Sunday, April 18, 2010

Every Blade of Grass


Andy and I spent this weekend at Wheaton's annual theology conference. We have gone to various sessions in the past but decided that this weekend would be one worth investing in. The title of the conference was, "Jesus, Paul and the People of God; A Theological Dialogue with N.T. Wright." For those of you that know my husband at all, you will know that he might have a little bit of a man crush on Bishop Wright (not to mention he really likes his theology). Knowing this myself, and hearing little bits and pieces about this theology of Jesus, Paul and the kingdom of God, I endeavored to read Wright's Surprised by Hope. Although I didn't get completely through the book before the conference, I was glad for what I had read and it helped in deciphering some of the lingo that was used over the past two days. As I listened to different speakers, and as I reflect on it now, I am beginning to like more of what I hear from Wright. However, upon opening my Bible this morning I realized that I may be going through a huge shift in all I have ever known.
I am realizing that the way I read Scripture is probably going to change. I no longer want to read it, seeking to understand only what I can glean for practical purposes today. The Word is so much more than that. It is a specific text, written for a specific people, with a specific purpose. I want to understand more of what that purpose was. Now, I am not saying that we can't take away anything from the text for practicality today, just that it isn't the whole point. Scripture is so much bigger than I ever understood it to be.
The same applies for how I view Jesus. I have thought about Jesus and have understood him to an extent. However, I am beginning to see that Jesus is so much more than who I have boxed him in to be. A truly historical Jesus is most likely nothing like the man that I have pictured in my own head. He is someone far better.
And then there is the view of the kingdom. I am only just begin to grasp what it means to talk about the kingdom of God; to understand what it means to talk about the kingdom being here now and to understand what it means to say that creation is being redeemed slowly, over time. I do know that creation is groaning out, crying because it knows things are not as they should be. One day, God's glory will consume the earth. Every blade of grass, every wave, every rock will radiate with the glory of the Lord. As I seek to understand more fully all of these things, I cling to the hope of God's glory, to the hope of redemption.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Two Things

Most days, my mind is consumed by one of two things: our baby and finding a job for Andy. For those of you who don't know, we have decided to pursue a path of bi-vocational ministry in a church in Westmont, IL. We find ourselves in a place of believing that our church's funds can be better used to share the love of Jesus with each other and the community around us, than by paying full-time pastors. This has left us with the task of finding a job for Andy that is not a full-time pastorate position (as we had originally planned at the beginning of seminary). We have found this task to be draining and quite defeating. Although we have only been searching for a couple of months, it seems like an eternity. With thousands of people out of work, it has proved to be almost impossible to get a job. We understand and trust that the God of the universe knows our needs and intends to fill them the way He sees fit, but my belly isn't getting any smaller and soon we will have to care for another little family member. We earnestly covet your prayers as we seek to remain faithful to the calling we have received.