So many times I have realized how much easier it is to read from the New Testament sometimes opposed to the Old Testament. Sometimes it feels like the New is more applicable than the Old but as I have grown older, I have found this untrue. Plantinga says that “the stories of the patriarchs, matriarchs, and their kin (they are some of the best stories in the Bible) tell of doubt and faith, of strife and reconciliation, of lying and cheating followed by repenting and forgiving.” When I read this, I thought of King David, the Israelites, Hosea, Jonah, and many others. There are many stories to learn from and gain true wisdom from. The God in the Old Testament is the same in the New Testament too. Both of them are needed if we want to gain more wisdom and truth.
A quote that struck me was “sin traps people and makes them wilt; godly obedience liberates people and helps them flourish.” I could not help but think of a rose. Everyone has seen a beautiful rose that is open and ready to take in all the sunlight that it can. It desires to let its beauty be seen and its aroma smelled. But then one has also seen a dying rose that has no desire to go on with life and face a new day. How sad. It truly is freedom to follow Christ and we gain it by obedience to Him. Plantinga also says that everybody truly does want freedom and liberty, but “everybody wants it on his own terms. But salvation does not work that way. God doesn’t save people and then cut them loose to do what they want, because without the guidance of God ‘doing what we want’ is a recipe for falling right back into slavery.” Without God to save us is like a rose that has no sun or water to help nurture it.
One thing that I do appreciate about Plantinga is that he does bring a new perspective to Biblical ideas. For example, I know that I am not perfect but I do serve a God that is. Yet, today in class it was mentioned that Plantinga has a poetic way of writing and that is true. When he is talking about atonement, I was struck by what he said and how it was worded because I had never thought of it this way. “Why was atonement so necessary? The reason is that we human beings can’t atone for ourselves.” We truly can’t. Though we try, there is no way that I can because Jesus was the perfect lamb.
Great metaphor with the rose. It is a beautiful image to think of Christians as flowers. When we stay with Christ, we flourish, when we begin to fall away, we start to fade and droop. We need a community of believers around us to tell us when we are fading and to motivate us to grow closer to God again.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you used a rose for your example. I can just see it blooming in the sun and then I can see a sad rose quickly drying up and dying. Jesus gives us that sun and water we need to be a rose that will never wilt. We may be cut from the initial rose bush of society but he places each one of us in a special place where we will blossom and grow to the best of our ability! Really enjoyed reading your post! Love the little illustration.
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