This is a very weird topic for me to blog about, but with the next movie in my favorite movie series coming out I thought I would talk a bit about it (kinda). The movie I'm referring to (if you haven't guessed) is "The Dark Knight Rises". This movie is getting a whole lot of hype because the previous movie "The Dark Knight" was really good. When I first heard that the title of the new Batman movie was going to be "The Dark Knight Rises", I wondered why the title was so weird. It only added one word to the title of the previous movie, the word "rises". The next question that came up was, why did they choose that title? What does it mean to rise? Obviously this doesn't mean the literal meaning of something that is raised or lifted. It also doesn't mean for someone to get up or anything like that. It means something more than that. However, it does use those definitions for a symbolic meaning. For something to rise, it has to be in a place to rise or have fallen. I think this is significant for the movie because in "The Dark Knight" Batman was chased by the police and admits to killing people even though he didn't. His reputation has fallen and he is now known as a bad person rather than a hero. It is said by multiple people in the movie that Batman is not a hero, but whatever Gotham needs him to be. In this case Batman takes responsibility for Harvey Dent's actions, making him a murderer. He does this to protect the image that people have of Harvey Dent and to give them hope. The point is that at the end of the movie Batman is no longer the hero people knew him as and has fallen. I think the new movie is titled the way it is because Batman has to rise up and become that hero again because Gotham needs him when they are attacked. How does he do that? I don't know because I haven't seen the movie yet. Sometimes in sports when a team is losing, a person on the losing team will rise up and get the team back in the game. How do they do that? They put more focus and energy into what they are doing and they genuinely want to win. If you feel like you've fallen and you want to rise up, or you just want to do better, you have to believe in what you are doing. If you don't believe in yourself and what you are doing, you'll never be able to rise up and accomplish anything. An important step in rising up is to believe in yourself. Another important thing you need is other people to raise you up.You need people to encourage you and keep you going. Encouragement can do a lot for you especially when you feel down on yourself. Don't underestimate other people's ability to raise you up. Sometimes it may feel like people just won't help you or they fail you. Unfortunately, people will do that. I believe that we have an inclination to rely on other people because we know we aren't perfect and we need other people to lift us up. However, we can't rely on other people because they fail just like we do. I believe we need someone that won't fail and will always want to help us rise.
-Smart
Seek
"seek and you will find"
-Matthew 7:7b
Today I want to talk a little about seeking. We all know what seek means in its most basic form- to look or search for. To look, search, and seek all mean the same thing, but we use them at different times. We use to look when we lost something and we are looking for it. We use searching as kind of a more extreme version of to look for. Seek is a little different than that definition though. We don't normally say we are seeking something when we lost it. Actually we don't use the word very often at all. Two different times we use the word seek is when we are talking about a non-concrete item (I am seeking the truth) or when we are talking about trying to find a person. So why is this important? When you read Matthew 7:7b (above) you will notice that the Bible uses the word seek. This is significant. Why? Because no one uses the word seek when they are talking about something that is unimportant. Also as I said before, this probably means the verse is referring to finding either something non-concrete or a person. Let's suppose that it is talking about a non-concrete. What is this telling us? If you seek for something like the truth, you will find it. If you seek for something like meaning in life, you will find it. While I can see why people might take this interpretation, but I don't think this is the right one. How can you ever find the truth or the meaning of life or something like that? You can't really. Also, as I said before in my post about truth, when you want to seek truth you have to seek Jesus. In the rest of the verse which I didn't post, it says "knock and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7c)". An abstract idea cannot open doors. That would be ridiculous. So now that we know that we are supposed to be seeking a person, who do we seek? That answer is obvious, and I said it already. We have to seek Jesus. He is the only person or thing that can give us meaning to life and truth, and anything else we are seeking. The more important and difficult question is how do we seek Jesus? There are many things you can do to seek Him. However, I won't point all of them out today, I just want to make one important statement. Jesus is a person. How do you seek a person? You have to put time and effort into looking for them, and you have to have a relationship with them. You might be saying, "wait, that's not what seeking means", but I believe it is a part of it. If you are seeking someone you are probably also seeking a relationship with that person. You can't just find Jesus and be content, you have to keep seeking Him all the time, and learn more about Him. You can't know a person just by finding them once, you have to keep talking to them and spending time with them. It's exactly the same with Jesus.
-Smart
-Matthew 7:7b
Today I want to talk a little about seeking. We all know what seek means in its most basic form- to look or search for. To look, search, and seek all mean the same thing, but we use them at different times. We use to look when we lost something and we are looking for it. We use searching as kind of a more extreme version of to look for. Seek is a little different than that definition though. We don't normally say we are seeking something when we lost it. Actually we don't use the word very often at all. Two different times we use the word seek is when we are talking about a non-concrete item (I am seeking the truth) or when we are talking about trying to find a person. So why is this important? When you read Matthew 7:7b (above) you will notice that the Bible uses the word seek. This is significant. Why? Because no one uses the word seek when they are talking about something that is unimportant. Also as I said before, this probably means the verse is referring to finding either something non-concrete or a person. Let's suppose that it is talking about a non-concrete. What is this telling us? If you seek for something like the truth, you will find it. If you seek for something like meaning in life, you will find it. While I can see why people might take this interpretation, but I don't think this is the right one. How can you ever find the truth or the meaning of life or something like that? You can't really. Also, as I said before in my post about truth, when you want to seek truth you have to seek Jesus. In the rest of the verse which I didn't post, it says "knock and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7c)". An abstract idea cannot open doors. That would be ridiculous. So now that we know that we are supposed to be seeking a person, who do we seek? That answer is obvious, and I said it already. We have to seek Jesus. He is the only person or thing that can give us meaning to life and truth, and anything else we are seeking. The more important and difficult question is how do we seek Jesus? There are many things you can do to seek Him. However, I won't point all of them out today, I just want to make one important statement. Jesus is a person. How do you seek a person? You have to put time and effort into looking for them, and you have to have a relationship with them. You might be saying, "wait, that's not what seeking means", but I believe it is a part of it. If you are seeking someone you are probably also seeking a relationship with that person. You can't just find Jesus and be content, you have to keep seeking Him all the time, and learn more about Him. You can't know a person just by finding them once, you have to keep talking to them and spending time with them. It's exactly the same with Jesus.
-Smart
Responsibility
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
-Romans 3:23
You might read the verse above and think that you haven't sinned. Or you might think that your sin is not your fault. Well, everyone has sinned, whether they like it or not, but that isn't what I wanted to talk about today. Today I want to talk about responsibility. Recently I have been reading a book by John Stott titled "The Cross of Christ." One interesting section discussed guilt and responsibility. Who or what is to blame for our sin? Many people will admit that they have sinned but then will accuse something else for causing that sin. For example, people will often blame their sinful nature, people, or the circumstances they are in. While these do all play a part in us sinning, we cannot place the responsibility on them. Those things do influence us but do not tell us what to do. They can affect how we act but cannot control how we act. Ultimately the responsibility falls on us. This leads me to another important aspect of responsibility- choice. We have the ability to choose what we do as humans. When we make decisions, we have to take responsibility for them. If we make a wrong choice, we are accountable for that choice; not the circumstance or anything else. This leads me to an important distinction between consequence and responsibility. Every choice that we make has a consequence, but it also has a responsibility. What's the difference? The result of our choice is the consequence. If somebody murders someone, the consequence is the loss of life of an individual and going to jail. The responsibility is who is accountable for the action. The man or woman who murders is responsible for the murder because they did the action of killing. A consequence won't necessarily get someone into jail, but the responsibility will. A person who is deemed incapable of acting with judgement or self-control (someone who is "impaired") will often have a different sentence than someone who is in their right mind. Why? Because the person that is in their right mind has to take responsibility for their actions because they willfully committed it. C.S Lewis wrote that the law should not sentence people based on deterring others but on giving what that person deserves. You cannot deserve anything unless you are responsible for you actions. This is not only negative however. When someone takes an action to do good, such as Martin Luther King Jr., they are praised for their actions. People recognize that he took an action to do good and he was responsible. You might ask, why do we have to take responsibility? I believe that responsibility is one of the things that make humans different. If a tree falls over and kills someone, you cannot hold the tree responsible because the tree did not choose to kill that person. The freedom of choice is limited by the burden of responsibility. Taking away our responsibility takes away our humanity.
-Smart
-Romans 3:23
You might read the verse above and think that you haven't sinned. Or you might think that your sin is not your fault. Well, everyone has sinned, whether they like it or not, but that isn't what I wanted to talk about today. Today I want to talk about responsibility. Recently I have been reading a book by John Stott titled "The Cross of Christ." One interesting section discussed guilt and responsibility. Who or what is to blame for our sin? Many people will admit that they have sinned but then will accuse something else for causing that sin. For example, people will often blame their sinful nature, people, or the circumstances they are in. While these do all play a part in us sinning, we cannot place the responsibility on them. Those things do influence us but do not tell us what to do. They can affect how we act but cannot control how we act. Ultimately the responsibility falls on us. This leads me to another important aspect of responsibility- choice. We have the ability to choose what we do as humans. When we make decisions, we have to take responsibility for them. If we make a wrong choice, we are accountable for that choice; not the circumstance or anything else. This leads me to an important distinction between consequence and responsibility. Every choice that we make has a consequence, but it also has a responsibility. What's the difference? The result of our choice is the consequence. If somebody murders someone, the consequence is the loss of life of an individual and going to jail. The responsibility is who is accountable for the action. The man or woman who murders is responsible for the murder because they did the action of killing. A consequence won't necessarily get someone into jail, but the responsibility will. A person who is deemed incapable of acting with judgement or self-control (someone who is "impaired") will often have a different sentence than someone who is in their right mind. Why? Because the person that is in their right mind has to take responsibility for their actions because they willfully committed it. C.S Lewis wrote that the law should not sentence people based on deterring others but on giving what that person deserves. You cannot deserve anything unless you are responsible for you actions. This is not only negative however. When someone takes an action to do good, such as Martin Luther King Jr., they are praised for their actions. People recognize that he took an action to do good and he was responsible. You might ask, why do we have to take responsibility? I believe that responsibility is one of the things that make humans different. If a tree falls over and kills someone, you cannot hold the tree responsible because the tree did not choose to kill that person. The freedom of choice is limited by the burden of responsibility. Taking away our responsibility takes away our humanity.
-Smart
Finishing
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
-2 Timothy 4:7
Today was the last day of my high school career, and it was great. I cannot believe that I will no longer go to my school anymore and that I will be off to college. Finishing high school feels absolutely great, although I will have to leave some people behind. All four years of high school were a lot of fun, and I don't regret too much. Today I don't want to talk too much about me finishing school, but about finishing. There's something great about finishing things, especially if a lot of work is put into it. Why is that? What is so great about finishing? One reason I think we like to finish things is because accomplishing our goals is satisfying. When we see the fruition of our efforts, we take pleasure in it. We feel as if we finally are able to get what we put in work for. We like to see results. Another reason we might like finishing is because we no longer have to continue doing whatever it was we were doing. For example, the reason finishing high school is great is because I know I won't have to go back and do more work. Knowing that is a great feeling, even though I know that I will have to do even harder work in college. But for now, I just want to enjoy finishing high school. I believe that finishing things gives us a sense of satisfaction because we get to complete what we want to achieve. Doing what we want to do is definitely really good. When we finish what we want to do, it is even better. Sometimes finishing things feels good because we know we are helping other people. For example, when Jesus died on the cross, He knew that even though it was a terrible experience, He was able to save those He loved (which is us). Another example, when I went on a missions trip to Mexico, it felt great to be there and help people. When I came back, it felt good because I knew I helped people and hopefully made an impact on their lives. Anyway, it's definitely better to finish things than leave them unfinished. Leaving things half-done is so unsatisfying, although it may seem easier to just quit. Quitting in the middle of something may be easier, but it is more satisfying and beneficial if you finish it.
-Smart
-2 Timothy 4:7
Today was the last day of my high school career, and it was great. I cannot believe that I will no longer go to my school anymore and that I will be off to college. Finishing high school feels absolutely great, although I will have to leave some people behind. All four years of high school were a lot of fun, and I don't regret too much. Today I don't want to talk too much about me finishing school, but about finishing. There's something great about finishing things, especially if a lot of work is put into it. Why is that? What is so great about finishing? One reason I think we like to finish things is because accomplishing our goals is satisfying. When we see the fruition of our efforts, we take pleasure in it. We feel as if we finally are able to get what we put in work for. We like to see results. Another reason we might like finishing is because we no longer have to continue doing whatever it was we were doing. For example, the reason finishing high school is great is because I know I won't have to go back and do more work. Knowing that is a great feeling, even though I know that I will have to do even harder work in college. But for now, I just want to enjoy finishing high school. I believe that finishing things gives us a sense of satisfaction because we get to complete what we want to achieve. Doing what we want to do is definitely really good. When we finish what we want to do, it is even better. Sometimes finishing things feels good because we know we are helping other people. For example, when Jesus died on the cross, He knew that even though it was a terrible experience, He was able to save those He loved (which is us). Another example, when I went on a missions trip to Mexico, it felt great to be there and help people. When I came back, it felt good because I knew I helped people and hopefully made an impact on their lives. Anyway, it's definitely better to finish things than leave them unfinished. Leaving things half-done is so unsatisfying, although it may seem easier to just quit. Quitting in the middle of something may be easier, but it is more satisfying and beneficial if you finish it.
-Smart
What is the Truth?
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'."
-John 14:6
I did not want to talk about truth without addressing its significance, so I decided I would write about the truth. Notice I said the truth, and not truth. In previous posts about truth, I said that there can only be one truth. Truth is not relative, but absolute; so there can only be one truth. So the question is, "what is the truth?" This is a very debated question that is argued time and time again. Why? Because no one knows the truth for certain, and there is no definitive evidence of the truth. I cannot give any evidence that I am correct in saying what the truth is, or any that will persuade anyone who is convinced of something otherwise. I understand that you may not agree with me, which is fine. To answer the question of what the truth is, I looked at John 14:6. Jesus assures His disciples that He is the truth. This answers the question quite accurately and directly. Jesus is the truth. I want to try to explain this a little more however. Again I want to look at John 14. Jesus' disciples ask Him for the way, not the truth. It seems excessive for Jesus to say "I am the way and the truth and the life". Why did Jesus not just say "I am the way"? I believe that Jesus understood what the disciples not only were asking, but what they were seeking as well. The disciples asked for the way, but they also wanted truth and life. Why did they want the truth and life? Everyone is seeking the way, truth and life. How do I know this? Because without these things people are lost, lied to, and dead. People are surrounded in lies, and want some sort of constancy in their life, which is truth, because the truth is constant and never fails. Jesus recognized this, and wanted the disciples to know and to have the truth. Everyone is seeking the truth, but don't know how to. They look at philosophy, theology, celebrities, you name it. All these things will not give anyone the truth. How do we find the truth? We have to seek it; but we can't seek truth itself. Seeking truth as an idea or concept will not help you find it. It is impossible to find anything in this manner. To find the truth, we have to seek Jesus. Jesus is not an idea or concept, He is a person. You can seek Jesus because He is a person, and He promises that if you seek you will find.
-Smart
-John 14:6
I did not want to talk about truth without addressing its significance, so I decided I would write about the truth. Notice I said the truth, and not truth. In previous posts about truth, I said that there can only be one truth. Truth is not relative, but absolute; so there can only be one truth. So the question is, "what is the truth?" This is a very debated question that is argued time and time again. Why? Because no one knows the truth for certain, and there is no definitive evidence of the truth. I cannot give any evidence that I am correct in saying what the truth is, or any that will persuade anyone who is convinced of something otherwise. I understand that you may not agree with me, which is fine. To answer the question of what the truth is, I looked at John 14:6. Jesus assures His disciples that He is the truth. This answers the question quite accurately and directly. Jesus is the truth. I want to try to explain this a little more however. Again I want to look at John 14. Jesus' disciples ask Him for the way, not the truth. It seems excessive for Jesus to say "I am the way and the truth and the life". Why did Jesus not just say "I am the way"? I believe that Jesus understood what the disciples not only were asking, but what they were seeking as well. The disciples asked for the way, but they also wanted truth and life. Why did they want the truth and life? Everyone is seeking the way, truth and life. How do I know this? Because without these things people are lost, lied to, and dead. People are surrounded in lies, and want some sort of constancy in their life, which is truth, because the truth is constant and never fails. Jesus recognized this, and wanted the disciples to know and to have the truth. Everyone is seeking the truth, but don't know how to. They look at philosophy, theology, celebrities, you name it. All these things will not give anyone the truth. How do we find the truth? We have to seek it; but we can't seek truth itself. Seeking truth as an idea or concept will not help you find it. It is impossible to find anything in this manner. To find the truth, we have to seek Jesus. Jesus is not an idea or concept, He is a person. You can seek Jesus because He is a person, and He promises that if you seek you will find.
-Smart
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