Does It Matter ?

 

I propose that it should and does! 

 Some of you may have heard of the expression: " God-shaped void " So though I am not a philosopher nor a theologian  nor a physicist in the professional sense....

Here are  my thoughts. 

What is a God shaped void?  Since we all experience lack, how do we satisfy that scarcity? Since basic politics is about providing everyone with happiness (in part ) how do we achieve that? So, since we all live on this world, how can we satisfy the wants of us all? Is that even possible? How does someone fill it up without God?

Filling it up with God, how does that work ?  Which begs the question, does God even exist? 

These are Big Questions that many ask.

 

 Eventually everyone asks these questions while they live and move and have their being.

 

Of course,many of you,ask is there even a God ? When many are taught that the Universe " helps." What was  once a fringe belief,now it is in many persons' belief systems in Western cultures. Even existing in traditional Eastern cultures! 

 If an impersonal ( consisting of 'suns' or stars unlike ours ) but apparently infinite universe " helps?"  How do we realistically know or measure that help ? Was it just plain chance " dressed "  like that lucky break movies portray  or the universal " help " one rarely but we may encounter ?

Where did the universe come from anyway ? What makes a person believe that the " universe " can help ? How does a cosmos filled with galaxies ( trillions of them ) "help " a tiny backwater rock and water planet like our earth?  

Are we alone? Are we being watched ?Are there any alien civilisations, when the SETI project had not detected even a real or intelligent signal amid the  vast noise of the cosmos?

Does it matter? 

In a world where individuals are monumentally, more important, aren't we over-prioritising the  outer space we are surrounded by, to a futile degree? 

 

These are legitimate questions for us all.

Getting from a dismal,bleak existence to a vibrant, whole and purposeful life-journey isn't necessarily easy.

Life on our watery planet can be hard and its hopelessness is evident in  a myriad of ways.

 But if you are wise and determined to break through the harsh reality of dire circumstances oft encountered. You can. But as you move through  your journey, the more you invest in others, the more likely you find your life lifted from your own challenges. 

 

So how are we lifted ? 

 

This comes from a sense of purpose, by reaching out to the strangers and others in need who are our ( divine, as some say )  opportunity to find meaning and hope. Don't delay in investing, seeking and supporting others in the domain you travel daily.

Something like a smile shared to a random act of kindness to a  charitable and mindful event for some in need.

Getting back to my original theme, a

a void is a synonymous expression for the emptiness in the middle of our psyche, mind/ body or soul. If many reckon that most live a desperate life on our tiny planet, how do we transform that into a environment that evolves most or better,lifts, most from a poverty of satisfaction into a meaningful surfeit of a life shared by  billions  enhanced by love, untroubled spaces and prosperity!

 

But 

Isn't this a socialist Utopia or a communist/ capitalist dream? Like isn't this just the Chinese utopia that Xi JingPing appears to be developing? We have heard about or read about other places and times, utopias have been tried.

 

What do you think? 

Here is where You can comment,provide your alt view or say you agree. Please do? 

 

                                                            xxxxx 

                        

Can we fill a void or emptiness with things?

Yes! We can and do. 

 

It's believed that is-- according to the Bible-- when we were created, that God created a God-shaped emptiness in us!

 

 A void that only He can truly occupy. 

Of course as humans, we fill our internal void with things, like material goods, money, fame, power, position, sex- worship and a host of other like things 

 

But only God will truly satisfy. I believe that. And when God is present in a  knowingly yet realised way, in your life-journey, all fragments of your life catalyses into wholeness.

 

Here is when you can present your alternative view or complete my thoughts with your own? So go on...

 

 

By Digital Anvil. 

 

                                             

The Rich Find it Difficult to Enter Heaven?

Bible passage: Luke 18:18-29

Key verse: "Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!’” v24

 This teaching is an interaction at the other end of the social scale. Here is a wealthy ruler seeking to know what it takes to be acceptable to God.

 

 This guy would be a great recruit; he would be on the top of the list for any organisation looking for new members. The conversation Jesus has with a wealthy and influential man is opposed to His interaction with poorer others from a previous post.

 

The inquirer asks how he can be certain he will inherit eternal life. Jesus gives the answer any rabbi of the time would have given, that is to follow the two great commandments. But that wasn’t enough, the wealthy ruler wants more information and greater certainty.

Jesus then makes one of the better known statements of the Bible - “sell everything you have and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven”.

This is a challenging statement, the questioner leaves unhappily because he was very wealthy.

 

Jesus then says “how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven…easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle”.

 

These words need to be taken in the context of all the Bible says about money and how we are saved. But the key point is that our wealth is very likely the greatest impediment to our trusting and serving God.

Prompt: Hold your possessions lightly; follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

Share this daily- reading.

Grateful for your wisdom,Karl !

( Agreed: Digital Anvil )

Sinners vs Self- Righteous:

Luke: 18:9-14

Bible passage: Luke 18:9-14

Key verse: "But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’" v13

Jesus wants to respond to the spiritual arrogance and self-confidence He sees around Him. To make this point He chooses two different people who go to the temple to pray.

The first is a pharisee. The pharisees were very focused on living holy lives and going the extra mile to be people God would be pleased with. They even tithed (gave one tenth to the temple) the herbs in their garden - which seems extreme by modern standards. The upside is they were very aware of how they tried to honour God in every part of their lives. The downside for them and, if we are honest for us as well, is that they were arrogant and self-righteous. That attitude is expressed in the pharisee's prayer.

The second to go to the temple was a tax collector. These were businesspeople who did a deal with the Romans to collect taxes on behalf of Rome. They were known to be both collaborators with a foreign power and unscrupulous in their collection of taxes. This man in the temple was in no doubt where he stood before God. “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”.

This is our challenge today, that we seek to reflect the values of God in every part of our lives, yet when we come before God our prayer should be - “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”.

Please share this daily- reading.

Many warm thanks to Karl Faase.

( Agreed: Digital Anvil.)

Bright Shining: (The Book)

This book is my discovery of the left-wing treatment of biblical Grace! The Author is a left-leaning Writer and Journalist.

This particular book I first  noted at a local library,which I subsequently 'lost' and forgot completely about in the exigencies  of normal life.

Meaning I --as you can see--re-discovering it after a 2 year 'loss'.

Today I''ll commence reading this  remarkable and intriguing longer 'essay'.

 

by Digital Anvil. 

Broken Wings: (My Wife's Favourite Song )

 

Broken Wings 

My Heaven- Living Wife Favourite Song was Broken Wings by Mr Mister!

When she used to sing along with this song, she sang it to me. She was the broken wings...

 

 

Broken Wings 

 

Tap or click the above link for song. 

God is Good Forever Good 

Hands Too Full:

Hands Too Full

Fifteen hundred years ago the great church leader Augustine made this wonderful statement:

"God wants to give us something, but cannot because our hands are full - there's nowhere to put it."

There is a great deal of truth in this simple statement. God has promised to fill our lives. It's not just that God wants to give us eternal life, He wants to give us a fulfilling life now... but our lives are so full: full of activity, full of selfishness, full of pride, full of desire for more and even full of pain and resentment.

Perhaps we need to reassess our lives and lay some stuff down so God can deal with us. We need to put down our need for control and self-centred living; put down our need to acquire, to prove our worth, put down some of the grudges we hold and learn to forgive.

Most importantly, we need to put down the actions in our lives that we know are wrong. Who knows what God may do in our lives if we give Him the space and the time to act?

Share this daily-reading.

Thanks for my friend,Karl Faase.

(Agreed: Digital Anvil)

 Sex? ( Is that What it Boils down To)

 

Is there sex- selective abortions happening in AU ?

There appears to be some concern.

I could be wrong,lets hope...

By Digital Anvil.