Now that I have achieved this great milestone, I would normally look back on the previous 196 posts and comment about them. But you already know what I said and probably already think I sound like a broken record anyway. Its not everyday that you reach 197 posts and all that that implies. Kurt Vonnegut said it best, and I am paraphrasing greatly here, "God is probably not a numerologist."
We seem to place great emphasis on things that ought to have meaning, but probably don't. Round numbers, one hundred, two hundred - patterns we see in things that should have meaning. Walt Disney World is fileld with "hidden mickeys" - a configuration of three circles that should remind their guests of the famous mouse host. People see these things all the time and, in fact, we become inundated with "hidden mickeys" in our lives - quiet, unobtrusive symbols that nevertheless seem to find placeholders in our subconscious.
But Christ rejects all these things by overpowering them with the one true symbol of all that matters - the Cross. Here is a symbol that means persecution. Here is a symbol that means death. Here is a symbol that means transformation. Here is a symbol that calls out for us to throw our evil its way. Do your worst, it says, and I will still love you. It is not a trademark. It is not registered to a company. Its not the symbol of a corporation. Seeing it doesn't remind us to buy anything. Yet, it is more powerful than all other symbols combined. It means life everlasting - something that can't be bought or sold, controlled or released. It is something given to us by grace.
I was thinking about the pills I have to take for hypertension last night. As near as I can tell, I will probably take them for the rest of my life. They keep me alive. They allow me to thrive. It can put me into a head space that tells me that I am healthy - that my pills make me healthy. But the truth is that they are a reminder that I am sick and that I need the pills to exist. How much like pills is the word of God? I can read them and think that because I read them, I am healthy. But, in truth and love, they are a reminder that I am sick and that I need His words to exist.
I think sometimes that I know more than I do. I filter what I know through the framework of my human mind - my mind that sees importance where there is none. But I am always reminded that every little bit of knowledge I have comes from God. I can not fathom Him - but that which He allows me to understand. And in terms of fathoms, I am definitely in the shallow end of the pool.
I need those "pills" that God gives me. I need to be reminded that I am not an authority, but a fellow student. I am struggling to make sense of it all and I doubt I will ever understand.
2 comments:
Will,
I can learn from you. I always forget to take my hypertenstion pills.
Speaking of tension, I am dying to read chapter 11. I thought all the characters were very believable and I did laugh out loud a couple of times. The story moved smoothly and it kept me reading...a pager turer..I would say. Yes, I would love to discuss more but not sure if I should do so here.
My only question is: So if Rob was not the security guard OMalley was expecting, where did the real security guard go?
Okay, maybe a couple more: Did any of these security people check Rob's background before letting him see the Senator?
If he was the right guy and the only error was that he was not a security guard, why did everyone think they were expecting a security guard?
Since I work in "security" and I am prior military, these things stand out to me.
I really, really like it so far. I see the plot thickens..
No, you're right. This is not the place to talk about it. But I have a new place I'm working on. Check the side of my blog for the link, and I'll be happy to post your answer there.
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