In the aftermath of Saul's death... we see that more strife and conflict is the result. However, blood is met with more blood. David realizes that an eye-for-an-eye is not what God truly wants and repents of it even though it may seem like justice in our eyes.
I think that we should be like David, even though we do wrong when we think it's right, to see it and repent.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Mark 11-12
Sometimes in our worry, crisis, or whatnot we forget God in the midst of it. We surrender to worry and panic or some other selfish inward-looking view.
In the passages that I read today, it seems in every instance, Jesus faces people with one thing and one thing only... the truth! Sometimes we forget the power of prayer (as with Jesus and fig tree)... we forget it's our sin that he bore and how we sometimes revel in our rebellion. We fail to recognize what we need to give to God. He asks for a lot, but it's not like he gives little in return. Though sometimes it certainly seems that way, it doesn't seem like the wealthy at the temple, "We give so much!" But are we truly like the widow who God knew was giving her all? Truly relying on God for all things, even essential 'daily bread'?
I think that's pretty frightening how much God asks when he says, "to love him with all your heart." Emphasis on ALL. That's the hard part... it's definitely hard to do that. Forgiving people for their wrongs against you. Striving to truly be patient and kind even when sometimes people can't seem to muster that themselves. I guess that's what "long-suffering" is about...
In the passages that I read today, it seems in every instance, Jesus faces people with one thing and one thing only... the truth! Sometimes we forget the power of prayer (as with Jesus and fig tree)... we forget it's our sin that he bore and how we sometimes revel in our rebellion. We fail to recognize what we need to give to God. He asks for a lot, but it's not like he gives little in return. Though sometimes it certainly seems that way, it doesn't seem like the wealthy at the temple, "We give so much!" But are we truly like the widow who God knew was giving her all? Truly relying on God for all things, even essential 'daily bread'?
I think that's pretty frightening how much God asks when he says, "to love him with all your heart." Emphasis on ALL. That's the hard part... it's definitely hard to do that. Forgiving people for their wrongs against you. Striving to truly be patient and kind even when sometimes people can't seem to muster that themselves. I guess that's what "long-suffering" is about...
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Hardened hearts and Passover
Exodus 9-12
These chapters talk of Moses going to Pharaoh to speak for God. It's interesting to read that Moses always speaks saying, "The LORD says." I think maybe after that many encounters with God himself, you become more humble and fearful. But also you can more easily recognize God's sovereignty of all things. Moses and Aaron were simply obeying and wanted everyone to know that it was truly God's power.
I found it interesting that Pharaoh asks for blessing before he sends the Israelites away. Almost a sort of recognition that even the mightiest of leaders in civilization still answer to God, whether they'd like to or not. So in todays' world, with corrupt government and corporate leaders a dime-a-dozen, this seems like a reckoning. They "hardened" their hearts to the truth of their greed whether it was for money or power...
I had a seder meal with the Passantes the Saturday before Easter... it was nice to see Christ in so many aspects of the tradition. Even in the passage, it talks of how people become one with the nation of Israel before they can partake. It's interest to see how many ways the promise of God passes through Christ.
These chapters talk of Moses going to Pharaoh to speak for God. It's interesting to read that Moses always speaks saying, "The LORD says." I think maybe after that many encounters with God himself, you become more humble and fearful. But also you can more easily recognize God's sovereignty of all things. Moses and Aaron were simply obeying and wanted everyone to know that it was truly God's power.
I found it interesting that Pharaoh asks for blessing before he sends the Israelites away. Almost a sort of recognition that even the mightiest of leaders in civilization still answer to God, whether they'd like to or not. So in todays' world, with corrupt government and corporate leaders a dime-a-dozen, this seems like a reckoning. They "hardened" their hearts to the truth of their greed whether it was for money or power...
I had a seder meal with the Passantes the Saturday before Easter... it was nice to see Christ in so many aspects of the tradition. Even in the passage, it talks of how people become one with the nation of Israel before they can partake. It's interest to see how many ways the promise of God passes through Christ.
Friday, April 10, 2009
He died
My reading was in Samuel today... on Good Friday, I read that he died. Samuel. A great prophet in times of kings and wars... a single sentence.
How insignificant it seemed... jarring almost. Especially on a day that is so focused on the death of our savior... And if you think about it, how absolutely positively silly it is to follow a savior that died?? Hung on a cross, mocked, beaten, humiliated, and more for merely being who he was. And yet, without his sacrifice we are nothing.
It's contradiction and injustice made real. Probably more real than most people can handle... I still can't wrap my head around it sometimes. Why did God bother to do that? And how can people feel so self-entitled to think that we deserve better when we are so injust? It would be justice if we were all burned away, but he didn't do that. He broke the cycle... broke our chains to hatred upon hatred, evil upon evil, wrong upon wrong... by loving more than we can take sometimes.
It makes things like Saul's injust pursuit of David seem like a minor thing. We burn forests, slaughter children, poison rivers and wells, "honor" kill, beat and torture... people have dignity? What kind of creature with dignity does that? People say society has advanced... how? We've just gotten better at finding new ways of perpetrating injustice. Sure, we can be proud of what little we've done, but you have to be pretty full of yourself to think we can stop it all. The world's as broken as Jesus was on that cross. I'm glad that he rose again, if he didn't there's no hope in this world for something better. It would be like trying to use a Band-Aid on a lethal gunshot wound.
How insignificant it seemed... jarring almost. Especially on a day that is so focused on the death of our savior... And if you think about it, how absolutely positively silly it is to follow a savior that died?? Hung on a cross, mocked, beaten, humiliated, and more for merely being who he was. And yet, without his sacrifice we are nothing.
It's contradiction and injustice made real. Probably more real than most people can handle... I still can't wrap my head around it sometimes. Why did God bother to do that? And how can people feel so self-entitled to think that we deserve better when we are so injust? It would be justice if we were all burned away, but he didn't do that. He broke the cycle... broke our chains to hatred upon hatred, evil upon evil, wrong upon wrong... by loving more than we can take sometimes.
It makes things like Saul's injust pursuit of David seem like a minor thing. We burn forests, slaughter children, poison rivers and wells, "honor" kill, beat and torture... people have dignity? What kind of creature with dignity does that? People say society has advanced... how? We've just gotten better at finding new ways of perpetrating injustice. Sure, we can be proud of what little we've done, but you have to be pretty full of yourself to think we can stop it all. The world's as broken as Jesus was on that cross. I'm glad that he rose again, if he didn't there's no hope in this world for something better. It would be like trying to use a Band-Aid on a lethal gunshot wound.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)