Life = Worship
Yesterday afternoon I went to visit Rebecca Sauder (wife of a summer term teacher at Faith Builders) in her apartment. Before very long her husband Jonas came along and we engaged in an invigorating conversation about Christian life.
The idea of separating the sacred from the secular aspects of our lives is apparently a Greek idea (as per Jonas). As Christians we should not attempt to intertwine them, but should rather regard them as completely inseparable - which would actually eliminate the secular entirely. The whole of our lives is an act of worship.
Whatever I enjoy may be an indication of a good way I can serve God. Some people enjoy working with their hands, and can worship God in that way. Others of us enjoy working with their minds and can worship God that way. There is a place for both because each demonstrates some aspect of God - neither should be left by the way side.
Mennonites tend to be very practical people. This is good to a certain extent, but they may often take it too far. If an activity does not accomplish something good that can be visualized, or if they cannot see how the activity will spread the gospel, they may tend to downplay its value. This is especially true if it is engaged in as a full-time occupation as opposed to a pastime. Take, for example, scientific research that is not aimed at curing any particular disease; painting a landscape; or investigating a mathematical theory. We often miss the inherent value of "thinking God's thoughts after him." A great way to experience part of who God is, a great way to develop a love for the good which he has created, is to experience the beauties (visual, auditory, and scientific) he has created. We know we are to love God - but that should go beyond an abstract view of a spirit. God's creation (including scientific and mathematical laws) communicates a bit of who he is. I'm not advocating pantheism - God is not nature - but we should recognize the Creator's attributes in nature. Consider the Fibonacci numbers, the order of atomic and crystalline structure, etc. Knowing about those things may do very little to end world hunger, they may not be the crux of the gospel message, but that's really okay.
(The above ideas must be maintained in their proper balance. We can follow a life of worship through creating art and music that mirror God's attributes. Thinking with Francis Schaeffer, however, we must be careful lest our pursuit of such becomes humanistic. It is incredibly important to grant meaning from God to the particulars created on earth - otherwise we could end up "[worshipping] the creature more than the Creator.")
Jonas wondered what purpose some Christians would have in life if there were no more people to save. He thought their lives might seem empty. Yeah, I know we will never be faced with that on this earth, but his thoughts brought to mind some thoughts I've had in the last year or so about heaven. We will lack nothing in heaven, which suggests there will be no certain goal that we will be striving for. From where, then, for us practically minded people, will come our fulfillment? That fulfillment will come, it seems, from experiencing attributes of God in their fullest sense... Since earth is to be a training ground for heaven we should "labor" here to develop a deep love for God's attributes. When I was younger, I identified very little with verses like "O, how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day." Sure, I knew, factually, that I was supposed to think that. But to actually love God's law? to regard it as "sweeter... than honey"? "more to be desired... than gold?" I was too immature in my faith and the concept was too abstract - and I hadn't really come to appreciate (appreciate = "to recognize the quality, significance, or magnitude of" in this sentence) the opposite of God's law. It's good to have time on earth to develop more fully a love for God and who he really is.
The idea of separating the sacred from the secular aspects of our lives is apparently a Greek idea (as per Jonas). As Christians we should not attempt to intertwine them, but should rather regard them as completely inseparable - which would actually eliminate the secular entirely. The whole of our lives is an act of worship.
Whatever I enjoy may be an indication of a good way I can serve God. Some people enjoy working with their hands, and can worship God in that way. Others of us enjoy working with their minds and can worship God that way. There is a place for both because each demonstrates some aspect of God - neither should be left by the way side.
Mennonites tend to be very practical people. This is good to a certain extent, but they may often take it too far. If an activity does not accomplish something good that can be visualized, or if they cannot see how the activity will spread the gospel, they may tend to downplay its value. This is especially true if it is engaged in as a full-time occupation as opposed to a pastime. Take, for example, scientific research that is not aimed at curing any particular disease; painting a landscape; or investigating a mathematical theory. We often miss the inherent value of "thinking God's thoughts after him." A great way to experience part of who God is, a great way to develop a love for the good which he has created, is to experience the beauties (visual, auditory, and scientific) he has created. We know we are to love God - but that should go beyond an abstract view of a spirit. God's creation (including scientific and mathematical laws) communicates a bit of who he is. I'm not advocating pantheism - God is not nature - but we should recognize the Creator's attributes in nature. Consider the Fibonacci numbers, the order of atomic and crystalline structure, etc. Knowing about those things may do very little to end world hunger, they may not be the crux of the gospel message, but that's really okay.
(The above ideas must be maintained in their proper balance. We can follow a life of worship through creating art and music that mirror God's attributes. Thinking with Francis Schaeffer, however, we must be careful lest our pursuit of such becomes humanistic. It is incredibly important to grant meaning from God to the particulars created on earth - otherwise we could end up "[worshipping] the creature more than the Creator.")
Jonas wondered what purpose some Christians would have in life if there were no more people to save. He thought their lives might seem empty. Yeah, I know we will never be faced with that on this earth, but his thoughts brought to mind some thoughts I've had in the last year or so about heaven. We will lack nothing in heaven, which suggests there will be no certain goal that we will be striving for. From where, then, for us practically minded people, will come our fulfillment? That fulfillment will come, it seems, from experiencing attributes of God in their fullest sense... Since earth is to be a training ground for heaven we should "labor" here to develop a deep love for God's attributes. When I was younger, I identified very little with verses like "O, how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day." Sure, I knew, factually, that I was supposed to think that. But to actually love God's law? to regard it as "sweeter... than honey"? "more to be desired... than gold?" I was too immature in my faith and the concept was too abstract - and I hadn't really come to appreciate (appreciate = "to recognize the quality, significance, or magnitude of" in this sentence) the opposite of God's law. It's good to have time on earth to develop more fully a love for God and who he really is.
posted by Claire at 02:23
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