I guess I don't have much to add to this, so this will be short. Mostly, I'm just going to pose this question: why are people so important? Everything we believe hinges on a personal relationship with God. That same idea was central to Luther's revolution. I might even go so far as to suggest (for the sake of argument) that salvation would be easier without people. If there were no other people to deal with, would we struggle with sin as much? There would be no cause or occasion for gossip, offense, stealing, adultery, murder, etc. This is not to say there wouldn't be sin (Adam and Eve did a fine job sinning without other people around), but there would be fewer opportunities for it.
However, there would also be fewer opportunities to grow! Every uncomfortable, unpleasant, and seemingly unnecessary interaction with each other is what gives us the chance to learn how to love. Someone once said (sorry I can't attribute this properly) that our time on earth is practice for heaven. If that's true, then I say let's have a good practice!
There may be more about this topic to come. This was all kind of on the fly, based on a conversation I had last night. Let me know in your comments why you think people are so important. Oh, and the answer to my cheesy riddle on the last post is the Fibonacci sequence.
Jeff
1 comment:
Jeff,
I have been thinking about the same thing, of how our relationship with people is the true test of our relationship with God. John said it in his letter very directly when he said if you say you love God but hate your brother you are a liar. The command to love your neighbor as yourself is found in Leviticus, the three synoptic Gospels, Romans, Galatians and James, not to mention all of the ‘one another’ scriptures.
We have been looking for ways to better connect with one another at ROL, which is one of the goals of this blog. Another way is what we did last Sunday is to gather in small groups to share and pray for one another at the end of the service.
I'd love to hear ROL attenders perspective on what we did Sunday morning. Blog readers, tell us what you think?
Rod
Post a Comment