So this semester is about Mercy. That is the common theme in almost all my classes. What does it mean that the Lord loves mercy and justice? How is the Church supposed display those cares of the Lord upon this earth in which we live? I have always struggled with this topic. I remember in high school organizing blanket drives for the homeless in SF and in college I toyed with the idea of going homeless for a year in an attempt to love and reach the many men and women of SF who have no roof over their head. I have never known how far I am supposed to go. Should I sell all my possessions? I don't have much, seriously, but I do have something and that is more than 90% of this world's population. And really, the hippy in me would almost prefer to live that life that is less connected to the material things. I don't want to walk along Plato's path of the ultraspiritual life, but I can't take this culture's obsession with the things. What sunglasses do you wear? What car do you drive? Do you have this? Do you have that? In how many colors? Ugh. It makes me tired. There is no point in all this.
This is not to say that there isn't something about creation and how we, being made in the image of God, like to create. That is such a blessing and should be encouraged. But we have moved very far from the enjoyment of aesthetics and into being immorally materialistic.
This leads me to question how the church is living. Yesterday, I spent the snow day at the coffee house across the street with a classmate and his 4 month old daughter (so cute!) I wrote a paper on this whole topic of the church and her responsibility to the world around her. And I haven't found any cognative rest on this issue, but in reading To Live in Peace by Mark Gornik I got some clarity on the issue. He walked through the passage Jeremiah 29.
I will write more on this later. I just want to open up the subject and I am sure as this subject unfolds and I find myself understanding these ideas a little better, I will share with you all.
This is not to say that there isn't something about creation and how we, being made in the image of God, like to create. That is such a blessing and should be encouraged. But we have moved very far from the enjoyment of aesthetics and into being immorally materialistic.
This leads me to question how the church is living. Yesterday, I spent the snow day at the coffee house across the street with a classmate and his 4 month old daughter (so cute!) I wrote a paper on this whole topic of the church and her responsibility to the world around her. And I haven't found any cognative rest on this issue, but in reading To Live in Peace by Mark Gornik I got some clarity on the issue. He walked through the passage Jeremiah 29.
I will write more on this later. I just want to open up the subject and I am sure as this subject unfolds and I find myself understanding these ideas a little better, I will share with you all.
Comments