when n.t. wright told me that the line between good and evil runs through the middle of all of us, i agreed, in theory. but, in practice, i see the world in binary: you're either good or bad. sometimes good people mess up; sometimes bad people get it right. still, you're basically either one or the other.
but that's not quite true, i'm discovering.
i'm where i am today because someone once compared me to henri nouwen. not in terms of insight or contribution to the growth of others or spiritual depth, but in terms of my needs. and even though i've been hurt by this person on multiple occasions, and won't voluntarily speak to him/her probably ever, something told me that this analysis wasn't off the mark. and that stuck in my head.
so, my wonderment is: how can it be that i have received wounds from those who also spoke life and truth to me? not the good wounds that lead to repentance and reflection: bad wounds, which taste like anger and death. how come fresh and salt water do both flow from the same spring? james says it shouldn't be so!
the thing is... it is so! that's james' indictment: we go around, praising and cursing with the same mouth. (james 3:10-12)
oh, to be able to discern light from shadow, truth from fiction, life from death... within and without. to speak and hear only goodness, and to let the rest fall to the ground.
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