Solution
I am making an exception and double posting this =p
Christians are fond of saying that Jesus / God is the Solution to everything. Well, of course not so directly, it will be more like, God is offered as a solution to whatever may had happened. Which may sometimes come across as an unthinking reply, admitingly.
Yet, its really interesting how far reaching God is. Its as though there is a masterpiece of music, beautiful in its own right, and then someone claims that there is a lost segment of that masterpiece which is actually the central and most important segment. And in reality, it does. Once merged with the rest of the masterpiece, it illuminates all the other portions of the music, giving them new meaning which is perfectly at home with that masterpiece.
It seems that way with God. Life on earth is indeed a masterpiece. But its really interesting how with God, life becomes Life, and everything gets illuminated with new light.
Say, with the Universe. With God, suddenly it becomes not so much a random collection, as a painting, a poem, a work of art. It speaks of a deliberate Creation. The Big Bang becomes not so much noise, but music. (Note: I am not advocating the Big Bang theory) We look at the Universe and wonder how we came to be. We know Life is intrisic and fragile. We realize that if the Universe were just a little different, Life could not had existed. We look at the 0s that follow the probability and run out of space in the Universe to write it out. Yet it all makes sense in the presence of God who created deliberately. It makes sense in the presence of one who did the fine tuning. It makes sense with one who breathed life into people.
Take Beauty then. People paint beautiful pictures, they write beautiful music, they dance beautiful dance. But they are not separate. They are perhaps, beautiful because they contain glimpse of Heaven. We long for Heaven, and when we see small glimpse of it, we know that it is beautiful.
Consider Reason. We lay out steps in computer programs, we argue with one another. But Reason has no basis for sustenance, no ground to stand on, until we realize that "In the beginning was Logos, and Logos was with God, and Logos was God". That we have Reason, because its an eternal characteristic of God. That it is true, and not something merely imaginary and arbitrary, because it flows from the eternal Godhead.
What about Evil? That there is Evil in this world, few would dispute. If I start listing them, I will probably never finish. And we feel indignation about it. But notice that our indignation would all be in vain. Those who are wronged will never see justice. Yet, God shows that He is the good Judge, full of Justice. He is ultimately the one who would Judge. He is the one who can make things fair.
There is also Glory. Do you not feel shrunken when you see a beautiful sunset? Or a majestic mountain? Or the endless night sky with stars? Or when you imagine the size of the galaxy, which itself is insignificant in the Universe. Consider the powers of a supernova, only superseded by a black hole. Those are great, and they reflect the Greatness of the one who Created them! For the Heavens declare His Majesty, the trees and oceans cry His praise! So great is the Universe, yet unimaginably greater is the Creator. The old pagans saw the greatness of nature and worshiped her, Christians see the greatness of nature and worship her Creator!
Take Social Justice. We like to measure people by how much they are worth and what they do and their capabilities. We know that there is something wrong with this, and we try to fight it. We declare the equality of all Man and the Rights of all Man. The communist focus on equality of not just opportunity, but also on equality of outcome. Yet the poor remain downcast and the rich remain proud. Until we realize that being a Son of Adam or Daughter of Eve is sufficient honor to lift the poorest beggar's eyes - for we are created in the image of God Himself, and yet, also sufficient to bow the highest king's head - for we had all truly and utterly fallen from our heights of glory because of Sin.
What about Working? We treat it now as merely a way to earn a living. Many people don't like it. Yet, work was indeed created for Man, for Man was to rule over Eden.
There is also environmental protection. We are starting to realize the need to protect the environment, even if only for our own sake. But we were also made to be Stewards of the earth! We do not own the earth, we are only the Steward. And we better take heed, lest we be found to be poor Stewards.
Consider Guilt now. We feel guilty if we do something wrong, or something we feel we shouldn't had done. Its almost as though we had just broken some unwritten (or perhaps in some societies, written) rules. Even if we are ultimately not found out, we still feel guilty. This feeling came to such a point that some people even tried to deny it. Yet, when we realize that we feel guilty because we are indeed guilty, it makes sense. We did really do something wrong. And its not just against people we had wronged, its God Himself we had wronged, the source of our life, the light of our being, and we had wronged Him. No wonder we feel guilty.
And of course, Love. We find people hard to love. And sometimes we give up. We refuse to Love them because they don't deserve it. Which is almost reasonable. Until we realize that this is how we know what Love is, not that we love God (for certainly we don't), but that God Loved us. God most certainly finds us more unlovable than we find others. And yet He Loved us. And this is how God showed His love to us, that He gave up His life. Such is the costly nature of Love, illuminated in the dark day of Good Friday. We see it faintly in the poets and lovers, this is the true nature.
There is also the pattern of dying and life. We see the seed that falls to the ground and dies in order to give life. We see in relationships that we have to let go in order to progress. We know that its by cutting back that we move forward. Yet none is so obvious as that of Jesus - that by dying He would Rise again, and rise even more gloriously.
I can go on and on the different aspects of life which God touches. If this is merely a social construct, then I am really amazed at how ingenious people are. If the Bible is merely written by Man, then it must really be the most remarkable people. If Jesus was a figment of imagination, then those must had been the greatest imagination ever. Its almost as though throughout civilization, there was one climax - the Crucifixion, and that all of History and Civilization are illuminated by it. The old Pagans saw a little of the wonder of God, and worshiped Nature. The old Philosophers see God's eternal Reason, and built Science. The Poets see Heaven, and wrote of beauty. Lovers saw God's Love, and loved. But it all came to a climax, all came together in the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.
This is our God.
Christians are fond of saying that Jesus / God is the Solution to everything. Well, of course not so directly, it will be more like, God is offered as a solution to whatever may had happened. Which may sometimes come across as an unthinking reply, admitingly.
Yet, its really interesting how far reaching God is. Its as though there is a masterpiece of music, beautiful in its own right, and then someone claims that there is a lost segment of that masterpiece which is actually the central and most important segment. And in reality, it does. Once merged with the rest of the masterpiece, it illuminates all the other portions of the music, giving them new meaning which is perfectly at home with that masterpiece.
It seems that way with God. Life on earth is indeed a masterpiece. But its really interesting how with God, life becomes Life, and everything gets illuminated with new light.
Say, with the Universe. With God, suddenly it becomes not so much a random collection, as a painting, a poem, a work of art. It speaks of a deliberate Creation. The Big Bang becomes not so much noise, but music. (Note: I am not advocating the Big Bang theory) We look at the Universe and wonder how we came to be. We know Life is intrisic and fragile. We realize that if the Universe were just a little different, Life could not had existed. We look at the 0s that follow the probability and run out of space in the Universe to write it out. Yet it all makes sense in the presence of God who created deliberately. It makes sense in the presence of one who did the fine tuning. It makes sense with one who breathed life into people.
Take Beauty then. People paint beautiful pictures, they write beautiful music, they dance beautiful dance. But they are not separate. They are perhaps, beautiful because they contain glimpse of Heaven. We long for Heaven, and when we see small glimpse of it, we know that it is beautiful.
Consider Reason. We lay out steps in computer programs, we argue with one another. But Reason has no basis for sustenance, no ground to stand on, until we realize that "In the beginning was Logos, and Logos was with God, and Logos was God". That we have Reason, because its an eternal characteristic of God. That it is true, and not something merely imaginary and arbitrary, because it flows from the eternal Godhead.
What about Evil? That there is Evil in this world, few would dispute. If I start listing them, I will probably never finish. And we feel indignation about it. But notice that our indignation would all be in vain. Those who are wronged will never see justice. Yet, God shows that He is the good Judge, full of Justice. He is ultimately the one who would Judge. He is the one who can make things fair.
There is also Glory. Do you not feel shrunken when you see a beautiful sunset? Or a majestic mountain? Or the endless night sky with stars? Or when you imagine the size of the galaxy, which itself is insignificant in the Universe. Consider the powers of a supernova, only superseded by a black hole. Those are great, and they reflect the Greatness of the one who Created them! For the Heavens declare His Majesty, the trees and oceans cry His praise! So great is the Universe, yet unimaginably greater is the Creator. The old pagans saw the greatness of nature and worshiped her, Christians see the greatness of nature and worship her Creator!
Take Social Justice. We like to measure people by how much they are worth and what they do and their capabilities. We know that there is something wrong with this, and we try to fight it. We declare the equality of all Man and the Rights of all Man. The communist focus on equality of not just opportunity, but also on equality of outcome. Yet the poor remain downcast and the rich remain proud. Until we realize that being a Son of Adam or Daughter of Eve is sufficient honor to lift the poorest beggar's eyes - for we are created in the image of God Himself, and yet, also sufficient to bow the highest king's head - for we had all truly and utterly fallen from our heights of glory because of Sin.
What about Working? We treat it now as merely a way to earn a living. Many people don't like it. Yet, work was indeed created for Man, for Man was to rule over Eden.
There is also environmental protection. We are starting to realize the need to protect the environment, even if only for our own sake. But we were also made to be Stewards of the earth! We do not own the earth, we are only the Steward. And we better take heed, lest we be found to be poor Stewards.
Consider Guilt now. We feel guilty if we do something wrong, or something we feel we shouldn't had done. Its almost as though we had just broken some unwritten (or perhaps in some societies, written) rules. Even if we are ultimately not found out, we still feel guilty. This feeling came to such a point that some people even tried to deny it. Yet, when we realize that we feel guilty because we are indeed guilty, it makes sense. We did really do something wrong. And its not just against people we had wronged, its God Himself we had wronged, the source of our life, the light of our being, and we had wronged Him. No wonder we feel guilty.
And of course, Love. We find people hard to love. And sometimes we give up. We refuse to Love them because they don't deserve it. Which is almost reasonable. Until we realize that this is how we know what Love is, not that we love God (for certainly we don't), but that God Loved us. God most certainly finds us more unlovable than we find others. And yet He Loved us. And this is how God showed His love to us, that He gave up His life. Such is the costly nature of Love, illuminated in the dark day of Good Friday. We see it faintly in the poets and lovers, this is the true nature.
There is also the pattern of dying and life. We see the seed that falls to the ground and dies in order to give life. We see in relationships that we have to let go in order to progress. We know that its by cutting back that we move forward. Yet none is so obvious as that of Jesus - that by dying He would Rise again, and rise even more gloriously.
I can go on and on the different aspects of life which God touches. If this is merely a social construct, then I am really amazed at how ingenious people are. If the Bible is merely written by Man, then it must really be the most remarkable people. If Jesus was a figment of imagination, then those must had been the greatest imagination ever. Its almost as though throughout civilization, there was one climax - the Crucifixion, and that all of History and Civilization are illuminated by it. The old Pagans saw a little of the wonder of God, and worshiped Nature. The old Philosophers see God's eternal Reason, and built Science. The Poets see Heaven, and wrote of beauty. Lovers saw God's Love, and loved. But it all came to a climax, all came together in the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.
This is our God.
posted by P{ZM} at
6:34 PM
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1 Comments
