Give me some mo Gungor
Gungor continues to be an amazing band. I only wish more music could be like this (especially in worship).
Cannot see God's face
It was shared with me during seminary that one interpretation of why we cannot look at the face of God is because in God's face is reflected all the emotion of the world. So to look at the face of God is to see not only all the joy and happiness in the world but also every sorrow and pain. And if we were to see all of that at one time we would be dead on the spot.
This is what makes God divine. One would have to be divine in order to handle all of that not only for one moment but for all of time.
I find it hard enough to look into the eyes (I mean really look into the eyes) of another person. When we look into each other's eyes for a long time we can see all of their joy, sorrow, happiness and pain. Sometimes it is too much to handle all of that with just one person, I cannot imagine looking into the collective eyes of humanity.
Turns out this was something that was already touched on.
This is what makes God divine. One would have to be divine in order to handle all of that not only for one moment but for all of time.
Turns out this was something that was already touched on.
A Coalition of the what!
There is a thought out there in business and even in the church that leaders and institutions ought to focus on those who are "willing". Willing to go along and try a new thing out. Willing to change. Willing to be a part of something. Willing to do. From former presidents use of the phrase coalition of the willing to even those who advocate for businesses to focus on the company fans, putting your emphasis on those who are "willing" is not really the description I would use to speak of the mission of the church.
Too often the church sets up events and programs in order to attract those who are 'willing' to come to it. We ask people to be in leadership who are 'willing' to give of their time. We even have been known to change the form and function or date and time of a ministry in order to coincide with the leaderships level of 'willingness'. But the fact of the matter is if we are looking for those who are willing then we will surely drive the church into the ground.
Rather than looking for the willing, perhaps the church is at its best when we are looking for the faithful. I know people who are willing to pray but it seems the world needs people who faithfully pray. I know people who are willing to serve but the world needs people to faithfully serve.
Faithfulness does not always mean one is willing.
Jesus was not willing to die as he prayed in the garden but he was faithful and found himself at the cross. Rosa Parks was not willing to give up her seat because she was faithful to the cause of justice. Some people are not willing to take a new job but remain faithful to the cause of providing for their family and so they take a job they hate. Some people are not willing to support a political candidate but remain faithful to their political party and vote for her/him anyway.
What the church needs is not to focus on being willing but being faithful. When we are faithful to the Culture of God, the world is changed.
If we are just willing, then change may never come.
Too often the church sets up events and programs in order to attract those who are 'willing' to come to it. We ask people to be in leadership who are 'willing' to give of their time. We even have been known to change the form and function or date and time of a ministry in order to coincide with the leaderships level of 'willingness'. But the fact of the matter is if we are looking for those who are willing then we will surely drive the church into the ground.
Rather than looking for the willing, perhaps the church is at its best when we are looking for the faithful. I know people who are willing to pray but it seems the world needs people who faithfully pray. I know people who are willing to serve but the world needs people to faithfully serve.
Faithfulness does not always mean one is willing.
Jesus was not willing to die as he prayed in the garden but he was faithful and found himself at the cross. Rosa Parks was not willing to give up her seat because she was faithful to the cause of justice. Some people are not willing to take a new job but remain faithful to the cause of providing for their family and so they take a job they hate. Some people are not willing to support a political candidate but remain faithful to their political party and vote for her/him anyway.
What the church needs is not to focus on being willing but being faithful. When we are faithful to the Culture of God, the world is changed.
If we are just willing, then change may never come.
Be the change by Jason Valendy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.