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klsiegel320Point to Ponder: It's all for him.
Verse to Remember: For everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory. --Romans 11:36 (LB)
Question to Consider: Where in my daily routine can I become more aware of God's glory?
Very Celtic chapter, this. Very Celtic idea, too - that absolutely everything can be done in awareness of the Divine within and around it and us. The Celts had prayers for building the fire in the morning and banking it at night; for carrying water; for doing the laundry; for milking the cows.
They had this attitude even before they encountered Christianity, and when they accepted Christianity, they practiced it in the same way they had always practiced their religion - in the day-to-day activities that made up their lives.
I think perhaps where I can become more aware is when I'm doing things I don't necessarily enjoy, like when I'm stuck in traffic or grinding away at something deadly dull at work. It's easy to feel the presence of God in singing, in cooking, in cuddling my cats or my husband. It's much harder when I'm sitting here coaching a silly-ass consultant through something a seven-year-old could learn from reading the directions...
Yet even there, God is. Even there, I have the opportunity to be patient and kind, and to be aware that this person who is making me crazy is also a child of God, and no doubt has a right to be here, no less than the trees and the stars.
But it does get difficult, sometimes.
Verse to Remember: For everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory. --Romans 11:36 (LB)
Question to Consider: Where in my daily routine can I become more aware of God's glory?
Very Celtic chapter, this. Very Celtic idea, too - that absolutely everything can be done in awareness of the Divine within and around it and us. The Celts had prayers for building the fire in the morning and banking it at night; for carrying water; for doing the laundry; for milking the cows.
They had this attitude even before they encountered Christianity, and when they accepted Christianity, they practiced it in the same way they had always practiced their religion - in the day-to-day activities that made up their lives.
I think perhaps where I can become more aware is when I'm doing things I don't necessarily enjoy, like when I'm stuck in traffic or grinding away at something deadly dull at work. It's easy to feel the presence of God in singing, in cooking, in cuddling my cats or my husband. It's much harder when I'm sitting here coaching a silly-ass consultant through something a seven-year-old could learn from reading the directions...
Yet even there, God is. Even there, I have the opportunity to be patient and kind, and to be aware that this person who is making me crazy is also a child of God, and no doubt has a right to be here, no less than the trees and the stars.
But it does get difficult, sometimes.
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comments/my two cents worth
Date: 2003-03-24 02:59 pm (UTC)Thus lies the crux of one of the major problems I have with Christianity (I take it back there are a couple of points at LEAST about this I have a problem with...)
1. him.... I disagree with the masculine definition fo the divine... it excludes half of us... I also feel that goddess religions go too far in the other direction.
2. it's ALL for him...- what's all for him? It makes a lot more sense to say s/he made it all for us to enjoy while we are here... Otherwise why is there such beauty to observe, music/wonderful sounds to listen to, wodnerful variety of things to eat, variety of things you can DO or BE with your life....
For everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory
1. again with the "his" and "him" *lol*
2. I can agree that everything has come from the ONE- the source of all things, a divine essence that we all hold within us as well as sense in everything around us...
Question to Consider: Where in my daily routine can I become more aware of God's glory?
Awareness of the world around us and others is a HUGE part of living deeply.... I guess if I replace God with the divine every time I see it I won't have quite so many issues huh? :) Glad you're posting this so we can ALL see them!
Re: comments/my two cents worth
Date: 2003-03-25 10:38 am (UTC)One is that I think use of any gender pronoun with reference to the Divine - unless one is referring specifically to the person of Jesus - is attempting to put God in a box. That said, we need some kind of language to talk about Divine, even knowing that we risk putting Divine in a box when we do that. Madeleine L'Engle, in some of her writing, invents the pronoun "el" to refer to Divine, since it is neither masculine nor feminine. It's a neat idea, but it sometimes gets clumsy, and sometimes is less than euphonious.
Also, there are many feminine images of Divine found in the Bible, if one knows where to look. God is compared to a hen gathering her chicks under her wings more than once. Also, the words usually translated "Holy Spirit" - ruach and shekinah - are feminine, in Hebrew. Not that there was an idea of "goddess," necessarily. It's pretty clear that the ancient Hebrews were vehemently opposed to the goddess religions they encountered. But their idea of Divine included both masculine and feminine characteristics.
As to it "all being for Divine"...I think Divine is an incredibly creative being. I think all that exists IS created for the pleasure of Divine - because I think even our enjoyment of the beauty that exists gives pleasure to that which made it.
You should know, also - the "point," "verse," and "question" are quoted from the text of the book, which is why I haven't altered the language for inclusiveness. I try much harder in my own writing to be less exclusive...I think it's the only way to discuss matters of import with tolerance and generosity. I don't always achieve that, but I do try...