Saturday, September 22

a random conglomeration of thoughts...that don't go together...

what goes into understanding people? sometimes i wonder why it is so easy for us to misunderstand others so easily. we speak the same language. we come from the same culture. but sometimes it's as though we were totally different species. signals get mixed, lines get crossed, and someone ends up getting hurt. i hate it.
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quote from j.i. packer's "knowing God":
What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we set ourselves in life? To know God. What is the 'eternal life' that Jesus gives? Knowledge of God. 'This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.'
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one of the things i have been thinking about recently is the archbishop of uganda. i will never be able to express the admiration i have gained for this man. i also do not think that anyone reading this or listening to me talking about it will be able to truly grasp the sincerity i speak with regarding him. the first day of our neal conference at school a woman named mindy belz, who is a writer for world magazine, was sharing about her time with the archbishop and describing the situation that surrounded her meeting with him. the first sentence she said stuck in my mind and i haven't been able to get it out, even before i ever met him. she said "glory was etched on his face." i didn't know exactly what that looked like, or what it meant, but i thought it was a beautiful description of how someone should be able to describe us as Christians. now that i've met him, i totally understand what that looks like. the archbishop has the ability to make the Christian faith simple, as though anyone could do it. i think most of the time Christians are so caught up in doctrinal issues that we forget faith can be so simple. God is. and God can. and God does. vague, yes, but how beautiful a truth is it when it’s all you need to hold on to? those things…those are all that matter. and when Jesus is the center of someone’s absolute being, it is absolutely beautiful to see. the truly phenomenal thing about the archbishop is he is so transparent. you can see from first glance that the only thing that matters to him is the Lord and the furtherance of his glory. i want that. i want people, christians and non, to be able to look at me and SEE the face of Christ. i always said that before...but now that i know what it looks like...it's so much more of a goal to look forward to.
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you know that feeling where it could either go towards depression or deep thankfulness...? that's where i'm at right now. i think i'm gonna go read my bible....

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