So it has been a while since I blogged (not counting theatre reviews), and I'm sorry. I feel as if I have let down all six of my faithful readers. So, here's something of what I've been thinking about lately:
I've been reading Augustine's Confessions. Augustine was an early church father, in the 400s. (Who also was apparently a magician, if you believe the picture on the Wikipedia page linked above. Or maybe an ancestor of the dude in the Temple of Doom. Creepy.) His Confessions is a spiritual autobiography, which means he tells his life story, but tells it from a spiritual perspective. One of the things that Augustine is good at is looking back on his life and seeing God's hand at work. Even in the years before he believed or even thought about God, Augustine was able to look back and see how God had worked his circumstances to either protect him, to teach him, or to guide him. God used his family, his friends, and other means to communicate to Augustine and ultimately to lead him to the truth about Christ.
As I read, I couldn't help but think about how God has worked in my own life. And more to the point, I realized how little I tend to reflect on God's work in my life. Yet if we believe in the sovereignty of God, then we believe that God is in control of everything. God is capable of using and redeeming our circumstances for His glory. All too often, though, we just plow through our days as if there is no significance to the choices we make. After reading Augustine, that just doesn't seem to be true.
So my question to you is, how has God worked in your life? Or more to the point, where is God's hand in your present circumstances? We know several folks going through some tough stuff, and maybe you are one of them. Where is God in your life right now? What is He protecting you from? What is He pointing you toward? What is He trying to teach or show you? It is a valuable question to ask ourselves, and it has been a question I'm asking myself more and more these days.
I've been reading Augustine's Confessions. Augustine was an early church father, in the 400s. (Who also was apparently a magician, if you believe the picture on the Wikipedia page linked above. Or maybe an ancestor of the dude in the Temple of Doom. Creepy.) His Confessions is a spiritual autobiography, which means he tells his life story, but tells it from a spiritual perspective. One of the things that Augustine is good at is looking back on his life and seeing God's hand at work. Even in the years before he believed or even thought about God, Augustine was able to look back and see how God had worked his circumstances to either protect him, to teach him, or to guide him. God used his family, his friends, and other means to communicate to Augustine and ultimately to lead him to the truth about Christ.
As I read, I couldn't help but think about how God has worked in my own life. And more to the point, I realized how little I tend to reflect on God's work in my life. Yet if we believe in the sovereignty of God, then we believe that God is in control of everything. God is capable of using and redeeming our circumstances for His glory. All too often, though, we just plow through our days as if there is no significance to the choices we make. After reading Augustine, that just doesn't seem to be true.
So my question to you is, how has God worked in your life? Or more to the point, where is God's hand in your present circumstances? We know several folks going through some tough stuff, and maybe you are one of them. Where is God in your life right now? What is He protecting you from? What is He pointing you toward? What is He trying to teach or show you? It is a valuable question to ask ourselves, and it has been a question I'm asking myself more and more these days.
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