On the interview trail, you travel by yourself. For anyone who hasn't traveled by themselves, its a different experience. Its not like being at home alone all day. Yes, at home alone you are in a companionship vacuum, void of all interpersonal contacts, but you're not "in" the world. When you travel by yourself, you are out "in" the world. Your around thousands of people, yet no knows you, you likely won't ever see any of them again... it feels so different. Right now I'm in a coffee shop. I've spent hundreds of hours in coffee shops in Oklahoma, but never have I felt so separated from the other "strangers" in the shop. It feels different. Maybe I feel invisible, or inconsequential. I could do or say just about anything without worrying about ever seeing these people again. Another unique thing about traveling by yourself is time, quiet time, with God. I take with me a stimulating book on Christian thought. CS Lewis's "The Problem of Pain." As I read it, pondering... on this moment as an island in the streams of the hectic world. My mind now clear. Heart open. Open to the Spirit of God. After receiving deep conviction through the Holy Spirit, God now has time to reply to my prayers.
Often when I return home after my solo journey, I feel I returned a different person. Different from the man I was when I left.
So what was my conviction, my revelation? CS Lewis was talking about the shame you feel after committing a terrible sin, and how this may actually be a closer representation of our true self than how we think of ourselves normally. He spoke of how those rare and isolated incidents are not really rare occurrences. They occur frequently, in the remote corners of our mind... but rarely make their way out into action.
Sin is not unlike a fish that jump out of the water. The fish (sins) are actually there all the time, swimming around in the water (our mind), while under the water, we rarely see them... when we do its but a short lived and distorted glimpses of what lies beneath. We don't really give much thought to the sinfulness of our thoughts. Whether we think ill towards one of our brothers or sisters in Christ, or think lustfully about a beautiful woman, or even fail to "rejoice" in all circumstances as the Bible tells us we should do. Yes, we are only human, how can you expect us to mind our thoughts to that degree? Isn't it good enough to just mind our behaviors? While man judges by actions, God’s word says he judges by our hearts.
Do you think Christ had impure thoughts? Did he looked at some young woman who was showing off her cleavage and thought about her lustfully? I'm going with, no. He most likely felt compassion for her and wanted to heal her wounds. He saw all of her wounds, grievances, insecurities, fears, and anxieties and he wanted to heal her. He wanted to make her whole and give her life everlasting.
Our task: become as much like Christ as we can, through a renewing of the mind! 36 hours prior to this revelation, I said to God, "God, convict me." and he did. Now I pray, "God, transform my mind." He answers prayers you know.
Often when I return home after my solo journey, I feel I returned a different person. Different from the man I was when I left.
So what was my conviction, my revelation? CS Lewis was talking about the shame you feel after committing a terrible sin, and how this may actually be a closer representation of our true self than how we think of ourselves normally. He spoke of how those rare and isolated incidents are not really rare occurrences. They occur frequently, in the remote corners of our mind... but rarely make their way out into action.
Sin is not unlike a fish that jump out of the water. The fish (sins) are actually there all the time, swimming around in the water (our mind), while under the water, we rarely see them... when we do its but a short lived and distorted glimpses of what lies beneath. We don't really give much thought to the sinfulness of our thoughts. Whether we think ill towards one of our brothers or sisters in Christ, or think lustfully about a beautiful woman, or even fail to "rejoice" in all circumstances as the Bible tells us we should do. Yes, we are only human, how can you expect us to mind our thoughts to that degree? Isn't it good enough to just mind our behaviors? While man judges by actions, God’s word says he judges by our hearts.
Do you think Christ had impure thoughts? Did he looked at some young woman who was showing off her cleavage and thought about her lustfully? I'm going with, no. He most likely felt compassion for her and wanted to heal her wounds. He saw all of her wounds, grievances, insecurities, fears, and anxieties and he wanted to heal her. He wanted to make her whole and give her life everlasting.
Our task: become as much like Christ as we can, through a renewing of the mind! 36 hours prior to this revelation, I said to God, "God, convict me." and he did. Now I pray, "God, transform my mind." He answers prayers you know.
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