Karl Barth, who has gained a reputation as being a great theologian and who wrote a study on the book of Romans which revolutionized theology only a few decades ago, was once asked, “What is the greatest theological thought that has ever crossed your mind?” One would expect a very long, in depth, complicated answer, but his was this: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” That is the simplicity that is in Christ.
It is easy to lose that in the midst of Christian activity or bible studies. One can become so involved in the captivating aspects of Scripture and give themselves over to a lifetime of Bible study only to end up losing the simplicity they have in Christ. So many great theologians have lost this concept and that of Christ is with you and that is enough.
“This is the beautiful, ‘simplicity that is in Jesus,’” Barth continued. “In Corinth they were assaulted with these teachers who were exposing them to things that caught their attention, but they were drifting from that central point. They were involved with fascinating philosophies based on the Word of God, but which went off on side tracks and rabbit paths of thought. They were being challenged with certain ego-appealing experiences, which if they could just grasp would make them feel so great, so wonderful, so God-possessed -- just like people today who are invited to explore strange and wonderful mysteries all involved with Christian faith -- but which tend to move them away from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
Now, before you go filling my inbox with complaints, know this: I am by no means suggesting that Christ is simple- He is far from it. What I am saying though is that there is a certain simplicity that we have in Him that so many people seem to be losing sight of today. I think Barth put it well. Oh look at that, I threw my opinion in there. I guess the whole blog is ruined,huh? Oh well, such is my life...
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The doctor is in...
Recently I had one of my usual therapy sessions with my good friend, Twitty. I so look forward to these talks. We rant, we rave, we plot revenge against those who annoy us, we share things on our minds that we would not necessarily ever admit were there to others and enjoy one another’s friendship for a time. I myself was long over due for one of our little sessions and he expressed he was as well, so I hopped into his suburban, popped open my can of Arizona Raspberry Iced Tea (his treat of course), he his bottle of Dr. Pepper and we set off for what was indeed going to be a enticing ride to visit another long lost friend whom we had not seen in a year.
We began with the typical surface level conversation of “How do you do?” and our usual rant about how it’d been far too long since our previous session with one another. After spilling the latest drama in my life and he of his and rocking out to a few Taylor Swift songs we of course meandered onto the topic of our ever so excitingly dull dating lives. Neither of us has dated much; I have had one horrendous excuse for a relationship and he has endeavored on a few nightmares of his own. We spoke of our troubles, our lessons learned and discovered once again we have so much in common when it comes to what we are looking for at this point of our lives. He called me out on issues I was facing and I so kindly returned the favor.
*Side note- I tell ya, friendships where you can truly call one another out like that are hard to find, so when you’re lucky enough to come across one, take advantage of it and enjoy it for all it’s worth.
After what would seem like endless complaining and whining, on both our parts, we came to the conclusion that we are happy with where we are currently stationed in our lives. However, things always seem to be getting rushed by those around us who attempt to push us towards what they feel is right and what is considered to be the “norm” for our individual situations. Although, I suppose we cannot blame others for our predicaments, though we sure like to try and have become rather skilled at doing so. Sometimes though, however much we hate to admit it, we were just bored and ended up getting ourselves in a little deeper than we originally anticipated. Well, we both agreed that this pattern is coming to an abrupt end. We listened intently to one another’s stories, made fun of each other where needed and gave some level-headed, heart-felt advice on our specific situations. He set my head straight after knocking me on my butt and intends to make sure it stays that way. I’d like to say that our little heart-to-heart went deeper and we truly grew in who we are, our friendship began to blossom and yada yada yada, but Crazy Frog’s “I Like To Move It” came on and well- we like to move it! *Cue rock out dance party session*
We began with the typical surface level conversation of “How do you do?” and our usual rant about how it’d been far too long since our previous session with one another. After spilling the latest drama in my life and he of his and rocking out to a few Taylor Swift songs we of course meandered onto the topic of our ever so excitingly dull dating lives. Neither of us has dated much; I have had one horrendous excuse for a relationship and he has endeavored on a few nightmares of his own. We spoke of our troubles, our lessons learned and discovered once again we have so much in common when it comes to what we are looking for at this point of our lives. He called me out on issues I was facing and I so kindly returned the favor.
*Side note- I tell ya, friendships where you can truly call one another out like that are hard to find, so when you’re lucky enough to come across one, take advantage of it and enjoy it for all it’s worth.
After what would seem like endless complaining and whining, on both our parts, we came to the conclusion that we are happy with where we are currently stationed in our lives. However, things always seem to be getting rushed by those around us who attempt to push us towards what they feel is right and what is considered to be the “norm” for our individual situations. Although, I suppose we cannot blame others for our predicaments, though we sure like to try and have become rather skilled at doing so. Sometimes though, however much we hate to admit it, we were just bored and ended up getting ourselves in a little deeper than we originally anticipated. Well, we both agreed that this pattern is coming to an abrupt end. We listened intently to one another’s stories, made fun of each other where needed and gave some level-headed, heart-felt advice on our specific situations. He set my head straight after knocking me on my butt and intends to make sure it stays that way. I’d like to say that our little heart-to-heart went deeper and we truly grew in who we are, our friendship began to blossom and yada yada yada, but Crazy Frog’s “I Like To Move It” came on and well- we like to move it! *Cue rock out dance party session*
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