Thursday, September 10, 2009
Class Discussion
For those of you who paid attention in class, I was asked what I thought about the discussion we were having. And I answered 'truthfully I have no idea what's going on right now'. I was really confused. I couldn't pick up what the other students we're picking up. But in spite of me having no idea what was going on, I did pick up a few things that I'd like to talk about. We were talking about darkness. Not literally darkness but more so on the spiritual side. So I'd like to share this verse with you. It is 1 John 1:5-6. It say's that God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him. If we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. But if we walk in the light as He Himself, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. This next thing I mention might be a little off topic, but this is what was going through my mind. I picked up the meaning of darkness as being a struggle as well. We all go through struggles in life. In this devotional I read a while back, it was talking about Christians struggling. It talked about how we can be a witnessing tool while we go through a trial. It says, "Your lost friends, neighbors and loved ones see Christ in you more clearly when you go through a trial with a song in your heart. When they see that, they think, 'If my Christian friend can face that great trial and still have joy and peace, there must be something to this thing called Christianity. I wish I had what they have. So even in the middle of your trial, just remember to keep God first and to rejoice in Him!
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I completely agree with you on the last thing mentioned in your blog. My youth pastor went through a really difficult time about 5 or so years ago. He was in a motorcycle accident and as a result paralyzed from the waist down. Even though it was a horrible tragedy, I never heard him complain once; no exaggeration. Most people who are sentenced to a wheel chair would probably complain about it. Our youth group was amazed by his attitude. It challenged us all to look at how Christians should face trials. He faced his (which was probably a harder tragedy than any we will ever face, with courage, joy, and a hopeful attitude. We are believing a miracle.
ReplyDeleteHey Kevin,
ReplyDeleteI think that some of the stuff we discussed in our last class was a bit difficult. I had a hard time and I was one of the ones actually reading the poems out loud. But I love how you took the suffering we were talking about and switched it into something meaningful and true. We can all relate to it, and we can all bring each other through it. Great post Kevin.
Thanks for this post Kevin.
ReplyDeleteI like very much the verse you quoted about there being no darkness in God. However, light and darkness for God are just metaphors. You point this out when you say "Not literally darkness."
God is neither light nor dark in the way we usually think of darkness or light. However, it is useful to use both metaphors to talk about God at different times.
We can talk about the Light of God, and, as T. S. Eliot does in one of the poems we read, we can talk about the darkness of God. This, I think, needs to be talked about more often. I don't mean, of course, the "bad side" of God, because there is no bad side, but there are reasons to talk about the darkness of God, particularly when we are in darkness and hope/need to meet with God but can't expect an instant cliche miracle.
If I were you, I would reread the essay I read in class slowly, building on what parts you do understand. That advice goes for anyone. It is good to struggle with these ideas.