Wednesday, April 14, 2010

World View


Sunday morning Pastor Ginger delivered a sermon that pushed an idea to the front of my brain. Nothing new really, just brought it from the recesses of the mind to the forefront of consciousness. I am not quoting her; her sermon is the jumping off point.

There are several ways to view the world. The pessimist sees the glass (see picture to the right) as half empty. The optimist sees the glass as half full. Often this is seen as the two options of viewing the world. Either you are an optimist or a pessimist. That is fine and good but I want to throw out two more options as world views and both have less to do the with glass and much more to do with faith.
The 23rd Psalm says, "my cup overflows." The person who walks in communion with God sees their cup as overflowing. The same cup on the right is not just half full or half empty. That cup is now overflowing, water dripping down the sides, with blessing and peace. I do not believe this overflowing cup is limited to Jews and Christians. Anyone who is in communion with the Divine and Holy can know their cup to be overflowing.
The fourth world view comes from my Papaw. Six years after he breathed his last, he still blesses me. He would say, "My cup gushes over." These are the words of hope spoken by a man of resurrection faith. Hope! Hope in a Christ who defeats death! Hope in a Spirit that lives and breathes in the lives of the faithful! This blessing is not dependent on how much water is in the glass. This blessing is not based on how good life is at this moment. This world view is based solely on the ability to see that resurrection changes everything.
Mine is the fourth view. Anyone can find the glass to be half empty or full. My cup gushes over.

2 comments:

Jason said...

Not sure if you have read or see much of Marcus Borgs work on Faith, but it might be worth a read. It not ground breaking, but opens the worldview dichotomy in a way you are doing here. I think the book which he articulates it the clearest and cleanest is "The Heart of Christianity".

Anonymous said...

Like!
And Jason, I love "The Heart of Christianity." Excellent book which truly articulates Borg's views.