This would be one of the downfalls to the Internet, you only see what the writer allows. If the writer chooses to hide or disclose selective information, the only way you would be able to truly know them is if you engage in a relationship by contact and dialogue. Sometimes, the character and personality of the author may differ in person compared to what is revealed online.
I write this blog with honesty. Some have commented to me that my writing makes them uncomfortable, it challenges them, they didn't realize I was so deep. I consider this a good thing, but what you read is only a part of me. If you are observant, you will see more about me than what I write, but you will still have limited vision and understanding until you engage in a relationship with me.
The question would be then, "Why would you want to engage in a relationship with me?" Good question. For some of you, the answer would be, "I don't want to engage in a relationship with you." (Your loss...I mean, choice...your choice.) For others, you wonder what I have to offer. Actually, for most people, when deciding whether to engage in a relationship with another person, they expect to get something out of that relationship - consciously and/or subconsciously. It is not necessarily a bad thing. The person may make you feel good about yourself, teach you something, give you money....there are many things you could get from a relationship, including heartache. But that's the chance you take, right? Except for those who choose not to engage in a relationship...they are safe from heartache...and growth, and prosperity, and ...well, you get the idea. It works two ways.
Starting a relationship can be as easy as saying "hello" and going with the flow of the conversation. (Of course, for it to be a "relationship", I would suggest that the persons involved would converse more than once and preferably no less than three conversations. Passing "hellos" do not count as a conversation!) Sometimes starting a relationship can be nerve racking, painfully embarrassing, or tragic in whatever measure. Those are perhaps the times where your first impression hit the ground like a watermelon dropped from a 10 story building. Not pretty.
Back to disclosure. How much should you disclose when you meet someone? It would depend on the nature of the relationship, right? So, establishing fairly quickly whether the person you are conversing with needs to know the latest excitement after consuming an extra spicy chili dinner is probably best reserved for your doctor as opposed to the unsuspecting blonde woman that stepped on to the elliptical to your right, regardless that she is a nurse and has heard, seen, and smelled (for that matter) far worse. There is disclosing...and then there is just too much information! Watch for that in your next conversation...otherwise, that will be one relationship that won't be happening...not without intervention, resuscitation, and perhaps a gracious sense of humour.Sometimes you long for a relationship and for whatever reason, it did not happen. Do you pursue after it? Well...I would suggest that you pray about that. Nice answer eh?! Pray. This is more relevant than you might think at first. Praying could save you serious heartache and trouble. God sees each individual, their strengths and weaknesses, and He knows you. He also knows whether engaging in a relationship with a particular person will bless or burden you, or them. (Didn't see that one coming?? You can be a burden too.) God knows best and we would be wise to consult Him when pursuing a relationship, whether personal, business, or otherwise.
Do you have a relationship with God such that you could go to Him in prayer and listen to His response? Do you want a relationship with God? What will you get from engaging in a relationship with God??
Well, like me writing this blog (a comparison on a very different level! - I know), God has revealed Himself through the Bible. But not just there, He has revealed Himself in creation, through others...and He longs to engage in a personal relationship with each of us so we can know Him intimately. We need to start somewhere with a relationship and our relationship with God is no different. You can talk to God, but without reading His Word, you may not recognize His response to you. You need to get to know Him by reading what He has spoken through the Bible, through creation, through others, and the better you get to know Him, you will learn to recognize His voice when He speaks with you...And you will want that assurance when you inquire about relationships with others, especially when God tells you to not pursue a relationship with the guy who suffered the chili episode and you find out later that it wasn't the chili that was the problem, it was the illegal activity that he regularly engages in before and after the chili dinner...
The "chili" incident is entirely fictional, as I cannot print the story it is based upon, which I still shake my head at and thank God for His protection:)
3 comments:
WHAT is that oooozing out of your "chili?" :) I like your writing: You chew here, gnaw there, then WHAM! Didn't expect THAT one!
Okay, this isn't me: I'm not an exuberant CAPPer. :D I do like to talk, though, and writing just doesn't talk well. :) I enjoy writing, too, and you make a good point about not knowing someone by their writing. On the other hand, a person's deepest and most carefully guarded secrets are sometimes revealed in writing...
About relationships with God: This is something that's come up rather heavily in my life, especially recently. I appreciate what you say about God revealing Himself in His creation; most of my faith comes from such revelations. But there's an assumption that I find most people in the world making without question: They accept their scripture as the Word of God.
Why?
Hey Michael - thanks for your comment...1st of all, the picture of the 1st place chili is not really chili, it is a cake. The photographer's mother wanted to enter a chili contest but couldn't because she was a judge - and I think you are referring to the ladle spoon on the side (oozing out?:) I thought it was an appropriate pic.
2nd - You ask "why" and I respond "conviction". Whether through family/cultural tradition the scripture has been ingrained as truth, a person will adopt or reject it based upon their experience. Some scriptures (sacred books) also cater to the person's need (particularly emotionally)at a time when they are most needy and that is all they need to "be convinced". There are a plethora of other reasons and this is a topic that could stimulate some lively conversation; however, it seems to me that when a person TRUELY seeks God, God will reveal Himself. I believe that whole-heartedly!
As for the Bible being the Word of God...I believe that Jesus is who He says He is. The Way, the Truth, and the Life. No other scripture has someone claiming to be God, except Jesus. I have had a multitude of experiences "supernatural" and "not-so-supernatural" that has reinforced that Jesus is who He claims to be and that the Bible is the Word of God - God inspired and God breathed. That is my conviction.
You know, I am thinking of a philospher (whose name escapes me at the moment), who breaks down the probability of believing versus not believing in God and the statistical consequences of your choices. Blaise Pascal - that's the guy...gambling on God...lol Are you familiar with his theory? I'd type it out, but it would be faster if you googled it, and it'd be better explained, I'm sure:)
Anyhow, Pascal's idea suggests that the best bet is to believe in God...I am convinced that if a person goes to that extent to determine whether God is a safe bet, they are seeking God and he won't leave them with the gambler's mentality and if believing in God is the safe bet, the only way they can be confident that they will "win" that bet is if they truly believe...its a bit of Catch-22 eh?! LOL
Cake. More than a piece of cake: A whole cake! :D I thought it was clay, which might have survived...I'd eat a chili-flavored cake! :) Yes, it was appropriate, and very interesting.
Conviction is hard to argue: Why are you convinced? Are you sure that your experiences have no deeper meaning? As long as you keep seeking, you will find more answers. When you're satisfied, you stop seeking... but the Way is Narrow, and most people don't find it. If you find yourself in the majority, or if the path you follow is easy, look more carefully!
I missed it where Jesus claimed to be God. I remember Him saying He is the Son of Man, and making oblique references that are easily interpreted as meaning that He is the Son of God, but I don't recall ever reading a direct statement from Him making the claim that He IS God. I've never considered that part of His message, though; He repeatedly admonished those who worshiped His miracles or even Himself.
Blaise Pascal's concept has a flaw: He doesn't have enough information to make that gamble. His assumptions actually come from within the very system his gamble questions: Are Heaven and Hell the best and worst that can happen in the afterlife?
I'd say his view of the universe is extremely limited.
There are many things in the universe that are beyond simple human concepts, and yet nowhere near the level of the One who created the universe and all that's part of it. In other words, many things that could pass themselves off as dieties without actually being God. It's easy to fool modern humans, and even easier to fool goatherds.
Without a huge perspective and a strong knowledge base, we can be fooled. Reading something in print, particularly something under the guise of holiness, tends to blind us to questions of its authenticity; and if it sounds reasonable, we're even more easily duped.
There are things in the bible that are presented as history that I am certain are false. There are also many moral guides that we don't seem to interpret reasonably. (Why does the bible forbid the cutting of sideburns, or wearing more than one kind of fabric?) This doesn't invalidate them as useful lessons, but if we think they're the truth, we're missing the REAL Truth. It's not enough to say that the bible is "true": We must learn what its Truths really are. This is no simple task; words designed to describe a material world cannot grasp spiritual concepts. The truth cannot be in them: We must look elsewhere for the Truths in these words.
We cannot stop looking for God by putting our nose in the book.
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