(I am quickly realizing that this excersize is much more helpful for myself than for "The Author," aka "Columbo," aka "my buddy Jay.")
First, a couple of thoughts from the comments on chapter 1:
I agree completely with the conclusions drawn from the two questions. Yes, we would certainly act differently if Christ were physically present in our homes every day. And yes, the scripture teaches that God is with us in a very real way NOW. What we should be asking is this: What is the MOTIVE behind how I spend time with my children each day and the activities I choose for them?
There are a few specific influences listed in chapter 1 to get the reader started in evaluating their children's daily activities. "Playing with friends" is one, for example. This could easily fall into the negative OR postive category, depending on the choice of the playmates. So some influences have the potential to be postive OR negative. But what about another example, "riding the bus"? Just riding the bus seems...neutral. Unless, of course, you consider WHO the child is riding beside. (There are actually some of us who think it is ridiculous to wake a four-year-old at 5:30 to catch the bus at 6:20, so they can ride around for an hour, sitting next to whomever they choose, or whoever chooses to sit beside them.)
Kevin pointed out physical necessities at possible neutral influences, but then there is the whole "so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31)
All that being said...do you think it is possible to draw every single thing in our lives to point towards Christ, every moment of every day, at least while we are still alive in this fallen creation? What about folding the laundry? What about riding your bike? WHAT ABOUT WORD TWIST?!?! (LOL!)
Okay, enough of chapter 1. On to chapter 2!
2 comments:
Jenny, what is possible is to be blown away by the intricacies of God's creation. Everything that we experience, taste, see and hear is something God has put his hand to. I know this because the bible tells me this is truth. Solomon is awed by how creation works:
18 "There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a maiden.
Van Til has said that there are no brute facts. That is,nothing stands alone apart from the power and purposes of God. God does not agree with truth. He is truth.
Colossians 1 says everything holds together in Christ. Proverbs 30:18-19 is another expression of this same reality. Once I see life and all that it entails as the work of God There is the potential to see God's labor in everything that I do. What could be more captivating? How can anything be neutral in God's world? You asked about Word Twist.
If I may slip into the Columbo persona:
Mrs. Hinton, I just have one more question - what could be more intricate than human language? Or asked another way, why do we have dictionaries?
Got it! Resist the temptation to compartmentalize your relationship with Christ. On the contrary, it should permeate every area of our lives.
Incidentally, the series on gaming is helping me understand where you are coming from in this same line of thinking. I usually wait for you to finish a blog series before reading so I can print it and share it with Kevin. (He has no Internet access at work and the kids rarely let him on here when he gets home!)
So Everyday Talk was put aside this morning for "Grand Theft Auto." :-) I especially agree with these statements: "Conformity to the world means at least these two points. The first point is that conformity to the world means to attempt to change the impact of the fall without the vision of creation for what things could have been. The second point is that conformity to the world means the attempt to change the impact of the fall apart from the redemptive power of Christ."
The Columbo bit is craking me up. Back in "the olden days" of homeschooling, we would rise early and go work in our family's HUGE garden while it was still cool. Then we'd come inside, clean up, and do a bit of school. If we made sufficient progress by 10:00, we snapped beans or hulled peas in front of the TV - Columbo, McCloud, McMillan and Wife, Rockford Files, and I Spy. Good memories!
As for Word Twist - it is fun, although I can't see you very well from the bottom rung of this ladder...
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