I’m tired and don’t want to blog too much tonight, but I do have a couple things to share.
My small group finished our study through Judges and Ruth and I got to lead a discussion on the big narrative behind the individual stories. We focused on the question “why tell these depressing stories?” I am left thinking that there is indeed a place for depressing stories, but that I am happy to have Ruth included as that story lets us know that even while everything is going wrong, God is working things toward His purpose. This is comforting for us as individuals and as the church in my opinion.
Also, Tony Jones is starting an interesting discussion on Lectio Divina, check out one of those blog posts here.
Here’s a question: is there a place for us to tell depressing stories? what would be the point for us to make in those stories?
I think you should read this article….in some odd way it ties in with this “thought”….http://www.slate.com/id/2218597/?GT1=38001
Interesting… especially this line – “Failure, on the other hand, is Harvard, Yale, and the University of Heidelberg rolled into one. We may not all possess the self-knowledge to absorb failure’s lessons, just as we may not all graduate with an education to go along with our diplomas.”
I don’t know whether the author is trying to be cheeky or not in that piece, but I especially think there is some wisdom in the line above.