Round 2

ps. 16:11

Compatible Software

Tonight I saw a clip from a movie of a buddhist guy who scaled a wall with abnormal success. Right before he did it, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and said, "Just believe."

There have been times when things have gotten very dark and I've question whether my faith was really real or if it was something I was just tricking myself with. Should I blame it on the brain? Surly we can see the ways our psyche is involved in our spiritual experiences. God telling me loves me computes with my need for love and security, etc. Maybe it's just the brain. In the words of Morpheus, "Your mind makes it real."

But then I began to think how sensible this is, to believe that these really are true experiences from God. With computers, they come from the factory with certain machinery and hardware that they were designed to use. Now, if you ever but computer programs you'll notice on the side of the package it'll say something like "system requirements". Meaning, if your computer doesn't have these certain components (plug-and-play, USB port, game card) your computer won't run rightly with this program.

What's this got to do with belief? Well, by design, The Gospel is the purposed software for our human hardware. In other words, of course life works through our belief in the Gospel. It's not a trick, but how its supposed to work. Life working in harmony and bringing success comes from the fact that the message meets the machine. It fits the system requirements (Reality and human experience). Our hardware is now free to work as it should.

Just because the faculties of our psyches are engaged during spiritual experiences doesn't mean it's just our brains at work. Wouldn't we expect such a supreme thing the Gospel to wield all of our human resources at its command, like a king rules over his subjects?

Currently Reading Future Grace By John Piper see related

Romans

Indeed, the greatest letter ever written:

"38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Currently Reading Future Grace By John Piper see related

Reflections on Vacation

Being back in the setting where I spent so much of my life is like re-entering the experience of my history, but this time with a redeemed mind.

Thank you, Jesus Christ, for all the mess you redeemed me from.

Currently Listening Divine Invitation By Something Like Silas see related

Providence & Positive Thinking

Why is it that nonbelievers can be more enriched people than believers becuase of simple positive thinking? I've often wondered how that works for them since they don't have GOD as their object of trust? THEY DON'T HOPE IN *GOD*. Believers do. They swim. Some believers sink. How's that fair?

Well, I think I know why this works. Here are my thoughts:

Positive thinking (regardless if it stems from saving faith in God or not) agrees with God's Providencial mercy. Or, to say it another way: positive thinking *corresponds to* or *aligns with* the mercy of God embeded in his moment by moment guiding of the universe. So to look at an unfavorable circumstance and beleive that there is a better experience to be had *and* that such an experience is AVAILABLE to you is to assume that there are resources of untapped goodness imbedded in each moment of existance (life).

In other words, the unbeliever *blindly* assumes what we Christians plainly see. Namely, that "the Lord is merciful and gracious". And as he assembles each moment, he is weaving riches upon riches of mercy and grace into each one, flowing to both believers and unbelievers, only some of which we come to experience, and the rest of it remains opportunities unrealized.

I think kite-flying can be a good illustration. Two men fly their kite. One man is blind (the unbeliever) and the other is seeing (Christian believer). The seeing man often struggles to get his kite up a little more than 50 ft. The blind man can make his kite fly to glorious heights. How can this be?

The explaination is not that there are two different realities or that the blind man is fooling himself. It is simply that the blind man rightly assumes that there is wind blowing much stronger at the higher levels than the wind he currently experiences on the ground and will therefore let out tremendous amounts of string for his kite. The seeing man would know the same experience if he would but let out his string. He need not close his eyes.

In the same way, there are riches of mercy for us to enjoy. Christians have the privilege of flying kites with their eyes open. So let's fly them.