Sunday sermons

[bladespark]

I used to post these all the time. I thought I might try and get back into the habit, though I doubt I'll manage to post one every single Sunday. Just whenever something from church particularly inspires me to thought.

I'm posting this unlocked, and I ask that whether you agree or disagree with my views, that you please keep things civil in the comments. I'm normally very private about this sort of thing, and I'm giving you guys reading this a lot of trust by posting it for you all to see. Please don't abuse that trust. As Thumper's mother said, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."



There was a lesson at church a few weeks ago, about revelation, and the teacher said "God speaks to all men." Now "men" here doesn't mean "males" it means men in the sense of mankind, of all humanity. And I was thinking about this idea, that God speaks to everyone. I don't think it's a commonly held belief. I think most religions teach, or at least assume, that God speaks only to some certain group of the chosen. But I really do think that God speaks to all of us.

Some of you are probably going "But God has never said anything to me." Well, in the Gospel According To SPark (which is most of the stuff I post, this is always my opinion, not any kind of official doctrine) there are two reasons for that. One was addressed by the same teacher with the quote "God never uses a floodlight when a flashlight will do." Ie. He's not going to descend from on high with a chorus of angels to tell you something that He can say with a little spark of quiet inspiration in your heart. I think many of those moments of small yet profound wonder that we experience are from God.

The second reason we don't always hear God speaking to us is because we don't want to. Do you think, if God spoke to you, that He'd say "You're right about everything you believe, and you're doing the right thing in everything that you do, you're perfect, just carry on as is"? Yeah, no. God always calls us to be better than we are. Even if you're Mother Theresa or some other saintly, devoted, godly sort, there's always something you could improve. But God doesn't force that on us. If we don't want Him to call us to be better and kinder and less lazy and more inspired, then He won't. We have our free will, and how much God we want in our lives is entirely up to us. Though even those who reject God completely aren't rejected by Him, I think. I think He still sends them those moments of wonder, because in the end what God wants is for us to be happy, fulfilled, and accomplished people, who live up to our potential, and who reach out to those around us and help them as well. So within the limits that we ourselves allow, God does what He can to help each of us be that sort of person.


And on the subject of reaching out, I'm opening this post up for question asking. I tried formspring once, but I never did get any questions. :) Not "popu-fur" enough, I think. But anyhow, you can ask questions about the little sermon there, or about my religion, or about me personally, my business, my art, whatever. Any question you like. All questions are guaranteed an answer, though no answers are guaranteed to be the answer you hoped to get. :)

Comments

[wolfmare.livejournal.com]

Weird thing is, when I've gotten that feeling, I end up spending a little time almost talking to myself... "Okay, why am I here? There's no reason to stay. But, I should stay. I don't know why, but I have to stay here."

I've always followed it though, and it always proves to have a reason.

I have no idea what happened to that girl after the fact, but I have a feeling me being there made a difference in a good way.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Considering how glad I was to have somebody who knew what they were doing on hand until the ambulance got there, when I got run over by a mad cyclist (dunno if you know that story, I ljed it, but it was years ago) if nothing else you probably reassured her and kept her from having panic on top of her shock.

[wolfmare.livejournal.com]

I've dealt with both humans and animals in pain... I always slip into the same tone of voice, very calm and soft, but still sort of commanding their focus and attention. It's kinda hard to explain, but it keeps them more calm as well. Even animals seem to realize, I'm there to help, and that it will be alright. That, and I know from experience, you *can* focus through some pretty bad pain if you have something to keep yourself focused on.

And no, hadn't heard the story, although now I'm curious.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

It was back when I was going to college in Utah, before I moved to Oregon. I was crossing a cross-walk on campus, (the kind with a stop-light for the cars even!) and all the cars had stopped like they should, but a guy on a bicycle who was going down hill apparently decided that stop lights weren't for bikes, because he just zoomed right through, and hit me straight on.

I did an actual somersault from the impact and landed on my head and shoulder, after which things get a little bit blurry, since, you know, I'd just landed on my head! But half a dozen of the other students who'd been crossing too came over, and one of them was a nursing student, so she knew what to do, while somebody else called an ambulance to come get me. (Shortest ambulance ride ever, the hospital is across the street from the university.)

I didn't end up with a concussion, but I did have a HUGE goose egg, and had a really hard time thinking clearly for the next couple of weeks, not to mention being in a ton of pain. They gave me some opiate-based pain killers, and after the first one that I took right when the doctor gave it to me I didn't take any more, I don't like the "I'm not running my own brain" feeling they gave me. I walked home from the hospital (I lived about four blocks from it, so it wasn't far) which turned out to be kind of stupid, I felt just about dead when I got home, but after that I healed up pretty well.

The guy on the bike had stopped, and asked if I was okay, but after just a minute or so he said he wanted to go clean up his skinned knee, and he vanished and didn't come back. The campus cops caught him loading his bike into a car, so he got charged with a hit and run. They didn't make me go to court, but I got a notice about it, that I could go and testify if I wanted to, but I didn't care. I gather he was in pretty bad trouble as it was.

His insurance company paid me $700, which they said was the standard for how much I'd been injured. The insurance guy seemed really concerned that I might try and sue them for more, but I felt strange enough just taking the money they gave me. It is so weird to me that injuries are quantified in dollars like that. It's a strange society we live in. But anyway, that's how I bought my first computer, I'd always just used the family computer before that.

So now you know. :D

[wolfmare.livejournal.com]

Amazing how there is almost always someone at the site of such things when they're needed... After the wreck my best friend from school died in, I was strapped to a bed in a St. Louis trauma ward when they finally told me he'd been pronounced DOA... And of all the people who could have turned up, one of the janitors came in to clean and found me in tears. And then she actually sat and talked with me for a few minutes, in between me bawling my eyes out.

And... it helped. Maybe she didn't have the training to help me medically, but at that point the pain I was in physically wasn't the worst of what I'd been through.

There's a song I used to listen to as a kid, over and over again... The chorus is what really hits home:
"I believe there are angels among us,
Sent down to us from somewhere up above.
They come to you and me in our darkest hour
To show us how to live
Teach us how to give
To guide us with the light of love."

Perhaps that's along the same lines as the floodlight/flashlight idea... Why send down something with wings in pretty robes when there's another human right there, ready and willing to help when it's needed? Maybe most wouldn't think that to be heavenly intervention, but I kinda think it might be.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

*chuckles* There's a song from my childhood that goes:

I once saw a statue of Jesus without any arms.
I said to myself, what a crime, how can this be?
The answer was carved in the marble,
At his feet for all to see.
It said, "He has no hands but yours."

Same kind of idea, I think. (The song in question was part of this Mormon 80s Hair Pop album that's frankly kind of hilarious, but still has some good stuff.)

[wolfmare.livejournal.com]

Actually, that does sound like an interesting song. Kinda demented in a way, but then what 80s music isn't? But, it definitely has a point.