Okay, I confess...
I used to really dislike The Message. But lately I keep finding myself reading it.
I know, I know, it's a paraphrase - not a translation - and I wholeheartedly agree it's not the most accurate thing in the world, but... c'mon, gimme a break! I'm a bear of very little brain (that's a reference to Winnie the Pooh, for those of you that are completely illiterate where good literature is concerned... ;-P), and sometimes these simplistic things are needed to get something through my thick (or was that stuffed??) skull.
Anyhow, I've been reading John's view of Jesus' time of earth lately, and I'm finding some rather interesting stuffs here.
Take a look at this:
"Jesus said, "You're tied down to the mundane; I'm in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I'm living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. You're at a end. If you won't believe I am who I say I am, you're at the end of sins. You're missing God in your lives." John 8:23,24
And this:
"Jesus answered, "I told you, but you don't believe. Everything I have done has been authorized by my Father, actions that speak louder than words. You don't believe because you're not my sheep. My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind." John 10:25-30
And this:
"If I don't do the things my Father does, well and good; don't believe me. But if I am doing them, put aside for a moment what you hear me say about myself and just take the evidence of the actions that are right before your eyes. Then perhaps things will come together for you, and you'll see that not only are we doing the same thing, we are the same—Father and Son. He is in me; I am in him." John 10:36-38
I think it's rather intriguing that Jesus Himself told them to put aside the things He had said about Himself, and focus on the evidence of His actions for a while. Isn't it a relief when you remember that He knows our feeble limitations, and that we sometimes just plain don't get it?
As a music teacher, when I start seeing that glazed look in a student's eyes I often tell them to take a step back and look at the sheet of music in another way. It's not that the facts weren't there in the first way of looking at it, but sometimes it's just too big for them, too much for them, and taking a step back and looking at it from another way makes them get it. It's not that it's right or wrong to take it in from a different angle, it's about making sure someone understands. And if that means understanding that this chord is made up of a G, a B, and a D note, rather than understanding that this chord is a G chord... well, they'll get that part later when they're ready for it. In the mean time... just play those notes, Pal. The other part doesn't matter at the moment. You'll get it sooner or later - when it's the right time. When you need to know it, you'll know it. 'Cause the simple facts are already there, floating around in your head. And it'll all come together when it's supposed to.
I love that God does that for me. 'Cause sometimes I need that. I really, really need that.
I used to really dislike The Message. But lately I keep finding myself reading it.
I know, I know, it's a paraphrase - not a translation - and I wholeheartedly agree it's not the most accurate thing in the world, but... c'mon, gimme a break! I'm a bear of very little brain (that's a reference to Winnie the Pooh, for those of you that are completely illiterate where good literature is concerned... ;-P), and sometimes these simplistic things are needed to get something through my thick (or was that stuffed??) skull.
Anyhow, I've been reading John's view of Jesus' time of earth lately, and I'm finding some rather interesting stuffs here.
Take a look at this:
"Jesus said, "You're tied down to the mundane; I'm in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I'm living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. You're at a end. If you won't believe I am who I say I am, you're at the end of sins. You're missing God in your lives." John 8:23,24
And this:
"Jesus answered, "I told you, but you don't believe. Everything I have done has been authorized by my Father, actions that speak louder than words. You don't believe because you're not my sheep. My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind." John 10:25-30
And this:
"If I don't do the things my Father does, well and good; don't believe me. But if I am doing them, put aside for a moment what you hear me say about myself and just take the evidence of the actions that are right before your eyes. Then perhaps things will come together for you, and you'll see that not only are we doing the same thing, we are the same—Father and Son. He is in me; I am in him." John 10:36-38
I think it's rather intriguing that Jesus Himself told them to put aside the things He had said about Himself, and focus on the evidence of His actions for a while. Isn't it a relief when you remember that He knows our feeble limitations, and that we sometimes just plain don't get it?
As a music teacher, when I start seeing that glazed look in a student's eyes I often tell them to take a step back and look at the sheet of music in another way. It's not that the facts weren't there in the first way of looking at it, but sometimes it's just too big for them, too much for them, and taking a step back and looking at it from another way makes them get it. It's not that it's right or wrong to take it in from a different angle, it's about making sure someone understands. And if that means understanding that this chord is made up of a G, a B, and a D note, rather than understanding that this chord is a G chord... well, they'll get that part later when they're ready for it. In the mean time... just play those notes, Pal. The other part doesn't matter at the moment. You'll get it sooner or later - when it's the right time. When you need to know it, you'll know it. 'Cause the simple facts are already there, floating around in your head. And it'll all come together when it's supposed to.
I love that God does that for me. 'Cause sometimes I need that. I really, really need that.
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