Spiritual Ponderings

But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy . (Revelation 3:4) A main theme that seems to run like a strong thread throughout Revelation is the idea of worthiness. But the concept of worthy can mean different things depending on what is valuable to the one looking on. Is someone worthy because they are worth a lot? What makes us thing they are worth something? And how much does it take to exclaim that someone is worth a lot or that they are worthy? We assign worth to people based on how much net worth they have accumulated. We generally mean that they have amassed a fortune financially so they are worth admiring to some respect. But we also know that just because a person might be rich does not mean they have a character worthy of admiration. In fact, the richer a person is often brings with it some suspicion on the part of many that maybe they acquired thei...

God stands with us in solidarity when we are abused. He says that He identifies with the weak, the exploited, the poor, the disadvantaged, the abused, the helpless, the victims. This gives us hope, at least when we believe we should be identified as being in at least one of these categories. But then a problem arises. What do we believe solidarity should involve? How do we want to be defended? What do we actually have in mind, what do we want to see happen when the Almighty, most powerful being of the entire universe chooses to identify as one of us, the disadvantaged and abused? As we encounter the radical teachings of Jesus relating to how we are to relate to our abusers, do we begin feeling uncomfortable with how God intends to defend us? Do we prefer that He come to our rescue in forceful ways rather than the apparently weak ways that Jesus used when He was here on earth? Do our own desires for revenge, for settling old scores, for getting even with our exp...

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Unlike many Christians who are so fond of this most famous verse in the Bible, I have struggled all my life to make this text connect for me meaningfully. As a result I have felt like an inferior Christian, almost a turncoat in the midst of so many who seem to have a better appreciation for God than I seem capable of feeling. I have tried for years to grasp the true meaning of this verse only to repeatedly have compulsive questions and doubts spring up in my heart that challenge the meaning of this verse. I can see that many of these doubts emanate from my early years of living with hidden inner terror of God. A number of years ago when I first was introduced to the method of inductive Bible study which revolutionized and revitalized my personal times of devotion with God, one of the first passages I chose to explore ...

It is starting to appear to me that there are only two classes of people – vulnerable and exploiter. What I am seeing throughout Scripture are descriptions of various interactions between these two classes and God's revelation of how in the end the vulnerable will win. And when I get to the gospels I discover the most vulnerable person who ever lived. Of course this is completely backwards to my normal way of thinking, but that is because we live under the systems of power based on the supremacy of the exploiters. But God declares that it is the meek who will inherit (not conquer) the earth. And Revelation is exposing to me how this will all take place. Let me analyze the relationships between these two classes to see what might emerge. Exploiter encounters another exploiter and sees a rival to conquer. Exploiter meets vulnerable and creates a victim. Vulnerable meets an exploiter and feels fearful (normally). Vulnerable meets another vulnerable and sees potentia...

In the beginning, long before this world was created, there was Love. In this love was intense joy, gladness to be together which is the very definition of joy. One reason that we believe there are three persons in the godhead at the center of this universe is because selfless love inherently requires at least three to allow love to fully exist. The very nature of giving and receiving cannot be fully healthy unless there are three involved, for with only two love has the potential to become self-serving. True love is naturally expansive, so in order to increase its capacity for joy, Love – the original Three who are the very embodiment of love – began to create other beings so as to make room for the expansion of the joy that they shared with each other. As they created, the very design of all creation had embedded within it the principles reflective of the reality that makes up their love. These principles that govern how all things operate and interact has one...