Dale Cresap's blog

Have you heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder? This implies that beauty is subjective. What about ugliness? Is that also in the eye of the beholder? There is more universal agreement on beauty than ugliness, for the tendency is to impute ugliness to those who are not like you, who are outside of your group, who hold different values and customs and manners. By this definition more people are ugly or not, but this is entirely subjective and context driven, and perhaps they feel the same way about you.

Where do you begin your spiritual journey? If you are raised in a church you may accept its doctrines as valid premises without question, but if you try to share your faith with others they may find that you are starting too far down the road for them to relate. You could start with the premise that everyone is spiritual because they are made in my image, whether they attend any church or profess any creed or not. People are basically constituted to live in relationship to the transcendent.

Have you ever looked for me? Where would you look? You know where your friends live by their addresses. Do I have an address? Jacob was surprised to find that I was in a random place where he spent the night. Will you find me in church? You can, but you can also hide from me there. Will you find me in the wilderness? If you look for me in the vast woods or plains or mountains you will find me there too. So what is the common theme here? I promised that the Kingdom of God was within you.

What do you think is the essence of your faith? Professing the correct beliefs? Belief is a strong theme in the Bible, and grace is a free gift of God, not of works. Yet what do you say in every other area of life? Actions speak louder than words. There is support for this in the Bible too, and faith without works is dead. I told a story of a man with two sons. One said he would work in the vineyard and did not, the other said he would not, but did. Which one did the will of his father?

Do you want to be a prophet? My word teaches you to desire this gift. This is a position of honor, but prophets are outsiders, or at least on the edge of the group, so they can speak correction to it. So this is not something to pursue lightly, particularly if popularity is important to you. Do you see how I spent my entire ministry as an outsider? I declared John the Baptist to be a prophet and he was a voice crying in the wilderness. Consider how things ended for both of us and also my remarks about how the religious establishment had done the same to the prophets who came before.

Do you want to be a hero? This is a nearly universal aspiration. Do you think there are only a few of these, who by courage and daring and great strength perform deeds of noble sacrifice? The classic story of a hero involves someone who takes a journey, overcomes obstacles and difficulties along the way, comes into a larger understanding through experiences with the unfamiliar, and returns home with honor to share the benefits of his journey. This version is more attainable than the first, although both versions have common elements.

Do you judge people for coming down with illnesses like cancer or heart disease, or even the flu? You understand that these are things that no one wants, and avoids as much as they can, and so you offer sympathy rather than judgment. Are you willing to extend the same degree of grace to those with mental illness? This can make people socially awkward and do annoying things that drive people away, but is judgment justified if the condition is beyond the persons control, or even if it is within their control?

Do you think evangelism involves only speaking? You are called to fulfill the Great Commission of proclaiming the gospel message to every creature, to the ends of the earth. Does this sound like a one-way flow of information? How seriously do you take people who won’t listen to you? Do you want to listen to them? Put yourself in the position of your audience. Don’t you thrive on having your story heard? Listening will give you favor with the people you are trying to reach. Their stories won’t hurt you. The most basic requirement of any communication is to keep the conversation going.

Do you take physical fitness seriously? Everyone knows how to attain strength and stamina, but it takes discipline, intention, and persistence to get results. Good intentions are more prevalent than good results. Is godliness more profitable than bodily exercise? You could think of this as spiritual fitness. Is the path to obtain this as obvious as it is for physical fitness? Do you think it also requires discipline, intention, and persistence? What exercises or practices would you choose to obtain it? Do you know people who are spiritually fit? How did they get that way?

Have you heard that whatever doesn’t kill you will make you stronger? This isn’t true. There are things that will make you weaker even if you survive them. But it is true that adversity is necessary for development. You gain strength physically by exertion, and you gain strength in other ways by overcoming. This process works better if it is intentional and directed, and so you have coaches and teachers and trainers to guide you. Do you see me as performing this role in your life? You know that fathers chasten their sons and my chastening of you is evidence of my acceptance of you.