"Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD, or instruct the LORD as his counselor?"
-Isaiah 40:13
-Isaiah 40:13
Awhile ago, my good friend Justin told me of a time when he was asked a question by a child about maturity. "How did you become so mature?" the child asked. Justin responded by telling him "I became mature when I realized that I will always have room to grow."
Growing up, I often looked to the adults in my life for answers as if they were the image of ultimate truth. Whenever I had a question about our beliefs that I didn't understand, I was told that one day I might be able to better understand once I reached a point of "spiritual maturity". This image of maturity that I was given seemed to be a place where all the answers were fixed, specific and indisputable, a place that you could arrive to. To have faith in God was to believe in all of the right answers, or at least the ones I was told, but to arrive at something means that you have decided to stop somewhere.
"For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself." Colossians 1:19-20
Perhaps our fear of diversity, (be it worldview, interests, race, orientation, sex, age or dogma) is created when we forget that all things are being reconciled to the truth. My hope in writing this is not to prove, or disprove, anyone right or wrong, but to remind us of how important it is to listen to perspectives that our different than ours, because we never know who God will use to talk to us! In "Faith Rooted Organizing", by Alexia Salvatierra, Alexia breaks down the meaning of the word "angels" in Hebrews 13:2. "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Here Alexia discusses how angels can be described as a "messenger of God", which is not necessarily referring to a celestial being, but simply someone who delivers a message from God.
Last year my roommate Caleb introduced me to a phrase that has proven true in most situations, "There is no such thing as comfortable growth". I think it is a common desire to be around people with similar perspectives as us, it's comfortable. But if growth is something we value, maybe it is time to start bringing people into our lives who are unfamiliar, strangers, angels to challenge ourselves with new insight and understanding. When we only expose ourselves to 1 way of viewing the world, God, or the Bible we begin to limit the infinite to our own understanding.
-A poem I wrote this summer trying to express my desire for each generation to hear what the other has to say-
You see I've got this problem, you see we've got this problem that's laying in front of us. Because there are so many youth that hang on our words and actions as if they were speaking ultimate truth, I know I did. There are minds waiting to thrive, open eyes awaiting the next line while ours remain blind. Edward Snowden was a great reminder that someone is always watching, but we are big brother and big sister to those who come after us.
That is a big role! And I don't know about you, but I am NOT the image of perfection. I am just a reflection. Like everyone else, I am avoiding detection of eyes that seek to find section up section of lies that have compromised the ties between me and the divine whose life was undermined by the religious side of society's standard. So instead of trying to meet the status quo of religious zeal, let's be real. When has the colonization of beliefs ever ended suffering or brought relief?
I want to to know that even if I made mistakes, I'll be alright.
I want you to show me how your darkness has turned into light.
I want to know that I am accepted, regardless of where I came from.
I want to see someone admit their wrongs, instead of being the one to place the blame on.
So although we tend to apprehend the ones whose relationships we need to mend instead of trying to bend them into what is more comfortable to end with, lets try to hear from those who we usually aren't friends with. Because when all the voices around us start to sound the same, it may be time to stand somewhere new.
Much love,
-Charlie
Perhaps our fear of diversity, (be it worldview, interests, race, orientation, sex, age or dogma) is created when we forget that all things are being reconciled to the truth. My hope in writing this is not to prove, or disprove, anyone right or wrong, but to remind us of how important it is to listen to perspectives that our different than ours, because we never know who God will use to talk to us! In "Faith Rooted Organizing", by Alexia Salvatierra, Alexia breaks down the meaning of the word "angels" in Hebrews 13:2. "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Here Alexia discusses how angels can be described as a "messenger of God", which is not necessarily referring to a celestial being, but simply someone who delivers a message from God.
Last year my roommate Caleb introduced me to a phrase that has proven true in most situations, "There is no such thing as comfortable growth". I think it is a common desire to be around people with similar perspectives as us, it's comfortable. But if growth is something we value, maybe it is time to start bringing people into our lives who are unfamiliar, strangers, angels to challenge ourselves with new insight and understanding. When we only expose ourselves to 1 way of viewing the world, God, or the Bible we begin to limit the infinite to our own understanding.
-A poem I wrote this summer trying to express my desire for each generation to hear what the other has to say-
You see I've got this problem, you see we've got this problem that's laying in front of us. Because there are so many youth that hang on our words and actions as if they were speaking ultimate truth, I know I did. There are minds waiting to thrive, open eyes awaiting the next line while ours remain blind. Edward Snowden was a great reminder that someone is always watching, but we are big brother and big sister to those who come after us.
That is a big role! And I don't know about you, but I am NOT the image of perfection. I am just a reflection. Like everyone else, I am avoiding detection of eyes that seek to find section up section of lies that have compromised the ties between me and the divine whose life was undermined by the religious side of society's standard. So instead of trying to meet the status quo of religious zeal, let's be real. When has the colonization of beliefs ever ended suffering or brought relief?
I want to to know that even if I made mistakes, I'll be alright.I want you to show me how your darkness has turned into light.
I want to know that I am accepted, regardless of where I came from.
I want to see someone admit their wrongs, instead of being the one to place the blame on.
So although we tend to apprehend the ones whose relationships we need to mend instead of trying to bend them into what is more comfortable to end with, lets try to hear from those who we usually aren't friends with. Because when all the voices around us start to sound the same, it may be time to stand somewhere new.
Much love,
-Charlie
Simple Living
