on Understanding
Charles, thank you for the story and Ken for reminding me about love.
It was good to read the blog amid my flood of work and jobs and unanswered emails
thanks for the mail leb, will reply soon
I have been thinking. That is something we do alot.
The conversations in Job jump at me:
A) We can say all the right things and still be utterly wrong about God, regardless of our heart.
The charater of Elihu was a shock. He spoke nothing untrue about the wrath and character of God, professing to ' ...to speak on God's behalf. (Job 36:1)'. He defered respectfully to Job amd asking him 'suffer me a little' apologising for his chastisement and as he spoke in love.
He did nothing wrong save that of not knowing the context of God in his actions on Job. His heart was righteous as he spoke out for concern for Job . Yet he was wrong
I talk like that. We all do somehow, using words as we make apologies for what we believe in and framing our arguments accordingly as we speak.
Yet Elihu and the friends of Job in all their truth and belief were wrong.
As someone who's tools are the words, pictures and emotion to bring across meaning, i manipulate these to evoke whatever i feel/desire/need/want. Yet as our tools work on others they too work on us.
I have no doubt that the threat of self-delusion is reality among us, even as we seek our God and to understand his ways.
B) Living in God's light is understanding his ways and world view.
'And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.' JOB 28:28 Kjv
It takes understanding and the wisdom of God to see beyond the basal desires of the world as to why we should abandon the things and feelings that we are dependent upon to look to God. Its that difficult truth.
Its something we must aspire to. Aligning our world view with that of God, knowing that it is his affirmation we should bear in mind as we reason with our minds, hearts and the others he has blessed us with. After all all the blessings in the world given to you does not equate to a relationship with God or that he is pleased with you. Job is a fine negative example of that.
Christianity is a relationship. Thats its difference. Relationships need understanding, God understands us, do we in our hearts understand him.
It was good to read the blog amid my flood of work and jobs and unanswered emails
thanks for the mail leb, will reply soon
I have been thinking. That is something we do alot.
The conversations in Job jump at me:
A) We can say all the right things and still be utterly wrong about God, regardless of our heart.
The charater of Elihu was a shock. He spoke nothing untrue about the wrath and character of God, professing to ' ...to speak on God's behalf. (Job 36:1)'. He defered respectfully to Job amd asking him 'suffer me a little' apologising for his chastisement and as he spoke in love.
He did nothing wrong save that of not knowing the context of God in his actions on Job. His heart was righteous as he spoke out for concern for Job . Yet he was wrong
I talk like that. We all do somehow, using words as we make apologies for what we believe in and framing our arguments accordingly as we speak.
Yet Elihu and the friends of Job in all their truth and belief were wrong.
As someone who's tools are the words, pictures and emotion to bring across meaning, i manipulate these to evoke whatever i feel/desire/need/want. Yet as our tools work on others they too work on us.
I have no doubt that the threat of self-delusion is reality among us, even as we seek our God and to understand his ways.
B) Living in God's light is understanding his ways and world view.
'And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.' JOB 28:28 Kjv
It takes understanding and the wisdom of God to see beyond the basal desires of the world as to why we should abandon the things and feelings that we are dependent upon to look to God. Its that difficult truth.
Its something we must aspire to. Aligning our world view with that of God, knowing that it is his affirmation we should bear in mind as we reason with our minds, hearts and the others he has blessed us with. After all all the blessings in the world given to you does not equate to a relationship with God or that he is pleased with you. Job is a fine negative example of that.
Christianity is a relationship. Thats its difference. Relationships need understanding, God understands us, do we in our hearts understand him.
posted by joe at 8:27 AM
1 Comments:
agreed brother. well to most of it. just to highlight something though. Elihu ultimately was "wrong" in the sense that he did not comprehend the full purpose in which God had for Job. But to group him with the rest of Job's friends, is perhaps presumptious.
we see that God did not reprimand elihu. in the end Elihu's message was in essence similar to God's intent. that was that "my ways are higher than your ways", cept perhaps in his articulation he made God seem distant and uncaring, but of the four his message was the closest to God.
in all our understanding, it will definitely be marred with sin and failure as you have correctly pointed out. who can know the mind of God?! =) Lewis already wrote on how we cant in one moment exprience EVERYTHING that our body was made for, how much more experience the fullness of God.
thus, our understanding is perhaps progressive. we start off as Job's initial friends who knowing what God was like were sinful of presumptiousness and judgement. then we become as elihu, realising that the very act of presuming God's will is beyond us and thus not something man should indulge in, but forgetting his loving nature and compassion thus still falling short of FULL understanding. and then we come to Jesus who was in essence, in the father and the father in turn in jesus.
i echo your entry bro. that truly we have over relied on our understanding and have forgotten some things about God. but God is good and he is loving and will prompt us back to him like elihu whom he gave no reproach, or to Job's other friends whom he allowed a sin offering to be made on their behalf. =)
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