School. It's finally started. And you know what I mean too. It's the point when all the classes have everything due at once, whether it be readings, papers, or projects. It's the point when I think, "When will this be over?" but also the point that I live for. <--blatant copyright infringement of a particular commercial, you get to guess who :)
So yeah, life has been going pretty well. I got out of the city for the weekend; I stayed at my uncle's house north of Philly, and may I say it was very interesting. Already I could tell how much I had adjusted to city life. It felt weird not to shove my bag out of sight or put THE CLUB on the steering wheel when I got out of the car.
I was offended when, in a song powerpoint in church, they had a picture of a crowded subway behind lyrics that went something like, "This world is a dangerous place" etc, and they had rolling meadows and peaceful oceans behind the lyrics, "God, you're always there." Can't you find God in the city? I have encountered God in ways that I'm sure many people from the suburbs could not imagine.
Please don't misunderstand me. I grew up in the suburbs, and half my extended family lives in basic wilderness. God is completely there. But I think there are prevailing rumors, for lack of a better term, about the city that are completely false. One that I completely subscribed to is the idea that you can't find a theologically sound church in the city. The reason so many Christians think God isn't in the city is because he looks so different here. Because of where they live and what they have to deal with, Christians who may have the exact same theology as you manifest it in an entirely different way.
And now I've gotten myself into a whole world of trouble. School is calling my name. I will post now, with a very incomplete post, and hopefully return, if not tonight, tomorrow and finish my thoughts. Until then!
1 comment:
I loved how you explained that "The reason so many Christians think God isn't in the city is because he looks so different here." God does look different in the city; same God, different face. You don't realize it, though, until you've been in both places and seen both faces. I commend you for realizing it and not trying to fit God into a cookie-cutter scenario.
It reminded me of a joke one of our program directors said when we arrived in Oxford...
"Many people think that the British God is different from the American God, and it isn't so! There isn't an American God, there is just a British God."
But on a serious note, there use to be the idea that certain gods ruled over certain areas. Then (I think it was Abraham, but I could be wrong) there was this revelation that God is supreme. He is present in every hill and mountain, every skyscraper and subway. Hopefully your experiences abroad can help you to show this to people :)
Oh, and I miss you tons =)
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