It seems like everyone in my School of the Spirit class is hard at work on our second projects. I have finished all my research, but I haven't written the paper yet, which is not great, because it's due next Thursday.
One of my classmates is writing a paper on Jesus, and she sent us the following questions:
- Who is Jesus in your life?
- What does it mean to you to live a Christian life?
- What one thing would you say to people to describe your relationship with Jesus?
It took me a long time to respond. And when I did, it was scary, because I knew the answers were not the "right" ones. But they were real. Here they are, with links to some of the Bible verses that led me to believe these things.
Who is Jesus in your life?
Jesus was a young man of incredible faithfulness and courage. He was an introvert who was called to speak and lead; he sometimes lost his temper, but he always learned from his experiences.* He did not know the future any more than any other person; that is to say, it came to him in bits and pieces. And even when he knew what was going to happen, he still lived up to the measure of Light given to him.
Jesus was a young man of incredible faithfulness and courage. He was an introvert who was called to speak and lead; he sometimes lost his temper, but he always learned from his experiences.* He did not know the future any more than any other person; that is to say, it came to him in bits and pieces. And even when he knew what was going to happen, he still lived up to the measure of Light given to him.
What does it mean to you to live a Christian life?
What one thing would you say to people to describe your relationship with Jesus?
I don't feel that I have a relationship with Jesus like some of my friends do. I admire him, but we don't hang out. I experience God through the Holy Spirit, and I think those experiences are similar to the experiences of others who have a more personal relationship with Jesus.
*With thanks to my friend Janie, who pointed this story out to me.
My experience is that deadlines focus the mind. You didn't ask but I am also holding you in the Light.
ReplyDeleteIf these are real connections for you, then they are right! Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteWhen Margaret Fell “cried in her spirit to the Lord" with the words, “We are all thieves” in response to Fox's challenging, “..and what thou speakest is it inwardly from God?” she made, I believe, a powerful declaration of a key truth that is central to Quakerism – namely that it our 'God experience' that matters, not our belief in theological propositions about the nature of God and ultimate reality. We can know God “experimentally” (by repeatable experience) but we cannot comprehend God because She 'passeth all understanding'. When we are led we are guided by apprehend truth not comprehended facts. I’m happy that you shared your “wrong answer” which certainly speaks to my condition.
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