20 May 05 “Randy, You’ve Got Some Explaining To Do!”
Thanks for all your comments from yesterday (for that matter thanks to everyone who takes the time to comment on anything in this blog). I’m hoping that those who read but did not comment understood my point of view.
I was in fact using a word play with the word “change.” We are often induced to hysterics over legitimate words and concepts and are lulled into apathy over legitimate actions and attitudes.
We know how to have babies, we struggle at being parents.
We know how to pull off elaborate weddings, we struggle with successful marriages.
We know all about “conversion,” we struggle with transformation.
Change, or transformation, or spiritual maturity is the expectation of those growing to be like Jesus Christ. I’m just a little tired of hearing all the hoopla about the negative side of “change in the church.” We should be focusing on “change in the Christian.” Transformation of the body. We, who have been redeemed and rescued from darkness have been transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son.
ebyboy mentioned some wonderful lyrics, here are some others of which I was reminded: “From glory to glory my gaze fixed so high, til I only see Jesus the love of my life.”
In other news, I went fishing for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon. There is a body of water right next to the Ronald Reagan National Airport (fed by the Potomac river) which is somewhat fishable. The tide affects the water level and if you know the right spots you can wade specific areas and fish.
With airplanes landing right on top of you and wonderful views of the DC monuments it is an unusual fly-fishing experience. For those of you who care, I tricked a 7-inch striped bass into believing my white, bead-headed crystal wooly bugger was a minnow. Of course I released him. Now if he had been a 27 inch striped bass . . .
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No explaining necessary for this corner of the blog world! It’s kind of like that old phsycological test where you are asked to say the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear a certain word. For some of us, when we hear the word “change,” unfortunately, we automatically think of change in the church. Our president said Christ CHANGED his life. Would to God that we all focused on the changes that our Master can bring about in our lives, if only we allow Him to.
One of my favorite movies is “A River Runs Through It.” I’d say the title of your unusual fly-fishing spot might be “Jets Fly Over It.”
Your unusual fishing spot reminds me of a golf course my National Guard buddy and I use to play. It was the old Naval Base Annex golf course right next to Orlando International Airport. The course itself was fairly wooded but in the middle of playing golf in this forested scene, Jets would takeoff and land in our “air space.” I felt like I was one of the tennis players at the U.S. Open in New York City.
I better stop. I think I’m mixing items of sports.
I’m in the middle of “Tranformation of the Heart” by Dallas Willard. Your comment on “change” in a negative connotation struck me in the context of this book. It’s all about “transforming”, which I view differently than change…which can easily be associated with change for change’s sake. Transformation is internal; and individualized. He talks about being an “apprentice” to Jesus, which when you think about it, is a pretty sobering analogy. Tranfsformation is such a good word, esp. in the Christian context. Anyway, it’s a pretty good read. Your West Coast readers probably know Willard was a philosophy professor at USC. A bit unusual to have a Christian perspective in that kind of position at a major university.
Meanwhile, I can’t help but think you needed a full-fledged ablution after fishing in the Potomac. More physical than spiritual!! Isn’t that an EPA Superfund site near there? Golf, however, nearby under the monuments is something else. I still remember our second shot with a driver at the edge of the rough on #15 at Potomac Park right onto the green. I’m still jealous of that shot!
Thanks for the honorable mention. Like meomix no explaining is necessary. The word “change” is linguistically ubiquitous and elastic which of course accounts for various connotations it can sometimes embody. With the post in question, the fairly heavily annotated contextualization of the word left me in no doubt regarding its use.
In any case, transformation which most people favor is a synonym of change. The latter being the more general and commonly used. It should be pointed out also that even though most uses of the former is positive the word itself is NOT intrisincally so. The devil it is said does transform himself into an angel of light.
In the end both linguistically and morally, the words matter less than the active intent ascribed to them and context in which they operate. You were right the first time.