Wow, I can't believe I only had one post this month. I attribute it to laziness. How come the times that we have the most free time are the times that we get the least done?
I just started reading the new Donald Miller book, A Million Miles and a Thousand Years, or something like that. I haven't gotten very far. Don talks about our stories, how they compare to the stories in the movies. Some producers wanted to make a movie based on one of his books, but they had to jazz it up because his book would be boring on the big screen. They told him people would start stabbing each other with plastic straws halfway through the movie. I wonder if my book would be boring on the big screen. I would wish it wouldn't.
My mentor Kara let me borrow the book (thanks Kevin and Kara). It made her and someone else she knew cry, but at different parts, and she wondered if/at what part it would make me cry. I cried within the first 20 pages. I don't think books usually do that. Usually the crying parts are at the end. It came from a simple sentence, but I don't exactly remember the wording. I think Don just asked if our stories were worth telling. All my life I have just wanted it to mean something, and now this simple question and the answer felt like no. It really wasn't that big of a deal. I think I have just been emotional lately and anything can set me off. I used to never cry. Now I feel like crying all the time. I think it is an expression of some unacknowledged longing. Maybe its a longing for a story.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Bible
Everything written in the Bible was first experienced in real life, mainly by people with emotions, earthly senses, limited bodies.
People lived before the bible and had meaningful relationships with God. As a little kid, I think I pictured Adam reading his King James underneath a pecan tree, Noah walking with his New Living Translation, Abraham pulling back his beard to better see his NIV. I always owned a bible and considered it synonymous with God, the fourth part of the trinity. KJ said something like "people put too much emphasis on the Bible". Don't quote me though. Maybe people do focus on it too much.
Some people believe that the Bible contains everything that has been, is, and will be, in essence God. Actually, they believe the Torah contains G-d. Some people will not throw their English translation of the Bible on the ground (I throw my bible on the ground every night after I am finished reading it). Some people will not question it, taking everything at face value, but by automatically believing everything the bible says, we retract from its value. If someone gave me a puzzle and told me it had all the pieces, having all the pieces only matters if I try to piece them together. It is only valuable if I work with it. I could have used a parachute analogy for this, but I feel like that one is a little over used. You can imagine it.
I don't admonish those who believe the Torah contains all that has been, is, and will be, or those that do not throw down their bible, or those who hold highly reverent Bible-views. Too much reverence can become a problem, though, when people concentrate on the Bible more than they concentrate on Jesus. The Bible can become an idol if it rises above God.
Someone had to experience the bible before it became "The Bible". The only contains others' experiences, and the Bible didn't determine what happened, what happened determined the Bible. Real life supersedes the Bible, because the Bible only serves as a tool. It does not own us, we own the Bible. So I believe sometimes people do put to much emphasis on the Bible. I can have an epiphany from God without it coming from the Bible. He can tell me something directly to my spirit, and it need not come from the written pages of my English-translated NKJ. I do not discredit my Bible, but it is not my lifeline. Jesus is.
People lived before the bible and had meaningful relationships with God. As a little kid, I think I pictured Adam reading his King James underneath a pecan tree, Noah walking with his New Living Translation, Abraham pulling back his beard to better see his NIV. I always owned a bible and considered it synonymous with God, the fourth part of the trinity. KJ said something like "people put too much emphasis on the Bible". Don't quote me though. Maybe people do focus on it too much.
Some people believe that the Bible contains everything that has been, is, and will be, in essence God. Actually, they believe the Torah contains G-d. Some people will not throw their English translation of the Bible on the ground (I throw my bible on the ground every night after I am finished reading it). Some people will not question it, taking everything at face value, but by automatically believing everything the bible says, we retract from its value. If someone gave me a puzzle and told me it had all the pieces, having all the pieces only matters if I try to piece them together. It is only valuable if I work with it. I could have used a parachute analogy for this, but I feel like that one is a little over used. You can imagine it.
I don't admonish those who believe the Torah contains all that has been, is, and will be, or those that do not throw down their bible, or those who hold highly reverent Bible-views. Too much reverence can become a problem, though, when people concentrate on the Bible more than they concentrate on Jesus. The Bible can become an idol if it rises above God.
Someone had to experience the bible before it became "The Bible". The only contains others' experiences, and the Bible didn't determine what happened, what happened determined the Bible. Real life supersedes the Bible, because the Bible only serves as a tool. It does not own us, we own the Bible. So I believe sometimes people do put to much emphasis on the Bible. I can have an epiphany from God without it coming from the Bible. He can tell me something directly to my spirit, and it need not come from the written pages of my English-translated NKJ. I do not discredit my Bible, but it is not my lifeline. Jesus is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
