Renewed Faith

I believe in God, and I believe God when He speaks.

Our modern and postmodern mindsets have forgotten the simple truths, for they have become clouded with many options and variables. I have listened for some days to a clear voice, a pastor who is not afraid to speak of truth. It is refreshing. I see again how vital it is for us to trust the God who speaks.

            I have seen time and again when anyone compromises the Word of God, thinks himself above it and chooses to be selective, to undermine the voice in the Word by doubts and by denials, the person loses. He loses perspective of life, and loses faith in a living God who is good and benevolent, and who is holy. He struggles with his own lack of coherence, and it seems like he is trying to fit God into the categories of his own mind.

Disillusioned, walking in a fogbank with no direction must be rather frustrating. I felt like I stood on the edge of the fogbank, looking into it, but not entering in the land of confusion. Others did. How are they, I wonder?

I listened to the pastor who said so clearly that there is no difference between God and His Word. You cannot say you believe in God and not what He says. It does not make sense.

Christ Jesus is the living Word of God. He is here with us; he lives in us and among us. A Christian is born of the spirit of God, and by this new birth we are brothers and sisters. By this new spirit we live life – being renewed in our hearts and minds, to live the good life, which is pleasing to God. Only by the spirit of God can we live out a Christian life. Anything else is struggling in our own strength and endeavor. It is exhausting, because it is never enough.

To be a Christian is to follow Jesus. In life and reality: Jesus is Lord.

I feel there are many more words I would like to say – and they will come in due time; but as for now, this suffices: The King of the Universe is my Lord and my Saviour. His words are life and sustenance. I am settled, renewed in my faith.

Hues of Red

 It was the season opening for the local folk museum and use of the old stone church from the Middle Ages. The little church house was packed. Walls as thick as a yard did not let much heat in, but strong light beams shone through the rounded windows. I looked t many things this morning, since I had a place at an extra bench way in the back. I looked at small boys – a handful of them – moving about in the nave, all dressed up for the celebration of baptism of a younger sibling, all too young to be kept quiet.

            There is a new priest, an interim, and I am not used to him. He does the task well, but still, to me he is a stranger in my sacred space. I suppose I will get used to him.

I looked at the altarpiece and the altar ring; but this time it was not the symbolism, the semantic meaning of words; it was not the art of interpretation which caught me. It was the hues of red.

Warm, earthy red paint created a sense of being close to the earth, being real, and yet being in the sacred space: where heaven and earth meet, as God is there, in our midst. 

            We are so quick to think rational meaning, concepts of mind – but as I sat in the old room, feeling the warmth of many bodies, it was not the symbolic meaning of the colour red I cherished; it was the simple being there in front of it, as something which enhanced my perception of life. Aesthetics is vital to the enjoyment of life. 

There is a certain reddish brown, a gentle earthy red colour I see in the old décor of the country, together with a grayish green-blue we call ‘bondeblå’,farmers’ blue.

It was a comforting sight this morning. In the frame of the image I beheld was a small baptismal font, a wooden piece decorated in many colours, but blending in perfectly. 

As the priest was preparing for the baptism of a little girl, the family joined – must be cousins, I thought, for I counted six boys in early preschool age, and one older sister – a beautiful child who did the major Scripture readings for the event. I couldn’t help being amused at the little guys  - who were bouncy and curious, and precious.

In hues of red, we belong. As earthlings, we live and cherish this time on earth, be it difficult or accomplished. I am heaven bound; and although an earthling, I belong to the Kingdom of God. Perhaps it was this dual belonging I sensed this morning, not through my intellect, but more direct: in the colours of the church interior.

 Beauty is found everywhere. A streak of light enhances any ordinary thing. Look at it next time; it is a touch of the Master’s hand. 

Kviteseid gamle Kyrkje, altar piece

wooden baptismal font

detail from the altar

detail, light source

boxed in pews, in red hues

sources of light

Social Media: The New Mob

The statement ” The masses are always right” has been tried and tested and found to be not necessarily true. What constitutes a norm or a rule is not the amount of people who say so, but what the rule says. People can be led, and there are elements in being led by the masses that both excuse the individual for his or her acts, and have a blind eye to what is right.

Social media judges; well, so it seems, but it is more correct to say that people use social media to be aroused into rash judgment, and this is shared as a massive attack. In this way the individual becomes part of the masses, and in the same way the individual becomes part of the mob. The mob can lynch, and this force in the tapestry of social controls may cause real action. This is a force that may strip someone of his or her job, ostracize from society, mete out a punishment, which is not based on any written law, but simply on the sentiment of the mob.

It surprises me that we hold to this standard in a democracy.

Are we truly to be ruled by the mob? Do we set aside law and order when the forces in the mob are too powerful? Do we simply give in and agree?

What is a democracy, then? It is a majority rule, but not arbitrary rule. One of the foundations of this democracy is the agreement upon common laws and regulations. The formal social control cannot be set aside in favour of the angry mob.

Blessings of Boundaries

 Young people these days struggle with high expectations. I read about this in the newspaper. I hear talk of it among colleagues. I meet many young people in my profession. I have pondered for some time what it is that creates such anxiety, such stress at a young age. Who expects too much? Why are high expectations hard to handle?

            A few days ago I sat in a festive gathering of alumni from a school I attended in my youth. Different age groups of alumni entered the stage to share a memory or two from the time they were students. I noticed the older generation, as they told about the strict rules, the scare of being called in to the principal’s office. I noticed the charm and wit as they recalled the strict division of the genders. They were allowed to fall in love, to hold hands, but never to be in the dark and shady places alone.

It struck me, as I enjoyed their humorous musings, that the strictness, the standard, the boundaries set before them, was a liberating blessing. They were safe within the boundaries. Someone else was responsible for them. They did not have to define their limits; they simply adhered to them. Breaking them was exhilarating, but they all knew there would be consequences, and they needed to be kept in check, and they wanted that.

It is hard to be strict. To be like a Tante Sofie, a strict spinster from our children’s literature, is to assume rather unpopular role, often criticized and ridiculed. I wonder about the adult responsibility, as a parent, as a teacher, as a fellow citizen. What is our role, and how could it better aid the new generations?

Do we have laws to limit harm? Yes, we do. We have laws to regulate both actions and intent.  Do we have norms and standards to limit harm? Now, that is question, because the norms are in flux, they are changing – and I question the value of those that burden the young.

Today’s youth play. Today’s youth work. They go to school, and some have expectations of doing a little better than their abilities; others are happy with passing.  Whether I am right or not, will be for others to judge, but I think today’s youth struggle more because they have less boundaries set for them, they have to create their own norms and standards. They are left to themselves to administer them, to be their own authority. In relationships the young man or the young woman has to set the rule for acceptable behavior and has to be the one to enforce it. There is no societal norm, which they both can refer to. They have to define this themselves. There are no adults responsible for the administration of reprimands; they themselves have to be that authority.

I believe this is a major source of stress and fear of failure, and I feel it is unfair to put this sort of responsibility on young shoulders. This is an area where adults have shrunk back in their will and ability to take on responsibility. We, the adult generation have a mandate to be and become the ones to define where boundaries lie, and we are responsible for administering them.

It is not the school requirements, the chase for good grades or the struggle to get ahead which creates the unbearable demands on young people. Such demands have always been there. People have answered these challenges for generations. It does not help to be lenient on those demands, be they ever so hard. No, if the young people feel secure in their environment, if they can refer to a standard norm, a mom or dad who prohibits certain type of behavior – then they have their backs covered. They are not creating the norm, but simply adhering to it.  If they are breaking it, mind you, then it is a willful act. A breach has consequences, and these will be administered by the ones who have the responsibility for and the authority to do so.

Is it true, then that a certain laziness in us adults leads children to despair?

Are we really unpopular with the young if we truly fulfill our role as responsible authority figures? I think not. I think many will love us more in the long run. But we are in deep trouble if we do not know the norms and standards, if we have never thought about what is truly valuable and important in life.

As a Christian, how do I see morality and what is preserving life for the next generations? How do the biblical teachings guarding us in our society? As adults, we are also under authority, the authority of Jesus Christ. Without this foundation, we would be lost. Without this anchor, we would be adrift. So, as we see our own place, our won responsibility, we realize the each generation needs the fundament and anchor in Jesus Christ.