Some quotes

So I have these two quotes that I have been thinking about a lot. The first is by Dominic Crossan:

There is no lighthouse keeper.
There is no lighthouse.
There is no dry land.
There is only people living on rafts
made from their own imaginations.
And there is the sea.

Maybe I'm morbid, but I love that prose. Sometimes life just feels that way. That the only reality in front of us is ourselves, others, and the sea that we are drowning in...though we pretend we are not (with our imagined rafts). Sometimes I wonder where is God, where are his supposed interventions, where is the safe land that everyone is looking for? We are promised a better life sometime in the future, sometime when Jesus returns...Someday. But not now. Is it just me, or am I the only one who has a big problem with that. I mean, doesn't it seem fairy talish to think that a world that is as screwed up as ours is will magically be fixed at a single point in the future?

The other quote is from Ephrem the Syrian:

O Zealous One who saw Adam
who became dust and the accursed serpent
eating
him. Reality dwelt
in what had lost its flavor. He made him
salt by which
the cursed serpent would be blinded.

Even though I feel despair and hopelessness a lot, especially when looking at the world's problems (and seeing them face to face). This quote shows me that God does have a shred of deception in him. But deception as in tricking someone, not leading them astray. Satan (If you don't believe in Satan, I want you to think of Satan as the force that divides humans and causes us to enter into a state of self-destruction) took humans from God by causing them to stumble and sin (man became dust). He was utterly destroying humanity, by causing them to kill, hate, hurt, and lie to each other (the accursed serpent eating him). But then reality (Jesus) dwelt in what had lost its flavor (humanity).

Now the last line is a little tricky. When Ephrem says "He (God) made him," who is the him he is referring to? Is it Jesus (reality) or Adam (humanity)? Whether it is Jesus or humans in general, I do think that since Jesus has come things have changed. One of the things that has changed is that the table has been turned on Satan. He thought he could destroy humans by pitting us against ourselves (and he still is), but since Jesus has come, we can have hope that there is something better. Something better here and now. We can defeat the struggle against ourselves...we can defeat Satan. But we can't do it alone...and no I'm not going to say some cliche thing like "we can do it with God!!"We're going to have to all pull together...me, God, you, others, all of us. You see God is not going to simply "poof" and we're all good to go, perfect, ever loving, never angry...like a bunch of robots. And that means (and maybe this is heresy) that God needs our help...yes God NEEDS our help. He needs for us to join him, and to learn from him through the example Jesus set. He is not going to magically fix us or change our hearts...it's a process. It's gonna take time and effort.

At least that is what I am learning in my life. I struggle with a lot of crap still, some of that crap is stuff I have always struggled with. But God slowly, but surely is changing me. I'm glad that I am where I'm at today, than opposed to 3 years ago, or even last year. The changes do not always seem to come as quickly as I would like them and sometimes they aren't that visible. But as I look back over the long haul, I see the changes....good changes.

And I know that the world is changing, and will always change. But I hope that one day, we can look back over the long haul and see changes...good changes. And that those changes will increase, and Satan will realize that every time he tries to eat one of us...he will get salt in his eyes...and pretty soon he will die. At least, those are my rambled thoughts of hope.