A remark I heard this week seemed to stick. It was something to the effect that the new nature given from above is designed to work in real-life people situations. Sounds really simple and seems to demand a "duh!" More than academic study and more than emotional highs, Christianity deals with all the pressures and events we encounter daily. More than mere teaching, it is the person of Jesus Christ himself, alive and actively at work in us.
We can grasp the truths of Scripture but still fail to see that the very life situations we face the next day are ordained to demonstrate how wonderfully they operate. The problem is, the very situations that can reveal His work are usually missed as we fail to see the events for what they are - opportunities to see Christ's work.
We agree on paper that He is at work, but tend to miss the connection when encountering every item on the day's agenda, especially when there are frustrations, disappointments, pressures, and people. If it weren't for all of those, the Christian life would be ideal. But it is ideal, because He uses all of the above for good to reveal his purposes in them. His Word works.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Ain't Misbehavin'
Back in school you had to be good when the teacher was watching, and even when he wasn't. There was a two way mirror in our science class, right up in the front of the room. As soon as the test started, our teacher would disappear to watch for cheaters from behind his "hidden" window. We were being observed even when we couldn't see him. Cheating was just not possible in science class.
What was sad was not that cheating was difficult, but that we were revealing who we were. Some wouldn't even think of cheating, while others wouldn't hesitate. It is not a matter of wondering if we are being watched. We don't cheat because that is not who we are, unless of course that is who we are. Honesty works even when there appears to be no accountability.
Our behavior reflects our identity, or it should. Consistency of integrity was very much on the agenda in that science class. I think I remember more about what that two way mirror taught me than right answers on the science test.
What was sad was not that cheating was difficult, but that we were revealing who we were. Some wouldn't even think of cheating, while others wouldn't hesitate. It is not a matter of wondering if we are being watched. We don't cheat because that is not who we are, unless of course that is who we are. Honesty works even when there appears to be no accountability.
Our behavior reflects our identity, or it should. Consistency of integrity was very much on the agenda in that science class. I think I remember more about what that two way mirror taught me than right answers on the science test.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)