Thursday, February 22, 2007
Impossible.
The other day I found out something impossible happened. Not that it actually wasn't possible, but in my mind the unlikely nature of such an event made it seem that way. I suppose it's times like this when you have the most questions, the least faith, and the greatest opportunity to show grace. Maybe grace is the impossible part; I don't yet know. How can some people screw things up so badly, even when they have so much going for them? What if the people we hold as "good" are really just the same as us and our misconceptions of them cause us to hold them in higher esteem? If they are capable of such moments of failure, what prevents the rest of us from screwing everything up? Seriously. What if we are all headed toward imminent failure?
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Goliath
Goliath was a badass. He took out a bunch of people before some lucky kid with a few rocks got a lucky shot in on him.
I don't think I really believe this, but sometimes I wonder. What if David was just a lucky kid who got in a lucky shot on an unlucky badass? Seriously, that would change a lot about my faith. Yet somehow that seems sacreligious or something. David was appointed by God to take out this Philistine giant; this Philistine badass.
Too often you hear sermons on David and Goliath, how this unlikely hero rose up and, through the power of God, was able to overcome this giant. But what if, what if in giving these sermons, they are missing the point?
There were many men who tried to overcome this tyrant they called Goliath, but just one boy was able to finish the deed. What about those men? Were they not mighty among their comrades? Would we not send in our best if another nation boasted a goliath? Certainly they were not just average men, for even attempting such a task would have been foolish. Couldn't they have been a David at some point in their lives?
When we look at the story of David and Goliath, maybe it is best to think of it differently. Sometimes, David is crushed by the hand of the bad guy. Many of the people we regard as great will be destroyed by the hands of our enemies. Sometimes, though, David is triumphant. But is it because he got a lucky shot in, or because his faith was greater than the one who challenged him and his God?
I don't think I really believe this, but sometimes I wonder. What if David was just a lucky kid who got in a lucky shot on an unlucky badass? Seriously, that would change a lot about my faith. Yet somehow that seems sacreligious or something. David was appointed by God to take out this Philistine giant; this Philistine badass.
Too often you hear sermons on David and Goliath, how this unlikely hero rose up and, through the power of God, was able to overcome this giant. But what if, what if in giving these sermons, they are missing the point?
There were many men who tried to overcome this tyrant they called Goliath, but just one boy was able to finish the deed. What about those men? Were they not mighty among their comrades? Would we not send in our best if another nation boasted a goliath? Certainly they were not just average men, for even attempting such a task would have been foolish. Couldn't they have been a David at some point in their lives?
When we look at the story of David and Goliath, maybe it is best to think of it differently. Sometimes, David is crushed by the hand of the bad guy. Many of the people we regard as great will be destroyed by the hands of our enemies. Sometimes, though, David is triumphant. But is it because he got a lucky shot in, or because his faith was greater than the one who challenged him and his God?
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