Wise Saying From the Orient

So today my every-so-autumn-tasting Good Earth Tea had a friendly saying on the tea bag. It read,

By much failing the child learns to walk.
- Wise Saying From the Orient

I thought that this is interesting because this is not only true of children who are learning to stroll around their newly discovered world, but this is also true of our spiritual lives. In light of being a child of God and learning to live life according to his standards, By much failing the child learns to walk. We fall down, the Lord picks us up with his gracious hand. We learn our mistakes, and (hopefully) never fall down in that same way, shape, or form. Of course, we are human and tend to fall in trends. Thankfully, we are still learning how to grow up, or mature in Christ. May we be children who step out in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and learn to walk by failing. His arms are always there to catch us!

Beauty

"Beauty is not democratic; she reveals herself more to the few than to the many..." (C.S. Lewis)

God has recently been speaking to me in the beautiful things. I use the word to describe a lot of things. Some might think that I overuse it, but I think that I am just trying to point out the beautiful things that are so often neglected. A conversation is beautiful. A moment is beautiful. A sky is beautiful. A man or woman's personality is beautiful. All of these things--nature, words, and people--point me to Ultimate Beauty Himeslf. The little things on earth that I recognize as beautiful are only a tool used for me to worship God. I cannot worship these things, but must allow them to draw me to God. In theological terms, Beauty is attributed to God because He possesses every desirable quality; He is lacking in nothing! So, although Lewis said that Beauty is revealed to few people, I pray that the followers of Christ will seek Beauty even more intently and worship him!

Reflections on Mark 6:1-3

In Mark 6:1-3 we see Jesus entering his hometown of Nazareth (6:1). He is traveling with his disciples and teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath (6:2). The people in his hometown are astonished at his teachings and doubt his authority, wisdom, and works (6:2). They probably recognized that the authorities of his teachings (and the teachings themselves) were taught with the authority of God. Also, his wisdom and works were not those of a mere human. Immediately, they start questioning the authenticity of these things by stating the obvious: he is a carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon (6:3). These people of Nazareth watched Jesus grow up! They knew his parents, his brothers, and his sisters. He cannot be God, they thought; he is a man! They took offense at him (6:3) because he has proclaimed things that set him higher than them, namely, his divinity.

The fact that the people could not recognize the divinity of Jesus makes a greater point for his humanity. He was perceived b other people to be human. This seems to be the most important part of the passage; Jesus’ humanity was obvious! This passage boosts a defense against the Christological heresies such as Docetism and Appolinarianism. Docetism denies the Jesus was truly human because the flesh was evil. Appolinarianism also believes that Jesus’ humanity was swallowed up in his deity, creating a new nature. Again, this passage is strong evidence against such a view in that those who grew up with Jesus recognized him as fully man.

The practical importance for the humanity of Christ as expressed in Mark 6:1-3 is that Jesus lived a human life. Like all of us, Jesus was born into a family with parents and siblings. He had to go through the same daily routines such as work (in his case, as a carpenter). He also experienced denial by people in his hometown. As followers of Jesus, we can be confident that we are following someone who knows what it feels like to be in a family, working in a job, and being rejected by people who ought to be supportive. The humanity of Jesus gives us hope for our lives.

Graces...

Graces upon graces
Lavished on my head
Perfect, Holy Righteousness
Not mine, but His instead
Gifts defying logic
They baffle young and old
I'll believe, not understand
'Till I cross Eternal threshold

Engaged and graced.

I am engaged to the most beautiful girl in the world!
The Lord has blessed me with a gift far more precious than I could ever want or imagine.
But like all gifts, I must offer it back up to Him.
The greatest grace in the realm of my relationship with Kaitlin is the ways that Jesus shows himself to me through her. May she be blessed!