| I was reading Philippians 2 the other day, and something different struck me. In verse 2, Paul is telling the church to be of one mind and drive one accord (joke!!1) and all, which is clearly admonishment directed toward a group. The book, after all, is written to a church, a group. Moving to verse 3, "Do nothing from rivalry and conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." I have always read this verse as to an individual, but there really isn't a clear shift of audience until verse 4. Of course, that is a great way for an individual to live his life, but there may be more there.
What if the Holy Spirit is trying to communicate that my church or my circle of Christian friends should consider itself less significant than other groups of people (other churches or even the lost, as a whole)?
Group humility is kind of a foreign concept.
I also wonder how much Western individualism and Protestant (maybe just Baptist) traditions of seeking what God is saying to me personally has robbed me (us?) of the group meanings of Scripture passages. I am reminded that I am not the bride of Christ, but the Church is the bride.
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| Currently listening to Goodnight by William Fitzsimmons. Xanga is not 1337 enough to know about the disc.
Thought provoking Bible verse: Nehemiah 12:43
Many sacrifices were offered on that joyous day, for God had given the people cause for great joy.
A Merriam-Webster of sacrifice is "destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else."
Continuing: Romans 12:1
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind He will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?
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| So I'm blogging.
Everything is going well.
That basically sums it up.
Striking realization this week: God often blesses us even right after we mess up. The way I see it, that either means that sin is no big deal to Him or that He forgives and means it. I'm betting on the latter.
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| "In the fullness of time" That's my word from God. He told me when I asked.
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