Nonsensical Ramblings of Mark

Father, forgive me, I tried not to do it Turned over a new leaf, then tore right through it Whatever you taught me, I didn't believe it Father, you fought me, 'cause I didn't care And I still don't understand - It's a Sin, Pet Shop Boys I have no idea how many parts this exploration of knowledge and understanding will encompass.  This whole concept of understanding was brought back to my attention a couple of days ago in a conversation with a friend of mine and a perspective that I received from who knows where about the internet. Adam and Eve were commanded to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Many scholars believe that this tree, and the designation of "good and evil" was something that would subject Adam and Eve to information that they would not know how to process and that they would, ultimately, abuse. Indeed, when their eyes were opened they realized that they were naked.  Now being naked in front of the person that

Not that long ago  a  long-time friend of mine visited me on e  Friday. Standing over the sink as I washed the dishes after our dinner I heard a knock on the door. It was not the loud, brazen knock I had grown to expect. This rapping carried with it a rather timid timbre but, I knew who it was. I shook my head with a resolve to pretend not to hear it but he would have nothing to do with that. He rang the bell and I could no longer feign my ignorance of his beckoning.   "I knew it was you," I muttered as I cracked the door just enough for him to show himself in.   "I know,"  Death   whispered almost apologetically as he closed the door behind himself following me into the kitchen. Cold was his stare to my back and I thanked God for the warmth of the water on my hands and forearms.   "What are they to do now?" I asked his reflection in the window. "You realize that his son needs to leave school. Surely you know how young he was. Are you mo

It would seem rather strange and even a little antithetical to glorify humility. I mean, isn't humility the exact opposite of  seeking glory? I would say yes. For me. But not for God. God is right to seek his own glory and he does this through humility. In fact, I find this on display in one of the most amazing scenes in the entire Bible: And when he [the Son] had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.   And they sang a new song, saying:  “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.   You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:8-10, NIV (emphasis mine) I find this to be such a remarkable

I have no idea how many breaths I have taken today. Now breathing is really quite normal to me. As is blinking and whole host of other voluntary and involuntary functions and activities. Most of these things I do every day: tooth brushing, lunch making, ear cleaning, coffee making.... There are classes of functions and activities that are not daily events: running, playing catch, reading, dinner making, blogging, volunteering, meditating....  Now, I tend to lump the non-daily events and functions into a special category and draw a particular strength from them. I anticipate them and cherish them because they are unique. They are so special that I may even prepare for them, order my life around them to the point that I accept and reject other opportunities that come my way so that I can engage in them. These are the things that bring particular meaning to me so much so that I can gauge my well-being against whether I have been able to engage in them to one degree or another. I can be