God sees things differently
Every day we’re asking four questions about part of the Bible. Today Bern Leckie answers:
What did I like about today’s passage?
I love that in the Gospels, through Jesus, I can start to see the world from God's point of view. The shocking thing is how this can be so different from ours. I'm sure the Pharisees thought they were doing a great job showing respect for God through traditions, but only God could see the difference between loving traditions and loving him.
The idea that evil comes from the inside, rather than the outside, is life changing if we engage with it, and it turns religion on its head, but it's not easy. There is still the big gap to address between our point of view and God's. I really love the bit when Jesus is talking about the number of baskets of leftovers, like it should be so obvious what's going on there. Like someone famously said about their quiz show, "It's only easy if you know the answer…”
What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?
God has so much more in store for us than we can understand, and while it's good to get our heads around things, God is more concerned that we engage with him and learn along the way rather than try and impress him with all our great scholarship and traditions.
What am I going to do differently as a result?
Keep more alert to what God is trying to show me through life today, especially when it comes to my reactions to stressful situations - these vary a lot depending on how much I'm trusting God.
It’s also very liberating in cross-cultural conversations. Too often I get caught up in “mine versus yours” when we talk about different viewpoints. Being able to share about how I’m learning from a very different point of view requires humility, but it’s a more faithful representation of faith than trying to defend, explain or excuse “my” culture and history. I want to get better at sharing the experience of learning from God with others.
Who am I going to share this with?
This is going to be part of how I talk with believers and others about God in our school community.