Monday, October 20, 2008

SSU October 20, 2008

NAS Jeremiah 15:19 "Therefore, thus says the LORD, 'If you return, then I will restore you-- Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, But as for you, you must not turn to them.'"

This is the theme verse for St. Stephens University. They have dedicated themselves to the extraction of "the precious from the worthless." Extraction is an interesting word. It implies a mingling, a mixture, in need of separation. It seems (at least from the verse as rendered in NAS) that the precious can be found in or among the worthless. Our ability to find the precious in or among the worthless and extract it determines our readiness to be His spokesperson.

Perspective is everything. However, it can only be found in returning. "If you return, then I will restore..." SSU has become a place of restoration for me. The film of society accumulates by layers upon the lense through which I see. St. Stephens has become a place of cleansing, where the varnish of the culture can be wiped from the windows of my soul and God's perspective can again be clearly seen. Yet a cleansing, though vital, is not enough. It must be accompanied by a desire to see for yourself. The old adage is certainly true. Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to see and guide him for a lifetime. It's not that I have never been able to see, but I feel like I am learning to see all over again.

I heard today that scientific advancements usually occur when someone discovers a new way to look at a problem. A new paradigm. A new perspective. We become so used to looking at things from the same angle and the answer continues to elude us.

My journal entry yesterday: "I'm not sure getting the right answers is as important as asking the right questions. In some ways, getting answers brings an end whereas asking questions is always a beginning, initiating a search. I think this emphasizes the fact that it is the journey and not the destination that is most important. Answers (which I am certainly not against) tend to be destinations and questions tend to be journeys. Arriving at a destination often leads to a sitting down, an end to activity. They (answers) stop the process...unless answers lead to more questions and the destination leads to more journeys."

Quote for the day: "The mystery of the gospel is this: it is always the same (content), and it is always changing (the container). In fact, for the gospel to remain the same, it has to change.
The old, old story needs to be told in new, new ways. In fact, one of the ways you know the old, old truths are true is their ability to assume amazing and unfamiliar shapes while remaining themselves and without compromising their integrity." Leonard Sweet Aqua Church

"If you return, I will restore...if you extract...you will become..."

So...the journey continues.

2 comments:

Kim Gentes said...

great thoughts danny.... "questions, not answers"..

you are sounding more like Dan every day...

:)

I mean that as a wonderful compliment, of course... give them all a big hug (if they know me) ...

come back with some part of God's questions for us buddy.

Kim

Worthless said...

Provoking to say the least, Danny. This challenges me in a good way. I know a lot of worthless people.  God doesn’t know them like I do, somehow he sees preciousness. I suppose I can’t speak on his behalf because that requires truth to be spoken and only truth can be spoken to something precious. With that being said I suppose that all that really is visible is preciousness, it’s me that that sees worthlessness. Through His eyes I guess and not my own.

I like your view on questions, answers and journeys. Gives me a sense of hope. Keep seeking the truth, keep moving forward, and keep the momentum. I gather that untimely ends up in “return” which solves my fear of restoration.  Which one day allows for the spokesman in me to speak out...

Peace.

Brian.