The Way I See It

Famous musician, Youssou N’Dour once said, “People need to see that, far from being an obstacle, the world’s diversity of languages, religions and traditions is a great treasure, affording us precious opportunities to recognize ourselves in others.”

I must say, I absolutely love the last part of the statement, “…oppoturnites to recognize ourselves in others.” To me, that speaks more than volumes, more than logic, and more than good thought, but it speaks to a central role of the Gospel message of Jesus.

[In Galatians, chapter 3, verse 28, Paul writes, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”]

[In Colossians, chapter 3, verse 11, Paul writes, “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”]

To me, all three passages show a unique relationship concerning you and concerning me. We see that each quotation has the common idea that we are able to see ourselves in one another, or as Paul directly puts it, there are no more divisions amongst because “Christ is all.” What an amazing thought that we are able to look beyond culture, beyond religion, beyond language, beyond common interests, beyond diversity, and see ourselves in others and see Jesus in others. What a revolutionary truth; we are able to see Jesus in everyone. To me, Jesus is not just in Christians. He is not just in religious folk. He is not just in the spiritual. Contrarily, Jesus is in Christian and religious folk and the spiritual and the non-spiritual and the atheist and Buddhist and the Muslim etc. Jesus transcends culture and language and time and religion and theology; He is in all and is all.

To me, these three statements show us that we are all connected, that we are all related, and that we are all one. Formulate your own thoughts.

…are you alive?

An early church father and saint, St. Irenaeus, once said that, “the glory of God is in man fully alive.”

After reading a statement like the one above, the question must be posed, are you alive? Think about and truly search yourself to see if you are living or existing.

The “deal-breaker” sin

This video is amazing. It is a panel discussion between Chuck Colson, Greg Boyd, and Shane Claiborne. As an overall idea, these three gentlemen are discussing Christianity and homosexuality. And for anyone who knows me whatsoever, will realize that Greg Boyd and Shane Claiborne radically changed my views on homosexuality. After I watched this clip and listened to them both speak, I was changed; and in my opinion, for the better. Ha. Check out this video and formulate your own thoughts.

Gandhi says

Mohandas Gandhi once said, “I want freedom for the full expression of my personality.”

Michael Franti says

To quote Michael Franti, “God is too big for just one religion.”

Proverb

Here is an ancient Jewish proverb:

“What is hateful to thyself do not do to another. That is the whole Law, the rest is Commentary.”

I find this to be exactly the message of a great Jewish philosopher and rabbi, Jesus. In Mark, chapter 12 verse 28 to 31, Jesus is confronted by some teachers of the religious law, where they ask him what the greatest commandment is. Jesus replies, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

I love that Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to love God and to love people as ourself. Notice, Jesus says that we must love others as ourself. We must love ourself, too. The essence of the proverb and the teaching of Jesus is to love. And to quote a good friend, Zack, “It is all about love.”

Make sense

I just wanted to show an aphorism that I found while looking on Peter Rollin’s blog.  Peter Rollin’s wrote this, “An interpretation that makes sense of our existence is not a Christian interpretation.” I do not know about you, but this is profound. Profound to the point that I actually had to sit on this truth for almost an hour contemplating the truth behind it. To me, Jesus did not make sense; at all. Everything Jesus said and did didn’t make sense. So, the question then must be extrapolated onto Christians, do the things you say and do make sense? However, I think that this statement is much deeper than just that simple thought. This statement asks us to examine our lives and motives and words. The question, if you are a Christian, is, do you make sense? Formulate your own thoughts on this statement, but keep and open mind because this truly is beautiful.

Eating mercifully

Many people question why I am a vegetarian and how I could give up meat entirely.  Well, simply put, it was the documentary found below that radically changed my dietary habits and lifestyle. After I watched this documentary a few times, my entire being was convicted and I decided to give up meat and meat products entirely.

To view this documentary published by the Humane Society, click here. Even if you do not decide to eat a vegetarian diet, at least you will have a better understanding of why I became a vegetarian and you will not be living in ignorant bliss. Just a side note, this is not to offend anyone or make anyone feel bad, but just to be an eye opener. I encourage you to watch it and formulate your own thoughts.

Love

I just want to announce an ancient, revolutionary thought, love.  Just love.