DISCLAIMER: I am a woeful sinner and imperfect man.
When ever I write or discuss my faith, I always feel the need to post a disclaimer, a big "CAVEAT EMPTOR," because although I know "alot of stuff," my pride and cantankerous nature gets in the way of being a better Christian.
What makes great literature GREAT, is the seasoning it gives to life's experiences bringing distinct flavors and aromas that grab you and stimulate your senses. Such is the passage in Crime and Punishment, where Roskolnikov asks Sonya, the prostitute to read the story of Lazarus to him. Her hands tremble as she reads, instantly she believes and immediately grasps the profound implications her belief has on the world and all the lives around her. If our Savior can raise a man from the dead, then.........
Equally profound for me is Jesus' reaction to the news that Lazarus was dead. He wept. The incarnate Christ loved a man so much that he cried. Think about it. The omnipotent, almighty sovereign of the universe loves us (you and me) so much that he weeps for us. God loves us, intenesly, immensely and wholeheartedly, not in some abstract way, but in such a real way that when he was a man, he cried. This is incredibly comforting.
We never have to be alone and He is always with us. How bout dem apples!
Just a thought or two ...
ReplyDeleteTheologian Daniel Reynaud, Dean of Faculty and Arts and Theology at Avondale College (Australia) affirms my opinion when he wrote in his paper “Literary Theory and Biblical Interpretation,”
Recognizing the absoluteness of God and our relative understanding of His will … is a powerful preventative against dogmatism, pride and a persecuting attitude towards those who differ from us. The sad legacy of Christian intolerance and persecution of infidels and other Christians has too often been based on an author-centered approach to the Bible. People who believe this naturally believe that their understanding of the Bible is the unmediated Word of God. They fail entirely to perceive that between God's revelation and their own ideas is both the filter of a human Bible writer and the reader's own imperfect, limited and fallible understanding. His interest extends to all people in all cultures in all time. The nature of the Biblical narrative, therefore, also argues against human spiritual arrogance, rather suggesting tolerance and peace.