relationships...a conclusion
Well, my series has come to an end. The end came much later than expected, and I apologize for the length of time that it took for it to come to a close. I wanted each post to be fresh on your mind as you read through each of them. I doubt that many of you will go back and reread any of the other posts. Nonetheless, I will make a Table of Contents so that you can quickly navigate your way through each part of the post if you happen to desire to reread any of the individual posts.
I will close with one last thought. As I wrote these posts and the thoughts swam around in my head I constantly asked myself, “Why do we not live as creations in the image of God? Why do we not involve ourselves in relationships if these relationships are a key part of our living life to the fullest and participating with God on earth?” My answer: the role of sin. I know that I look past sin and its effects in my life because I think that since our sins were forgiven in Jesus’ death, then sin no longer has an effect on my life. This is a misconception. Sin continues to have an effect on our life because we are human. If we stopped sinning, we would no longer be human. I am not saying that we should sin all that we want because we cannot avoid sinning. Rather, we must see that we continue to fall short of what is expected of us. Christ’s death serves as the perfect example of living in the image of God, and through his death he allowed us to live in such a perfect image of God. However, this type of living does not come to fruition until the afterlife. Nonetheless, we ought to strive to live as best we can in this image of God because of the ontological priority of the future. That is, our hope in living as pure reflections of God’s image in the afterlife ought to influence us to attempt to live such a life now. Our creation in the image of God is already actualized in this life, but at the same time it has not been fully actualized—an already, not yet dialectic.
With all of this said, invest in your friends’ life and be there for them when they need you the most. These relationships are the kind that God intended us to have. peace
table of contents
I will close with one last thought. As I wrote these posts and the thoughts swam around in my head I constantly asked myself, “Why do we not live as creations in the image of God? Why do we not involve ourselves in relationships if these relationships are a key part of our living life to the fullest and participating with God on earth?” My answer: the role of sin. I know that I look past sin and its effects in my life because I think that since our sins were forgiven in Jesus’ death, then sin no longer has an effect on my life. This is a misconception. Sin continues to have an effect on our life because we are human. If we stopped sinning, we would no longer be human. I am not saying that we should sin all that we want because we cannot avoid sinning. Rather, we must see that we continue to fall short of what is expected of us. Christ’s death serves as the perfect example of living in the image of God, and through his death he allowed us to live in such a perfect image of God. However, this type of living does not come to fruition until the afterlife. Nonetheless, we ought to strive to live as best we can in this image of God because of the ontological priority of the future. That is, our hope in living as pure reflections of God’s image in the afterlife ought to influence us to attempt to live such a life now. Our creation in the image of God is already actualized in this life, but at the same time it has not been fully actualized—an already, not yet dialectic.
With all of this said, invest in your friends’ life and be there for them when they need you the most. These relationships are the kind that God intended us to have. peace
table of contents
Comments
i must say i have enjoyed reading your thoughts on relationships and the kingdom of god.
...and knew what was going on until juxtaposition laughed in my face.
out.