Reaching for the Invisible God
"She knew that death was only a door to the kingdom where Jesus would welcome her, there would be no crying there, no suffering, but meanwhile she was fat, her heart hurt, and she lived alone with her ill-tempered little dogs, tottering around her dark little house full of Chinese figurines and old Sunday Tribunes." Garrison Keillor about old Aunt Marie.
I found this in the book I'm reading, and it's often the way I look at life. I'm just waiting to get to heaven to be with my saviour, and I am quite content to just float through life just waiting for my greatest dream to come true. However, I don't believe that is exactly the way it should be, and a peice of me doesn't want it to be like that. A piece of me wants to have a great effect on those around me, I want to effect them for Jesus, so that I'm not the only one who shall use death as a gateway to an eternity with God.
A lot of people seem to use God as an anchor in hard times. When things get rough a lot of Christians lean on God and cling to him, hoping he'll get them through the tough times. And then what happens in the good times? God is kind of forgotten a little. Things are good, there's nothing to worry about, life is running smoothly, God isn't as needed.
I'm the opposite. In good times I cling to God. I praise him for how wonderful he is, how greatly kind and glorious. And then when hard times hit it's like I give up. I feel as though it's something I've done wrong and I abandon all hope that God actually is able to and wants to help me. In the back of my mind I know he will, should I call upon him. And even when I don't ask for his grace and help I know he always gives it. But still, when my life gets thrown out of wack and I don't know what to do, my last reaction is usually to turn to God, as much as I want it to be my first. I don't feel I deserve his aid, and so I turn from him alltogether, emberassed.
In his book Reaching For The Invisible God, Yancey says something that I can really relate to: Funny, I find it easier to believe in the impossible - to believe in the parting of the Red Sea, to believe in Easter - then to believe in... the slow, steady dawning of your life in... me. And it's the same way with me. In the Bible there are all these crazy stories. I find them easier to believe because they are in the past. They aren't something that's happening now. I've heard about them so much I feel it must be true. It's like that quote, if you say something loud enough and long enough people begin to believe it as truth, or something like that. But then I look to see if I'm living as if God is actually alive now, now that he isn't turning water to wine, or making dead people live, and can people see in me that Jesus is alive, that God is here in this room?
St. Augustine once said "I wished to be made just as certain of things that i could not see, as I was certain that seven and three make ten."
Another quote, this one by C.S. Lewis also leaves a profound mark on my mind as I read it: "The Christian has a great advantage over other men, not by being les fallen than they, nor less doomed to live in fallen world, but knowing that he is a fallen man in a fallen world." Knowledge is often the key to success, as everyone knows. When you know something you can use it to your advantage. It's like in battle, you can be holding a gun, but it's going to do you little good unless you know how to use the gun, and shoot. You've heard it: Knowledge equals power.
Often while writing this I have had the urge to use the term "crutch" in reference to faith, or belief in God. I was avoiding it, because we all know faith as a crutch has negative conotations. But then I came across this quote "For a crippled person there is one thing worse tha a crutch, after all - no crutch." And it's true. They wouldn't be able to get around or move without that crutch; functioning through daily life would be that much more difficult.
I was talking with a friend today who's father is ill. I said I'd be praying for his dad, and he thanked me but then added "if prayer actually works." I immediatly responded with "it does!" but then I really thought about it. What about those times that prayers for healing isn't answered the way we want, and for a non-Christian it is obvious that the prayer isn't working. Like when Billy Graham went to pray for his daughter's marriage, and it ended up in divorce anyways. It seems as though prayer didn't work in that instance; and I'm tempted to wonder, If prayer doesn't work for Billy Graham, then how do I expect it work for me. I'm tempted to think that way. But at the same time I realize that just because Billy Graham is a well known evangelist, doesn't mean that his prayers are any louder in God's ears.
Well that's all the notes I feel like taking for now. Enjoy if you wish :P
I found this in the book I'm reading, and it's often the way I look at life. I'm just waiting to get to heaven to be with my saviour, and I am quite content to just float through life just waiting for my greatest dream to come true. However, I don't believe that is exactly the way it should be, and a peice of me doesn't want it to be like that. A piece of me wants to have a great effect on those around me, I want to effect them for Jesus, so that I'm not the only one who shall use death as a gateway to an eternity with God.
A lot of people seem to use God as an anchor in hard times. When things get rough a lot of Christians lean on God and cling to him, hoping he'll get them through the tough times. And then what happens in the good times? God is kind of forgotten a little. Things are good, there's nothing to worry about, life is running smoothly, God isn't as needed.
I'm the opposite. In good times I cling to God. I praise him for how wonderful he is, how greatly kind and glorious. And then when hard times hit it's like I give up. I feel as though it's something I've done wrong and I abandon all hope that God actually is able to and wants to help me. In the back of my mind I know he will, should I call upon him. And even when I don't ask for his grace and help I know he always gives it. But still, when my life gets thrown out of wack and I don't know what to do, my last reaction is usually to turn to God, as much as I want it to be my first. I don't feel I deserve his aid, and so I turn from him alltogether, emberassed.
In his book Reaching For The Invisible God, Yancey says something that I can really relate to: Funny, I find it easier to believe in the impossible - to believe in the parting of the Red Sea, to believe in Easter - then to believe in... the slow, steady dawning of your life in... me. And it's the same way with me. In the Bible there are all these crazy stories. I find them easier to believe because they are in the past. They aren't something that's happening now. I've heard about them so much I feel it must be true. It's like that quote, if you say something loud enough and long enough people begin to believe it as truth, or something like that. But then I look to see if I'm living as if God is actually alive now, now that he isn't turning water to wine, or making dead people live, and can people see in me that Jesus is alive, that God is here in this room?
St. Augustine once said "I wished to be made just as certain of things that i could not see, as I was certain that seven and three make ten."
Another quote, this one by C.S. Lewis also leaves a profound mark on my mind as I read it: "The Christian has a great advantage over other men, not by being les fallen than they, nor less doomed to live in fallen world, but knowing that he is a fallen man in a fallen world." Knowledge is often the key to success, as everyone knows. When you know something you can use it to your advantage. It's like in battle, you can be holding a gun, but it's going to do you little good unless you know how to use the gun, and shoot. You've heard it: Knowledge equals power.
Often while writing this I have had the urge to use the term "crutch" in reference to faith, or belief in God. I was avoiding it, because we all know faith as a crutch has negative conotations. But then I came across this quote "For a crippled person there is one thing worse tha a crutch, after all - no crutch." And it's true. They wouldn't be able to get around or move without that crutch; functioning through daily life would be that much more difficult.
I was talking with a friend today who's father is ill. I said I'd be praying for his dad, and he thanked me but then added "if prayer actually works." I immediatly responded with "it does!" but then I really thought about it. What about those times that prayers for healing isn't answered the way we want, and for a non-Christian it is obvious that the prayer isn't working. Like when Billy Graham went to pray for his daughter's marriage, and it ended up in divorce anyways. It seems as though prayer didn't work in that instance; and I'm tempted to wonder, If prayer doesn't work for Billy Graham, then how do I expect it work for me. I'm tempted to think that way. But at the same time I realize that just because Billy Graham is a well known evangelist, doesn't mean that his prayers are any louder in God's ears.
Well that's all the notes I feel like taking for now. Enjoy if you wish :P
posted by Gurly239 at 2:17 PM
1 Comments:
hmm......wish I could miss the sunday mass now
only joking
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