just a quick question...
I things like this all the time - "That's not fair!" "That guy deserves what he's getting." "Let's be fair." "Justice demands (this or that)"
I think we all hear this. Humans are all out there demanding that there be some level of fairness. I think CS Lewis spends and entire chapter in Mere Christianity talking about just this issue. And there is a level of fairness that I think as humans we all cling to hoping that we can have a level of fairness towards ourselves.
But is this fairness really that important?
What did Jesus say about seeking Justice? What did he say to do when somebody slaps? What about when somebody wants to borrow something of yours? He definitely seems to be saying not to worry about getting Justice. You are right, it’s not fair that you were slapped; it’s not fair that somebody doesn’t have what they need so they have to get from you – but justice shouldn’t be your concern.
This is something that has been bugging me for a little while now, because I feel that there are tons of Christians (myself included) who are so concerned about life being fair, when Jesus so clearly talks about living above receiving justice.
just a thought…
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Thursday, July 20, 2006
how could I?!?!?!
I am reading Brennan Manning's book Ragamuffin Gospel for the first time. Even though I am only half way through the second chapter, I am thinking it may be the book that will have the biggest impact on my life yet.
The Second Chapter is dealing with God's largeness. The power and the vastness of who he is can only be described as stunning. The one comment that really struck me last night was the fact that if you hold up a dime a arms length away from your self you are blocking something like 15 million stars from your view. 15 MILLION!!! That's just crazy.
I guess the whole point is that God is huge, large, vast, uncontrollable, AND he yet still loves sinners like us. How amazing is that? I'm typing this and I don't even know if I get how crazy that fact is.
In my devotions I am reading through Genesis. I am just amazed at the book, it is so deep and so rich and compelling. I am getting into the part about Joseph, and as I book marked my page for tomorrow, I noticed a note at the top and the bottom of the page. The note on the bottom said, "If we really understood God's immensity we wouldn't sin!" That hurts.
In my last post, I talked a bit about the Law. I was trying to paint the Law of God in a positive light, because so often we look at it in a negative light. I talked about how breaking the Law would be somewhat like committing adultry against God.
So as I am reading Ragamuffin Gospel, that note in my Bible, and I my post about the Law, I guess I am a bit humbled.
God has stooped down from heaven to show me love. He has shown me how to live. He has given me the example of his people Israel to show me His faithfullness. He came to earth and died for my sins. All this and I still seem to find ample ways to sin against Him.
What's more is I do this against Him and he forgives me and loves me still!
I guess the whole point of this post is to say that the grace of God is amazing. I do not think that I could ever ask for more. I don't think that I can ever get away from this grace nor would I ever want to. And if you havn't read Ragamuffin Gospel, put everything else down and go get it and read it.
The Second Chapter is dealing with God's largeness. The power and the vastness of who he is can only be described as stunning. The one comment that really struck me last night was the fact that if you hold up a dime a arms length away from your self you are blocking something like 15 million stars from your view. 15 MILLION!!! That's just crazy.
I guess the whole point is that God is huge, large, vast, uncontrollable, AND he yet still loves sinners like us. How amazing is that? I'm typing this and I don't even know if I get how crazy that fact is.
In my devotions I am reading through Genesis. I am just amazed at the book, it is so deep and so rich and compelling. I am getting into the part about Joseph, and as I book marked my page for tomorrow, I noticed a note at the top and the bottom of the page. The note on the bottom said, "If we really understood God's immensity we wouldn't sin!" That hurts.
In my last post, I talked a bit about the Law. I was trying to paint the Law of God in a positive light, because so often we look at it in a negative light. I talked about how breaking the Law would be somewhat like committing adultry against God.
So as I am reading Ragamuffin Gospel, that note in my Bible, and I my post about the Law, I guess I am a bit humbled.
God has stooped down from heaven to show me love. He has shown me how to live. He has given me the example of his people Israel to show me His faithfullness. He came to earth and died for my sins. All this and I still seem to find ample ways to sin against Him.
What's more is I do this against Him and he forgives me and loves me still!
I guess the whole point of this post is to say that the grace of God is amazing. I do not think that I could ever ask for more. I don't think that I can ever get away from this grace nor would I ever want to. And if you havn't read Ragamuffin Gospel, put everything else down and go get it and read it.
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