Well, sightless in Greenville is very similar to sightless in Seneca......or Clemson for that matter. Julie and Steven have been great hosts. Had some good Irish stew at Julie's brother and sister in law's last night. Steven brought me some more wonderful soup today. Life is good. I have been able to spend lots of time praying about things here recently and have felt strangely at peace.
It has struck me here recently how much less important sight is when you have people who love you. .....more importantly a God who loves you and Jesus who emanates every part of your life. I have been thinking a lot of Paul's word';s in Phil. 1:21 "for to me to live is Christ and to die is Gain" To live is Christ? What does that mean?
It doesn't say to live is to live like Christ (although that's part of it). It doesn't say to live is to make Christ your first priority. It doesn't even say to live is to see things from Jesus' perspective. To live is IS Christ. Now I often don't understand what Paul is trying to say. He often confuses and befuddles me. Not hard to do evidently. But it struck me how most of the time when we try to understand a verse like this we begin with the common and move to the uncommon. We all understand "to live" right? To live =common. Normal words and expressions normal people use to describe our mutual experience. It's almost as if we start, erroneously with the assumption that we know what living means. We then try to fit Christ into that understanding. Maybe what Paul is trying to do is redefine some misconceived words. Or maybe he just realizes common understandings have departed from uncommon meanings.
Christ, our Lord, our Saviour, God's Son' is in no way ordinary. He is special and unique. He is distinctly uncommon. He is often hard to understand. He is mysterious and enigmatic.........like much of like. In a sense he can't be "figured out". Yet is that what's important?
Have you figured life out? I haven't....................I've been able to answer that question in only limited ways biologically, philosophically, and spiritually. I suspect I am not alone. At some point I must have "faith" in some things about life and the one I believe gave it to me. Everyone has faith in things/people/God whether they admit it or not. What is glorious for a disciple of Christ is we put our faith in one who is uncommon in every way. To live is to believe in things that are beyond our imaginations. It is to trying to conceptualize the infinite, the eternal, and love. It is to believe in the unbelievable. I am not rambling on about make believe things. I am talking about what each of us has been given.....today and everyday. The actual tangible lives we live. It is miraculous.
It does yet doesn't makes sense that Paul would see life this way. Why did he? He does try to explain but I don't know if that's as important as knowing that he did.
Why do I believe that to live is Christ? I'm not sure I can ever articulate that adequately. Maybe what's most important is to simply affirm that I do as well.
Christ is life. I want to follow him, see from his perspective, allow him to live in me, to keep my eyes upon him be surrounded by his presence and be the object of his love. Some things can't be explained. they must be lived.
Hope you are enjoying March madness. Later kiddos.
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