Either we wake to tackle our to do list, get things done, guided by our morals and whatever clarity we may at the moment have (both rather lacking to the need, I might add); or we wake in the midst of a dangerous Story, as Gods intimate ally, following him into the unknown. If youre not pursuing a dangerous quest with your life, well, then, you dont need a Guide. If you havent found yourself in the midst of a ferocious war, then you wont need a seasoned Captain. If youve settled in your mind to live as though this is a fairly neutral world and you are simply trying to live your life as best you can, then you can probably get by with the Christianity of tips and techniques. Maybe. Ill give you about a fifty-fifty chance. But if you intend to live in the Story that God is telling, and if you want the life he offers, then you are going to need more than a handful of principles, however noble they mayt to state very clearly that not every trial in our life is specially arranged for us by God. Much of the heartache we know comes from living in a broken world filled with broken people. But there are times when God seems to be set against us. Unless we understand our desperate hearts and our incredible tenacity to arrange for the life we want, these events will just seem cruel. When we lived in Eden, there was virtually no restriction on the pleasure around us. We could eat freely from any tree in the Garden. Our desire was innocent and fully satisfied. We had it all, but we threw it away. By mistrusting Gods heart, by reaching to take control of what we wanted, Adam and Eve set in motion a process in our hearts, a desperate grasping that can be described only as addiction. Desire goes mad within us. Gerald May observes, Once they gave in to that temptation, their freedom was invaded by attachment. They experienced the need for more. God knew that they would not—could not—stop with just the one tree. Our first parents are banished from Paradise as an act of mercy. The thought of the human race gaining immortality—eating from the Tree of Life—in a fallen state is too horrible to imagine. We would be evil forever. --Waking the Dead
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 12:02:44 +0000
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