What's it all About?
The world is a confusing place...sometimes I feel like a child playing in the dark, sometimes scared, sometimes excited at the adventure of it all. What does it all mean? Our consciousness awakes on this planet and we struggle through our journey here not really knowing who or what we are.
We turn to Religion for answers, to something beyond ourselves, and find it just as confusing as everything else.
There are "forty-eleven" opinions just within the confines of Christianity. Not even considering the other world religions, some put so much emphasis on things you shouldn't do and others on things you should. It all seems to be a disorganized system of does and don'ts, so here is where we have to back up and look at it logically. What do we know for sure?
I figured out early that this life is not all there is, there is something bigger and better at work here....life is too much of a miracle to end when we die. If you look at science realistically you will see there is a greater mind at work, but what do we do with this information? Is there someone waiting for us in the dark? Is he the boogieman or Daddy waiting to take us home?
Some people will tell you to follow your heart. But the Bible says the heart can be deceitfully wicked, not trustworthy...you could say "God will tell me". Which is good if you are sane but what about those people who feel like God tells them to kill babies or knock over 7-11's? We want firm logic...at least as far as possible. Okay...let's check the guidebook.
We were made by a loving creator in search of family... and like the prodigal son in the Bible we fell out of fellowship with our Creator/Father. This is not surprising, We are an hedonistic species who can't seem to live up to anybody's standards, even our own. But provision was made to bring us back, this is quite wonderful and unexpected, a twist is the plot. I don't know why he set it up this way but he did. Seems like he went about it the hard way, but who am I to question? I'm just a child in the dark.
I was raised in a strict religious environment by a immovable woman who saw the world in black and white, no color, not even pale grey. The things she taught me still play out in my head and confuse me sometimes. I can honestly say that I don't have a "handle" on everything. But I think that just might be okay. I am old enough and I 've seen enough to know that the absolutes in life are few and far between. But there are a few, so it is necessary to hold fast to what we do know. I suppose I think to much I know and come up with far to few answers. We waste to much a time, chasing the how's and why's. Maybe we make it to complicated we need to remember what faith is, simply resting in what you know and leaving the rest with God...and there are some things we must take on faith.
We turn to Religion for answers, to something beyond ourselves, and find it just as confusing as everything else.
There are "forty-eleven" opinions just within the confines of Christianity. Not even considering the other world religions, some put so much emphasis on things you shouldn't do and others on things you should. It all seems to be a disorganized system of does and don'ts, so here is where we have to back up and look at it logically. What do we know for sure?
I figured out early that this life is not all there is, there is something bigger and better at work here....life is too much of a miracle to end when we die. If you look at science realistically you will see there is a greater mind at work, but what do we do with this information? Is there someone waiting for us in the dark? Is he the boogieman or Daddy waiting to take us home?
Some people will tell you to follow your heart. But the Bible says the heart can be deceitfully wicked, not trustworthy...you could say "God will tell me". Which is good if you are sane but what about those people who feel like God tells them to kill babies or knock over 7-11's? We want firm logic...at least as far as possible. Okay...let's check the guidebook.
We were made by a loving creator in search of family... and like the prodigal son in the Bible we fell out of fellowship with our Creator/Father. This is not surprising, We are an hedonistic species who can't seem to live up to anybody's standards, even our own. But provision was made to bring us back, this is quite wonderful and unexpected, a twist is the plot. I don't know why he set it up this way but he did. Seems like he went about it the hard way, but who am I to question? I'm just a child in the dark.
I was raised in a strict religious environment by a immovable woman who saw the world in black and white, no color, not even pale grey. The things she taught me still play out in my head and confuse me sometimes. I can honestly say that I don't have a "handle" on everything. But I think that just might be okay. I am old enough and I 've seen enough to know that the absolutes in life are few and far between. But there are a few, so it is necessary to hold fast to what we do know. I suppose I think to much I know and come up with far to few answers. We waste to much a time, chasing the how's and why's. Maybe we make it to complicated we need to remember what faith is, simply resting in what you know and leaving the rest with God...and there are some things we must take on faith.
Let's look at it another way and examine the Cosmos in miniature..
Today I saw a fat little ant at the park. (I'm avoiding the gym because of my immunity issues since the Guillian Barre') but I digress. I sat on a bench resting between laps and watched him crawl along on the ground. He was the kind that bites and I considered smashing him. But then I decided to show him mercy. I have heard people compare an ant to a man and a man to God..so I went with it.
For a moment I felt good about myself..."God must look at me like I do the ant and He showed me mercy"....then it hit me...my relationship with God is nothing like my relationship with the ant. First of all there is no part of me anywhere in the ant, he is not my child and I did not create him...I am powerless to heal him, and he cannot know me or respond to my commands, the best I could do is feed him and that's iffy at best.
God created the human body out of dust..(a pretty good trick don't you think)? But it was just a lifeless shell till he breathed life into it. That life, that spark was part of himself. Just as much as a part of me lives on in my children. The Bible tells us in Genesis 2:7 that God breathed into man's nostrils and he became a "living soul". It was a powerful spark and it continues on today in every human on earth. This being true does it mean we are Gods? No, but it sure does make us special. It is hard for our minds to comprehend just how and why God loves us. C.S. Lewis said something like "we are not bodies who possess a spirit but spirits who possess a body" I forget the exact quote but that's the gist of it. That Spirit is the "real" you, the part that lives forever, the part that longs to return to your source. That breath elevates us, but I fear we have forgotten who we are. I was raised in a strict religious environment by a immovable woman who saw the world in black and white, no color, not even pale shades of grey, The things she taught me still play out in my head and confuse me sometimes. But I am old enough and I 've seen enough to know there is much we do not understand, and maybe that's okay, if we can just keep a grasp on the things that are truly important. We may have lost a lot through the years...but this I do know and here I stand!!!! "Jesus loves me this I know! For the Bible tells me so, little ones to him belong..they are weak but he is strong.". Jirehsgirl
"Who ne'er has suffered.."
Who ne’er has suffered, he has lived but half.
Who never failed, he never strove or sought.
Who never wept is stranger to a laugh,
and he who never doubted never thought....J.B. Goode 1905
Today I saw a fat little ant at the park. (I'm avoiding the gym because of my immunity issues since the Guillian Barre') but I digress. I sat on a bench resting between laps and watched him crawl along on the ground. He was the kind that bites and I considered smashing him. But then I decided to show him mercy. I have heard people compare an ant to a man and a man to God..so I went with it.
For a moment I felt good about myself..."God must look at me like I do the ant and He showed me mercy"....then it hit me...my relationship with God is nothing like my relationship with the ant. First of all there is no part of me anywhere in the ant, he is not my child and I did not create him...I am powerless to heal him, and he cannot know me or respond to my commands, the best I could do is feed him and that's iffy at best.
God created the human body out of dust..(a pretty good trick don't you think)? But it was just a lifeless shell till he breathed life into it. That life, that spark was part of himself. Just as much as a part of me lives on in my children. The Bible tells us in Genesis 2:7 that God breathed into man's nostrils and he became a "living soul". It was a powerful spark and it continues on today in every human on earth. This being true does it mean we are Gods? No, but it sure does make us special. It is hard for our minds to comprehend just how and why God loves us. C.S. Lewis said something like "we are not bodies who possess a spirit but spirits who possess a body" I forget the exact quote but that's the gist of it. That Spirit is the "real" you, the part that lives forever, the part that longs to return to your source. That breath elevates us, but I fear we have forgotten who we are. I was raised in a strict religious environment by a immovable woman who saw the world in black and white, no color, not even pale shades of grey, The things she taught me still play out in my head and confuse me sometimes. But I am old enough and I 've seen enough to know there is much we do not understand, and maybe that's okay, if we can just keep a grasp on the things that are truly important. We may have lost a lot through the years...but this I do know and here I stand!!!! "Jesus loves me this I know! For the Bible tells me so, little ones to him belong..they are weak but he is strong.". Jirehsgirl
"Who ne'er has suffered.."
Who ne’er has suffered, he has lived but half.
Who never failed, he never strove or sought.
Who never wept is stranger to a laugh,
and he who never doubted never thought....J.B. Goode 1905