beating a dead horse
I am not sure how these promises of God work. We've very strongly established that I believe God doesn't have to do anything. He wants to do (heal/save/redeem) it because He love us and cares for us, not because we have any control over Him and can bend the King of Heaven to our will. We cannot.
Next, the promises. I just don't see any basis for an if-then theology. (By that, I mean a theology that says we must meet a certain specific sets of requirements in order to receive a specific result. If I do A, God will give me B.). The Bible is primarily a collection of true stories about God that show us Who He is and What He is about. It's God's autobiographical sketch, esp with regards to the human race.
Now, say you have an autobiography of the President in which he recounts an instance where he was walking in downtown Texas and gave a homeless man a 10 dollar bill to go get some food. It would be foolish to now through yourself in front of the White House, dress up like you are homeless and try to earn some money. You might get lucky because the President is a generous man but most people would think reasoning
1. The President is a good man
2. The President gives homeless people money
3. If I dress up like a homeless person, the President in his goodness, will give me money.
is kind of foolish. How often do we do this with God? We think God gave Israel health/wealth/ whatever if they followed the covonant so that means he has to do that with us. However, that applied to Israel if they followed the Mosaic covanent. If that's the case, then go the whole hog (or the Kosher equivalent- ham is out the window for Moses, don't forget!!!) and follow the whole Torah.
There is this scene in the movie Fight Club where one of the main characters apartment gets burned down. He has no friends, no family, no one except this stranger he met on the plane ride home. He calls the stranger up and they go out for a drink. As they leave the bar, the stranger asks him if he needs a place to stay. The Friendless man tries to demure and politely refuse even though it's obvious he has nowhere to go. The Stranger upbraids him saying, "do you need a place to stay? Just ask! Cut the foreplay and ask!" Then he refuses to let him stay until he asks.
While a little vulgar, (I apologize!) it has a point. Just ask. Don't try to convince or cajole God with promises of what He has done in the past. He has given us the book of Holy history so we know what kind of person He is and what kind of stuff He will do now. Don't insist God give you what you want because He gave others what they want in the past. Just ask, know God is good and let the chips fall where they man.
I am trying to have this running conversation with my friends about these topics. I am loathe to seem antagonistic or hostile. To insist I know all about this or catogorically deny the other side is to become what I hate. I apologize should I be unclear that I have nothing but the utmost love and respect for my brothers and sisters in Christ who I am discussing this with. I love you all.
Daniel
posted by Daniel @ 2:07 下午
5 comments
5 Comments:
yeah and we all still love you- big constantly processing thoughts and data to the point of over excursion of heart mind soul body and spirit man head...yeah, so bye- mrt
HOw do you deal with the disappointment when what you asked God doesn't give???
A lot of crying and tears. What helps me are the stories of David and Jerimiah and how they were both pretty angry with God and God still was cool with it. The point is, God is secure enough to take your frustrations and ventings. He is not going to throw lightning bolts if you call him a liar. (He's not a liar, but sometimes we forget). Anger with God is so in the Bible it's practically a sacrament. Take comofort in that, still pursue God, but scream if you have to.
Forgive me for being vulgar.
After nearly a year of marriage I've realized that men are dense. You can whine, drop hints, come on to a man, wear a thong, spray on the cologne, put on makeup, scrawl the provocative notes, and he still doesn't understand what you want from him. Women try to go about it in a round-about way "Remember that awesome evening when..." and men are still clueless.
When we come right out and say "I really want to have sex with you tonight. Will you do that with me?" only then do we get any kind of response. (Which is usually "yes".)
In a twisted sort of way, I guess God's like that. We try to do all the right rituals that people say we should do to get a response out of God. The right clothes, the right songs, the right prayers of thanksgiving. But until we ask Him for intimacy, and tell him we want it, He takes no notice of our desires. He does respond to our requests.
Yeah, we are pretty dense.... That's why I have my spies on the female race like your self. This is all inteligence gathering here.
I think the point is a lot simpler and deeper than it looks, but you hit what I was trying to say right on the money. God is a person. He wants us to just ask. No frills, no insinuations or manipulations. JUST ASK and let the answer fall where it may.
Why did Jesus ask the people he healed what they wanted? Because he wanted that human/lover/beloved interaction of someone asking for something. You ask your friends and your loved ones for favors, who you do not ask are incorpreal favors.
发表评论
<< Home