Dale Cresap's blog

Do you know anything without learning it? The assumption is that all knowledge is acquired, but John wrote to his audience and mentioned that they already knew the truth. Do you assume that this only applies to the direct audience of his letter, or since it is included in scripture speaks to all audiences universally, including you? John was a mystic and would be comfortable with the idea of knowing things that you had not learned by conventional means. Are you? I said that I created you in my image. What was imparted to you from the beginning that you didn’t have to go to school for?

Have you ever been involved in a war of nerves? Even without physical violence, threats and oppression and intimidation can cause real hindrance and harm. Have you ever been on the receiving end of this? Have you ever been the oppressor? This can occur between groups of people, and those on the receiving end are more aware than those with the upper hand. How do you defend against such an attack? It will not serve you to fight fire with fire, to attempt manipulation of your own. Stand firm in your own identity and ask of me the peace that surpasses understanding, and you will receive.

Do you think that there is a barrier between heaven and earth? There is, so you cannot wander freely back and forth, but it is a permeable barrier. Have you ever had an encounter with another person in which you sensed a closeness to the eternal and transcendent? Some cultures refer to these as thin places, implying that the barrier between heaven and earth is not opaque but at least translucent if not transparent. Have you ever had an experience when you knew that the light of heaven was shining on you? Would you know if it did? Perhaps it happens more often than you realize.

How flexible are you in the practice of your faith? Is this your highest priority that takes precedence over all your other activities? Could there be anything more important? I told my followers that if they came to give a gift on the altar and remembered that their brother had an issue with them, that they should set their gift aside and go to seek reconciliation with their brother before returning to offer their gift. Have you ever practiced your faith in such a way that inconveniences other people?

Are you ever discouraged by all the problems in the world? All the suffering and oppression and wickedness? Yet this story is not a tragedy. Retain your hope. Realize that the ultimate narrative is one of redemption, for you personally, but for the whole project as well. This is a story that will have a happy ending. Keep this in mind as you face your daily struggles. It will make it easier for you to endure them if you see them as temporary and take a long term view.

I said that my sheep hear my voice. Do you find this comforting? Or are you uncomfortable with the idea of being referred to as a sheep? For outside of the Kingdom of God being compared to a sheep is not considered a compliment. In this context the term implies that one is a mindless follower, with no ability or initiative for independent thought and action. The same concept applies in referring to my followers as children of God for those who have reached adulthood. These are not compliments in the context of the way you relate to other men.

How important is it for you to lead a meaningful life? Is this something you would pay money for? But if this is something that you can’t pay for with money, how will you obtain it? Would you sacrifice pleasure and comfort to lead a meaningful life? Think of the people you know whom you admire most for leading a meaningful life. Do they lead lives of ease and comfort, or are they sacrificing these things to advance a noble cause? Can you have it both ways? Some sacrifice is inevitable to create meaning, and you get to make the choice.

Would you rather be angry or sad? Does it seem to you that anger is more prevalent, and people will admit to it more readily than they do for sadness? Is this true of you too? Have you noticed that anger has a judgmental and self-justifying component? It was someone else that made you angry, and you can articulate your justification for your anger as an accusation against someone else. Sadness may have an underlying cause, but it isn’t something that you can blame on someone else. Yet I said blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Do you believe in equality? This is a political concept that is more widely proclaimed than it is understood. Equality normally means the same, but people are not the same, nor are they meant to be. So in what sense are they equal? Do you have children? Are they the same? Yet don’t you have the same love for all of them and on that basis love them equally and treat them equally? And in this sense they are equal even though they are different. The political concept of equality may be entirely secular, but can you make a case for it apart from a sovereign God who is over all?

Have you heard of grateful alcoholics? These people have emerged from the pain and suffering of their addiction and come out the other side to a larger and more gracious humanity than they would have possessed otherwise. They travelled a path that no one would choose, but the cumulative result was a transformative work in their lives. Perhaps you are not an alcoholic, but you face some other form of suffering and loss in which you see no redemptive purpose. Yet I can work in situations that appear to be impossible.