Each one of us has unique stories to tell about how we got to today from yesterday. These stories explain who we have been, who we are, and where we are going. Here are some of mine.
From One Beggar to Another
In the shadow of the cross
Think of Jesus spending his early years as a displaced person. Think of Paul, a used-to-be-Pharisee, nursing his wounds from his old comrades as he went to the next city.
This came home to me yet again as I prepared a Webinar for The Mission Exchange last week on leadership during chronic crisis. I presented the idea that our standard Western way of seeing crisis was that it usually was a discrete event surrounded by peace, if you will. "Homeostasis, crisis, treatment, homeostasis." The Chronic state of crisis in the world today, from my perspective, shows that this is not the way it is. It now seems "Crisis, attempt to recover interrupted by new crisis, attempt to recover interrupted by new crisis, etc." People don't have the same opportunity to recover. So what happens is the norm becomes the crisis. How do we live well in these times?
Perhaps Glenn's perspective that scriptures were created out of persecution, by the persecuted, for the persecuted, opens up a whole new level of understanding and resource. Seek to be content in the discontent. Struggle on in the struggle. It's Friday, but Sunday may not be here for a few weeks. Or something like that.
As for me, I am trying to look at the scriptures from this vantage point. Can I wrap my western psychological mindset into this new perspective? I hope so, because there is so much to learn, and so little time.
(Interested parties can soon visit The Mission Exchange and review my Webinar broadcast. There are some details that need to be worked out. This is a free service of The Mission Exchange member organizations. There is a charge for others.)