Ecclesiastes 1:18 "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief" (NIV).
I usually include this reference in High
School graduation cards. One of these
days I'm probably going to stop being invited to open houses and graduation
parties. But the words ring true.
It's not that I want to discourage anyone, not at all. If you know me, you know that I couldn't stop learning even if I tried, and I have tried on a couple of occasions. It never ends well. But there is safety in the comfortable.
Sometimes, when I look back on my journey
so far, I wonder if it isn't more compassionate to leave people where they
are. I know a lot of really good people
who love Jesus and follow what they learned as children and never ask the hard questions. They're happy. Maybe they're even becoming the people God
intended for them to be all along. Heck,
maybe they've even become those
people. Just because I'm never going to arrive doesn't mean
it has to be that way for everybody else.
And so I am trying to learn what it means to love gently and leave
people where they are, if they're
where they need to be, or even if they're where they think they need to be, because this cannot be forced.
But there is a part of me that cries out,
sometimes rather desperately, for relationships with people who want to know
more, who want to become more, who are OK with living a life of sorrow and grief
if that means it won't actually be as meaningless as the teacher indicates...
There have been times in life when I have
wondered if these people exist. They
do. They have been slowly finding their
way into my story over the past decade, and a few weeks ago one of them finally
said, "You need a new blog, one about theology," and then she
proceeded to ask questions that are only going to be answered by a
theologian. She doesn't want to become
one, herself. That's not who she was
created to be. But she needs answers,
and somebody ought to try to offer them.
So, here I am. The truth is, I don't have all the answers,
but I love the questions, and if people will ask them, I'll search for the
truth they need. Thankfully, I know a
lot of people, who know a lot of people, who know a lot of people, who are much
smarter than I am, so, perhaps, it won't be that difficult to work together to
serve the people who want to know more... who want much wisdom... who aren't
afraid to ask...
Start asking...
L.
How should the Church respond to the impending ruling from the Supreme Court on gay "marriage"? Technically, this may not be a theological question, but it is an important social one that Christians need to deal with.
ReplyDeleteThe Church of Jesus Christ has shunned and condemned the gay community for far too long. All sexual sin needs to be addressed, not just homosexuality. How many divorces are happening in the church because of a variety of sexual sins by those sitting in the pews every week?
With society's acceptance of LGBT ideas, we as Christians need to be considering how we are going to respond to changing mores. Many Christian families are facing these questions head on. We need to show the love of Christ to all. That, of course, is easier said than done, which is why His Spirit needs to be leading us in how we respond.
Bryan's comment creates a great blog post! I believe many in the church are struggling with how to address this topic.
ReplyDeleteCan you put the following in layman's terms and then share some of your personal thoughts on this? Naz Article of Faith #4 "We believe in the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, by which we understand the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, given by divine inspiration, inerrantly revealing the will of God concerning us in all things necessary to our salvation, so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of faith."