Spiritual Ponderings

To love someone openly and actively involves making yourself vulnerable to them to a great degree. Conversely, when someone loves you they choose to increasingly make themselves vulnerable to you. This invokes the issue of trust which in Scripture involves not only the word faith but the word worthy . To be worthy in Scripture usage means being trustworthy. This is key for grasping a fuller understanding of many passages in the Bible. The Lamb who is honored by anthems of soaring praise in Revelation is considered to be of ultimate worth. Yet this worth is not a worth based on economic considerations as we tend to measure things, but rather is a worth involving trust. The slaughtered Lamb of Revelation has won the confidence of the entire universe because He has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt by His own example, teachings and experience that God is fully trustworthy. The very foundation of God's government and the security of the happiness of the entire...

If you choose to put your lips to the fruit of that tree, it will prove to be the kiss of death for you. (Gen. 2:17 paraphrased) The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. (Genesis 2:25 NIV) The biblical understanding of nakedness refers to the condition of being vulnerable. It is no coincidence that humans were originally created naked and vulnerable, for that is how God intends all the universe to operate throughout eternity. Without vulnerability it is impossible for true love to even exist or thrive. Genuine, intimate love requires willing vulnerability, transparency, honesty and openness in order for love and trust to thrive and dominate. It is no coincidence that the very next verse introduces a sinister element into the story transpiring in the Garden of Delight (the real meaning of Eden) where our first parents lived in complete vulnerability and joy. The sneaky snake, the crafty, diabolical serpent of old referred to in Re...