Sunday, January 21, 2007

The Lucky One

Saying for the day: I can not not beleive.

IN one of the Peanut Cartoon Strips Snoopy ( a dog) says that “ Some are born dogs and some are born people. Why should I be the lucky one?”
In life there are those who have considered all the facts , gone over all the proofs, and come to the very rational conclusion that there is no God.
They see Christians as stupid, irrational, deluded people.
I know this because I read their blogs.

Then there are those like me who ran into the living God and had their lives turned upside down.
We are stuck being Christian.
God is as real to us as our next door neighbor.
We can not, not believe.
Why should we be the lucky ones?

My atheist friends think we believe because of heaven and our fear of death.
Nonsense! I look forward to heaven only because I will get to know God in a way that I can’t now.
I believe because of the joy and the peace that God has filled my life with since I moved from atheism to believing.
I will grant my atheism friends that all the miracles in my life could be just coincidences.
I will grant them I could be deluded .
I will grant them that the joy and the peace I feel might not be real.

But I can’t stop believing.
I am stuck with God.
Why should I be the lucky one?
I don’t know the answer to that question.
I just know that I am.

@@@@ News from Pigeon Falls– the little town in my garage where trains still run and the dragons speak Finnish– Tommy, the undertaker’s kid, has come up with a plan to see if Tom, the writer, is really a dragon. Tommy is going to learn a Finnish question and ask it of Tom , the writer,. He might be able to get Tom to give himself away. First Tommy had to choose the Finnish question. He decided on “Mistä sinä tulet? ( where do you come from?) Then he waited for an opportunity to ask it. That came yesterday at Nancy’s coffee shop. They were talking about places they had been and Tommy asked Tom “mistä sinä tulet“. Tom answered without hesitation “ Ishpeming”. Then Tom laughed and said I knew the Finnish that Isoäiti taught me as a kid would come in handy some day. So poor Tommy really doesn’t know anymore than he did before. He can’t just come out and say “ Excuse me sir are you a dragon?” But now Tommy is wondering if the dragon is really Finnish. Its possible, the dragon, like Tommy only knows a few Finnish words. It is possible that the dragon took the words from Mrs. Mattson’s mind. He could still be a small English dragon. Tommy is going back to reading about dragons looking for some kind of clue. Eino told him to give it up and go back to useful studies. But what kid has time for those?
Pastor Marvel preached this morning on missing God. In the text Jesus tells the assembled people that he is the fulfillment of prophecy and they still miss that he is God. According to Pastor Marvel there are those moments in life when God runs into us and we either say Wow! or we shake our heads and go on. The problem with the Wow! Is that it is the beginning of a process that will turn our lives upside down. But if we miss it we lose out. Its certainly something for the people of Last Lutheran to think about.
Nancy is having dinner out at the Old Hermit place again today. That’s two weeks in a row. Tommy, the writer, must be a great cook.
****

Link for the day-Temporarily Me- It asks the question " Are armpits attractive?" Please leave the words Dr. John in your answer.
Went to church this morning at St. Marks. It was a great experience. The pastor is not a great preacher but he may be a great pastor. They had a bell choir. At communion the common cup was held by a man in a wheelchair. It was not very practical and slowed things down but the man ' s face beemed. After the service they had a luncheon to celebrate the birthday of an older member. It reminded me of United. I like this church. In the afternoon Pennie and Betty took a u-haul truck and went and got a matress and a box spring from Peter's house. I stayed here and met the man bringing Pennie's new dresser. Then I read a book. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA

21 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm stuck with God too, Dr. John. You described Christianity perfectly

7:10 AM  
Blogger Alastair said...

Great post, Dr John, thank you! I have tried over the course of my Christian journey not to stick with this Christianity thing, but faith just seems to stick to me! I rather like the image given by John Bell of the Iona Community at Greenbelt Arts Festival a few years back 'grasp God and let God grasp you in return' - though sometimes I think the reverse is more true...

'Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.' Eph 3.20-21

From Alastair the Anglican!

7:10 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dr. John, I recently tried to explain to a friend why I am so certain that God is real, but there are no words that can convey the peace, joy and magnificence of standing in his presence. We are the lucky ones.

7:17 AM  
Blogger Bill ~ {The Old Fart} said...

You explained it so well Dr John. It is the inner peace we as Christians have knowing our Saviour is with us day and night. And knowing he will never turn his back on us as long as we want him to be there. And he will still be there waiting for us to return if we do happen to stray.

Blessings to you and Betty for a Wonderful Sunday.

9:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Convenant theology or conversion theology. Either way, I prefer to think that God had His hand in things long before either.

Tommy the undertaker's kid should ask Tommy the writer if he ever has a problem with heartburn.

10:13 AM  
Blogger Margaret said...

You've been reading my mind! How'd that happen?

11:25 AM  
Blogger butterflies said...

Its harder to be an aethiest than to be a Christian..To be always denying God must be so exhausting.How much easier to believe in a God of love and of strength and of joy!If there was no God,I would not survive.He wants me here for some reason!!
Without faith the people perish.

1:38 PM  
Blogger Jo said...

Dr. John, I sometimes question the existence of God, and when I do, I feel very bleak. But then when I have a conversation with God and he does something to make me understand that he listened to me, I am amazed, and I don't feel so bleak. It's quite amazing.

Josie

2:22 PM  
Blogger Sunflower Optimism said...

I believe there are no coincidences. I have had some of Pastor Marvel's WOW! experiences and did not believe them at the time. It took years and God smacking me upside the head a couple of more times to sit down and do the math - the actual chance of a "coincidence" was less that that of winning lotto. I finally took the WOW experience for the gift from God, that it was.

2:58 PM  
Blogger Lori's Minute said...

I feel sorry for those who do not believe because I feel they will never truly be happy or at peace.

4:12 PM  
Blogger Bare said...

What a wonderful post! You know, athiests have NO idea, that Christians don't always have a life full of roses. That we have struggles along the way, just as others do, and we don't believe just because we're afraid of dying or hell.

I'm stuck with God, too, and so happy to be! *hugs*

5:11 PM  
Blogger Bare said...

What a wonderful post! You know, athiests have NO idea, that Christians don't always have a life full of roses. That we have struggles along the way, just as others do, and we don't believe just because we're afraid of dying or hell.

I'm stuck with God, too, and so happy to be! *hugs*

5:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I understand being stuck with the Christian thing very well. Even in recent years when other Christians in their faulty human state have bruised and damaged me and left me with ill feelings and confusion about the church, I don't doubt God because he has never left my side.

5:41 PM  
Blogger FRIDAY'S CHILD said...

Nice link today. I think being a Christian is not a matter of luck. It is more of a matter of choice.
Just dropping by to see how you and Betty are doing.

6:35 PM  
Blogger Neoma said...

It is not a topic that I usually talk about. Mostly because our beliefs are what we are stuck with. I am not sure that we can really change what we truly believe. It is just in our soul. From the time I was little, I lived with people all around me that had a true and abiding belief in a God. I was the odd person out. To this day, I truly do not belief there is "God". Not the way you true believers believe. I do not belief that we will live after death. But who is right and who is wrong, I hope you are. If there is no God, there are a whole lot of people who are in for a shock, and if there is a god, there are just as many in for a shock. It will be interesting. But it is truly one of those things that a person has to take on just faith. There is no proof either way. I do not really believe in the bible, it is a translation, and I know how badly words can be misrepresented by the person transcribing them. I think I rather believe in reincarnation.

10:00 PM  
Blogger Catch said...

I guess maybe some of it has to do with upbringing. I was raised to know there is a God. Not believeing in Him is something I cant comprehend. To me He is comforting and loving. I have always known when I say my prayers...He is listening.

1:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I believe in God. I believe Jesus is the son of God. That he was crucified and rose on the third day. I believe he is the way, the truth, and the life, and that nobody comes to the father except through him. That's my belief.

2:38 AM  
Blogger ysartist said...

I think it unfair to generalize about atheists, as I do about christians. I also think it is unfair to assume or determine the quality of life and the realationship of a higher power to them. If god wants us here for a reason, then how can others know that the reason is wrong just because it is different? How can you pity someone for not following the same path when god has chosen that path? the atheists I know and love are decent happy people who don't spend time denying the existence of something, are not perishing, are not living a tormented life, are not empty or lacking peace in their hearts. I am, I will admit, finding it quite offensive to hear generalizations and the insinuations and assumptions about those who are not believers (and I would say the same thing if the tables were turned). Taking joy in your special relationship with God is one thing, but making assumptions and putting down others for not following the path god has chosen for you is a whole different ball game and it is really disheartening.

6:17 AM  
Blogger ysartist said...

oh poo, I was signed in under the other account.
jafabrit

6:19 AM  
Blogger jafabrit said...

I wasn't referring to you dr.john, I was referring to the generalizations about atheists in some of the comments.

6:39 AM  
Blogger jafabrit said...

sorry if you misunderstood. I should have made it clear I wasn't referring to the content of your post. I will say that I find it just as offensive or disheartening to hear atheists make assumptions and generalizations about christians or anyone who has a belief in a higher power.

6:54 AM  

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