Before I post any further blogs, I would like to remind my readers of the purpose of my blog. Sometimes I feel a sense of arrogance or even righteousness in what I am expressing, my thoughts ideas or beliefs, this however is not intentional. I apologize for any haughty overtones that may be interpreted in my writing. My message is sometimes presented as an imperative, or even as urging advice. I would ask my readers that in reading my posts they keep their minds open, read with imagination but also with a discerning eye. Sometimes I try to convey more than one thing in my writing, sometimes it is layered. I also noticed that my posts lately have been religion or faith based. I am not here for the purpose of proselytizing, if in my writing it incites one to delve into their religion or Christianity, then good for them. As a Christian I know that we must share the word of the Lord and in a sense be missionaries. I am a growing Christian, and I have much to learn. I am not prepared yet to proselytize. I am here however to share my journey with you as a person who is is cultivating the soul. I post things that are important to me, things that stir me, things I wonder about, things that are beautiful. I try and share my love of learning, and this world with others. Right now this blog is my choice of medium for my art. I would hope that my writing not only helps me reflect on my thoughts and the world, but that it may also give something back to the reader. I realized that I felt a sense of pretense or a feeling as if I was preaching when I started thinking about the things I write about. It is easy to talk the talk but can I walk the walk? I can post my ideas and how I believe things should be approached, my only concern is that I must practice what I proclaim. In a sense I sometimes get scared that one day I may fail when the Lord puts me to the test. This feeling can be understood in reading Job. The reason for my mentioning of Job is that Job, is a person in the Bible, who was blameless and upright in the Lords eye. Job was blessed. Satan however went to the Lord and said, if the Lord were to instill fear in him and take all he has, that he would surely curse God. The Lord then said to Satan, everything is in your hands but do not lay a finger on the man himself. “Naked I cam from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised (Job, 1:20). Job endured yet a second test, the angels and Satan came to God. God spoke to Satan you incited me to ruin him without reason, yet he is still blameless and upright and shuns evil. Satan then replied, “a man will give all he has for his own life. But Stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones , and he will surely curse you to your face.” Job 2:4 the Lord then replied to Satan, “very well then he is in your hands, but you must spare his life.” So Satan went on and caused Job all sorts of pain. Still he did not curse the Lord, but the day he was born. Jobs friends tried to reason with him and make him confess his sin. They believed that there had to be reason why he had been such misfortune. They failed to acknowledge that suffering does not always serve the purpose of punishment, and therefore upright people, innocent people too suffer. Where Job did sin however is in his self righteousness, in refusing to accept that harm happens even to good people, and challenging God for doing what he did. God is almighty and powerful. A creation, cannot be more pure than its creator. For reasons unknown to us, for reasons we cannot understand, things are done for a reason, and our comprehension cannot encompass Gods reasoning in his actions. What is to be taken from this then is that I hope that the day I am put to the test, I hope my faith will be strong. That I may remember that I am blessed, because “blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.... blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, blessed are the meek, blessed are the merciful (Matthew 5:1-13). So as a reader I only ask of you one thing, to read, reflect, and if anything moves you, whether you agree or disagree, to please share with me your thoughts. I have an appreciation for dialogue, and when people express their ideas or beliefs and back them up with reason, logic, a story or even the heart, it allows us all to learn a bit more about this world. I am not here to preach, even thought I have considered ministry, I am not here to advise you on things; as I said I am on a spiritual journey and taking time to care for the soul, I merely share my thoughts and ideas with the audience for the sake of self refection, dialogue and that if a reader can ever relate, may they find some comfort in my words.
