Reason, logic, comprehension, simple terms, understanding. The cause for which I pledge my life contains none of these things. There is no logic in it. There is no sense. There is not even the ability to provide tangible evidence from the past. Many would say I am a fool. And a fool I may be. But there is something deep within me that tells me I am right. There is a little voice calling out that this path I have chosen is the one that will fulfill and sustain. There is an overwhelming passion that tells me I will not always be loved by this world, I will not always be accepted, but that it will be okay. That I will not be agreed with, but that I am right. The majority vote may not go the way I wish, but there is someone looking at the bigger picture that understands how all the cards will unfold, even if I don’t.
I am a Christian.
I believe that I do not understand everything but that there is a God who does and only wants what is best for me. I believe that He is the creator of everything and that He loves you and that He loves me. I do not claim to be better than anyone else because of my beliefs, but rather I try to allow God’s light to shine through me. As a mere instrument of His awesome power, I pray that I am willing to do whatever my God asks of me. I know that on my own I may not have that strength, but I refresh myself in the knowledge that He will never leave me nor forsake me. I take refuge in Him. This is the only way I carry on. He carries me.
Many will not understand this: my willingness to die for a being many do not believe even exists. But it is a faith I trust in. Unless one has had the experience of God’s amazing grace and forgiveness, one cannot fully comprehend it. Even those that have are at a loss for words when trying to explain the overwhelming peace that flows through your mind, body, and spirit when you are awakened to God’s mercy.
I am a sinner and deserve punishment. I deserve hell. But this God loved me so much that He sent His son to die in my place. How is this logical? It isn’t. Why would an almighty God love me, a speck of dust in the unending universe of which He has complete dominion? I do not know. But I thank Him that He does. There is nothing I have that doesn’t come from Him. So I will honor Him with the only thing that I have, my life.
I live for Christ. I will die for Christ. And when I am standing in front of His Father, my God, I will fall on my knees with the knowledge that everything was worth it. There is nothing that can take me from His hand. So I will do all that I can to thank Him and praise Him.
I will die for Him because He died for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU_rTX23V7Q
6 comments:
Did you create the YouTube video?
Your statement, "As a mere instrument of His awesome power, I pray that I am willing to do whatever my God asks of me," reminds me of the Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
when there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand,
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we eceive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Have you read Cloud of the Unknowing? You may find it interesting.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/anonymous2/cloud.html
That you can write so openly about your faith is beautiful. Stay strong.
Thank you for your reading suggestions. Is there anything that I could do in order to provide a stronger or more sound explanation/argument?
zizzi: Am delighted to make suggestion, but remember they are just that. You have to go with your heart and decide what sounds and reads best for you.
1. Remember that what I may suggest may differ from another reader's suggestions.
2. Keep in mind that you do not want to lose your voice or change the tone, the cadence, the poetic qualities that draw the reader into your world.
Here are two documents for you to read.
Your essay with each sentence beginning on a new line. I have separated so you can examine each one independently and in the context of the one before and after. Read each one aloud. Read as though you were somewhere giving this as a speech or homily.
http://www.theteachonline.net/mh/zizzi.rtf
Offering you some thoughts here:
http://www.theteachonline.net/mh/zizzi2.rtf
I really like the structure of this piece. You made it very visually interesting to read, with paragraphs and spacing that coincided with the words you were saying. This made the impact of the statements that much stronger.
The rhythm is also very effective. Rather than flowing into long and elaborate sentences, which would have been easy to do on such a topic, you kept your sentence short and concise. The almost exaggerated simplicity of some sentences flattered the complicated matters being discussing. This is a hard topic to write an argument on because an appeal to logos is almost impossible. You tackled that, however, by admitting it and by creating a work that is very appealing to read, visually and auditorily.
Do you think that there could have been an appeal to logos? I kind of wanted to skirt around it, but how do you feel it would have effected the argument? Also, did it address the opposing views enough to show that I have seen both sides of the issue?
I do thank you for commenting on the way it was written. I tried to make it simple because I strongly dislike when people confuse a reader when talking about God. It isn't necessary.
As Pennylane wrote, you created "a work that is very appealing to read, visually and auditorily.
"The almost exaggerated simplicity of some sentences flattered the complicated matters being discussing."
Pennylane probably can answer you concern about logos than I because I became absorbed in the rhetorical style, your sincerity and willingness to be direct. I was not concerned so much about the content as a logical argument. After all, you are telling us what you are willing to die for.
I see the author speaking from the heart. When this happens to me, I put aside analytical tools sometimes and read for the pleasure of reading. Perhaps if you had written something outrageous, I would have looked for logic and fallacies. I read this as a personal testimony. "Here I am. I am a Christian. This is what I believe."
I did not see this as a piece trying to convince others to become Christians. As pennylane notes, you acknowledged at the beginning "there is no sense....a fool I may be." Doing so may well cause readers to pay closer attention as they read.
It is your personal credo, beautifully written. In its straightforward simplicity, it may well persuade readers to consider Christianity.
Post a Comment