Cute and fluffy. Blood, guts and gore

You could hear the collective ‘ahs’ from around the cyberverse as yesterday’s WordLive image was viewed. It isn’t every day that we are greeted with a super cute collection of new born cygnets.

This was an opposite response to the image that greeted us all here. Gone were the feathers and cute overload, replaced with stark reality of death and slaughter.

Yet both were on WordLive and both were related to the themes in our Bible reading for the day.

Contradictions?

Have you heard people say they don’t believe what the Bible says because it is full of contradictions? Well I suppose that is one way of looking at it. The other way is to say it is full of extremes and expanses; different colours that paint a picture.

• Sin - forgiveness
• Almighty God - baby Jesus
• Victory - the cross
• Heaven - earth
• Death - resurrection

Although the picture can never be complete, the sketch it gives is enough for us to catch a glimpse of the divine.

But you can’t contain God in a book, or even a library.

Living the paradox?

From a personal point of view I enjoy the extremes. I wallow in the breadth of my faith. The Bible is full of seeming opposites that I hold onto. As such my relationship with God grows. It is dynamic. Not always moving in the ‘right’ direction. But a relationship spiral is better than a stagnated relationship.

Yesterday gave us a lovely image to hold onto. Previously some images have been a little harder to deal with. Tomorrow? Who knows what our relationship with God will bring.

Darren

Child sacrifice 101

The story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19), has always left a bitter taste in my mouth. Whatever way I look at it, I can't link a God of love to the God who demands this shocking show of faith from Abraham.

This passage is today's WordLive and the writers have looked at the issue in their own unique styles. There are some really good points made and the I'd encourage you all to have a good read through.

I wonder whether my view of God is perhaps one-sided. Like all of us we tend to limit God because of our own finite imaginations. Am I in danger of limiting what I understand in the phrase 'God of love'?

Our relationship with God grows best when we are challenged. This passage certainly challenges me. How about you?

WordLive Genesis 22:1-19

Darren