Funny thing - when you first hear the Gospel, you think "Yeah, I got that". But here I am at 34 years old and I'm still learning. If it's really Jesus+nothing=Gospel, then that creates a whole new role for the Holy Spirit. One role of the HS is to convict us of places we need to improve. The place where the gospel makes the difference is in our response to that prompting. If we respond by hunkering down and hashing away at our new found nemesis, are we really trusting the formula of Jesus+nothing? It may just be that the better response would be to say "I can't fix this but you can." I think this is more at the heart of the Gospel. A loving father that says "Here is an opportunity for me to know you more. This is a place you need to improve. If you will just hang out with me, just spend time with me and read my word, I'll fix this. It may not be easy, but I'll guide you through the necessary steps and trials to defeat this. Just be with me."
It's counter-intuitive. It doesn't make sense not to take on a problem face first... but maybe this counter-intuitive action is consistent with the theme of the gospel. Maybe seemingly senseless action is part of the building of our faith.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
First Thought
Growing up, my mom used to call me Jackrabbit. My dad was John and I was Jon, so there had to be some way to differentiate between the two. My initials were JR so, it seemed only right to make my nickname fit my initials, and thus the Jackrabbit was born.
My nickname wasn't just an endearing term, but a sort of temperature gauge to let me know whether my summoning was positive or negative. If I was the Jackrabbit, dinner was ready, mom wanted to hang out and talk, or I had done something praiseworthy. If she used my first, middle and last names in sequence, I may want to act as though I was not within hearing distance so as to avoid the consequences of whatever it was I had done.
So this blog is "Thoughts from a Jackrabbit". Truthful, and real, with as much of a positive spin on things as I can achieve... after all, I am the Jackrabbit.
My nickname wasn't just an endearing term, but a sort of temperature gauge to let me know whether my summoning was positive or negative. If I was the Jackrabbit, dinner was ready, mom wanted to hang out and talk, or I had done something praiseworthy. If she used my first, middle and last names in sequence, I may want to act as though I was not within hearing distance so as to avoid the consequences of whatever it was I had done.
So this blog is "Thoughts from a Jackrabbit". Truthful, and real, with as much of a positive spin on things as I can achieve... after all, I am the Jackrabbit.
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