I am thankful to God for a lot of things. My wife. My job. My house. My family. My friends. My car. Food. Liquid refreshment. Pets (I'm coming around on the yappy dog who needs to pee every ten minutes). I'm thankful the Dallas Cowboys were able to rediscover their offense for at least one game Thursday. And, of course, I'm thankful for my church, the ELCA, and even its recent decision regarding human sexuality.
The reason I am thankful for that last one is quite simple. It has forced me to think about not just this issue, but a lot of other issues as well. It has forced me to think about how I truly view the relationship between grace and forgiveness, and the letter of the law. I've had to wrestle with how the Scriptures apply to our daily lives, and whether everything is literal and timeless or some things are more temporal, or have been interpreted differently than they should have been. I know that where I have been and where I am now are two different places. And I also know that's okay. I don't agree with everyone, and that is also okay. Somehow, we are still able to live together. Somehow, God has not abandoned us.
My prayer and hope is that, as we move forward, people who disagree with one another will come to realize that not all positions are taken out of some desire to throw away God or the Bible. Perhaps we can even sit at the same table and share a meal, and God be with us. And maybe, just maybe, we can see God in each other, whether in spite of, or even because of, our disagreements. There is hope that can happen, for as a great lyricist/philosopher once penned, "The end's not the end while you're still alive."
We're still alive. There is hope for recnociliation. And where there is hope, there God must also and always be.
The reason I am thankful for that last one is quite simple. It has forced me to think about not just this issue, but a lot of other issues as well. It has forced me to think about how I truly view the relationship between grace and forgiveness, and the letter of the law. I've had to wrestle with how the Scriptures apply to our daily lives, and whether everything is literal and timeless or some things are more temporal, or have been interpreted differently than they should have been. I know that where I have been and where I am now are two different places. And I also know that's okay. I don't agree with everyone, and that is also okay. Somehow, we are still able to live together. Somehow, God has not abandoned us.
My prayer and hope is that, as we move forward, people who disagree with one another will come to realize that not all positions are taken out of some desire to throw away God or the Bible. Perhaps we can even sit at the same table and share a meal, and God be with us. And maybe, just maybe, we can see God in each other, whether in spite of, or even because of, our disagreements. There is hope that can happen, for as a great lyricist/philosopher once penned, "The end's not the end while you're still alive."
We're still alive. There is hope for recnociliation. And where there is hope, there God must also and always be.
