Sunday, July 15, 2007

of diamonds and deliverance, part 2

I am afraid of absolutes. I have been resisting the 'part 2' of 'diamonds and deliverance' because every time I start to write, I come up short, feeling like I'm just regurgitating what I'm supposed to say instead of expressing what I truly know or believe about the world. That and I'm afraid to alienate others (really myself from others) by sounding close-minded, judgmental, or illogical. I know there are "arguments" out there to be learned, but I keep feeling like, how do I know which of those are true, and why do I think they are?

If I claim to be a Christian - which I do - it all comes down to this: do I believe that the Bible is true? Do I believe in the sovereignty of Yahweh? Do I trust Him to guide and save and redeem the world? Do I believe that I and the rest of the world are hopelessly lost without His grace? That Jesus alone is the source of our salvation, strength, and security? Do I really believe any or all of that? Most days it doesn't feel like it, because I'm afraid I will be wrong about it all, but deep down I want to believe, because the world just doesn't make any sense any other way.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I know what you mean... we are taught to be tolerant and compassionate and open-minded, and it's like we've been told that if we stand for "truth" we're not being any of these things.

I just finished reading through 1-3 John with my Bible study, and the message that is clearer than crystal in these letters is that Jesus is the only way and that this truth must be balanced by love. Still, truth must be upheld.

I know I am stepping on toes... I pray that I do it with love and grace.

LynnaeEtta said...

L-Dubbs,

Thanks for your comment! A question for you: how do you balance truth with love?

Adam said...

Lynnae

I really like to read your blog. It seems very honest and real which is a lot of what I've been thinking about this past year, things that are real.

I don't really think I can get out what my thoughts are but I think if you're in town (GR for the next couple weeks or Chicago in the fall) we should hang out and chat because I appreciate your perspective. It's kind of exciting because I'm interning in the fall for an organization like New Song Community Church in Chicago, it's called Bethel New Life and started as a church. So keep writing and let's be friends like in the old frisbee days.