Exploring the tough questions about life, faith and Christ.
A couple weeks ago I was talking to a few kids on campus and we somehow got to the topic of creation. I would try to stay away from controversial topics like this before coming to Malone, mainly because I hated when anything challenged my faith in the slightest. It’s easier to believe in something when that belief isn’t tested. Also, since I wouldn’t be trying to figure out my questions among other believers, the conversation would turn into me defending my faith if we couldn’t figure something out, which was a lot when it came to controversial topics. Finally, I hate making decisions for myself, especially when there are so many interpretations and theories about biblical stories and teachings. None of this, however, stopped our conversation about creation evolve (lol). Someone mentioned how one of their science professors, here at Malone, believe in the creation story. Another person has a theology professor here who believes in evolution. We talked about evolution, which none of us were fully convinced of, then of how there are two different accounts of creation in Genesis. I was clearly struggling to figure out what I believed and kept asking questions to everyone else, who had clearly put more thought into the topic. Someone there tried to help me make sense of it all, comparing the creation of the world to a painting, and God to an artist.
He said something like, if an artist made a painting that you loved and you went up to him/her and asked how they made it, they wouldn't say, "Well first I went to the craft store for supplies, then I began stretching my own canvas....and then on stroke seven I pulled the brush down...then on stoke 284 I sneezed as I was painting and it made this mark right here...etc." He/she would tell us the inspiration behind the painting. They would tell us why they painted it, and how it reflects who they are. We decided that the same goes with the creation of the world. God isn't going to describe the scientific process, because first off it would take forever, but more so because that is not the purpose of the creation story. The purpose isn't how the world came about but who brought it into being and why they did that. Now that we have advanced science we can try to discover the how, but the how was ever supposed to matter as much as the who or the why. This concept, that it’s sometimes about the bigger picture, applies to so many things in the Bible. This revelation about creation opened my mind and made me less confused. I still don't know what story, or theory, I believe when it comes to creation, but I personally don't think it matters that much. It was freeing to understand something in a way I never have before. Hopefully you’ll find peace in this exploration as well. Maybe you think the same thing you did before reading this article, though, or maybe you are more determined than ever to get answers. Whoever you are, I just want to give you two pieces of advice. One, relax. God is God. He is omniscient and all powerful; we are not. Do we really expect to understand everything that he does? Be at peace knowing that even though we don’t have it all figured out, He does. Second, if a question is really eating away at you, ask God to show you the answer. Read the Bible. Pray. Talk to people whose opinions you respect. Maybe it won’t be in the way you expect, but God will reveal himself to you. Even if you don’t get all the answers, hopefully you will feel the freedom I now have in not knowing. :)
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Hannah. She was a woman of faith, mother to the prophet Samuel. We read her story in 1 Samuel 1 & 2. For years she went before the Lord, crying out for a child. Her husband was not enough to satisfy this deep craving of her heart. In her longing, she did not run from the Lord, she took her pain and wept bitterly before him. Only when she was surrendered enough to truly open her hands and say, not my will but yours, and promise the Lord that this gift would not be for herself but for His glory did the Lord open her womb. Because this gift could not satisfy the longing of her heart- only Christ could do that. And after she truly surrendered, opening hands and giving the child back to the Lord to serve Him as a priest, Hannah bore five more children. The Lord did not forget Hannah's faithful heart. This piece by Kara Brathwaite gives us a glimpse into the anguish, longing and surrender of Hannah's heart. |
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