Sunday Morning in Tucson

There's a whole discussion thread waiting to happen based on your last post. Was Descartes on to something? Does our ability to ponder our own existence imply something beyond the thinking other creatures may do?

The book "Case for a Creator" made much of "self-awareness," and how that was yet another brick in the wall of evidence for our having been created. I was something less than persuaded by that chapter. But that's probably because the thinking in this realm is somewhat abstract, and that's not my strong suit. But it does strike me that our ability to think about our thinking is somehow significant.

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I spent much of yesterday unpacking boxes and putting together various things my wife had purchased that required assembly. The simple shelving systems were easy -- a few screws and it was done. The office chair was a different matter -- portions of that assembly were quite difficult. And the two-drawer filing cabinet was positively challenging, made doubly-so by instructions that were not well written. I'm amazed that Office Depot sells those things in an unassembled state ... I doubt the average consumer would be able to navigate the process. I didn't notice or ask, but I would imagine Office Depot sells "assembly services" to have the things put together.

Thank goodness the products our company produces require no special skill to assemble, configure or use, huh? :-)

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You wrote:

Should I be doing something other than repenting?

That's a very interesting (and complex) question. The Bible seems clear that repentance is a necessary first step to salvation, but it also makes clear (but less directly) that repentance is not the only response.

One of the challenges comes from really understanding what repentance is. This is where I struggle ... I'm aware of my sins, I even feel remorse or sorrow over having comitted them, but do I have a true change of heart so that the very thought of committing the sins again is anathema? Sadly, no ... or, to be more precise, not in an enduring way.

Sidenote: Interesting ... dictionary.com has the following exposition on the word "repentance." This is taken from "Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary."

Evangelical repentance consists of (1) a true sense of one's own guilt and sinfulness; (2) an apprehension of God's mercy in Christ; (3) an actual hatred of sin (Ps. 119:128; Job 42:5, 6; 2 Cor. 7:10) and turning from it to God; and (4) a persistent endeavour after a holy life in a walking with God in the way of his commandments. The true penitent is conscious of guilt (Ps. 51:4, 9), of pollution (51:5, 7, 10), and of helplessness (51:11; 109:21, 22). Thus he apprehends himself to be just what God has always seen him to be and declares him to be. But repentance comprehends not only such a sense of sin, but also an apprehension of mercy, without which there can be no true repentance (Ps. 51:1;130:4).

That's interesting for two reasons: 1) that dictionary.com would have such an overtly Christian exposition on their site; and 2) that a dictionary from 1897 would be chosen to provide the material.

So I'm wondering ... maybe the question isn't "Should I do something other than repent?" But rather: "Have I truly repented?"

I can only speak for myself ... sometimes I have my doubts.

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Let's assume true repentance has occurred ... then what? Go back to Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary: "... a persistent endeavour after a holy life in a walking with God in the way of his commandments."

All manner of things pour out of this:

• "persistent endeavour" -- daily, hourly ... constantly
• "holy life" -- without sin, to the extent we are humanly possible
• "in the way of his commandments" -- as provided where? The Bible.

Please ... do not think I am preaching at this point ... this stuff is no less challenging to me than to anyone else. I see what the author of that sentence was trying to convey. I do not pretend to fully comprehend it or practice it.

But still, there's an interesting thing here -- in the Christian faith the "persistent endeavour" is a response, not a solution. In other words, one strives to "be holy" not because it itself brings salvation; rather, one strives to "be holy" as a loving response to He who has granted unearned forgiveness.

I'm always struck by our -- humankind's -- tendency toward legalism. I wonder what it is in our makeup that induces an attempt to work towards and earn things on our own? In a larger sense I suppose that's a very good thing -- absent that basic tendency, we would all sit around looking for others to support us, right? But when it comes to Grace from God, there seems to be a fundamental stumbling block -- we (or, I should say, many) find it very difficult to simply accept.

Again, I write all this not from a high horse, but from the position of a many who faces the same struggles.

And on that note, we depart for church.

We attend the 8:30am service ... that's worth 20 points towards our daily salvation quota; the 10:00am service is only 10 points. :-)