Secondly, the idea that God is the creator and in Him all things hold together has struck me. So the things of earth are His. And we, as Christians, don't need to wait on the sidelines to pursue excellence in the areas where God has gifted us. There are only two distinctions between vocations. There are things which are morally wrong for Christians, easiest example is probably being an owner of a strip club. Not sure if that one would go over very well when you had to give an account for your time spent there. But other than some of the obvious morally defunct industries in the world, I believe we have much more freedom than we think to serve God in the world. I mean is there really a difference in God's eyes of being the pastor of a 10,000 person church and working in management for a huge oil company? If both people are being faithful, then can we really pass any type of judgment on either person? When confronted with a question like that my instinctual answer is easily no, but in reality and action I seem to favor the pastor job being more in God's will than the managerial job. We say it all the time that God needs people in the professional world but when it comes to thinking we might pursue one of those, we instinctively think we're in the wrong. This at least has been some of my experience. But there is incredible freedom in seeing the world as God's creation and the pursuit of excellence in these fields gives God glory and also places us somewhere where we begin to use all of the person God made. God calls us to surrender our entire being to Himself because He needs all of us to accomplish what He dreamed up for our lives before we took our first breath. He has a compelling vision for our life whether it be big or small that has to consume our efforts and energies, because then why else would He create them. Yes there is patience and we are not guaranteed to work somewhere that utilizes our gifts, but lets begin to flip the paradigm. No longer are we scared we are going to pursue the wrong thing. No. We're a redeemed people attempting to join Christ in the redemption of the world through God's kingdom coming into ours and our lives are a part of that. So we listen to God, we think about what passions and call God may have placed in our life and we move forward as He leads, not in fear but in hopeful anticipation and if in the process we need correction, then it's a good thing He pays attention and will correct and make our path straight.
Also, leading an examined life. I make so many assumptions and live mindlessly a ton. Not that everything needs to be a deep, well thought out choice, but I've seen so many more of my decisions need to be. For example, how do the movies and TV I watch affect my assumptions about life? How often have I sat in front of the TV and taken intentional notice of what assumptions and beliefs are being espoused by the popular TV shows or movies I watch. I know many people are ahead of me on he curve here, but this is just the tip of the iceburg. Do I eat fruits and vegetables in season or are they flown halfway across the world so i can eat like a king anytime I want to? These are kind of low hanging fruit examples but there are so many others when you begin to really question your world and everything around you. What are the presuppositions that people that people live with? When someone claims something, what are they basing that off of? When someone says something what are the actual consequences brought out by their logical conclusions tot he end of the argument? How does a secular society affect our worldview? What was our country actually founded upon and is there value in the democratic experiment the founders took on? Why are reality TV shows popular? More importantly, how do I communicate the truths of God to people who are tiered of hearing religious stuff but are starved for truth? Does watching violence affect me? Do I support artists and what does art do for humankind? How does imagination work? And how is the mind so much larger than the body? Why do we fall into comfort? Why do we lose our passion for life? Only a few are able to keep their hopes and passions burning as hot or hotter over the years. Instead, time and chance happen to all and hearts grow cold? Why is Mumford and Sons such an incredible band? Is it because of the content of their music or the form of their music?
Lastly, the idea of attempting to understand and interpret the Old Testament as Jesus and the Apostles did. After Christ, Paul preaching everyday in Rome at some point for years in a row... This sums up to thousands of hours of teaching, solely on the Old Testament because the New Testament wasn't together yet. So their understanding of Christ and who He was in context to the Old Testament, in addition to them being Jewish mostly, must have been quite profound and deep.
That's all for now, fun thoughts,hope they spark some interest
