Connections

I started watching The Gospel of John and I saw the part where Jesus was calling his disciples. Now, this is done by the Visual Bible People, so the only dialogue is the actual Bible. They do, however, show visually some different things that one doesn't always have pictured in one's head. I always pictured Jesus calling his disciples, you know, at random or something. Like they didn't already know each other. In this version, it shows the different disciples connecting and getting others that they knew already. I never realized it, but it is in the text, itself:

(from John 1, NIV)
35The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"
37When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"
They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

39"Come," he replied, "and you will see."
So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

40Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter[j]).
43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me."
44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

46"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.
"Come and see," said Philip.

47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."

48"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."

49Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."

50Jesus said, "You believe[k] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." 51He then added, "I tell you[l] the truth, you[m] shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

I just thought it was neat how one goes to the other and brings that person that they already knew to Jesus. Maybe this is a pattern that many modern day Christian kind of don't realize. They just sit and wait for Jesus to do all the calling, when we're supposed to run around telling others. Hmmmmmm......

A Favourite Bible Verse

I love this verse. It's from The Message by Eugene Peterson. It sort of describes perfectly the approach we are supposed to be taking when thinking about the kingdom of God. I have been going through a lot of rethinking about my "worldview" ~ in beliefs and what they mean to my teaching and living life. Here's the verse:

Then you can see how every student well-trained in God's kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it."

~ Matthew 13:52

I've always had this approach for teaching, learning to be eclectic and learn from the old and use what can be used from the new.

Now I'm not saying that I am denying the Trinity or anything, but I'm rethinking things along the lines of postmodern thinking. Thinking about things like: What did Jesus really mean when he talked about the kingdom of God/heaven? What is hell? What kernel of truth is there in things like pluralism, etc.? I'm finally starting to 'get it' and realize what is needed. So I am reading a lot of Brian McLaren right now and I am fascinated by the conversation going on through the Emergent Village site.

Anyway, that's what I was thinking during my lunchtime today!

On Control

I have a sign that says, "God is in Control" in my classroom. I haven't hung it up for a few years, because I was just having a hard time imagining what, exactly, I'm saying when I say that. Is God at a big panel, pressing buttons, pulling levers. No, I don't think that can be true. We have this big, mechanistic view of God being at a big computer. But we don't control every aspect of the computers we work on. I don't really understand how these words get from my computer screen to yours. I use it anyway. A lot of what the computer does is automatic, even though I am involved with the computer. It would do nothing on its own. I wonder if that's what it means for God to be in control.

One of the advantages of teaching the same Bible curriculum to the same grade, grade 3, for the past 8 years, is you really get to know those parts of the Bible REALLY well! I taught the Old Testament, Genesis to about Joshua, every year. I really began to think about this idea of control especially as I wandered through the wilderness for forty years with the Israelites. I wandered with them through 8 different classes of grade 3 students and I began to understand something. It came to me in a flash one day. Something that should have been obvious, but wasn't until I went through the stories over and over again: God was not controlling the Israelites at all. He only gives choices.

I love the line God gives Bruce in the movie, Bruce Almighty. God is allowing Bruce to have His powers for a certain amount of time and gives him the ground rules. The big rule is: "Don't mess with free will!"

That's it, exactly! Throughout the whole Bible, God is stepping back and letting people make choices - to choose. This really changed how I saw my classroom. I don't 'control' the class, in fact I have come to despise that word in reference to human beings. I can't think of any good that has ever come from controlling people at any time in history. In fact, I can only think of evil coming from attempts at control. I'm involved with my class - I offer choices.

So, when someone asks me, when the kids are being annoying, wild, or whatever, "Can't you control those kids?" I really, honestly, have to say "NO!" As for the sign in my classroom? I still have it up, because it makes me think. I realized that even though the kids may not read everything I put up, I DO! And I need sayings, quotes, etc, to catch my eye and make me think carefully about what I believe. Is God in control? Somehow, I would say, Yes, He is, but God don't make no puppets, either!