The death of Elvis Presley ought to be a reminder to us all that wealth and fame cannot satisfy the soul. Presley apparently was searching for meaning despite these things, with tragic results. I have to agree with Pastor Tom that life and life's riches are fleeting and that we need to search for permanence in those things that transcend this life.
I even agree that we should live our lives for the glory of God. What I want to know is exactly what Tom means when he says that the Word of God shows us how to do that. The reason I ask is because he and I seem to read the book differently. I certainly don't think that simply talking about how God has forgiven my sins and saved me to be a sufficient description of living my life to the glory of God. Faith without works is dead, so if people don't see my faith in what I do then I haven't lived my life to the glory of God.
I'm not saying that Tom wouldn't agree with that, but he and I might disagree about what actions should flow from faith, or at least the priorities. In part, I think the differences would come from our understanding of what constitutes the Word of God. The Bible is a human document and shows the limitations of being a human creation. The Word of God is living and real in a way that goes beyond words on a page. I believe that the only way to find God's Word is to "listen" for it among God's people. This is on-going work because God is still speaking.
Blog you later,
Pastor Ian
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Live the Word?
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2 comments:
Interesting. Can you expand on the difference between the "Word" and The Bible as a human document in response to God. I think this is a "Lynch-pin" in this discussion. Pun intended.
Good point. I should probably give the topic some further thought and blog about it at CD. In a nutshell, my reaction is to keeping the "word of God" limited to what is found on the pages of the Bible. If Jesus is the Word made flesh and he died but yet lives, then doesn't the Word of God still live? And I don't mean just our reaction to the words on the page but our on-going relationship with Christ. I'm not attempting to fully explain this idea here, I'm simply trying to react to the limitations others place.
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