R
reen12
Guest
I have been thinking, today, of the importance of straw.
What I have noted, over a lifetime, is the occassional
misunderstanding - that takes the following form:
“If X disagrees with my views, then X is ignorant of
some of the truths that pertain. If I point out where
X is lacking in knowledge and understanding,
then all will be well - and the truth will be acknowledged by X.”
I often wonder if others pause, for a moment, to consider that X,
on occassion, may be more cognizant of the claims of their faith -
and that which those claims are based on - than the one who holds the views.
That verbal thrust and parry is not particularly conducive -
as a function applied - in spreading the good news.
That the use of ad hominems has no place, in the life of one
who professes faith in Jesus.
I think that the question to be asked, at the end of each day,
is not how many unbelievers were in my ambit, and how
brilliantly I put forth the “truths of the faith.”
A more trenchant question, at the end of each day, might be
“Was I like Christ, today?”
Did I actually listen to what was said to me?
Was I in such a hurry to “correct error,” that I failed to see
the person who was “holding erroneous views?”
It was Jesus, after all, Who noted the widow and the
mites that she gave. What were His Apostles doing,
that they did not note this?
Wondering about who would sit at His right hand?
Unless and until people are seen - as the widow was
seen - by the One Whom Christians profess to follow -
feats of apologetics will continue, to little avail.
The great St. Thomas Aquinas - looking at the tomes
of “proof,” that he had produced, in his lifetime -
Thomas - having had a direct experience of his Lord,
now held his own writings as so much “straw.”
The only straw that counts, is the straw of Bethlehem,
wherein the Savior of the world was to be found. At least
that’s what Christians tell me.
reen12
What I have noted, over a lifetime, is the occassional
misunderstanding - that takes the following form:
“If X disagrees with my views, then X is ignorant of
some of the truths that pertain. If I point out where
X is lacking in knowledge and understanding,
then all will be well - and the truth will be acknowledged by X.”
I often wonder if others pause, for a moment, to consider that X,
on occassion, may be more cognizant of the claims of their faith -
and that which those claims are based on - than the one who holds the views.
That verbal thrust and parry is not particularly conducive -
as a function applied - in spreading the good news.
That the use of ad hominems has no place, in the life of one
who professes faith in Jesus.
I think that the question to be asked, at the end of each day,
is not how many unbelievers were in my ambit, and how
brilliantly I put forth the “truths of the faith.”
A more trenchant question, at the end of each day, might be
“Was I like Christ, today?”
Did I actually listen to what was said to me?
Was I in such a hurry to “correct error,” that I failed to see
the person who was “holding erroneous views?”
It was Jesus, after all, Who noted the widow and the
mites that she gave. What were His Apostles doing,
that they did not note this?
Wondering about who would sit at His right hand?
Unless and until people are seen - as the widow was
seen - by the One Whom Christians profess to follow -
feats of apologetics will continue, to little avail.
The great St. Thomas Aquinas - looking at the tomes
of “proof,” that he had produced, in his lifetime -
Thomas - having had a direct experience of his Lord,
now held his own writings as so much “straw.”
The only straw that counts, is the straw of Bethlehem,
wherein the Savior of the world was to be found. At least
that’s what Christians tell me.
reen12
