This new creation not that it did not exist in the past, but now the Holy Spirit will dwell inside of man.  And man will be the temple of God, just like Eden was the first temple with the emergence of Creation.  But now with the new creation beginning, the restoration of Eden's temple shall now be in mankind.  And this Spirit will renew us to once again be able to live the life that Adam was originally called to.  Wow!  Do you feel the excitement, do you feel the connection?  There is endless things to write about, but here I must end for time's sake.  But explore this idea.  New Creation starting with a simple but profound gardener!

The Rapture?

Recently I was reading some interesting thoughts by N. T. Wright.  It was quite simple, yet quite profound.  It's on the rapture, according to N.T. Wright who I believe would be a post-trib believer, he does not believe that the rapture is the idea of us going to God, but instead God or Jesus coming to us.

In ancient times it was customary that when a king or a emperor came to visit a land, he would be greeted outside the land.  Then there would be a great processional leading into the city welcoming this person to their kingdom.  Wright relates this same idea when the Apostle John was writing in the book of Revelation, about Jesus coming down to the clouds and us being taken up to him.  Almost always when it refers to Jesus going somewhere in clouds, it is the idea or personification of Jesus riding in his chariot of fire traveling to somewhere or someplace.  This metaphor is used multiple times throughout scripture always relating to the same idea.  Now, this is not so life-changing in itself, but it is probable that when John was writing this passage, he was truly referring to our King about to enter the land.

What happens after the tribulation?  Well, Armageddon, and Jesus' second coming.  Would this not seem to fit accurately?  Jesus' coming back, our King and Chief commander, and all of us meeting him, praising and welcoming him all the way into the city, for either the final battle or the New Jerusalem.  It is funny how we have allowed Platonism to effect our beliefs, as most of us want to go to heaven when we die.  But our ultimate destination is not there, but God bringing heaven to earth, and our ultimate destination is to live eternally on the new earth.

If you could picture for a moment, a city like no other coming on to the earth, the very place that Jesus went to go prepare for us.  And God will sit on the throne, with all of creation surrounding him, praising his name.  This is our final destination....not heaven.  Though heaven exists, it is not our final resting place, but a temporary holding of the great city of GOD!   So, now backtracking lets think about the rapture again.

I know I don't have a complete grasp on the end times yet, and am not sure if I am pre, post, or mid-trib.  But Wright brings some good ideas and thoughts I would never have discovered on my own.  So, I share...your decision on the matter will not affect the course of history, but there needs to be more reasoning in your mind that God is nice and therefore I am pre-trib.  I don't wish to go through the tribulation period nor do I wish it on anyone, but its possible.  However all that matters is what my relationship with God is, whether I would die for him, the truest question of love.

~CDS~

World Where its Heading...

The world, where are we heading?  Some people believe in progress, they believe that as science and technology advance we will eventually come to a Utopian society.  This belief is where Darwinism and Marxism derived some of its beginnings.  But the fact is progress does not do take into consideration the relevance of evil, and as clearly is seen within our world, progress really has only helped in some instances the progress of evil, and its advancement with technology.  But this brings into consideration the adverse effect and reasoning others have. 

Gnosticism believes that the material world is an inferior and dark place and evil is its very existence.  They believe only as time goes on things get worse, and truly the fall of humankind began at the existence of Creation.  Gnostic s believe that we are just waiting for our death to enter into our spiritual condition, a non-material form, which is itself good.  However, this is in conflict with the fact that Scripture teaches us that we are going to have new bodies, the problem is not our material state, but the corrupted flesh.  This corruption is due to sin and its consequence is death.  Similar to the garden of Eden, the paradise that was Adam and Eve's was experienced in a material condition.  It was only when sin entered that they were kicked out into truly an abyss.  But this corrupted state has been redeemed, and its final redemption will come into effect with the creation of the New Heaven and Earth.  If gnosticism proved true we would go to heaven, not come to earth.  But our final destination is Earth, with the New Jerusalem coming out of heaven.  The final locale for us is not in a far-off world, but in Earth, in a redeemed one.

This brings me to my conclusion in this brief synopsis of our course on this earth.  Where are we heading?  The earth in my opinion is not necessarily getting more corrupt or better, it is just getting closer to becoming redeemed.  Redeemed from its sin, looking forward to bringing it back into its original perfect order, when God saw all he did and said that it was "Good."  "What creation needs is neither abandonment nor evolution but rater redemption and renewal; and this is both promised and guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  This is what the whole world's waiting for."  (N.T. Wright)

~CDS~

Resurrection

I am reading at the moment a very profound book, to which I am only partly through.  It is called Surprised By Hope -Rethinking Heaven, The Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, by N.T. Wright.  This is my first read from this author and he has come highly recommended from many of my friends, and is already becoming one of my favorite authors.

In his first section he brings light to the resurrection, a completely implausible event in history that changed history since its occurrence.  I would like to focus for my own train of thought, his portion on science.  Science tries to disprove the resurrection, through scientific method, whether through skepticism, historical criticism, or even just simple understood fact.  The resurrection cannot happen, it is not possible, it is inevitably a failed idea.  Man does not rise from the dead, science proves this, there is no way to prove this obscure far-fetched idea.  The absence of life is death, and death has no life, for life does not exist in death.  Science is tested through a number of factors, but eventually it can be said to be truth or fact when repeatedly it is tested and the same conclusions can be made.  In other words the hypothesis is proven.  Honestly though there are many events in history that have happened and only happened once in that way.  For example lets take man's victory on landing on the moon.

Man has landed on the moon numerous times, however there was a first, a time where something was implausible, unthinkable, and truly unbelievable.  But this event occurred, man landed on the moon, and truly man has only landed on the moon for the first time once.  All evidence at the time believed it could be true, but could not test its theory until it happened,  Now of course there was the use of Fibonacci's numbers that helped chart this event and make it happen.  However, to anyone in the past before this took place; most would have thought that is was an obscure idea, and though a thrilling idea, it was truly impossible.  But now in today's world we do not doubt for a moment if this journey to the moon is possible, we know it is, for it happens time and time again.  But things sometimes do go wrong and this proven scientific idea of flying to the moon is possible, sometimes the rocket does not make it their even with proven thought.  Now this brings us to the Resurrection.

And looking at the Resurrection I am referring to Christ's, not the other few occurrences in the Bible.  Science looks at the Resurrection and says its not possible, it can't be proved, and truly cannot be hypothesized.  But we know that after the Resurrection there were numerous people that believed it could happen.  The disciples for example did not believe that the Messiah had to die, and after his death were not expecting or awaiting eagerly the resurrection.  They believed it was over, they did not believe that rising from the dead could happen in the past and that it would not happen after Jesus' death.  But something happened, their belief in the Resurrection changed, their belief was changed, what they believed to be impossible, now was possible and tangible, to which doubting Thomas found for himself.  Something unbelievable became believable, just like man's first time landing on the moon.

In conclusion I was just like to say to all of the skeptics out there that God is outside of logic, he is outside of science, for he is not a created being, and only creation can be proved through science, through logic and such, but God is outside of the natural.  I love the fact that any time God acts its impossible, his actions super cede the laws of nature.  Just like the crossing of the Red Sea, the Israelite's believed for their entire lives that it was impossible for water to be separated and for someone to walk and cross on dry ground, but it happened and their belief in the impossible became possible.  That is what God is, and that is what the Resurrection is, a belief in the unthinkable, becoming truth overcoming all rational thought.  Though my argument up above is just a small one there are many more found in N.T.'s book proving the resurrection and defeating all arguments that science could give. 

You know the funny thing about God is that he is in every thing, but it is hard to find him, unless you seek him with all your heart, not with science alone. 

~CDS~

Meekness and Rest

Jesus never uttered opinions.  Is that not a thought provoking idea?  His words are the essence of truth, he never gave opinions.  He never guessed, he knew, he knows.  So why do we not follow these words?  These somewhat ancient words of truth into life and into our lives?

I am reading the Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer, may have read it before, but his information is often hard to retain.  Not that is over my head, but just so delicately brilliant that I sadly forget some of it.  Anyhow, there is a chapter on meekness and rest, a thought provoking, insightful, piece.  Matt. 5.5 says, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."  Inherit, to possess, to be given; this statement is so interesting, for it is contrary to everything we are.  We are not in the slightest meek; we are proud people always worrying about everything the world thinks about us.  It is a burden that we all carry, and for most an everlasting burden til death.  Tozer takes this idea and applies it to some verses further on in Matthew, something we have all heard at one time or another.  "Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  This yoke according to Tozer is the one that plagues all of the human race.  It is three fold, pride, pretense and artificiality.

Pride, the labor of self- love is heavy, and we are the god of it.  Pretense, to act as everything is going perfect, and hide our real inward poverty.  Artificiality, really comes from our pretense and this endless struggle to keep up who we are not.  These three things are deeply rooted in our society, and they are burdensome.  But at the heart of the message in Matthew, Jesus shows us freedom, to come to him and get rest, true release of our burden.  To come broken, to come exposed, to come humbled, and be swallowed up by the meekness of Christ.  "The rest he offers is of meekness, the blessed relief which comes when we accept ourselves for what we are and cease to pretend."  A meek person is not afflicted with the what the world thinks, he may be as strong as Samson and afraid of nothing, but he has stopped fooling himself.  They know they are weak and helpless without God, but also paradoxically know that in God they are everything. 







"Lord, make me childlike.  Deliver me from the urge to compete with another for place or prestige or position.  I would be simple and artless as a little child.  Deliver me from pose and pretense.  Forgive me for thinking of myself.  Help me to forget myself and find true peace in beholding thee.  That thou mayest answer this praye, I humble myself before thee.  Lay open thy easy yoke or self-forgetfullness that through it I may find rest.  Amen."  A.W. Tozer








In all of this, Jesus statements are truth, they are not suggestions or opinions, they are life-fulfilling words.

~CDS~

In Constant Prayer

The last few days I have been reading a book called IN Constant Prayer by Robert Benson, its definitely an interesting book.  Robert Benson is an Episcopalian, and truly at the beginning of this book, I struggled with moving ahead, his ideas are very liturgical and it felt like I was being influenced to become Catholic.  Of course not long after that I realized he was Episcopalian, to which I was highly relieved-ha-ha.  But as I continued to read I soon found out I had a lot to learn from Mr. benson.  His main thesis if you will was found in Paul's statement, "to pray without ceasing."  Through the books entirety he illustrates with vivid detail this importance and what this truly means. 

In the early days of Christianity Paul's readers would have understood this statement.  Benson describes this with the idea of the seven prayers of the day that the Jews would do.  Each one different and each one reflective of a different aspect of God and a different way to respond to him.  It truly is a beautiful thing, he goes on to show that eventually over time this idea of constant prayer through the day disappeared.  It started with Constantine, when Christianity became the nations religion.  This obviously was very  exciting and liberating at the time.  But this sacred practice of prayer over time depleted due to the religious freedom and lackadaisical lifestyles that ensued.  And really this sacred practice never has caught on again. 

Toward the end of the book Benson goes through a discourse of how we all have plans in life, things that we aspire to do, or are doing,  These things some common in nature like moving, require a certain amount of time to prepare for and time to take to accomplish.  But all of us no matter truly what stage of life we are in have to plan for things, we have things that are set in the future and have to prep for them ahead of time.  But majority of us never plan on improving our spiritual lives, we never sit down and take the time to clearly determine what it would take to improve our walk with God.  Most of us will make commitments at some retreat that we go on and year after year we will make the same thing, but never follow through on it.  And truly for most of us is because when we get home we don't have a plan to put these into action.  His suggestion is to these not on a retreat but in the mundane times of our lives.  To paint a picture of where we would like to be with God in the future, and then plan how to get there.  So practical and simple, but if we actually did it we would be blown away. 

This idea of planning our spiritual lives was so mind-blowing to me, because I am always looking for ways to change my life and I make plans to do so, but I never think about where I would like to be with God in a year, and how to get there.  And the act of doing it is simple.  If you want to learn to play an instrument you need to pick it up and try it out, the simple act of actually following through on something can be the start to becoming a very talented musician and in this case a closer walk with Yahweh. 

Overall the book was intriguing and his idea of praying without ceasing has given me a lot to think about, and I look forward to understanding what the book of common prayers is really about, and not some Catholic thing that is empty is repetition, but something of greater value with greater purpose than I have truly understood.