Truthfulness in Language

Within theology (and English!) certain words and phrases have a particular meaning. We can't change the meaning of those words to suit our 'edgy' writing one moment and then re-define them when questioned to avoid appearing outside the bounds of orthodoxy or our confession. Certain groups of theologians are fond of doing just that. Through obfuscation and equivocation they hang on to their confession or claims to orthodoxy by the thinnest of threads. But confusion and double-speak are not the mark of clear biblical teaching.   

Lookng Forward to It

Many times when I am struggling with difficult circumstances in life, I find it very helpful to look forward to good things on the horizon.  Right now I'm taking advantage of some vacation time that I've been looking forward to.  But when our life seems to be swirling out of control it becomes obvious that there is nothing else to look forward to in this empty life. These difficult times afford us the opportunity to turn our minds to things above where we can find true hope of a better life.  In Christ we have already begun this better life but when we think of heaven we are looking forward to the fulfillment of what has begun in seed form now. 

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Romans 8:23-25

I've written a list of the specific things I hope to experience in heaven after the resurrection.  I was reminded of this list when my brother-in-law sent me a link to a choir singing the Hymn "Praise My Soul the King of Heaven." I hope to explore each entry on this list individually in future posts.  The thing hoped for is first and the counterfeit or opposite is in parentheses.

The Unconcerned Traveler

There were two men sitting on a plane in the coach section. One of the men simply sat in his seat enjoying the ride. From time to time he would listen to updates of the estimated time of arrival. Once or twice this man even looked at his ticket to make sure he was on time and on the right flight.

The other man kept looking around and pushing the button to get a flight attendant. After pushing the button a few times he had a pillow, a blanket, two bags of chips, and a can of soda. He even stuffed the plane magazines into his carry-on. Eventually he got up, trying to look as un-suspicious as possible, and walked to first-class and sat down in an empty seat.

The first man was so surprised at this behavior he could hardly believe it. He went over to the other man’s seat and noticed that all of the magazines were gone and there were crumbs everywhere. He looked in the magazine rack and saw that the man had left his ticket in it. He grabbed it and walked it up to the fellow in first class.  As he walked through the plane and looked at the ticket, he noticed that the man was not even on the right flight! He handed the tickets to him and said, “did you know you are on the wrong plane?”