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Michael Oher went from the streets to the NFL because of an adoptive family
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Bart Stupak's amendment barring federal funding for abortions did pass but could be removed from the final bill.
Humility regarding what man does. Faith in what God does. That means skepticism about politicians' plans to run health care.
In her column this week, Andrée Seu explains a troubling gap between her theology and her life — that “the Bible just doesn’t reach where the rubber meets the road.” Andree also shares the insight that this year bridged that gap and set her free.
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back to top15 Comments to “The “100 percent” fallacy”
“he restores my soul,He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name sake.” Psalm 23:3
Isn’t it interesting that he guides us for his name sake? His name is on the line. It should bring us to our knees, but also give us comfort that he will keep us safe in him, correcting us when necessary. We slip and fall, but he is there to hold us up; guide us and comfort us. We can rest in him who is our Sabbath rest. We can make decisions knowing he is there and active in our lives.
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Amen KI.
Your words were such a blessing and encouragement to my heart!
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Welcome to “low” agnosticism, Andree. It’s not incompatible with Christianity.
On the other hand, Tony Blair has become a Very High Church Anglican:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/12/22/catholic.blair.ap/index.html
People are all over the map this Christmas, as they have been every since the first Christmas.
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Amen, KI and VS!
And wow, this is the best of Andree.
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It took me a long time to see that the Bible is precisely all about “where the rubber meets the road”.
If the Bible doesn’t appear to relate to your life, it is because you are “off-road” driving.
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Once again, Andree gets to the heart of it.
She seems to echo, if in a more personal way, the same things that Dan Taylor wrote about years ago in The Myth of Certainty.
For myself, I find that the desire for certainty often steps in as a substitute for a desire for confidence. Certainty turns me towards myself; confidence turns me to God — I am not confident i myself but in the One who holds my future. That confidence allows me to handle the less than perfect, the uncertainties, even the moments when I go off track.
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I find this insight comforting. I know people who think that God’s sovereignty means He has a precise plan for everyone’s life and they’d better not miss it. Sure, God knows if you’re gonna miss it, and that’s in His plan too, but you’re supposed to know precisely His “best” for you and do exactly that. If you don’t, you’re in sin, and God will forgive you, but you get His second best.
So if I marry someone I’m not supposed to marry, that man’s intended bride has to stay single or marry the wrong person. (Hey, maybe that’s why I’m single! Someone else has my man.)
I don’t think that’s the way the world works. There was a certain time period when I knew God wanted me in Chicago. I had particular kids to minister to (having my house open in the afternoon to inner-city neighborhood kids), and other things. After a while those kids grew up, and other kids weren’t coming by the house and taking their place. I felt “released” to leave Chicago. It seemed to me at that point that I could have legitimately stayed in Chicago and found new people to minister to, or I could freely leave. I chose to leave, and have been blessed in that choice. I never liked Chicago, and I’m glad to be gone. But I firmly believe I could have been in the will of God either way, staying or going. I believe that God does often allow us that level of choice, though sometimes He guides us more specifically.
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KRM – 5
EXCELLENT!
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When I was a student at Westminster in the 70s, Vern Poythress made a strong impression on me as both the smartest, and the most humble, man I ever met. Nothing since has changed that opinion. I can fully appreciate the wisdom of his comment to Lynn.
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Cheryl D – I agree with you. I don’t believe that there is a single narrow track that we must hit perfectly or else we are out of the game – rather, we have a direction to head and we will stumble along more or less on that path. If we err at any point, God will steer us to where we need to be (disciplining us as necessary).
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KRM,
I agree, too. I think what you are saying is kinda what Andree meant by “the rubber doesn’t quite hit the road” sometimes. We all get that feeling we wish we could be “really sure” we knew exactly what God wants us to do. Instead, we have to “settle for” just trusting Him 100%. That’s really better anyway.
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The psalmist says the same thing as Andree with different words:
“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.” Psalm 37:5 (ESV)
Notice who is responsible for doing what. He doesn’t always act as we would expect, but He always acts in the way that is best for us — because we matter to Him when we trust in Him.
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And wow, this is the best of Andree.
I agree. All of Andree’s material is about … well … Andree. It is labeled theology, but is really just another “day in the life of Andree”.
What is different about this article is that Andree speaks to a real theologian who talks about real theology. That is what is so powerful. I would like to see more actual theology like this in the theology section of World magazine.
The realization that God uses imperfect people to accomplish his perfect will came to me when I studied the life of Joseph in Genesis. You read about a lifetime of bad experiences that in the end were part of God’s plan all along. In the end Joseph’s brothers attempt to apologize, but he answers with: “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good”. In other words, even the evil they did was part of God’s plan to deliver his people.
God is so powerful that he can even use evil for his good purposes. How much more then can he use imperfect people like us to accomplish his perfect will?
It is this realization that allows me to serve at church, however imperfectly. If I waited until I knew God’s will perfectly, I would never serve God at all!
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12, AWSTAR, Notice the themes that surround our “committing our way unto the Lord.”
The context of verses 1-7, “Fret not because of evil doers, neither be thou envious against them that work unrighteousness. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in Jehovah and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on his faithfulness. Delight thyself also in Jehovah and he will give thee the desires of thy heart. (NOW) commit thy way unto Jehovah; trust also in him and he will bring it to pass. and he will make thy righteousness to go forth as the light, and thy justice as the noonday.” Then some of these same themes begin to repeat themselves in the following verses.
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XION,
Theology or the ability to explain the Bible in the original language?
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