On the Paucity of Pat Answers

Many people think Christianity gives a lot of pat answers. It really does the opposite. Lately, I've noticed how cryptic some of Jesus' sayings are and how his sermons seem to be a series of non sequiturs. He doesn't use the three-point sermon model; no, He is not that clear. The paucity of pat answers in the Bible complicates things and challenges my thinking. It is mysterious, confusing, and complex. And there are no simple answers, as much as I would like there to be. By faith, I believe the Bible is divinely inspired, which is why I haven't given up trying to understand difficult passages or uncomfortable ideas. In between the famous Judge Not paragraph and the Golden Rule paragraph sits something just as powerful but more often neglected. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." Asking, seeking, and knocking involve much more proactivity than simple pat answers do. It takes effort to wrestle with God, with questions, and with truth.

just a blip

I have Jesus.

Everything else is a blip in the scope of eternity.

Love expensively.

Love expensively.

the choice-driven life

This is the story of a Linda Couri. She used to work for Planned Parenthood, and in this talk, she shares the story of how she became pro-life. This is a beautiful story of hope and grace.

Click here to listen.

the water sustains me

This is one of my new favorite songs, sung by the wonderfully British Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling. On every Friday afternoon, the Diomede school has music class at the end of the day for about a half hour. Willis played this song on his guitar, and we all tried to sing as best we could.  It's such a good Diomede song, and I think that for the rest of my life, every time I hear this song, I'll think of this little island.

 "The Water"

All that I have is a river
The river is always my home
Lord, take me away
For I just cannot stay
Or I'll sink in my skin and my bones

The water sustains me without even trying
The water can't drown me
I'm done with my dying

Please help me build a small boat
One that'll ride on the flow
Where the river runs deep
And the larger fish creep
I'm glad of what keeps me afloat

Now deeper the water I sail
And faster the current I'm in
That each night brings the stars
And the song in my heart
Is a tune for the journeyman's tale

Now the land that I knew is a dream
And the line on the distance grows faint
So wide is my river
The horizon a sliver
The artist has run out of paint

Where the blue of the sea meets the sky
And the big yellow sun leads me home
I'm everywhere now
The way is a vow
To the wind of each breath by and by

The water sustains me without even trying
The water can't drown me
I'm done with my dying

silence is better

Silence is better.

neutrality

According to the Wikipedia entry for casseroles, "by the 1970s casseroles took on a less-than sophisticated image."

 

The neutrality of this Wikipedia article is clearly questionable. Adrienne is considering flagging it.

Turn within.

I was looking through my Moleskine book and stumbled upon my notes from Sunday School.

"Never forget that you're a child. Turn within to Jesus Christ. Our life is hidden in Christ, so look within your heart. Be available to God. Give your heart to God moment by moment. Remember you're a child. Our minds are full of thoughts, and sometimes the spiritual part of our lives is diminished in our thoughts. We are to pray without ceasing, but this means to be available to God's grace, being available to say, 'God, I can't do this.' There is to be a deeper experience of Christ at hand NO matter what your circumstances. God requires your heart above all else. Endless discussion breeds confusion. All you need is to turn to Jesus within you."

"Just as you couldn't contribute to your initial salvation, so you cannot now. Jesus would have us use our past sins as a basis for humility. Don't look at others as 2nd-rate; you yourself are 2nd-rate. There but for the grace of God go I. Take forgiveness seriously. He is there to forgive you. So, in your failures, Christ is preparing us for future tests in which we will be faithful."

"Don't look to your own resources. In His mercy, He tells us we are nothing. Be unmixed. In the fire, there is life in Christ. All good things are eternal. The fire is God's mercy. God understands the tension; he knows our tension. He is shaping me in my pain. Pain is a vessel. God is bringing pain in to make us pure and unmixed. After the fire what remains is eternal."

Forward into light.

Look how pretty it is.
The sun shines down
Trying to make the yellow
Warm and bright;
The trees cover it
So gently and kindly;
I feel like sitting on the rusty porch swing
swaying backward into shade
and forward into light.