Our blog assignment today was to take a passage that we've talked about in class and apply it to our lives. In other words, prove that we've been doing something in Greece other than having an insanely good time. The verse I chose is from the book of Judith. It shouldn't be surprising that I would pick a verse from a book with a strong female heroine. That's right boys. Sometimes it takes a woman. Deal with it. Judith, Chapter 8, v 11-19:
"Listen to me, rulers of the people of Bethulia! What you have said to the people today is not right; you have even sworn and pronounced this oath between God and you, promising to surrender the city to our enemies unless the Lord turns and helps us within so many days. [12] Who are you, that have put God to the test this day, and are setting yourselves up in the place of God among the sons of men? [13] You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test -- but you will never know anything! [14] You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart, nor find out what a man is thinking; how do you expect to search out God, who made all these things, and find out his mind or comprehend his thought? No, my brethren, do not provoke the Lord our God to anger. [15] For if he does not choose to help us within these five days, he has power to protect us within any time he pleases, or even to destroy us in the presence of our enemies. [16] Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God; for God is not like man, to be threatened, nor like a human being, to be won over by pleading. [17] Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it pleases him. [18]
"For never in our generation, nor in these present days, has there been any tribe or family or people or city of ours which worshiped gods made with hands, as was done in days gone by -- [19] and that was why our fathers were handed over to the sword, and to be plundered, and so they suffered a great catastrophe before our enemies.
"For never in our generation, nor in these present days, has there been any tribe or family or people or city of ours which worshiped gods made with hands, as was done in days gone by -- [19] and that was why our fathers were handed over to the sword, and to be plundered, and so they suffered a great catastrophe before our enemies.
The story behind these verses is that the city is willing to surrender after five days, because they believe that God will magically come and save them in that time. Well, Judith is like, guys, you're being stupid. Don't test God. If you want to win this battle you have to get off your butts and DO SOMETHING. This is the message I want to get across.
If you want something in life, you can't just wait aroud for it to happen. Nothing is just goign to magically appear and make itself work out. (Unless of course you happen to be one of those insanely lucky people who just seem to have all the luck). I would not be here in Greece, having the best time of my life, if I hadn't taken the initiative to apply in the first place. And I can think of many times in my life where I've been much too passive or scared to take charge of the situation. Which is beyond stupid. Being scared leads to regrets of things you didn't do. One of my least favorite things to do is to look back and think "what if?" What if I had taken that chance, instead of let it go by? What if I spoke up?What if, what if, what if? I hate having to ask myself that question and wonder if my life would have turned out differently, better even, if I had been like Judith and just taken matters into my own hands. So that's the moral of the story. Take charge of your own lives people. Stop sitting around and waiting for something good to happen. MAKE IT HAPPEN. 
No comments:
Post a Comment