The Arm Of Man Or The Arm Of God.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

An excerpt from a conversation with my wife.

Donna: So, let's say God has given us a commandment that we don't understand. I think we are supposed to live it now even if we don't understand or live it when He does.

Pete: Back up one step farther...
If a person tells me that God has given him a commandment for me I first must find out if that person is even qualified to make such a claim

Donna: And that is were we differ. I have found a church that has done that for me.

Pete: So all I need to do is tell you that I'm a man of god and you'll believe it?

Donna: Pete...

Pete: I'm not being flippant but you are talking in circles...
Follow me for a second:
My point was... you should question the source.
Your point was... I don't have to question the source because the source tells me I don't need to question.
Did I get your point wrong?
What about when the claims conflict? How do you resolve that?
What about when the church doesn't have the answer to the question?

Donna: I wait. I get an answer myself.

Pete: From where?

Donna: From my Heavenly Father.

Pete: What if the answer is actually in a dictionary or encyclopedia or right under your nose?
Do you still go to God?

Donna: Yes. Who came first, God or the dictionary?

Pete: Well, if I need to know how much lumber to order, for example, I'm a lot better off with a tape measure than I am fasting and prayer.

Donna: How about both?

Pete: Why do I need more answer to the question when the question is answered?

Donna: Because that answer is man-made. One person's perception is not another's.

Pete: I'm not talking about matters of perception. I'd much rather know what something really is than what I feel or think it is.

I can perceive that there is water on the horizon but it is much more useful to know that it is just refracted light, for example.
It is better for me, in that case, to alter my perception than to pretend that it is the truth. I think faith MUST be flexible for that very reason. I see faith as a "this is the best I understand it right now" sort of thing but that it has to be open to change because things can come along that clarify your perception.

So what I am to take from this is that even though I am actually better equipped to answer questions for myself than God is, I should still go to God because somehow the correct man-made answer is not as good as the irrelevant God-given one.

I think I'll give that method a try next spring when I'm building our deck. I bet that'll go really well.

"Hello, Lowes? I need 480 cubits of redwood decking material. Huh? No, I don't know how much a cubit is, that's just how much God told me to order."

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