Reflection
Willard twist the general idea of how Christians view their lives in this section of the chapter. He writes that God has given us control over things. Even in Genesis it says how man was made to rule over all the animals and things of the Earth and to use them. But the twist with that is that we're supposed to be using them for God's kingdom, so ultimately his Kingdom is glorified. We all have a say in somethings, and someone who "doesn't have a say" is not a "person" but a "passive observer that makes no difference." Ouch.
In a way, Willard is referring to God's relationship with us as adults raising kids; at some point, you have to let them interact with the world, let them learn on their own. And as we learn, and as we rule, we should do so in unity with God.
"Now, what we can do by our unassisted strength is very small. What we can do acting with mechanical, electrical or atomic power is much greater. Often what can be accomplished is so great that is hard to believe. But what we can do with these things is still very small compared to what we could be doing in union with God Himself who created and ultimately controls other forces" (page 22)
Since the separation of God and man, we have become selfish with things, and have ultimately separated from each other, and the world is affected negatively and greatly on that aspect. But God is not limited within our hearts, he works beyond ourselves to get into our hearts rather, and then work through them.
We must finally realize that Jesus didn't come to bring the kingdom of Heaven to earth, he just made the kingdom accessible from earth without having to sacrifice animals and such, and showed us how man was originally supposed to live (Son of Man). And now that we have that accessibility, we should use what we rule in unity with God so our kingdom may grow. But we start out small, being responsible for only so many things. And with that responsibility we prove, our kingdoms grow. And with great power comes great responsibility.
See - Matthew 25, Luke 16:1-12, John 5:17-19
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
The Divine Conspiracy - Chapter 1 - Word From A Different Reality
Vocabulary
Reflection
Willard begins this chapter explaining that the word and the relationship are available to everyone. There are no boundaries or rule that can exclude anyone from the relationship or knowledge of Christ, unless the word hasn't been presented in that part of the world. Although this is true, Willard states on page 11 "The invitation becomes over familiar, which leads to unfamiliarity, then contempt, but it's everywhere". The more Christianity is present, the more forms or opinions are generated from it, and so called "familiarity" is really "unfamiliarity" which breeds contempt. People think they know it all, people who just watch christians from the audience and seeing all the things thrown from the stage. Somewhere in the mix, people have altered the real meaning of Jesus. Jesus is just a part of your life, and some might even ask if Jesus is only there so I can "make the cut" when I die. What else is Jesus for? We take Him out of our daily lives because we don't think he's relevant. But what's great about Jesus is that he meets us where we are. He communicates to us that he wants us to be great, something more, out of the ordinary! Have you ever felt compelled to do something because it's different, not like everyone else? Everyone wants to be different, extraordinary. That feeling is no mistake, it's wired into us. We can share our weakness and he'll bring us wholeness. But now that we have found Jesus, take his teachings into account! Reconsider your life and realize that our lives have a purpose in Him. Willard uses the story in Luke where Jesus is invited for a meal at a Pharisee's house. A prostitute had entered the room and, when she saw Jesus, began to kiss his feet and put rare perfume on them. The Pharisee did not understand what was going on and Jesus explained to him that she had welcomed Him with everything she had to offer at the time and the Pharisee had not. To read the full story see Luke 7.
- Contempt - the feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn
- Competent - having the necessary ability, knowledge, or skill to do something
- Omit - leave out or exclude forgetfully of intentionally
- Propriety - the state or quality of conforming to conventionally accepted standards of behavior or morals
Reflection
Willard begins this chapter explaining that the word and the relationship are available to everyone. There are no boundaries or rule that can exclude anyone from the relationship or knowledge of Christ, unless the word hasn't been presented in that part of the world. Although this is true, Willard states on page 11 "The invitation becomes over familiar, which leads to unfamiliarity, then contempt, but it's everywhere". The more Christianity is present, the more forms or opinions are generated from it, and so called "familiarity" is really "unfamiliarity" which breeds contempt. People think they know it all, people who just watch christians from the audience and seeing all the things thrown from the stage. Somewhere in the mix, people have altered the real meaning of Jesus. Jesus is just a part of your life, and some might even ask if Jesus is only there so I can "make the cut" when I die. What else is Jesus for? We take Him out of our daily lives because we don't think he's relevant. But what's great about Jesus is that he meets us where we are. He communicates to us that he wants us to be great, something more, out of the ordinary! Have you ever felt compelled to do something because it's different, not like everyone else? Everyone wants to be different, extraordinary. That feeling is no mistake, it's wired into us. We can share our weakness and he'll bring us wholeness. But now that we have found Jesus, take his teachings into account! Reconsider your life and realize that our lives have a purpose in Him. Willard uses the story in Luke where Jesus is invited for a meal at a Pharisee's house. A prostitute had entered the room and, when she saw Jesus, began to kiss his feet and put rare perfume on them. The Pharisee did not understand what was going on and Jesus explained to him that she had welcomed Him with everything she had to offer at the time and the Pharisee had not. To read the full story see Luke 7.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The Divine Conspiracy - Chapter 1- Life In The Dark
Vocab
Willard begins the chapter with a quick, 4-5 sentence story on a high-speed pilot flying in the sky. The pilot wanted to quickly fly upward, and instead descended steeply to the ground for the pilot didn't know that he had been flying upside down the entire time, and during the point of direction change. Willard has an awkward way of writing, and he spends a long time with the details that ultimately paints a great picture, although it takes some time to get there and you could get lost along the way. He firstly points out that our society today has no structure to base morals off of. If you think about it, you can't lower a students grade if they say that discrimination against minorities is wrong. He tells the story of a Harvard student who came from a middle-lower class area in the midwest and how she was constantly looked down upon, ironically, in her philosophy courses. During her exit interview she asked the advisor "How can you teach people about being good, but not teach them how to be good.?" The teacher shrugged. There is no moral base in education during our lives as students. You can not teach them which ways of life are right or wrong, only to think about them in a high, clever manner. He states "And if you are already flying upside down and do not know it, your cleverness will do you no good.". He continues discussing how people higher in society (economical and political philosopher's) ideas are more powerful than commonly understood. The deceived philosophers often manage to speak of ideas that control the masses of our country in wrong thought. He ties it all together by basically saying the people in our society just carry important thoughts from the past and add on, positively or negatively, to these ideas to a point which they are naturally accepted and do not need justification. For example, whites towards blacks during slavery, or prejudice. The next part of the book confused me. Willard describes the story of a philosopher who ends up in a criminal case concerning a young man who had been his student. In prison, this young man written an account of what he had done and of how those liberating teachings enthusiastically discussed in the abstract had worked out in actual practice, and ended up in murder. I think he's trying to say that teachings can be understood differently from people. Lisa compared it to art; it can give everyone a different feel. But people also buy into things. He takes about "cleverness" and "cuteness" and how it has become part of America's "Pop Culture", and how easily people become satisfied or just go with the flow of unjustified morals. Ultimately he finishes the chapter by saying how our morals can be deprived from ideas that really don't have a solid foundation, hence the title "Living In the Dark". For instance, the "Everything I need to know I've learned in kindergarten" sayings are crud, and we should rather direct our objectives to say "I don't know what I need to know and must now devote my full attention and strength to finding out."
Proverbs 4:7 - Wisdom is supreme; therefor get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
And yet we have to act. The rocket of our life is off the pad. Action is forever. We are becomign who we will be - forever. Absurdity and cuteness are fine to chuckle over and perhaps to muse upon, but they are no place to live. They provide no shelter or direction for being human.
- Encroachment - Being placed into neutrality
- Vested - secured in the possession of or assigned to a person
- Aesthetic - giving or designed to give pleasure through beauty; of pleasing appearance
- Plight - a dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation
- Pawn -a person used by others for their own purposes
Willard begins the chapter with a quick, 4-5 sentence story on a high-speed pilot flying in the sky. The pilot wanted to quickly fly upward, and instead descended steeply to the ground for the pilot didn't know that he had been flying upside down the entire time, and during the point of direction change. Willard has an awkward way of writing, and he spends a long time with the details that ultimately paints a great picture, although it takes some time to get there and you could get lost along the way. He firstly points out that our society today has no structure to base morals off of. If you think about it, you can't lower a students grade if they say that discrimination against minorities is wrong. He tells the story of a Harvard student who came from a middle-lower class area in the midwest and how she was constantly looked down upon, ironically, in her philosophy courses. During her exit interview she asked the advisor "How can you teach people about being good, but not teach them how to be good.?" The teacher shrugged. There is no moral base in education during our lives as students. You can not teach them which ways of life are right or wrong, only to think about them in a high, clever manner. He states "And if you are already flying upside down and do not know it, your cleverness will do you no good.". He continues discussing how people higher in society (economical and political philosopher's) ideas are more powerful than commonly understood. The deceived philosophers often manage to speak of ideas that control the masses of our country in wrong thought. He ties it all together by basically saying the people in our society just carry important thoughts from the past and add on, positively or negatively, to these ideas to a point which they are naturally accepted and do not need justification. For example, whites towards blacks during slavery, or prejudice. The next part of the book confused me. Willard describes the story of a philosopher who ends up in a criminal case concerning a young man who had been his student. In prison, this young man written an account of what he had done and of how those liberating teachings enthusiastically discussed in the abstract had worked out in actual practice, and ended up in murder. I think he's trying to say that teachings can be understood differently from people. Lisa compared it to art; it can give everyone a different feel. But people also buy into things. He takes about "cleverness" and "cuteness" and how it has become part of America's "Pop Culture", and how easily people become satisfied or just go with the flow of unjustified morals. Ultimately he finishes the chapter by saying how our morals can be deprived from ideas that really don't have a solid foundation, hence the title "Living In the Dark". For instance, the "Everything I need to know I've learned in kindergarten" sayings are crud, and we should rather direct our objectives to say "I don't know what I need to know and must now devote my full attention and strength to finding out."
Proverbs 4:7 - Wisdom is supreme; therefor get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
And yet we have to act. The rocket of our life is off the pad. Action is forever. We are becomign who we will be - forever. Absurdity and cuteness are fine to chuckle over and perhaps to muse upon, but they are no place to live. They provide no shelter or direction for being human.
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