Weeds

My daily Bible study today had me reading Matthew 13, which contains quite a few parables related to the Kingdom of God. One of the more well know of these parables is the Parable of the Sower (verses 3-9, 18-23). In this parable, Christ describes 4 sets of seeds.

The first set are sown on hard ground. There is no potential for them to actually get into the soil and grow, so they just sit on the surface and are eaten by birds. The second set are sown in soil which is full of rocks, and they are unable to develop a root system deep enough to survive. The third set is sown in a plot of land full of weeds which keep the growing plants from receiving the nutrients and water they need. The forth and final set of plants is sown on good ground and they produce varying amounts of fruit. As Christ explains to his disciples later on, each of these sets of seeds represents different types of responses to the Word of God in the lives of people.

Why am I bringing this up? Well, frankly it is because my life has been in the weeds lately. I don't know about you, but I think I always had this idea in the back of my mind that the weeds were evil influences, sinful desires which crept in and stole away time from God's Word. What I've been seeing in my life though, is that these weeds can be good, or at least innocent, things. If I were to get down to brass tacks, some of the weeds in my life have included work, school work, Facebook, spending time with friends and reading outside of school for my own enjoyment and edification. Everything on the list (Facebook excepted) is as a rule rather wholesome and a necessary part of living a good life. However, by letting them all overcrowd my day so that I don't have time to study the Bible, they have turned into weeds which ultimately will choke my faith.

As has been pointed out many times before, the good is the enemy of the best. Important, necessary parts of the Christian life can never substitute for its foundation. If we are not going back to the Bible and re-centering our lives on Christ and His Word, our Christian walk will fall apart. At least I know that I can't live the Christian life without Christ's grace and strength.

Praise the Lord though, there is mercy and forgiveness for sinners like myself. The fact that weeds are in the garden doesn't mean that it needs to be given back to the wild. Instead, it means that there is an opportunity to claim ground for Christ and pull them out! So, let's go conquer some weeds!

What about you? Do you see yourself in one of the sets of seeds? What kind of weeds to do you see in your life? What have you found helpful in preventing/pulling out weeds in your life? Feel free to leave a comment and join the conversation!

Why Read Fiction?

Why read fiction?

I mean, why would one want to read a story that never really took place? Couldn't your time be much better spent reading what has actually happened (history) or thoughts on how the world actually works (theology, philosophy ect.)? That was certainly my thought once upon a time. Fiction was a pleasure that I rarely let myself indulge in, because I wanted to keep my mental muscles in tone, and reading something for the pleasure of the story would only make them flabby. Fortunately for me, one of my professors at Summit Semester helped me to see fiction in a completely new light. In his book, The Everlasting Man, G.K. Chesterton sums up this new perspective well:


"We know the meaning of all the myths.. We know the last secret revealed to the perfect initiate. And it is not the voice of a priest or a prophet saying, 'These things are.' It is the voice of a dreamer and an idealist crying, 'Why cannot these things be?'"

"Why cannot these things be?" Could this be why the fictitious stories in literature touch us in a way which is uniquely different from the facts of history or the abstractions of great thinkers? Couldn't it be because we know that the would ought to be different, and that what we experience in our lives are not really the experiences for which we were ultimately made?

Further on in The Everlasting Man, Chesterton muses on what the shepherds found when they were lead to Christ on the first Christmas Day. His thoughts highlight the importance which story can have in understanding our faith:

"The place that the shepherds found was not an academy or an abstract republic; it was not a place of myths allegorized or dissected or explained  or explained away. It was a place of dreams come true. Since that hour no mythologies have been made in the world. Mythology is a search"


In Christianity, the stories are made true. The Velveteen Rabbit comes to life. The things which the idealist wishes were, really are, and are in a much larger and fuller way than he could ever have imagined. As Chesterton puts it elsewhere in The Everlasting Man: "But in reality the rivers of mythology and philosophy run parallel and do not mingle till they meet in the sea of Christendom." In Christianity we find a unity between the logical abstractions of what is true about the world and the stories which attempt to paint the picture of those same truths.

So, again, why read fiction? One ought to read fiction to shake themselves awake from the stupor that comes from looking at the broken world in front of us and trying to make sense of it. One ought to read fiction to bring out the wonder and awe which only a picture of the truth can bring. One ought to read fiction to learn what questions need to be asked about reality. As God's reveled Truth, the Bible contains all the answers we will ever need in this life. However, sometimes in our day-to-day lives we can lose sight of what we were looking for in the first place. Dipping into the search of mythology can help remind us again of the object of our search: Jesus Christ Who is both The Word become Flesh and the Truth.

That is why I read fiction.

What do you think? Is this accurate? Have I overstated my case? Could it be a more nuanced? Leave a comment and join the conversation!

An Alternative to Egyptian Poetry

I really should be working on a paper for my Non-Western Literature class. However, analyzing the literary devices used in a selection of Egyptian poems does really get me super excited. So I'm going to jot some thoughts down here on the side about something else I've been reading recently...

Specifically, I've been working on reading C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy. At this point the first book, Out of the Silent Planet, is nearly finish. Of all the lines which jumped out at me, A particular section wanted to be written up in a blog post. Before we look at the section though, a little background is in order.

Out of the Silent Planet follows the adventures of Dr. Ransom as he is flown to a different planet and interacts with the various beings found there. The ruler of the particular planet where Ransom's story takes place is named Oyarsa. In the selection below, we find Ransom sharing the history of the earth with some of the inhabitants he has met. As these inhabitants react to Ransom's recounting, Lewis nails the problem of humanity:

"They were astonished at what he had to tell them of human history--of war, slavery, and prostitution.

'It is because they have no Oyarsa,' said one of the pupils

'It is because everyone of them wants to be a little Oyarsa himself,' said Augray."

"Everyone of them wants to be a little Oyarsa himself." The temptation to be a god, to decide for ourselves what is right and wrong, has been the problem of the human race since the Fall. For most people, it appears that this is a way to freedom. After all, if you are not taking orders from someone else, you are free to do as you want, right? It certainly sounds pretty good. Good enough in fact, that every person since Adam has bit on the idea. As Isaiah reminds us: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way..." (Isaiah 53:6 ESV) 

However, this idea ignores a basic fact of human existence: we are all slaves. Paul pointed this out in his letter to the Romans: "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?" (Romans 6:16 ESV) To put it another way, the world is caught up in a battle between good and evil, and there is no neutral ground. You are either on the side of good or the side of evil. By trying free himself from the rule of good, man has only given himself over to the rule of evil. Further, as all men are dead in their sins (Eph. 2:1), they will naturally continue to choose to be ruled by sin.

In the end, this analysis, so far as it is true, leaves me rejoicing. This rejoicing stems from how it demonstrates God's love for us, and mighty work on our behalf. Rather than destroy man, He has chosen to break the power of sin and raise us back to life in Him (Eph. 2:5-6). It also leaves me with a reminder to stay humble, for it is only in God's strength, given through Christ, that I can hope to actually live a life of righteousness. Finally, it also leads me to ask if there are areas of my life where I am trying to be a "little Oyarsa." Oswald Chambers has correctly pointed out that I cannot be on the throne of my life at the same time as God.

How about you? What thoughts does this picture of the human condition bring to your mind? How should it affect the way you live?