Divinely Human

Just finished reading Manana by Justo Gonzalez and have learned more than expected.

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God is three in one. The confusion of the central doctrine of the Trinity is no longer confusing to me now that I have had it explained from a new perspective that gives it a new light.

There is a commonality within the Godhead that is to imitated by humanity (we were created in God's image). God did not reveal Godself as the Trinity so we could waste our time trying to figure it out and what it means. God revealed the Trinitarian nature of Godself because we are to imitate the Godhead.

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit share of one substance. In the same way humanity is to share of themselves and what they own with those around them. The doctrine of the Trinity affirms a belief in a God who's essence is sharing. A society (or church) that lacks sharing (of love, power, stuff, etc.) is a society (or church) without God.

This leads to some insight that I have gathered into the nature of the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. Another essence of God is other-centeredness. Jesus demonstrated his divinity by living a life of other-centeredness. This also demonstrated his humanity. We were created in the image of God and Jesus showed us how to live the life that we were created for.

It has been said that "God became human so that human could become god," and I agree. I would go further (or not as far, depending on your perspective) and say that "God became human so that humans could become fully human."

We were created with the potential for perfection and the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ demonstrated how to become what we were created to be.

. . . and Confusion

How is it that I can have no desire but God and still have the desire for companionship in the context of marriage?

How can one be fully committed to Christ and married to the church if one is married to another human being?

How can one love the Lord their God with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength and love their neighbor as themselves and still have enough love and devotion needed to truly be loving and committed to another person in marriage?

I desire to desire God alone but I am confused. I do not believe that God has gifted me with the "gift" of singleness despite my single status for the past quarter century. I have had my share of secret crushes but am generally able to convince myself that they are not healthy or from God. I usually reason with myself that God has great plans for these women and I should not get in the way so I fail to pursue. I talk myself out of the pursuit because they have different passions and a different calling then I do (they want to go to Latin America, Asia, or stay in the U.S.A. and do something like Youth Ministry and I do not).

Is there something wrong with me?

Am I really called to do ministry amongst Muslims or in the Middle East or am I hiding behind that so I do not have to get close to anybody?

Is it possible to desire only God and still pursue an exclusive relationship with another person? Wouldn't that be considered desiring something other than God?

I am confused.

Desire . . . .

I desire to desire God and God alone. I cannot get to that point in my life without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I desire to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love my neighbor as myself. I desire to do nothing that will hinder my walk with Christ. I cannot get to that point alone, but only in the context of a community that shares this desire.

To Build or not to Build

In previous posts I have mentioned an interest in reaching out to Muslims. It has been a desire of mine for a while to build bridges between Christians and Muslims so that we can live in harmony together. Some desires in life change as we experience more things.

The large majority of those I work with at my new job are from East Africa. A great majority of these people are Muslim and I have enjoyed talking with them. They assume that I am a Muslim until they get the courage to come ask me about my religious affiliation. I have learned that Muslims are just as hypocritical as Christians are accused of being.

They sit around smoking while talking about how pork and alchohol make the body unclean. They say they are Muslim but most do not do their prayers and admit to not doing them (a few guys do their prayers in the locker room or elsewhere in the warehouse). Most of the women who wear scarves on their head are consistent from head to toe, but a few are (dressed) Muslim from the neck up only. It is also not a rare occurence to hear a scarved women swearing.

I guess I could give in and become a Muslim and not change anything about my life.

The rest of those I work with are Orthodox Christians from Ethiopia and they seem more devout than the Muslims. I enjoy talking to them about Christianiy more than I enjoy my discussions with Muslims.

In my discussions with other Christians I realize more about myself. I have toyed with the idea of instead of running from the American church to a Muslim country that maybe I should devote my life to reforming the American church and bringing it back in line with the Gospel of Christ.

Instead of building bridges with Muslims (something I think that is still important) maybe we (I) should focus more on mending fences or better yet tearing down fences, walls, and all other barriers between different groups of Christians so that we can truly be one as Christ desired.