Jo Bower's Blog

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he spoke to us by his son whom he appointed the heir to all things, through whom he also created the world. Hebrews 1:1-2 ESV

It’s okay to resist the polarization thinking of today.
The pulling of all sides who insist if I don’t follow them, I’m to be ridiculed.
In this age of one size fits all;
In a time where many search
For THE right idea, THE right side, THE current trend,
We despair when we realize just when we find IT,
It’s already changed to something else.

Someone gave me these words of wisdom about decorating my house:
“If you’re keeping up with the trends,
It’s best to get in on them at the beginning.
Otherwise, you’re stuck a long time with an old trend
Before you can afford to change to the new one.”
And that applies to emotions, friends, religious thought, and life in general,
Because change is seldom easy.

From the beginning God understood the trend following tendency
In the creatures he had created.
He knew experience would always color what we wanted and accepted.
So, he spoke in many voices, giving each Prophet a different emphasis,
Each addressing a different way of considering God’s message.
And so He continues speaking today,
In many voices, hoping to catch our attention.

One prophet of old spoke for social justice.
One understood the holiness of God.
And one knew the forgiving love of God.
Each understood part of the truth, a fragment if you will,
As in our experience, we seldom grasp the whole truth all at once.
Grabbing onto the part that “resonates with our soul.”
And yet, we hold it up as if it were the whole truth.

We have long understood different churches and indeed denominations,
And with exceptions granted, tend to have personalities of their own.
One appeals to the scholar more than another.
One appeals to the essentially emotional personality.
One appeals to the staunch, steady people among us.
And each is as valuable as the other to those who find God in that place.
But, even with the exceptions, we tend to hold our fragment up as the whole truth.

But behold! And AH HA!
Do not despair at the experience oriented,
My church is best come here! promotions.
Choose where God meets you, then leads you to service.
Don’t just look for a fragment of truth
That tickles your ears, or completes your comfort.
Look also for the place that needs your offering of service.

Only Jesus, the Bible says, knows the whole truth.
So, it’s okay when we know fragments of the truth.
But don’t take that to mean we can’t know more.
That we shouldn’t seek God through Jesus.
We need to find a deeper, closer, more intimate relationship with God,
To expand the number of fragments we experience,
So we can find religious thought and life balance.