It’s A Wrap
Friday, March 20th, 2009Lately, I’ve been reading a bit more than the norm. In a weeks time I read Twilight & The Shack, both of which I would recommend- even though neither are new favorites. The Shack caused me to analyze myself a little, which is in part the purpose it’s author intended and he did quite a nice job of succeeding in that goal. There’s actually a similar goal in a film called The Kingdom of Heaven. Basically, that particular goal is to smack Christians in the face and wake them up. I don’t agree with everything in the film, or even everything in the book, but I do agree on certain points.
The points that I agree on are as follows:
A. We cannot delude ourselves with our versions of what God should be like.
B. We cannot ignore His presence.
C. We cannot ignore His Word.
D. If we do not do what His Word commands, we’re ignoring His Word.
E. ” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” John 1:1-3
Ignoring God’s Word equates to ignoring Christ. One who considers themselves a follower of Christ can’t just read the Word. They have to actually live it, if they are indeed actually following Him.
I’ve also been reading through 1 and 2 Samuel and am now in 1 Kings and it was completely mind boggling at first to wonder at how these kings could actually ignore God after the awesome things that they were witness to and the awesome things that God imparted to them. Yet, that’s exactly what most followers do. We get so wrapped up in the things of this world and the influences that are just constantly bombarding us that we place the the awesome things that we have been witness to, into the back of our minds. We shut them off.
An awesome thing to witness doesn’t have to be a visual instance (think parting of the Red Sea type instance). It can be simple. Isn’t accepting Christ into your life simple and yet – awesome? Why then do we shut these witnessed moments off?
My theory is this: We shut off the amazing because sometimes amazing involves frightening. We don’t like things that we can’t explain. It may be the same with some of you, but I know that I’ve encountered things in my life that I could not explain and continued about my day and then when I would think back on those things I would wonder how it was possible for me to carry on normally. If I hadn’t carried on normally, I probably wouldn’t have known what to do with myself.
What am I getting at? We should be careful about how we carry on normally. Our normal should involve living in and of His Word. We shouldn’t fear what we can’t explain and we shouldn’t try to explain it away. There is indeed a spiritual battle going on around us all the time. Sometimes we refer to it behind the veil and often we like to think of it as being behind something so that it doesn’t actually concern us, even though it does very much. It actually kind of comforts me though. When I witness something that I cannot explain I know that it’s just part of what is always occurring, yet is unseen. I’m glad to know that God is in control and His Word will guide me in how to deal with what would otherwise be frightening.
Live the Word. Love the Word. Be of the Word.
