Context

Our "small group" met at out house tonight. We've been discussing selected
readings from Theresa of Avila. Tonight we were discussing some things she
had to say about defending our personal "rights." Tom, one of the fellows
in our group brought to our attention what I thought was a particularly
insightful thought (probably because this is what I think about, also). The
gist of what he said, along with my own thoughts, is what follows.

We tend to get terribly fixated on a very myopic perception of life. As
Christians, we need to remember the big picture which is, in brief,
creation, sin, and redemption. We all have our story to live and tell but
we must remember that our story is part of a much larger story that God is
telling. The story is not about "me" but about God. My rights are really
only important insofar as they are part of the God-story.

This is why it's important for Christians always to associate their lives,
their choices, and their responses to people and situations with all those
same aspects of Jesus Christ who himself, was and is, the image (icon) of
the invisible God. In other words, just as it is dangerous to try to
understand and interpret something someone has said or written apart from
its and their context, so it is dangerous to try to understand and interpret
the events and experiences of our lives apart from our context - not just
"in the world" but as people of the Kingdom, people of the Story.

Context is absolutely crucial. Meaning can only be discerned within a
particular context. Words are understood within sentences, sentences within
paragraphs, etc. Our lives are within a particular context but far too
often we tend to ignore the context in order to focus simply and exclusively
on "the moment," which, I fear, has more to do with "feeling" than anything.
A proper understanding of the importance (or lack thereof) of our rights can
only be gained if we know and remember our context. (Perhaps this is one
definition of sin: the ignorance - whether deliberate or otherwise - of our
context.)

In a very literal sense, I really don't and can't know anybody else's
context. The only person's context about which I can have any real
confidence is my own. It's not so much important that I know anybody else's
context. I know mine. I am a follower of Christ. Christ's Spirit lives in
me. I have been infected by sin but through the grace of Christ, that
infection and its power over me has been reversed and broken. I'm not
completely healed of the infection but I the cure has been administered and
I must simply live accordingly - regardless of what others may do or say.
And part of what that means is that the story of both the infection and the
cure aren't really about me. My rights really are no longer about what I
should have or get but about what I can give and to whom... To love the Lord
with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others as I have
loved myself. Love is the theme of God's story. God's story is my context.

I just need to remember the context of my story.