"I have discovered that hard [modern] people do not expect Christians to be perfect. They do not throw it in our teeth when, individually or corporately, they find less than perfection in us. They do not expect perfection, but they do expect reality; and they have a right to expect reality, upon the authority of Jesus Christ."
That was from Francis Schaeffer's, "The God Who is There"
I'm realizing that reading is part application. If the reader
rests his eyes on each word in a manuscript, he has not
read anything. That's not even step one.
The first step is comprehension. The understanding of
the ideas, philosophies, and images that are being communicated
in the work. I'm pretty good at that.
The second step is consideration. Comparing the ideas
to what is true, or what you claim as true and then making
a valid assessment. Mulling it over.
The third step is application. Concluding your thoughts that
have been sieved through step one and two. The acid-test.
What knowledge have you gained?
When I encounter passages like the one above, I will not
yell "I've got it" until I hit step three.
Christians have problems as well as the unsaved. Christians suffer. Christians strugle in that suffering. What's more is that the Bible's presupposition in challenging Christians to grow is that they have flaws that need to be fixed or abandoned. I've seen the unsaved recognize hypocrasy in the child of God who cleaves to his flaws instead of excersizing his faith.
Not perfection, but, by God's grace, progress.
Thanks, Ben.
Posted by: timf at October 26, 2004 01:05 PM"...and going away forgets what manner of man he was..."
Looking into the perfect law of liberty, whether it is drunk from the Source or from a channel of the Source, requires change. It is to easy to continue being thirsty.
Thank you for the edification.
Posted by: Benjamin at November 12, 2004 09:55 AMPlease note: Comments will not appear immediately. Your comment will appear upon approval by the blog's editor. We had to implement this to decrease the amount of spam that our site receives. Please forgive the inconvenience. We are looking into other, friendlier options.