Why the title?

"Pioneers take the arrows"

Oh, wait. I should be upbeat and taking arrows doesn't sound like an upbeat thing to say.

So, let me amend that statement.

It was courage and vision that led the pioneers to leave behind a comfortable, settled life and trek West to begin a new life in a new place. Many of those from the East that went West found a strength within themselves that they didn't see while they were in their old life. Instead of being one of those that just kind of went along with the others in the old life, they became leaders and visionaries in their new lives.

The sentiments of that last paragraph come from a favorite author, Louis L'Amour, in many of his books. So, I can't really say that it is an original thought from me. However, what he said is truthful.

Welcome to being a pioneer. Look ahead and ignore the "barking dogs" that give you negative opinions and comments. Louis L'Amour also spoke of the barking dogs.

In some of his stories, it was usually a father or older man telling a young boy how it was that when the Westward bound Conestoga wagons rolled through towns, the dogs came out to bark at them. His character then told the young listener that the barking didn't stop the wagons from going on to their destinations.

Following the advice of the Louis L'Amour characters, may we all forge ahead with our plans, after carefully considering all consequences and leave the "barkers" behind.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Divine Imprint

Once again, I viewed another episode of The Truth Project, and it is one that starts to put goose bumps upon me, but it also at one point is such a downer that tears ALWAYS comes to my eyes when I view this lesson.

It begins with the understanding that God has created so many systems; our skeletal system, our circulatory system to carry blood throughout our bodies, our solar system, photosynthesis, wherein plants convert sunlight, and then there is the social order which is based upon God himself.

For those who might not be religious, God is to be considered as a Triunity. Many use the word “Trinity” instead, but I prefer “Triunity” because it better conveys the idea that God is three “persons” but one “essence.” Those “persons” of the “Triunity” are God (the Father), Christ (the Son), and the Holy Spirit. Throughout the Bible, all of those “persons” are involved, many times directly with humans.

Thus, in addition to there being a social order “within God” of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, mankind also has a place in the social order, although much of it is as a creation upon the earth. God’s social order is made up of Him as the Father, Christ (the Son) out of God but still a part of God and submissive to Him, and the Holy Spirit that is out of both God (the Father) and Christ (the Son).

Oddly enough, this “threesome” is also evident in the world as well. There are three primary colors, three forms of matter (being solid, liquid, and gas), the atom is made up of three parts (being the nucleus, electrons, and protons), and there are three “realms” (being spiritual, physical, and social.)

The social realm, or order, is the primary focus of this posting. I should begin with an image of the Triunity of God, showing the relationships between the three parts of God.

Social System Circle Triunity

Note that the Holy Spirit has a relationship, as defined by the lines, with both God (the Father) and Christ (the Son.) It is almost an example of one “entity” being subject to each of the others. Also of importance is the knowledge that God and Christ are also “One” with each other. John 17: 21-22 is the period of time when Jesus was praying to God before his trial and crucifixion, and He mentioned the fact that He and God were one:

21 that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me.

22 And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them; that they may be one, even as we are one;

Verse 21 starts out talking about Christ’s disciples as those referred to as “they.” Believe it or not, that will come into play at a later date.

But, God’s social order is reflected in the family. For in the family, we have the husband, the wife, and the children. Is this image not eerily like the first image, the one showing God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit?

Social System Circle Family

Note that this order also has a “father” head in the form of the husband, the wife who is submissive to the husband, and the children who are “out from” both the husband and the wife and have a relationship with both. And, the Bible speaks of man taking woman, cleaving to her and becoming “one” just like God and Christ being “one.”

In each order, God and the Husband love the others within their respective social orders and the other entities are submissive to and respect the “head” of the social order. The Bible speaks of the husband being the “Head” over the wife just as Christ is the “Head” over the church. So, it is not a negative thing for Christ or a wife, being submissive to the “head” in each social order.

Speaking of the church, that social order is much the same, with Christ being the “head” and the church leaders being the “wife/bride” and the “flock” being the membership of the church, making up the children of God. Again, this image shows the similarity of those three elements of the church. The leaders of the church are in a sense “one” with Christ because they are accountable to God for the beliefs and worship performed by the “children of God.”

Social System Circle Church

All of this is a reflection that God is a God of order. All of creation has an order of some kind; either within a social order, a scientific order, or a spiritual order, and sometimes in more than one order at a time. After all, do the planets of our solar system just run around space willy-nilly? Does there not appear to be an “order” to the fact that it requires a man and a woman to produce a child?

Even today, there are those in society that hate God’s order and actively attempt to disrupt that order in every way possible, even to the point of the destruction of people themselves. For this reason, mankind should be devoted to the idea that the family and the church are institutions in need of strengthening from those who are members of those two social orders.

Marriages that end in divorce because the couple didn’t really have a commitment to each other, and to their families, are an abomination because of the pain it inflicts on God and on each member of that family.

Commitment to God and to the family is essential. Let us all do our best to strengthen our commitments.

Christ and Circle

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