A Few Random Thoughts

It's the end of April, almost a full week after we have celebrated Jesus' resurrection.  So today I thought I would just throw a few random thoughts out here and see what may come of them.

• I've come to the conclusion that I am the kind of person that does not like to simply take someone's word for something.  Instead, I like to dig into whatever it may be, especially when it comes to faith matters.  If someone tells me 'this is the way it is', I want to know how they arrived at that conclusion.  I want to know what other possibilities there are.  Are there parts of what the Bible says that may not completely agree with what they think, and how do they reconcile that?  And I have noticed that I extend that even to matters that have been written down and studied for centuries.  I know that some may think that I am questioning the faith, but the reality is, I want to do the study and make sure that I come to the same conclusions.  I really feel that it deepens my faith, but also allows me to better understand the topic under question, and allows me to then better address people's questions, since I have likely already asked the same question.
• When Jesus says let your yes be yes and your no be no, I realize that I wish we as humans could really be that transparent.  I know that there is usually a question behind the question that I get asked, and I realize that people are often trying to discover how safe it is to ask their real question by asking another one that gauges how well I will answer.  It just seems somewhat deceitful to me to ask a question or make a statement when you are really trying to get at something else.  And the other side of that coin is that I feel flabbergasted when someone assumes that I'm implying something other than what I say.  I really do try to be upfront and state clearly what I am looking for, or thinking, or asking, and not trying to cause people to have to infer what I am saying.  Let yes be yes, let no be no.
• One area that I have discovered that I could benefit from growing in is in showing appreciation toward others.  I recognize that this is not really one of those deep theological matters, but yet, as I have been practicing this more over the past few years, I realize that a good, kind, encouraging word can often boost a weary spirit or help others to see how someone benefits the whole body of Christ.  I know that some see intentional efforts to appreciate others as phony, but I would rather have it come across that way instead of people never feeling appreciated.
• As I have been writing the various "Tension and Faith" posts, I've been led to think about where I tend to fall in each of those tensions.  I have come to realize that I not only swing widely in them from time to time, but from situation to situation as well.  I have come to believe that we often do not spend enough time in reflection to really think about why we believe what we believe, and how that impacts how we come across to others.

Thanks for listening to my rumblings and perusings.  Feel free to chime in if you agree, disagree, have questions, or have rebuttals.