The first chapter of Engaging God’s World talks about longing and hope. As humans we all long for God, but most of the time people don’t realize that. We often think that other worldly things will satisfy us, while in reality we need God fill that longing. C.S. Lewis mentions that we are far too easily satisfied and pleased. As I read this I remembered something that Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity. He said that people always look for things to satisfy them, but no matter how hard they search, they will not find it. This could be because what we’re looking for is not in this world. This can be a proof that we were meant for something beyond this world.
I really liked what we discussed in class about dreaming. I really like how Prof. Adriana mentioned that too much dreaming will make us miss out on the present. I find this very true as I look at my own life. It seems that I’m always looking forward to something in the future that I’m not fully living it out in the present. This can occur in something as simple as looking forward to the weekend. Because I’m looking forward to that time that I can relax during the weekend, I’m not fully giving my best in the present. It’s as if I’m simply living for the weekend and try to survive till then instead of appreciate and fully living each moment as it comes. Jesus even emphasizes on living in the present in Matthew 6:34.
I also thought the idea of learning from one’s dream very interesting. Prof. Adriana told us the story about the boy who had nightmares about wolves, and his mom came over and told him to learn how to fight the wolves next time. I never really thought that it was possible to learn how to fight against temptations and hardships through dreams, but now that I think about, it could be very possible that God can use dreams to teach us and train us.
One of the most powerful quotes I found in this chapter was the one by Lewis Smedes. He said, “Keep hope alive, and hope will keep you alive.” And I believe this can summarizes my current stage in my walk with the Lord. I struggle hard to keep my faith, which is my hope in the Lord, alive, and that , in return, is what keeps me going.
Keeping focus on the present rather than our fatasized future is something that I've also struggled to keep in mind throughough my life. Especially when my life has been challenging, longing for the future to the point of dreaming served as my main form of escapism. However, we really do need to keep our mind focused on the present and learn to be thankful in every situation. God showed me that my former daydreaming was actually a manifestation of my discontent with where I was with God, which is actually extremely prideful. Overall, through the thick and thin of it we need to remain thankful and righteously hope in the Lord.
답글삭제Awhile back, one of my youth group leaders led a discussion about this topic: about the struggle between looking forward to tomorrow and living in today. One of the things he said that really hit me was that we should look at it as Hope and Love.
답글삭제We hope for the future. As Christians, we have hope for shalom, for a time when things will be "as they should be." But love is what we do now. Love is the working out in the present of a future we hope for.