Search Terms...
I received a hit last night with the search terms: "whatever happened to Virginia O'Hanlon".
It is interesting to know what happens to people who, especially through innocence, make such a difference in many people's lives. Virginia's query and subsequent reply, at the young age of 8, has survived well over a century and still touches people's lives today.
While I am not exactly sure whether this information is 100% accurate or not, it is a probable answer to what happened to young Virginia and the remainder of her life with us on this earth.
While the queries that reach my blog are certainly interesting, and sometimes quite entertaining, I have yet to receive a spiritual query such as the one that The Turtle Speaks did.
This query hit on the Turtle's blog, "sometimes i wonder do god really loves me", really struck an unnerving chord in me.
Searching the internet for God.
This makes me feel so inadequate as a Christian.
Where are we, as Christians in this natural world, that people who are searching for God can't find Him?
later...
posted by It's me, T.J. at Saturday, December 10, 2005
3 Comments:
Very deep, searching post, T.J. ... and it ends with an excellent question.
I think that "God," however He is seen by each seeker, can be found in certain people. It seems the more translucent the soul - the more "glimpses" of Him we get. Someone recently wrote: "[...] is to touch others in some small way, to perhaps give them a glimmer of God through the cracks in my broken vessel--if I have done so, even for a few, it has been worthwhile."
Now, that's some imagery, eh?
But I think that even those who have "found God" still search for Him, right along with those who've "lost Him," or who are themselves lost.
The answer to the question may not be in some inability which Christians might have, T.J. ... but rather in an inability of the seeker to recognize what he's seeking - or even be certain of what he's looking for, to begin with.
Some could see Mother Teresa, and still not see "God" - but rather a well intentioned, albeit misguided soul. Some might be even more unkind.
You can give - but it's up to others learn how to receive.
Thanks for the wonderful comments.
I'm wondering... what about those who don't know *how* to receive?
If we *learn* how to receive, where do we learn how to do this?
If you were never given to 'in love', how would you know how to 'receive in love'?
Are we not bound, in some way, to teach others how to receive?
later...
Well, that's where it's all supposed to happen - in the "giving" and the "receiving."
There's a song we used to sing during our ministry healing services "... our hands are the only hands He has ... "
So - yes, we should try to fill that need for each other, that unspeakable empty place that only God could truly fill.
But T.J., I don't know how many people can really see beyond the human hand extended - and learn to accept that there is a Spirit behind the offered love.
It all comes down to faith ... and trust ... that there really is something (Someone) behind that proffered hand.
If you try to reconcile the inner Christian to the Relationship that should be there ... I think you'd find there are more "giving Christians" who are trying to "do the Christian thing" than there are receiving Christians who have a deep enough Relationship with the Giver to realize just Who is doing the giving when they're on the "receiving end."
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